Ambrose was indeed preparing to move, but not simply because the Dwarven King was about to rule Alkhemia.

For a purely academic scholar like Ambrose, it hardly mattered who sat on the throne. His daily life would remain more or less the same.

Still, it was time for a change of scenery.

Grave-robbing for profit was only one of several reasons. Ever since hearing that Heki Stone had unearthed an underground city, Ambrose had felt a mix of curiosity and temptation toward subterranean civilizations.

Curiosity was one of the few desires he still possessed, and this mysterious underground civilization genuinely fascinated him as an object of study.

Now that gold was no longer an issue, it was time to start spending it.

There was also another consideration: the experiments Ambrose intended to conduct next could not be exposed.

The Lyon Empire was advancing aggressively. Extreme as it was, its strength was undeniable. Even the Dwarven Kingdom, despite its geographical advantages, had been beaten to the brink of destruction by Lyon. In a few decades, half of the current Nine Kingdoms might cease to exist entirely.

No matter how hard Black Rose struggled, she had slim odds of defeating Lyon.

Such was the nature of history. As a lich who could live for countless years, he would bear witness to futures that others might never see.

Ambrose had to plan for himself. He needed to become an undead that Lyon could not erase.

An underground civilization was an excellent choice. Its labyrinthine depths would make hiding easy, and the subterranean world was far more suitable for undead existence.

It would be a perfect new residence. The downside was that it would be completely unsuited for mortals.

He had no choice but to leave Isabel and Raul behind. The castle was effectively theirs rent-free, and Ambrose even left them some of his alchemical notes and a small force of skeletons.

With his reputation and connections, the siblings should have no trouble establishing themselves as minor lords.

The castle would serve as Ambrose's superficial connection to the world at large and a transfer hub of sorts for routing news, intelligence, and certain magical materials.

Once everything was arranged, Ambrose began his move.

Thanks to his vast extradimensional space, relocating was effortless. The skeletons simply stuffed his belongings inside and sealed the spatial gate. Then, Ambrose departed with ease.

As for his destination, Ambrose had already discussed the matter with Heki Stone.

The vampire, who had been newly elevated to the position of Supreme Overlord, provided Ambrose with a map of the underground ruins near Sarcoma.

Beneath the endless desert lay countless ancient ruins. Despite years of excavation, the Dwarven Kingdom had only uncovered the tip of the iceberg. The map Heki provided marked sites of confirmed underground cities whose combined area nearly rivaled that of the vast Lyon Empire.

These scattered underground cities were perfect hiding places.

After some discussion, Ambrose chose an undeveloped underground city not far from Heki's own domain.

Only a massive city gate made of an unknown material had been unearthed there.

The dwarves had spent years trying to break it open to no avail, and eventually abandoned the site. Recently, however, the excavation of another underground city had triggered a subterranean quake, knocking the gate slightly askew and revealing an entrance large enough to pass through.

Unfortunately, the dwarves were preoccupied with migration and resettlement and had no time to explore this new site. Heki had sent people in to scout it; they found only strange, incomprehensible structures and nothing of value near the gate.

This serendipitous coincidence delighted Ambrose. It felt as though this untouched city had been left specifically for him.

Heki Stone did not mind others joining him in excavation. The ruins left behind by the subterranean civilization were far too vast. He wouldn't be able to excavate it all even in a thousand years. Members of the Elegiac Society had no conflicts of interest and shared many mutual benefits. Cooperation was the obvious choice.

Ambrose smiled. He felt no lingering attachment to the surface. With Catherine in tow, he set off for the desert underground.

Continental teleportation arrays were exorbitantly expensive, but Ambrose could afford it now. He installed one directly in the castle, spending tens of thousands of gold just to save over half a month of travel time.

As the teleportation array flashed, Ambrose arrived in a vast, dimly lit chamber.

Magical lamps emitted a soft glow to illuminate the surroundings.

Ambrose felt little discomfort, but Catherine frowned. The air was stale, likely due to poor ventilation, and carried a faint odor of decay.

"If you can't stand it, you can go back," Ambrose said. "Looking after the castle would still count as working for me."

Catherine shook her head firmly.

She was following Ambrose to temper herself. A distasteful odor would not stop her.

Green light traced across her fingers as an invisible filter enveloped her body, instantly purifying the surrounding air.

"How extravagant," Ambrose remarked.

Elves truly were delicate, sensitive creatures. He wondered how long this elven queen would last.

Leaving the teleportation chamber, Ambrose soon encountered a smiling Heki Stone. He really did seem to be doing quite well; even his cloak was now gold-trimmed. Evidently, he and the Dwarven King were getting along.

Heki hovered in midair, about to greet Ambrose with an enthusiastic embrace, when he suddenly noticed Catherine standing beside him and nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Queen Catherine?!"

What was the Elven Queen doing here? Heki turned to Ambrose, perplexed.

Ambrose replied casually, "Catherine has stepped down as Elven Queen. She works for me now."

Heki forced an awkward laugh. "That's a terrible joke. You don't need to say something this outrageous just to lighten the mood. If Her Majesty gets angry, this might become a diplomatic incident."

But Catherine interjected, "He's telling the truth. I'm here as Master Megaman's assistant."

Heki froze. He gaped at the two of them in shock.

After a long moment, he grabbed Ambrose and dragged him aside.

"Aren't you going too far?! All I did was show off a little after biting the Dwarven King. Did you have to go out of your way just to outshine me? Kidnapping the Elven Queen as your assistant? Do you want the elves to smash your phylactery?!"

Heki Stone lowered his voice as much as he could, but his agitation still showed.

The Elven Queen renouncing her throne and working for a lich? What kind of delusional novelist would dare come up with something like this? It sounded patently absurd.

Ambrose sighed helplessly. "I can't explain the details. Confidentiality clause. The fact is, it's got nothing to do with you biting the Dwarf King. And honestly, I'd love to dump her, but she offered way too much."

Leaving aside the mountain of gold, a free legendary boon alone was impossible to refuse.

What? Offered way too much? Was the Elven Queen volunteering—no, paying—to be his slave? Heki felt this lich was being arrogant enough to invite divine punishment. He decided to stand farther away from Ambrose, lest he get struck by lightning as collateral damage.

But no matter how shocked Heki was, the truth was the truth. Catherine stood quietly to the side, not contradicting a single word Ambrose said.

Grinding his teeth, the "Supreme Overlord" could only swallow his humiliation, silently vowing that he would get his revenge for being shown up so badly today.

Irritated beyond measure, Heki abandoned his plan to properly host Ambrose. Instead, he escorted him straight to the gate of the new city and made an excuse to leave.

He did not want to see Ambrose another second longer. Watching him show off hurt worse than a stake through the heart.

Standing before the towering subterranean gate, Ambrose saw that even the exposed portion of the gate alone was over thirty meters in height. How much more lay buried beneath the rock was anyone's guess.

This gate alone was testament to a brilliant civilization, one whose construction capabilities rivaled any modern kingdom. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Ambrose carefully traced the heavily scarred surface of the gate, trying to identify what it was made of.

Catherine could not help but murmur, "This is my first time underground. I never imagined ancient civilizations could be so magnificent. It's astonishing. How did they perish? This gate must predate even the era of the Draconic Tyrant."

"The exact age is unclear," Ambrose replied, "but the forging method is extremely unusual. This material isn't simply metal or magically reinforced stone... My guess is that it's some kind of special magical beast's body."

Catherine exclaimed in shock, "What? This gate was made from a magical beast's carcass? Even dragons aren't that large!"

"It's only a hypothesis. As a lich, I'm sensitive to remains. This gate feels like a carcass to me. Even if it's not entirely made of one, it likely incorporates the remains of some creature. As for what species that creature is, I can't tell."

This was Ambrose's area of expertise; such a basic judgment was unlikely to be wrong.

This realization only deepened his curiosity. What kind of civilization would use biological remains to forge a city gate?

He doubted it was merely for durability. Religion or ritual likely played a role.

Unfortunately, the patterns on the gate had eroded beyond recognition, making it impossible to infer any characteristics of the civilization from the carvings alone.

Gazing at the gap in the center of the gate, Ambrose told Catherine, "Let's go. Unless something unexpected happens, we'll be living in this city for many years."

He layered several defensive spells on himself before drifting forward, feet never touching the ground, as he slipped into the gap.

They passed through the several-meters-thick gate and the newly excavated tunnel beyond it that stretched out for hundreds of meters. Only then did the space suddenly opened up.

Catherine lit up their surroundings with a few pinpricks of light.

Before them stretched a broad avenue, lined with strangely shaped buildings.

This was the city's interior. Upon seeing it for the first time, Ambrose had only one thought in mind: it was massive.

Everything in the city was large beyond belief, as if it had been built for giants.