Chapter : 724

Ken Eliot sat in his rolling office chair. He heard the name of the city. He sagged his shoulders as far as they could possibly go. He let out a loud, highly dramatic groan. He threw his head back and stared at the white ceiling.

"A desert city," Ken complained lazily. He put his hands deep into his sweatpants pockets. "I despise desert levels. This is the worst possible news."

Naomi turned her head. She looked at Ken. She smiled a soft, musical smile. She did not look angry. She just shook her head fondly. "Why do you hate the desert, Ken?"

"Desert levels have terrible environmental hazards," Ken explained casually. He used his flawless video game logic. "There is sand literally everywhere. Sand gets inside my cheap shoes. It ruins my socks. It gets into my snacks. The sun gives your character a massive heat debuff. You have to drink water every five minutes or your stamina drops to zero. Walking in sand requires too much cardio. Why do the villains always pick the desert? It is a massive inconvenience."

Laxmi punched her open palm. Bright orange flames popped around her fingers. "I love the desert! It is very hot! My fire magic will be strong there!"

Sayma looked up from her digital tool. Her dark eyes looked serious. She did not smile at Ken's silly joke. The situation was far too dangerous.

"The heat is not our primary problem, Ken," Sayma warned softly. She opened the final encrypted document. The document carried a top-secret black warning label. "The transmission portal is the actual problem."

Sayma read the text on the screen. She swallowed hard. Her polite voice shook just a tiny fraction of an inch.

"The Black Magicians plan to use the concentrated Solurius thermal energy for a very specific ritual," Sayma revealed loudly. "They plan to tear open a permanent spatial gate. The gate leads directly to the Netherworld."

The entire server room went silent.

The 13th Unit gasped in horror. The Netherworld was a forbidden, terrifying dimension. It was a realm of darkness and evil. General Vespera came from the Netherworld. If a permanent gate opened, thousands of demons would pour into the mortal world.

Zinia crossed her muscular arms. The strong earth mage glared at the digital screen. "A permanent gate? They will destroy the entire desert city. The demons will slaughter everyone in Albino."

Sayma shook her head slowly. She looked at Princess Iris.

"It is significantly worse than a normal demon invasion, Zinia," Sayma whispered. She pushed her glasses up her nose with a trembling finger. "The files mention a very specific target inside Albino. They mention an ancient, buried seal."

Sayma paused. She took a deep breath. She delivered the worst news possible.

The NovelPhoenix site carries the author's published chapter, but this copy was made without approval; readers support the author by reading it there.

"Albino is the exact location where the Black Soul Sovereign was sealed long ago," Sayma stated clearly.

The lore drop hit the 13th Unit like a physical punch.

The Black Soul Sovereign was the ultimate entity of darkness. It was a legendary, apocalyptic monster. It was a creature from the darkest bedtime stories. It possessed the power to plunge the entire continent into an age of despair. The original heroes of the empire sealed the entity away centuries ago.

Laxmi dropped her jaw wide open. Her bright orange sparks fizzled out . Her excited grin vanished. She looked terrified.

"The Black Soul Sovereign?" Laxmi asked quietly. She stepped backward. "I thought that was just a myth. My mother told me stories about it to make me go to sleep."

"It is not a myth," Princess Iris confirmed smoothly. Her violet eyes turned stern. She gripped her silver rapier very tightly. "It is an ancient, destructive reality. The royal archives possess hidden records of the original sealing war. The Sovereign is real."

Sayma nodded firmly. She clicked her silver pen.

"If the Black Magicians successfully open the Netherworld gate in the middle of Albino, the results will be catastrophic," Sayma analyzed politely. "The massive surge of dark dimensional energy will shatter the ancient seal. The Black Soul Sovereign will be freed from its prison."

Sayma looked at the map on her screen one last time.

"The entire city of Albino will become a gateway for darkness," Sayma concluded grimly. "The Sovereign will consume the desert. It will spread across the empire. It is an extinction-level event."

The room fell silent again. The stakes were massive. This was no longer just a simple investigation mission. This was no longer just a hunt for a stolen artifact. This was a battle for the survival of the entire world.

Ken Eliot sat in his black rolling chair. He held a green gummy worm halfway to his mouth. He blinked his sleepy dark eyes. He processed the massive lore drop effortlessly.

"So," Ken thought casually to himself. He popped the candy into his mouth. He chewed it lazily. "The crazy cult wants to summon the final boss of the entire game. They want to trigger the apocalypse event. This is a massive plot escalation. We just finished fighting a giant puzzle monster. My mana bar is empty. We definitely need to find a save point before we fight a Sovereign. I need to restock my inventory."

Ken slouched his shoulders. He let out a loud, dramatic sigh.

"This is going to require a massive amount of walking," Ken complained lazily out loud. He buried his hands deep into his pockets. "We have to leave the poison swamp. We have to travel all the way to a desert city. The fast travel system is broken. We are going to spend hours sitting on a bumpy train."

Princess Iris did not scowl at his lazy complaining. She looked at her team. She saw the fear in their eyes. She knew she had to lead them right now. She had to inspire them.

Princess Iris raised her silver rapier high into the air. The holy white light shined brilliantly across the dark server room. The light chased the shadows away . She stood perfectly tall. She projected an aura of pure, undeniable leadership.

"Listen to me, 13th Unit," Princess Iris commanded smoothly. Her voice rang clear and strong. "We cannot wait for a convenient time. We cannot let fear stop us. The Black Magicians are executing their master plan right now."

Naomi spun her twin silver daggers. The metal glinted brightly. She stood right beside her Princess. She smiled a fierce, brave smile.

"We are with you, Princess," Naomi shouted loyally. "We will follow you anywhere."

Zinia slammed her large fists together. "We will smash that Netherworld gate into pieces!"

Laxmi punched her open palm again. The bright orange fire roared back to life. "I will burn the cult members! I am not scared of a bedtime story!"

Princess Iris smiled a proud, beautiful smile. She looked at her unified, brave team. They were the underdog faction. But they were ready to save the world.

"We must stop this before it is too late," Princess Iris declared passionately. "We must secure this data. We must return to the surface immediately. We are going to Albino. We are going to stop the Black Magicians."