"You're not a mercenary at all, are you? Tell me your objective, what does this mission have to do with you?" Abis squatted beside the big man, looking at him coldly.
"Cough... What are you talking about? I'm definitely a genuine mercenary..." The big man lay on the ground gasping for breath, but dared not move. Flora's slap had completely subdued him, and the force he felt was probably equivalent to a slap from a griffin.
"Oh? Is that so?" Abis wanted to grab the big man by the collar, but since he was a guy who didn't even wear clothes in winter, Abis seized his sideburns and stepped on his chest. "Let's analyze it slowly... When we entered the guild, you were the loudest, but none of those noisy mercenaries agreed with you, which means you have no friends among these people; after you caused trouble, the receptionist looked at you with disdain, so I asked him before I came out. Sure enough, you only came to the guild a few days ago and just sat inside drinking, never taking on any missions, but drove away the mercenary who planned to take on the ghost hunting mission but wasn't strong enough - your imposing size played a part."
The big man's pupils noticeably contracted.
"The next thing is even more interesting. When you approached us, I happened to smell the scent on your body - it was only the smell of alcohol, but no sweat odor. Logically speaking, you have been in the guild for several days and are a mercenary, so you shouldn't smell so fresh - but you don't have those smells on you, instead, I smelled some herbal fragrance, the ingredients used for short-term undead resurrection magic. You have been in contact with these herbs in a certain order." Abis's blue-green eyes emitted a faint light in the dark night, making the big man feel a piercing coldness.
"He's a necromancer?" Flora exclaimed in surprise. "I'm sorry, I didn't notice."
"He's an apprentice necromancer." Abis let go of the big man's head, allowing it to hit the ground. "He drank the necromancer's elixir, which transformed his body, making him immune to cold and heat, and greatly enhancing his body's recovery ability. It's not your fault for not noticing, who would have thought that a guy whose liver is as big as a dragon would be an apprentice necromancer?"
The big man's breathing became rapid. "Why do you know so much about necromancy?"
"Didn't you hear what I told her just now? We are colleagues." Abis said calmly. "Now tell me your master's name."
"It's impossible..." The big man protested.
Abis wasn't in a hurry. "Well, I can directly interrogate your soul after you die, then you won't be able to hide or lie anymore."
"Laina, his name is Laina." The big man gritted his teeth.
"It's written in this mission contract, I want his full name."
"Laina Ladius Trafaus!"
"Very well, you didn't lie." Abis smiled satisfactorily, straightened up, and moved his foot.
"What will you do with him?" Flora asked, poking her head out from the side. "Are you going to let him go?"
"Yes, I'll let him go." Abis nodded. "I don't kill living beings."
"You... you lied to me!" The big man shouted. "You said you would interrogate my soul after I die..."
"Do you think you can continue to live as if nothing happened? Your so-called master doesn't consider you as an apprentice at all. The magic potion you drank is transforming you into an undead, and you only have a few days left to live." Abis turned back and looked at him with a pitying gaze. "I will find your master, and in your last few days, you should atone for your sins."
The big man's voice was cut off as if his throat had been choked. He stared with wide eyes and an open mouth, like a suffocating fish.
"You will forget everything. When you wake up, you will investigate the names of every mercenary who went missing because of you and erect gravestones for them. You won't turn into an undead when you die because you didn't have my consent." Abis calmly spoke these words and then snapped his fingers at the big man. A beam of green light flew into the big man's body, and the faint light spots made the big man feel as if he had been struck by lightning, immediately losing consciousness.
Flora looked at Abis after witnessing everything and whispered, "Abis... you seem angry..."
"Ah... a little. He's just a foolish pawn being used, but I'm certain his 'master' is using living beings to create undead, and it's short-term disposable undead that will self-combust into ashes after a month or two. I don't like this behavior." Abis lightly patted his clothes. "Let's find a hotel to rest for a while, and we'll set off to find this necromancer named Laina tonight. I need to have a good conversation with him and understand what he intends to do.""But we don't have money to stay in a hotel," Flora said hesitantly.
Abis fell silent for a moment, awkwardly pointing at the unconscious man on the ground. "You can take the money out of his pocket."
"I won't steal!" Flora firmly crossed her hands in front of her. "Even if you are my master, I cannot obey you!"
"Tch..." Abis pouted and muttered, "Fine, if you don't want to, we can go to the outskirts and make a fire ourselves."
Flora smiled victoriously and obediently followed behind Abis, grabbing onto his robe.
...
The location written on the commission was not too far from the city. Just as the sun was setting, Abis rode with Flora on the undead war horse towards the so-called "haunted ancestral mansion." The undead war horse was much stronger than a regular horse, not only in terms of speed but also in its ability to ignore terrain obstacles and even run on water. It would also not be detected once they entered Darkness. Flora held onto Abis' waist, feeling a touch of romance on this journey. Having hardly ever had the opportunity to interact with young men in her former life, this was the first time for her to experience such feelings.
After continuously riding on the undead war horse for half an hour, Flora saw the commission location in front of her eyes.
Flora realized that as an undead, her vision wouldn't be restricted at night, but instead, she could see more clearly. Not only her vision, but her sense of smell and hearing also became more acute. Even before reaching the dilapidated house, Flora's ears could already hear the sound of breathing and some annoying murmurs coming from inside. A faint herbal scent mixed with the smell of blood and corpses made Flora wrinkle her nose involuntarily.
"This is the place. Even from this distance, I can sense the foul odor of low-level undead in the house," Abis wrinkled his nose. "Flora, later we'll pretend to be regular mercenaries when we go in. I want to see what methods this guy used to kill those dozen people."
"Understood," Flora nodded. "I will assume a wizard's posture."
"You know, Flora, one of the best things I've ever done was digging you out first from among the five targets," Abis looked back at Flora touched. "You are the best partner I've ever had."
"It feels strange... How many graves have you actually dug up?" Flora asked.
"Do you remember how many slices of bread you've eaten?" Abis replied, "Of course, I've never done anything like turning living people into undead. Abis Necromancy, I've spent fifteen years using only dead bodies, not the living."
