Chapter 83: Chapter 81: The Ingenious Use of a Mermaid
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"H-Honored Lord of the Undead..." Hai Ge Xiyin’s face was ashen, her delicate frame trembling slightly. Yet she forced herself to stay calm, managing a fawning smile. "I-If you would be so gracious as to spare us and let us return to the Deep Sea, our Xiyin Clan—no, the entire Deep Sea Royal Court—will surely remember your kindness and offer you a generous..."
"That’s enough." Lynch cut her off with an impatient wave. "If those Tidal Fishman troops dare to hunt you so brazenly, your Xiyin Clan must have fallen on hard times. You probably can’t even go home right now. What could you possibly offer to repay me?"
Hai Ge Xiyin’s breath hitched, and her lips parted as if to say more.
Lynch didn’t give her the chance. A half-smile played on his lips. "Are you going to say that if I just help you annihilate the rebels and restore you to your throne, or help your clan suppress some internal conflict, you can promise me riches and glory, maybe even a share of the ocean’s treasures?"
"Save it. Do I look like some hot-blooded young hero who gets swept up in a ’fallen princess and a restoration legend’ kind of story?"
Lynch scoffed inwardly.
’What a joke. This Hai Ge Xiyin is clearly big trouble. She’s most likely embroiled in a power struggle among the Deep Sea factions.’
’With my current strength and foundation, if I rashly get involved, forget about reaping any benefits. I’d be lucky if even my bones were left.’
’What I need most right now is to develop steadily and hoard my power on the down-low, not play "princess’s Knight."’
’This is the kind of trouble you definitely don’t get mixed up in.’
Seeing that Hai Ge Xiyin still seemed to want to plead her case, Lynch wasted no more words and simply raised his hand.
RATTLE~
Dozens of Skeletons armed with swords and bone spears swarmed forward, surrounding Serena and Princess Hai Ge. The cold weapons pressed almost against their bodies.
Princess Hai Ge’s face went pale with fright, and she instinctively shrank closer to Serena.
Lynch beckoned toward the edge of the forest.
Soon, the two Fishing Port militiamen who had been following from a distance and had witnessed the entire battle came walking over, trembling.
Lynch took out several coils of sturdy rope from his Space Ring and casually tossed them in front of the men.
"Tie them up. Especially that head Naga Captain—bind her extra tight."
Although the Skeletons under his command were loyal and fearless, they were incapable of performing a delicate task like tying up prisoners.
As for why he didn’t do it himself?
’Are you kidding me?’
’That Naga Captain looks pretty strong, no weaker than Bone Valor was in life.’
’Safety first. That was the number one rule in Lynch’s personal creed.’
’As for why his Space Ring was always stocked with rope...’
’Er... As a handsome, dashing young Necromancer, carrying some extra rope to protect himself when he goes out... that’s perfectly reasonable, right?’
The Nagas were furious, but with the Skeletons’ blades at their necks, they had no choice but to submit.
Soon, the militiamen had all six Nagas tightly bound with their hands behind their backs.
Then, the older militiaman used a longer rope to string the six Nagas together by the waist, leaving only about two meters of space between each one.
This way, they could still barely move forward by slithering with their serpentine tails, but if any one of them tried to speed up or change direction, she would immediately pull on her companions in front and behind, severely restricting the group’s overall speed and flexibility.
Looking at the string of Nagas, tied up like grasshoppers on a line, Lynch nodded slightly.
’This old militiaman is quite a talent. Very experienced at tying people up.’
After dealing with the Nagas, Lynch glanced over at Hai Ge, whose eyes were filled with fear and helplessness.
"As for you... I’ll let you keep a sliver of your dignity as a noble of the Sea Race. No ropes, for now."
"However, if you dare try to escape, or pull any clever tricks..."
His gaze swept over the string of Nagas, and he sneered, "I imagine they would be more than happy to continue protecting you in the form of Undead Skeletons, right?"
Hearing this, Princess Hai Ge’s delicate body trembled violently. She nodded hastily, her voice choked with tears. "I-I will follow your orders! I’ll never try to run away! I beg you... please don’t hurt Serena and the others."
"Good." Lynch nodded, satisfied. "I like smart people who know how to read a situation."
Just then, the Fish Priest, who had been observing the art of rope-tying from the side, suddenly came scurrying over on its short little legs. It began to lead its six newly acquired, basic Skeleton Mages to collect the spoils of war.
Their targets were the weapons and armor the Nagas had dropped.
Twin blades forged from fine steel, tridents, shields engraved with wave patterns... This was all standard-issue equipment for elite Naga regulars, and it was all good stuff.
Seeing the Fish Priest’s eager yet somewhat sleazy appearance, Lynch couldn’t help but smile.
’This guy is getting better and better at this,’ he thought.
Meanwhile, the Skeleton Mage wasn’t idle either.
It walked over to the small mountain of corpses and bones that Bone Valor and the cannon fodder had collected, and once again raised its Magic Staff.
A dense death energy surged forth, enveloping the pile of corpses like a white mist.
After a series of cracking sounds, forty to fifty Skeletons of various forms staggered to their feet. Most were goblin and Fishman Skeletons, but there were also a few Humanoid Skeletons.
With that, the total number of Lynch’s skeleton army officially broke the five hundred mark.
Although the vast majority were cannon-fodder-level Skeleton Servants, the visual pressure from their sheer numbers was already quite considerable.
"Alright, time to get back to rescuing Little Lisa."
