...
Of course.
An unexpected situation had already arisen.
As a well-educated young man of high moral standing, Lynch couldn't just stand by and watch three pretty female classmates get captured by filthy, ugly goblins, only to be subjected to the depraved acts one might read about in R-rated adventure novels.
That would be utterly monstrous.
Besides, Lynch had his eye on that flashy goblin wolf rider with the bright feather stuck in its head.
'This is a cavalry unit... Even if it's not a proper Death Knight, it's definitely faster than a two-legged Skeleton. It would be great for pursuit or reconnaissance.'
A glint of excitement flashed in Lynch's eyes as he sized up the goblin wolf rider, as if he were already assessing the quality of its bones.
'And those elites... their bones look pretty sturdy, too. Perfect for strengthening my Personal Guard Team.'
Saving them was a matter of principle, but acquiring high-quality corpse materials was the sacred duty of a Necromancer.
The two were not mutually exclusive; in fact, they could be integrated seamlessly.
Of course, Lynch wasn't foolish enough to just charge out, yell, "Don't be afraid, pretty classmates, I'm here to save you!" and then lead his army of Skeletons into a head-on clash with the goblins.
He would certainly win that way, but his own forces would definitely take losses, which went against his guiding principle of "achieving the greatest victory at the lowest cost."
He silently observed the situation, his mind racing.
Based on the goblins' current pursuit speed and the three girls' condition,
if no one intervened, they could probably keep running for another two or three hundred meters. Then, due to exhaustion and their injuries, the wolf rider would accelerate to cut them off, and they would be surrounded.
Therefore, he intervened.
As the three maidens ran past his position,
he casually picked up a pebble from the ground, wrapped a thread of Spiritual Power around it, and flicked his wrist.
The stone flew out silently. Guided by Lynch's Spiritual Power, it passed through a gap in the bushes and struck the Priest maiden squarely on the shin.
He could have chosen to hit the Magical Maiden, actually.
But who could blame him for disliking the Holy Light System the most?
"Ouch!"
Caught off guard, the Priest maiden cried out as the pebble hit her. The pain caused her already unsteady steps to falter, and she lost her balance, pitching forward onto the ground.
"Avril!" The blonde Magical Maiden cried out in alarm, immediately stopping and turning back to help her.
The Warrior Maiden bringing up the rear also paled. She quickly ran back, grabbed the Priest maiden's arm, and desperately tried to pull her up, but what was the use?
The Priest maiden's leg was numb with pain; she couldn't even stand steadily.
In a life-or-death chase, such a brief delay was fatal.
"WAAAAGH~~"
Seeing this, a cruel, excited light flared in the goblin wolf rider's eyes.
It had long been struggling to restrain its lust for these tender, tasty human females. Now that its prey had fallen, how could it miss such a golden opportunity?
It let out an ecstatic, bizarre cry and waved the small animal-hide flag in its hand. The woodland wolf beneath it kicked off with its hind legs, instantly accelerating and charging forward ahead of the others.
The dozens of goblins behind it went into a frenzy, waving their weapons and screeching as they scrambled forward, each afraid of being too slow to get a piece of the prize.
By this time, Avril had just been helped up by the Warrior Maiden and the Magical Maiden and was trying to flee, dragging her limping leg.
Their fate seemed to have already been sealed.
In the blink of an eye, the goblin vanguard had closed to within twenty meters. Worse, the goblin wolf rider had already overtaken them, blocking their path ahead with its curved blade.
In just a few breaths, the surging goblins had completely surrounded them.
Their eyes were filled with a blatant, greedy excitement. Their ugly, filthy green faces drew closer, reeking of a foul stench.
They cackled strangely, "Heh, heh," as they steadily tightened the encirclement, brandishing their wooden clubs, stone axes, and rusty swords at the girls.
"It's over..." The Priest maiden, Avril, was pale as a sheet. Her body trembled with extreme fear as she gripped the arm of the Magical Maiden, Lilith.
Lilith's face was also deathly pale, but her eyes held a desperate defiance. She raised her short Magic Staff, its tip glowing fiery red, but she didn't know which enemy to target first.
The Warrior Maiden stood with her back to them, her breathing ragged and the veins on her forehead throbbing. Her stamina was clearly depleted, but she still gritted her teeth, searching for a possible opening, even though she knew there was little hope.
The three maidens were all too aware of the nature of goblins.
To fall into the hands of these cruel and sadistic creatures, death itself might be a luxury.
The mere thought of what might happen next sent a chill down their spines, and despair spread through their hearts.
The guide, Hank, lay prone beside Lynch, taking in the entire scene.
An anxious look crossed his face. His lips moved as if to speak, but after a glance at the exceptionally cold Lynch, whose face was completely hidden by a black hood, he swallowed his words.
Lynch was still waiting for the right moment.
The encirclement grew smaller and smaller, and the goblins even began to shove each other. The goblin wolf rider dismounted from its wolf and began brandishing its curved blade to drive back its impatient kin.
Lynch knew.
The time was almost right.
He would save them, of course.
But these classmates he was about to rescue had to at least put in a little "effort" to reduce the combat losses for his, Lord Lynch's, army of Skeletons, right?
The goblins were now scrambling over one another for their prey, having completely lost all vigilance.
The time had come.
Time to act.
With a faint stir of Lynch's Spiritual Power,
the dense woods on both sides, which had been perfectly quiet just a moment ago, suddenly filled with the scalp-numbing sound of countless bones scraping and clattering.
One after another, pale Skeletons rose from behind bushes, from under piles of fallen leaves, and from behind large trees.
The eye sockets of most were just dark, empty pits. They looked vacant and dazed, yet as cold as killing machines.
The entire Undead Army had awakened.
Their numbers far exceeded the goblins present.
With no fanfare whatsoever, Lynch's Undead Army formed an even larger circle, trapping the goblins within. Under the command of his three favorite Skeletons, they launched a ferocious assault.
At the same time, Lynch and the Skeleton Mage both cast their Weakness Curses, flying out with a tacit understanding to each strike an elite goblin.
As for the goblin wolf rider, it was nothing once it got off its wolf.
"PEW!"
To Lynch's slight surprise, he saw the Fishman Priest Skeleton cast a spell. A water arrow accurately struck a goblin in the face, and it was immediately cut down in two strikes by another Skeleton.
'Well now, you're a sneaky one, aren't you.'
'But I like it.'
The battle erupted in an instant.
...