Chapter 46: Allocation (Ninth Update)

"Pack up your things and fall back!" Watching as Commander Yin Xun was blown apart into fragments, Wang Liang hurriedly called for everyone to retreat. In truth, they had already played all their trump cards in this battle, and Wang Liang’s group had barely managed to hold on.

Now was not the time to continue fighting; it was better to grab their belongings and withdraw to the rear for a brief respite.

As the players picked up the items indicated by the white guiding glow, the death of Commander Yin Xun brought about tremendous changes on the battlefield.

The dark clouds that once shrouded the sky had, though pierced in places by sunlight, still somewhat shielded the ghost soldiers. But after Commander Yin Xun fell, the clouds scattered as if swept away by a violent wind, never to return. The midday sun shone directly on the ghost soldier corps, and the skeletons fighting against the aquatic ghost soldiers began to emit plumes of black smoke, unable to maintain their previous state.

At this moment, General Fish noticed the situation and immediately ordered, "Everyone, get ready. Take all the ghost souls with you—I mean every single one."

Upon hearing this, the aquatic ghost soldiers changed their weapons. What had been tridents and similar arms were now transformed, with a flick of their wrists, into nets woven from black aquatic grass.

This aquatic grass was a specialty of the Dragon King Temple: crafted from the very water plants that once entangled and drowned swimmers. These grasses, now imbued with spiritual vitality, never released their hold once they ensnared a person.

At this stage, such items could be considered remarkable artifacts. Some players might spend a great deal of time just to obtain one.

Yet the aquatic ghost soldiers each had one at their disposal. As they produced these black aquatic grass nets, they cast them over the dispersing skeletons, dragging them into their own ranks.

This was precisely the benefit promised by the City God to the Dragon King Temple. Every ghost soldier from the ghost soldier corps would become spoils for the Dragon King Temple. Originally, they had been auxiliary soldiers of the Song Dynasty, and after death, influenced by the divine, would join the local pantheon as ghost soldiers.

If not for the events at the Demon Ridge’s Jingyang Hill, they would have first joined the City God Temple of Yanggu County, then been assigned elsewhere by the City God.

However, since they died at Jingyang Hill, and because the demon tiger had slain the mountain god and seized the mountain god’s seal at that moment, they came under its control, becoming ghost soldiers in the demon tiger’s service, forced to oppose the people of Yanggu County.

Now, with Commander Yin Xun slain and the midday sun weakening the seal’s influence, the mountain god’s seal could barely control the ghost soldiers. The aquatic ghosts could seize them, take them back to the Dragon King Temple, and re-educate them until they were fit for service as aquatic ghost soldiers.

This meant the Dragon King Temple would gain at least fifteen hundred powerful ghost soldiers—an ample reward for their investment. It was precisely for this reason that the Dragon King Temple dispatched General Fish immediately, accompanied by three thousand aquatic ghost soldiers, to ensure the operation’s success.

Otherwise, how could a player merely friendly with the Dragon King Temple have influenced its arrangements?

While the aquatic ghost soldiers were in action, the auxiliary soldiers at the center began to advance.

The successful battle against the ghost soldier corps thrilled everyone present; the City God felt this was the perfect moment to press the advantage, believing that once the battlefield was secured, they could lure the patrol teams from Jingyang Hill.

Of course, none of this concerned Wang Liang’s group. Having retreated to the rear, the players quickly gathered together.

After Commander Yin Xun’s self-destruction, his remains were scattered across the ground, and at least a hundred glowing items were left behind.

Wang Liang and his group collected these items, and as they looked them over, Wang Liang spoke: "You all know the rules. We choose in order of our ranking points. You can opt out and carry your points over to the next battle; after your pick, your current points are reset. Pick what you want, but remember—even though there’s a heap of stuff, we only get thirty percent. The rest must be handed in."

He pointed at the pile, choosing to pass.

According to the system’s ranking, Wang Liang was in first place. He had fought at the front, provided logistics, and if Commander Yin Xun hadn’t died before Wang Liang could land the final blow, his score might have doubled that of the others.

Even so, Wang Liang’s points far surpassed the other players, giving him first pick of the loot.

But after a glance at the hundred or so items, Wang Liang lost interest.

Earlier, when the white light flashed four times, Wang Liang thought it was a major drop.

It turned out that the guiding light merely helped players find the scattered items; most were not weapons or equipment but fragments of bone, chunks of flesh, or bits of armor.

Whether any good could be found among them depended entirely on luck.

Once Wang Liang passed, other players with specific goals also chose to pass.

After all, there was no obvious weapon among them—if luck ran out, their points would be wasted.

It wasn’t until the seventh-ranked player made his choice; he glanced through the heap and snatched up a severed hand.

"I want this one."

As soon as he spoke, Wang Liang watched his points reset, dropping from seventh place to the bottom of the ranking.

But the player didn’t mind; he exclaimed, "Got it, something good!"

He excitedly posted the item’s attributes to the team channel:

[Death Aura Hand Bone (Gauntlet)]
[Quality: Green]
[Attack: 37-53]
[Requirements: Core Formation stage, mastery of fist skills, Strength 10, Constitution 14]
[Feature 1: White Bone Grasp—10% chance in combat to release a flying white bone hand, dealing around 50 damage to enemies; the flying hand is effective against ghost souls.]
[Feature 2: Soul Capture—15% chance in combat to seize an enemy’s soul, causing 1 second of stun or interrupting their skills.]
[Description: Wear it, and your hands will become just like mine!]

Upon seeing these attributes, all the players grew excited. They hadn’t expected that among these fragments, good items could still be found, and those ranked behind rushed forward to pick their choices.

However, the later players weren’t as lucky; out of nine who made their selections, only three pieces of equipment appeared, while the rest were mere bone and flesh fragments.

The only surprise for Wang Liang was that Full Fortune actually made a move in this round, and judging by his expression, he was quite satisfied with his yield.