CHAPTER 137: PREPARING FOR BATTLE

Chief’s frightening expression suddenly vanished, he patted the bandit on the back and began to laugh.

"Ah, Sabo, that was just a joke. I personally keep tabs on the bandits near me, and even if all of you conspired against me, I wouldn’t hesitate to kill every last one of you," he said with laughter, though the last words didn’t exactly reassure Sabo.

"What are your orders?" Sabo asked.

"Nothing. You can let him fly away. A Magic Map V2 isn’t that expensive. It’s not worth chasing after him. Just ask Igari if someone like that worked under him," he said.

Igari = Head Bandit.

"But what if he’s not a bandit? He knows our location. What if he’s from the Empire?" Sabo asked.

"That’s unlikely. He already knew our location beforehand, and if I know the Empire, they would’ve sent an army right away," Chief said.

"Thank you, Chief, for the explanation. I’ll send a message to the Head Bandit," Sabo said and left.

---

Meanwhile, Flain was flying straight and at the perfect moment turned toward the meadow. He didn’t fly too high, as he didn’t want to repeat the same mistake and risk being killed by some flying monster. And even though there weren’t any strong monsters here, there was still a chance something dangerous could be around.

"When you upgrade this damn spell, make sure to improve it so I don’t have such an awful feeling. Otherwise, I won’t cooperate with you," Ghosty’s voice came from the wings.

"Don’t worry, I’ll try. We’re friends, after all," Flain said with a sincere voice, but in his mind there wasn’t even a trace of emotion—it was completely cold.

There was silence for a moment, and it looked like it had struck a nerve with Ghosty.

"Don’t overdo it again," he finally said.

Flain continued flying until he reached the edge of the meadow and landed at the spot where he estimated the group would arrive. He didn’t have to wait long—he heard rustling in the bushes, and moments later the bandits and Itai stood before him.

"I’m glad you all made it safely," Flain said when he saw them.

"Chief, did you find out what you wanted?" Sugi asked.

"Yes," Flain replied.

"We await your next orders," Drogan said.

"You said the Head Bandit gave you the map so you could sell it to the Chief. I assume the Head Bandit is managing another camp close to your small one, since he chose you for this task. Am I right?" Flain asked.

Sugi looked at Flain. "Your assumptions are indeed accurate. The camp under the Head Bandit is the second large camp built by our former Chief. He had it constructed recently because the main one became too crowded," Sugi said.

Flain smirked. "That’s perfect. Take me there," he said.

"Chief, are you sure? Even though it doesn’t match the strength of the main camp, it’s still quite strong," Sugi said.

"Don’t underestimate the Chief. Even though he has a small army, he’s more experienced and wiser than all of us combined," Drogan said.

"Don’t jump to conclusions. I’m just going to check it out," Flain said, and in his mind, he could vividly imagine walking EXP bags just lying around waiting for him.

"If it’s your order, Chief, then I’ll gladly follow it. The Head Bandit is just a bit away from our camp, so it’ll only take a little longer than the trip here," said Sugi.

"Ah, and here I thought we’d finally get a break from endless walking," sighed Omoni, earning a discreet kick to the leg from Drogan to remind him of what he was saying.

The group set off on their journey. Theoretically, Flain could have killed the bandits and left only one alive to lead him to the second camp, but that was too risky.

The bandit might not obey Flain or could intentionally lead him to the wrong place. This way was slower, but much safer. Flain was immortal; he had no need to rush.

Two nights and three days passed. The group traveled through the forest, past Flain’s bandits’ camp, heading straight forward, and before long, they reached their destination.

In front of Flain stood a camp made up entirely of tents with only a few normal houses.

"We’re here," said Sugi.

Flain looked at them with a cold gaze.

"You were useful to me, but your sins can’t be erased," said Flain.

The bandits looked at each other in confusion, but Flain already had swords in his hands, piercing their heads.

The last one left was Sugi, crawling on the ground with severed legs, tears streaming down his face.

"Why?" were his final words before Flain pierced his head.

Itai stood coldly at the side. He had actually grown quite fond of the bandits, but he saw no reason to convince Flain not to kill them. He followed what Flain had taught him—empathy was useless; only the pros and cons mattered.

Once they had used the bandits, keeping them alive held no advantages.

Around the corpses of the bandits swirled Itai’s black flames, which soon vanished, and the bandits’ bodies began rising in the form of zombies.

"Wait here," said Flain and walked into the camp.

As he entered, several bandits turned their gaze toward him. Flain ignored it and walked to the center of the camp. He could now feel all the magical energy around him.

The strongest magical energy was Pioneer Stage 3. Then there were five Stage 2 and Seventy Stage 1.

Flain smirked—this was perfect.

He returned to Itai, who was already waiting for him. At the same time, he dispelled his human form, revealing his beautiful armor to the world.

"Everything is optimal. Today, a lot of blood will be spilled," said Flain with a grin, as Aran and Ivy began forming behind him.

"How strong are they?" asked Itai.

"The Head Bandit is about as strong as I am, so after a long time, I’ll have an exciting fight. Then there are five Stage 2 and forty Stage 1, so we have a huge numerical advantage," said Flain.

Itai looked up at the sky. "I never thought I’d become this strong. And it’s all thanks to you, Flain," said Itai with his usual nervous smile.

Flain patted him on the back. "The path to earning the title of the strongest necromancer will be long. Right now, you’re only at the beginning," said Flain.

"Anyway, now’s not the time for talking. Release the undeath army," he added...