This Necromancer Just Wants to Plant Trees - Chapter 176 (Patreon)

Chapter 176: Stulock Industries

A flash of gray light, and the heavy armor on the minotaur turned into ashes!

Looking down, a pained expression crossed his face.

But the next moment—pain was all that remained on his face.

A sharp arrow whizzed through the air, piercing his heart with force!

The minotaur roared in anger.

As a member of the demons, he possessed incredible vitality. Without even glancing at the arrow, he and another companion angrily charged toward Matthew!

Little Patton narrowly escaped danger but didn't flee. Instead, he retrieved a one-handed sword from the ground, preparing to act by the stone wall.

Buzzing! The sound of arrows leaving their bowstrings filled the air. Renaismae wielded the Jade Wind Feather, swiftly shooting at the minotaur who had lost his armor, turning him into a sieve in the blink of an eye!

Despite his furious roar and shouts, his knees involuntarily buckled.

Boom! The minotaur knelt to the ground.

A cold flash cut through the darkness as Aebing appeared. His twin blades circled the minotaur's neck, causing copious amounts of blood to spurt out instantly!

The demon screamed in agony, seeming close to death.

Meanwhile, the other minotaur continued advancing.

However, Matthew had already activated the Aesuro Claw as a response.

Witness the tentacles, brimming with negative energy, skillfully tripping the minotaur. Its massive body lurched forward and crashed.

Thud! The minotaur fell flat on its face.

Matthew took the opportunity to cast several controlling spells. While the minotaur's resilience was high and could have easily resisted these controls, now, stunned and dazed, it couldn't rise for quite some time.

Just then, Little Patton seized the chance, gripping his longsword and lunging forward, thrusting and slashing.

Snap!

A sound of a rope snapping.

Boom! The minotaur flipped over, the huge axe in its hand landing on the ground beside, narrowly missing Little Patton as he dodged.

The demon still intended to pursue, but Matthew's Aesuro Claw entangled him like a festering sore, preventing him from getting up from the ground.

Little Patton ran while shouting, "I cut off his belt! I can strip off the armor from his lower half!"

Matthew immediately canceled the Disintegration spell he was about to release. The armor on the minotaur seemed valuable enough to not waste with Disintegration.

He summoned the Silver Moon zombies patrolling the mining site.

They swarmed, with the assistance of the Aesuro Claw, firmly pinning the minotaur to the ground!

Aebing seized the chance, landing two consecutive strikes on the minotaur's wrists, forcing him to let go of the massive axe.

The minotaur lay on the ground, continuously emitting earth-shattering roars.

If not for Renaismae's precise shot to its upper and lower jaw, the cries might have echoed for miles!

Finally, under the zombies' concerted suppression and dragging, the minotaur's leg armor and pants were forcibly torn away.

Facing the minotaur's bare lower body, a ghost wolf known as the "Pale Fang" eagerly rushed forward and took a few bites.

Crunch! The cave echoed with a teeth-gritting chewing sound.

With this, the minotaur couldn't bear the pain any longer and fainted away.

"Notification: Your Pale Fang (Ghost Wolf) crushed the minotaur's vital parts.

The Pale Fang triggered an instant-death judgment!

You have killed a minotaur.

You obtained a set of 'Minotaur's Silver Scale Armor' (Armor 16/Strength +1/Intelligence -1)."

"Stop!"

Upon confirming the enemy's demise, Matthew quickly halted his undead minions' attacks.

Once the swarm of dark zombies dispersed, Matthew was left with a gruesome corpse covered in zombie saliva and scratches.

"The 'swarm attack' tactic was a bit too aggressive. The zombies usually don't get the chance to feast on flesh. Now that they've got it, they're going to take a few hearty bites?" observed Matthew.

"If we want to preserve the bodies better in the future, we'll need more detailed instructions," he added, examining the blood and severed wrists of the minotaur.

The other one looked worse, almost having its head detached by Aebing. Sewing it back on would require considerable effort.

Overall, despite the gory sight, it was a satisfying outcome.

This was Matthew's first time obtaining demon corpses. Naturally, he wanted to study them thoroughly.

Turning them into undead was certain, but the question remained—what kind?

Before that, he intended to perform a detailed analysis on these two bodies.

"Take them back to the cemetery," Matthew ordered Renaismae to lead a team of zombies for corpse retrieval.

Meanwhile, he approached a slightly shaken Little Patton:

"Are you alright?"

Little Patton quickly adapted, "No problem. It's just the first time I've witnessed such a brutal death, even on an enemy. It still sends shivers down my spine."

Saying so, he instinctively tightened his belt.

"Good. Your job now is to calm and reassure the workers. I plan to seal off the sulfur mine for a while," arranged Matthew.

Little Patton nodded, "Should I send them back home?"

"For the reason… Say we're conducting a more comprehensive magical survey of the mine. Too many people would affect the results," contemplated Matthew.

"Among them, some might have heard the commotion here. Do we need to compensate them?" Matthew asked, concerned.

Little Patton didn't hesitate, "No need. I'll tell them the noise was me hitting a stone, combined with the explanation I gave for the break. They'll be skeptical but won't question it."

"And if you offer money, most locals in Rolling Stone Town would sense trouble. Recruiting workers afterward won't be as easy," explained Little Patton.

"Of course, only the locals here are more demanding. If you recruit refugees from Highleaf Realm or the Hundred Cities Sealed Plan, even if the pay is lower, they won't complain," he added.

Impressed by his clarity, Matthew let Little Patton handle the matter.

He swiftly surveyed the incident site.

This time, he discovered three temporal rifts.

The largest, about 6 meters long, was on the mine's ceiling, usually closed but occasionally opening to a width of up to 2 meters. Sulfur minerals often dropped from it.

However, this rift appeared highly unstable. It spat out sulfur, then closed up swiftly.

It was remarkably concealed, eluding even lower-level detection spells.

The second rift lay deeper in the mine, near an underground river. It was an arched opening hidden behind a rock, unnoticed by Matthew previously. This one was narrow, allowing passage for only one person.

Matthew speculated that the two minotaurs had stealthily maneuvered through this rift.

This rift seemed relatively stable.

Matthew observed it for a while; it showed no signs of automatic closure, likely to persist in the near future.

The third rift was on a gravel bank in the underground river. It was fist-sized, with average stability, prone to disappearance at any moment.

Matthew hadn't seen anything emerge from it yet.

After a thorough investigation, Matthew summoned more zombies to block the three rifts completely.

He headed straight

 to the Crucible House.

To him, temporal rifts were both an opportunity and a danger.

If he was correct, they might be connected to the inter-planar pathways Rhaegar was heading toward, specifically the "Eskana" infernal realm!

This meant demons or devils from Eskana could potentially breach into the material plane at any time.

That was no laughing matter.

Matthew rushed to the Alliance's Grand Library, intending to research everything related to temporal rifts.

At the very least, he needed to find means to stably close these rifts.

An hour later, after exchanging a considerable sum of knowledge points with the Library's Keeper of Scrolls, Matthew amassed a plethora of information on temporal rifts.

He speed-read through several authoritative works, summarizing four methods to handle such rifts.

First, laissez-faire, allowing them to vanish naturally.

The material plane was the most stable world with complete elements, formidable barriers, and the most comprehensive laws. Hence, temporal rifts would likely disappear naturally after some time without active maintenance. However, this method was reliant on chance.

Second, repeatedly using fourth-order and higher capacity spell bombardments to overload and destroy the rift and its surroundings. This method boasted a 95% success rate in closing the rift, as per a book titled "Mechanics: Dealing with Temporal Turbulence." However, there remained a 5% chance of enlarging the rift or attracting creatures from the astral plane. An internal belief among the mechanics suggested that if a rift wasn't closed, it was due to insufficient power. The solution was to increase the intensity.

Third, "Stable Portal of Space-Time" involved inviting experienced formation mages to stabilize the rift into a fixed portal. Once stabilized, it could function similarly to Rhaegar's infernal teleportation gates, easily open or closeable and relatively safe and stable. The only downside was its substantial cost. Matthew recalled the exorbitant fees of advanced formation mages in the Alliance.

Fourth, crafting a magical material called "Giant Tree Amber" to mend the temporal rift. Although this method allowed the rift to persist in the short term, tearing open the amber enabled immediate access to the rift. However, it was cumbersome to manipulate the amber, and rifts mended in this way had a low chance of being discovered from the other side.

Matthew pondered over the two available choices—methods one and four.

He couldn't risk method two, couldn't afford method three, and method four seemed too inconvenient.

"The specific approach will depend on the situation at the rift and its stability," Matthew deliberated in the library before deciding.

However, he made a point to visit the Alliance's marketplace and purchase a range of materials:

- 60 pieces of Primordial Amber Stones

- 6 scrolls of Disguise

- 10 portions of Zoro Vine

- Some Stardust

- 6 Mineral Packs

- 3 scrolls of Shrink

He also acquired other magical auxiliary materials.

The expense totaled to 30,000 gold coins, completely draining Matthew's liquid funds.

"I should have bought one less scroll of Shrink," Matthew regretted as he left the Crucible House.

His heart was filled with remorse as he returned to the cemetery.

Matthew was busy setting up a crucible in his workshop, pouring several semi-finished magical potions into the pot and adding plenty of water and a small amount of alcohol.

He waited until the pot boiled.

Then, he poured half of the Zolotendron into the pot.

The pot erupted into a cacophony of bubbling noises.

Hastily, Matthew found something to cover it.

After simmering for about five minutes, the pot fell silent. He lifted the lid and poured the viscous green liquid into glass bottles he'd prepared.

This batch filled six bottles.

After adding a bit of cloves and mint into each bottle, the "Basic Transformation Potion" was officially complete.

He planned to head over to the fissure.

But strolling through demon or devil territory as a human was surely asking for trouble.

He considered donning a minotaur's disguise.

A while later, Matthew, holding the potions, left the workshop. He approached the minotaur corpses, gathering some hair and nails from them.

Before long, young Patton returned to the graveyard.

He casually informed Matthew, "Workers are settled now."

"Not just at the mines, I've given them a reason to take a break from the underground factories too, to prevent complications."

Matthew was surprised by his efficiency.

After collecting the necessary elements from the bodies, Matthew divided the minotaur's nails and hair into two different potion bottles. As he did, he casually asked, "How would you handle sudden spatial fissures appearing around your territory?"

He listed the four methods he had found.

Patton pondered for a moment before responding, "It depends on what's on the other side. From the reactions of those creatures, they're likely disorganized. Even if there's an organization, those two minotaurs clearly stumbled upon the fissure by chance. Otherwise, we'd have encountered a regular army, not just a few stray cats."

"If it were me, I'd check the fissure first before deciding."

Matthew nodded approvingly and handed one of the bottles to Patton.

"What does this mean?" Patton seemed a bit confused.

"I'm thinking just like you and planning to check it out myself."

"I can't understand the demon language. I need your translation. Do you have the courage to accompany me?" Matthew smiled.

"Don't worry, but let's go to the mine first. Once the undead finish basic scouting, we'll drink the potion."

Patton readily agreed, albeit looking skeptical at the bottle's eerie green color. "This stuff won't upset our stomachs, will it?"

"It shouldn't," Matthew confidently replied, patting his bag. "Even if it does, I've got diarrhea medicine ready."

With that assurance, they hurried back to the mine.

Out of three spatial fissures, two were unsuitable for human passage. Matthew went behind a rock on his own.

Initially, he sent a skeleton soldier to assess the situation.

The instructions given to the skeleton were clear—upon passing through the fissure, it could only move within a five-meter radius centered around its original position.

Ten minutes passed without any activity from the skeleton. The data log showed no signs of damage, indicating relative safety on the other side.

Similar results were obtained when he sent Albin, but due to interplanar limitations, he couldn't communicate with him.

Five minutes later, Albin returned on his own.

He reported his findings to Matthew in detail, "A very large house, with the door closed. Few furnishings, a very bright object. I went under the bed, which was also quite large."

Matthew grasped the gist—it seemed like this spatial fissure led to the home of the two minotaurs. It hadn't been discovered by others yet.

As for the two fly demons, they were possibly servants of the minotaurs.

After several checks on the fissure's intensity and setting up precautions, Matthew and Patton drank the potion together.

Two minutes later, the potion took effect, transforming their bodies into demonic forms resembling the minotaurs.

However, being a basic potion, it had its flaws.

Matthew calmly took out pre-prepared scrolls for disguise, making them look exactly like the two minotaurs.

Unless encountered by highly perceptive beings, they wouldn't be detected.

"The transformation will last about six hours. Let's move quickly," Matthew said, crouching and passing through the spatial fissure.

Patton followed closely.

They found themselves in a cramped space. Upon crawling out from under the bed, Matthew spotted his previously sent skeleton still in the room, twisting its hips.

As Albin described, the furnishings were minimal, the windows broken, allowing faint glimpses of the outside. But what caught Matthew's attention was a bright electric light hanging from the ceiling!

"Is this the bright object Albin mentioned?"

"Minotaurs using electric lights?" Matthew was taken aback.

He could accept a glowing night pearl or a damaged lighting crystal, even a continuous flame! But an electric light? That was a bit hard to fathom.

"And there are electric wires... and rune stones resembling utility poles?"

"Does this mean demons are entering an industrial age?" Matthew's scalp tingled.

He had considered this possibility, knowing the Prime Material Plane was suppressed by the Mysteries of Civilization, stagnating in a feudal state, while the Outer Worlds might have surpassed them in development.

But this was beyond his expectations.

"If demons and devils have industrialized and if at this moment, the Heavenly Palace is scheming, breaching dimensional barriers, and these beings flood in... can Aendu endure?"

Countless possibilities flashed through his mind in an instant.

Calming down, Matthew and Patton observed the room for a while.

Afterward, they cautiously opened the door and stepped onto the street.

The scene outside relieved Matthew.

It wasn't a bustling city with skyscrapers but rather two-to-three-story buildings similar to cottages.

The roads weren't paved but uneven mud paths.

Except for the slightly larger number of buildings and the devices resembling utility poles, the town didn't seem much different from towns in Aendu.

The sky was blood-red here.

Matthew couldn't discern the time, but the streetlights suggested it was evening?

As they walked along the street, they soon encountered a feeble-looking minotaur at a corner.

Leaning against the wall, tattered clothes adorning him, resembling a vagabond.

He appeared weak, ignoring Matthew and Patton's approach, randomly clawing at something underneath.

A moment later, the minotaur had an injector in his hand.

It was filled with dark green liquid.

Staring at Matthew, the minotaur forcefully jabbed the injector into his thigh.

"Ah~!"

Veins bulged on the minotaur's neck, his face a picture of immense satisfaction.

Soon after, he collapsed, the empty injector discarded nearby.

Matthew silently checked the data log, doubting if he'd arrived in the wrong place.

...

"Record: You passed through a spatial fissure, arriving in a plane called Escana.

You encountered a minotaur.

The minotaur used an injector on himself (suspected sulfur extract).

The minotaur died ecstatically!"

...

Correct, this was a corner of Escana, where Rhaegar had ventured.

But judging by the numerous minotaurs on the streets, it likely fell under the domain of the Bru Tribe.

However, what Matthew witnessed left him stunned.

They walked further down the street.

Turning a corner, they encountered

 an abundance of minotaurs and demonic beings almost filling the entire street.

In stark contrast to these creatures immersed in sulfur extraction.

The city seemed to possess a significantly advanced technology surpassing Aendu.

Besides the streetlights and utility poles, Matthew spotted several single-person flying vehicles soaring above the city.

There were even phone booths on the street, albeit requiring coins for use.

On top of a massive building in the city center, there were soaring chimneys billowing thick smoke, bearing the portrait of a blond man.

Now and then, sturdy, stylish mining vehicles drove out of factories, carelessly traversing the muddy roads, splattering mud around.

After inquiring around, they learned this was called Bigfoot City, initially the territory of a group of Bigfoot creatures. Later, it was captured by the demonic beings and minotaurs, becoming a part of the Bru Tribe.

Ahead lay the square of Bigfoot City.

Just as Matthew contemplated joining the crowd, a mining vehicle passed by the square's edge. A well-dressed demonic figure inside was berating subordinates, his voice booming:

"The sulfur mine is still depleting?"

"Damn it, if you can't find the reason, you, as the supervisor, will be held accountable!"

"Wait... stop the car!"

As Matthew and Patton curiously watched, the mining vehicle halted slowly.

The suit-clad demonic, peering through the window, scrutinized Matthew and Patton with interest, saying:

"I haven't seen such healthy minotaurs in a long time. Interested in working at the Stulock Industries? But mind you, during work hours, no sneaking off to inhale sulfur. Stulock Industries came here to spread advanced technology, not for your pleasure."

(Note: Stulock, the original home of the orcish swordswoman Kleg, was mentioned to be occupied by the An Tu Empire's space necromancer forces.)

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