Lynch cast his spell again. This time, the mana consumption spiked dramatically, sending a wave of dizziness through his mind. But his eyes lit up when he saw the new Skeleton Soldier crawl out of the Summoning Vortex.
"What a majestic skeleton!" he thought. Its bones were no longer a sickly pale hue; instead, they gleamed with a translucent, pure white jade-like luster. More importantly, its skeleton was completely intact with all four limbs attached. The Bone Knife in its grip looked brand new, as if meticulously polished from the thigh bone of a skeletal beauty. Finally, it was not a cripple.
In the past, every Skeleton he summoned from the Netherworld had been missing parts. They seemed like assembly-line rejects specifically dumped on Necromancer apprentices like him. The more Lynch looked, the more satisfied he became, admiring the undead creature as if it were a fine piece of art.
"I sense the makings of a Legend in you. I shall dub you... Bone Jade Skeleton King!" Lynch solemnly bestowed this title upon it before immediately ordering it to march toward the gap in the wall to its death.
Gripping its brand-new Bone Knife, the Bone Jade Skeleton King clambered up the gap in a majestic, spirited stride. The very next moment, the Angel Sentinel arrived right on cue, casually bringing its sword down in a sweeping slash.
CRACK!
The sound of fracturing bones echoed through the air. Yet, the Bone Jade Skeleton King did not fall. It withstood the Angel Sentinel's purifying strike! Despite suffering multiple fractures across its frame and teetering on the verge of collapse, it ultimately held its ground. Truly worthy of the name Bone Jade Skeleton King!
Just as it raised its Bone Knife in an attempt to counterattack, the Angel Sentinel delivered a second, weightless strike.
CRACK!
CLATTER!
The newly born Bone Jade Skeleton King crumbled into a pile of dry bones. The future legendary Skeleton King had fallen.
However, even if one fell, millions more remained. Lynch cast his spell again, summoning another completely intact Skeleton with the same pristine white bones and elegant posture. He once again named it the Bone Jade Skeleton King.
CRACK! CRACK!
The Holy Sword flashed twice, and the new generation's Skeleton King fell once more. This cycle continued until he summoned the fourth Bone Jade. Lynch's brain swam with another bout of dizziness, the wave of exhaustion hitting him even harder than before. His Spiritual Power was drained dry, and his mana was completely depleted.
"Alright, consider yourself lucky," Lynch muttered, shaking his head. He prepared to take this fortunate Skeleton back with him to train it properly.
But at that very moment, something caught his attention. Out of the corner of his eye, Lynch noticed a figure clad in black creeping sneakily along the base of the wall on the other side of the gap. Startled, he quickly pulled the Skeleton back into the shadows of the corner, peeking out just enough to observe in secret.
The figure darted to the gap in a few quick strides. He glanced at the bone fragments on the ground with a hint of confusion but paid them no mind, turning his attention to scanning the surroundings instead. After confirming the coast was clear, a fiery look flashed in his eyes. He ducked into the corner, pulled out a whistle, and blew. The continuous, thin tone sounded exactly like the whimpering night wind.
A short while later, another figure crept out from inside the gap. It turned out to be a nun with a graceful figure, dressed in a silver-white habit. The figure by the wall leaned out and waved at her. The nun cautiously surveyed her surroundings. Upon seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she hunched over and hurried toward him.
What followed was a scene of them embracing and kissing, caught in a passionate, fiery display of illicit affection.
Lynch was dumbfounded. To think he would stumble upon such scandalous affairs in the middle of the night. Then again, their secret tryst had nothing to do with him. He was no Holy Believer, so why should he meddle in their business?
Just as Lynch prepared to slip away quietly with Bone Jade, a gust of wind carried over faint, indistinct voices from across the way.
"Leon, be gentle... Don't be so impatient, mmm~"
"Ibella, I missed you so much. Hurry, let me..."
The man's voice was low, urgent, and possessed a rich, magnetic timbre.
"Holy shit!" Lynch thought, pausing his steps and tilting his head.
If he heard that correctly, the man having the affair was actually a Holy Knight apprentice from the Holy Light Major at his very own Extraordinary Academy—Leon Hosley. The name matched, and the voice was nearly identical. It had to be him.
The reason Lynch remembered him so clearly was primarily because they had a feud. Lynch's transmigration into this body was entirely thanks to Leon Hosley. His predecessor had been beaten to within an inch of his life by this guy, allowing Lynch to take over. What was worse, the bastard had come looking for trouble a few more times since then, proving to be an endless annoyance.
Those from the Holy Light Major prided themselves as the orthodox faction of the academy and the future pillars of the nation. They had always treated students from the Undead Major like evil spirits, beggars, and maggots. They spent their days clamoring to make the filthy Necromancers roll out of the noble academy and crawl back into their tombs and gutters, treating their persecution of the Undead Major students as a badge of honor to flaunt.
The Undead System already suffered from a severe lack of numbers and influence, and their profession was naturally countered by Holy Light. Getting beaten up was a common occurrence. The academy's higher-ups, heavily dominated by instructors from the Holy Light System, usually turned a blind eye to this. At most, they would issue hypocritical warnings, claiming that Extraordinary Professions knew no bounds of nobility or inferiority and that academy students should unite in love and strive for progress. But that did not stop the Holy Light Major crowd from using sparring as an excuse to launch underhanded attacks time and time again. Lynch had seen with his own eyes several students from his major quietly leave the academy, unable to endure the prolonged bullying.
Heh.
The moment these memories surfaced, Lynch felt as if his feet had taken root; he could no longer walk away. After a moment of thought, a malicious smirk curled the corners of his lips.
"Oh, Bone Jade, the time to prove your loyalty has arrived," he mused.
Meanwhile, the adulterous couple's breathing grew increasingly rapid, as if they were steadily climbing toward the peak of ecstasy. Was it hitting the critical moment so soon? Whatever. Now was as good a time as any.
Under Lynch's command, the Bone Jade Skeleton King—which he had originally intended to take back and carefully train—immediately broke into light, mincing steps. Gripping its Bone Knife, it dashed straight toward the gap.
TAP TAP TAP.
Though not incredibly fast, it relentlessly vaulted through the gap and charged inside the walls. A water vat sat just a few meters away. Bone Jade struck it with a single slash of its blade.
CRASH!
The vat ruptured, sending clear water gushing wildly in all directions. In the very next second, Holy Light flashed. The Angel Sentinel materialized out of thin air behind Bone Jade and brought its sword down.
CRACK.
Fine fissures spread across Bone Jade's entire skeletal frame, but it held firm, staggering as it continued its forward charge. It crashed into a storage rack and knocked over an oil lamp.
CLANG! BANG! CRASH!
A cacophony of disruptive noises erupted in rapid succession, completely shattering the tranquility of the night. Holy Light flashed once more.
CRACK!
Bone Jade was reduced to a pile of dry bones. But the loyal Bone Jade Skeleton King had already fulfilled its glorious and magnificent mission. Such a massive commotion could not be ignored. It naturally startled the sleeping nuns and half-awake guards, rousing them from their beds to investigate the situation.
As for the cheating couple, they were still immersed in the ultimate afterglow, their minds completely blank. After standing in a daze for a good while, the faint sounds of approaching voices from within the walls finally reached them. The two sprang apart as if electrocuted and began frantically throwing their clothes back on.
But how could Lynch let things go their way? The very instant Bone Jade sacrificed itself, a new generation's Bone Jade Skeleton King was already crawling out of the vortex. With those same mincing steps, it launched a heroic charge right at the illicit couple.
Simultaneously, Lynch wore an expression of deep heartache as he stowed away the empty vial of his final Awakening Potion. Feeling the intense dizziness and stinging pain in his brain, coupled with the mana bubbling up like a fresh spring, the smirk on his lips grew even wider.
Were six Gold Coins expensive? Very. But right now, it was totally worth it.