Chapter 198: Chapter 104: Three’s Company
Lynch was now Tier Two. Combined with the massive Spiritual Power boost from three pieces of Top Grade Magic Equipment, the range of his spiritual senses had expanded far beyond what it was before.
As he moved quickly, he continuously cast the Skeleton Resurrection Skill, killing small animals he encountered, like wild rats and squirrels. He then transformed them into Skeletons and ordered them to spread out like scouts, forming a reconnaissance line with a radius of several miles.
However, Lynch never would have expected that despite being so careful, they would still stumble right into trouble.
The three of them were only about four miles from the old castle. Lynch split his attention between the reconnaissance images sent back by his Squirrel and rat Skeletons while trudging through the forest.
Just then, a Squirrel Skeleton sent to scout the southwest suddenly stopped and sent a blurry, blood-soaked image back through their mental link.
Lynch stopped in his tracks, his expression instantly turning grave.
"What is it, Lynch?" Avril leaned in nervously, her face full of concern as she asked in a low voice.
Amadis also shot him a questioning look.
"There’s a situation... Don’t move. Conceal your presence," Lynch whispered, then closed his eyes, focusing more of his Spiritual Power on the Squirrel Skeleton to share its vision.
The image gradually became clearer.
It was a hollow on the leeward side of a gully. Several bodies lay strewn about on the ground—they were Andre’s guards.
They had died horribly. Their bodies were shriveled, and their skin had turned an unsettling, grayish-white from extreme blood loss.
Their exposed skin was covered in bite marks and scratches, a shocking sight to behold.
And next to the pile of corpses stood a man in a gray robe.
By now, the man had taken off his hood, revealing a sinister face.
His eyes were deep-set and narrow, and a strange, crimson light swirled within them.
Most terrifying of all, a hundred fist-sized, blood-red bats were flying in a circle around his body.
It seemed Andre hadn’t yet drawn his last breath.
He stared fixedly at the red-eyed man, his body twitching slightly. A rattling, gurgling sound escaped his throat, and his eyes were filled with terror and despair.
The red-eyed man was in no hurry to kill him, as if he were savoring his prey’s final struggles.
He licked the bloodstains from the corner of his mouth and said excitedly, "As expected of a young master from the House of Hohenzollern. Your blood is indeed a bit richer than that of the rabble. A pity you’re not very bright..."
"Heh... he’s all yours..."
With a casual wave of his hand, the swarm of Blood Bats immediately pounced, instantly engulfing Andre.
The densely packed Blood Bats clung to his body, frenziedly draining his blood.
Andre’s body convulsed violently, then quickly went still. His skin tone rapidly turned ashen. He was well and truly dead.
Lynch watched this scene through the Squirrel Skeleton’s eyes and felt a chill crawl up his spine.
This method of killing, drinking blood, and controlling Blood Bats... he felt like he had seen it somewhere before...
He instantly recalled a special name from the Empire’s wanted lists—the Imperial Blacklist.
This was a special bounty list.
Everyone on the Blacklist was, without exception, a being of immense evil—powerful, cunning, and cruel. Fallen Paladins, dark nuns, Evil Mages, Witch Demons, Vampire Lords... every one of them had their hands soaked in the blood of countless innocents.
The image and abilities of the red-eyed man before him were a perfect match for the ninety-seventh person on the Blacklist: the Crimson Reaper.
He also remembered the file saying that this Crimson Reaper was skilled in forbidden blood Magic, could control Blood Bats, and could rapidly heal his wounds and enhance his own strength by consuming the blood of living creatures. He was extremely difficult to deal with and very hard to kill.
This man’s temperament was cruel and bloodthirsty; he had once slaughtered an entire village just to forge a single evil Magic Item.
His bounty: thirteen thousand Gold Coins!
’Holy shit!’
Lynch couldn’t help but curse inwardly.
’That Andre must have the worst luck in the world. Of all the people to provoke, he just had to piss off a cold-blooded killer from the Blacklist. It would have been one thing if his bad luck was his own problem, but now I’m stuck watching the live show. Never mind that Andre is already dead; even if he weren’t, I have no intention of rescuing him. This gray-robed man is a vicious and depraved Blacklist fugitive, at least Tier Four in strength, with bizarre and ruthless methods. Who knows what other trump cards he has up his sleeve? Our party isn’t weak, but there’s simply no need to take such a risk.’
"Let’s go. We’ll go around," Lynch decided instantly, signaling for the two women to prepare to take a detour.
But the words had just left his mouth when disaster struck.
First, the mental link to the spying Squirrel Skeleton abruptly broke, and the shared vision vanished.
Immediately after, a cold, strange Spiritual Power that seemed to carry the stench of blood spread out at incredible speed, sweeping over Lynch and his two companions in an instant.
Lynch felt the hair on his body stand on end, as if he had been targeted by a venomous snake lurking in the shadows.
Amadis and Avril’s faces also turned pale as they both felt the same terrifying, probing gaze.
’Oh no, we’ve been discovered!’
...
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