...

In an instant.

The atmosphere at the scene froze solid.

But the next second.

Viscount Golding, snapping back to his senses, felt his eyes turn bloodshot as a tide of fury instantly consumed his reason.

"You, you filthy maggot, you wretched Necromancer! How dare you? How dare you?!"

"I’ll kill you! No, I’ll tie you, all your family, and all your friends to stakes and burn you to ashes! I’ll rip out your soul and scorch it with holy flames for a thousand years!"

His roar nearly cracked the cavern ceiling. His once-handsome face was now twisted like a ghoul’s, and his eyes looked as if they were about to shoot fire.

Out of control, the holy flames on his body erupted, instantly vaporizing a few Skeletons that got too close.

The threat of his daughter’s corpse being desecrated had sent him into a complete frenzy, utterly robbing him of his sanity.

Especially since the one threatening him was just a Necromancer, someone he usually saw as a sewer rat—and a lowly Tier One Necromancer at that!

"Heh."

Faced with Golding’s crazed curses and the terrifying pressure bearing down on him, Lynch’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. He just let out a scoff.

’These Holy Knights... they’re as arrogant as ever.’

’Things have already come to this, and he still dares to shout at me?’

He couldn’t be bothered to waste any more words. He directly infused more Mana into the Great Fireball Skill Scroll in his hand.

"HUMMM—"

The fiery red runes on the Scroll suddenly lit up, emitting waves of scorching heat, like a colossal beast of flame being awakened.

All Lynch had to do was tear it, and a violent Blazing Flame would erupt, instantly turning the crystal coffin and the meticulously preserved remains inside to charcoal.

Of course, Lynch had considered threatening him with the Skeleton Resurrection Skill, but that skill had no visual flair. How could it compare to the direct, violent, and oppressive presence of this Tier Three Great Fireball Scroll?

"NO—!!!"

Golding’s furious tirade came to an abrupt halt. His entire body went rigid, like a rooster with its throat squeezed, and he could only manage a series of terrified, choking sounds.

His expression was savage and contorted. His wide eyes stared daggers at Lynch and the glowing Scroll, then couldn’t help but drift to his daughter’s pale, peaceful face in the crystal coffin. He ground his teeth so hard they audibly clicked.

In that moment, he looked as if he wanted to devour Lynch alive.

While Golding was distracted, the Silver Armored Corpse had already snuck up behind him. It drew back a fist and viciously slammed it into the center of his back.

"THUD!"

The punch was immensely powerful.

Golding instantly coughed up a large mouthful of blood mixed with chunks of internal organs. His body flew forward, crashing headfirst into the mine wall with a loud CRASH.

Golding slowly slid to the ground, leaving a distinct, human-shaped indent in the rock wall.

A deep, sunken fist print now marked the back of his Holy Knight Armor, with spiderweb-like cracks spreading out from it.

The holy flames flowing around his body dimmed instantly.

"Cough, cough, cough—"

Golding all but collapsed to the floor, spewing several more mouthfuls of blood.

After its successful strike, the Silver Armored Corpse, which was clearly not lacking in intelligence, had no intention of stopping. It flashed forward to close the distance again, its heavy fists raining down on Golding like a torrential storm.

Every one of its punches was devastatingly heavy, landing on Viscount Golding with sickening thuds.

Viscount Golding was already severely injured. Not only had his reaction speed slowed considerably, but the Holy Light Energy he could muster had also become scarce. He was immediately beaten into a corner, able to do nothing more than desperately and feebly parry, with no strength to fight back.

’Nicely done.’

Lynch’s eyes lit up as he praised it in his heart.

The Silver Armored Corpse’s surprise attack was exactly the outcome he had hoped to see.

To be honest, he didn’t fully believe that Golding was the type of person who would "give up everything for his daughter."

Perhaps, driven by his mad obsession, he would dare to blaspheme the Holy Light and make a deal with a Netherworld Demigod. But if it really came down to giving up his own life to protect his daughter’s remains, could he truly do it?

Fortunately, the Silver Armored Corpse understood him.

Lynch immediately sent an all-out attack command through his mental link to all of his Undead Units that could still move.

Strike him down while he’s weak.

Under the ensuing dogpile,

Golding’s aura rapidly weakened. The holy flames around him grew thin and unstable, and the Curses that had been mostly ineffective before finally began to show some effect.

Seeing this, Lynch quickly hit Golding with a Weakness Curse.

Although the Curse’s effect was faint and its duration short, for Golding in his current state, it was undoubtedly adding insult to injury.

Lynch even found the time to cast his level 0 Bone Spear Skill a few times, which only managed to scrape Golding for a tiny bit of damage.

But he didn’t mind. He was just treating it as practice to level up his skill proficiency.

’Grinding EXP in the middle of such a tense battle... only a Transmigrator with a system panel like me could pull this off.’

But even so, the fight was still incredibly difficult.

The Holy Knight truly lived up to the profession’s nickname: "the unkillable cockroach."

Even in a desperate situation, even while severely injured, he managed to hold on for a full five or six minutes while being swarmed.

Finally.

He could hold on no longer. He slid down the cold rock wall and slumped to the ground.

His once-resplendent and mighty Holy Knight Armor was now covered in fist prints, claw marks, cuts, and scorches. It was shattered and warped in many places, its light completely extinguished.

His eyes, once filled with fanatical obsession, were now dim and lifeless. He could only stubbornly tilt his head to gaze at the opened crystal coffin.