Chapter 214: Giant Rotten Corpse

Eddie and the others quickly focused on what Wu Qingsong and his group were doing. The sight of the giant squid monster’s corpse was too shocking to ignore.

“What are you trying to do?” the old sealion couldn’t help but ask.

“Just focus on getting that raft ready,” Wu Qingsong replied.

He wasn’t entirely sure if he could reanimate this thing with necromancy. The creature had no hard bones, just masses of muscle, more akin to the flesh golems recorded in the Book of the Dead. If the dead sharkmen hadn’t been devoured by their own kind, reanimating sharkman zombies would’ve been more reliable. But given the circumstances, he had to make do with what he had.

While directing Ling to carve an enlarged magic circle on the ship’s hull, he focused on gathering and purifying soul fragments from the surrounding space. 

The mental strain was immense, but it was essential. Soul fragments filled with pain, rage, and anger were excellent weapons for attacking enemies, but to summon undead creatures that would follow his commands, he needed to remove all those negative emotions. Otherwise, the reanimated creature might turn on everyone around it.

Red Moon whispered something to Eddie, which calmed him down. He began directing the remaining sailors to expedite the raft construction. Red Moon sat by Ram, watching Wu Qingsong’s work with interest.

From Dark Moon’s intelligence, she knew that Wu Qingsong could make soap, Molotov cocktails, and some seemingly magical machines. He could also awaken latent abilities in some beastgirls, though this power was unstable and couldn’t be self-activated by the beastgirls. It had to be triggered repeatedly by Wu Qingsong. This significantly reduced his value. The spies sent by Dark Moon couldn’t uncover deeper secrets, but it was believed that the Elmons Mine held even greater mysteries.

Wu Qingsong’s ability to incapacitate everyone with severe headaches was new information they hadn’t previously gathered. Now, it seemed his secrets might far exceed their expectations.

He was clearly preparing a spell, but unlike the core members of Dark Moon, including Black Moon, who relied more on their own mental strength and magical tools, he was using a magic circle. Red Moon couldn’t fathom what kind of spell would require such a setup.

Ling quickly finished her part of the work. 

Wu Qingsong had Beck and the other houndmen rig up a simple hoist using ropes and wood. With Ling’s abilities helping, they slowly dragged the giant squid monster’s corpse out of the water and secured it within the magic circle.

This was no easy feat.

Without any life left in it, the body was limp and mushy, like a mass of rotten flesh, making it difficult to handle. Moreover, its weight far exceeded that of the houndmen could handle.

Wu Qingsong had to pause his other tasks to help Ling understand and create a pulley system with her abilities. Only then could they slowly haul the mass, weighing several tons, onto the slanted ship hull and suspend it in the center of the magic circle.

“How many fish did this thing have to eat to get so big?” Beck couldn’t help but say.

“It’s probably older than you,” Red Moon replied. “You should be thankful. There likely aren’t any more like it around here.”

As they worked diligently, fish appeared near the reef. This area seemed to be a tropical or subtropical region, full of coral reefs. After the storm passed, the place quickly returned to a vibrant and bustling state.

Once Luli woke up, she started feeding the fish with scraps of dry food, soon she attracted a large school. For the fishmen, this area was undoubtedly an essential food source.

Wu Qingsong finally completed his preparations. Worried about insufficient power, he had been tirelessly merging the soul fragments he had painstakingly gathered, making them stronger.

The soul fragments from the fishmen were significantly weaker compared to those from beastmen, and even slightly inferior to those from insectoids. In terms of spiritual strength, beastmen truly outclassed insectoids and fishmen.

“Be careful, everyone,” Wu Qingsong warned Beck and the others.

He made sure they stayed far from the tentacles. He then began his attempt, but to his surprise, the soul fragments integrated with unexpected ease, with almost no resistance or struggle.

The enormous body quickly squirmed, causing Eddie and Red Moon to cry out in alarm and take a few steps back.

Red Moon had considered the possibility of necromancy, but witnessing it firsthand still left her deeply shocked.

The tentacles gradually regained their ability to move, becoming more solid. Wu Qingsong stood nearby, controlling and directing its movements. 

Initially, the tentacles only made simple motions, but within minutes, the giant squid’s residual instincts kicked in, and it began to stand upright. Wu Qingsong experimented with giving it more complex commands. He even made it pick up a massive rock and hurl it at the sharkmen who were still circling and watching them, causing them to scatter in fear.

Without bones and relying entirely on muscles, the control was much harder than that of a typical corpse. Though its movements were likely less agile than when it was alive, this level of control should be sufficient for most situations.

“How’s the raft coming along?” Wu Qingsong finally felt confident enough to ask.

With the giant octopus carrion and Ling’s abilities, they should have a chance to cross the twenty-plus miles of sea to that island.

Though there were still great dangers ahead, Wu Qingsong believed he could overcome whatever awaited them on that island.

“Alright, alright!” Eddie replied quickly.

Under his command, the newly constructed raft was not only much larger than the previous one but also had half of the broken mast set up to form a simple sail. All the oars were found and some makeshift ones were made using flat planks. About thirty wooden barrels were sealed and securely tied around the raft, providing strong buoyancy and acting as a rudimentary shield against distant attacks from the sharkmen.

“Very good,” Wu Qingsong nodded approvingly. “Then let’s set off!” he said to everyone.

The fishman shaman Eddie had seen earlier had been gone for a long time. 

Who knew what they were planning? Staying in this place any longer would only increase their danger.

“Uncle Bernar…” Daryl and Ram said tearfully.

The old badger had remained unconscious, his spinal injury from the previous storm was severe, and they didn’t dare to move him. As time passed, his breathing grew weaker, and he had coughed up blood several times, making them even more sorrowful.

“Find a bigger plank,” Wu Qingsong said. “As long as he has a breath left, we won’t give up on him.”