He chose the Necropolis city's general, the legendary Straker, the ultimate leader.
Straker, one of the Four Great Generals of the heroes of might and magic III world, served as his first hero and part-time personal bodyguard.
Although the title 'General' carried somewhat derogatory connotations, it was undeniable that Straker's skills were actually quite good.
More importantly, Rhodes felt the other starting hero was even more useless and unrelated to the Undead, and Mysticism was also a useless skill. Straker, at least, was considered a native hero of the faction.
With the deduction of 2,500 units of gold, Rhodes acquired his first hero: an Undead hero with a zombified face, clad in magnificent knight armor, and wielding a knight's spear.
Death Knight Straker.
Straker initially chose the dark path of Witchcraft, but quickly discovered that his personal fighting skills greatly surpassed his magical capabilities, leading him to become a Death Knight.
He served in Deyja's Undead Legions, dreaming of one day joining the ranks of true Necromancers.
Stats: Attack: 1, Defense: 2, Power: 2, Knowledge: 1. Initial Skills: (Necromancy): Converts a certain percentage of enemy troops killed in battle into Skeleton Soldier or Skeleton Warriors (if the army slots are full and only Skeleton Warriors are present, Skeleton Warriors will be summoned). (Resistance): Also known as Great Magic Resistance, provides a chance to negate the effects of enemy spells.
Initial Spell: Haste. Hero Specialty: Upon reaching Level 2, increases the Attack and Defense of Walking Corpse or Zombies, and increases the base speed of Walking Corpse and Zombies by one.
Rhodes nodded in satisfaction. The slow speed of the Zombies did not matter; Straker could increase their speed by 1, and he also came equipped with the Haste spell.
Furthermore, every time he leveled up, Straker's Attack and Defense would increase. Relying on Straker's impressive 25 HP after leveling up, he was a true defensive meat shield. When he blocked the city gate, nobody would be able to break through.
Furthermore, Straker's four primary stats were very good. Although he was a Death Knight, Straker did not need to purchase a Spell Book like the knight heroes of other races.
Straker came with his own Spell Book, saving 500 gold coins immediately!
For Rhodes, who was utterly destitute, this was a valuable and welcome bonus.
After hiring his first hero, Rhodes impatiently summoned his bodyguard inside the small room.
There was no earth-shattering light, nor any deafening entrance effects. Instead, a gust of cold wind, thick with the scent of decay, blew, causing Rhodes' thin clothes to cling to his body and making him involuntarily shiver.
The space rippled like water, and a tall, burly figure materialized from nothingness, standing silently in place.
Death Knight Straker had arrived!
A set of pitch-black, heavy, scratch-marked yet still magnificent knight armor covered his robust, clearly Undead body, which lacked vitality. He stood over two meters tall.
At the armor joints, his dry, grayish-white skin and desiccated muscles were faintly visible. A helmet featuring a ferocious faceplate covered most of his face, revealing only the lower jaw—where there were no lips, only exposed, bluish-black jawbone and several strong teeth, tightly clenched, conveying intense ferocity.
In his hand, he held a black knight's spear of astonishing length, its tip flickering with a cold, eerie light.
"Greetings to you, Great Necromancer Lord. Death Knight Straker serves you!" Upon seeing Rhodes, the newly arrived Death Knight immediately knelt on one knee and offered his fealty.
"Get up! Straker, do you remember your past? Do you remember how you came here?" Rhodes nodded and asked.
To be honest, Straker's appearance was quite imposing; at least he did not look like a rookie.
"Great Necromancer Lord, I have no past. I was born and my self-will was created only when you summoned me. You are everything to me; I have no other thoughts," Straker said.
Rhodes nodded upon hearing this. It seemed his heroes of might and magic III system did not summon heroes from the planet Enroth, but rather directly created a hero unit out of thin air the moment he chose to hire one.
The built-in evil shrine still had 12 Skeleton Soldier available for recruitment. Rhodes recruited all of these Skeletons.
Spending several hundred gold coins, he brought his Skeleton Soldier count up to thirty-seven. Rhodes intended to lead the Skeleton troops and four Ghosts himself.
As for the Zombie troops, Rhodes directly handed them over to Straker, bringing the number of Zombies under his command to twenty-four.
He also possessed a starting artifact he had chosen, named Fiery Eye, which increased the success rate of Eagle Eye by ten percent.
Rhodes did not give this item to Straker, but kept it for himself.
"Straker! There is a group of monsters outside, also Undead creatures. Can you eliminate them all and ensure the town's safety?" Rhodes asked.
Let me see the true strength of a Necropolis hero!
Upon hearing this, Straker glanced outside and revealed a look of disdain. A few low-level Undead creatures, who had not even developed self-awareness—how could they possibly compare to him, a Death Knight?
"Great Master, allow me to teach these ignorant fellows a lesson for you. I do not even need to take any soldiers with me." Straker said nothing more, picked up his black iron spear, pushed open the door of the dilapidated house, and walked out.
He walked toward a few Walking Corpses holding machetes and Skeleton Soldiers. Upon seeing Straker, the large figure, emerge, the surrounding Undead creatures were visibly stunned.
"Trash! You have disturbed the peace of the Great Master. Prepare to die!" Straker roared and charged toward the group of low-level Undead creatures before him.
"Hmph! Scum!" Straker merely swung the heavy black knight's spear forward casually.
*Pfft!*
The spear tip pierced the already rotten chest of the Walking Corpse without resistance. The immense force sent the Walking Corpse's shriveled body flying backward, where it crashed like a broken sack into a Skeleton Soldier behind it, making its bones rattle.
The spear's momentum did not diminish, and it accurately pierced the Skeleton Soldier through the eye socket, shattering the skull!
Straker flicked his wrist, and the spear, carrying the two impaled low-level Undead, swung violently to the side as if shaking off trash!
The dancing spear transformed into a black whirlwind of death!
*Crack! Crash!*
The remains of the Walking Corpses and the Skeleton Soldiers were violently smashed against the earthen wall of the ruined house, instantly tearing into pieces, sending rotten flesh splashing and shattered bones scattering.
Instant kill! In a matter of seconds, Straker had cleanly dealt with the Undead minions outside the door.
A glorious victory. Straker gained 15 experience points.