Step by step, its presence was overwhelming.

"Gag~" Lilith was the first to cover her mouth, her face instantly turning deathly pale as her stomach churned violently.

Olivia paled as well, but as a Warrior, she couldn’t show any weakness.

Avril, however, clenched her jaw as Holy Light Power circulated over her body to resist the foul presence.

"Heh. It’s pretty big, and it certainly looks intimidating." But far from feeling fear or disgust, Lynch’s eyes lit up as he sized up the behemoth with great interest. ’Its intelligence doesn’t seem too high, though. Did it not see the size of my powerful army before charging in so recklessly?’

According to the captured undead apprentice,

this Abomination was a "watchdog" that Anthony had pieced together from the remains of some Blue Scarf slave workers, adventurers, and even Magical Beasts. Its strength had reached Tier Three, and it possessed a Soul Fire.

Now that Anthony was dead, the Abomination had naturally become a masterless creature.

Watching his master absorb Anthony’s remaining forces earlier had made Lynch practically drool with envy.

Now, it was finally his turn to pick up the scraps!

With a mental command from Lynch,

his "fierce generals and proud soldiers" charged straight toward the Abomination and its minions.

The Tier-Two units—Zombie Blood Fang, the Black Corpse, the Naga Department, Bone Jade, and the others—led the charge, a dense army of Skeletons following close behind.

Soon,

the two forces clashed violently within the mine, and a brutal battle erupted.

In this environment, with Lynch’s side holding an absolute advantage in numbers, it was a simple matter of giving an "attack-move" command.

The Black Corpse deserved special praise here. Despite being heavily injured by a copper-armored corpse earlier, it now fought with incredible ferocity, truly living up to the reputation of a zombie unit known for its strength and defense.

Admittedly, the Abomination and its pack of Ghouls were not weak; they actually managed to fight Lynch’s vanguard to a standstill.

But Lynch’s forces consisted of more than just a vanguard.

He also had the Weakness Curse, the Pain Curse, Skeleton Mages, goblin Skeleton Spearmen... Even the three young women joined the battle.

After a short battle, they first eliminated the Ghouls, then focused all their attacks on the Abomination.

Soon,

the Abomination’s body was covered in slashes, claw marks, and burns. Most of its stitches had snapped, and one of its arms was nearly severed, dangling uselessly at its side. Its movements grew increasingly slow and clumsy, and much of its violent rage seemed to have been pacified.

Seeing that the time was right, Lynch rode Red Rabbit a few steps forward and began to exert his Spiritual Power, attempting to cow the beast into submission.

But evidently, Lynch was only Tier One. The Tier-Three Abomination was still defiant; it let out a roar on the spot and began swinging its massive cleaver once more.

"Excellent. I admire your defiance," Lynch said, nodding with satisfaction.

He waved his hand.

"Keep at it. Beat it into submission."

His commanders understood and unleashed another coordinated assault.

This process was repeated three times.

By this point,

the Abomination had been beaten to the point of collapse, its Soul Fire flickering on the verge of extinction. Lynch stepped forward once again.

This time, he augmented his own power with the overwhelming aura of death from the surrounding Undead Army and the subtle pressure emanating from the Silver Armored Corpse at his side.

Finally,

the defiant Abomination reluctantly opened its Soul Fire to him, allowing Lynch to place his Death Mark upon it.

In an instant,

Lynch felt a mental link form between himself and the ugly yet powerful Abomination, established through the Death Mark.

Although this connection was far less intimate than the one he shared with Bone Jade and Bone Valor through their Soul Contract, it at least allowed for basic command and control. Through the mark, he could monitor the creature’s condition at all times, and even... terminate it.

"All set." Lynch breathed a sigh of relief, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.

The process had been a bit brutish, but the results were delightful. He had gained a new Tier-Three powerhouse for his army... it just happened to be incredibly hideous.

The three young women, their faces etched with disgust, immediately hid behind the rest of the troops.

Lynch didn’t mind, though. Ugly was ugly; as long as it was useful, that was all that mattered.

If he ever got tired of looking at it, he could just store it in the Death Banner and bring it out when needed. It would definitely pack a punch!

While Lynch was admiring his new Abomination,

the Skeleton Mage had already begun the thankless task of cleaning up the battlefield, resurrecting their fallen Skeletons and transforming the dead Ghouls into Ghoul Skeletons.

The strength of these Ghoul Skeletons was a far cry from what they possessed in life, but it was better than nothing.

With a wave of his hand, Lynch assigned them to the vanguard cannon-fodder unit, which was once again led by Bone Valor.

Simultaneously,

Lynch’s Soul Fire units each siphoned off a portion of their death energy and infused it into the paralyzed Abomination.

Soon, the Abomination’s Soul Fire stabilized considerably.

It let out a low roar and struggled to its feet. Though it still staggered, it had at least recovered some mobility.

"Move out! Keep advancing!" With a wave of his hand, Lynch directed his army toward the very core of Anthony’s lair.

Soon,

at the end of the mine tunnel, the army came upon a stone door.

According to the undead apprentice, the area behind the stone door was Anthony’s private sanctum, a place the apprentice was forbidden to enter.

Lynch’s heart raced with anticipation. ’I hope that dead bastard left plenty of riches for me.’

"Blood Fang, knock."

Lynch waved his hand.

Blood Fang, who was in the initial stages of transforming into a Black Corpse, strode forward and swung his warhammer in a heavy blow against the stone door.

BOOM—!!

CRUMBLE~~

The stone door shattered, sending rubble flying.

The scene behind the stone door was revealed to Lynch.

It appeared to be a massive, naturally formed cavern that had been subsequently modified and expanded.

High on the ceiling, embedded crystals glowed, casting a bleak and pale light over the cavern.

However, as Lynch took a closer look, he gasped, his pupils constricting in shock.

There on the cavern floor, a massive, complex, and dizzyingly intricate sacrificial Magic Array was drawn.

The Array was over twenty meters in diameter, its countless runes and lines sketched out in a dark red material to form a multi-layered, nested composite of Pentagram Arrays that possessed a kind of wicked beauty.

A Negative Energy Crystal was embedded at every node of the Magic Array. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

The massive Magic Array was clearly already active, filling the air with a dense aura of death energy.

Well over fifty young women, their hands and feet bound by ropes, were arranged in a specific pattern across the Magic Array.

Furthermore, a coffin rested in the very center of the Magic Array.

It appeared to be carved from a single piece of translucent crystal, and within it, the faint figure of a girl about ten years old could be seen lying down.

Beside the crystal coffin, a middle-aged man in noble attire was kneeling on one knee.

His features might have once been handsome, but now his eyes were filled with fanaticism, twisting his expression into a distorted mask.

Lynch identified him almost instantly. This had to be Viscount Golding—the local noble who had colluded with the Draenei Brotherhood and secretly instructed Anthony to carry out this evil sacrifice.

But none of this was the cause of Lynch’s terror.

What truly terrified him was...

...the vast, translucent phantom floating above the sacrificial Magic Array!

It was the phantom of a woman. Her figure was graceful and enchanting, and she wore an ancient, magnificent court gown whose hem, seemingly woven from pale moonlight, fluttered gently in mid-air.

Her skin was deathly pale, without a trace of color, yet as smooth and flawless as polished alabaster.

Floating there, she held a beautiful parasol, and her whole bearing was that of an elegant and enchanting noblewoman out for an afternoon stroll.

As Lynch looked at her, the figure in the air turned her gaze on him and offered a captivating smile.

In that one instant,

Lynch felt as if he had been plunged into an icy abyss.

The blood in his veins seemed to freeze, his breath caught in his throat, and his mind went completely blank.

He had only one thought.

’Holy fuck, isn’t that the Netherworld Demigod, [Lady Pale Elegy Victoria]?!’

’Is it too late for me to run?’

...

(Can’t keep up. My writing speed can’t match the release schedule. I won’t make the 7 a.m. update tomorrow. I’ll post it whenever it’s done.)