Chapter 795: Prelude to the Assault

Sanavia's defection was exactly as Lei En had anticipated.

He had already devised a plan, sending a telepathic message through the split‑brain chip, and asked, "Has Korstted been in Fu Kong Cheng?"

"Yes."

Sanavia replied, "He has always been on the upper levels of Fu Kong Cheng, never showing himself, continuously conducting magical research." She paused, having already guessed Lei En's intention; her voice was flat, yet her surprise could still be heard: "You intend to assault Fu Kong Cheng?"

"Of course." Lei En did not conceal anything, "Fu Kong Cheng is under the control of the Catastrophe Legion; its threat to us is too great, and we must pull out this fang."

Sanavia was silent for a moment, "That's difficult."

"With your cooperation it won't be hard." Lei En's words radiated strong confidence, "I need to know the situation inside Fu Kong Cheng. Apart from Korstted, how many other Saint Rank strongmen are there?"

"Including me, there are three Apocalypse Knights in Fu Kong Cheng." Sanavia listed them as if pouring beans from a bamboo tube, "Kurdatz was only recently promoted to Apocalypse Knight and is slightly weaker than me. Mogra is a Lich trusted most by the Death Lord, promoted many times, now close to Thirty-level, ranking among the four most powerful Apocalypse Knights. Its actual mission in Fu Kong Cheng is to monitor Korstted and report to the Death Lord at any time."

Lei En listened while thinking rapidly.

The Death Lord dispatched three Apocalypse Knights to garrison Fu Kong Cheng, showing his emphasis on the city and also indicating that Korstted is not fully trusted.

If only spellcasters could fully wield Fu Kong Cheng's power, the Death Lord might not have handed control over to Korstted.

Sanavia continued, "The total number of undead in Fu Kong Cheng is about three hundred thousand, all elite undead; even the weakest are Mid-stage, and among every twenty undead one reaches High-stage; there are also over two hundred undead of the Legendary realm."

"After Korstted seized Fu Kong Cheng, he used its boundless energy for experiments."

"It created many undead monsters; I'm not sure of their strength, but Korstted once bragged to me that his research had advanced greatly, having already created Saint Rank monsters, and thus earned the Death Lord's commendation."

Saint Rank monster!

Lei En's eyelid twitched; Korstted's talent was undeniable—backed by the Death Lord, powered by the Iola Core, and with endless undead as material, he need not heed any moral or ethical constraints, truly capable of forging powerful monsters.

No wonder the Catastrophe Legion has been silent since its last repulse.

Korstted has likely indeed achieved results.

If he can stably produce a batch of Saint Rank monsters and then have enough time to scale them up, that would be an enormously bad omen.

"Does the Death Lord often come to Fu Kong Cheng?" Lei En asked again.

An assault on Fu Kong Cheng must factor in the Death Lord; if he arrives promptly with a large force, the difficulty of taking the city would increase manyfold.

Sanavia replied, "He almost never comes; he only remotely commands Fu Kong Cheng from the Ice Crown Fortress."

"Hm?"

Lei En was initially puzzled, but immediately understood.

The Death Lord is guarding against Korstted, fearing it might turn on its master. Within Fu Kong Cheng, Korstted's power surges, mana endless; should it entertain rebellious thoughts and launch a surprise attack, the Death Lord would suffer a huge loss, perhaps even be capsized in the gutter.

That's useful news.

Now only the final question remains, the most critical one.

Lei En controlled the split‑brain chip, sending a telepathic query: "General Sanavia, is Korstted's Soul Box inside Fu Kong Cheng?"

"I don't know." Sanavia shook her head slightly.

Lei En hadn't held high expectations either; the Soul Box is the Lich's most important item and would never be readily disclosed to anyone.

So he changed his approach: "Based on your knowledge of Korstted, where would it hide the Soul Box? Could it possibly be in the Death Lord's possession?"

Sanavia was silent for a moment.

Beneath her hood, two crimson glints flickered, as if she were pondering.

"When Korstted transformed into a Lich, the Death Lord was not present, so its Soul Box should not have fallen into the Death Lord's hands but been kept by itself," Sanavia said slowly. "When I was near the Death Lord, I heard him mention Korstted with deep vigilance. If he obtained Korstted's Soul Box, he would not be so guarded."

Lei En was overjoyed; as long as the Soul Box isn't in the Death Lord's hands, it will be easy to handle.

He pressed further: "How likely do you think it is that the Soul Box is inside Fu Kong Cheng?"

"Over ninety percent."

Sanavia answered confidently, "Korstted trusts no one; it only trusts itself. Fu Kong Cheng is its strongest backing, even capable of confronting the Death Lord. Only by placing the Soul Box in the heart of Fu Kong Cheng would it feel secure."

"Very good." the split‑brain chip transmitted a telepathic voice, "General Sanavia, I need you to locate the Soul Box."

Sanavia was not surprised at all, yet she did not accept the order.

"Given Korstted's habits, the Soul Box should be hidden somewhere in the upper levels, not far from the control room, but it does not permit anyone to enter the control room."

"I don't need you to enter the control room; just get close enough," the split‑brain chip said.

Sanavia was still hesitating.

Lei En continued to persuade, "You don't need to get too close; just walk through the upper levels once, and don't appear too deliberate. When you go to the training ground each day, alter your route and split the reconnaissance into multiple trips. Of course, bring 'me' along."

The split‑brain chip lacks an All-Seeing Eye and cannot see through matter.

However, by scouting the layout and rune formations of Fu Kong Cheng's upper levels, combined with the original construction schematics, it can roughly determine the area where the Soul Box resides.

Sanavia finally nodded, "Alright."

"Your mission isn't limited to scouting the upper levels; you must also traverse the middle and lower levels," Lei En said. "I need to know the internal formation structure of Fu Kong Cheng to devise an assault plan."

"I understand."

Sanavia readily agreed, and while looking at the metal fragments in her hand, she suddenly asked, "You're a Wizard from Weizelan's Fu Kong Cheng, aren't you?"

"Why do you guess that?" Lei En was somewhat surprised.

"Because you place too much importance on the Soul Box." Sanavia's tone remained calm, "Only by destroying the Soul Box and completely killing Korstted can anyone seize Fu Kong Cheng; that's a secret not known to ordinary people. Weizelan Wizards are the world's most hateful toward Korstted; you have motive, you have strength, and only you can devise a plan to assault Fu Kong Cheng."

"Master Anxiwodasi, am I correct?"

The farther she spoke, the more confident Sanavia became, directly invoking the name.

"Hehe…" Lei En let out an ambiguous laugh, neither confirming nor denying, "General Sanavia, you're smarter than I imagined and know more. Sometimes, knowing too much makes you die faster."

"I died two hundred years ago," Sanavia replied lightly.

"When the soul dissipates and Willpower ceases, that is true death." Lei En said with implication, "You have merely shifted your bodily state; resurrection may still be possible."

The crimson eyes beneath the hood suddenly flared.

Lei En wasn't deceiving her; the Holy Blood Amber can perform a "Full Resurrection Technique," though it consumes massive Holy Light power. If Sanavia achieves a great feat, he could step in to help her.

As for whether the undead can be revived, he was also uncertain.

Sanaweia differs from ordinary undead creatures; her soul is unbound, perhaps she truly could be revived.

The split‑brain crystal fell silent, no longer transmitting telepathy.

Sanaweia placed metal fragments on her collar, which swiftly melted into liquid, merged into the rune armor and vanished.

She did not rush to act; following her usual habit, she sat in the room for two hours before getting up and leaving.

The interior of Fu Kong Cheng is vast, like a small city, yet the corridors between each level are only a few, usually sealed, not allowing undead free passage; only with permission granted by Korstted can one use the teleport arrays to move between levels.

Sanaweia teleported to the upper level, heading to a high‑level training ground she rarely visits.

Soon, she reached her destination.

Nothing happened along the way, not a single undead was seen, but Sanaweia knew the mysterious figure at her collar had already scouted the route.

She practiced archery for two hours, then set off back, taking a different path and teleport array.

After training the power of death in the room for several hours, Sanaweia emerged again. This time she walked a stretch through the middle of Fu Kong Cheng, pretended to repair her weapon and armor at the rune furnace, lingered half a day before returning.

Throughout the whole process, the split‑brain crystal made no sound.

The entire Fu Kong Cheng is under Korstted's surveillance; every undead's movement is sensed, and even though he focuses on research and cannot watch all undead constantly, Sanaweia's actions remain extremely cautious.

To avoid suspicion, she kept to her usual rhythm, mostly traveling repeated routes, only occasionally venturing into new districts.

It took nearly a month.

Sanaweia finally traversed the upper and middle levels of Fu Kong Cheng, and visited the largest lower level a few times.

"That's enough."

After another probe, Sanaweia finally heard a new command.

She perked up, wanting to whisper to ask whether her probe yielded results, but feared Korstted might hear.

"I will notify you before the assault on Fu Kong Cheng."

After that sentence, silence fell again.

Sanaweia gave an almost invisible nod, as if nothing had happened, and sat in the room staring blankly, like a statue.

Weizelan Fu Kong Cheng.

Lei En teleported to the top floor of Weizelan's tower, entering the teacher's office.

Anxiwodasi, as he had for centuries, buried his head in magical research; looking up at Lei En's solemn expression, he thought something major had occurred and hurriedly asked, "Lei En, what's the matter?"

"Teacher, I have already located the position of the New Village Floating City."

Lei En walked to the desk, took out a thick stack of schematics, and said, "These are the current internal structure and rune formation of the New Village Floating City. Some key parts are incomplete, but I think it's sufficient."

"Really? Where?"

Anxiwodasi sprang to his feet, both startled and delighted.

He flipped through the schematics; the pages turned as quickly as wind, and in less than half a minute he finished, nodding gravely, "Indeed, this is the rune formation of the New Village Floating City, clearly arranged by Korstted. The knowledge he wields was all taught by me; no matter how it changes, I can recognize it."

Anxiwodasi set the papers down, looked at Lei En, and asked in disbelief, "How did you find it? Did you infiltrate it?"

"Actually I have known its location for a long time, Teacher."

Lei En smiled faintly, offering no further explanation, "I obtained the formation diagram by turning a Floating City's Apocalypse Knight, drawing it piece by piece."

"An Apocalypse Knight can be turned?" Anxiwodasi gasped in astonishment.

He has lived nearly two thousand years, yet has never heard of such a thing.

Lei En briefly recounted Sanaweia's situation, omitting parts related to Augulevi Master, describing her as an accidentally born product.

Even so, Anxiwodasi was amazed.

After pondering, he earnestly warned, "Lei En, that Apocalypse Knight may be the key to defeating the Calamity Legion; we must not let her be exposed."

"I understand."

Lei En nodded, then said seriously, "Teacher, I am preparing to assault the New Village Floating City."

Anxiwodasi's expression grew solemn, and he proclaimed loudly, "It is time to avenge the dead Weizelan Wizards and the residents; Korstted must also pay for this."

He raised his hand to send a magical message, summoning the members of the Weizelan council for discussion.

"Teacher, please wait a moment." Lei En stopped him.

Anxiwodasi cast a puzzled glance.

Lei En had already thought of an excuse, explaining, "Teacher, for this entry into the New Village Floating City, I wish to lead it."

"You want that Floating City?" Anxiwodasi blurted out Lei En's intention.

"Yes, and also not." Lei En nodded then shook his head, "I don't want the New Village Floating City, only its Iola Core. I have already scouted it; the Soul Box is on the upper level of the Floating City, and I have roughly delineated its area."

"So you were prepared all along."

Anxiwodasi's face brightened, he thought for a while, and said, "Since you have even locked in the Soul Box's range, I won't oppose. You have invested so much; the Floating City should belong to you. But I suggest you directly control the New Village Floating City rather than just the Iola Core. Building a new Floating City costs time and resources; taking an existing one and later modifying it saves countless time, effort, and funds."

Nevertheless, Lei En shook his head firmly, "Teacher, I do not want this Floating City."

"Why?"

Anxiwodasi could not believe that anyone would refuse a Floating City; many dream of one yet never get the chance.

"It's ugly." Lei En said with disdain, "And I already have a completely different concept for constructing my own Floating City."

(End of chapter)