Chapter 1558: The Undead Industry
Time rewound to an earlier point. In Cando City, I was walking into Falbedy Cemetery. When I arrived at the former location of the Murder Church, I was met with a sight that greatly surprised me.
A lot of Black-Robed People were engaged in various tasks. Some were carrying saplings for landscaping, others were pushing carts filled with soil and stones, and some were digging with hoes.
Upon closer inspection, their black robes were merely disguises to hide their true identities. Beneath them were pale, rotting skin or bare bones – they were either zombies or skeletons.
In fact, their crooked and stiff movements had already given them away. They were all undead, and more importantly, they were low-level undead without souls or self-awareness, driven by others.
Yet, these low-level undead were performing tasks that seemed utterly unsuited for them. I activated my God’s Eye and observed them engaging in construction. They were renovating and modifying the existing buildings in the cemetery, digging basements, and even shaping bricks.
But that wasn’t all. Inside some of the buildings, I saw many undead operating large kilns, burning coal to produce it. The trees being moved were used as raw materials.
What on earth were they doing? I stared, utterly bewildered, at the cemetery, which had transformed into a construction site, its former tranquility completely vanished.
“Saintess, you have arrived. Lavias is waiting for you. This way, please.” Three beautiful and charming girls appeared beside me – they were Banxi, Vupal, and Chupacabra, who had hosted me before.
“Take me to him. I’m curious to see what he’s up to,” I said. They’ve only taken over here for a day, and they’re already undertaking such extensive construction. Won’t the assassins from the Murder Church be angry when they return and see such drastic changes?
They smiled charmingly and led me to the palace below. It was still daytime, not the time for Lavias’s Gluttony Banquet, so there were no guests in the venue.
However, many low-level undead were busy decorating the area. They were not only cleaning up the traces from yesterday but also replacing carpets and tablecloths, arranging vases and cutlery, preparing for the next banquet.
I proceeded to the depths of the underground castle and once again spotted Lavias’s familiar coffin. Banxi and Vupal stepped forward and lifted the coffin lid.
Lavias slowly sat up. He had prominent dark circles under his eyes, and his expression was one of extreme fatigue, looking completely overworked.
“Uh, did I come at an inconvenient time? I shouldn’t have come looking for you in the morning.” Seeing Lavias’s ethereal appearance, I thought this was likely his usual sleeping time.
“No need. My biological clock is all messed up. Yesterday, I was busy all day taking over the mess left by the Murder Church. From handover procedures, property inventory, arranging the remaining Murder Church believers, to deciding on renovation projects, I was busy until late at night. I only just woke up. Even if you sent me back to bed now, I wouldn’t be able to sleep,” Lavias said with a wry smile.
Indeed, his current state, besides a lack of sleep and irregular lifestyle, was likely the result of excessive mental and physical exertion. His face was etched with exhaustion, yet his spirit seemed remarkably energetic.
Just as I was about to ask Lavias about the renovations being carried out by the low-level undead outside, Lavias spoke again, “Saintess, please wait a moment. The General is still outside paying respects to our fallen soldiers. He will be here shortly.”
“No need to wait, I’ve already arrived. Although troublesome, going through the process is necessary,” the General’s voice echoed from within the room. An unfathomably deep darkness spread across the floor, and a figure rose from it.
The General, dressed in his officer’s uniform adorned with numerous medals, made his appearance under the pretext of honoring the fallen soldiers of the Holy Roman Empire buried in the cemetery.
However, the actual number of Holy Roman Empire soldiers lost in this battle was not large, perhaps only a little over a dozen in total. Since the Mechanical Church demanded to handle the remains of their Guardian Army themselves, most of those buried in the cemetery were mercenaries.
“Lavias, what are you up to outside? I heard you and the Saintess joined forces to take control of the Murder Church, but I don’t quite understand what happened,” the General asked as he sat down.
The three vampire girls poured us each a glass of red wine. I sat and savored it. The wine carried a hint of blood aroma, a preference of Lavias, but it was indeed uniquely flavorful.
“It wasn’t taking over. Many members of the Murder Church received Divine Revelations and had to travel for missions, leaving this place to us for temporary management. As for the Divine Revelations, I believe it would be better for the Saintess to explain,” Lavias said.
“Even for the Murder Church, abandoning such an important stronghold so casually is unusual, isn’t it?” the General remarked, then turned to me and asked, “What’s this Divine Revelation Lavias is talking about?”
“It’s nothing much. Remember, I burned down the New Energy Company’s plant not too long ago? I figured since we’d made an enemy, we should eliminate the threat completely. So, I enlisted the help of some friendly sect members who are skilled in such matters. They’re quite professional. Unexpectedly, it triggered a Divine Revelation. It was all a coincidence, and perhaps the Lord of Murder also intended to help us,” I explained.
They had essentially heard the general story before, so my repeating it was just for confirmation. I then recounted the incident with the New Energy Company, omitting some details.
“Since you’re asking what I’m doing, it’s related to both these matters. With most of the Murder Church’s main force gone, the primary business of assassination commissions is obviously no longer viable. I have to find some other means of livelihood to sustain myself,” Lavias said.
“It just so happens that the New Energy Company has been destroyed. With the city’s defenses losing their fuel supply, the demand for coal has increased. Moreover, the public is currently lacking coal due to the extreme cold. So, I’ve set up some coal-burning workshops to earn money and maintain the current situation.”
“This is allowed? I also saw you using entirely undead for production. Where did you get all that lumber?” I asked, somewhat surprised.
“Of course. I have a large enterprise, after all. How can I survive without some industry? My only advantage is that my undead don’t require wages. It just costs a bit of Magic Power. As for the lumber, I acquired it from the Underground world. There are forests down there too,” Lavias replied.
Labor that doesn’t require wages and is tireless, needing no rest or food – how perfect. They were actually using undead for production. Even the dead weren’t spared from exploitation by vampires.
“That’s not surprising. Lavias actually did the same thing in his homeland. Most Undead Lords have several industries operated by low-level undead. They can even farm,” the General said.
This was something I had indeed heard of. Under an Undead Lord’s rule, undead often assisted with farming day and night, and they didn’t need to eat, making life under an Undead Lord easier than under a Human Lord.
The price was regular blood donations, and upon death, bodies were confiscated by the lord. If one performed well enough, they might even be rewarded by the lord and transformed into undead.
