Chapter 71: Indifference and Enthusiasm

Zhao Hai continued on his journey. This time, the villages he encountered were inhabited, and there were more people on the roads, which finally put Zhao Hai and his companions at ease.

However, seeing the people in these villages, Zhao Hai had many thoughts. To be honest, a sixth-level black mage, although powerful, was nothing in the eyes of true powerhouses. If a sixth-level black mage were to challenge Green or Merlin, both of them could easily defeat them in an instant.

But such a being, seen as insignificant as an ant by Merlin, was regarded as a god by ordinary civilians. They could slaughter these people at will, and the civilians had no means of resistance.

Zhao Hai knew that if he didn't have his spatial ability, he would be no different from these civilians. In the eyes of the powerful, he would also be nothing more than an ant.

He wanted to become strong, but unfortunately, he had drunk the Void Water, making it impossible for him to learn any magic or martial arts. His only remaining reliance was his spatial ability.

If he was an ant, then so be it. He would have the awareness of an ant. He wouldn't think about conquering or seizing anything; he only wanted to live a simple and peaceful life.

However, Zhao Hai also understood that living a simple and peaceful life was not easy. Not causing trouble didn't mean trouble wouldn't find you. If he wanted to live a stable life, he needed the power to ensure it. Clearly, he currently lacked such power.

Power, power! This was the first time Zhao Hai had such a strong desire for power. Unfortunately, he had no way to enhance his strength.

The spatial ability was indeed magical, but it lacked offensive capabilities. However, he could try to subdue some undead creatures for his use. But collecting undead creatures was not easy. He dared not venture into the Corpse Swamp to collect them, as that would be no different from courting death. Zhao Hai still vividly remembered the scene when he stood on the castle wall, watching the overwhelming tide of monsters and undead creatures surge from the swamp. It was truly awe-inspiring.

Before he had the power to protect himself, how could he live a stable life? The answer was simple: find a place where no one could find him.

The Black Earth Wasteland was a good choice. It was close to the dangerous lands, and no one would pay attention to it. However, there was a problem: the Budan family's past enemies.

Others might not notice them, but the old noble families certainly would. To make those people ignore them, he needed a plan. It seemed that he needed to speed up the process of having Zhao Zui and the others subdue undead creatures in the swamp. It would also be best to create some other events to divert their attention.

He hoped that his actions would make the nobles stop paying attention to the Budan family. Otherwise, Zhao Hai and his companions would be in trouble.

However, Zhao Hai thought of another method: quickly upgrading his spatial ability. Once it reached level ten, he could open a ranch.

Opening a farm would allow him to raise various plants in the space, which would help upgrade its level. If opening a ranch meant that he could raise animals from the Ark Continent in the space to upgrade its level, then he could subdue magical beasts, giving him more power.

When the magical beasts entered the Black Earth Wasteland, Zhao Hai had tried to store them in the space, but it didn't work. Clearly, the space was not yet capable of storing magical beasts. He would have to wait until the ranch was opened.

Level, level, how is this like a game? When your level is low, you get bullied everywhere. Just wait, once my level is high, I'll raise a group of divine beasts and crush you all.

While thinking about these things, Zhao Hai continued his journey, riding the alien creature through cities and counties. However, when passing through small towns, Zhao Hai did not enter them. Entering the city would mean putting away the alien creature, and staying overnight in the city was meaningless. So, Zhao Hai and his companions bypassed the cities, finding a secluded place outside to spend the night, entering the space to rest.

However, Zhao Hai still had Green and the others gather information in the cities. With such a significant event involving the Undead Mercenary Group, the people here could not have been completely unaware. Zhao Hai wanted Green to understand the aftermath of the event.

The results were unexpected. Zhao Hai thought the matter would be serious, given the deaths in several villages. However, the news Green brought back was surprisingly mundane. The Vansel Principality issued a symbolic warrant for the Undead Mercenary Group and confiscated the land of the affected villages, assigning slaves to cultivate it. That was the end of the matter.

Zhao Hai felt a bit dazed after hearing Green's report. It was only then that he truly understood the immense power of the nobles on this continent.

The lives and deaths of the common people were of no concern to the nobles. They might even want more common people to die, as it would increase their land holdings.

Zhao Hai gave a bitter smile. He still hadn't fully adapted to the way people thought here. In the eyes of the nobles, commoners and slaves might not be considered human, but in Zhao Hai's eyes, a person was a person, even if they were a slave.

The Vansel family was extremely cold in their handling of the commoners' deaths and the Undead Mercenary Group, but they were extremely enthusiastic about two other matters: the attack on the Makider family and Zhao Hai's situation.

Regarding the attack on the Makider family, the Vansel family was reportedly very enthusiastic. The Grand Duke of Vansel personally visited to offer condolences and provided tax exemptions and other benefits, showing an excessive level of enthusiasm.

The other matter was Zhao Hai. He appeared as a black mage, and it was now widely known that he was a high-level black mage. Such a person was extremely dangerous, so the Vansel family was very attentive to Zhao Hai.

Of course, this information came from the mouths of mercenaries and merchants, and it was not confirmed. However, Green believed that where there's smoke, there's fire, and the information was likely true.

Zhao Hai didn't find this surprising. It was within their expectations. A high-level black mage was a formidable weapon, and his sudden appearance in the Vansel Principality would naturally draw the Vansel family's attention. If they didn't, that would be strange.

In fact, this was a result Zhao Hai had hoped for. Although the Vansel family's attention would bring them trouble, it was ultimately a good thing. By focusing on Zhao Hai's identity as a black mage, they wouldn't suspect Adam's identity, making it safer.

However, Zhao Hai and his companions noticed that they were being monitored by mercenaries and adventurers in recent days. These people had no ill intentions, but Zhao Hai and his companions knew they were being watched.

This was within their expectations. They didn't show much reaction and continued their journey. However, at night, after entering the space, they left the alien creature outside, making the watchers believe they were resting inside it.

Zhao Hai didn't know that those who were monitoring them were also envious. While there were many black mages on the continent who could summon undead creatures, few were like Zhao Hai.

The undead creatures summoned by black mages on the continent varied widely, including skeletons, zombies, and succubi. Skeletons were the lowest-level undead creatures that dark summoners could summon.

Even if black mages could summon skeletons, they wouldn't use them as mounts. Skeletons were too hard and bony. If someone used a skeleton to travel, they would typically use several humanoid skeletons to carry a palanquin-like structure, which was far less comfortable than Zhao Hai's setup.

Although skeletons were the lowest-level undead creatures that dark summoners could summon, those who saw the alien creature knew that Zhao Hai's skeleton was clearly not in this category.

The dark green color, the fierce bone spines, the speed of a galloping horse, and the unintentionally displayed strength all made the watchers feel a sense of awe. They were truly curious about what kind of monster Zhao Hai had killed to create such an undead creature.

Dark summoners' summoned creatures generally fell into two categories: those directly summoned from another plane and those created from slain creatures. The former had a high degree of randomness. This randomness didn't mean that you might summon a zombie instead of a skeleton, but rather that you couldn't control the level of the creature you summoned. For example, if you intended to summon a skeleton for battle, you might end up with a weak, gray half-skeleton, which could be crushed by a single kick from an adult, let alone used in battle. This meant that the level of the undead creature you summoned was uncontrollable.

Skeletons also had levels. The lowest level was the gray half-skeleton, which, in the world of undead creatures, was like weeds, with no offensive capabilities. Their only value was to serve as nourishment for other undead creatures to level up.

However, this summoning method was the most commonly used by dark summoners because it required less magic power. Even a low-level summoner could use it multiple times. Of course, the higher the level of the mage, the stronger the magic power, and the higher the level and variety of dark creatures they could summon. Even a low-level nightmare had the strength of a fifth-level warrior, far surpassing low-level skeletons.