Chapter 956

At first, Feodor didn’t think anything was wrong, because the Light Point Fortress had briefly gone dark before, only to relight after a night; everyone agreed it was probably just tired and resting.

He assumed this was the same case—that it would relight after a night—so he kept flying toward the last known location of the light.

But a night passed, and the light didn’t relight; a day passed, and still no light. Feodor grew anxious. When another day and night passed without any sign, he finally stopped.

Two days and two nights—if the Light Point Fortress had been moving, it would have traveled a vast distance. Continuing toward the original point would not only be futile but risk missing the fortress entirely.

By the time they returned to the Divine Light Alliance and set out again, the Light Point Fortress might already have left the Boundless Void and vanished into the endless void.

The Light Point Fortress stood out clearly in the empty Boundless Void, but once it left the void, it could easily hide within any plane or ruin—like the Shattered Lands or the Divine Light Cemetery—and finding it again would become nearly impossible.

He halted in the void and shouted with his soul: “Rest. Deploy the communication array. I need to contact the Council.”

Thirty-odd Deathless Undead soldiers stopped, each pulling a soul crystal from their pouches and clenching it in their palms. The soul energy within the crystals stirred, rising gently from their palms, then drawn into their nostrils.

From this detail alone, it was clear they were skeletons wrapped in necromancer flesh—only skeletons consumed soul energy through their eye sockets and nostrils; necromancers typically absorbed it through their hearts, never their noses.

As they absorbed the soul crystals, their flesh slowly shrank, soon reverting to their wrinkled zombie forms.

Feodor didn’t know why, but he knew that whenever they flew fast through the void, their flesh swelled, as if bloated by water.

Two Deathless Undead soldiers opened their space accessories, took out stone tablets, and assembled them into a teleportation array. They held the array steady, secured it, then activated it.

Though it was a teleportation array, only the communication array on it was used—they had flown too far to communicate directly; only the teleportation array could reach the rear. If they went any farther, even the array might fail.

The world held many obstacles, but pure distance was often the most despairing. The Boundless Void was such a place—so vast, so distant, that anything emerging from it was never taken lightly.

The array activated, quickly connecting to the rear. A voice emerged—the Chairman Joseph: “Ah, Feodor, why are you only contacting us now? The Light Point Fortress vanished—what happened? Did it detect you? Or did you succeed?”

Feodor frowned: “What are you talking about? We haven’t even reached it yet. Detect us? Impossible—we don’t emit light.”

In the pitch-black void, detecting an object with no energy signature was nearly impossible. Even Ang’s Scale Ring only sensed spatial distortions—it couldn’t identify what lay within until Ang himself entered its visual range.

At this distance, if whatever was inside the Light Point Fortress could detect them, this battle was already over—just run.

Yet no one had anticipated it: Joseph’s guess was correct. The Light Point Fortress had indeed detected them—but not in the way they imagined.

Joseph wasn’t merely asking for information. Hearing “we haven’t arrived,” he snapped: “Then why didn’t you contact the Council sooner? We’ve been waiting here two days. If you lose the Light Point Fortress, who bears the responsibility?”

“Joseph, don’t turn this into a political attack,” another voice interrupted angrily. “Feodor is the Legion Commander—he has authority over when to report. The timing of his communication is his decision.”

Joseph replied coolly: “Leo, Chairman, can a frontline commander decide matters of this magnitude? The Light Point Fortress is of critical importance—it’s the only thing ever to emerge from the Boundless Void. Losing it carries an unbearable burden. What if it brings plague or war? What if an unprecedented plague infects us—who takes responsibility for the deaths?”

“Damn it, don’t twist the issue,” Leo roared. “Feodor decides when to report—not whether the Light Point Fortress vanished. They haven’t even found it yet; it’s not their fault. If you keep acting like this, I’ll initiate a motion to remove you as Chairman.”

“I’ll initiate the motion first,” Joseph shot back. “How many elite of the Alliance did you lose invading the Filiet Empire? You turned Filiet into our enemy. All of us suffer because of you—we’ve lost every business in Filiet. I’ll move to remove you.”

The two Chairmen began shouting at each other through the array.

Feodor sighed helplessly. The Alliance’s internal strife had reached a fever pitch—even the timing of a communication was being weaponized against political rivals. Sometimes he wanted to strangle these fools—so loud, so noisy.

But he couldn’t. His Deathless Undead Legion was cobbled together—thirty-six soldiers, each loyal to one of six Chairmen. Without orders, he couldn’t command the others.

Feodor patiently reported: “After discovering the Light Point Fortress gone, we flew toward its last position for two days. It never relit. What should we do? Council, give orders. My suggestion: turn directly toward the Filiet Empire.”

“The Light Point Fortress’s trajectory pointed toward Filiet. We position ourselves along its path and wait. If it changes course, the Council can deploy another force to intercept. We’ll return as fast as possible.”

The Divine Light Alliance was three to four months’ travel from Filiet by airship—but Deathless Undead soldiers flew directly, cutting that time drastically. With teleportation arrays, they could return in a single day.

But whether teleportation arrays even existed within Filiet’s territory was uncertain. Prepare for the worst: half the Deathless Undead soldiers still under each Chairman’s command could form another legion.

Feodor was a competent commander—he reported the situation and proposed a viable plan. Even Joseph couldn’t object without alienating the other Chairmen.

After deliberation, the more neutral Chairman Hetrul spoke: “Commander Feodor, proceed as you suggest…”

Before Hetrul finished, Feodor interrupted: “No need, Chairman. The Light Point Fortress has reappeared.”

After severing the link, Feodor stared at the light, now glowing again—but shifted from its original position. A cold unease settled in his chest. That single point of brightness in the darkness… it reminded him of a fishing bait.