As Lucas moved from the hilly terrain into the canyon, he immediately sensed a change in the atmosphere around him.

  It was as if...

  The death energy in this canyon was more refined and gentler. Moreover, there seemed to be an invisible barrier separating the canyon from the outside world.

  The notifications on his status panel confirmed that this canyon had indeed been isolated from the rest of the Land of Buried Bones.

  "The Canyon of the Dead, huh?"

  Entering the canyon, Lucas gazed ahead.

  The canyon wasn't large.

  It stretched about two to three kilometers in length and was only two to three hundred meters wide.

  Standing at the entrance, he could see countless figures wandering within the canyon. At the far end, a vague structure was surrounded by a dense crowd of figures!

  "Is this the territory of that elite Skeleton Swordsman, or..."

  After a moment of contemplation, Lucas moved as quietly as possible, his skeleton underlings following closely, their forms concealed as they advanced deeper into the canyon.

  The trail left by the elite Skeleton Swordsman led straight into the heart of the canyon.

  His current position was the canyon's only exit.

  No matter what secrets the canyon held, as long as he cleared it out, he would inevitably find the hidden elite Skeleton Swordsman.

  Quickening his pace,

  Lucas ventured dozens of meters into the canyon before he finally got a clear look at the figures wandering within.

  They weren't skeletons.

  They were another undead race—one Lucas had only heard of in his past life but never seen in person: Zombies!

  Unlike skeletons, zombies had flesh.

  But this flesh wasn't the vibrant, living kind. It was dry, stiff, and almost stone-like.

  The advantage was that this flesh gave zombies far superior physical defense compared to skeletons, and their Constitution growth far surpassed that of skeletons.

  The downside? They were slow.

  Even an elite-tier zombie might not be faster than a basic-tier Skeleton Soldier.

  Judging by their attributes, the zombie race seemed to be a tank-like undead species.

  A tank race.

  Lucas felt reassured.

  No matter how many zombies were in the Canyon of the Dead, or whether there were high-tier zombies among them, their speed disadvantage meant they posed little threat to him.

  If he couldn't win, he could always run.

  By chipping away at them bit by bit, he would eventually clear out all the zombies in this canyon!

  With a mental command,

  Lucas's other skeleton underlings remained still, while a single Skeleton Archer drew its bow and fired a pale bone arrow that pierced through the air, striking a zombie in the shoulder.

  "Groan..."

  A low, hoarse growl echoed as the zombie raised its head, looking around in confusion. Then, at a sluggish pace, it instinctively moved toward the source of the arrow.

  The other zombies nearby... only stirred slightly before returning to their aimless wandering.

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  The zombie drew closer.

  When it was about ten meters from Lucas but still fifty meters from the small group of zombies, Lucas issued another command.

  Two Skeleton Warriors stepped forward.

  Moving several times faster than the zombie, they closed the distance in moments.

  With swift strikes of their bone swords, the zombie was dismembered, its limbs severed, and it collapsed to the ground.

  Only then did Lucas step forward, placing his skeletal hand on the zombie's forehead.

  [Erosion] talent activated!

  The best way to understand the zombie race was to enslave one.

  Once enslaved, Lucas could access all the zombie's information: its status panel, class, and growth potential.

  However...

  Boom!

  Just as Lucas felt he was about to succeed, the zombie's head exploded without warning!

  Black fluid splattered everywhere,

  Releasing a heavy, foul stench.

  The zombie, which had been groaning just seconds ago, was now reduced to a headless corpse!

  "Failed to enslave?"

  "Or..."

  At that moment,

  Several notifications refreshed on Lucas's status panel.

  "Enslavement failed."

  "You have killed a 'Living Corpse.'"

  "You have gained 3 experience points."

  "You have obtained the class advancement information for 'Basic Class Template - Living Corpse.'"

  "The basic class of the zombie race is called 'Living Corpse'?"

  Thinking this, Lucas opened the information for this basic class template.

  [Template]: Living Corpse

  [Tier]: Basic Class Template

  [Bonuses]: Health +80, Strength *1.5, Agility *0.3, Constitution *3

  [Ability]: Petrified Flesh

  "Petrified Flesh: As a living corpse, every zombie can absorb death energy to petrify its flesh, preventing decay and enhancing its defense."

  The attribute bonuses were similar to those of a Skeleton Soldier, but with a stronger focus on Constitution.

  As the basic class template of the zombie race, the "Living Corpse" class was naturally exclusive to zombies. Even if Lucas obtained this class template, he couldn't advance to it.

  "Zombies."

  "Living Corpses."

  After reviewing the basic class template of the zombie race, Lucas had a basic understanding of this species.

  He still didn't know whether the enslavement failure was due to the limitations of the [Erosion] talent or some other reason. If the [Erosion] talent could only enslave skeletons, its utility would be greatly diminished.

  After some thought, Lucas made a decision.

  With a wave of his hand, four Skeleton Archers drew their bows and fired arrows toward the group of wandering Living Corpses in the distance. At the same time, the rest of his skeleton underlings sprang into action, charging forward with their bone weapons.