Chapter 23: The Beginner Golden Corpse

Startled, Komer’s gaze settled on this seemingly out-of-touch young female dragon. How could this guy figure out the relationship between her and Lomei? She had implied something emotional in her words, and Komer could tell what it was. How did she know about the close relationship between her and Lomei? From Komer’s observations, even Eve and Grace only vaguely sensed a kind of unspoken understanding between her and Lomei. Aside from Fenitz, who deliberately let her experience some lewd teasing, no one else could have noticed. And given Fenitz’s nature, she would never reveal such things to outsiders.
“Shatima, I didn’t realize you had talent for espionage. So, are you now interested in my private life too?” Trying to avoid the question, Komer gave her a half-smile as he looked at this beautiful dragon who refused to pull up her pants.
“No, I just happened to see Miss Lomei coming out of your retreat, her face glowing with radiance—there was a strong aura, just like when you stood behind me earlier,” Shatima said after thinking carefully. “I wondered if you and Miss Lomei also engage in such activities. I feel I can never live like a true human. Maybe it’s because I lack experience in this area. Perhaps only by going through this can I truly integrate into your lives and become a real human woman?”
Speechless, Komer really had nothing to say to this dragon woman who hadn’t fully entered human form. Going through this ordeal might indeed allow her to become a woman, but what kind of impact a dragon woman would have on men was unpredictable.
Puber finally returned, bringing mixed news. The kingdom was also using repressive measures against Caucasus. It seemed that becoming Leon’s ruler was an unattainable goal. The kingdom didn’t want to nurture another great lord; they preferred to grant Leon to other nobles loyal to the kingdom. But the current situation forced them to adopt a delaying tactic—using Komer as a scapegoat to draw Philip’s attention. This strategy seemed effective, at least Homer’s hostility toward Caucasus had deepened.

However, until the floating bridge at Bruce Fortress was completed, Komer didn’t need to worry about Homer taking any major action for now. But Komer needed to prepare early—since control of Leon had temporarily fallen into his hands, he could now legitimately dispose of the mining assets in that region. The auction was held as scheduled, and merchants from Jazair and the interior of the kingdom quickly flocked to Ugru. Merchants from the upper reaches of the Catalonia River also joined forces to challenge the merchant forces of the Kingdom of Nicossia. Even merchants from some colonies on the Land of Mounds across the Abyssal Sea wanted a share of the profits. Such a bustling scene delighted both Komer and Puber.

With Poningski deprived of his noble and lordly powers, most of the mines in the Leon region became unclaimed. Without exception, the mining rights for these mines were put up for auction. Of course, some mines belonged to Poningski, who had already sold their mining rights, which also needed to be reconfirmed. The high fees charged by the kingdom’s Court of Prices caused great pain to those merchants and minor nobles who were close to Homer.

As the acting lord of Leon, Komer reaped substantial rewards. But along with these gains, he also had to assume the responsibilities of a lord. Unexceptionally, all the merchants expressed their greatest concern over the security situation in Leon. Years of chaos had made it known as the most dangerous place in the kingdom. To change this, a strong military force was essential—a requirement shared by all the merchants attending the auction in Ugru.

After seeing Komer’s half-orc self-defense forces and earthdragon cavalry on the streets of Ugru, the merchants became even more enthusiastic. If even half-orcs and earthdragons could be subdued, then there should be no problems in this region at all. This gave great confidence to those merchants who had initially had some reservations.

Komer was already mentally prepared for this. In fact, to prevent potential threats from Homer in the Caucasus and Leon regions should circumstances change in the future, he had begun preparing for another round of military expansion. The Leon Self-Defense Forces and the Caucasus Self-Defense Forces would both be expanded to 1,000 members each, plus a 500-member Lord’s Guard, bringing the total armed force to 2,500. Komer believed this was more than enough to maintain order in these two regions. Even if the Homerians truly intended to confront him, these 2,500 soldiers would be sufficient for battle—provided they all remained at the same level of competence, which would depend on the efforts of the military instructors. At least the framework for the Caucasus’ armed forces was in place; the next step was to improve their combat effectiveness.

There were too many things to handle. After successfully persuading Shatima to stop causing trouble for him, Komer asked her to focus on strengthening her innate ice magic. Dragon breath magic consumed too much dragon magic, while her innate ice magic was much easier to use. This meant he now had an additional assistant for his adventures. Characters like Eve, Grace, and Javier couldn’t enter the second layer, and Komer didn’t want his companions to take such risks.

Everyone began preparing for the second expedition to Damorlesk Fortress. Shatima’s intuition seemed reliable—the second underground level of Damorlesk Fortress surely held some troubles. Without proper preparation, this expedition might not end as easily as the first, and it could even cost them dearly.

The training to refine that corpse had also entered a new phase, gradually progressing toward the Golden Corpse stage. This thief, whose origins Komer still didn’t understand, served as a kind of test subject for him. The zombie thief became increasingly responsive to his mental commands, almost instantly reacting to them the moment he gave an order. By continuously training the zombie’s speed and using magic to enhance its automatic response abilities, Komer had significantly improved its offensive and defensive capabilities.

This zombie meets the standards of a Golden Corpse in every aspect. Although creating zombies is a rather secretive art, it is not entirely traceless. Komer has successfully extracted a lot of useful information from King Canifer III’s memories. Additionally, Mihajic’s interactions with Komer over time have also benefited him greatly. However, it is still just a basic-level Golden Corpse, far from meeting Komer’s requirements, and there is still a long way to go in further research.