Chapter 129: Chapter 93: A Great Victory! Pale Elegy’s Favor
He crouched down, using the tip of his dagger to pry up a grayish-white Negative Energy Crystal. He found that most of the energy it once held was gone, but it was still usable.
Lynch put away the crystal and pried up another. In the end, he had collected a total of forty-three.
A Necromancer could use these resources to set up various arrays or construct special undead buildings.
After gathering the crystals, Lynch commanded his remaining Skeleton Corps to dismantle the Obsidian and other materials used to create the array. In short, Lynch stripped the place clean of every last usable resource to compensate for his losses in the battle.
After dismantling the array, Lynch found Anthony’s room in the depths of the cave.
Lynch, of course, wasn’t about to rush in.
A Necromancer’s lair, even a temporary one, was an incredibly dangerous place. Who knew how many death traps were laid inside.
He cast his Skeleton Summoning Skill, opening the Netherworld Vortex once more. He summoned a new Bone Jade and Bone Valor, gaining a small amount of skill experience in the process.
Bone Valor looked the same as before, but Bone Jade was significantly weaker. It had fallen from its original form as a Tier One Peak Skeleton Warrior to a mere Skeleton Soldier, which made him sigh.
’But it doesn’t matter,’ he thought. ’With enough resources and time, it’ll reach its peak again.’
Lynch controlled the two skeletons, sending them into Anthony’s room.
However, they had only taken a few steps inside.
KRAK—THUMP!
Several hidden bone spikes shot out from the rock wall just inside the doorway, instantly piercing Bone Jade’s skull and pinning it to the wall.
Almost simultaneously, a pool of sickly green acid spread across the floor, quickly submerging Bone Valor. Its bones began to corrode and dissolve at a rate visible to the naked eye.
In just two or three seconds, the two skeletons had once again "heroically sacrificed" themselves.
This was why he hadn’t used his regular Skeleton Servants to scout. He was short on troops now and couldn’t bear to lose a single one. Bone Jade and Bone Valor, on the other hand, could be resummoned after death, allowing him to practice his skill in the process.
’Traps, just as I thought.’ Lynch looked as if he had anticipated it all along. He summoned them again, and a new Bone Jade and Bone Valor crawled out of the Netherworld Vortex.
’Continue.’
This time, the two skeletons charged in recklessly and, as expected, triggered two more traps. A hidden ray of Death Finger shot down from the ceiling, shattering Bone Valor’s skull.
Several tendrils of a Ghostly Touch, wreathed in black energy, lunged from the shadows, ensnaring Bone Jade and draining its Soul Fire.
After this process repeated four or five times, Bone Jade and Bone Valor had "sacrificed" themselves enough to finally trigger all the traps inside.
Only then did Lynch breathe a sigh of relief, but he still had no intention of going in himself.
He commanded a large group of Skeleton Soldiers to sweep through the room. They dismantled and carried out everything that could be moved—the bed, table, chairs, bookshelf, and all the various bottles and jars—piling them in an open area of the outer cave.
Anthony’s temporary lair was rather crude. Most of the items inside were research materials and experimental equipment for a Necromancer.
Lynch carefully examined the items his skeletons had brought out.
There were several jars and vials containing various toxins and plagues.
A pile of notebooks filled with theories on Undead Magic and experimental data.
A few sets of knives and tweezers for processing corpses and skeletons, as well as black thread for suturing bodies. ’Right,’ Lynch thought, ’these must be the tools Anthony used to create his Abominations.’
There were also large quantities of Yin Attribute materials of varying quality, such as bone powder, Corpse Wax, Nether Sand, and Rotting Soul Grass.
What really made Lynch’s eyes light up were several large chests his skeletons had carried out from a corner of the stone room. They were filled with all sorts of basic materials for constructing Undead System arrays and special buildings.
Rune-inscribed gloomwood, specially treated Antiseptic Stone Slabs, and magic-conducting metal wire for tracing the lines of an array...
’Materials for a Sleeping Tomb... Components for a Corpse-Nurturing Coffin...’ The more Lynch looked, the more delighted he became.
This was the first time he had ever seen so many Undead System materials.
It had to be said, high-tier Mages were truly wealthy. ’To have this many materials just lying around in a temporary lair... I can’t even imagine what treasures he must have in his Magic Tower back in the kingdom.’
However, the items were numerous and bulky. His Space Ring and pendant were already stuffed to the brim and couldn’t hold anything more.
Fortunately, while his skeleton army had lost over ninety percent of its strength, and many of the remaining skeletons were missing limbs, there were still quite a few of them left.
’They’ll carry everything away.’
And so, a peculiar scene unfolded.
The battle-scarred Zombie Blood Fang staggered at the head of the procession, carrying the two largest and heaviest chests. It was followed by a long line of Skeleton Soldiers, working in pairs to drag bundled gloomwood or carry baskets overflowing with jars and vials.
It was a grand procession, like an undead moving crew.
When Lynch returned to the Sacrificial Cave, the dozens of young women had already awakened. Thanks to the constant reassurances from the other three girls, they had calmed down considerably.
Having been warned ahead of time, they only flinched at the sight of the skeleton army instead of screaming.
The fledgling Vampire, Esther, stood all alone by the crystal coffin. She wanted to help the three older girls, but she was too timid.
When she saw Lynch approach, she shuffled over to his side. Tilting her pale little face up, she gazed at him with pleading eyes before tentatively reaching out a small hand to gently grasp the corner of his Mage Robe.
Lynch stiffened slightly.
In the end, he didn’t shake her small hand away, letting her hold on.
