...

"I surrender~"

The female assassin shrieked.

However, the only response she received was a barrage of attacks from all directions.

"FWOOSH~"

A water arrow shot out from an unknown corner, exploding into a splash on her shoulder.

"BOOM~"

Immediately followed by a small Fireball.

Bone Jade’s Bone Knife swung at her waist, forcing her into another pathetic roll.

But that roll took her right into the attack range of the Black Corpse. Its massive, iron-like claws swiped down with a foul stench. She barely managed to parry with her dagger, but the brute force left her arm numb and blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.

The unexpected breath of Nether Flame from Red Rabbit put her in even greater peril.

"I’m an official member of the Hand of Shadow."

"I was hired by the Draenei Brotherhood! If you kill me, they’ll hunt you to the ends of the earth!"

"You damn, filthy Necromancer..."

But whether the female assassin begged, threatened, or cursed...

Lynch’s gaze remained calm and indifferent. For his own safety, he even sidled up to the Bone Mage, sharing the protection of its Black Skeleton Guard.

From the moment she had silently approached him, she was already a dead woman in Lynch’s mind.

Besides, Lynch remembered her.

He had inadvertently caught a glimpse of her figure, squatting in a shadowy corner of the dimly lit auction hall earlier.

There was no doubt about it. His private transaction with Amadis had escaped everyone else’s notice, but not hers.

She must have targeted him, thinking he was an easy, fat sheep, and followed him to kill him for his treasure.

While she was cursing, Lynch hit her with another Weakness Curse, just in case her resistance was high enough to shake off the effects too quickly.

The female assassin’s body stiffened once more. Utter despair finally appeared in her eyes, and she began to curse and counterattack with wild abandon.

In truth, Lynch had to admit it.

This female assassin was genuinely skilled, far from a "rookie" who had just become a Tier One assassin. Her stealth, speed, reflexes, and close-combat techniques were all excellent.

Unfortunately for her, she had chosen the wrong opponent.

Forget a Tier One; even a Tier Two assassin would have no chance of survival once trapped in his sea of death, composed of several elite Undead Commanders and hundreds of Skeleton Servants.

And that was without even mentioning the double Curses she was under.

This was the advantage of a Necromancer. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Even though he was still just a Necromancer apprentice, once his Undead Army took shape, its power was enough to transcend the boundaries of class tiers and allow him to kill opponents of a higher level.

Back then, if "Ashbringer" Lester hadn’t been supported by his powerful Undead Legion, how could he have repeatedly fought his way out of the Holy Light Church’s encirclements, and even kidnapped the Holy Light’s Quasi-Saintess?

And now, the female assassin, completely surrounded, had become a cornered beast.

Although she swung her dagger desperately, her Body Technique still relatively nimble, and she could occasionally shatter one or two of the ordinary Skeleton Servants that got close, her resistance was futile against the overwhelming numbers of the Skeleton Servants and the relentless assault of elites like Bone Jade and the Black Corpse.

"PCHI~"

Bone Jade seized an opening she exposed while dodging the Black Corpse’s strike, plunging its Bone Knife between her ribs from behind.

The female assassin’s body shuddered violently, her movements abruptly freezing.

"BANG~"

The next instant, the Black Corpse’s claw slammed viciously into her chest.

"CRACK~"

The sound of bone breaking rang out.

"WAAH~" The female assassin was sent staggering back seven or eight steps, spewing a mouthful of blood.

"PCHI~ PCHI~ PCHI!"

The next second, countless blades, swords, spears, and claws descended upon her body.

Blood splattered everywhere.

Her gaze began to lose focus. Her brown eyes held nothing but a vacant stare, a trace of regret, and venomous resentment.

The next moment, the weapons were withdrawn. Her body swayed, then fell to its knees with a THUD.

She was dead.

Killed by a thousand cuts.

But even so, Lynch didn’t approach immediately.

To be cautious, he micromanaged Bone Jade to step forward. With a swift cut, it lopped off her head. Only then did he signal for the Skeletons to spread out a bit as he walked over to the mangled corpse.

"Hoo~"

Lynch let out a breath.

The crisis was finally over.

He finally relaxed a little and began to carefully inspect the body.

After a bit of searching, he first found three silver needles, as fine as ox hair, in her messy bun. Their tips glinted with a faint blue light, clearly coated in a potent poison.

Next, in hidden places like behind her ear, on the side of her neck, and under her arm, he found several metal blades as thin as a cicada’s wing.

He also retrieved two finger-thick glass vials of potions from a hidden layer in the lining of her tight leather armor.

Looking at these insidious, vicious hidden weapons and unknown potions, Lynch couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat.

This kind of professionally trained assassin, covered in thorns, was just too dangerous.

If he hadn’t reacted quickly enough, and if he hadn’t kept seven or eight Squirrel Skeletons stationed around him as mobile sentries, discovering her approach in advance...

The consequences would have been unimaginable.

’Good. In the end, I’m the winner.’

Lynch sighed in relief again.

He hadn’t expected his pre-deployed encirclement to actually be useful today. ’Looks like it pays for a boy to be a little extra prepared when he’s out and about,’ he thought.

After dealing with the deadly little trinkets on the assassin’s body, Lynch finally began to inspect his loot.

He found several checks in her personal pouch, with a total value of over seven hundred Gold Coins. For a class like an assassin, which required high mobility and stealth, carrying large amounts of cash was indeed inconvenient.

Besides that, her equipment was also worth a lot of money.

The pair of dark gray, soft-soled leather boots on her feet had a peculiar feel to them. There was a faint fluctuation of Wind Element, so they were likely a piece of Magic Equipment enchanted with "Lightness" or "Silence," which would significantly increase movement speed and stealth.

Too bad they were women’s boots~ He couldn’t wear them!

The dark cloak she wore was made of a special material that could almost blend in perfectly with the shadows, likely another piece of Magic Equipment with a stealth effect.

Furthermore, the blade of her black dagger shimmered with a dark glint under the moonlight. It was definitely no ordinary item—at the very least, it was a decent Low Tier Magic Weapon.

"What a huge haul..." Lynch looked at the pile of valuable loot, and the frustration from being ambushed vanished completely.

Even by a rough estimate, the total value of these spoils already exceeded what he had spent on the Skeletal Bracelet.

Indeed, there’s no faster way to get rich than murder and arson.

This female assassin had really alleviated his poverty problem.

It was just a shame that if she had delivered this "care package" earlier, Lynch could have afforded to bid on that small Space Ring as well.

Of course, for a Necromancer like Lynch, the most valuable thing on this female assassin wasn’t any of these external items.

He stared intently at the nearly shattered corpse, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

’This is the fresh corpse of a veteran Tier One assassin~’

Moreover, his Skeletal Bracelet had room for one more relatively small Undead Unit, in addition to Red Rabbit, the Black Corpse, the goblin Shaman, and the Bone Mage.

’Young lady, I see you have a unique bone structure. You’ll fit right in~’

To show respect for this "future great general" under his command, Lynch personally and carefully straightened her head and body, pressing them back together.

Then, with a rather pious attitude, he whispered a few words of prayer to the Nether God.

’This time, I need to get lucky. I have to get a Soul Fire!’

’I’m in desperate need of an Undead Assassin unit.’

’If it’s born with a Soul Fire and possesses intelligence, then after some proper nurturing, it could defend against ambushes and also take on reconnaissance, assassination, and infiltration missions.’

He took a deep breath to calm himself.

Lynch raised his skull-topped Magic Staff and aimed it at the assassin’s corpse on the ground.

Mana surged, his Spiritual Power highly focused, as an ancient, grim incantation slowly spilled from his lips.

The next moment, a pale, deathly energy emerged, gently enveloping the female assassin’s body completely.

...