Chapter 265 - 115: Since You’re Here, the Black Dungeon Awaits

Chapter 265: Chapter 115: Since You’re Here, the Black Dungeon Awaits

Fritz was slumped on the ground, his face ashen.

The Holy Knight inquisitor was drained pale by Esther, his limbs so weak he couldn’t even struggle.

The Priest, holding his Magic Staff, was speechless, his arm trembling.

"Enough." Lynch couldn’t be bothered to waste any more words. With a wave of his hand, he gave the order. "Catherine, take your men, disarm them all, and search them. Then lock them up in the dungeon beneath the Sleeping Tomb. If anyone dares to resist... kill them on sight."

As a "wicked" Necromancer in control of a vital border town like Lakefront Town, how could Lynch not have built a secret dungeon?

Beneath the garrison was a confinement area he had meticulously designed, connected to the barracks of his Zombie Corps.

The moment he finished speaking, the sound of footsteps echoed from outside the courtyard.

Catherine Adela led the First Grand Company, the most elite unit of the Ninth Battle Battalion, as they filed in. Over a hundred fully-armed Soldiers quickly secured the entire courtyard.

With a cold expression, she began to carry out the order.

Even when facing an inquisitor and a Priest from her own Holy Light System, she remained strictly professional, simply signaling her Soldiers to move forward and disarm them without any further display of emotion.

In a disciplined army, a commander’s order is absolute.

This was one of the most important lessons Catherine had learned during her past six months in Lakefront Town.

Faced with the cold stares of the surrounding Soldiers, even the Holy Priest, who looked like he wanted to say something, dejectedly lowered his Magic Staff.

Even the mustachioed Fritz had completely lost his nerve, letting the Soldiers haul him roughly to his feet.

He finally understood. This Lynch wasn’t some mid-level officer he could manipulate. Here in Lakefront Town, Lynch was the absolute ruler, and his word was law.

Soon, all the intruders were disarmed. They were stripped of their gear and Magic Items, leaving them in nothing but their thin undergarments.

Their hands and feet were swiftly bound in heavy, refined-steel shackles.

Then, they were chained together in a line and, under the escort of the Soldiers, trudged dejectedly toward the garrison’s underground entrance.

The dungeon was located two levels beneath the garrison. It consisted of a series of cold stone chambers, each a narrow, single-occupant cell with thick shackle rings bolted to the walls.

Clearly, this dungeon hadn’t been built to hold common criminals; it had been specially designed.

Best of all, a deeper exit from the dungeon connected directly to the central chamber of the Sleeping Tomb.

Even if someone managed to pick their cell lock and escape the dungeon, they would still face the nightmarish challenge of passing through the "lair" of the Zombie Corps.

After watching the prisoners being led away, Lynch turned and walked out of the garrison.

Outside, a large crowd of townspeople had already gathered after hearing the commotion.

Their faces were etched with nervousness and concern, but overriding it all was a blind faith in their Lord Lynch.

When Lynch emerged, the crowd erupted in cheers.

"All right, break it up! Everyone disperse!" Lynch waved his hand, a look of impatience on his face. "Go back to work, or go get something to eat. Don’t just stand around here getting in the way."

"Long live Lord Lynch!"

"Our Lord is mighty!"

The townspeople cheered excitedly for a while longer before reluctantly dispersing, their faces beaming with joy.

To them, a strong commander who could protect them was the ultimate source of security.

Seeing Lord Lynch so easily handle a group of people who were clearly not to be trifled with filled them with even more confidence in the future of Lakefront Town.

Once the crowd had dispersed, Lynch glanced back at the wrecked courtyard and couldn’t help but rub his throbbing temples.

’What a pain. The gate and the courtyard both need repairs, and now I have to waste food on these idiots... No. That Fritz fellow is so infuriatingly stupid. I’ll have to make his family pay extra for this.’

* * * ℯℯ𝑙.

「Meanwhile.」

「In the Mist Forest.」

Deep within the Mist Forest, perpetually shrouded in a thin haze.

A Jackal Wolfman encampment, built around a natural cave and reinforced with massive timbers, flickered in and out of sight amidst the drifting fog.

At that moment, inside the largest tent at the center of the encampment—a yurt supported by beast hides and colossal bones—a massive Jackal Wolfman, whose muscles bulged like steel, was prostrated on the ground.

He was none other than the great Chieftain of this Jackal Wolfman Tribe, Grom the "Spine Breaker," a formidable Tier Five powerhouse.

He should have been the most powerful Jackal Wolfman in the tribe, yet now he groveled with immense humility, showing extraordinary deference to another Jackal Wolfman seated cross-legged on the main seat of honor.

The Jackal Wolfman in the seat of honor, however, was far less imposing in stature than Grom.

He wore a strange ceremonial robe adorned with various feathers and strips of cloth, his face painted with deep crimson markings.

He was currently hunched over, meticulously polishing a Beast Bone Staff with a soft flannel cloth.

In the flickering candlelight, his bright yellow, slit pupils narrowed slightly. Unlike those of an ordinary Jackal Wolfman, his eyes were not filled with brutality and greed. Instead, they were deep and serene, as if they could pierce the mists and see into the future.

This was the tribe’s Tier Four Peak Shaman—the Blood Claw Priest.

"Venerable Prophet, the humans have recently developed a strange weapon," Grom reported in the low, guttural tongue of the Jackal Wolfmen. "It makes a deafening noise and spits fire and iron pellets."

"The weapon is quite powerful. Our young ones went to raid them as planned, but we suffered heavy losses—dozens of our elite warriors were killed. Now... the others are too afraid to go near their village or mines. What should we do next?"