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I knew that this was a lost cause, so I closed my eyes and prepared my mind for the worst. ‘Big…Sis?’

“Mhm, not bad. Not bad. How about another one?” Came Ferti’nier’s alluring voice.

‘Big Sis…’ Ah, something broke inside me…

“Hohohoho, remember now, you have to address your sister over here as Big Sis from now on. Little brother, you mustn’t be so rude in the future, addressing your sister by her name directly like that, got it?”

‘I feel so ashamed…’

“Hahaha, that’s the look. That’s the look your sister adores.” Her laughing continued for a good long time while I quietly waited for her to laugh herself to death. Unfortunately, that hope would be dashed as well.

A while later, and because I didn’t try to throw a jibe at her like the past, she got bored and nonchalantly told me how to create a golem core. Having listened to her explanation, I finally understood why the exoskeleton required the skeleton of a titan inside it…the golems were actually a form of undead…a conclusion I should have come to earlier… the core that moved a golem was actually Necromancy…

The method was to use the Gem of Authority to invoke the undead summoning. Should the summoner’s mana be insufficient to invoke a Six-stars or even a Seven-stars undead, then we still had another method available to us: a refined soul.

My own Necromantic talent wasn’t all that outstanding. Even though I had the mana of a Six-stars, I wasn’t able to cast Six-stars undead magic. Because of that, I couldn’t activate the golem by invoking an undead spirit. As for Mo Na, she was a Four-stars baby. The most she could command was the mana of a Four-stars. Her talent in this field was outstanding, to be sure, but that didn’t change the fact that her body wasn’t up to the task.

With that option out of the question, the only other method was to refine souls.

With regards to soul refining, I couldn’t help but feel a little apprehensive. It was just that the thought of eating a soul that had been refined struck me as…evil…well…this time it won’t be used for eating.

Using the Gem of Authority as a medium, we should be able to refine countless souls into one composite soul gem that could run a golem. In other words, refining multiple souls till it reached the level of a Six-stars.

However, that was easier said than done. The amount of souls required would be massive. After all, it wasn’t like the quality of the soul was improved in the process, refining merely combined more souls into one. Furthermore, ordinary refined souls weren’t enough to control a golem.

That last fact was a fatal flaw in the production of golems. The Gem of Authority had to be used as a supporting medium. Its use was to absorb the composite Six-stars soul gem, and then tune it within itself. It was precisely this function that made it possible for the Gem of Authority, otherwise also known as the Blackstone of Authority, to control the golems.

Mo Na attempted to use the Gem of Authority to produce a Six-stars soul gem, but that ended in failure. The reason being that the amount of souls we brought back wasn’t enough; the resulting soul only came up to Five-stars…

“Mama, the soul gem isn’t strong enough. The Gem of Authority is rejecting it…” Mo Na complained with a pouting face. She then handed me the thumb-sized black pearl-like object. “A failed product…nothing else to do with it except eat it.”

“…Daddy doesn’t eat this stuff, how about you have it.”

The moment I recalled that spine-chilling shriek I heard when Mo Na refined her souls, I couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. Eating something like that was just… an affront to myself…

“You sure, Mama? It’s really good.”

As if to tempt me, Mo Na waved the soul gem in front of my eyes. Barring other concerns, that deep black luster it possessed, and that alluring scent that only a soul could emit… No. No. Putting that in my would make it shriek like before… There was just no way I could ever picture myself munching on something that shrieked so horrifically while I was savoring it…

“Baby, how about we take a stroll outside.” I immediately redirected the topic away from eating the soul gem. There was no way I would ever eat something that disgusting.

To be perfectly honest, my suggestion of taking a stroll wasn’t just motivated by that. It wasn’t like the golem would just manufacture itself just by us staying in the factory. We would be better off just taking it easy, while getting some flying practise at the same time.

“Okay.”

Mo Na didn’t object to my suggestion. She stooped down to pick up a bored out of her doggy mind Cinderel and jumped into my arms. With practised ease, I caught the two scamps and left the factory.

But that was truly a head scratcher we had on hands… for the golem manufacturing to prove so difficult… Putting aside the complexity of manufacturing the outer shell and the inner exoskeleton, just the amount of souls we needed to create a golem was already enough of a headache for us.

Naturally, it wasn’t like we didn’t have a plan to tackle those. But the feeling of one’s own inadequacy halting research really didn’t sit well with me.

“Let’s go have a look at No.6’s progress with the recruitment zone, then we can look around the safe zone as well.”

I brought the two little scamps to the northern gate, stumbling onto Big 4 in the process. Looking at us, he immediately knew we were about to go on an outing, so he instantly put on a sad face.

This time, I didn’t give him all that much chance to feel wronged, agreeing to him following us in an instant.

“You can come along as well.” Leaving him behind all the time to guard our home was rather pitiful after all. And the safety of the capital wasn’t really a pressing issue either, given the special circumstances surrounding this area. As long as the golems were here, it wasn’t necessary for Big 4 to stay behind.

“Master…you finally brought me along!”

Ignoring his shameful crying, I habitually picked out ten Winged Abyssal Golems and left for the safe zone.

“Master, wait for me…”

The trip was an uneventful one as I practised with my purple wings from time to time to acclimatise myself with that feeling. Even though my flight wasn’t steady yet, it was only a matter of time before I broke free from the chains of the earth.

In less than half a day of travelling northward, we first came upon No.6’s recruitment zone. This was his most important task at hand. Unlike the last time I came, construction had already begun as per schedule.

Seeing the work he accomplished, I had to admit that No.6 did possess a talent for construction. He knew to use the golems to harvest stone blocks, then use the weaker Devils to pile up the blocks, just like how the ancient Egyptians built their pyramids -though it had to be said that the current progress was that of a foundational stage. Still, I could tell that No.6 was planning something big just based on what I saw now.

Because of the soul pact we shared, and because I wasn’t actively trying to block it, No.6 could sense my arrival beforehand. He brought two ordinary golems and a few Three-stars to greet us. Falling to one knee, he shakily said, “Master, what’s the purpose of this visit?”

“Nothing in particular, just thought I should have a look.” I swept my eyes over the bustling construction site then said in an even voice, “Have you made arrangements for the other teleportation zone?”

“Your servant has already sent someone to guard the area. Once the recruitment zone’s construction is settled, your servant will personally visit the area.”

“Mhm, and how’s the safe zone? It’s our supply of food after all, is it alright?”

“The safe zone is being handled by No.3. But just digging a tunnel is a simple task, plus the golems can be used to dig as well, its progress is much faster than the recruitment zone. According to your servant’s calculations, the safe zone should be able to support the daily consumption of thousands of Devils.”

“Very good. Right, how many captives do we have right now?”

“Reporting: our captive number is approaching 1500.” No.6 promptly said. Seeing that I was silent, he worriedly added on this, “My sincerest apologies, Master, I haven’t found another talent we can use…”

At that, I blandly stared him in the eyes. His frail body immediately began to shake, and his lips started to quiver.

‘Don’t tell me that this fellow was afraid that I would try and replace him so he tried to get rid of all the competition? Judging by how he’s acting, it might just be that. Still, I can’t push him too hard, but neither can I let this go on.’

“I need more talented Devils, understand?”

I emphasized that last bit. Hearing that my tone hardened, No.6’s body immediately stiffened up. Based on that, I could tell that he must have done something while I wasn’t looking. Even so, I had no intention of pursuing this matter further.

“I’ll let it pass this time around, but don’t let there be another.”

“Yes…yes…your servant understands…”

“Right, what about Sinmosa and Sasani?”

“The Hellhound couple brought some Winged Abyssal Golems along with them in their hunt for the fugitive Devils. Normally, their excursions wouldn’t exceed one hundred hours. Based on that, they should be back soon, does the Master wish to wait for them?”

“It’s fine. When they return, just tell them to find me in the capital, and bring along some Devils.” Having said that, I glared at No.6.

“My goal is to subjugate the entire kingdom, and not just some tiny corner. Widen your horizons, as long as you perform your job well, I won’t mistreat you.”

“Understood…” No.6 gingerly nodded his heads, legs shaking profusely. Whether or not he even understood me at that point was a mystery. Still, the sight of his quivering form made me lose the mood for a leisurely stroll around the safe zone.