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Chapter 89: 029: We must leave here quickly!
"Smack!" A crisp sound rang out.
Lynch hadn’t actually used much force, but as a Knight, his strength was still significant. On the other hand, Avery had never enhanced her physical constitution, so this slap landed heavily, enough to leave her staggered.
Her head jerked violently to the side, her swanlike neck twisting awkwardly. A bright red handprint immediately marked her pale cheek, and even the corner of her mouth was slightly broken, blood seeping out faintly.
That said, the slap was indeed highly effective.
For someone of Avery’s noble standing, even being verbally offended was rare, let alone being hit—and in such a humiliating manner, no less.
The overwhelming humiliation instantly buried any pain and confusion in her heart.
Her head snapped back at once, spiritual power surging around her as her furious eyes locked onto Lynch. "How dare you hit me!" she snarled.
Well, it looked like the confusion was gone, replaced by rage bordering on madness.
Lynch pondered briefly, but finding no better solution, he simply raised his hand and delivered another slap.
"Smack!" Another crisp sound.
This time, the other side of Avery’s face bore a bright red handprint, her cheek swelling high.
"Calm down and stay focused!" he advised.
As he spoke, Lynch kept a close eye on Avery’s movements. Despite being a mid-level apprentice, she wielded Divine Magic—a form of magic he knew little about. If she were to lose control, she could pose a significant threat to him.
Avery’s eyes were filled with disbelief. In all her years, this was the first time she was slapped—and not just once, but twice in quick succession.
Her spiritual power surged violently, spilling outward as if it were on the verge of exploding.
She turned her head slowly, her piercingly beautiful eyes locking onto Lynch, her rage so intense it was almost tangible from afar.
Lynch, however, was unfazed, meeting her glare head-on. He even raised one hand slightly, subtly hinting at yet another slap.
Avery touched her cheek, and at last, regained her composure.
Her tone was icy as she asked, "Is this how you greet people?"
"If you’re going to keep wasting time on such pointless indignation," Lynch replied bluntly, "then I’ll have to leave on my own."
In this kind of situation, he reasoned, at the very least she shouldn’t be dragging everyone down, even if she wasn’t contributing.
Avery fell silent for a moment.
Her expression finally settled, though her face still showed clear discontent towards Lynch. At the very least, however, her clarity of mind had returned.
"I apologize," she said, unexpectedly offering an apology.
After a brief pause, she stated candidly, "I think we’re in some trouble. I need your help to get out of here."
Her spiritual power had already been mostly depleted on Ghost Island, and what little she had left was nearly drained in the recent battle. Without it, she was scarcely better than any ordinary person since she lacked the body refinement training of a Body Refining Wizard.
She got straight to the point: "If you help me through this crisis, not counting your previous assistance on Ghost Island, I’ll offer you an additional reward—a price you’ll find satisfactory. 200,000 Magic Stones!"
Lynch’s mouth twitched.
T-Two hundred thousand...
Though he had always known this young lady came from a powerful family, her generosity still left this humble apprentice utterly stunned.
"Let’s leave here first," Lynch finally said.
He didn’t immediately agree. After all, the current situation was still unclear. Were these the only enemies? Were there other teams lying in wait? Most importantly, were there any Transcendents among their foes? If so, what was their level of power?
Lynch then pulled a Magic Wand from his Space Ring, gripping it tightly with both hands as he approached a relatively intact Knight’s corpse nearby.
He gripped the wand and began chanting an obscure incantation over the corpse. As the spell took effect, wisps of pale-blue Soul Flame materialized in the air and coiled around the wand before seeping into the lifeless body.
"Clank! Clank!"
With mechanical stiffness, the dead Knight opened his eyes and stood up, joints twisting unnaturally as he arose.
Necromancy, Zero-Rank Low-level Spell: [Corpse Control]
This was another spell Lynch had obtained from Richard’s relics, one that allowed the user to reanimate corpses as their servants. The number and strength of controlled corpses depended on the caster’s strength and the potency of the spell.
Lynch had long maxed out this spell using Richard’s leftover resources, allowing him to control up to six Knight-level undead simultaneously.
Avery exclaimed in surprise, "Necromancy?"
While she’d previously seen Lynch use spells like Corpse Explosion involving Dark Elements in the cave, Dark Elements weren’t synonymous with Necromancy. True Necromancy was something entirely different, and this was her first time witnessing it.
Her expression was one of utter disbelief. "You actually know this stuff?"
Lynch shrugged casually. "Just a little."
Avery was speechless. What Lynch described as "just a little" was clearly anything but.
Dark Elements and Necromancy were two separate disciplines, each corresponding to its own distinct system of knowledge. Necromancy, while incorporating Dark Elements, also involved substantial understanding of the Spiritual System and Life Science, making it far more complex than simple Dark Elements spells.
"Thud, thud, thud!"
At that moment, the heavy sound of footsteps accompanied by the clatter of metal echoed from outside the window.
Lynch pulled back the curtain and looked out, only to find that an entire army had gathered outside at some point.
Layer upon layer of heavily armed Heavy Infantry, disciplined archers, light cavalry, and Heavy Shield Soldiers had surrounded the rest station they were holed up in.
Amidst them were even two siege-grade Car Ship Crossbows.
Lynch clicked his tongue. "Tsk tsk, your enemies are going all out to deal with you!"
It was clear tonight’s assault wasn’t targeting him. As for their mission... no apprentice-level task should escalate to such an extreme level of violence. After thinking it through, Lynch concluded that most of this had to do with the young lady’s presence.
After all, Avery’s unique status made her the likeliest target of such a large-scale ambush.
Her initial reaction seemed to confirm this.
And sure enough.
When she heard Lynch’s remark, Avery paused for a moment but didn’t deny it. "Let’s focus on getting out of here first."
That made sense—this wasn’t the time to assign blame.
Lynch controlled the undead Knight to pick up the unconscious Adam from the ground, then joined Avery by the window.
Looking down at the dense mass of soldiers below, Lynch felt a headache coming on. Breaking through such a tight encirclement would not be easy.
With a serious expression, he instructed Avery, "Stay close to me and don’t fall behind."
Avery nodded firmly, gripping her Magic Wand tightly.
She bit her lip and said through clenched teeth, "If I really can’t keep up, don’t wait for me."
After a moment of silence, she added solemnly, "If I die here, don’t return to the Tower. Head north, cross the ruins, and go as far away from the Ancient Ruins as you can."
Lynch rolled his eyes. He couldn’t tell if she was sincerely advising him or threatening him.
"Looks like I’ve got no choice but to get you out of here alive."
He gripped the Fearless Great Sword tightly in his hand.
"Stick close!"
With one last warning, Lynch pounced like a leopard, leaping into the dense tide of soldiers below...
