Chapter 74: Chapter 72: A Woman’s Damn Competitiveness (Part 2)
...
「Five days later.」
On a rugged path along a steep cliff on the southeastern coastline of the Saint Roland Kingdom, a group was on the move.
Lynch rode Red Rabbit in the very center of the formation.
He was surrounded by two Bear Goblin Skeletons, over a dozen elite goblin skeletons, a few wolf-rider skeletons, and one Fish Priest.
On the outer perimeter were over thirty miscellaneous goblin skeletons led by Bone Valor.
Overall, it looked like the standard force of a reasonably strong, High Tier Necromancer apprentice.
But if any foolhardy band of brigands or mob of wild monsters dared to try and rob them... Lynch would have been more than "happy" to accept their gift.
After all, his bone bracelet held several elite Soul Fire units, and with the Sea of Skulls from his stripped-down Death Banner, he had more than enough to make most forces suffer.
Unfortunately, this place was just too remote.
Along the way, aside from startling a few seabirds and scaring off some curious wild boars, he had barely seen another soul. As for bandits, there wasn’t even a shadow of one.
"What a godforsaken place..." Lynch muttered. He didn’t even have a chance to grind for EXP or replenish his troops.
His journey had started five days prior.
He spent only a day on preparations, collecting a wave of academic credits from his classmates, exchanging them for a large quantity of enhancement materials, and bulk-buying a stash of Awakening Potions and focus potions to store in his Storage Ring before setting off directly.
It was worth mentioning that...
Instructor Annabella had, in the end, taken the spoils of war looted from Catherine and the others. She had their instructor buy them back for a total profit of over seventy-two hundred gold.
This saved Lynch the trouble of unloading the goods on the black market. After all, not only was the black market slow, but the prices would have been heavily discounted. This way, he actually earned more.
After traveling like this for another half a day, the path ahead suddenly widened.
The cliffs receded.
A vast beach shimmering with fine, silvery light came into view. Countless grains of sand stretched out in a crescent-shaped arc, embracing the azure waters of the bay.
Compared to the treacherous sea conditions outside, with its turbulent waves and dense reefs, this place was like a gentle haven under divine protection.
This was Silver Sand Bay, as shown on the map.
If this bay were on Earth, it would undoubtedly become a popular holiday resort.
But in this world, it was considered nothing more than the back of beyond.
Lynch rode Red Rabbit, slowly making his way along the edge of the beach, escorted by his Skeletons.
In less than an hour, he arrived at the Silver Sand Bay Fishing Port.
It was a sheltered harbor.
The harbor was of a moderate size, with a hundred or so low-lying houses scattered about, encircled by a simple wooden fence.
On the water, a crude wooden dock extended several dozen meters out to sea, with over a dozen fishing boats of various sizes tied to its posts.
At the highest point of the harbor, near the forest, stood a building surrounded by a stone wall, looking like a small fortress.
If one were to ignore the fact that a horde of Fishmen was currently besieging the Fishing Port, the whole scene would look quite comfortable.
That’s right.
The Fishing Port was under attack.
At least a hundred Tidal Fishmen with grayish-brown markings were surrounding the port, shrieking "WARA WARA" as they launched wave after wave of attacks against the simple wooden fence.
They were generally a head taller than the freshwater Fishmen Lynch had seen in the swamp, with more bulging muscles and menacingly sharp teeth. They wielded rusty harpoons or tridents, looking utterly ferocious.
Leading the Fishmen was a Fishman Warrior holding a trident.
It was nearly two meters tall, clearly a cut above the surrounding Fishmen, with dark brown skin that was almost black. It was roaring as it directed the battle.
Beside it stood a Tidal Fishman Priest wearing a headdress of various shiny shells and holding a Magic Staff. It was casting a frenzy spell on the charging Fishmen.
However, the most conspicuous among the Fishmen were not them, but three "Fish Giants."
They stood over two and a half meters tall, with bloated bodies and skin that looked like a layer of rock, giving them extremely high defense.
In their hands, they carried iron anchors covered in barnacles, which they were using to smash the wooden fence, one blow at a time. Each impact made the fence tremble violently, sending splinters flying.
In contrast, the resistance from within the Fishing Port was pitifully weak.
Near the fence, there were only seven or eight militiamen in simple leather armor, armed with long spears. They were desperately jabbing outward from behind the crumbling wooden barrier, backed by several dozen able-bodied male and female villagers.
Only a dozen or so of these villagers held crude weapons like harpoons and clubs; most could only throw rocks and burning torches over the fence.
It was unclear how long the battle had been raging, but five or six people already lay on the ground, their bodies stained with blood, their conditions unknown.
If nothing unexpected happened, this powerful force of Tidal Fishmen would only need a few more minutes to break through the defenses and run rampant inside the Fishing Port.
In less than an hour, this peaceful, isolated Fishing Port would be slaughtered to the last person.
But now, something unexpected had happened. At a mere thought from Lynch, he and his Undead Corps had already picked up their pace.
Their appearance quickly drew the attention of the Fishman forces.
The directing Tidal Fishman Warrior paused its trident, its bulging fish-eyes swiveling to size up the Undead Corps.
’That’s it?’
A flash of contempt crossed the Fishman Warrior’s eyes.
’This pathetic, ramshackle Undead Corps dares to ruin my tribe’s fun?’
"GULU WARA!"
It let out a series of screeches, then swung its trident fiercely, pointing it in Lynch’s direction.
Immediately, around forty Tidal Fishmen and two ferocious Fish Giants broke from the ranks. Led by the warrior, they charged menacingly toward Lynch’s Undead Corps, stomping across the sand and shallow water.
The Fishman Warrior’s charge was both fierce and domineering, as if nothing could stand in its way.
And it was indeed fierce. Wherever it passed, the frail goblin skeletons couldn’t block a single blow and were sent flying, their bones scattering in mid-air and raining down as a pile of shattered fragments.
In the blink of an eye, the Fishman Warrior had charged into the center of the skeleton horde.
Its gaze was locked on the Necromancer atop the Hellhound Skeleton. A vicious glint intensified in its fish-eyes as it raised its trident, about to skewer the Necromancer and knock him off his mount.
Suddenly!
"ROAR—"
A guttural, corpse-like roar, brimming with violent energy, exploded like a sudden clap of thunder.
The next moment,
a towering figure that looked as if it were cast from black iron stepped out of a spatial vortex and swatted at the warrior with its claw.
"CLANG—"
A sound of metal striking metal rang out.
The Fishman Warrior felt a violent tremor run up its arms, and its trident was knocked from its grasp.
The blow sent it staggering back seven or eight steps, leaving a trail of fishman footprints in the sand.
Its eyes filled with terror and bewilderment.
’What kind of monster was that?’
However, before it could even recover, an even more terrifying scene unfolded.
From the spatial vortex, Bone Shadow, a Bone Mage, and a host of other Soul Fire units stepped out one after another.
At the same time, a banner rose into the air, fluttering in the sea breeze.
A larger spatial vortex appeared beneath the banner, and a dense tide of Skeleton Soldiers poured out, their white bones radiating a chilling, ferocious aura.
The Fishman Warrior and its group of Tidal Fishmen stared, their fish-eyes bulging in shock.
’Wh-what is happening?’
And Lynch, still sitting calmly atop Red Rabbit, simply lowered the skull-topped Magic Staff in his hand.
"ROAR—"
The Black Corpse roared again and charged forward.
The vast number of Skeleton Servants surged forward as well, instantly engulfing the Tidal Fishman force like a raging flood.
...
