[Advanced Death Magic: Castling]
In an instant, Hel unleashed a spell she had long prepared.
In the blink of an eye, the Hel who had been beneath the enemy's massive blade vanished without a trace—
and in her place appeared the Skeletal Berserker Captain, blade raised high to block the strike.
As for Hel, she now stood behind the group of Tier 3 and Tier 4 pursuers.
The moment she arrived, another spell—already prepared—activated quietly beneath her feet.
[Advanced Death Magic: Soul Deprivation Field]
The terrifying aura spread outward, engulfing all the Tier 3 and Tier 4 enemies in the blink of an eye.
Then, like a farmer harvesting wheat, Tier-3 mechanical puppets began collapsing one after another—
followed soon by the slightly stronger Tier-3 Snow Elves, whose souls were just intact enough to struggle briefly before fading.
The Tier-4 enemies held out better.
Even as the pull on their souls tore at them, they gritted their teeth and charged toward Hel, desperate to slay the spellcaster.
But Hel had already anticipated such a reaction.
The moment they surged forward, five Tier-4 Mechanical Centurions stepped in front of her, their massive bodies forming an iron wall.
Trying to break through those defensive specialists with just a handful of same-tier assassins?
Impossible—at least not in the short term.
With no way forward, the Snow Elves could only endure the agony of having their souls forcibly torn from their bodies—
until, one by one, they went still.
But was it over?
Of course not.
On the other side of the battlefield, the Skeletal Berserker Captain had just deflected a powerful swing from the Flame Adjudicator.
Using the force of the impact, he redirected the giant blade sideways, causing the towering metal giant to stumble.
Seizing the moment, the Berserker repeated his earlier trick—
drawing his weapon and slashing toward the Adjudicator's back.
The Flame Adjudicator responded in the same way as before—
but this time, the Berserker didn't leap away.
Their weapons clashed, and the two combatants locked into a grueling test of strength.
If nothing unexpected occurred, it would take hundreds of exchanges before either side could claim victory.
Exactly as Hel intended.
After all, this was the graveyard she had chosen for them.
[Advanced Death Magic: Soul Deprivation Field]
Hel's true body raised both hands, releasing the long-prepared spell.
The field of soul deprivation spread through the thick stone wall, engulfing the Flame Adjudicator completely.
At first, it struggled violently—
but under the combined pressure of the Berserker Captain and the suppressive runes of the formation, its resistance soon began to fade.
It wasn't long before the mighty construct went still.
Yet even now, its soul clung stubbornly to its vessel, refusing to leave.
Hel, however, simply tightened her grip—
as if yanking up a stubborn weed.
And so, for a long, tense moment, the two forces wrestled—
until, finally, the Adjudicator's soul began to tear free, bit by bit.
There's a saying:
No matter how firmly a mushroom clings, it can't escape the hand of the girl picking it.
And so it was here—
no matter how strong a soul was, in the end, it would kneel before the Little Necromancer Queen.
At last, the phantom form of the Flame Adjudicator's soul materialized in Hel's hand.
Only then did she exhale in relief.
The battle was finally over—
or so she thought.
Because just as Hel let her guard down, a small figure shrouded in black mist darted through the lines of the Mechanical Centurions.
A shadow flickered behind her.
A dagger flashed once—
—and Hel's snow-white skull rolled across the ground, bouncing several times before coming to a stop.
The delayed information screen appeared before her fading vision:
[Name]: Snow Elf Assassin Queen
[Rank]: Tier 5
[Power]: 336
[Description]: The final evolution of the Snow Elf Assassin series. The uncrowned queen of the assassination world. By the time you notice her, your head is already gone.
[Advanced Death Magic: Castling]
In the next instant, Hel made the optimal decision for the situation.
Fortunately, the body she was using was just a skeleton—
otherwise, she might have actually died this time.
Still, she couldn't help but complain:
"Do these Snow Elves not have brains? Have they seriously never fought undead before?
Why are they all so obsessed with cutting off heads?
Getting me the same way twice—honestly, if you're going to fall, why bother getting up again? Wouldn't it be more comfortable just lying there?"
As Hel grumbled, the Skeletal Berserker Captain swapped places with her again.
The moment he appeared, he received her mental command.
Without hesitation, he reached out—
grabbing the Assassin Queen by her slender throat, and with no hint of mercy, slammed her head into the ground.
Boom!
Dust flew up. The sound alone told the story—
that had been one solid head.
And just like that, the battle truly ended.
Leaving her skeleton troops to guard the passage, Hel quietly slipped away to the side,
looking as giddy as a mouse that had just stolen a sack of rice.
At last—loot time.
This was a massive haul.
Over twenty thousand enemies slain, with zero casualties among the severely wounded.
Her own losses?
A mere five minions.
A perfect victory.
Truly a moment worth celebrating.
The bulk of her spoils, however, came from the mechanical forces.
Tier 5: Flame Adjudicator ×1
Tier 4: Mechanical Centurion ×8
Tier 3: Combat Automaton ×80
Tier 2: Soldier Construct ×800
As for the Tier 1 units—there were over 20,000 of them.
Yes—those same round, ball-like mechanical soldiers that had mindlessly charged forward at the start.
Twenty thousand of the little things.
They had almost no combat ability, consumed plenty of energy, and were, frankly, worthless.
Hel couldn't imagine what the goblins who built them were thinking.
Apparently, being rich makes one reckless.
Worse, their traits were terrible.
Among the few available, only Basic Swordsmanship could even be upgraded—barely useful at all.
Since their souls had already been refined into Philosopher's Stones, Hel didn't bother turning them into undead.
She'd simply melt them down into steel ingots and sell them later.
The remaining puppets, though—those were a different story.
Thick armor, durable plating, multi-armed versatility—
Now this, Hel thought, is what a proper mechanical legion should look like.
Thus, Hel successfully gained command of a full mechanical army.
Including her previous units, the total count reached 1,111 machines—
an auspicious number indeed.
As for the Snow Elves, their numbers were much smaller:
Tier 5: Assassin Queen ×1 (peak entry, fastest to die)
Tier 4: Assassin Master ×5
Tier 3: Assassin ×50
Tier 2: Scout ×500
Tier 1: Trainee Assassin ×5,000
The Snow Elves, however, posed a dilemma.
Their skill builds were all wrong.
They were meant to be assassins, focusing on physical attacks—so naturally, their attribute points should've gone into strength.
Even the goblins who modified them had designed their enhancements for melee combat.
But the problem was—
they possessed the Elf Bloodline, which granted bonuses to magic power, not physical strength.
Completely contradictory.
If they'd leaned into their bloodline and trained as mages,
Hel admitted the battle might have been far tougher.
But as it was, the bloodline offered little benefit to their chosen path—
barely enhancing their combat ability at all.
And so, Hel found herself in a familiar predicament:
What to do with this bunch of misbuilt elves?