That's How We Necromancers Do Things

Chapter 169: Chapter 100: Pale Elegy: Only I Can Touch My Little Mouse

So, fighting alongside a Necromancer was this exhilarating!

The only one struggling was the apprentice Priest—technically Lynch’s senior—who was embedded with the army. He still wasn’t used to being surrounded by so many Undead. It was especially difficult for him, as he had to constantly witness acts normally considered blasphemous—the creation of new Undead, the casting of spells like the Plague Poison Skill—which made it even harder to adapt.

At that moment, as he watched Lynch raise one Gnoll Skeleton after another and carry away Hog’s corpse, his face was still pale. He was muttering sacred phrases like, "May my Lord protect me." freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

Lynch, however, paid it no mind. He walked over, patted him on the shoulder, and said gently, "It’s alright if you can’t adapt right away, Senior Conrad."

Priest Conrad’s expression eased slightly. ’This junior of mine is not only powerful, but he’s also a pretty good person,’ he thought to himself. ’Not as terrifying as the rumors claim.’

But to his surprise, Lynch’s next words were, "Just get more exposure to the Undead Units, and you’ll adapt quickly. Aus, arrange for ten different Undead Units to sleep with our senior every day."

"Huh?" Priest Conrad’s face turned deathly pale.

The corner of Aus’s mouth twitched violently. "Yes, my lord," he answered.

With the corpses dealt with, it was time for the ever-popular segment: looting the spoils of war.

Under the leadership of the Soul Fire officers, the Undead Army meticulously cleaned out the stinking Gnoll dens like a fine-toothed comb, not even sparing the corners where they piled up their junk.

Soon, all sorts of ’spoils’ were dug out. After Aus’s initial sorting and organizing, they were piled to the side and cataloged.

It had to be admitted, as a Prince—even a marginalized one who wasn’t highly regarded—Aus had received a very comprehensive and advanced education growing up. This allowed him to pick up any task quickly and perform it well.

Most importantly, he was full of enthusiasm for work. No matter how hard or tiring it was, he found it meaningful and took to it with relish.

Soon, the spoils were tallied up. freёwebnoѵel.com

In terms of armor and weapons, they scraped together a few dozen sets of standard-issue human Armor and weapons. Although most were damaged, they would be more than enough for the militia after some repairs.

In terms of cash, the total came to over a thousand gold, most of it plundered.

There were also some jewelry, rare Gemstones, and the like, with a combined estimated value of a little under two thousand gold.

The Gnolls’ favorite activity was plundering. Whether it was a small group of soldiers, villagers, or a merchant caravan, if they thought they could win, they would attack.

In addition, there were some animal hides, strips of dried meat, and dozens of bags of Black Rye.

In short, this battle had been well worth it. Not only did Lynch make a small fortune, but it also solved part of their food shortage.

After all, although the crops had been planted in the fields, the harvest was still some time away. They couldn’t last long on just the grain they had dug out of rat holes.

However, Lynch had no idea what kind of meat these dried strips were made of, so he didn’t quite dare to take them back for the townspeople to eat.

And many of the dozens of bags of Black Rye were already old grain, giving off a foul smell due to dampness.

Just as Lynch was hesitating over how to deal with these items, Aus suddenly walked over with an excited expression. Without a word, he led him alone deep into the mine, moved aside a large boulder blocking the entrance to a cavern, and gestured for Lynch to look inside.

Lynch peered inside suspiciously and couldn’t help but gasp.

He saw a mountain of ore that filled nearly half the cavern’s space.

Clearly, this was the mine’s ore storage area.

After the Gnolls occupied this place, they most likely continued to force the Kobold slaves to mine. But because the trade routes were cut off, the accumulated iron ore could never be transported out and sold, which is why so much had been stockpiled.

Of course, some of it was undoubtedly leftover inventory from before the mine was occupied.

Now, it was all a windfall for Lynch.

As long as he could sell this ore, funding for Lakefront Town’s construction would no longer be a problem.

However, after the initial ecstasy, Lynch quickly calmed down.

He understood the principle of not flaunting one’s wealth better than anyone.

The total value of this mountain of ore was too great.

If they transported it all back to Lakefront Town, not only would they be unable to process it all in a short time, but news of it would also easily leak.

When that time comes, if it attracts the Blue Scarf rebels, or even the covetous eyes of certain ’allies,’ the losses would outweigh the gains.

And the fact that Aus chose to bring him here alone to report after discovering the ore showed that he was obviously aware of this problem.

This period of tempering in Lakefront Town had made the once-naive Prince’s thinking increasingly thorough. He was already able to proactively identify and cover for Lynch’s blind spots.

"My lord, what should we do with this ore?" Aus asked in a low voice, seeking instructions.

Lynch thought for a moment, a plan already forming in his mind. "Here’s what we’ll do, Aus. You’ll take some men and first transport about a tenth of it back to town. Say it’s the main spoils from this battle. Have it smelted into Iron Ingots to forge farm tools, repair weapons, and trade with the upcoming merchant caravans."

"You can make a bit of a scene about it. Let everyone know we won a great victory and reaped the benefits. It will boost morale."

He paused, then continued, "As for the rest... under the cover of darkness, you will personally command the Skeleton Corps to secretly transport it in batches to Mirror Lake and sink it to the bottom to hide it."

"In the future, we can secretly salvage it little by little as needed."

Mirror Lake was vast, and most of its waters were now under the control of Sea Song’s ’navy.’ Hiding some ore would be a piece of cake.