Chapter 181: Items Everywhere

Chapter 181: Items Everywhere

The two accessories worn by Gianluan were actually both magical items.

Truly a wealthy merchant.

He really wasn't stingy when it came to spending on himself.

Wu Heng held the two items in his hand, carefully examining them.

The necklace was inscribed with the rune 'Sword and Shield Protection,' which could form a magical shield to reduce damage.

The effect of this item was incredibly important.

Regardless of one's class, personal safety is always the top priority.

The shield that blocked the bullet earlier must have been from this item.

Given the kinetic energy of a sniper bullet, the fact that it could slightly block and deflect it already proved the strength of this item.

It was undoubtedly very expensive.

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Wu Heng continued to inspect the second item, the spatial ring.

This type of item wasn't unfamiliar.

He had one of his own, with a similar design. The only difference was that his had 3 cubic meters of storage, while this one had 5 cubic meters.

It didn't seem like much, but when measured in cubic volume, the difference was significant.

It could store a lot more.

Wu Heng took out a wet cloth and wiped the bloodstains off the two items.

He put the necklace around his neck and slipped the ring onto his finger.

Channeling his mental energy to communicate with the ring, he immediately sensed the items stored inside.

Various daily necessities, wine, food, bags filled with silver coins, and some property deeds.

As expected!

Robbing wealthy merchants was the fastest way to get rich.

Without even mentioning the other items, the bags of coins alone amounted to at least a few thousand.

Filthy rich.

Wu Heng pulled out two property deeds and glanced at them; they were for a tavern and an inn outside the city.

It seemed like they were city properties.

Property prices in Rentam City were sky-high, but they were hard to deal with.

Going out with these deeds now would basically be turning himself in.

He couldn't let greed cloud his judgment.

Aside from the two magical items, the clothing on Gianluan was also expensive.

But given his height, build, and the pathetic state he was in.

Wu Heng decided not to take them.

He had the skeletons move the body aside, planning to find a place to bury it once daylight came.

A corpse that had been used for [Speak with Dead] couldn't be converted.

It was now completely useless.

......

The body was carried away.

Wu Heng continued, "Bring those other bodies over."

The skeletons immediately stepped forward and carried over the remaining bodies.

They were neatly lined up in the open space in front of him.

A total of 66 bodies, easily identifiable by their attire.

One side was Gianluan's guards and a few servants, while the rest were from the Iron Guard Knights, wearing standard-issue armor.

Although the armor was hacked to pieces, it was still recognizable by its design.

Wu Heng focused his gaze on the first body.

This was someone he had seen through Glenda's eyes—the captain of Gianluan's guards, who had wielded a flaming longsword, holding off most of the skeletons alone.

He ordered the skeletons to strip him of all his equipment.

His gaze fell on the longsword.

[Blazing Longsword]

(Description: A longsword forged with rare fire elemental materials, inscribed with flame magic, adding fire effects to each swing.)

Another magical item.

He had thought it was enchanted by a scroll or imbued with fire magic.

But it turned out the sword itself was a magical item.

He then inspected the armor.

It was also inscribed with dense runes, making it another magical item.

However, it had been severely damaged in the battle.

No equipment information could be displayed; it was completely ruined.

After checking the equipment, Wu Heng immediately cast [Raise Skeleton], enveloping the corpse in necromantic magic.

A long-awaited notification appeared again.

[Summon exceeds caster's capacity; instability factors increased...]

Usually, this message indicated that the target corpse was of a higher level than the caster.

But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing; the higher the level, the better.

The flesh slowly fell away as the broad, thick skeleton stood up.

Its hollow eye sockets surveyed the surroundings and moved aside.

[Skeleton Battle Master (Level 12)]

Level 12.

On the same level as Bagdong.

The highest-level skeleton Wu Heng currently had was the level 13 'Terrorclaw Skeleton.'

Although it had the highest level, its usefulness was quite limited.

Most of the time, it was on standby or patrolling the area around the prison.

The most useful ones were humanoid skeletons like Bagdong and Barson.

With simple disguises, they could be kept nearby.

Whether as bodyguards or for other tasks, they were very versatile.

Actually, thinking about it now.

As the enemies Wu Heng encountered grew stronger.

Barson's level and abilities were starting to become insufficient.

Now that this battle master had appeared, it could replace Barson's position.

With that in mind, Wu Heng continued to check the attributes.

[Skeleton Battle Master (Level 12)]

[Level: 12 (0/72,000)]

[Attributes: Constitution 29, Strength 31, Agility 25, Intelligence 17, Perception 17, Charisma 10.]

[Traits: Hollow Skeleton, Intermediate Soul, Unyielding.]

[Skills: Heavy/Light Armor Mastery (Advanced), Two-Handed Sword Mastery (Advanced), Military Weapon Proficiency (Basic).]

[Swordsmanship: Grull Military Swordsmanship.]

[Combat Skills: Disrupting Strike, Disarm Attack, Sweeping Attack, Thrust Attack, Agile Strike, Nimble Footwork.]

A class like 'Battle Master' definitely looked professional.

The last one called a 'master' could fight five at once.

Judging by the entire stat sheet, this one seemed to have received formal training, unlike the warriors from gangs who only knew how to swing weapons.

The skills mentioned [Military Weapon Proficiency], and the swordsmanship was called [Grull Military Swordsmanship], suggesting he had served in the military at some point.

A bona fide soldier.

He didn't have any spells but had gained combat skills instead.

Various attack techniques and footwork.

It seemed his strength wasn't weak.

"From now on, your name is Fireblade. Pick up your weapon and stand to the side," Wu Heng said.

Not knowing the skeleton's original name, he casually named it after its weapon.

The skeleton bent down, picked up its weapon from the ground, and stood aside.

Its armor was too damaged to wear, so it stood there with bare bones.

Wu Heng turned his gaze to the next corpse.

Arnel, the former captain of a squad in Blackstone Town, with a bullet wound in the forehead.

He cast [Raise Skeleton].

The skeleton immediately stood up.

[Skeleton Warrior (Level 9)]

Hmm, not a bad level, reaching level 9.

Although it couldn't compare to the level 12 skeleton just summoned, it fit his role as a squad captain.

Wu Heng quickly glanced at the stats, seeing nothing special.

He then cast [Battlefield of the Dead], raising the remaining skeletons.

They stared blankly ahead.

[Skeleton Warrior (Level 7)][Skeleton Swordsman (Level 8)][Skeleton Ranger (Level 8)].

Whether they were Gianluan's guards or the Iron Guard Knights, their levels were around 7 or 8.

Wu Heng was quite satisfied with this.

High-level skeletons were certainly important, but level 7 and 8 ones were still the backbone.

They could form a capable guard team.

Not every situation required a skeleton horde to do the job.

"From now on, you'll be called Sword Two, you Sword Three... and you Ranger One..." Wu Heng named each one.

The swordsmen were named starting from Sword Two, as Sword One had only lost an arm and was still alive.

The warriors started from War One, and the rangers followed suit, with names like Ranger One and Ranger Two.

There was no other choice—there were just too many skeletons.

Even if Wu Heng wanted to take the time to give each a proper name, he probably wouldn't remember them all.

Over time, as battles happened suddenly, it was more convenient to number them like this.

After assigning tasks to the skeletons.

He walked over to the pile of furniture.

Paintings, chandeliers, and carpets were stacked together.

Wu Heng wasn't particularly interested, but as he glanced over, something caught his eye.

[Engraved Ever-Burning Bathtub][Life-Sustaining Platter][Illuminating Stone]...

A series of magical household items appeared before him.

The [Engraved Ever-Burning Bathtub] was a silver bathtub adorned with intricate scrolls and floral designs, with complex runes etched inside.

It could maintain the user's desired water temperature.

The [Life-Sustaining Platter] was inscribed with a life-sustaining spell, able to keep organisms alive.

Uh...

The purpose of this item...

Wu Heng held it up and examined it, guessing it was probably used to serve fresh food.

The [Illuminating Stone] was a crystal-clear stone inscribed with illumination runes, providing light. These stones filled the crystal chandeliers.

"Being rich is really nice."

Wu Heng couldn't help but sigh.

This was the most magical items he had ever seen at once.

Of course, now they were all his.

He directed the skeletons to organize the items.

The sky gradually brightened.

Wu Heng tidied up briefly and returned home through the portal.

......

Morning sunlight streamed through the window.

Wu Heng ate a simple meal of instant noodles, then left his house.

With Barson and Bagdong in tow, he headed straight to the guild.

A whole night had passed, and no one had come to cause trouble, which meant they hadn't found any evidence pointing to him.

For now, everything was normal, which was the best outcome.

Even if there were suspicions, they couldn't act against him immediately.

After all, he was a captain appointed by the guild headquarters.

If anything went wrong, there would need to be an investigation and proper procedures followed.

If things got bad, he could always hide in the zombie world.

As soon as he entered the guild.

The hall was packed with people, all buzzing with chatter. Everyone was talking about the massacre of a wealthy merchant family in the inner district, with everything in the house robbed clean.

It was like breaking news, and everyone had something to say.

"Not a single person survived? They're all dead? Where did you hear this?"

"An inner district merchant. Don't they all have dozens of guards? How could this happen?"

"No doubt about it. The Iron Guard Knights have already surrounded the building. I just went to take a look—it's brutal."

"I've heard something else."

Everyone turned to look.

"The White Wolf Gang in the outer district was wiped out too. Their base is nothing but a bloody mess. Even worse."

Upon hearing it was an outer district gang, everyone lost interest.

They turned back and continued discussing the inner district incident.

"You saw the place, right? Do you know which merchant it was?"

"Old Master Gianluan!"

"Damn, it was him!"

Wu Heng walked by without stopping and headed straight for the rest area.

......

The rest area was still empty.

Neither Duke nor Marta had arrived yet.

Wu Heng sat for a while, just about to get up and join the crowd at Gianluan's residence to see the commotion.

There was a knock at the door.

A staff member peeked in and, seeing Wu Heng sitting in the lounge, quickly and respectfully said, "Captain Wu Heng, the steward would like to see you."

"What for?"

"I'm not sure. It seems like some guests have arrived?" the staff member replied.

Wu Heng nodded, "Alright, I'll head over."

After the staff member left, Wu Heng stood, made a few quick preparations, and headed to the steward's office.

As he pushed the door open, he saw that, besides the guild steward.

There were also two members of the Iron Guard Knights.

One was a young man with blonde hair and thick eyebrows, while the other was a middle-aged man with short brown hair and a rough beard, looking stern.

"Wu Heng, this is Commander 'Milco' from the Iron Guard Knights. He has a few questions for you," the steward said.

"Commander Milco..." Wu Heng nodded without expression.

The middle-aged man sized him up before speaking, "Captain Wu Heng, a serious security incident occurred in the inner district. We need to ask you a few questions."

"Oh? Go ahead."

"Where were you last night?"

"At home!"

"Do you have any witnesses?" the man continued to ask.

"No."

The man kept his eyes on him. "Last night, Gianluan's home was attacked. Are you aware of this?"

Wu Heng replied, "I am. But you don't think I'm involved, do you? I'm a captain appointed by the guild headquarters. My loyalty has been affirmed by the organization."

"Oh? That's interesting. I've heard the captain has a weapon capable of firing a lethal projectile."

As he spoke, the man took out an orange bullet from his pocket and placed it on the steward's desk.

"Explain this!"

---------------------------------

A big thank you to [John Doe] for joining my Patreon! Your support means a lot to me.