Dark Wizard: Rise! My undead army!

As darkness fell, people began to arrive outside the Black Reef Restaurant.

Sim stood at the door to greet them, nodding to each one who came in.

Most of the people who came were dressed in formal wizard robes, but they all looked preoccupied.

When they saw Sim, they all asked in hushed tones, "What's going on?"

Sim offered words of comfort: "Let's go inside and talk. Lord Lynn will be here shortly."

Upon hearing this, the arriving wizards understood the gist of it.

The old boss is dead, the new master has appeared; it's time to choose sides again.

In less than twenty minutes, more than twenty people had gathered in the restaurant.

The group consisted entirely of formal wizards, sitting in twos and threes talking about their recent situations, but their eyes kept glancing towards the door every now and then.

"Do you think Lynn will assert his authority on the spot?" a thin-faced wizard asked the person next to him in a low voice.

"It's hard to say. With his track record, he doesn't need to take action. He wouldn't need to pick a restaurant if he wanted to establish his authority."

"I'm just afraid he'll bring up the past."

"Don't scare yourself. Sim said he's just here for dinner."

"Hey, you're really funny. At a time like this, do you think you're just here to eat?"

...

Just then, footsteps suddenly sounded outside the courtyard.

Everyone stopped talking and turned to look at the door.

A young figure appeared at the doorway.

Lynn, dressed in a dark purple wizard's robe, had a calm expression, while Basso followed respectfully half a step behind him.

Sim hurried forward and whispered in Lynn's ear, "Sir, everyone except eight people has arrived."

Lynn nodded, said nothing, and stepped into the courtyard.

When the twenty-odd wizards saw him, they almost simultaneously bowed and paid their respects.

"Good night, Lord Lynn." Everyone bowed in unison, their voices rising and falling, creating a somewhat chaotic sound.

Lynn glanced at them and smiled: "I'm glad you all came. There's nothing else going on tonight, just a meal and a chat."

He led the way to the main table, and Basso and Sim quickly stepped forward to pull out chairs for him.

After Lynn sat down, the others dared to take their seats one after another.

Dishes were served one by one, with the Black Reef Restaurant's signature dishes filling the long table.

But no one touched their chopsticks; everyone stood up straight, waiting for Lynn to speak.

Lynn picked up his wine glass, glanced around, and said bluntly:

"You are all former subordinates of Marfa. Now that Marfa is dead at my hands, you should all have guessed why I called you here today."

The hall fell silent for a moment.

Basso was the first to stand up, his voice not loud: "I, Basso, am willing to serve Lord Lynn, even unto death!"

Sim immediately stood up: "Sim is willing to die for you, sir!"

With them taking the lead, the other wizards stood up one after another and swore allegiance.

"We are willing to serve Lord Lynn!"

More than twenty people bowed in unison, their attitude so respectful that it was impeccable.

Lynn leaned back in his chair, looking at the group of people in front of him, without much emotional reaction.

It was just a verbal oath.

How could a group of dark wizards possibly have true loyalty?

He's only seeing fear and self-interest now; whether he's truly sincere remains to be seen.

But as long as I maintain strong combat power, I'm not afraid of these guys having any ulterior motives.

In this world, strength still reigns supreme.

"Please sit down." Lynn raised her hand.

Everyone then sat down, and the atmosphere relaxed a bit.

Basso was the first to raise his glass and stand up: "My lord, I toast you. Your counterattack against the minions of the Chaos Egg and your subjugation of a large number of demons during the Marfa incident are truly admirable."

Lynn raised his glass and took a sip.

Then, one person after another offered a toast, and each person stood up and first introduced themselves, their identity, and their position.

"My lord, I am Erwin, the cursed butler, in charge of the consumables management of the third laboratory."

"My lord, I am Belloc, a lecturer in the Soul Department, and I work as an indexer in the Skeleton Archives."

"My lord, I am Hag, the guardian wizard of the Modification Department."

"My lord, I am Thor, an inspector from the western district of Ghost Market."

...

After each person finished speaking, they didn't forget to say a few flattering words and suck up to their new master.

Some praised Lynn's unparalleled combat prowess, some said that he had already made a name for himself in the academy at a young age, and some even boasted that Lynn had the "appearance of a true spirit".

Lynn accepted all offers of wine, drinking whenever someone offered him a toast, his attitude polite but not warm.

Basso watched carefully from the side and thought to himself that these guys were at least sensible.

However, Lynn is a real powerful backer. If he truly becomes a true spirit in the future, then they too can "ascend to heaven."

The atmosphere became much more lively in the latter half of the banquet.

Several wizards, having had a few too many drinks, started joking and laughing. Lynn occasionally chimed in with a comment, and everyone echoed his sentiments.

As the event ended, everyone came forward one by one to say goodbye.

Each person who approached Lynn said, "I am willing to serve you, sir," before turning and leaving.

After everyone had left, Basso stood beside Lynn and whispered, "Sir, the twenty-eight people who came today can be considered half of our own. As for the eight who didn't come..."

"It's alright." Lynn stood up. "If you didn't come, you didn't come. I, Lynn, am not a petty person."

In the following days, Lynn began contacting those spies.

The contact information not on the list was something he dug out from Marfa's memories.

These people are well hidden within the academy, and their outward identities have nothing to do with Marfa. They only contact Marfa directly at crucial moments.

After establishing communication, most of the secret agents expressed their willingness to surrender.

Some remained silent for a long time before agreeing, while others said directly, "I will follow Lord Lynn's arrangements."

A small number of them cannot be contacted at all; the communication frequencies are unreachable, and the people have disappeared.

It's clear they're preparing to sever this connection completely.

Lynn did not pursue the matter.

He's still under observation at school and can't cause any more trouble. As long as these people don't get in the way, he's not going to bother with them for now.

For the next few days, Lynn went to various shops to help people answer their questions.

After hearing the news that he had killed Marfa and fought against twenty-three men single-handedly, the shops under his protection gathered together and discussed the matter.

The next day, they voluntarily increased the "protection fee" by half.

This is already the limit; any further increase will result in no profit.

Other shops also set their sights on Lynn, this powerful figure, and flocked to him seeking protection.

Lynn accepted all comers, as long as they paid him on time every year. He didn't care what kind of shady business you were doing or what kind of immoral deals you were making.

But with more and more shops opening, Lynn couldn't keep up with the demand.

Besides, it's not good for me to spend all my time in different shops with just one Holy Mark.

It's time to bring out the whole clone again.

He bought a lot of materials from the Ghost Market and spent two days refining a flesh and blood clone.

This clone was of average combat strength, but it looked exactly like him and even carried the aura of a holy mark.

Lynn devoted a portion of his attention to it, having him sit in the now-renamed "Lynn's Dream Corridor" every day.

When someone comes to ask for help, the clone will pass the problem on to the main body.

After solving the problem at his residence using his analytical abilities, Lynn sent back the answer, which significantly improved his efficiency.

The rest of the time, Lynn brewed potions at his residence.

He bought back a large quantity of herbs and animal materials, and according to the optimized and improved "Holy Mark" level mental power potion formula, brewed a potion to enhance mental power.

He originally planned to improve naturally without using any potions, but this time, he had acquired some Saint-level combat power that he wanted to recruit.

The primary objective at present is to prepare for subduing the eight demons and to travel to the Underworld to control more Stigmata-level combat power.

The upper limit of his mental power determines how many powerful beings he can control at the same time.