Chapter 658: 658
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Saleen had witnessed the zombies summoned by Aini . The offensive power of a green-bronze zombie was huge, it would not lose out to a swordmaster . "Could this golden zombie be a zombie king?"
Logically, these things should be given to the winged skeleton, but Saleen already planned to give Judikaka's Soul Flame to the winged skeleton . After swallowing the Soul Flame, it would be sufficient for the winged skeleton to evolve . The winged skeleton would not be restricted by Saleen, he could attain the proficiency of a grade-9 spirit .
Since the winged skeleton had adequate space for evolution, it would not be too useful giving a golden zombie to him . What about Nailisi? Devouring this golden zombie, she might gain the sixth ability . The problem was, Nailisi's fifth ability was surely related to spirits and if her abilities were duplicates Saleen would be utterly disappointed .
"How about using it for myself? My technique of crafting puppets is not as good as Lex though . The material of this golden zombie is extremely good, I might not come across something like it again . What if it got ruined?"
"Saleen, give me this item . " Sika suddenly opened her mouth .
"Eh? You are a Caucasus priestess, what do you need it for?" Saleen was puzzled . The Caucasus people advocated nature, it was really odd for a priest to carry a zombie with them .
"An Earth Priestess can control more than three fighting spirits, I only have one at the moment . "
"You said it was already dead . Do things that are fully dead still possess a fighting spirit?"
"You do not understand, I will not be able to explain it clearly . This zombie is useful to me . " In a rare moment, a look of desire appeared in Sika's eyes .
Saleen nodded and said, "As long as it is not dangerous . "
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"Of course it wouldn't be dangerous, unless this zombie is stronger than all the Caucasus priests of the past," Sika proclaimed confidently . Sika could cultivate skeletons who had lost their souls but still had a tinge of their fighting spirit and she could do so swiftly . Sika only wanted this zombie because of its sturdy body, she wanted to spar with it .
Sika's cudgel was too sharp, no Caucasus warrior could practice with Sika . Sika felt that the skeleton of this golden zombie was even sturdier than the one she had obtained from Raphael's magical tower .
"Should we give her new armor? If the Holy See's people see her like this, they will go crazy," Saleen reminded Sika .
"No need, the armor has been fused with the zombie, I do not care about the opinions of the Holy See . If it wasn't for them, the Caucasus people would still be living in their original homeland . Look at the current situation, at least one-hunddred-thousand of them have escaped to your city . "
Saleen nodded in response, he would not feel reluctant fulfilling Sika's demands . He could not find anything amongst the remaining items which were suitable for Nailisi, so he felt slightly guilty . Saleen had agreed to give her a share, but now, it seemed like most of the loots would go to the winged skeleton .
The body of the lightning dragon had been dissected . Saleen was experienced, he skinned the lightning dragon and removed its muscles . The muscles of this lightning dragon were different, they contained three-dimensional magic patterns inside . If the muscles were made into bow chords, there was a chance they could release the power of lightning while in Nailisi's hands .
This power did not need to be very mighty, it only needed to destroy magic . By crafting such a bow for Nailisi, she would become a mage killer in the future already .
After dissecting the lightning dragon's body, Saleen fed the rest of its body to the tiny lightning dragons, with the exception of the skin and muscles .
After completing all these tasks, Saleen did not leave . He began training in the underground warehouse . The flesh in his left hand had disappeared, only a set of bones remained . The water puppet attacked with all its might and killed Banchajanna, but it caused Saleen's body to be on the verge of breakdown . If the water puppet was ruined, Saleen could only rebuild it . Without Joey's skills the finished water puppet would not be as strong .
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The most important thing was that Saleen's badge could not be used for battle after that attack . This badge was indeed powerful, but after each usage, it required between six months to a year to recharge its energy . After withstanding the attack from the lightning dragon, the internal space of the badge seemed to have increased . It was more difficult to fill it up now .
The interior of the badge was barren . Saleen had lost his mightiest abilities, so he had to be under protection at all times . He decided to train in the most obscure location within the city .
While Saleen was training, Daniel was extremely busy .
Guya and the rest of the people wanted to meet Saleen, but Daniel could only refuse . Since Saleen was injured, he had to recuperate . Fortunately, Narnia lent a helping hand . Her magic might not be sufficiently powerful, but her ability to resolve matters was better than Daniel .
The two people took turns managing affairs like distributing disability pensions, remunerating the mercenaries who had participated in the battle, and rewarding the sixteen nobles . There was a huge number of corpses outside the city, if they were not removed a plague would ensue .
Without thinking, Aini could deduce the feature of the expeditionary army . Saleen had told him that those soldiers would not be able to live for more than one year . A divine spell which consumed life was harmful in extreme amounts, it would bring about intense negative effects . If the bodies were not incinerated, each one of them would be highly poisonous .
After removing all the bodies, the battlefield still had to be tidied . The city had won the battle this time around, so the magic stone cannons outside the city had to be retrieved . By getting the mages to refine the cannons, Saleen could save a lot of money on manufacturing new ones . The tens of thousands of alchemical arrows outside the city also could save money . The arrowheads of those arrows were crafted from the thorns of red krill .
These things were aplenty in the Frozen Sea, but Saleen could not afford using them as disposable items . Saleen would face many battles in the future, he could not be prodigal .
After this battle all the alchemical crossbows and magic trebuchets required repair . The equipment of the warriors was greatly damaged . A significant reason as to why Saleen's soldiers could duel with the high morale expeditionary army and only sustained a casualty ratio of one to three, was because of the they equipment used .
Saleen's six camps were fitted with finely crafted armor . Even though the commanders were the only ones wearing authentic magic armor, the armor plates donned by the normal soldiers were also produced by mages .
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These armor pieces were extremely tough . Their magic defense was not high, but their physical defense was very high . The most important aspect of this armor piece was its ability to resist penetration . Armor pieces which had been magically reinforced were made up of at least three interlaced layers . Feather arrows could not pierce through them at all, they also defended against powerful crossbows very well .
In a war between two armies, which weapon was the most fatal? It was not a gigantic poleaxe, it was a spear, or the triangular sword .
These two long and thin weapons possessed powerful penetrative abilities . No matter how thick one's armor was, they would still face the risk of being stabbed when struck by these two weapons .
Many warriors who participated in the battle faced the possibility of being crippled, so Daniel ordered the mages to render treatment to all injured personnel . Unlike divine spells, magic could not resurrect the dead, but it could still repair damage to the limbs . Before the war, Saleen had prepared huge amounts of magic medicine . At this moment the medicine came into play .
Besides Saleen's six camps, the other soldiers in the city included the private soldiers serving the nobles, Caucasus people, barbarians, mercenaries, and the slaves from the eastern sea . Originally, there were around ten-thousand slaves, but after the war, this number dwindled to around three-thousand . The number of fatalities suffered by the slaves was the worst because their equipment was inferior .
These over three-thousand slaves had fought until the very end, each of them had killed at least one enemy . Around three-hundred of them killed more than three enemies . If it was not for these slaves, Saleen would have lost even more soldiers .
The slaves who killed more than three enemies would regain their freedom and they could join Metatrin City's army . Donning only normal armor, these over three-hundred people could kill more than three expeditionary troops, this meant that their fundamental ability was good . Daniel transferred these people into the army . One of the slaves who killed the most enemies even became a brigade commander .
A brigade commander led two-hundred men and had a monthly salary of five gold coins . Saleen was paying for all the expenses incurred by the army . Within a year, if there were no wars, a brigade commander could amass sixty gold coins . This was purely remuneration and if there were battles they could still receive rewards .
The battles at the city entrance were recorded using magic, no one could falsify the records . As the mercenaries were more valiant, they were also absorbed into the regular army .
Settling all these matters, the fortune Saleen had painstakingly accumulated was almost gone . Fortunately, the city still contained huge amounts of reserve rations, while the islands at sea were stocked with substantial livestock .
As for the shortage of gold coins, Daniel had an idea . By selling the magic nuclei which had been saved for the battle and refining all the broken armor and equipment left behind by the enemy, the city could still earn a sum of money . The Holy See had abandoned more than eighty-thousand bodies and each body carried at least three weapons . That meant that there were over two-hundred-thousand pieces of weapons .
Hundreds of low grade mages and disciples calculated for three days before finally determining the outcome of the battle . This time around, Saleen had sold all the collected loot from the war, fetching about one-million gold coins . Saleen had spent more than four-million gold coins in this war .
An invasion which lasted less than two days had caused Saleen to lose more than four-million gold coins . The cruelty of war was not just confined to the deaths of humans, it also entailed meaningless consumption of resources .
This four-million figure did not include the magic scrolls Saleen had contributed . If they were included into the calculations, everyone would be deeply astounded .
Saleen had reaped the body of a grade-10 lightning dragon and the three kings' materials and equipment . To Saleen himself, he did not make a loss . One spirit pool made from chlorite alone would allow Saleen to earn a fortune . The harvest from the three kings was an accident . Saleen had a figure in his heart, in the future, wars could not be fought in this manner .
If the offensive party could not achieve victory the losses would be greater . Saleen could not keep fighting in Metatrin City, his army had to go out and fight thousands of miles away . By then, if he did not have the best army and equipment, his losses would dwarf the current figures .
Because of this logic, Saleen was even more determined to establish a demonic army . A demonic army did not require any pensions .
After Saleen's body recovered a little he met with the sixteen nobles who had received rewards . He then returned to the underground space in order to undergo three months of nonstop training . In three months' time, his left hand would at least recover slightly .
Magic training required the coordination of hand gestures . Now that Saleen was left with one hand, he could not learn any new spells . To Saleen who had just been promoted to grade-6 not long ago, this was a huge problem .
In the practice of new spells, hand gestures and mantras could not be absent .
Saleen was frustrated, but Archbishop Nicholas was even more vexed . The army that he led, containing more than ten-thousand troops, suddenly ran into serious problems .