CHAPTER 228: THE SOVEREIGN'S POCKET DOMAINS

With the castle garrison secured in their stasis vaults, Caius summoned Archmage Orven and the Arachne Master Weaversmith to his private sanctum for one final task before departure. Unrolling a dense parchment across his desk, Caius presented the schematic for a microscopic spatial vessel. He instructed them to forge a series of small, black mithril studs, each embedded with an inner spatial core and bound by fine gossamer-thread channels. Modeled after the castle's subterranean filtration chambers, the studs were designed to continuously draw ambient mana from the surrounding environment, passing the raw energy through microscopic runic screens to strip away all elemental impurities. What entered the internal space was a constant, flush supply of pure, refined mana.

For three months, the Spire of Arcana and the Calamity Forge worked in absolute harmony, fusing high-density mithril with refined spatial crystals under Caius's exacting specifications. At the end of the ninety days, Orven and the Master Weaversmith presented a velvet-lined case containing six immaculate black mithril studs, each no larger than a grain of wheat and pulsing with faint violet light. Caius set aside two as pristine spares, turning his focus to initializing the four main vessels.

The first stud expanded into the Expeditionary Habitat, built to house the entire one thousand, three hundred and fifty living elite force. Caius structured its interior into three distinct, interconnected barracks chambers. The primary chamber housed the one thousand heavy Orcs and their commanders; the second chamber accommodated the one hundred and six Dark Elf skirmishers; and the third chamber sheltered the one hundred and six Barbarian flankers. To ensure absolute operational autonomy, Caius assigned a dedicated cohort of Arachne Weaversmith drones to each of the three chambers. These specialized drones managed the barracks around the clock, repairing worn armor, forging replacement pikes and daggers, preparing nutrient-rich food rations, and maintaining pristine living conditions so the troops remained in constant combat readiness.

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The remaining three studs completed his mobile infrastructure. The second stud initialized as the Summon Matrix, utilizing the exact spatial framework of Caius's original dimension ring to contain specialized constructs and tactical spell arrays. The third became the Arachne Hive Habitat, housing Father Arachne, three colossal Brood Mothers, the one hundred elite Arachne Humanoid Warriors, and uncountable worker swarms. The fourth stud structured into the Great Storage Vessel, a vast vacuum-sealed vault dedicated to logistical supplies, extra hoplite gear, raw obsidian crystals, and empty space for spoils of war.

To initialize and bind the vessels, Caius closed his eyes and summoned his thread magic. Microscopic, gossamer-thin spatial threads shot directly from his Crown Core, extending through his brow to pierce the core lattice of each stud. He surged vast streams of dense, pitch-black obsidian mana through the threads, violently expanding the compressed spatial folds within each vessel until four self-sustaining pocket domains stabilized.

With the four realms fully primed and surging with dark energy, Caius raised his hand to his brow. Guided by his spatial threads, he pressed the four black mithril studs directly into the skin of his forehead, embedding them in a precise horizontal row along his crown meridian line. The studs fused effortlessly into his flesh, establishing a direct neural bridge with his mind. Violent, crackling violet lightning erupted across his forehead and dark chestplate, illuminating the cavernous hall and crowning him with a radiant purple arcana halo. Caius opened his glowing violet-gold eyes, feeling the faint, rhythmic pulse of four pocket domains resting against his skull, ready to march into the Mist.