...
What was even more unfortunate was that this Skeleton Wolf Rider's eyes were dull and vacant; it clearly hadn't developed a Soul Fire.
"I guess it'll just be a high-grade tool Skeleton," Lynch sighed.
Fortunately, this Goblin Tribe should have more than one wolf rider.
'Once I take down their nest and convert a few more, I might just get lucky and produce one with a Soul Fire. When that happens, it won't be impossible to assemble a small scout team of Skeleton Wolf Riders...'
At that thought, Lynch went so far as to pick up its vibrant feather and reinsert it into a crack in its skull. 'Hmm, it's a little dirty, but at least it's regained some of its former flair.'
Next, it was time to reallocate his forces.
Bone Valor continued to command its rabble forces.
Bone Jade's Soul Fire was relatively strong, so Lynch assigned it an additional ten goblin Skeletons, bringing its unit count to forty—which was nearly its limit.
As for Lynch himself, he now had three elite goblin Skeletons and one Skeleton Wolf Rider, bringing his personal guard to a total of fourteen.
He tossed the remaining thirty goblin Skeletons to the Bone Mage in one go. As a result, while the Bone Mage still had some Commanding Power to spare, it wasn't much.
And although Lynch's Spiritual Power had increased significantly recently, the troops under his direct command were mostly elites. He also had to maintain his spiritual links to his three commanders, so while he could control a few more units, the number was limited.
Thus, Lynch's Undead Army was now almost at full capacity.
The mighty legion numbered over one hundred and twenty in total.
After handling his "internal military affairs," Lynch took a moment to admire the solemn, deadly might of his army. Nodding in satisfaction, he finally turned to the three young women who had been hiding off to the side, riddled with anxiety.
He beckoned.
The three maidens exchanged glances, but how could they dare refuse?
They could only shuffle over reluctantly.
Even now, the three of them had yet to see the face of this senior, hidden beneath his hood. They didn't even know his name, but they didn't dare ask.
Turning to business, Lynch's demeanor became serious. He began to question them meticulously about every detail of the goblin encampment.
"Besides the group that chased you, roughly how many goblins were on the outskirts of the camp? Did you see any other wolf riders or special units?"
The three maidens opened their mouths to answer, but Lynch's next wave of questions immediately followed.
"What's the surrounding terrain like? Are there any areas suitable for an ambush or for deploying a large force?"
"Were there any abnormal energy fluctuations near the ancient tomb's entrance?"
"For example, was there an aura of death, or were there signs of other elemental disturbances?"
The questions came one after another, leaving the three young women clearly bewildered.
At the time, they had been focused solely on fleeing for their lives. They'd only caught a hurried glimpse of the camp's interior, so how could they possibly remember everything so clearly?
But facing this terrifying senior, they didn't dare to be dismissive.
They could only rack their brains to recall what they had glimpsed, supplementing each other's memories to answer each of Lynch's questions as thoroughly as possible.
After hearing their report, Lynch grew thoughtful.
Seeing this, Ophelia mustered her courage and asked meekly, "S-Senior... um, could we... could we leave now? We wanted to go to Stone Crow Town to rest for the night..."
"Leave?" Lynch shook his head. "No. I still have a use for you."
"A use for us?" The three maidens were taken aback.
They truly couldn't fathom it. This senior was so powerful; what use could he possibly have for the three of them?
'The senior couldn't possibly be...'
At that thought, their legs began to tremble again.
But they would soon find out exactly how they were to be used.
***
「The next afternoon.」
In a wooded hollow several miles from the goblin encampment.
The terrain here was peculiar. Three sides were steep slopes covered in dense shrubs and trees, with only a single, relatively narrow entrance leading into a natural pocket.
At that moment, three young women—their clothes "once again" deliberately torn to tatters, revealing large patches of pale skin—were fleeing wretchedly through the entrance into the hollow.
They were panting, their expressions filled with panic.
About fifty or sixty meters behind them, a scattered group of over twenty goblins gave chase, letting out strange, guttural cries.
These little green-skinned monsters excitedly brandished their weapons, pursuing with all their might. Leading them was an elite, bone-club-wielding goblin, its eyes filled with greed at the prospect of capturing such "Top Grade" prey.
The young women "panicked" and rushed deeper into the hollow, taking a "path to nowhere."
Seeing their prey run into a dead end, the goblins grew even more excited. They swarmed into the hollow, ready to trap their quarry like fish in a barrel.
However, once they had all charged into the hollow, they discovered the three "fresh and tasty" maidens standing atop a large boulder, looking down on them with mocking eyes.
"RUSTLE, RUSTLE, RUSTLE..."
From the surrounding woods, the dense clattering of colliding bones abruptly arose.
Grim, terrifying Skeleton Servants emerged from all sides, completely encircling them.
The ensuing battle was completely one-sided, ending in just a few minutes.
All twenty-odd goblins fell in pools of their own blood, their unclosing eyes filled with lingering despair and fury.
Only then did Lynch, accompanied by his Personal Guard, walk unhurriedly down from a nearby slope.
He didn't spare a single glance for the three young women, whose acting skills were becoming increasingly polished, and went straight to inspecting the spoils.
He carefully selected the corpse of the elite goblin and a few of the stronger ones, converting them all into Skeleton Servants and integrating them into his forces.
When he was finished, Lynch couldn't help but frown. "Is that all?"
Seeing their senior's displeasure, the three young women quickly scurried over to him.
The Warrior, Ophelia, straightened her slightly grimy, chestnut-colored hair and flashed a practiced, fawning smile. "Senior, we really did our best. We circled the camp perimeter almost twice, threw rocks, shouted insults, and even stole two bags of their drying fish... We just couldn't lure any more goblins out."
"Yeah, that's right!" Lilith chimed in, stepping forward. Despite her grimy face, her youthful aura was undeniable. "Ophelia even smashed a Totem Pole at the edge of the camp at the very end, and that's what finally provoked this last group."
Avril, standing to the side, secretly rolled her eyes. 'I don't even have the energy to complain.'
'For over a day, the three of them had been following this Senior Lynch's script, playing the part of reckless, ignorant young adventurers. In total, they had successfully lured out three waves of goblins.'
'Including the first wave they'd run into, the total number of exterminated goblins was already over one hundred and fifty.'
'And yet, their senior *still* wasn't satisfied.'
'I have to admit, the senior's tactics... were so shamelessly cautious!'
'Come to think of it, she had secretly picked up that term—"cautious"—from listening to the senior's occasional muttering to himself and his lectures to the Skeletons.'
'At first, when she heard him muttering things like, "Hold steady, don't get cocky, just play it safe and build up," she hadn't really understood. But after seeing his subsequent actions and thinking it over, it all made profound sense.'
'When she compared it to their own "heroic" charge straight into the ancient tomb's vicinity... Avril could feel her cheeks burning.'
'Thinking back on it now, they had been so stupid.'
'If they'd possessed even half the essence of their senior's "Way of the Weasel" tactics, would they have ended up like this?'
Lynch believed they had indeed done their best, so he waved his hand with a hint of impatience. "Fine, you can go to Stone Crow Town and rest."
After speaking, he glanced at the three young women's tattered clothes and admonished them with a stern expression, "Cover yourselves up properly. Don't disgrace our academy's reputation."
'Damn it!'
The three young women were completely floored.
'Senior, but... that's not...'
'...wasn't this 'battle-worn' look exactly what you demanded?'
'You're the one who personally ripped Avril's trainee Priest robes to shreds.'
'So now that you're done using us, you're disgusted by the sight?'
...