adbindia Chapter 290: The Evernight Transit Hub
Chapter 290: The Evernight Transit Hub
The former Necrotic Realm, now the Evernight Transit Hub construction site.
Under the ashen, suffocating sky, tens of thousands of skeletons were engaged in
a frenzy of industry. Skele-Greed stood upon a gargantuan bone-platform,
clutching an architectural scroll three hundred pages thick. He was currently
delivering his eighty-seventh motivational address to the dense ranks of
skeletal laborers below.
"SUBJECTS!"
Greed's voice surged through the Soul Link, echoing across the entire site.
"What we construct today is not a simple engineering project! We are forging an
Eternal Bridge to link the Multiverse to the Sovereign's heart!"
"This sector shall serve as the singular artery for every sub-plane bound to the
Evernight!"
"Here, we shall witness the Sovereign's radiance illuminating the infinite
worlds!"
"Therefore! I demand that every unit operates with the highest structural
standards and the most rigorous adherence to protocol!"
The skeletons below raised their bony hands in unison, emitting a synchronized
mental roar of "As commanded!"
Greed nodded with satisfaction. He was just about to continue his speech when he
spotted a skeleton in the distance hoisting a structural pillar, preparing to
slam it vertically into the earth.
"HALT!"
Greed manifested instantly beside the soldier in a flurry of dark mist.
"Explain your methodology."
The skeleton blinked. He pointed to a chalk circle on the ground. "Blueprints
say: erect pillar here."
"And why are you attempting to ram it through the lithosphere?"
"To make it fit, General."
Greed drew a sharp, sharp breath of dead air. "A pillar is inserted via
excavation! Not hammered in like a nail! You are creating structural fissures in
the primary foundation!"
The skeleton appeared to have a breakthrough in logic. He set the pillar down
and prepared to manifest his bone-sword.
"I see! I shall initiate excavation immediately!"
With that, he raised his blade and began hacking frantically at the rock.
Greed's jawbone clicked with a sharp, localized irritation.
"STOP! CEASE OPERATIONS! Who authorized the use of a combat-implement for
earthworks? Use a shovel! A SHOVEL!"
The newly spawned skeleton looked at Greed with a hollow, vacant gaze. "Query:
What is a 'Shovel'?"
Greed covered his eye sockets with a gauntlet. He turned to his adjunct standing
nearby. It was Thanatos—former King of the Necrotic Realm, now a Deputy
Commander of the State Army.
"Adjunct. Locate the Head of the Tool Procurement Division and summon him here."
Thanatos gave a slow, measured nod and glided away.
Greed rubbed his temples. Since the Sovereign decreed the transformation of this
realm into a Transit Hub, Greed had been anchor-bound to the construction. He
had projected that having the former King of this world as his second-in-command
would ease the logistical burden.
He had been incorrect.
Thanatos possessed absolute execution capacity, but since his memory had been
"realigned" for loyalty, he lacked basic cultural common sense. He processed
commands with the cold literalism of a low-tier golem. And the common skeletal
labor force was even worse—each unit was a unique logic error waiting to happen.
Just then, a thunderous crash erupted from the far side of the site.
BOOM!
Greed snapped his head around. A primary portal frame—freshly erected—had
collapsed inward. A dozen skeletons were pinned beneath the mass of bone and
steel, their fragments scattered across the dirt.
Greed transformed into a swarm of bats, manifesting at the accident site in
seconds.
"REPORT!"
A skeleton crawled out from the debris, raising a shaky hand. "General Greed! We
adhered to the schematics! All four pillars were erected!"
"And then?"
"And then we decided the aesthetic was too minimalist. We attempted to add
decorative engravings."
"And the result was structural failure?"
The skeleton scratched its skull. "We merely wished to carve some sunflowers...
we didn't project the weight-bearing ratio would be compromised by the removal
of material..."
Greed went silent. He looked at the skeletons crawling over the wreckage like
ants and felt a profound, heavy sense of impotence.
Can these newly born units truly construct a Planar Hub? Every other army is
engaged in their own sectors. I am working with the dregs of the spawn-pool.
Sigh.
Just then, Thanatos returned. "General Greed. The Head of Procurement has
arrived."
Greed turned to see a skeleton standing nearby. In its hand, the creature
held... a fishing rod?
Greed froze. "Identify the item in your grip."
"A fishing rod, sir," the skeleton replied matter-of-factly.
"I requested a shovel. Why are you brandishing a recreational tool?"
"I searched the Tool Cache for a 'Shovel.' The data was missing. I localized
this instead. It is long and sturdy. It can serve as a lever, General."
Greed's soulfire pulsed with a sharp, red-hot flare. "A lever is not an
excavator! A rod is for the retrieval of aquatic life! Not for the displacement
of soil!"
The procurement skeleton shrank back, its skull rattling. "I shall resume the
search for a shovel immediately!"
"Wait," Greed barked as the soldier turned to run.
"You stated the Tool Cache contained fishing rods?"
"Affirmative. A high-density inventory."
Greed frowned. Why would the Necrotic Realm possess an inventory of fishing
gear? He paused. Then, a logic-chain formed in his mind.
"Lead me to the cache."
"Understood!"
The skeleton sprinted ahead. Greed followed, a sense of impending tactical dread
settling in his core.
They reached a temporary warehouse at the edge of the site. Greed pushed open
the heavy bone-doors and stood paralyzed.
The warehouse was a sea of rods. Crude wooden sticks, exquisite enchanted
carbon-fiber poles, and even a few jewel-encrusted, Legendary-Tier artifacts. By
a quick count, there were at least a hundred.
Greed's eye sockets twitched. "Where... did these manifest from?"
The procurement skeleton scratched his head. "Unknown, sir. They were here when
the sector was claimed."
Greed went silent. He remembered. Before the official decree to transform the
realm, the Master had spent a significant duration of time here, "Reflecting"
upon the conquest.
Could it be...?
These were the Master's tools?
Greed's soulfire began to thrum with a frantic, religious energy. He strode into
the warehouse, inspecting the artifacts. Every single rod showed signs of active
use. Some lines were tangled; some hooks still held the dried remains of bait.
Greed's breathing (simulated) quickened. These weren't just tools. They were
Holy Relics used by the Sovereign's own hands!
He reached out, his fingers trembling as he touched a simple wooden rod. He
could feel it—the residual signature. A faint, lingering resonance of the
Sovereign's own Mana.
"I see..." Greed whispered, his voice thick with awe.
"The Sovereign anticipated the structural challenges of the Hub... He knew we
would struggle with the complexity of the design."
"So he left these... these 'Directives' for us."
Greed's brain was operating at peak capacity now. What is the hidden meaning of
the Fishing Rod?
He meditated on the logic.
Fishing requires Patience. It requires Timing. One must wait for the pull, then
exert the perfect amount of pressure at the exact micro-second to retrieve the
prize.
It was a tactical metaphor! The construction of the Hub could not be rushed
through brute force. It required patience. It required technical finesse.
Steady, methodical progress was the only path to the win-condition.
"The Master is peerless!"
Greed spun around, staring at the skeleton waiting in the doorway.
"SUMMON THE HEADS OF EVERY CONSTRUCTION SQUAD! I HAVE RECEIVED A REVELATION FROM
THE SOVEREIGN!"
"SIR!"
The skeleton bolted. Greed took a deep breath, reverently placing the rod back
in its rack.
"Truly... even in his absence, the Master provides the path," he murmured.
He strode from the warehouse, his soulfire burning with a battle-lust for
logistics. He would build this Hub. He would build it perfectly. And he would
use the "Way of the Rod" to ensure not a single sunflower engraving failed
again.
☆☆☆
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