16 12. The road is under your feet.

[System Message:]

[You have completed your first battle, successfully unlocking the passive effect of Deconstruction Technique.]

[When you take damage from a target or deal damage to a target, you will passively deconstruct them.]

[The more damage you take or deal, the better the passive deconstruction effect on the target.]

[You dealt 12 Construct Value damage to the Skeleton Hound.]

[Skeleton Hound's deconstruction completion degree increased by 12%.]

[You have obtained the following deconstruction result:]

[The Skeleton Hound has the "Bone Supply" feature. Its bones can be repurposed by Skeleton Warriors, Big Skeletons, and other Undead Constructs to replenish their own Construct Value.]

...

Putting the Skeleton Hound's feature aside for now, the passive deconstruction skill effect definitely made Noland Lee's eyes light up.

He had always been worried about not having enough energy to deconstruct everything he wanted.

Now!

He had found a new way to deconstruct.

That was through battle.

Deconstructing opponents in battle, mining all their intelligence, to offset the energy consumption and save a lot of energy.

At this thought, Noland Lee's heart grew hot.

Looking at the Skeleton Warrior and Skeleton Hound again, he had the illusion of facing a "money tree"...

As long as he struck hard at these "money trees", they would continually drop "money" in the form of deconstruction results...

This "money" falling from the trees included the weaknesses of the Undead Constructs...

And, their summoning methods!

Noland Lee's pupils dilated slightly, and his heart twitched.

A very fanciful and bold idea quickly took shape in his mind.

Could he, Noland Lee, become a Necromancer?

By deconstructing Undead Creatures and obtaining their summoning requirements.

By deconstructing the Spell Books of the Undead Cult to understand the mysteries of death-related spells and the knowledge of summoning Undead Creatures.

As long as he deconstructed thoroughly enough, invested enough energy, and tried enough times, he could potentially rely on the Deconstruction Technique to embark on the extraordinary path of necromancy.

Given time, he could completely stage a fake death performance through the Undead Creatures he controlled, use an incredibly realistic fake death event to break free from personal debt and the shackles of the Imperial Army, and become a free Traveler.

Or, with the help of the Undead Creatures he controlled, speedrun military merit and rise through the ranks within the Korabo Legion...

To stay or to leave, it all depended on his own will.

And all of this had to start with deconstructing the Undead Runes and Undead Creatures.

At this moment, Noland Lee suddenly realized where the solution to his predicament lay.

It turned out to be right under his feet, right in the midst of this dangerous, cold, and dark Grave Vault.

"Watch out!"

Corporal Mars warned:

"Here comes another group of Skeleton Hounds! Knock their heads off and then we'll keep retreating!"

Noland Lee snapped out of his brief trance.

He waved his Engineering Hammer in anticipation, eager for more Skeleton Hounds to attack.

The oncoming Lost Souls enemies did not disappoint him, as this time 10 Skeleton Hounds surged out of the Tomb Passage.

As soon as five of the Skeleton Hounds saw Noland Lee, they immediately regarded him as their primary target and charged at him without any regard for the soldiers nearby.

Noland knew that the Biochemical Bait was taking effect.

He looked at the five ugly, baring-toothed Skeleton Hounds, took a deep breath to calm his nerves, and quietly retreated to Corporal Mars' side, allowing him to share some of the defensive pressure.

This move did not provoke any resentment from the soldiers.

In the combat guidelines of the Imperial Army, there was no place for individual heroism; teamwork and mutual trust were the focus.

If Corporal Mars handed a weapon to a Sin Soldier, then that soldier naturally became a temporary teammate, a trustworthy existence.

To the soldiers, Noland's retreat was not a betrayal of Corporal Mars but a rational strategic withdrawal to prevent the line from collapsing.

In fact, his retreat had an immediate effect - two Skeleton Hounds shifted their attention, and the pressure on him was significantly reduced.

As Noland, the retreating soldiers, Corporal Mars, and the Sin Soldier came together to form a defensive line, the burden on Noland's shoulders was further reduced, and only two Skeleton Hounds remained focused on him.

Noland watched the enemy's movements closely, waited for the right moment, and raised his Engineering Hammer, striking down with force.

With a clang, Noland swung the hammer down on the head of a Skeleton Hound.

The Skeleton Hound's head flew off in response, but Noland did not dare to let his guard down.

He forcibly twisted his waist to narrowly avoid the bite of another Skeleton Hound, and as it landed, he raised his wrist and swung the Engineering Hammer again.

A crisp impact sounded, and the second Skeleton Hound's head bounced off, falling to the top of the staircase and then rolling down with a puff of smoke.

Before the headless Skeleton Hound could retrieve its head, Noland struck it again with a righteous blow, sending its body flying down the steps, mixing it with the Skeleton Warriors that followed.

"Whew~" Noland gasped for breath.

Swinging the Engineering Hammer repeatedly made his heart pound violently, and his chest heaved like a bellows.

But he didn't want to stop.

He still needed to inflict more damage and gain a higher degree of deconstruction completion from the Skeleton Hounds.

Right then, another Skeleton Hound entered the staircase, chasing the soldiers along the stepstones.

A battle-hungry smile appeared on Noland's face as he tightened his grip on the Engineering Hammer and went forth with the soldiers to face the enemy once more.

The sound of clashing echoed in the staircase, mixed with the heavy panting of humans and angry shouts.

Noland and the soldiers repelled wave after wave of Skeleton Hounds, but it was not a cause for celebration.

Due to the Skeleton Hounds' containment and harassment, the squad's retreat speed dropped significantly.

The large group of slow-moving Skeleton Warriors caught up with them at a visible pace.

When Noland felt sore in his wrist and his palms became numb, a Skeleton Warrior swung its Bone Sword at him from close range.

It was a critical moment when Noland's old strength was exhausted, and the new hadn't yet arrived, making it difficult for him to avoid the attack.

The Skeleton Warrior's Bone Sword turned into a deadly weapon, aimed at Noland's heart.

"Watch out!"

At the crucial moment, Corporal Mars beside Noland shouted, swinging the short-barreled rifle in his hand back and sweeping away the Bone Sword that was only 0.1 seconds away from piercing Noland's heart.

Noland broke out in a cold sweat from the sudden turn of events.

It wasn't until the Skeleton Warrior in front of him had its head knocked off by Mars' rifle that Noland realized he had just had a close encounter with death...

"Thank you. Thank you..."

As Noland gasped for breath and expressed his gratitude, he immediately raised his arm and swung the Engineering Hammer, helping Mars knock away a sneak attack from a Skeleton Hound.

Corporal Mars nodded to Noland, offering a smile of gratitude, and his eyes filled with admiration. Noland's performance did not disappoint him.

Noland's heart also gained some tacit understanding of teamwork and a slight recognition of the Imperial Soldiers. However, when he thought about his debt and his experiences after crossing, the sense of recognition that had just been born faded a bit.

But the Skeleton Warriors didn't care about the emotional growth between the living; they emotionlessly continued to attack the Imperial Soldiers.