Chapter 91: Third-Tier Elite

After defeating Ryan, Karen did not stop to rest. This battle had given him an opportunity—a chance to devour the Goblin Forest in one swift move. With such an opportunity before him, Karen could not possibly let it slip away.

Thus, after briefly reviewing his gains on his attribute panel, he set out once more. He spent 110,000 to convert 421 bodies of the second tier and 11 bodies of the third tier into undead. Then he divided his undead into two groups: one he commanded personally, with Little Green, Garen, and Shadow under him, accompanied by fifteen third-tier undead and four hundred second-tier undead. The remainder he entrusted to Song One, assigning them to defend the territory.

In the previous battle, Song One had performed admirably, and Karen believed him capable of fulfilling this duty. Moreover, Song One was not alone: Karen also left Kira and a newly transformed undead, named "The Singer" (Third-Tier Exceptional), to assist him.

...

Decayed Goblin Priest (The Singer)
Type: Corpse-type
Strength: Third-Tier Exceptional (0/100,000)
Intellect: High
Description: An undead transformed from a third-tier Goblin Priest, possessing formidable abilities.
Skills:
Battle Hymn lv2 (Area Skill: Chanting the battle hymn, upon completion, restores ten percent energy to allied soldiers within three hundred meters.)
Frenzy Song lv2 (Area Skill: Chanting the battle song induces a frenzy, increasing allied attack power by thirty percent and defense by ten percent.)
Spell Detection lv3 (Single-target skill, able to detect enemy spells and gather intelligence.)

...

Talent: Not Activated

...

Indeed, this was the Goblin mage who had sung the battle hymn before being decisively slain by Ryan. Though more suited to supporting roles and perhaps less formidable in single combat, on the battlefield his effectiveness far surpassed that of ten ordinary third-tier undead. With his aid and Kira’s, together with thousands of undead in the territory, Karen’s domain was now as solid as a fortress.

Once the arrangements were made, Karen immediately led his undead into action. Thanks to Cliff’s presence, Karen knew well that after this defeat, Ryan would be beset by troubles—his very position was at risk, let alone any attempt to seek vengeance.

But the Silver Hand was a different matter. According to all information Karen possessed, there was no news about the Silver Hand. Had he managed to capture Dima in the previous battle, perhaps he could have used the wraith to glean intelligence on the Silver Hand, but in that chaotic situation, capturing Dima was nearly impossible.

Thus, all matters regarding the Silver Hand remained a mystery to Karen. He did not know when they would receive news from the Goblin side nor how they might react. So, after his victory, Karen’s first priority was to wipe out all goblins in the forest before the Silver Hand could respond. Otherwise, once the Silver Hand intervened, conquering the Goblin Forest would become much more difficult.

Before setting out, Karen first increased his own level. Having witnessed the battle between Iron Black and Ryan, especially Shadow’s suicidal attack, Karen felt once again that his second-tier exceptional strength offered no true security. Though Shadow was swiftly slain by Shadow, the weapon he revealed still weighed heavily on Karen’s mind.

Therefore, before launching his campaign, Karen enhanced his own power. With the aid of the system, upgrading was a simple matter—just a tap of his finger, and his strength soared. Over thirty thousand personal energy points pushed Karen to the level of Third-Tier Elite.

Yet, although his power had risen, Karen looked at his attribute panel and saw only a solitary "Heavy Strike" skill. He suspected he might be the weakest of all Third-Tier Elites.

"It seems I should find time to learn more skills, especially those that can save my life. Though I need no longer fight personally, having some life-saving abilities is always wise."

Muttering to himself, Karen formally led his undead into action. With fifteen third-tier undead and four hundred second-tier undead, he now swept through the Goblin Forest without opposition. He did not march straight for the Iron Black Mining Tribe, but instead unfolded his map of the forest and advanced methodically.

With his current strength, such a campaign left no room for suspense. In one night, Karen obliterated five goblin tribes. Unlike before, he did not stop at sunrise; instead, he spent territory energy to keep his undead at their peak and continued the slaughter.

Half a day later, his forces reached the Iron Black Mining Tribe. Karen had been slaughtering goblin tribes for an entire day. The remaining goblins, having heard of his rampage, congregated at the mining tribe, which now hosted nearly twenty thousand goblins—the last reserves of the Goblin Forest. If Karen could exterminate this group, he would have complete control over the forest.

Without hesitation, Karen launched his attack. Four hundred undead against twenty thousand goblins sounded mad, but in truth, victory was assured from the moment he began. Do not be misled by the previous battle, where seven thousand undead overwhelmed Ryan’s two thousand soldiers; just because the goblins were numerous did not mean they posed a threat.

The circumstances were entirely different. Karen’s undead knew neither fear nor hesitation; they attacked relentlessly. The goblins, though gathered together, had lost their leaders. While the Iron Black tribe still had a few third-tier goblins, the death of Iron Black had shattered their morale. Faced with undead, they lacked the courage to fight.

When Karen launched his assault, the tribe resisted briefly, but the second-tier undead broke through their defenses, and soon the battle became a one-sided massacre...