Chapter 126: Chapter 93: A Resounding Victory! The Favor of Pale Elegy
His lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but he no longer had the strength to make a sound.
Finally, his head lolled to one side, and he completely lost all signs of life.
But his eyes remained wide open, as if he could not rest in peace even in death.
Haaaaah...
Witnessing this, Lynch finally let out a long sigh of relief.
’This battle was incredibly difficult.’
But thankfully.
They’d won.
Finally... they’d won.
Lynch wanted to laugh, but couldn’t bring himself to.
Because the battle had been far too brutal.
His gaze swept across the ravaged battlefield, over the shattered bones that littered the ground. Of the once-mighty Undead Army, not even one in ten remained standing.
The few that were left were scattered, and most were wounded.
Even the Necromancer apprentice had died at some point in the chaos. Now, it was just a plain, ordinary Skeleton clad in an apprentice’s robe.
What pained him even more was the loss of his Soul Fire elites.
The core group he had taken such pride in had been almost completely wiped out in this one battle.
Bone Valor was dead. Fish Bone was dead. Even Bone Jade Skeleton King, the future "Legend" in whom he had placed such high hopes, had been scorched into a pile of charred bones by the holy flames.
The Abomination he had just subjugated, the one he hadn’t even had a chance to properly "pamper," was in an even more pathetic state.
It had taken the brunt of the damage to hold Golding back. Now, it was burned away to nothing more than a small, blackened stump of a torso, its Soul Fire long since extinguished.
But what made Lynch’s heart ache the most was his old pal, the Black Corpse.
During the siege that followed the Silver Armored Corpse’s successful sneak attack, this tireless, uncomplaining meat shield had created an opening for the other units. He had stubbornly endured the backlash of Golding’s dying holy flames, clinging desperately to his enemy’s waist.
The result... was, of course, a small, person-shaped pile of blackened ash. Not a single decent bone fragment remained, making it impossible to even use the Skeleton Resurrection Skill to convert it into a Skeleton.
Just like that, it had vanished completely from this world.
’It was just an Undead, its intelligence wasn’t high, and it was ugly... but it was my first zombie servant. My old brother...’
However, Lynch quickly pushed his emotions down.
’This is the life of a Necromancer. As you grow stronger, your initial summons rarely make it to the end. They’re constantly being replaced and upgraded, the newer corpse always outclassing the old skeleton.’
The one small comfort was that not all of his Soul Fire elites had been wiped out.
At least the Bone Mage was still alive. Though its Soul Fire was dim, it still gripped its Magic Staff, diligently resurrecting any Skeletons it could. Most of the bones were too shattered, however, and had been purified by the Holy Light.
But it kept trying, even if it could only piece together one or two more Skeleton Servants.
Bone Shadow was alive, too. She wasn’t badly injured and was currently lurking silently in the shadows of a corner.
Zombie Blood Fang was still alive. It had also suffered considerable injuries, with several charred patches on its body, but it was largely intact and its Soul Fire was still burning strong.
Bone Shield and Red Rabbit were also alive, though both were heavily injured. The shield in Bone Shield’s hand was reduced to half its size and completely useless. Red Rabbit had numerous broken bones and looked utterly wretched.
’Hmm... that one crouching in the distance behind a pile of rubble, with only half a head and the tip of a Magic Staff showing... is that the Fish Priest?’
’That guy is actually still alive?!’
’And he looks completely unharmed?!’
For some reason, Lynch’s mood lifted just a tiny bit.
’That guy... he’s a true survivor!’
’Good. Very good.’
’As long as they’re alive, it’s good.’
’As long as units with potential like the Bone Mage and Bone Shadow are still here, and as long as I, their "Commander," am still here, I can make a comeback. I can build an even stronger army.’
And just as he was silently mourning his fallen subordinates.
Suddenly.
"Aaaah... *yawn*..."
A lazy, yawning sound echoed directly in the depths of Lynch’s soul.
It was, of course, the voice of Lady Pale Elegy Victoria.
"You didn’t end up destroying each other... It’s really... a bit dull, you know~"
Her ethereal voice carried a hint of disappointment, but it was quickly replaced by a flicker of interest.
"However, you little mouse... you did give Us a little, tiny surprise."
"And for the sake of this ’tiny surprise’..."
Pale Elegy’s arm, holding her parasol, lifted slightly. She gracefully raised a single finger, a point of scarlet light condensing at its tip.
"So, here’s... a little reward for you~"
As her voice faded in Lynch’s mind, the point of scarlet light shot out, transforming into a crimson line that sank into the forehead of the little girl’s corpse in the crystal coffin.
VMMMM—
The little girl’s corpse immediately erupted in an eerie, blood-red light.
As Lynch stared, dumbfounded...
A bizarre transformation occurred upon the little girl’s once pale and cold body.
Her once-ashen complexion turned a ghostly white. She still didn’t look alive, but like cool, white jade, she now possessed an uncanny beauty.
The next moment, her body twitched.
Her long eyelashes, like raven feathers, fluttered before her eyes slowly opened.
They were a pair of scarlet eyes, like rubies. They darted about, filled with the innocent curiosity of a newborn life.
"Mmm..."
She murmured softly, propping herself up on the edge of the crystal coffin and slowly sitting up.
Her movements were still somewhat stiff and uncoordinated, as if the body had not been used for a very long time.
She glanced around.
Finally, her gaze landed on Lynch.
Suddenly.
