Chapter 145: Ambitious

”There is a massive chamber beyond the facility’s eastern corridor. Several Arachnids were guarding it, but after I eliminated them, I noticed a strange metallic structure inside. It had an elongated body, several protruding components, and what appeared to be an entrance hatch along its side.”

She paused, recalling the layout. “I assumed it was some kind of transportation device belonging to the Arachnids.”

‘That’s exactly what I’m looking for.’

Cassian gave a satisfied nod. “All right. Let’s go.”

He raised his hand and activated [Gate].

Spatial energy gathered around him as the familiar sensation of displacement enveloped his body.

This time, however, he deliberately focused on the hangar Nyxara had described, intending to bring himself, his Champion, and the newly summoned Arachnids along in a single leap.

In the next instant, the world dissolved.

Cassian materialized inside a vast, subterranean hangar.

Metallic walls stretched across the enormous chamber, illuminated by long strips of pale lights embedded in the high ceiling.

Heavy conduits ran along the perimeter, connecting various pieces of unfamiliar machinery, while several mechanical docking platforms occupied the surrounding floor space.

And at the center of it all rested a starship.

Its elongated hull was armored in dark, angular plating, with razor-sharp protrusions running along its flanks.

The rear section housed several massive propulsion thrusters, while the forward portion narrowed into a sharp, predatory point resembling the head of a hunting beast.

It was built for long-range space travel.

Unfortunately, Cassian had no time to appreciate the engineering.

He was far too busy noticing a critical detail.

He was entirely alone.

”…”

Cassian slowly turned his head.

There was no Nyxara.

There was no Silas.

There wasn’t a single undead soldier standing beside him.

Only the starship remained, silently occupying the center of the vast hangar.

For several agonizing seconds, Cassian stared at the empty space where his legion should have appeared.

Then, he closed his eyes.

’How embarrassing.’

He had intended to make a grand entrance, teleporting his entire elite squad directly to their objective.

Instead, he had managed to transport only himself, leaving his confused summons behind in the core room.

‘So [Gate] doesn’t automatically carry nearby allies.’

It was a logical limitation, he supposed. The skill’s description had detailed spatial travel, but it hadn’t explicitly stated that he could tether other living or undead entities to his movement without a secondary link.

Still, he wished he had discovered that particular mechanic somewhere a little less humiliating.

His communicator suddenly vibrated against his ear.

Cassian opened the connection, and Nyxara’s smooth voice echoed through the earpiece. “My Lord? Are we supposed to wait here, or…?”

”Start coming over,” Cassian interrupted smoothly. “I simply went ahead to verify that the perimeter was clear of traps.”

Silence followed on the line.

Cassian stared up at the metallic ceiling.

’Please believe me. Just this once.’

He knew perfectly well that the excuse was terrible. If he had genuinely suspected hidden traps, he would have warned her before disappearing into thin air.

On the other end of the line, Nyxara remained quiet for several seconds.

”Understood, my Lord.”

Her voice was impeccably respectful.

Far too respectful.

Cassian could practically picture her expression across the facility: violet eyes narrowed, lips pressed into a tight line, struggling against a sudden urge to laugh at her Lord’s expense.

’She doesn’t believe a single word.’

He let out a quiet sigh and cut the call.

This wouldn’t do. If he intended to use [Gate] regularly, he needed to thoroughly master its parameters.

He couldn’t afford to leave his commanders behind every time he wanted to travel across a domain.

Reopening his system interface, Cassian began re-examining the skill’s exact wording, looking for any hidden sub-clauses that might govern mass transportation, but closed it when he found nothing.

He would figure it out eventually.

For now, however, he had a far more important target to inspect.

Cassian turned his attention back to the starship.

Up close, the vessel was even larger than he had initially estimated. Its hull bore several intricate, alien insignias, and the complete absence of exterior damage suggested it had been actively maintained rather than abandoned.

Given that the Arachnids had established a covert base beneath Planet Roca’s crust, this ship had likely served as their main conduit for moving personnel, weaponry, and intelligence between their hidden installations.

Cassian’s blue eyes gleamed with cold calculation.

‘I’m getting a little ambitious, aren’t I?’

He inspected the vessel from its pointed bow to its massive thruster housings.

He had awakened as a Lord less than two days ago. His territory was still in its infancy, his army needed massive development, and he had barely begun to scratch the surface of his unique Divine Blessings.

Yet here he was, standing inside a secret enemy installation, actively planning a covert infiltration operation into a foreign alien civilization.

A civilization that had somehow acquired a weapon capable of disintegrating a planet.

Most people would consider the idea complete madness.

Cassian merely smiled.

‘But when has a Lord ever achieved greatness by playing it safe?’

Lords conquered territories, hoarded resources, and forged armies. They expanded continuously until they hit an immovable wall, then found a way to tear it down and surpass it.

Ambition wasn’t a flaw in their nature.

It was an absolute prerequisite for survival.

And Cassian had zero intention of remaining confined to the Astral Dominion simply because his current tier was low.

His gaze settled heavily on the starship’s boarding hatch.

When he had resurrected the First Order Elite Evolver, the possibility of infiltrating the Arachnid Empire had already taken root in his mind.

Now that he had secured their primary transport, that possibility was rapidly becoming a tangible reality.

He could use this vessel to slip past their planetary borders, gather intelligence on their true military strength, and analyze how they had engineered their weaponry.

More importantly, he could uncover what they were planning next.

The crisis on Planet Roca was only one piece of a much broader campaign. The Worldbreaker Core, the counterfeit weapons, the underground facilities, none of these had been deployed in a vacuum.

The Arachnid Civilization was orchestrating something massive.

And Cassian intended to be the one who tore their plans apart.

….

[Weekly Goals]