Chapter 280 - 117: Moon Priestess! Elune’s Song: Seren Hill

Chapter 280: Chapter 117: Moon Priestess! Elune’s Song: Seren Hill

The battlefield, thick with the smoke of war and the stench of blood and burnt flesh, gradually fell silent, leaving only the ragged breathing of the human soldiers and the muffled groans of the wounded.

Finally, it was over.

Lynch let out a long sigh, feeling his back drenched in sweat.

This time, Yenogu hadn’t appeared. He had only tried to kill Lynch by manipulating his pawns, not even turning his gaze this way. It was precisely for this reason that the mark from Elegy in Lynch’s soul had shown no signs of awakening.

’From the looks of it, there must be some kind of special understanding or rules among these higher beings.’

’For instance, if the opposing side was content to manipulate pawns from behind the scenes, Elegy wouldn’t interfere directly. In a way, he was one of Elegy’s pawns, too.’

SIGH...

Lynch sighed, pushing the distracting thoughts from his mind and refocusing on the battlefield before him.

’The battle had been brutal and perilous, but at least they’d made it through.’

Lynch composed himself and began to methodically direct the cleanup efforts.

He first ordered the handful of Priests and Holy Knights accompanying the army to devote all their efforts to treating the wounded. Simultaneously, he sent men to take a head count and tally their losses.

The final tally brought Lynch both pain and relief.

The pain came from the heavy losses his Skeleton Corps and Zombie Corps had suffered.

Of his thousand-plus Skeleton Soldiers, over sixty percent had been shattered in the battle. More than half of his Black Corpses were also destroyed, and his Purple Zombie, Bloodfang, had been killed completely.

However, this was also where the advantages of being a Necromancer became apparent.

He could gather the shattered skeletons and try to raise them once more.

As for those that were beyond recovery, he could use the plentiful Gnoll corpses on the battlefield to replenish his ranks.

Even for a case like Bloodfang, who could no longer be revived as a zombie, its sturdy bones would make for excellent skeleton-crafting material.

What gratified Lynch was that although the size of his Undead Army had been drastically reduced, its core structure and most of the Soul Fire units had been preserved. The losses were, just barely, acceptable.

What brought him even more relief was that the human troops had suffered fewer casualties than he had anticipated.

About fifty men from the militia and the Ninth Battalion’s regular forces had been killed in action, with over a hundred wounded.

Of course, this outcome was largely thanks to the ample Holy Light Healing available during the battle, which had snatched many of the gravely wounded from the jaws of death.

For a vicious battle against a formidable Jackal Wolfman Tribe—one that even involved an Abyssal Demon—to come at such a low cost was undoubtedly a great victory.

The experts who were "atoning for their crimes" had also suffered losses.

Two from the North Wind Legion’s enforcement squad and one of the House of Hohenzollern’s guards had died. All of them fell during the final assault on Grom.

Lynch had no intention of turning these fallen human warriors into Undead Units.

He ordered their bodies to be carefully prepared and wrapped in clean shrouds, ready for transport back to Lakefront Town where they would be given a proper burial.

The families of all who had fallen would receive full compensation, paid according to the highest standards of the battalion.

Of all the losses, Lynch most lamented the death of his Purple Zombie, Bloodfang.

This formidable warrior had been converted from a Tier Three goblin Chieftain. Lynch had spent a vast amount of rare materials to cultivate it to the mid-Tier Four level. Yet, in the end, it couldn’t withstand the Abyssal Demon’s final, desperate counterattack.

Lynch knelt beside Bloodfang’s mutilated remains, which had been torn to pieces. As he reassembled the body, he couldn’t help but reminisce, a bitter feeling welling up inside him.

Therefore, Lynch decided to resurrect it himself.

As the incantation for the Skeleton Resurrection Skill was spoken, death energy rapidly flowed into its remains.

Soon, a tall, sturdy skeleton wobbled to its feet.

Most peculiar of all, its bones had a special, dark purplish hue, and two clusters of Soul Fire burned within its eye sockets.

Lynch was quite pleased by this.

Furthermore, judging from its aura, although its power had diminished, it still possessed the strength of a Tier Three Skeleton Guard.

"From now on, you’ll be called ’Purple Skull,’" Lynch said, patting its shoulder blade. "Welcome back to the ranks!"

Purple Skull silently shuffled into the ranks of the skeletons.

WHINE~~

Suddenly, a weak whimper came from behind him.

Lynch turned to see the little Vampire, Esther, slumped listlessly on his back. Her usually bright, lively eyes were now half-closed, her aura was faint, and her wings drooped limply.

His heart aching for her, Lynch gently rubbed her small, cold head and offered his finger. "Here, have a little. Get some of your strength back."

But Esther just shook her head.

Lynch frowned, his gaze sweeping across the battlefield.

Finally, his eyes settled on the Tier Four guard captain, Cam Leisuo, who was sitting on the ground nearby, panting to catch his breath.

He walked over, forcing a smile. "Leisuo, could I ask a favor?"

Leisuo flinched. He glanced at the little Vampire on Lynch’s back and seemed to realize what was coming.

The color drained from his face, and a look of fear crept into his eyes.

He had seen with his own eyes how ferociously Esther had fought earlier—how she had relentlessly harassed Grom, refusing to back down even after being swatted away time and time again.

"Could you let my Vampire have a few sips of your blood? It would help her recover her strength," Lynch asked, testing the waters.

"I..." Leisuo hesitated, a troubled look on his face.

’Letting a Vampire feed on you is no joke. It could seriously drain my vitality, maybe even damage my foundation.’

Seeing his hesitation, Lynch immediately held up one finger and said sternly, "One thousand Gold Coins for one sip. Cash. No IOUs."