...
Lynch's eyes lit up at first, but he immediately felt it was a bit of a shame.
Because while this Bear Goblin was certainly robust, its eye sockets were completely empty, which clearly meant it had failed to generate a Soul Fire.
Without one, it lacked rudimentary intelligence and had basically no potential for growth, let alone the ability to act as a commander.
But even so, its mere presence was enough to exude a powerful, oppressive aura.
Its thick bone joints, solid bone plates, and the massive Wolf Fang Club it had just picked up all looked incredibly reliable.
"Alright, fine," Lynch said, patting its shoulder blade. "From now on, you're my Personal Guard."
'No Soul Fire, so be it.' Lynch couldn't be lucky every single time, converting a Soul Fire Skeleton at the drop of a hat. Having gotten the Bone Magus earlier was already incredibly fortunate.
As for a name... well, to be honest, a Skeleton without a Soul Fire didn't deserve a name.
With that, the battlefield cleanup and conversion work were basically complete.
Next, Lynch thought for a moment and reorganized his troops.
First was his direct Personal Guard, which had to be composed of the absolute elite.
The Bear Goblin Skeleton naturally became the Captain of the Guard, standing at the very front. The three elite goblin Skeletons guarded its left, right, and rear, and he selected another six of the relatively stronger Humanoid Skeletons to fill out the guard's ranks.
Next was the Bone Magus's honor guard. Lynch picked out nine Humanoid Skeletons. As for the last spot...
He glanced at the Fishman Priest Skeleton with a look of utter disdain. "You just stick with the Bone Magus."
With that, he assigned it directly to the Bone Magus. The Bone Magus, for its part, wasn't picky. It even mimicked Lynch, patting the short Fishman Priest Skeleton on its shoulder blade as if to say, 'I've got high hopes for you, kid,' before having it fall into line.
Lynch allocated the remaining twenty-four Humanoid Skeletons to his main general, Bone Jade. Seeing that it still had Commanding Power to spare, he assigned it another six of the stronger goblin Skeletons.
As for Bone Valor, it received the remaining thirty goblin grunt Skeletons.
After a round of reorganization, Lynch's Undead Army had a brand-new look.
Despite having just gone through a fierce battle, his total forces had not decreased but had actually grown, and his overall strength had increased significantly.
This was the true power of a Necromancer.
As long as you achieved victory, you could continuously devour your enemies to strengthen yourself.
Just then, the sound of chaotic footsteps came from outside.
A dozen or so men holding simple weapons rushed into the lumberyard, but in the next instant, they all froze in a daze.
They saw that the lumberyard was now a mess of blood and gore, with a silent, waiting formation of nearly a hundred ghastly white Skeletons.
Fear instantly filled their faces. A few with weaker constitutions turned around and threw up on the spot.
They were the militia from Stone Crow Town. Having noticed the commotion at the lumberyard, they had specially gathered a group to investigate and provide support.
Lynch glanced at them and offered a gentle reassurance. "It's nothing. Just a group of goblins who were courting death with a sneak attack. The problem has been solved. Tell the town master that we'll continue tomorrow."
Lynch still held a shred of goodwill for these militiamen who dared to come as reinforcements. They were, at the very least, far better than those lordly city guards in Saint Roland City who did nothing but shirk responsibility and pass the buck whenever trouble arose.
"Yes, esteemed Lord Mage."
The militia captain's attitude was one of utmost reverence. He immediately sent a man back to town to report while he led the others to start cleaning the battlefield, forcing themselves to swallow their disgust.
Such dirty, tiring work couldn't possibly be allowed to stain the hands of the Lord Mage.
Seeing them proactively helping, Lynch didn't stop them. He led his Skeletons back to their respective wooden huts to rest.
「The next morning.」
Lynch woke up feeling refreshed and invigorated. He used the leftover venison and mushrooms from last night to cook a thick stew, which he enjoyed for breakfast with some hard bread.
Unexpectedly.
The moment he stepped out of his hut, he found the militia captain waiting respectfully outside.
The messy battlefield from the previous night had been cleaned up. They had piled up a collection of crude weapons and armor, along with other miscellaneous spoils of war, off to one side.
"My lord, these are your spoils of war," the militia captain said respectfully.
In truth, when Lynch had done his initial sweep of the battlefield yesterday, he had already found nothing of value.
He glanced at the pile, estimated that the whole heap of junk was worth a dozen or so silver pieces at most, and waved his hand dismissively. "You can keep it. Thank you for your hard work last night."
In the Empire's currency system, thirty copper plates could be exchanged for one silver piece, and it took eighteen silver pieces to exchange for a single Gold Coin. Given his current wealth, he really couldn't be bothered with things like silver pieces and copper plates.
"Thank you, my lord!" The militia captain was moved to tears with gratitude.
He called his men over to carry the items away, then turned back and said respectfully, "My lord, my name is Hank, and I'm your guide. Whenever you're ready to set out, just give me the word."
"So you're the guide. In that case, let's head out now."
After telling Hank to lead the way, Lynch calmly began to direct his Undead Army.
First, he ordered Bone Jade's unit to march at the very front and clear the path. The Bone Magus and its honor guard followed closely beside Lynch, while Bone Valor and the goblin grunt Skeletons brought up the rear.
The massive procession of Skeletons advanced along a small trail toward the mining area, their coordinated movement creating a rather imposing sight.
Of course.
During the march.
Lynch did not let his guard down.
Along the way, he casually recruited a few Squirrel Skeletons to act as scouts.
After the army had been marching for over an hour, with about half the journey left to their destination, Lynch, who had been monitoring the surroundings through the Squirrel Skeletons, suddenly showed a slight flicker in his eyes.
He gently raised his Magic Staff. An invisible ripple of psychic energy spread out, instantly transmitting his orders to his three beloved generals and Personal Guard through their mental link.
The next moment.
The army of over eighty Skeletons ground to a halt.
Then, under the leadership of his three 'beloved Skeletons,' the eighty-plus Skeleton Servants retreated like a receding tide, scattering into the woods on either side of the road.
In just a few short seconds.
To the guide Hank's utter bewilderment, the Undead Army that had just been marching in a grand procession seemed to vanish from the trail, leaving behind only the faint tracks of trampled leaves.
Lynch himself was hiding behind a thicket of thorns, surrounded by his Personal Guard, and beckoned to him.
Hank scrambled over on his hands and knees, squeezing in next to Lynch, his heart pounding nervously.
Soon, they heard a commotion from up ahead.
It was a series of the goblins' characteristic "WAAAGH WAAAGH" shrieks. The noise was chaotic and tinged with excitement, and it sounded like there were quite a few of them.
Mixed in with the noise were a young woman's sharp cries, the detectable fluctuations of Elemental Magic, and, to Lynch's great annoyance, the waves of Holy Light Energy.
Lynch peered through a gap in the bushes toward the path ahead.
He saw three figures bursting out of the woods in a sorry state, fleeing down the path in his direction.
Running at the very back was a female Warrior in shiny silver Half-plate Armor, carrying a light round shield and a Longsword.
She looked to be about eighteen or nineteen. Her chestnut hair was disheveled from running, but the arm holding the shield was steady, and she frequently glanced back to observe their pursuers, blocking ranged attacks for her companions ahead.
Running a little ahead of her was a young woman in the white, gold-trimmed robes of a Priest apprentice.
Her face was delicate but currently ashen, her forehead dotted with fine beads of sweat. She clutched a Holy Emblem Staff in one hand and pressed her other hand to her side. Her steps were unsteady as she ran, a clear sign she was injured.
The other was a girl in the robes of an Elemental Mage apprentice. She looked the youngest, only about fifteen or sixteen, with her light-blonde hair tied up in a neat ponytail.
Even as she ran, she kept looking back, rapidly chanting incantations and waving her hand to launch a Fireball to repel their pursuers.
'Well, well... the classic Warrior, Priest, and Mage iron trinity.'
And judging by the style of their robes, they were actually apprentices from the Hurst Royal Extraordinary Academy, which made them his schoolmates.
Lynch couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
However, the situation for these three schoolmates was far from ideal.
About thirty or forty meters behind them, a horde of forty to fifty goblins was chasing them with loud whoops and hollers.
Mixed in with the horde were three elite goblins, as well as... hmm, a goblin wolf rider?
The goblin riding on the back of a woodland wolf had several bright feathers stuck in its hair. It held a tattered little flag in one hand and a scimitar in the other, howling "AWOO AWOO" as it directed the other goblins to surround and trap them.
The eyes of every single goblin shone with a fanatical and irrepressible excitement.
That look in their eyes was clearly...
If nothing unexpected happened, it wouldn't be long before these three pretty female schoolmates were surrounded and captured, leading to a classic scene of goblin depravity.
...