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The ancient tomb was located deep within the mine.

An abandoned mine tunnel snaked its way downward.

The Magical Maiden’s illumination spell dispelled the darkness.

In the distance, a few lively and adorable Skeleton Squirrels scouted the various branching paths.

Bone Jade led its personal contingent of Skeletons as the vanguard, scouting ahead, while Bone Valor brought up the rear with a mob of goblin grunt Skeletons.

As for Lynch, he rode his newly named Hellish Skeleton Dog, Red Rabbit, in the middle of the formation.

Lynch was surrounded by his elite guards, which included a goblin warrior Skeleton, a Shaman Skeleton, a Bear Goblin Skeleton, eleven elite goblin Skeletons, and three Skeleton Wolf Cavalry.

Red Rabbit, the mount beneath Lynch, wasn’t just a steed. Lynch had also appointed it captain of the army’s cavalry, though its command consisted of only three Skeleton Wolf Cavalry—a pitifully shabby force.

The three girls, meanwhile, followed closely at Lynch’s side.

But they had no mounts and could only rely on their own two feet, their gazes toward Lynch filled with envy.

In truth, the total number of Lynch’s Skeleton army had decreased after the battle at the goblin camp.

Of the forty to fifty Humanoid Skeletons he had started with, only twenty-three remained.

The Fishman unit recruited from the Fishman Tribe was in even worse shape. Only the Fishman Priest was left—a sole survivor just one step away from total annihilation.

On the other hand, he still had a good number of goblin grunt Skeletons—thirty-six of them.

However, the overall combat effectiveness of Lynch’s army had actually increased instead of decreased.

The newly added goblin warrior Skeleton, Shaman Skeleton, and Hellhound Skeleton were far superior to ordinary Skeletons, even if their strength had dropped significantly from when they were alive. Even the Bear Goblin Skeletons couldn’t compare. They were, without a doubt, the top-tier combat power currently under Lynch’s command.

’Still, my forces are too thin in the end,’ Lynch mused with an inward sigh while riding the Hellhound. ’None of the units are at full strength. It’s really pathetic.’

’After exploring this tomb, I’ll have to find a few more monster camps or bandit lairs to properly recruit a wave of new troops.’

As Lynch’s thoughts wandered, the party advanced through the mine tunnel for about half an hour.

They didn’t encounter a single monster along the way.

Finally, they reached the end of the mine.

Surrounded by his guards, Lynch urged Red Rabbit to quicken its pace, passing the vanguard Skeletons to arrive at the very front of the formation.

The mine tunnel suddenly opened up here, revealing a large, natural cavern.

Near the cavern’s rock wall on one side was a pile of rubble, a half-collapsed wooden support frame, and hastily discarded pickaxes and an overturned minecart.

But none of that was what stood out the most.

The most conspicuous feature was a half-collapsed entrance in the rock wall.

One could still see some ancient stone bricks and traces of carvings along the edge of the opening, completely out of place with the surrounding rough rock. This was clearly the entrance to the ancient noble’s tomb that the miners had accidentally dug into.

Judging by the chaotic and rushed scene, the miners at the time must have dug up something terrifying, which scared them out of their wits and sent them fleeing in such a panic that they didn’t even have time to gather their tools.

"This is it." Lynch swung himself off the Hellhound’s back. Flanked by his guards, he walked to the rubble-strewn entrance and observed it carefully.

Inside the opening, it was pitch-black, like the gaping maw of a man-eating beast.

Naturally, Lynch wasn’t about to step recklessly into that darkness.

He turned his head and gestured to the Magical Maiden. "Lilith, cast another illumination spell. Let’s get a look inside."

"Okay, Senior." Lilith responded immediately, raising her Magic Staff and chanting a short incantation.

A soft yet bright orb of light formed at the tip of her staff. Guided by her Spiritual Power, it wobbled its way into the opening, illuminating the scene within.

It was a rather spacious tomb chamber.

The floor was paved with neat but dust-covered stone slabs, and the walls bore faded murals and discolored patterns.

In the center of the chamber stood a dozen or so heavy stone coffins, side by side, carved with family crests and other designs. The lids of three or four of them had been pried open and lay toppled on the floor.

And beside those opened coffins stood several shadowy figures.

Their skin was a bruised, blackish-green, and they wore tattered, rotting leather armor, clutching a variety of rust-eaten weapons.

Perhaps because so much time had passed, the flesh on their bodies had long since shriveled up, and they exuded a thick stench of rot.

As if stimulated by the magical orb’s light, these zombies, which had been standing as still as statues, stiffly raised their heads. A muffled "HRRGHH... HRRGHH..." sound rumbled from their throats.

Then, with somewhat heavy steps, they began to shuffle toward the entrance, one foot at a time.

"Hoh? So they’re just zombies." Lynch chuckled when he got a clear look at the situation. "No wonder those miners were scared shitless."

In fact, zombies were one of the standard units available to a Necromancer, known internally as "corpse servants."

Typically, the Corpse Resurrection Skill used to create them could only be learned by a Tier One official Necromancer.

Furthermore, the conversion process was more troublesome than the Skeleton Resurrection Skill, requiring magical rituals and certain Antiseptic Materials. Otherwise, the resulting zombies would easily rot away in a short time.

The advantages of zombies were their higher defense and greater strength; their disadvantage was their slow movement.

In a Necromancer’s army, they often served as front-line meat shields.

Of course, if the unit was powerful in life, it would generally retain more of its strength when converted into a zombie compared to a Skeleton. For this reason, some Necromancers were fond of searching for the corpses of the strong to meticulously cultivate them into powerful zombie servants.

As Lynch was muttering to himself internally, the shambling zombies had already shuffled near the entrance, and the putrid stench assaulted their nostrils.

Without needing an order from Lynch, Bone Jade, the vanguard commander, had already led its personal contingent of Skeletons forward to engage the zombies in battle.

"CLANG! SQUELCH!"

Weapons striking the zombies made a dull thud, like chopping into thick, water-soaked leather.

The zombies’ rotten leather armor and dried, hardened flesh provided decent defense. The weapons of ordinary Skeleton Servants often couldn’t cut deep enough to inflict fatal damage.

Moreover, they were also Undead Units. They felt no pain and knew no fear. Even when struck, they would swing their weapons back in retaliation as if nothing had happened.

Their strength was also considerable. One zombie swung its rusty blade and actually sent a shield-bearing Humanoid Skeleton staggering back several steps.

Thus, the damage output of ordinary Skeleton Servants against them was indeed not very high.

Only Bone Jade was nimble enough, its strikes cunningly aimed. Every attack landed on the zombies’ weak points like their joints and necks. With a flash of its blade, it could easily sever a zombie’s arm or slice open half its neck, greatly reducing its mobility.

"Tsk, they’re really tough-skinned." After observing the battle, Lynch turned to the Priest girl clutching her Holy Emblem. "Hey, Avril, time for you to show off your professional skills. Isn’t Holy Light the perfect counter to the Undead? Go purify them."

Hearing this, Avril’s face flushed slightly, whether from anger or nervousness, it was hard to tell.

She glared at Lynch, then raised her Holy Emblem Staff. Her expression became solemn and focused as a soft white light gathered at the staff’s tip.

"In the name of the Holy Light, purify the foul, and banish the darkness."

A beam of white brilliance shot out from the top of the Holy Emblem, striking a zombie.

"Tssssss—"

The zombie instantly began to tremble violently, as if seared by intense heat. Its skin rapidly charred and carbonized before it collapsed to the ground, unmoving.

Lynch raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Hoh, not bad, Junior. You really are good at dealing with these filthy things."

Avril blushed again and turned her head away, not wanting to deal with this detestable Senior anymore. She grit her teeth, but just as she was about to cast a second Holy Light Purification Skill,

Lynch stopped her.

"That’s enough. Conserve your Mana. Save it for the big guy later."

"Big guy?"

Avril’s expression was one of slight bewilderment. ’Where’s a big guy?’

But just as the thought crossed her mind, a corpse’s roar echoed from the depths of the tomb.

"ROOOOAR—"

The roar was almost tangible, striking the ears and making one’s blood churn.

Even Lynch’s expression couldn’t help but turn solemn. ’What exactly did that old Necromancer predecessor leave for me?’

The three girls’ faces paled drastically.

Avril, in particular, was so nervous her legs went weak.

She could vaguely sense that the roaring creature had likely smelled her Holy Light and was clearly coming for her.

Avril shot her Senior a vicious glare.

’This Senior... he’s using me as bait again.’

In that brief moment of distraction, Avril felt a powerful, sinister force lock onto her, and it was approaching fast.

’Oh no—’

’The big guy is here.’

"BOOM—"

A stone door on the inner side of the tomb chamber was smashed open.

A humanoid monster charged out from behind the stone door, letting out another deafening roar.

"Holy shit! A Black Corpse! And an ancient one at that."

Even though he had expected the big guy inside to be tough, Lynch couldn’t help but curse when he got a clear look at its physical features.

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