That's How We Necromancers Do Things

Chapter 149: Chapter 96: Lynch! Heaven Has a Path You Won’t Take

However, after initially solving the food problem, Lynch stopped trying to completely exterminate the Mirror Lake Fishmen in the following days.

It was time to make use of Sea Song.

This distressed Mermaid Princess possessed the royal bloodline of the Deep Sea, which naturally gave her both a suppressive power and an affinity for aquatic races.

The Tidal Fishmen from before were clearly a major tribe, and they might have even had their own Fishman King, so they wouldn’t have been easily affected by this bloodline suppression. But the Fishmen in Mirror Lake were not very civilized, practiced primitive worship, and were mostly small clans. The bloodline of a true "noble of the sea" might just have an unexpected effect.

So, Lynch adjusted his tactics.

During the next operation, when the Undead Corps once again surrounded a Fishman camp and cut off its escape route, he did not immediately order a slaughter. Instead, he gestured to Sea Song.

Sea Song Xiyin immediately stepped forward slowly.

She removed her headscarf, letting her soft, seaweed-like green hair fall loose. Then, clasping her hands before her chest, she began to sing.

An ethereal song with a strange rhythm spread through the air, which seemed to grow moist.

At first, the crowd of Fishmen remained agitated, baring their teeth at the surrounding Skeletons and letting out threatening screeches.

But as Sea Song’s voice washed over them, many of the Fishmen froze. Their small eyes revealed confusion, fear, and even... a trace of instinctual submission.

Sea Song’s singing continued.

Finally, some of the Fishmen began to drop their weapons and prostrate themselves on the ground, making gurgling sounds of compliance.

However, quite a few of the Fishmen were defiant and showed signs of resistance.

For these stubborn ones, Lynch’s method of dealing with them was simple and direct.

"Kill."

The Skeleton Soldiers swarmed forward. Blades flashed, and blood splattered. Within moments, the Fishmen who dared to be defiant were corpses.

’Either they submit and become my Fishmen, or they become food and then my Skeletons.’

After several days of repeating this process, the results were remarkable.

Lynch now had an additional force of two to three hundred Fishmen under his command, led directly by Sea Song.

Although these Fishmen had limited intelligence and poor discipline, their combat effectiveness in the water was not to be underestimated, and they were extremely familiar with the waters of Mirror Lake.

They were organized into several small squads. Under Sea Song’s command, they were responsible for driving away and clearing out other wild Fishman tribes from the waters near Lakefront Town, coordinating with the Skeleton Corps to protect the safe fishing zones designated for the townspeople.

With this "local" naval force, the safety of Lakefront Town’s fishing industry was greatly assured.

The number of wild Fishmen around Mirror Lake plummeted, and the townspeople could finally take their small boats out onto the lake to work safely.

They cast their nets in the waters near the shore. Although the harvests weren’t bountiful, they were at least enough to maintain a basic livelihood, with occasional surpluses.

Once the food crisis was fundamentally resolved, the residents of Lakefront Town’s opinion of Lynch quickly shifted from initial fear and suspicion to gratitude and awe, and they even began to see him as the savior of Lakefront Town.

Laughter began to fill the town. The children were still thin, but the sallow, starved look on their faces was gone, replaced by a spark in their eyes.

Mayor Old John started walking with a new spring in his step, directing the remaining townspeople to repair houses and clean the streets, full of vigor. ƒгeewёbnovel.com

Even more heartening, the refugees who had fled into the nearby mountains and forests to escape the war began to return tentatively in small groups after hearing that a "powerful Lord Mage who can bring food" had arrived in Lakefront Town.

This finally reversed the steady decline in Lakefront Town’s population, which at last began to grow.

With more manpower, the fishing teams could work in shifts, and the progress of repairing houses and reclaiming small, abandoned vegetable plots also accelerated.

Although it was still a far cry from true prosperity, the dying town had at least regained its vitality and entered a virtuous cycle.

Seeing this, Lynch simply handed over the daily task of clearing out the remaining Fishmen to his Skeleton Mage and other commanders, having them coordinate with Sea Song’s Fishman unit.

As for the operation of Lakefront Town, he entrusted it to his "follower," Aus.

It was as if this was the first time in his life Aus had ever done a proper job. He burst forth with immense enthusiasm and initiative, and for a time, he performed his duties with remarkable flair.

As for Lynch himself, he entered a state of semi-seclusion. Aside from his fixed daily Meditation and time spent honing his Spiritual Power, he used most of his remaining time to cultivate key skills and strengthen his Skeleton subordinates. freёwebnovel.com

At the same time, he also began to rebuild more complete Undead System infrastructure. First, he used the materials he had brought to begin constructing a [Sleeping Tomb]. Second, he started piling up the vast quantities of Fishman bones to create bone heaps.

Everything was developing in a positive direction.

He was actually managing to revive the mess that was Lakefront Town, little by little.

However, it seemed that even the heavens couldn’t bear to see Lynch’s life going so smoothly.

「One day, more than a month later.」

Outside the town, an army was rapidly approaching along the abandoned trade route.

This force was completely different from the sloppy, pampered soldiers under Raymond’s command.

They numbered about a hundred men, marching in a neat and orderly formation with synchronized steps. Although their armor bore many signs of wear, it was polished to a shine, and their well-maintained weapons glinted with a cold light.

As they marched, they exuded a grim, murderous aura.

At the head of the column were a dozen or so Knights mounted on tall warhorses.