Chapter 15: The First Appearance of the Monsters

The scorpion demons collapsed quickly under the onslaught of Shatima and the mechanical puppets. Though they lacked the intelligence of higher-level monsters, their innate fear of death caused them to flee as many of their companions died. The vast square became their best hiding place—the holy light and glowing orbs could not reach its depths. The mechanical puppets followed their master’s orders, while Shatima finally calmed down from her impulse and returned to her position under Komer’s angry gaze.

With the scorpion demons and Komora pythons fleeing, the battlefield seemed to calm down abruptly. Aside from the black magic bats continuing to screech as they flew over the square, only two black warriors leading an army of skeletons stood quietly at the edge where the holy light could reach, waiting for something. The troop of ape monsters also disappeared silently. Perhaps these intelligent monsters retreated after witnessing the disastrous defeat of the Komora pythons and scorpion demons, or maybe they were lurking in the darkness, watching to see if the black warriors and skeleton soldiers would give them an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

Komer, who had gradually recovered his strength after releasing Thunderhammer, also noticed the strangeness of the situation. The skeleton soldiers led by the two black warriors seemed to be waiting for something. They were located just outside the range of the holy light, indicating that they were quite sensitive to its damage. Before deciding to join the battle fully, they preferred to stay at the edge of darkness and observe the developments.

“Mr. Rebril, what do you think they’re waiting for?” Komer observed with interest as the group of black warriors and skeleton soldiers waited in the distance. The Darkfire Skeletons had lost one member in this war—under the combined attack of multiple scorpion demons, it had had its legs severed by the stings of two scorpions, rendering it unable to fight. It had been taken back by Komer into his cosmic bag and needed to undergo further trials before it could return to battle. Now, only two Darkfire Skeletons stood blankly outside the defense circle, staring ahead as if trying to understand why their kind hadn’t charged into battle yet.

“I’m not entirely sure, but they must be waiting for orders or instructions. My lord, do you remember our initial exploration? Haven’t we always wondered what’s special about this underground world? Now I can assert that there must be some being hidden beneath this bunker with intelligence on par with ours—either undead creatures or highly intelligent magical beasts. However, I lean toward intelligent undead. Even if magical beasts possess intelligence, it seems unlikely they could reach a level comparable to ours as humans. Only certain undead retain the intelligence they had in life, and such intelligent undead often become rulers of a dark world.”

Rebri’s voice grew somewhat lower, and in Komer’s eyes, even his expression became peculiar, his gaze eerie as if he were trying hard to recall something.

“Intelligent undead? Do such things really exist?” Komer asked in confusion. “Humans lose some of their thinking abilities upon death. Even if controlled and trained by certain individuals, they seem to only retain basic reflexes and habitual behaviors like combat instincts. If they can still retain thinking and memory, I can’t imagine how such undead could still be called undead. If thinking exists, what does the body matter?”

“We can’t be sure yet. The death of their bodies limits their development. They can retain past memories, but it seems difficult for them to learn and improve further. Perhaps their only advantage is that they’re no longer afraid of damaged bodies—or maybe they don’t even have bodies at all. Their names are phantoms or ghosts. But so far, I’ve never encountered such strange dark beings. I’m really looking forward to some adventure today.” Rebri subconsciously licked his lips, his eyes turning somewhat fanatical.

“Then, Mr. Rebri, what do you think we should do about the current situation? Should we take the initiative and attack, or wait here for them to emerge from their silence?” Komer shrugged. Intelligent undead didn’t seem like anything worth worrying about to him. What he needed to determine now was what kind of dangers this expedition might still hold.

“My lord, I don’t think we need to worry. They’ll respond soon. That intelligent undead has actually been observing us the whole time. Both of us can sense it—it’s hiding in the darkness. Maybe it’s thinking about what to do next, just like we are.” Rebri chuckled lightly, his staff trembling slightly, and the entire defensive barrier seemed to shrink a bit, saving more magic power.

Rebri’s analysis was correct. As Komer calmed down and used his telepathic senses to scan the surroundings, a long-absent chilling aura finally appeared.
“Who are you? Why have you intruded here?”
Telepathy?! Komer was shocked—this undead creature could use telepathy?! In an instant, he realized that the premonition he had during his last expedition was becoming increasingly clear, and it seemed the time had come to uncover the secret.
“Who I am? Good question. I should say I’m the master of this place. You’re just taking over someone else’s territory. How dare you ask about me?” Reno replied through telepathy with difficulty, clearly reluctant. Telepathy is a rather special mental magic; its range of use isn’t very far, usually limited to two to three hundred meters at most. Beyond that, it becomes ineffective, so it’s often used by mental mages as a gimmick to attract attention.
“Taking over someone else’s territory? Although I’m not the true master here, my master before me entrusted me to guard this place. No one has ever dared to be so presumptuous in front of me for hundreds of years. Today is the first time. How interesting. Do you really think you’ll become the master here?” The other party’s response became even colder and emotionless.
“Why not?” Komer retorted without hesitation.
“Good. I sensed your uniqueness as soon as you arrived at Damansk Fortress. But we stay out of each other’s business. You operate in your own domain. My master didn’t ask me to claim Damansk Fortress for myself. Even if you occupy the first underground level, I have no objection—as long as you don’t touch my territory. Do you really think just a few of you can ignore everything?”
The gloomy reply stirred intense discomfort in Komer’s heart. He even felt his skin tighten. Rebri and Mihajic, who were around him, noticed something was wrong with Komer and turned their attention to him. Komer signaled his companions with a gesture to stay calm and patiently continue communicating with this opponent whose intentions were still unclear.

“I have no intention of provoking anyone, but Fort Damorlensk is my territory, my home. I think exploring my own territory doesn’t infringe on anyone’s interests, right?” Komer also realized that the other party seemed to have finally found someone they could communicate with through telepathy. Though his tone remained cold, there was a desire to talk a little longer—perhaps the long silence had made the other party extremely uncomfortable.

“You’re wrong. It’s somewhat of a stretch to call Fort Damorlensk your territory. You should know what this place is. Didn’t the fates of the previous lords give you any hints? I’ve tolerated your activities in the surface buildings and the first underground level, but you must not be too greedy. Isn’t what’s in the first level enough to satisfy your filthy desires?” The misty tone grew increasingly intense in Komer’s mind, indicating that the other party was also angry.

“Well, I think we might never reach an agreement on this issue. Since we’re here, we’re not planning to leave disappointed. I want to thoroughly understand my own territory. Are you going to stop us?” Komer changed the subject. He needed to figure out what the other party’s intentions were before deciding on his own actions.

“Now that you’re here, there’s no need to leave. Stay and keep me company. It’s been too long since anything interesting has happened. You can’t leave—you’ll end up like them.” The telepathic response became fierce, and the tone turned extremely excited. “You won’t be lonely. There are so many companions waiting for you in this underground world. No, I forgot to remind you—I’m not referring to those ugly, inferior monsters.”

“Are you planning to attack us? We won’t just sit back and do nothing.” Komer wasn’t intimidated by the other party, but he also realized that this battle wouldn’t be easy to win.

“Wait to die? Heh, that would be too boring. It’s battle that makes things exciting. I saw your performance just now—it was quite good. That woman even knows Holy Magic. Great! I need a maid from the Church of Light. I’ve taken her. As for that crazy dragon woman, I’ll turn her into a true Ice Corpse Dragon. It’s a shame about you mages; you’re of no use to me. Your magical memories will vanish with the end of your lives. What a pity, but I can’t keep them—zombies don’t need such things. As for those knights and assassins, they’re perfect. Dark Knights—let them become my Undead Knights. Don’t they love darkness? Then let them sink to the bottom! Hahahaha!”
Waves of wildly vented words surged toward Komer through telepathy, releasing pent-up emotions that had been suppressed for too long. How could he miss such an opportunity?
It’s time to go viral—ready to explode!