Mohai City, or rather, Old Mohai City.
The entire city was shrouded in smoke and dust.
The dust kicked up by the collapsing buildings was even thicker than what the Mohai winds had brought before.
Amidst the haze, skeletons worked tirelessly, gathering building debris and hauling it into the mixers of the Heavenly Crafts Academy.
In the distance, Bone Guard One rampaged through the area, knocking down the remaining houses.
Originally, Chen Xu only planned to leave a million skeletons to assist Qi Xuanheng. After all, Mohai was not a large city, and with Bone Guard One's massive frame, he could clear everything just by charging through.
The remaining skeleton soldiers would simply handle the task of clearing out the construction waste.
However, when Qi Xuanheng saw how efficient and obedient Chen Xu's skeletons were, he asked if Chen Xu could provide more to directly take over the subsequent reconstruction project as well.
"Elder Qi, it is not that I do not want to help, but I do not know the first thing about civil engineering. Moving some rubble and sweeping dust is one thing, but if you want me to oversee the construction of houses, I really do not have the skills."
Aside from combat, skeleton soldiers required specific orders for any other actions.
Those orders had to come from either Chen Xu, the skeleton heroes, or the black knights.
But whether it was Bone Guard One, who was currently busy smashing houses, or Xuan Chu and Xuan Zhong, they only knew how to lead troops in war.
Xuan Chu and Xuan Zhong claimed to know a little, but their expertise was limited to structures specific to the Land of the Undead.
Things like bone huts and gloomy cemeteries were light years away from human technology.
"It is fine. Our smart robots will handle the intricate work. Your skeletons will just be doing simple manual labor."
"Because of this mass mobilization, many of our cranes were sent into the dungeons to build field fortifications, so we do not have enough heavy machinery to build the new city. With your skeletons helping, things will move much faster."
"Especially that big fellow. He is practically a mobile tower crane."
Who would have thought that besides playing the part of a house-demolishing monster, Bone Guard One would also land a job as a crane for construction?
"Rest assured, Daxia will compensate you. Consider it a personal favor from me as well. If you ever need any equipment forged in the future, you can come to the Heavenly Crafts Academy to find me."
Seeing that Qi Xuanheng had put it that way, Chen Xu had no choice but to agree.
"Alright, Elder Qi. I will give you another million skeleton soldiers. That should be enough, right?"
"It is enough, it is enough."
The work continued for over half a day, and the skeletons eventually cleared away all the debris from the collapsed houses.
By this time, Mohai City was nothing more than a vast expanse of wasteland.
The civil engineering team from the Heavenly Crafts Academy arrived on-site, carrying the blueprints for the new city.
Chen Xu sat atop Sindragosa, watching the construction work below with great interest as the people from the academy pulled out various pieces of machinery he had never seen before.
"Little friend Chen, I noticed you have not left an official likeness in the Daxia archives. Do you have a moment to record one?" Qi Xuanheng's voice called out from below.
"An official likeness? What is that for?"
"It is for erecting statues of distinguished contributors."
"Erecting a statue?"
Chen Xu suddenly perked up and leaped down from the dragon's head, landing beside Qi Xuanheng.
"Yes. For those who have made outstanding contributions to Daxia, the state will erect different statues for them based on the nature of their service."
"In this case, you, Longwu, and Bufan have slain the demonic dragon and opened the way for a new city for Daxia. This is considered a distinguished merit. Therefore, statues for the three of you will be erected in the new city."
As he spoke, Qi Xuanheng pulled out a tablet, brought up the official likenesses of Ye Bufan and Xiang Longwu, and showed them to Chen Xu via holographic projection.
"This... why do they not look much like Senior Ye and Senior Xiang?"
The projected Ye Bufan looked heroic and solemn, holding his sword with one hand against his right leg, his resolute gaze fixed on the distance.
Xiang Longwu was equally serious, his eyes piercing and bright, with his arms crossed over his chest as he looked forward.
"Hahaha, they do not look like their usual selves, do they?"
Qi Xuanheng laughed twice, seeing Chen Xu's confusion.
"Statues are meant for the citizens of Daxia to see. We need to establish a heroic image. People are more willing to believe that the one who slew the demonic dragon was a sword immortal who radiates such killing intent, rather than a casual, easygoing Ye Bufan who is always smiling."
"After all, for people like Bufan and you, it is not that you need the citizens, but that the citizens need you. Having heroes like this here gives them confidence—the confidence to live in this new city."
Chen Xu nodded after listening.
In this day and age, although everyone could become a Class Holder, it also meant everyone was living on the edge.
For most Class Holders, conquering a dungeon was not just about leveling up and getting stronger; it also meant injury or even death. Outliers like Chen Xu were always in the minority.
Therefore, erecting hero statues in a newly pioneered city served both to spread the heroes' fame and to give everyone confidence.
Daxia had always had a bit of a metaphysical tradition since ancient times; a land of heroes could, to some extent, bolster the courage of the people.
"Elder Qi, what kind of image do you think I should use?"
Chen Xu had no ideas regarding his own image. In his past life as a programmer, his hair was cut at a cheap shop near the market, and he wore the same old styles of clothes for years.
"A Necromancer is still a mage of sorts, so how about an image of you holding a staff and flipping through a book, showing a wise appearance?"
"Although it lacks the skeleton theme, well, you understand that skeletons are not exactly photogenic."
Chen Xu felt there was nothing wrong with Qi Xuanheng's suggestion. It was promotion, after all. It was better to show a positive and inspiring side.
Qi Xuanheng operated the tablet, walking in a circle around Chen Xu to scan and record his data.
He then tapped on the tablet a few times before projecting the result.
An image of Chen Xu as a mage, holding a staff and looking down at a book, was projected into the air.
"Take a look. Is it suitable? If there is anything to change, I can make fine adjustments."
"It is quite good. Let's go with this."
"Alright then, I will show you the final effect."
Qi Xuanheng then turned the projection to maximum power, and a twenty meter tall image floated in the sky.
"Wu~~~"
Seeing this sudden projection of Chen Xu, Sindragosa let out a few confused cries and flew in circles around it.
"Elder Qi, is it possible to add a bone dragon to it?"
Seeing Sindragosa gave Chen Xu an idea.
"A bone dragon? That works too. I will make it an animated statue for you then. When the time comes, it will periodically raise its hand to summon a bone dragon to fly over."
"It can even move? That sounds great."
...
At the site of the former Mohai, Tang Hezhou took Chen Xu to visit several dungeons recently discovered by the exploration team.
After Chen Xu and Qi Xuanheng finalized the details of the statue, Tang Hezhou had sought him out.
As the current captain of the exploration team at the Mohai Dragon Seed Base, Tang Hezhou and his team had immediately entered the depths of Mohai after Chen Xu and the others finished the dragon slaying.
Previously, due to the presence of the Black Dragon, the exploration team could only map out the peripheral dungeons.
The central area had been a complete blind spot.
Now, without the threat of the Black Dragon, the exploration team had mapped out the status of every dungeon in the entire Mohai region in one go.
"Junior, our exploration team has conducted a sweep. There are a total of seven dungeons. Initial scouting has found no trace of humans; instead, they are mostly filled with magical beasts and goblins. The environment is very similar to the Green Calamity."
"Therefore, they have been classified as seven conquest-type dungeons. The higher-ups decided to ask you to see if you can clear them directly."
"Are they all like the Green Calamity? Is there nothing related to the Black Dragon?"
Logically speaking, a creature like the Black Dragon should belong to a world with an Eastern background, but none of the dungeons in Mohai seemed to originate from such a world.
"No. The origins of the Black Dragon remain a mystery."
"Alright then. Leave these seven dungeons to me."
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