Foreign Land Reclamation By a Vegetable-growing Skeleton
Chapter 1483 - 1044: Who on Earth Are You Guys?

Chapter 1483: Chapter 1044: Who on Earth Are You Guys?

Out from the ruins climbed a spotless lich, who quickly ran to the group, hesitatingly trying to touch Anthony but pulling his hand back several times.

Anthony glanced at him. Seeing it was merely a tough-skin-level lich without any threat, he voluntarily extended his arm.

The lich cautiously pressed his hand against Anthony’s arm, watching as the skin dented and then bounced back. Delighted, he laughed out loud, "Alive, truly alive! I finally see a living being. Hello, hello."

Saying this, he turned to Negris.

Negris wasn’t so easy-going. He exhaled a puff of dragon breath at the lich in a demonstrative way. Though miniature and entirely non-threatening, the dragon breath conveyed Negris’s stance.

The lich wasn’t offended and cheerfully pulled back his arm. That breath had already proved Negris was also alive, and that was enough.

"Amazing, both are alive! I’ve never seen living beings in my life. Hello there! Where do you come from? Come, come, visit my place," the lich said enthusiastically.

Anthony, eager to understand the situation here, followed the flow, saying: "Perfect, let’s take a break. I’m Anthony from the Giant Crystal Plane. May I ask for your name, friend?"

"Hello, hello! I’m called Cabu Twelve. Welcome to the Undead City. What brings you here?" Cabu Twelve asked curiously.

"Cabu Twelve? Your name is quite peculiar. Is there any special meaning behind it?" Anthony tactfully probed.

Cabu Twelve shook his head, "No special meaning. There were already eleven beings named Cabu before me, and I could only be the twelfth. That’s why I’m Cabu Twelve."

When they reached Cabu Twelve’s home, he looked from his messy dwelling to the clean clothes, soft skin, smooth fur, and polished scales of the group. A previously unfamiliar emotion stirred within him.

"I’ve never entertained living beings here before. It’s... um... kind of dirty," Cabu Twelve murmured shyly.

He had never felt anything wrong about living in such conditions himself, nor had he minded hosting other similarly ragged and filthy lich peers. But comparing to Anthony and his group, the difference was stark.

Anthony and his group weren’t bothered much by the surroundings—it was similar to a graveyard, after all. Undead creatures didn’t need food or drink or have bodily functions, so there weren’t any unpleasant leftovers.

The only issue was that the ’home’ was too small to accommodate everyone. Anthony kindly suggested: "Let’s just rest here for a moment. How have you been living? Are there any difficulties you face?"

Ever the old trickster, his tone sounded like an investigator on inspection.

But Cabu Twelve was drawn to this approach. Anthony’s words left his voice trembling: "It’s hard, truly hard. What life is there to speak of? All day, I just lay dead in the field. If you talk about difficulties, there are endless amounts. When I saw you, I thought you were merchants—I was hoping I could trade for something. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have even gotten up. Being awake is painful."

A low-level lich like him had little he could do here. Surroundings were desolate, and he couldn’t fly. He couldn’t even leave this patch of ruins.

"Actually, it’s not entirely impossible to leave. Tie a rope around your waist, and the other end to a stone. Throw the stone with all your might, and it can drag us to the next ruin. Moving like this, bit by bit, you can eventually reach the Undead City. But why go to the Undead City? I don’t even have pants," Cabu Twelve lamented, spreading his hands helplessly.

Anthony patted his shoulder and asked, "It must be tough for you. If we were a trade caravan, what would you like to buy?"

"Pants. If not pants, just some cloth would be fine," Cabu Twelve answered while eyeing Anthony’s robes with envy.

"What would you use to pay?" Anthony inquired curiously.

Certainly, gifting him clothing would’ve been simple, but Anthony was more interested in learning what valuable items Cabu Twelve might possess in such a forsaken place.

"Gold? Is that good?" Cabu Twelve ran back to his dwelling and retrieved a small chunk of native gold ore.

Anthony understood immediately. With planes broken down, gold was likely abundant. Still, precious metals only held value in functioning economies. Was this place a functioning economy?

"It seems the Undead City maintains some economic activities. But gold is neither edible nor otherwise useful. Do you have anything else?" Anthony pressed.

Cabu Twelve displayed some more precious metals and gemstone magic crystals, but in this environment, such items were essentially worthless. Anthony, aiming to study the economic rules here, still shook his head.

Finally, Cabu Twelve clenched his fist, channeling soul energy into his palm, and when he opened it, a Soul Crystal had taken shape.

Exhausted from conjuring the crystal, Cabu Twelve said, "This is my ultimate wealth. If you don’t want it, I’ve got nothing else to trade."

"A Soul Crystal? That’s far too valuable. How long does it take for your soul to condense one? Never mind. Just give me a magic crystal. I’ll exchange it for a set of clothes," Anthony offered.

Soul Crystals represent condensed soul energy. For powerful souls, generating several a day wasn’t an issue. But for a tough-skin-level lich like Cabu Twelve, even a single Soul Crystal would take years of recovery.

Anthony simply wanted to study local trade. He wasn’t truly interested in Cabu Twelve’s Soul Crystal.

Cabu Twelve was overjoyed and was about to store the Soul Crystal away when Ange pulled out two Soul Crystals and said, "Trade."

Trading two-for-one? Only an idiot would refuse. Cabu Twelve quickly completed the exchange, fearing Ange might change his mind.

Soul Crystals are pure soul energy, akin to fueling magic carriages with magic crystals—a ninety-five rating crystal would do the job, as would a ninety-two.

Negris eagerly leaned closer and whispered, "What’s special about this Soul Crystal?"

Ange nodded, "Impurities—Origin of Chaos."

"Gasp... Origin of Chaos as impurities? Alright, calling the Origin of Chaos a mere impurity... that’s so you," Negris remarked with exasperation. Of all beings in the void, Ange was likely one of the few daring enough to consider such a powerful entity an impurity.

Cabu Twelve used an earth-type magic crystal to exchange for a set of civilian clothes from Anthony. Grinning from ear to ear, he exclaimed: "Thank you so much! I understand that magic crystals hold no value to you. Thank you for willing to trade out of kindness. If you’re heading to the Undead City, please be extremely cautious of Rigo, the Soul Devouring King. He loves to consume the souls of the living and plunder their memories."

Anthony’s mind stirred, and he asked, "Is the Soul Devouring King a Necromancer King or an Undead Saint?"

"He’s a lich. What’s an Undead Saint?" Cabu Twelve asked.

Some concepts were better left unexplained. Anthony changed direction: "Never mind. How many such lich undead of Rigo’s caliber are in the Undead City?"

"Only one," Cabu Twelve answered.

"And how many intelligent undead beings exist in the Undead City?" Anthony persisted.

"Tens of thousands. Is there even such a thing as unintelligent undead?"

After bidding farewell to Cabu Twelve, Ange and the group headed for the Undead City, leaving Cabu Twelve staring longingly. He wished he could fly freely like them in the void, but for a low-level undead like him, it was an unattainable dream.

After veering toward another floating structure, Anthony proposed: "Master, living beings might face difficulties in the Undead City. Shall we adopt alternate identities?"

Ange nodded, soul energy surging forth to wrap himself with disguises before stuffing Negris into a Little Ghost’s mouth.

Anthony patted his own chest, allowing soul energy to flow, while Durken did the same. Soon, the team had transformed completely.

Only the Sacrificial Mask looked on, stunned, and asked: "Who are you people really?"