Chapter 166 [Sinners and Heart of the Remains Brawl]

Chapter 166: Chapter 56: [Sinners and Heart of the Remains Brawl]

It reached out, opened its palm, and wiggled its fingers back and forth as if demanding something. When the demand yielded no results, the hand suddenly clenched into a fist and swung fiercely, smashing into the air. It gripped nothingness, tightly choking the invisible neck of a phantom victim. Its arm clamped down on something—something squirming and struggling. The palm pressed forcefully against the air, attempting to pin an unseen entity down.

Samael stared in silence at the severed rotting arm of the Corpse Demon in his hand.

He wondered, "What is going on with these ancient corpses in the Hai Xin Plain? Were all the participants in the battle for the Heart of the Remains violent criminals? Why does the extermination system refer to all the living as ’sinners’? Divine remains are scattered all over the world... Could it be that during the colonial rebellions of the past, the gods living across the globe were killed by the rebels, prompting the survivors to leave behind the Ghost Knights as tools to purge the insurgents?"

"Yo, what are you busy with, good neighbor?" Lahador’s voice called out from nearby.

Samael lifted his helmet. Lahador, carrying a massive Nether Copper Scythe on his back and holding a rapier with a Spiral Drill Blade, was leaning lazily against a Rusted Copper Tree at the border line. He was surrounded by over a dozen Snake-shaped Corpse Demons, all wielding rapiers with Spiral Drill Blades and thick Nether Copper Chains.

"Spiral Drill Blades for armor-piercing and Nether Copper Tripwires..." Samael noted to himself. "These are specialized tactical weapons aimed at Anshiba." Lahador had his own tactics and targeted strategies; he wasn’t nearly as rigid or fragile as one might imagine.

"Why are you at the border again?" Samael asked, reattaching the arm to the Corpse Demon.

"Oh... I just came to see you, my good friend. To see if you’ve changed your mind, or maybe suddenly decided to form an alliance with me!" Lahador hid the armor-piercing Spiral Drill Blade behind his back, bobbing his head smugly.

"Did you hear hoofbeats sounding like an earthquake and think Anshiba had come to beat you up again?" Samael pointed out.

Lahador fell silent for a moment.

"If you don’t want to form an alliance, then piss off. Damn it, how rude," he replied irritably. "I’m warning you, my good neighbor, it’s still not too late to get down on your knees, beg me, and form an alliance. This is just a brief truce, so don’t think the Heart of the Remains is an easy place to survive! You’re new here. You don’t know that we just fought a round last month and agreed to a temporary ceasefire to rest and regroup.

"The temporary truce in the Hai Xin Plain is about to end. In a few days, a massive free-for-all will begin, and it won’t stop until a victor emerges. We’ll see if you’ll kneel and beg me then!"

Lahador stuffed the Spiral Drill Blade into his chestplate, dragged his large scythe, and led his Snake-shaped Corpse Demons away with a triumphant turn. The thick Nether Copper Tripwires dragged behind them, CLINKING and CLANKING against the rocks along the way like long tails.

"A massive free-for-all among the Hai Xin Undead... Intelligence on the enemies is crucial," Samael thought. "Anshiba is a heavy-armor strength type, and Lahador is an aggressive burst-damage type. What about the others?"

Samael led his Nether Copper Sword and Shield Knights, slowly returning to the entrance of the Underground City tunnel, which was already more than half-finished.

His own tomb was halfway built, making it convenient to store the undead. Based on what the Bell-shaped Helmet Rot Root Ball had observed this morning, perhaps he should follow Anshiba’s example and build a cellar with a Nether Copper insulation layer to slow the decay of the undead and corpses. However, as a minimalist pragmatist, the tomb’s design was practically a matchbox, rendering it rather ugly. Samael scratched his helmet. He would ask Yaki for help designing the exterior later; building a crude matchbox right at the entrance of the Underground City was too embarrassing.

"The underground ecosystem still lacks flora and fauna resources," he realized. "If negotiations fail... I’m afraid my only option is to..."

Remembering what Anshiba had said earlier, Samael lifted the Bell-shaped Helmet Rot Root Ball beside him.

"It silently sneaked up right next to my tomb, and none of the Barrel Helmet Elite Undead on perimeter patrol noticed it..." he mused. "It could have covertly infiltrated my tomb to destroy corpses or gather intelligence..."

"OYA!" the Rot Root Ball cried out strangely.

"Just going to other Knights’ territories to fetch some plant seeds and catch a few small animals shouldn’t be a big deal, right?" Samael said, holding up the Rot Root Ball.

"OYA!" the Rot Root Ball replied.

Samael passed through the Insect Maze leading to the Underground City and returned to the subterranean dome. The interior of the dome had already been ventilated, and lush plants were growing in the darkness. Faint points of light, resembling starlight, twinkled on the curved rock surface overhead—various types of bioluminescent fungi.

The framework for the buildings inside the dome had been erected, and some of the small structures in the outer ring were also complete. The camp was beginning to relocate into these new buildings. Four Demon Insect larvae were sleeping soundly in a massive Nether Copper Cage.

Talia was by the calcining furnace, tending to the Molten Stone fires. Two or three furnaces could no longer keep up with production; they now needed over a dozen furnaces to be fully fueled and blazing simultaneously.

"How’s the situation?" Samael asked in a low voice.

"The Insect Path ecosystem has developed quite a bit, barely enough to alleviate our food issues. However, the variety of flora and fauna is still too limited, so it won’t completely solve the food shortage just yet," she said, lowering her voice. "We can hold out for a few more days, but if we don’t introduce more plants and animals soon, we’ll have to send someone outside the Heart of the Remains to buy provisions.

"Additionally, we’re short on labor."

"Do you need me to bring some of the undead in to assist with construction?" Samael asked.

"No... the undead can’t handle complex tasks," Talia said, shaking her head. "Burrowers would be best. While excavating earlier, I noticed some wild Burrower Insect Paths. They were abandoned, though, flooded with sewage and silt. They extend from the south... from that massive swamp.

"Perhaps there are Burrower hives beneath the swamp. We could take the Earth-Devouring Demon Insect larvae there to drill down, locate the Empress responsible for laying eggs, and bring her back to breed in our Underground City."

"The southern swamp... Understood," Samael replied. "Tomorrow, we’ll take the Demon Insects and make a trip to the southern swamp to gather everything we need all at once."

"Will the other Ghost Knight in the swamp be an issue?" Talia asked.

"The chances of successful negotiations are very slim... We’ll just take the materials directly. They have no use for these things anyway." Samael felt a bit of a headache coming on. "If there’s really no other way..."

He felt a bit irritable. He figured the Ghost Knights had probably tried to communicate and negotiate in the beginning, only resorting to endless fighting after those talks failed. If there was truly no other option, the massive free-for-all would be unavoidable. Lahador and Anshiba couldn’t be reasoned with, and based on the descriptions, Pulangti in the swamp was even less capable of normal communication. Samael held little hope for successful diplomacy.

"I might as well just sneak in, move quickly, and run the moment I have what I need," he decided. He had to finish setting up the Underground City as soon as possible to prepare for the impending chaotic brawl among the undead.