2nd District of La Grange.
Living in Sector 2 of La Grange signified the attainment of the highest rank in society and the associated wealth.
At least, it used to be until now.
Since the Emperor became isolated and the statues of Lesser Gods were installed in La Grange, the wealthy and privileged classes have all left the city, leaving empty houses throughout the sectors 4 and up.
Nevertheless, residing in the upper sectors of La Grange was still a sign of being special, despite the city overflowing with the poor and refugees.
“Wow! Look at this bed! Grandpa! It’s really fluffy.”
Clarice dove into the luxurious bed topped with goose down comforters, savoring the softness with her whole body.
For Clarice, who briefly lived in La Grange once upon a time, residing in a mansion in District 2 was a luxury beyond her wildest dreams.
Clarice had worked as a factory worker in the industrial zone of District 7 during that time. All she could do was gaze longingly at the twinkling mansions of the upper districts, bathed in the dawn’s starlight.
But Clarice was now living in one of the mansions she had only dreamt of. Waiting for her by her doors were countless maids and servants with their head bowed
“Money really is the best,” she declared.
But her grandfather, Kruut Assam, seemed to be in a sour mood, perhaps due to the relentless rain and dreary weather.
Kruut stood silently by the window, not uttering a word.
“What’s the matter, Grandpa? On such a fine day?”
Clarice asked bluntly.
“I’m just not feeling very well,”
Kruut responded, his voice trembling as he wrapped himself, shivering.
*
[I shall be back before the next sunrise.]
After scribbling a short note, Sungchul blew out the candle with his breath and then stood up in the darkness.
Silently, he ascended to the deck and inspected the glowing lights on the ground before selecting a dark spot to land.
Laughter from dwarves could be heard not far off.
Concealed in the darkness, Sungchul quietly advanced towards the Eternal City of La Grange. As he neared the city, he was met by a continuous rain that had reportedly not stopped for months.
Sungchul donned a raincoat and boots made from the skin of a merfolk at the Soul Storage to protect himself and Bertelgia from the rain.
The Imperial defenses were formidable.
The fleet of Empire’s Airships, boasting the title of being the strongest on the continent, patrolled around the capital city to maintain a strict watch.
Despite the pouring rain, a significant number of patrol guards were diligently watching over the area near La Grange, not lowering their guard for a moment.
However, Sungchul already knew a way in.
The entrance to the main sewer.
A place where all the sewage of La Grange mixed and flowed out.
Sungchul planned to infiltrate La Grange through here.
But upon reaching the entrance of the main sewer, Sungchul discovered that things weren’t the same as he last remembered.
Where there once was a small river clogged with sewage and trash, now a large river and waterfall roared fiercely, flowing with great intensity.
The cause of such transformation was simple; A black raincloud that lingered over La Grange.
The relentless rain had accumulated a tremendous amount of water, altering the landscape itself.
Where there used to be villages were now deep underwater, and no signs of people or their habitations could be found.
Instead, Sungchul discovered non-human, grotesque beings writhing on the shores.
“Urolorong.”
“Urolorong.”
A mournful yet hollow cry.
They were the artificial soldiers, Soldiers of Salvation, created in the Floating Archipelago.
These monsters were wandering the riverbank, emitting their distinctive cries.
Originally, they had been dwelling in the underground sewers of La Grange.
‘Could they have been washed out here from the great sewers?’
There was no other explanations for why monsters that were considered urban legends to be found outside and about in the world in the open.
This was another testament to how severe of the torrents pouring from the great sewers were.
“Dang. I doubt even someone like you can make it through THAT, right?”
“It would be tough, but not impossible if I had no other choice.”
Though he said that, when he got close to the entrance of the great sewer entrance, the desire to swim through the sewage completely evaporated.
He couldn’t bring himself to willingly jump into water that was half waste, half fecal matter.
Sungchul strongly considered brute forcing his way in.
‘Should I just jump the wall?’
He could do it.
But that would change his plans quite a bit.
It could inadvertently lead to a loss of life and potentially cause the Emperor to go into hiding.
Sungchul stood silently, lost in thought for a moment.
“Look, there’s someone coming.”
Bertelgia shook her body to warn Sungchul of potential danger.
The Soldiers of Salvation had spotted Sungchul and were approaching him.
The hostility was clear in their seemingly randomly placed eyes.
Feeling annoyed, Sungchul reluctantly pulled out Fal Garaz.
Thud! Thud!
The merciless hammer turned the Soldiers of Salvation into bloody pancakes.
However, it seemed as though there were more than a few Soldiers of Salvation washed out of the sewers in the area.
Sungchul had just dispatched two Soldiers of Salvation when he noticed, emerging from the darkness like zombies, numerous abominations.
“Urororong…”
Amidst the heavy downpour, another Soldier of Salvation shook off the mud and its eyes flickered alive.
Sungchul felt a peculiar emotion.
“What an unexpected waste of my time.”
No matter how many Soldiers of Salvation there were, it wouldn’t take long. A faint current crackled at Sungchul’s fingertips.
“Come at me.”
Sungchul glared at the gathering Soldiers of Salvation, speaking in a small but firm tone.
Just before the battle commenced, a sinister voice echoed from behind the Soldiers of Salvation.
“Stop. My children.”
It was a voice that didn’t quite sound human, yet unmistakably so.
The Soldiers of Salvation flinched at the voice, and soon gave way for a staggering figure approaching from the dark.
Sungchul could soon see the face of this mysterious figure.
‘An undead?’
Underneath an old mortician’s hood was a withered skull. Beyond the hollow eye sockets, a cold yellow light flickered ominously.
It had the unmistakable form of a Lich.
Sungchul felt a formidable magical aura emanating from the strange being before him as he watched to see what the Lich would do with a cold stare.
The lich acted first. It bowed its head respectfully towards Sungchul and then spoke in a polite, yet eerie tone characteristic to the undead.
“Excuse me, but are you perhaps Sungchul Kim, the Destroyer?”
“…Why do you ask?”
“Though the world boasts many a strong beings, only one is capable of so easily massacring my children with a glistening silver hammer in all of the land.”
The hollow sockets of the lich’s eyes flickered once more.
Sungchul felt a visceral discomfort as he replied in a sincere tone.
“Who are you?”
“I am the Supervisor of the Imperial Sewers.”
An unexpected answer. Sungchul’s eyes flickered with curiosity, which had been sharp with vigilance throughout the conversation until now.
‘Supervisor, huh.’
Sungchul recalled that the last time he had infiltrated La Grange via the Sewage system that he had seen an eerie sign painted with red paint hung on iron doors on one side of the sewers.
[No Entry Permitted Except for Imperial Sewer Management Personal]
Beyond the iron door, a sinister and bizarre wailing had faintly echoed back then.
‘A Supervisor of the Imperial Sewers,’ he mused.
By title alone, it seemed like a trivial position.
However, no Lich in command of hundreds of Soldiers of Salvation could be considered someone of triviality.
“To clarify any misunderstandings, I must tell you that I am not in the employ of the Emperor. Instead, I am but a servant of the Wandering King, as he is called by the common folk.”
The supervisor of the Imperial Sewers explained.
Sungchul glared at him and spoke curtly.
“Give me your name, Lich.”
At Sungchul’s command, a defiant spark flickered in the Lich’s eyes. However, what came from his hollow maw was a respectful voice.
“Akun Ghadarva. A long-time servant of King Kromgard.”
When Sungchul heard the name Ghadarva, he thought to himself,
‘Ghadarva. Isn’t that the surname of an old noble family from Rutheginea?’
With that thought, Sungchul asked Akun Ghadarva,
“How is it that a retainer of the Wandering King is managing the empire’s underground?”
“Though there are several reasons, the most important is that the Emperor himself agreed to this arrangement. After all, there are things squirming beneath La Grange that ordinary armies cannot handle.”
“…”
“That being said, why has the Imperial Commander in Chief come to this filthy, foul-smelling place alone? As far as I know, you are currently the leader of the coalition forces of the World Parliament.”
Sungchul looked at the lich with a cold gaze and commented,
“For someone who’s been stuck underground, you are surprisingly well-informed.”
“I regularly exchange information with the lords serving the King of Kromgard,”
Akun Ghadarva replied, subtly turning his head towards the entrance of the great sewer.
“It seems you are looking for a way to enter the Capital City, but it won’t be easy.”
“What do you mean?” Sungchul asked.
Pointing at the sewer’s entrance, where water was gushing out, the lich replied,
“The Empire is currently in the middle of purifying the sewers. That water is filled with extremely lethal toxins.”
Akun Ghadarva moved his finger, indicating the veritable rivers and streams pouring out of the sewers as he continued his explanation.
“Look and see if there is even a single living creature in the water. Even those who once dwelt in the nearby land have all already departed.”
“Isn’t it you who drove them away?”
Sungchul gave a sharp accusation, to which Akun Ghadarva responded with a sinister laugh and shook his head.
“By the time I led my children here to escape, this place was already long abandoned, save a few dead and dying.”
Sungchul stared down at the sewer and the area below it.
A faint odor that reminded him of gunpowder emanated from the water.
Sungchul picked up a basket of sort that was left abandoned nearby, filled it with water, and then sprinkled it over the weeds that had sprung up nearby.
Surprisingly, the weeds drenched with sewer water withered and died almost immediately.
“Perhaps the Emperor summoned those clouds to drive my children and I out of the sewers without trouble.”
Akun Ghadarva stared at the thick, crimson clouds that enveloped La Grange. Like a tower built by the gods, the dense clouds continuously poured heavy rain across La Grange without an end.
“Are you perhaps looking for a way into the city?”
Akun Ghadarva asked, his eyes sparkling.
He was untrustworthy. Creepy.
Though the Wandering King was officially an ally of Sungchul, substantial part of his character was still shrouded in mystery.
The other allies also seemed to be maintaining a certain distance from the Wandering King as well.
However, at present, there is no other option.
With the entrance to the main waterway effectively blocked, the only course of action available to Sungchul was to resort to brute forcing his way in. And Sungchul was fully aware of what risks came with such a route.
“It seems you know of a different way into the city then.”
Sungchul said to Akun Ghadarva who immediately nodded his gaunt head.
“I am the Imperial Supervisor of Sewers. The surface belongs to the Emperor, but the ground beneath the city belongs to me. If you wish, I can personally guide you into the capital city. You are an ally of my lord. Assisting my lord’s ally is no different from assisting my lord himself.”
“Lead on, Lich.”
Sungchul answered calmly, which caused the Lich’s eyes to flash with a fierce yellow light once more.
“Please, come this way.”
The Lich began to walk along the nearly-overflowing river, heading in the opposite direction of the main sewer.
1 more chapter is out. Click Next Chap.