With no time to think, Fang Zhou immediately focused his attention on Squad One.

His vision shifted.

Using the sight of No.1 Archer, he was shocked to see an Undead creature he had never encountered before in the Burial Wilderness. It was generally humanoid, with grayish-white skin covered in cracks and scars. Parts of its bones were even visible through the wounds. Although its limbs were stiff and its movements slow, it appeared to possess incredibly strong Defense. Despite having its left arm chopped off by the Skeleton Squad, its desire to attack was completely unaffected.

This is a Black Iron-tier Undead creature: a Zombie!

At that moment, this Zombie, which was taller and stronger than the current Fang Zhou, was staggering toward No.1 Greatshield.

Fang Zhou quickly recalled information about Zombies. Their advantage lay in their fearlessness of death and extremely high Defense. Their weaknesses were their slow movement speed and their attacks, which weren't particularly outstanding. Aside from some elite Zombies that developed skills dealing Corrosive Poison Damage, ordinary Zombies could only rely on their sharp claws and the poison from their corpses.

Of course, in a one-on-one duel with a Black Iron-tier Skeleton Warrior, a Zombie's combat power would be utterly crushing, relying on the Defense provided by its rotting flesh. It was no wonder Squad One had not only failed to take down this Zombie, but even had No.1 Greatsword killed in the process.

After understanding the respective strengths and weaknesses, Fang Zhou immediately commanded the four remaining Skeleton Warriors of Squad One to retreat in his direction.

The Skeleton Warriors were much faster than the Zombie. Under Fang Zhou's command, Squad One maintained a careful distance, slowly luring the rare Zombie toward his position.

Seeing its prey trying to escape, the Zombie's mouth gaped open, baring its teeth and letting out a series of unpleasant roars. It moved its decaying limbs, dragging itself clumsily in pursuit of the miserably fleeing Squad One.

While gathering his other skeleton minions, Fang Zhou moved closer to Squad One. Watching the Zombie's slow, sluggish movement speed, Fang Zhou was momentarily speechless.

Too slow! Incredibly slow!

Although it was a Lower-tier Black Iron Zombie, it felt even slower than the low-level Demons found in the caves. It was simply that Squad One lacked combat intelligence; without a commander, they only knew how to engage in a head-on brawl. If this had been a team of normal human Professionals using kiting tactics, they could have easily taken down this Zombie.

Realizing this, Fang Zhou commanded No.1 Archer to specifically target the Zombie's legs.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

One arrow, two arrows, three arrows. The sound of arrows sinking into flesh rang out. Although most of the attacks struggled to pierce the Zombie's Defense, through the continuous efforts of No.1 Archer and the other three Close Combat Skeleton Warriors, the Zombie's left leg was finally severed.

Having lost its left arm and left leg, the Zombie could only crawl slowly across the bone-strewn ground, turning it into a complete sitting duck.

Fang Zhou quietly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed the Zombie's weaknesses were quite obvious and simple to exploit. No wonder this type of Undead creature was often complained about by many veteran Undead Mages, despite its decent direct combat power. Instructor Su Xinyan's research notes also mentioned that during her Black Iron Stage, she preferred summoning slightly weaker Skeleton Warriors and Skeleton Archers over Zombies.

Commanding Squad One to repeat the process and destroy the Zombie's other limbs, Fang Zhou sped up, arriving at the battle scene moments later.

Looking at the twitching Zombie on the ground, Fang Zhou raised the +2 Refined Bone Long Spear in his hand and gave it a light poke.

TSS!

With noticeable resistance, Fang Zhou felt a sensation transmit through the Long Spear, as if he had struck tanned leather.

The Zombie's Defense is indeed strong!

No wonder Squad One had to sacrifice No.1 Greatsword just to barely hack off its left arm. The Soul Fire in Fang Zhou's skull flickered. The smugness he'd felt from commanding dozens of skeleton minions, this feeling of temporary invincibility, was swiftly shattered by the Zombie.

There are so many heroes in the Undead Realm; I must not be arrogant or careless!

He gripped the Bone Long Spear tightly and used the [Brutal Strike] skill again.

ROAR!

Amid the Zombie's wail, Fang Zhou easily pierced straight through it this time. Foul blood flowed from the Zombie's battered body, adding a rare scent of blood to the Burial Wilderness. Fang Zhou nodded in satisfaction. The Armor-Piercing effect of [Brutal Strike] was impressive, a perfect counter to the Zombie's tough hide.

Next, he tried to activate the [Skeleton Monarch] skill, wanting to see if he could enslave this Zombie. Unfortunately, he was currently a Skeleton Monarch, not a Zombie Monarch. The Zombie was completely unresponsive to his skill and only roared at him furiously.

Fang Zhou didn't mind at all, continuing to test various ideas on the Zombie with great interest. It wasn't until it was on the verge of death that Fang Zhou finally gathered enough data and information to gain a more comprehensive understanding of Zombies as Undead creatures.

Looking down at the pitiful Zombie, he showed an expression of compassion as he raised his Bone Long Spear and delivered a gentle stab, ending its life for good.

"Soul Power +3."

Staring at the pile of rotting flesh before him, Fang Zhou's Soul Fire flickered with anticipation. He wondered if the [Bone Armor] skill could absorb a Zombie's Corpse Essence. He activated [Bone Armor] on the Zombie's corpse, but the familiar warm current did not appear.

Fang Zhou was slightly disappointed and was about to turn away when a notification popped up on his attribute panel.

"A mutable skill has been detected. Mutation will consume 100 Soul Power."

"Begin mutation?"

Skill mutation? Is it referring to the [Bone Armor] skill?

Fang Zhou felt a thrill and quickly confirmed his choice. As 100 Soul Power was consumed, a long-forgotten hunger rose in his mind. Looking at the Zombie's corpse on the ground, his throat bones shifted slightly, and he felt an instinctive desire to devour it.

It seems that, besides the bodies of the Skeleton Race, Zombies have also been honorably added to my "menu."

"[Bone Armor] skill mutation successful. Please name it!"

Fang Zhou casually named it [Corpse Armor] and then looked at its description in the Skills Bar.

[Corpse Armor] (Black Iron Tier, Instinct): Of all things in the world, good food should never be forsaken. Can absorb the Corpse Essence of Skeletons and Zombies to enhance oneself and forge Equipment.

Compared to the previous [Bone Armor], the mutated [Corpse Armor] allowed Fang Zhou to absorb and devour the essence of Zombie corpses. This undoubtedly provided him with a brand-new hunting target and a new path for enhancement!

He looked at the Zombie's corpse once more and activated the [Corpse Armor] skill.

In an instant, as the Zombie's flesh and blood rapidly withered and decayed into dust, a familiar warm current once again began to pour ceaselessly into Fang Zhou's body.

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