Chapter 134: Chapter 94: Promotion! Lynch Becomes a Half-Step Noble
Lynch immediately understood. He knew he had to lay out the course of events and clarify who deserved the credit, right in front of all the masters—and especially in front of Lianna, who was being made an example of.
He gathered himself and recited the story he had prepared in advance.
After he finished, he had his Skeleton bring out Viscount Golding’s body to corroborate his story.
After hearing Lynch’s account, looks of shock appeared on the faces of all the masters.
’The esteemed Viscount Golding, a prominent figure in Saint Roland City and even an important member of the Elder Council, had fallen so low? To think he would collude with rebels and even sacrifice innocent young women to an Evil God from the Netherworld!’
Only Master Casper’s brow remained furrowed. He said in a low voice, "Viscount Golding has always had an impeccable reputation. He was also quite generous, having sponsored many charitable activities organized by the Church. Student Lynch, are you certain he was the one leading all this? Could it be that the Necromancer, Anthony, coerced or bewitched him?"
"Master Casper, we can all testify," Avril, Ophelia, and Lilith, the three young women, stepped forward to attest at the same time. "We were there the entire time. We saw it with our own eyes and heard it with our own ears. It was Viscount Golding himself conducting the sacrifice, and he even wanted to sacrifice the three of us to the Evil God!"
At the same time, Lynch also took out some letters exchanged between Golding, Anthony, and the Draenei Brotherhood, distributing them to the masters for their inspection.
After reading the letters, the masters were both furious and relieved.
The letters, combined with the testimony of the three noble young women, undoubtedly formed a sufficient chain of evidence.
Master Casper fell silent for a moment, still finding it strange. "As a Viscount, Golding held a respected position and lacked no wealth. What could possibly be his motive for colluding with the Blue Scarves and performing a sacrificial ritual?"
Lynch opened his mouth, about to speak.
But Master Gwen, who was standing to the side, couldn’t help but speak first. "Master Casper, what do you expect a student who just barely escaped with his life to know? He was caught in a sudden skirmish and was lucky to survive. The specific motives and deeper conspiracies will certainly require a detailed investigation by the academy and the Empire. Right now, what these children need is rest and medical attention."
The other masters chimed in with agreement.
’In truth, they were quite pleased with Annabella’s conduct. The Undead System had discovered this matter first, but instead of hogging all the credit, they had invited students from the other three systems to share in the glory. What was there to be dissatisfied about?’
Casper, finding himself isolated and without support, had no choice but to drop the matter.
But as his gaze swept over Golding’s corpse, which had been stripped nearly bare, his brow furrowed again. "A Holy Knight’s standard-issue equipment usually bears Holy Light Inscriptions and blessings. They’re of no use to you in the Undead System, are they?"
Upon hearing this, Lynch replied with a calm and open expression, "With all due respect, Master Casper, this equipment is the spoils of war, acquired after I fought side-by-side with Avril, Ophelia, and Lilith to defeat a powerful enemy. We were planning to auction it off after we returned and split the proceeds four ways as a small compensation for our ordeal."
He deliberately emphasized "split four ways" to make it clear that he wasn’t keeping it all for himself.
"Spoils of war?" The brawny master from the Warrior Series’s eyes lit up. Hearing that his own student, Ophelia, would get a share, his interest was piqued. In a gruff voice, he said, "Casper, there’s nothing wrong with that, is there? The kids fought for their lives and won, so it’s only right they get some spoils. If your Holy Light System doesn’t like this equipment being out in the wild, you can always buy it back. Just compensate the kids at market value. I’d say eight thousand Gold Coins isn’t too much, right?"
He had named a price that wasn’t so outrageous as to embarrass the Holy Light System, but it wasn’t low, either. It was enough for each of the four students to receive a considerable sum.
Casper’s mouth twitched, but then he considered that Golding’s full set of armor was indeed worth far more than eight thousand gold. Buying it back wouldn’t be a loss.
He gritted his teeth. "Fine."
He then produced a bearer’s check for eight thousand Gold Coins on the spot and handed it to Lynch.
Lynch accepted it respectfully with both hands. After checking the amount to confirm it was correct, he gave Casper a grateful smile. "Thank you for your understanding, Master Casper."
He then immediately took the spoils of war out of his spatial storage item and piled them in front of Casper.
Casper’s eyelid twitched violently. Only the hammer was in decent shape; the shield and the Holy Knight Armor were battered and broken. The repair costs alone would be a huge expense. That eight-thousand-gold buyback price...
’He would bet that not even the best auctioneer could possibly sell it for eight thousand gold!’
’He’d been played for a fool today.’
’But the deal was done. He had no choice but to swallow the loss.’
Meanwhile, Lynch took the check and immediately began to "divide the spoils," giving two thousand to each of the three young women.
Finally, he took the remaining two-thousand-gold check to Master Annabella and presented it with both hands. "Master, this is all thanks to the Silver Armored Corpse you left with me. Otherwise, we would have all been done for."
Upon hearing this, Annabella’s mouth twitched slightly.
She didn’t take the check, only saying coolly, "Keep the money for yourself. I’m not short two thousand Gold Coins."
After a pause, she added, "Now, come with me. I have some questions for you."
The other masters had no objections; they also had plenty of questions to ask their own students privately.
Soon, Annabella had dragged Lynch off to a distant spot and used her Spiritual Power to create a private space for them to talk.
Only when he was alone with his master did Lynch drop his relaxed facade, his expression turning grave and fearful.
