“Did something happen?”

“Nothing to report, Master.”

After gulping, the disciple squeezed out an answer that bore both good and bad tidings.

Fluder nodded with a complicated expression as he looked at the thirty disciples he had personally trained— known as the chosen thirty disciples. The most renowned one was his deputy in charge of this place.

“Is that so, we couldn’t link it to natural occurrence?”

“Yes master. We couldn’t link it to the existence of the lowest tier of undead, the skeleton. Right now we are conducting experiments by placing it next to corpses to see if zombies will be raised naturally.”

“Hmmm...”

Fluder stroked his long beard as he watched the scene developing before him.

There were dozens of skeletons performing farm work.

Raising hoes and swinging it down. The movements of all the skeletons were perfectly in sync. If one were to look from the side, they would only see one skeleton moving.

The movement was synchronized so perfectly that it looked just like a tactical RPG. This was the true nature of the grand project the Empire was conducting in secret. ‘Using undead as labourers'.

The undead had no need for nourishment or rest, and would not become tired. Low tier undead weren’t sentient, so they could only perform tasks as ordered and couldn’t do anything complicated. However, if there was someone giving instructions from the side, the problem would be solved.

Deploying the undead to the farms would yield great benefits, such as reducing the manpower required and a price drop for farm produce.. Farmlands could be expanded, and injuries and death to humans could be prevented. It wasn’t too much to say this was a grandiose project.

There were similar proposals that used summoned monsters or created Golems as manpower, but after considering the cost, efficiency and optimization, the use of undead was considered to be the best choice.

But those who opposed it —especially the group led by priests— were of the opinion that using the undead which were the manifestation of the hatred of life, was corrupting the souls of the dead.

It was different when you looked at it from the viewpoint of the religious.

Even if the undead were risen from the corpses of criminals, according to religious teachings, the sins of the criminal were absolved the moment they were executed, and turning them into undead was desecration. It would be hard to convince those who thought that way.

If they were facing troubles with food, with many dying from famine, it would be easier to persuade them. However, the food supply of the Empire was ample and there were no problems in terms of labourers as well.

And that was the reason why the priests opposed this project.

However, the goal of this project was the strengthening of the Empire’s military might. By leaving the production lines to the undead and freeing up the manpower for other areas, it would eventually lead to a larger pool of people from which excellent knights could be drawn.

What was left was the unease of the human labourers over job security, and the doubts over the obedience of the undead. Also, in places with a large number of undead, the balance between the dead and the living might crumble, leading to the creation of even more powerful undead. It was an obvious source of unease for people who listened to the sermons of the priests.

This facility existed in order to conduct experiments and dispel such unease.

“The underlying reason is still not clear, huh?”

“Yes, my humble apologies, Master.”

Why do the undead rise naturally. Finding out the underlying reason was important for the future.

The place said to be covered in fog throughout the year and only cleared up when the Kingdom and Empire clash in battle, the cursed place known as Kattse plains. Where some of the strongest undead, like the Skeletal Dragon which was immune to all magic, appeared with incredibly high probability.

Although the Empire had plans of annexing the region around E-Rantel under its rule, it was reluctant in taking the place where the undead rises at such a high rate. Hence, they needed to figure out how long it took for an undead to rise, which would definitely help in controlling them. It might even be possible to stop the emergence of the undead once and for all.

“Is that so, I understand.”

Leaving his relieved deputy in charge aside, Fluder started walking around the bowl shaped room.

When he reached the door on the opposite side, the number of disciples following behind Fluder increased.

In front of the door opened by the knight guarding it, the line of people continued advancing. It was a passage like before, but the presence of humans was gradually draining away. The air smelled like dust and the light seemed to be losing the fight against the darkness.

The passage with the disturbing aura extended straight ahead and connected to a staircase that spiraled down. As they passed through the doors along the way, the time between the clatter of boots which echoed in the tower was rather short. They only went five levels below ground. However, the heavy atmosphere made it seem longer.

The reason wasn’t simply because they were underground. This was evidenced by the tense expressions of everyone, including Fluder, due to their nervousness.

At the lowest level, everyone’s faces were twisted, the tension was so high it was no surprise to say that they were ready for battle.

Everyone was focusing on a set of heavy doors. It was a door that seemed to be separating another world. To keep it from being destroyed or opened easily, it was fortified with several physical and magical defenses. It was a door that must never be breached.

The numerous sets of heavy doors they passed on their way here was telling of the danger in this place. Those doors were meant to buy time if something dangerous were to happen here, and also had the underlying meaning of segregating this area.

Fluder warned his disciples with a stiff voice.

“Do not be careless.”

The warning was short and simple, which was telling of how terrifying it was.

The magic caster who followed him nodded deeply. Fluder repeated his warning every time he came here. Even though they knew what was in there, their expression didn’t ease.

Sealed in here was the ultimate undead. If it was unleashed, there was no question a horrible tragedy would befall the Empire.