Emperor Of Steel [EN]: Chapter 160

10. The Movements of the Hellish Archipelago

“Hurry, hurry! Load the undead onto the transport ships!”

“We need to dispatch the first batch today!”

“Be careful! If you drop even one coffin into the sea, you’ll regret it!”

On Thanatos Island, within the fog-shrouded Hellish Archipelago.

Black coffins on carts were being moved in a long line onto a large ship docked at the pier.

These were the undead that Arsen had been creating.

“Whew, honestly. When the progenitor [Arsen] went missing, I thought we were in serious trouble.”

Above the pyramid.

One of the two people watching the loading operation spoke.

He was Nesta, the former master of the Veritas Magic Tower.

Four months ago, Arsen had left for the Symphonia Kingdom, intending to kill Luke, and then contact was lost.

When contact was also lost with Chatan, who was sent to assist him, and five mid-level undead who had just completed their second creation, the Veritas Magic Tower was thrown into chaos.

They had thought that with that much power, they could not only take down Luke but also devastate the Symphonia Kingdom.

But then, contact was lost with both of them!

So, the Magic Tower ordered its disciples, who were undercover on the continent, to investigate, and a few days later, they heard that the progenitor seemed to have been defeated and killed by Luke.

This report threw the Veritas Magic Tower into confusion.

They couldn’t decide whether to avenge the progenitor or send people to the Symphonia Kingdom to find traces of him.

“Indeed, I was quite flustered at that time as well,” Alber replied to Nesta’s words.

Their progenitor, Arsen, was a lich [a type of undead magic user].

Even if the progenitor had been defeated by Luke, it didn’t mean complete death.

Liches could revive as long as their life vessel [a phylactery or container holding their soul] wasn’t destroyed.

Nevertheless, the fact that Nesta and the other leaders of the Veritas Magic Tower were flustered showed how shocking Arsen’s defeat was.

‘The progenitor, who had mastered both white and black magic of the 9th circle [the highest level of magic] and ascended to a higher realm, was a powerful figure unprecedented in history. He could wipe out ten magic towers with a single finger. Yet, he lost to Luke?’

If that was the case, then the Veritas Magic Tower’s analysis of Luke was completely wrong.

And there was another reason why the leaders were flustered.

Liches revived at the location of their life vessel, but no one knew where Arsen’s life vessel was.

So, they had no choice but to wait for Arsen to contact them.

But a day passed, then two days, and even two months passed without any contact from Arsen.

Naturally, they were worried.

“But to think he would establish a base in such an unexpected place, I never imagined it.”

“Heh. That’s true.”

A hollow laugh escaped Nesta’s lips at Alber’s words.

While they were anxiously waiting for news, the revived Arsen returned.

Arsen told them about his plan.

It was to seize the body of King Shaikhan of the Lybia Kingdom!

It was a brilliant idea, but Nesta couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

Perhaps because it was early in his revival, Arsen was weaker than before.

Could he really defeat the Draconian Shaikhan, who had inherited the power of the Divine Dragon?

That’s why Nesta still felt uneasy even after sending Alber and several black mages with him.

Then, about a month ago, they received a magical communication from the Lybia Kingdom.

Shaikhan appeared on the magic communication device.

Nesta’s heart sank, wondering if Arsen had been captured by Shaikhan, but surprisingly, the progenitor had succeeded in seizing the Draconian’s body.

The joy and surprise at that time were truly something!

“What do you think about the progenitor deciding to use the Lybia Kingdom as a base?”

“Well, I think it has its pros and cons. Honestly, this Hellish Archipelago is good for hiding, but the place is too small, and there are many restrictions on activities. It’s not easy to gather the materials needed to create an undead army either. On the other hand, the Lybia Kingdom is located on the Rodisia Continent, so if we can hide our identity well, it’s a great place to operate.”

Also, if they could turn the entire Lybia Kingdom into an undead territory, it would have a greater impact than turning the entire Southern Continent into undead.

A dagger aimed at a closer target would be more lethal than one aimed at a distant one.

Anyway, Arsen decided to move the Veritas Magic Tower’s secret base with that in mind, and the relocation work was currently underway.

Half of the undead and black mages currently being created would relocate in the first wave today, and the second wave would begin a month later.

But Nesta’s eyebrows twitched as he was chatting with Alber.

Suddenly turning his body, he shot a dark bullet towards the distant forest.

Whoosh- Thud!

Just after the dark bullet disappeared into the densely leafed trees, Nesta spoke.

“It seems a rat has snuck onto our island.”

“A rat?” Alber’s brow furrowed.

In the past 200 years, no spy had ever infiltrated the Hellish Archipelago.

“It seems our secret was leaked as people were coming and going for the relocation. Track them down and capture them immediately!”

“Understood.”

Upon receiving the order, Alber immediately used fly magic to lift himself into the air and flew towards the place where the groan had been heard earlier.

But there were only bloodstains there, and the spy who seemed to have been hit by the dark bullet was nowhere to be seen.

“It seems the rat’s abilities are better than I thought. But you will never escape the Hellish Archipelago!”

The moment he cast a tracking spell, Alber’s eyes began to glow bright blue.

He might seem unskilled because he was always with monsters like Arsen and Nesta, but Alber himself was an 8th circle archmage.

He was confident that he could find and eliminate a spy who had infiltrated alone.

Whoosh!

He lifted himself into the sky and began to follow the intruder’s footprints revealed by the tracking spell.

(To be continued in Steel Emperor Volume 18)

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