Evolving My Undead Legion In A Game-Like World

Chapter 1302: Blueprints [1]

The exact number of Universal Cornerstones that had already been claimed throughout the Origin Battlefield was difficult to determine.

Still, even without knowing the exact number, many Awakeners could make a reasonable estimate from what they could see.

The Fourth Layer Territory Ranking alone now contained exactly thirty-three names.

Thirty-three Universal Cornerstones.

The significance of that number became greater when considering how difficult obtaining a Cornerstone at this level actually was.

Even discovering one was not necessarily simple, since not all Level Three regions contained one, and if it did, the Awakeners involved would still need to swim through a sea of monsters and defeat the final boss before having the chance to claim anything.

Of course, not all thirty-three Cornerstones necessarily originated from the efforts of Fourth Layer Awakeners themselves.

Some of the thirty-three owners might have relied heavily on juniors operating in the lower Layers.

A large civilization could have thousands or even millions of young Awakeners scattered throughout the Zeroth, First, Second, and Third Layers.

If enough of those juniors searched Level Three regions and gathered fragments, their organizations could reconstruct Universal Cornerstone Deployment Cores and pass the resulting benefits upward through whatever arrangements they possessed.

It was therefore entirely possible that half of the thirty-three territories currently appearing on the Fourth Layer ranking owed their existence, at least partially, to efforts originating in the lower Layers.

* * *

Deep within the Zeroth Layer, a vast grassland lay nestled between several low mountain ranges.

Waist-high silver-green grass covered most of the plains, swaying gently beneath a constant breeze.

Scattered among the grass were clusters of strange blue flowers that released faint specks of light whenever disturbed, and several clear streams descended from the distant mountains before converging into a broad river that curved through the landscape.

Small forests dotted the plains, their trees reaching twenty to thirty meters in height.

Most contained ordinary creatures suitable for the Zeroth Layer, while the more dangerous monsters had gradually been pushed farther away from the central region.

Near the middle of this enormous plain was something that would have appeared completely out of place only a few days earlier.

A settlement.

It was already large enough to be seen clearly from several kilometers away.

At its absolute center stood a tall black pillar.

Everything else had gradually developed around it.

This was Lily’s "territory."

Evergreen Haven, ranked fourth on the territory leaderboard, the only ranking in the Zeroth Layer.

Dozens of buildings now occupied the surrounding land.

However, the most noticeable feature was not any of the buildings.

It was the people.

Hundreds of young men and women moved throughout the settlement.

They were obviously the native Awakeners Michael had transferred from the Land of Origin.

Only several days had passed since more than two thousand native Awakeners arrived, yet the previously empty territory had undergone a startling transformation.

Compared to the Eternal Crown in the Fourth Layer, Lily’s territory lacked grandeur.

There were no enormous walls lined with powerful creatures, their mere presence enough to make any approaching enemy appear insignificant, though the walls themselves were currently more symbolic than practical.

Many creatures could simply fly over them, since Michael had yet to install proper defensive barriers unreliant on the Cornerstone, or any formations capable of restricting flight or the use of void magic.

Still, despite lacking the same imposing atmosphere, Lily’s territory already looked more like an actual settlement than Michael’s.

It was not because Lily or the people around her were more capable than Michael when it came to developing a territory.

She simply had something Michael currently lacked in sufficient numbers.

Hands.

Actual hands, rather than a group of human-looking undead.

Although many of Michael’s intelligent undead could function just as well as ordinary intelligent beings, there were still many tasks that were inconvenient for them to handle.

Some undead still needed to remain within the territory as guards, while others had to stay within immediate reach in case an emergency occurred in the Fourth Layer.

Michael might appear overwhelmingly powerful under normal circumstances, but the Fourth Layer contained countless Rank Four Awakeners, and if he was ever forced to fight a sufficiently large force, the number of undead immediately available to him could become extremely important.

Most of the remaining undead were therefore assigned relatively safe tasks without exposing them to excessive danger.

Michael deliberately avoided sending them into situations with unpredictable risks.

Dungeons were one example.

Although hundreds of his undead had reached Rank Four, their individual strength varied considerably.

Sending them into unknown dungeons without him could easily result in casualties if they encountered something beyond their ability to handle.

Heavenly Descent treasures were even more troublesome.

Putting aside whether his undead would be fortunate enough to encounter one, treasures of that level naturally attracted competition.

An undead fortunate enough to discover one might become involved in a struggle against several powerful Awakeners or creatures.

Michael was unwilling to take unnecessary risks with them.

Having hundreds of Rank Four undead did not mean he could freely scatter them across the Fourth Layer without consequences.

There was also the matter of attention.

A group of several dozen Rank Four undead moving together would be extremely conspicuous, much less hundreds of them.

Michael had already revealed enough of his strength for the other powerful Awakeners of the Fourth Layer to understand that he possessed a formidable force.

He had no intention of constantly reminding them exactly how formidable that force was.

If he appeared too aggressive or allowed enormous groups of undead to roam freely across the Fourth Layer, other Awakeners could eventually begin viewing him as a threat that needed to be eliminated before he became even more dangerous.

It might look like having thousands of undead made him invincible, but the title of "one man army" still made him have to consider a lot of things.

This was also the reason he wanted to quickly integrate his empire into the Origin Battlefield, to mask his own uniqueness.

There was another reason he remained cautious.

His advancement quest.

Losing too many Rank Four undead through unnecessary risks could directly interfere with his advancement, something he absolutely could not afford with the five-year limit still hanging over him.

These factors, along with several smaller considerations, were why Michael maintained a relatively low profile within the Fourth Layer and focused much of his attention elsewhere.

Fortunately, thanks to the huge amount of undead he still had scattered outside, his territory had a rather large amount of Origin Points.

"Your Highness, we found another blueprint!"