WorldCrafter - Building My Underground Kingdom-Chapter 242: Daemon Sealing Grounds

Zeratul nodded. "Causing havoc would be an understatement. Ever since that daemon appeared, the Nephirid Kingdom's been on the brink of civil war."

Ben raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected that. 'A civil war? If that's true, this might actually work in my favor…'

Zeratul continued, "The daemon's been promising power to anyone who swears loyalty to her, doing her bidding. And believe me, I know better. Everyone should know better. You can't trust a daemon."

"So you're saying the royal family is split now? What about the Ashking? He just sits back and lets this happen?"

Zeratul's eyes narrowed. "My father? He doesn't even know. The entire Special Zone is under the royal family's control, and we divide the responsibilities between ourselves. He only gets reports, nothing more."

"So the reports were lies?"

Zeratul gave a bitter laugh. "My father might be a lot of things, but above all, he's arrogant. You know how many wives he has? He left them to manage the Special Zone, gave them power without supervision.

What do you think happened next? Every faction's vying for more authority, more influence."

"Let me guess, constant infighting?"

"Exactly. Fights between princes happen daily. It's even encouraged. Keeps us sharp. Builds strength, experience.

But this, this daemon nonsense? It crosses the line. They don't understand what they're messing with."

Ben crossed his arms, thinking aloud.

"Makes sense, in a twisted way. The Ashking doesn't want a soft royal family.

Letting you all fight ensures your strength stays above the average Nephirid. This whole situation, this chaos, is his system."

'So that's the card they've been hiding…' Ben thought of the Royal Guards, of Zeratul's strength.

A kingdom full of warriors like that? Ashborn-level squads as the baseline? If that's their standard, then Ben would need far more power to face them.

But his train of thought was cut off by Zeratul's next words.

"Of course, if it was just a prince dabbling in daemon power, I wouldn't have gone as far as hiring those three lunatics. No… the real issue is that I've received reports that some princes are opening the daemon sealing grounds."

Ben's expression darkened. "Wait. You mean the actual sealing sites? How many are there in the Special Zone?"

"Dozens," Zeratul replied. "We have a dozen high-tier sites, and hundreds more for weaker daemons. The Special Zone's location was chosen because of that."

'Was that part of their ceasefire agreement?' Ben wondered.

But after a moment, he shook his head. There were still too many things he didn't know, about the last war between the Nephirid and the surface, about how it ended.

From what he had observed, the Nephirid likely triggered the conflict.

But were the daemons involved too?

What about the Templars? The Crusaders?

'A war of that scale… no way those factions sat it out,' Ben thought, eyes narrowing as he considered his next move.

In the end, no matter how he turned the thought around, his conclusion stayed the same.

Ben looked at Zeratul. "Can you give me access to the zone?" He leaned forward slightly. "Like I said, I have unfinished business with that daemon. And if I fail, you lose nothing."

"It's not that simple," Zeratul replied, taking a sip of wine. "Since those three lunatics are already involved, sending you in will only trigger a conflict."

"But that'll fall on me. You won't be blamed."

"No. They could trace it back easily."

The prince then pulled out a badge. "You'll need this just to attempt passing through the barrier. Without it, every entry point is locked down. And that's not even considering the tricks required to bypass the main entrance."

Zeratul began explaining, there's only one safe way in. Entering through any other section meant dealing with hordes of monsters. Just like what Ben had heard from Sephiria.

And as Ben had suspected, the official entrance was heavily guarded by members of the Fire Temple. Combine that with the barrier, and you had two layers of security stacked together.

Getting through the barrier alone was already difficult. Even if they managed it, it would trigger an alarm, alerting everyone in the Fire Temple.

And let's say they used the badge, if they entered through anything other than the main gate, the result would be the same. The alarm would still go off.

Then there were the monsters. Ben hadn't seen them yet, but hearing even the Nephirid prince express concern meant one thing. their strength was not to be underestimated. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

Ben then tried to get more information on the Fire Temple. Since knowledge about it wasn't exactly top secret, especially given what Ben already knew about the Daemon, Zeratul was willing to explain.

"The Fire Temple on the outside is nothing more than a branch," he said, swirling the wine in his glass. "The High Priest doesn't even stay there. That place is just for ceremony, recruitment, and to keep the commoners in awe."

He leaned back, fingers tapping against the desk.

"The real temple is behind that barrier. It's a complex of halls, sealed chambers, and sanctums carved directly into the volcanic rock. Some say it's alive with flame spirits.

I've never seen those, but I know for a fact the inner sanctum is protected by ancient sentinels, golem like cosntruct but their strength is something else."

Zeratul paused before adding, "And then there's the Core Hall."

Ben raised an eyebrow. "Core?"

"Rumour say It's where they keep the primordial Flame. Anyone allowed near it is considered chosen. That's where the High Priest resides, and where the strongest of them gather."

Ben folded his arms. "How many guards?"

Zeratul chuckled. "Why does it matter? Not even me a prince ever come close without invitation. If you have some design on them I will just say good luck."

'So he doesn't care at all. Seem relation between the royal family and the temple is not that close,' Ben thought.

"Anyway, if you're serious on facing the daemon, you will need to wait. Gangster."

Ben smirked, "You have so many countermeasure in place, but aren't the daemon still come in? Or you think it got released from one of the sealing ground."

Seeing the prince expression Ben know the answer, Zeratul believe their protection is perfect, and the daemone were freed form inside.

"The sealing grounds were barely protected," Zeratul said, voice low. "We all believe the seal is very secure and no one will be dumb enough to free them, but we're wrong, the daemon appearance is clearly proof of this."

"So what you suggest? Don't you have any other path for me to come in. You see my strength, as a prince you should understand not betting all your egg on one basked."

Ben let out a low whistle. A Krell ant crawled out from beneath his cloak and skittered across the table toward Zeratul.

"Squish this bug," Ben said with a smirk, "if you've made your decision."

Then he stood. Before Zeratul could get a word in, the space around Ben cracked like glass, fractures rippling through the air. In a blink, he vanished, slipping away with Apophis's authority and his newly refined control over it.

Zeratul stared at the spot where Ben had stood. Then his eyes shifted to the ant still crawling across the wood.

"So… he used this creature to eavesdrop on me," Zeratul muttered.

He turned toward one of the tree. "Brelgor, do you have any idea who that man is?"

He than emerged from the darkness. Despite their presence in the region, Zeratul rarely paid attention to who moved through these area. He'd only ventured here for meeting those three lunatics. Otherwise, he would never have stepped foot in this zone.

Brelgor folded his arms. "No. I've never heard of anyone like him. Maybe… maybe he's like them. From the surface."

Zeratul's gaze sharpened. "Hmph. Lately, we've had more surface visitors than ever before. And now with the Daemon running loose…"

His eyes turned cold.

"…it feels like something big is coming."

Meanwhile, Ben arrived at the hideout he had prepared, a concealed chamber reinforced with wards and illusion fields deep beneath the scorched ruins. Inside, Taleth was in the middle of a conversation with Sephiria.

As Ben materialized, his form shifted with a ripple, quickly morphing into the familiar visage of Tzarek. "How is it?" he asked, his tone calm but firm.

"I sealed the slave collar on her," Taleth replied, gesturing toward the ornate band clamped tightly around Velmora's wrist.

"They won't be able to track her, at least not for a while. But removing it? That's beyond me. This one's far more intricate than the collars I've seen before."

Ben glanced at the weave of runes etched into the bracelet, then nodded. "Don't worry about that. I'll have someone else deal with it later."

His gaze then turned toward Sephiria. "You came from that place, didn't you? I want to hear more about it."

Sephiria narrowed her eyes. She had heard the details from Taleth, about Be, and his ambitions. But it was still hard to believe. A Nephirid plotting to usurp the throne of the Ahsking? That was madness.

"…What exactly do you want to know?" she asked cautiously, not dropping her guard.

Ben smiled faintly. "Everything."