"You will find a way to return to her," Raff said. "You always find your way to get what you want."
Aldred smiled. "Indeed, I do. The undead army will be a significant help during my journey. And I will start with raising my golem army too."
"Wealth, authority, and power."
"Exactly," Aldred replied. "Raff, you have been accompanying me for a long time. I know your capabilities. Are you willing to help me in this adventure?"
Raff glanced at him with a smile. "Ivette is so lucky to have you as her man. Sometimes I think she is not enough for you. Haha! I will help you either I want it or not. I am yours to command."
Aldred nodded at him with a smile.
Suddenly, Salamander entered the hall. "Aldre— wh—what are these things?"
"They are my undead," Aldred said. "They have accompanied me through countless battles. You can say that they are my fellow warriors."
Salamander was shocked by the sight of hundreds of undead in various sizes.
Especially Xer Xai. She was so massive.
Actually, Xer Xai's true size was as huge as a mountain, but she was able to change her size to fit inside the ship.
If Salamander knew about that, his eyes would widen until they popped out of their socket.
"Anyway," Salamander continued. "We have detected a sign of the soul stone. But there is a problem."
"What is the problem?"
Salamander hesitated before responding, his eyes still fixed on the array of undead creatures before him. "The problem is that the soul stone's signal is emanating from a highly secure and heavily guarded location. Apparently, a military regiment under a noble of the Imperium has set up a presence in the region."
Aldred's eyes narrowed as he absorbed the information. The presence of a powerful noble and a formidable military force would undoubtedly complicate his quest to retrieve the soul stone. However, his newly acquired Celestial Platoon, alongside his undead army and the merged technologies of Vortimer's Celestial Schemata and Zarael's Nexus Rings, gave him a significant advantage.
"Do you know the name of the noble?" Aldred asked.
Salamander nodded. "We are actually familiar with this man. His name is Lord Octavius Drakon."
"Ah, that person." Aldred smiled. "This is the perfect time. I got to test my new army and also kick that guy's ass."
"Delay no further. The Stellar Seraph will make a visit to Lord Drakon immediately."
"I will tell everyone about this," Salamander said.
…
Meanwhile, in an unnamed region within The Veil of Shadows, Lord Drakon was having a feast within his castle located on an unnamed planet that he conquered with his army.
Like the usual, pleasure women were all over him, feeding him with their soft, fair hands.
A woman drank the fine wine from the cup, before then she kissed the lord, feeding him the wine through her mouth.
He reveled in the extravagant indulgences that his immense wealth afforded him, and the echoes of laughter and merriment reverberated through the halls of his fortress.
As the feast reached its crescendo, Lord Drakon reclined on his ornate throne, his sharp features accentuated by a self-satisfied smirk. His calculating gaze swept across the room, absorbing the sights of hedonistic revelry. The lord's attire, adorned with jewels and opulent fabrics, reflected his desire to showcase his wealth and power.
His generals were all cheers and laughter as they enjoyed the scene.
Pleasure women draped in silks attended to every need, feeding them with indulgent delights and contributing to the symphony of excess that echoed through the halls.
They should or they would be executed for the lord would not accept those who reject pleasure.
The echoes of laughter, the clinking of goblets, and the sensual murmurs of pleasure women surrounded him as he reclined on his ornate throne.
Amidst the festivities, Lord Drakon's dark eyes gleamed with a ruthless ambition that matched the vastness of the cosmos beyond. He saw his conquests not just in terms of planets and territories but also in the pursuit of pleasure and excess. The noble's reputation as a man devoid of empathy and consumed by insatiable greed found its embodiment in the decadence that surrounded him.
The wind strangely blew his hair despite being inside a heavily-fortified castle.
Drakon's dark eyes gleamed with a mixture of curiosity and disdain. He dismissed the peculiar sensation as a mere whim of the cosmic winds, attributing it to the mystical nature of the Veil.
"Everything in this place is strange and unpredictable," he said with a scoff. "Everyone! Bring out more wine!"
"More wine for the Lord!" his generals commanded.
The pleasure women, ever obedient, approached with pitchers of the finest wine, the liquid gold flowing freely into his goblet.
Amidst the debauchery, as the echoes of laughter reached a fevered pitch, Lord Octavius Drakon couldn't help but wonder if the cosmic forces beyond the Veil of Shadows held secrets that even his vast conquests and pleasures couldn't fathom.
The feast continued, the lord reveling in the excesses of power and luxury that his conquests had granted him.
His generals, loyal to the core, mirrored his every expression, their loyalty cemented not only by fear but also by the allure of the decadent lifestyle Drakon provided.
"This is the life," Drakon proclaimed, his voice cutting through the symphony of revelry. "To power, conquest, and the pleasures they bring!"
His generals raised their goblets in unison, echoing the sentiment with cheers. The pleasure women continued their graceful dance, weaving through the crowd to attend to every desire of the nobles and generals present.
As the lord enjoyed the company of the pleasure women, the distant hum of cosmic winds seemed drowned out by the symphony of his debauchery. Little did he know that within the cosmic expanse, Aldred's Stellar Seraph, with its Celestial Platoon and formidable undead army, was hurtling toward his domain, poised to challenge the excessive reign of Lord Octavius Drakon.
Strange wind blew.
