These newborn Skeletons were clearly different from ordinary Humanoid Skeletons.

Their bones were grayish-black, and some dark, dried flesh still clung to their surfaces, like an extra layer of rough armor.

At the Skeleton Mage’s command, they silently picked up the weapons on the ground, turned, and joined Lynch’s defensive line. They even looked tougher than the elite goblin Skeletons from before.

’This...’ Lynch’s eyes lit up, pleasantly surprised.

All he could say was, the Skeleton Mage had done a beautiful job.

Although these Skeletons were converted by the Skeleton Mage and theoretically under its command, the Skeleton Mage itself belonged to Lynch. Therefore, Lynch could reassign the troops whenever he wished.

’Still, these Black Skeletons look pretty good. I can assign a batch of them to the Skeleton Mage’s personal guard, and hand the rest over to Bone Jade.’

Lynch was growing more and more reliant on his Skeleton Mage.

But unlike the two Skeleton Soldiers summoned from the Netherworld, if the Skeleton Mage died, it would be gone for good. It had to be protected.

Lynch felt a surge of delight. He couldn’t help but loudly taunt the Black Corpse, which was still seething in impotent rage, "Thank you for your generous contribution of soldiers, old-timer."

His voice echoed through the mine tunnel.

But the ancient Corpse predecessor clearly couldn’t comprehend Lynch’s brand of "humor," which transcended both era and species.

However, that didn’t stop it from replying with an even more furious roar.

"ROOOAAARRR!!!"

The howl was filled with rage and venom. If Lynch had been standing in front of it, he would have been torn into hundreds of pieces.

Clearly, while this old-timer didn’t understand humor, it certainly had a short temper.

Time passed, second by second.

The ordinary zombies blocking the tunnel entrance fell one wave after another. Then, under the Skeleton Mage’s Skeleton Resurrection Skill, they were transformed into Black Skeletons and turned to join Lynch’s ranks.

As one side weakened and the other grew stronger, the number of zombies inside the mine tunnel rapidly decreased.

When only five or six zombies remained, the old Black Corpse predecessor finally stopped causing a traffic jam.

"ROAR~~!!!"

The Black Corpse tilted its head back and let out a guttural howl. Its body then shot forward like a cannonball, smashing through a few of its own subordinates amidst a foul, gusting wind.

Having been held back for so long, it could finally cut loose.

It was going to personally shred these bags of bones, crush that Skeleton Mage, and tear the girl reeking of Holy Light’s stench to pieces.

However, just as it charged menacingly out of the tunnel entrance, raising its jet-black claws to stage a one-corpse show of utter dominance...

Suddenly, the elite Skeletons, along with the Warrior Maiden Ophelia, all retreated in unison, opening up a large, empty space for the Black Corpse.

And so, the Black Corpse’s attack, which had been poised to sweep through an army, struck nothing but empty air.

Its Soul Fire even flickered for a moment, showing a flash of bewilderment.

The next instant, Bone Valor led its twenty-odd remaining goblin cannon fodder Skeletons to surge forward from both sides, completely surrounding the Black Corpse.

The Black Corpse’s plan for a rampage was interrupted, and being surrounded by a group of "ants" only enraged it further. It immediately swung its claws in a Horizontal Sweep.

The two goblin Skeletons at the very front were hit as if by a sledgehammer. Their bones shattered instantly as they were sent flying, falling apart in mid-air.

But more goblin Skeletons were still standing. They rammed the Black Corpse with their bodies and hacked at its legs and waist with their battered weapons.

Although the damage was limited, they successfully hindered its movements.

"Now! Full firepower," Lynch ordered, his eyes narrowing slightly.

After giving the command, he immediately cast a Weakness Curse.

Immediately after, the Skeleton Mage followed up in perfect sync with a Pain Curse.

However, just as Lynch had expected, these two negative-status Magic spells, primarily designed for enemies of flesh and blood, were far less effective against Undead Creatures.

This was especially true for this ancient Black Corpse, which had very high resistances.

Sure enough, after the two Curses hit it, the Black Corpse’s body only sank slightly and its movements became a tad sluggish before it roared and continued swatting away the goblin Skeletons around it.

But Lynch’s true intention wasn’t to win with Curses. Those were just the appetizer.

The real assault was about to begin.

"Fireball Technique~" the Magical Maiden Lilith cried out. The spell she had long since prepared was complete, and a blazing Fireball shot out with a whistle.

Almost simultaneously, the goblin Shaman Skeleton also raised its bone staff, and another Fireball followed right behind.

"BOOM! BOOM!"

The two Fireballs exploded one after another against the Black Corpse’s body, sending flames splashing everywhere. The Black Corpse staggered from the blasts, its chest and shoulder charred black. It had taken some damage, but not much.

Lynch didn’t allow the Shaman to use Palm Thunder. While that move was powerful, it would also take out quite a few of his own cannon fodder Skeletons.

"SWISH—!"

A treacherous water arrow shot out from an extremely tricky angle, heading straight for the Black Corpse’s right eye socket.

This was the Fish Priest’s specialty.

The Black Corpse instinctively tilted its head to dodge. The water arrow grazed its cheekbone as it flew past, successfully distracting it.

"Holy Light, purify."

Following Avril’s solemn and ethereal chant, a beam of pure white Holy Light shot out and struck the Black Corpse.

"TSSSSS—!!!"

It was like pouring hot oil on snow.

The Holy Light caused black smoke to sizzle and rise from the Black Corpse’s body. As if its very Soul Fire had been scorched, it began to roar and shriek in agony.

The damage from this single blow far exceeded the combined damage of the two Fireball Techniques.

Seeing how effective the purification was, Avril’s excited face flushed slightly red. She couldn’t help but shoot a triumphant glance at Lynch, as if to say, ’See? You obnoxious senior, my Purification Skill is still very useful. It’s way better at dealing with you... uh, I mean, at dealing with evil Undead than offensive Magic is.’

"Keep casting. Don’t stop," Lynch snapped, giving her an annoyed glare.

"Hmph," Avril huffed, rolling her eyes. She turned her head away in dissatisfaction and raised her Holy Emblem Staff again, beginning the chant for another Holy Light Purification Skill.

At the same time, Ophelia also charged forward. She channeled the faint fighting spirit within her into her Longsword, and the blade instantly began to glow with a soft white light.

"Hah!" she cried out. Pushing off with her feet, she dashed forward several steps and, from behind the short goblin Skeletons, swung her sword at the Black Corpse with all her might.

A white blade of light about half a foot long shot from her sword, cutting through the air and slashing toward the Black Corpse’s chest.

"SHINK—"

The blade of light actually cut more than an inch deep, leaving behind a gash. Though it wasn’t deep, it made the Black Corpse stagger again, roaring repeatedly.

Having landed her strike, Ophelia didn’t press her luck. She immediately retreated to gather her strength for the next attack, her movements clean and efficient.

With that, all of Lynch’s ranged and special attackers had completed a full volley at almost the same time.

Curses, Fireballs, a water arrow, Holy Light, a Fighting Spirit Slash... all sorts of attacks rained down on the Black Corpse. While no single one could deal a fatal blow, their cumulative effect was considerable.

The Black Corpse roared in fury, swatting away a few more of the annoying "trash."

But the next wave of attacks was already coming, and the "trash" Skeleton Soldiers it had smashed to pieces were reviving and charging back in.

This powerful, ancient Black Corpse had immense brute strength and defense, but it was like a wild beast caught in a spider’s web. Every step forward was a struggle, and the wounds on its body kept accumulating.

This cycle repeated itself.

By the time the Black Corpse was surrounded by a huge pile of Skeletons shattered beyond resurrection, it was covered in wounds, on its last breath, and had no strength left to fight.

Only then did Lynch send his Hellhound Skeleton, Red Rabbit, charging forward to knock it to the ground.

Red Rabbit planted a foot on the Black Corpse’s chest.

Surrounded by a throng of his Skeleton Guards, Lynch’s condescending gaze met the dim Soul Fire in the Black Corpse’s eye sockets for an instant.

His cold voice rang out.

"Submit, or be destroyed!"

In the eyes of the three maidens,

at this moment, their senior truly resembled a...

Lord of the Undead!

...