Chapter 598: Chapter 581: Skeleton Duke

The projection flared to life, and No. 18’s figure appeared on the light screen.

"Commander, the target has fled this plane. We cannot track their destination," No. 18 reported, his voice ice-cold. "The wreckage of a spatial coordinate anchor was discovered twenty meters underground.

"The anchor’s material consists of organic matter based on Blood and Flesh Runes. Through an analysis of its Magic Power decay, its time of creation is estimated to be between ninety and one hundred and twenty years ago. This aligns with the timeline of the Crimson Hand’s initial invasion of the G-771 Plane.

"This indicates that the enemy cannot cross realms at will. Instead, they relied on coordinates buried a century ago, combined with external power, to force an invasion. Before retreating, they destroyed the spatial coordinate anchor."

Allen leaned back in his chair, his expression unreadable. "Have we gathered any intelligence on the enemy?"

"There are two distinct Magic Power fluctuation signatures lingering at the scene," No. 18 continued. "The first has a 97.3% match with the database profile of the Blood Sea Monarch, Kesuga. We have confirmed it is him.

"The second signature is not in our current database. However, the underlying characteristics of the Magic Power fluctuations are highly similar to Kesuga’s, both belonging to the Flesh and Blood School system. Cross-referencing this with the Crimson Hand’s member files, we deduce the target is the other missing Morning Star Wizard, Blood-handed Sara."

"Kesuga... Aside from that Black Wizard who refused to die properly, another Morning Star has popped up." Allen lowered his gaze slightly. "What are the casualties in the surrounding area?"

[Seventh Administrative District: Red Leaf Town and the surrounding twenty-kilometer radius.] Jarvis took over the light screen.

[Confirmed fatalities: 23,407. All stationed and supporting Golems have been destroyed.]

[The administrative system of Red Leaf Town is paralyzed, and social panic has erupted in three towns surrounding the Seventh Administrative District. The Grand Governor has initiated emergency pacification protocols, deploying supplies and backup security Golems. Direct and indirect economic losses amount to seven million Low-Level Magic Stones.]

These diligent laborers within the Divine Kingdom of Ten Thousand Machines were precious building blocks in his grand blueprint. And now, someone had crept right up to his doorstep, blown his civilians into a city of bloody paste, and casually slipped away. How could he possibly tolerate this?

"Jarvis."

[Present.]

"Using the signal characteristics we detected earlier, initiate a full-plane scan. See how many similar coordinate anchors are left."

The command room fell silent for thirty-five minutes.

[Full-plane deep scan complete.]

[A total of seventeen residual signals suspected to be similar spatial coordinate anchors have been discovered, distributed across eleven administrative districts.]

Seventeen red dots lit up on the map in succession.

[The targets are mostly located beneath the ruins of key churches or altars formerly belonging to the Blood God Sect. Three of these locations have relatively high signal strength and may still possess positioning capabilities. The signals from the remaining fourteen locations have severely decayed. It cannot be confirmed at this time whether they are still functional.]

Staring at the seventeen red dots, Allen’s lips curled into an extremely dangerous sneer. The Crimson Hand had operated in this plane for a full century; unsurprisingly, they had left behind more than one contingency plan.

"Destroy all seventeen anchors immediately. Dispatch Engineering Golems to execute the task. Drill them out one by one and ensure not a single one is left."

[Command issued. Complete eradication is estimated within forty-eight hours.]

"And one more thing." Allen paused. "Restart the plane-wide sweep for residual Holy Blood Marks. This time, have Thanatos assist and filter everything through the Soul Law."

[Understood, Commander.]

A cold glint flashed in Allen’s eyes. To kill his people and destroy his cities was to cut off his source of wealth. He hadn’t even gone to clean up the Gray Channel yet, but this pack of Black Wizards had the gall to run wild in his own backyard.

"Notify Colin to halt all external expansion plans. Suspend all activities for the merchant fleets and escort armadas, and recall all nearby units immediately.

"Draft another 120 Factory Servants to speed up the painting processes in workshops four, five, and six.

"Cybertron is to enter Level 1 combat readiness. All production lines are to begin manufacturing wartime supplies, and all newly mined ores must be sent straight to replenish the warehouses.

"To think you dared to barge into my home before I even made a move against you... If I can’t find you, I’ll turn this entire channel upside down!"

These Black Wizards were accustomed to plundering and destroying. They had no idea what industrialization truly meant, nor did they understand the wrath of capital.

***

The Gray Channel. Segment D-19.

Deep within the Sea of Magical Power, amidst the violent turbulence of energy, a cluster of massive shadows advanced through the Magic Flow.

They were seventeen giant Bone Dragons, each over three hundred meters long. They spread their tattered wings, which were draped with rotting flesh, while dark green Necromancer’s Fire clung to the surfaces of their stark white bones. Ghost Fire danced within their hollow eye sockets. The power of the Undead Law had brought them back from the dead, allowing them to maintain a strict, imposing formation.

In the center of the Bone Dragon formation, seven Floating Battleships maintained a loose fleet. These battleships varied in style and size; it was obvious at a glance that this was a fleet cobbled together from looting. The smallest was only eighty meters long, its hull covered in patchwork repairs, with stolen goods haphazardly piled on the deck. There was even a mobile manor belonging to the Contract School that had its superstructure dismantled and converted into a crude transport platform.

But among all these chaotic battleships, there was one with a completely different aura.

It was over two thousand meters long, its entire hull astonishingly crafted from the spine of some unknown, giant void creature. The Necromancy Law had reshaped its form, and the Bone Transformation Law had imbued it with indestructible hardness. Twisted Runes naturally grew out of every inch of the bone surface. Ghostly green fire flowed through the runic crevices, looking as if tens of thousands of undead spirits were sealed within the bones, letting out silent wails.

The bow featured a ramming horn made of massive, curved ribs. A highly dense cluster of Necromancer’s Fire gathered at the tip of the horn, radiating a chill that would make one’s very soul tremble.

It was the Skeleton Duke’s flagship—the White Bone Throne.

The interior of the bridge was dark and cavernous. Bone floors, bone walls, bone ceilings—everything was constructed from skeletons. Ghostly green Necromancer’s Fire replaced normal lighting, dancing in the crevices of the bone walls and casting flickering, eerie shadows.

As a spatial ripple spread through the center of the bridge, Sara and Kesuga tumbled out.

The Boundary-Breaking Device in Sara’s right hand was completely dim; its two-use quota had been exhausted. She casually tossed the useless crystal aside. The moment it hit the bone floor, it shattered into dust.

Kesuga’s body was much more solid than it had been in Red Leaf Town. The Essence of Life from those twenty-odd thousand civilians had barely managed to patch up his shattered Soul origin.

Deep within the bridge, a figure sat on a throne cobbled together from massive shoulder blades. His body resembled a mummy that had been air-dried for centuries. His grayish-brown skin clung tightly to his bones, making every rib and vertebra distinctly visible. He wore a dark gray robe made from the skin of an unknown creature, its hem dragging on the floor, fringed with fine, fragmented finger bones.

Within his deeply sunken eye sockets, two clumps of ghostly green Soul Fire stared coldly at the two remnants of the Crimson Hand before him. It was the Skeleton Duke, a Morning Star Wizard who mastered the dual laws of Undead and Bone Transformation, and the most powerful Star Thief Leader across six segments of the Gray Channel, from D-19 to D-25.

"You’ve returned." His voice was dry and hollow, like an echo drifting up from the bottom of a dried-up well. "Have you figured out the background of that White Wizard?"

Putting away all her arrogance, Sara bowed her head deferentially. "We have, Skeleton Duke. He indeed controls an extremely powerful Alchemy Golem Legion. However, the foundation of the plane itself is very weak, and its level of development is low. The plane’s defense system is just an empty shell that has only recently been cobbled together."

"Very well." The Skeleton Duke nodded slightly, shifting his gaze to Kesuga. "Kesuga, your soul... bears the scorch marks of the Power of Laws."

Kesuga gritted his teeth, lowering his head to hide the humiliation in his eyes. "I was injured by a Golem."

"A Golem? The Soul Law... and there is even a trace of the Decay Law left behind." A hint of fluctuation entered the Skeleton Duke’s hollow voice. "Interesting. A Golem capable of bearing dual laws... That White Wizard is even more troublesome than the rumors suggest."

Kesuga kept his head bowed and said nothing more. Having his soul injuries evaluated to his face was humiliating, but living under someone else’s roof, he certainly didn’t have the capital to throw a temper tantrum.

"Don’t pull such a long face." The Skeleton Duke leaned back against the bone throne. The shriveled, thin skin on his face twitched, as if he were smiling. "I agreed to lend Sara the Boundary-Breaking Device to fish you out, but not to watch you act like a stray dog. I need you to do something for me."

Kesuga looked up. "What is it?"

The corners of the Skeleton Duke’s mouth split open. On that skull-like face, the place where lips should be was covered only by a thin, cracked layer of skin. "Help me kill that Golem Wizard from the Plane Development and Exploration Association."

His tone remained dry, but both Kesuga and Sara caught the unspoken implication. It was apprehension.

"A Morning Star Wizard of the Alchemy School, once in possession of an entire plane’s resources, is as difficult to eradicate as an ant colony. In just ten short years, Wesren Heavy Industry fleets have frequently appeared in this channel segment. I have thoroughly investigated his background. He is merely a newly advanced Morning Star with only two Dawn Star Level Golems and a single, highly destructive battleship under his command.

"The Golems are nothing to fear. As for that battleship, while its main cannon is powerful, intelligence bought from White Wizards indicates that a single shot costs ten billion Magic Stones. He is currently drowning in debt, so that main cannon has long since become a mere decoration.

"But if he is allowed to develop in peace, it won’t take fifty years for the entire Gray Channel to become his private backyard. By then, our very space for survival will be squeezed dry by those steel monsters.

"Therefore—"

He stood up. His withered frame slowly rose from the bone throne. The hem of his robe dragged across the bone plates, making a teeth-setting SCRAPE SCRAPE friction sound. His figure was unusually tall and gaunt; he stood a full two and a half meters tall, yet was as thin as a sheet of paper.

"While his fangs have yet to fully develop..." The Necromancer’s Fire in the Skeleton Duke’s eye sockets suddenly surged, illuminating the dark bridge in a sickly green light. "...I intend to pull them out first."

Outside the bridge, the Sea of Magical Power churned ceaselessly.

As if sensing their master’s killing intent, the seventeen giant Bone Dragons simultaneously threw their heads back, letting out silent roars into the tearing Magic Flow. Ghostly green Necromancer’s Fire burned in the depths of the sea, illuminating this cobbled-together yet incredibly dangerous fleet, as well as the two-thousand-meter-long skeletal flagship escorted at its center.

They were slowly crushing their way forward in a specific direction.

The destination—G-771.

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