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— Ottoman Levant Highway - 1 hours After the first Massacre —

The undead army marched along the desert highway toward the next city, heading toward the Sultanate of Aqaba border, less than 100 kilometers away. It was the closest destination where they could harvest more souls.

Along the way, they reaped many lives, each soul swiftly absorbed to fuel the dark forces of Thalassar. Every encounter with the living on the highway ended in death and ruin, leaving devastation in their wake as the army advanced.

News of the undead army reached the two warlords of the Sultanate of Aqaba who ruled the territories near the border. They had contacts within the Ottoman Levant and knew this was no ordinary threat—this was a supernatural army of the undead. Now that the existence of magic and the Curtained World was no longer a secret in the Ottoman Levant, the warlords were among the first to know.

At a bunker near the border, one of the warlords of the Sultanate of Aqaba reviewed the situation. His name is Khalid, the strongest warlord of the Sultanate of Aqaba.

"So, this is the so-called undead army? They're using magic, right? Who would have thought magic was real and just hidden from us ordinary people?" The warlord spoke to his subordinate, staring at the images on the notebook in front of him.

"What do they want? Oil? Wealth? Slaves?" the warlord asked the group of subordinates standing by.

"From what we've gathered, they seem to be after souls and dead bodies. To them, these seem to be like energy sources and fresh recruits. They turn the corpses into soldiers and use the souls to fuel their power," one of the subordinates responded.

"I see. So, if we negotiate with them and offer the souls of the people in this country, they likely won't refuse. I've made my decision—I will negotiate with them. But prepare a nuclear warhead, just in case," the warlord ordered.

This warlord believed negotiating with the supernatural army would help him realize his ambition of becoming the sole ruler of the Sultanate of Aqaba. He was the most powerful warlord when compared to the others, and he had a nuclear warhead bought off the black market.

But that didn't mean he could take on all the warlords plaguing the Sultanate. The Sultan, though powerless in military strength, had cleverly supported each warlord, maintaining a delicate balance where none could gain absolute dominance.

The Sultan himself may not have much force, but he was intelligent and enjoyed widespread support from the grassroots people. This gave him legitimacy, something the warlords could not easily challenge. Backing from the Sultan meant having the moral and political advantage.

This warlord, however, was tired of waiting for opportunities. He saw this situation as the chance to break the balance. Gaining the support of the undead army could give him the upper hand, and he was willing to take the risk.

— At the Hidden bunker deep in the mountain —

Deep within the hidden bunker nestled in the mountain range of the Sultanate of Aqaba, lies the headquarters of the second warlord along the border. His name is Azis. A cautious man, Azis trusts nothing easily, especially anything that defies normal reality.

But now, he is forced to confront the unimaginable—magic and an army that wields it, marching toward his border.

"How long until that undead army reaches us?" Azis asked, his voice steady despite the looming threat.

"Sir, judging by their current speed, they'll arrive in about two hours. They'll likely come through the highway," one of his subordinates reported.

"So, they'll be entering through Khalid's territory?" Azis remarked.

"Yes, sir," the subordinate confirmed.

Inside the bunker, Azis's men hurried about, preparing for the impending attack. Despite their efforts, the warlord's forces were equipped with outdated weaponry. Their most advanced asset, a long-range rocket artillery system, lacked modern targeting capabilities, placing them at a technological disadvantage compared to their rivals.

Azis, however, was known for his level-headedness. Among the warlords, he stood out as one who genuinely cared for the people of the Sultanate of Aqaba, second only to the Sultan himself.

The reason Azis chose the path of a warlord and sought absolute power was his disdain for the Sultan, whom he saw as a weak and powerless leader, skilled only in political games.

Azis envisioned a stronger Sultanate, one molded in his own vision. He didn't mind the Sultan sitting on the throne—he just needed him to be a puppet, obeying his every command.

Preparations were well underway. The rocket artillery system was positioned at the border, where the undead army was expected to pass. Azis also had some heavy-hitting weapons at his disposal, such as an outdated long-range, high-payload warhead he had purchased from the Sultanate of Aqaba. His chief engineer had modified it to improve its accuracy.

He possessed around 30 multirole fighter jets bought from Russia. Though outdated and designed a few years after World War II, these planes had two significant advantages: they were cheap and durable. Even if the control mechanisms failed, a strong pilot could use analog methods to make an emergency landing. His engineers had also upgraded the planes' weapon payloads.

In essence, these jets were flying tanks, each one loaded with enough firepower to rain destruction on their targets.

— Border —

Time passed slowly, and eventually, the undead army encountered Khalid's forces at the border.

"Greetings, great ruler of the dead!" Khalid said, bowing politely to Thalassar.

Thalassar observed the human forces blocking his advance. He didn't understand what the puny human was saying, but from the tone and the respectful bow, it seemed to be a parley. Though Thalassar didn't know exactly what the human wanted, he was not above negotiation. He knew his forces weren't invincible, and what he needed most right now was information about the current era.

Yes, he had already gained some knowledge from the souls he absorbed, but those were ordinary people. What he knew was limited—mostly information about world rulers, political leaders, and some general details about the countries in the region.

However, what disturbed him the most was a recent piece of information he had acquired from the dead—a country with technology centuries ahead of everyone else. This advanced nation called itself "New Atlantis," a name that troubled him deeply. It represented the pinnacle of human civilization before the great war between humans and gods.

That era was long before Thalassar had even been born. Intrigued by the prospect of learning more, he decided to speak with this human, who seemed to hold a higher rank than the souls he had consumed. Perhaps this human could offer him valuable insight.

Thalassar summoned the soul of one of the recently harvested people from the current era, giving it an ethereal ghostly form to serve as his translator. To make the negotiation more pleasant, Thalassar deliberately chose the soul of a beautiful human woman.

Once the soul took shape, she floated toward Khalid and stopped before him.

"Greetings, Mr. Khalid. Lord Thalassar wishes to know your purpose—why are you blocking his march?" asked the ghostly woman.

"Oh, please tell his lordship that we come in peace and wish to negotiate a cooperation between us," Khalid began, and the ghost quickly relayed his words to her master with a sense of intent.

The ghost woman then spoke again. "His lordship, Thalassar, is willing to enter negotiations. What he desires most is information about the country known as New Atlantis."

"New Atlantis!? Of course, whatever Lord Thalassar desires to know, I'll provide it," Khalid replied with a smile. He had expected the undead to demand human sacrifices or something similarly gruesome, but they only wanted information? That was something he had in abundance. Even though he didn't yet have detailed knowledge about New Atlantis, he knew more than most.

In the distant mountain range, Azis was watching the meeting between Khalid and the undead.

"What is that idiot thinking!?" Azis gritted his teeth as he watched the scene through a feed from one of his long-range cameras, which his men had set up earlier around the border to alert him to attacks by Khalid or other forces.

Though Azis was a warlord, he was also a patriotic man. He would never cooperate with a foreign power unless absolutely necessary, and certainly not with non-humans like Thalassar's undead army.

Azis didn't know what Khalid was discussing with the undead, but he knew he had to stop this negotiation. The problem was how. Should he launch a warhead at them? Would his warheads even be a threat to the undead? If they were, it could make him and his forces the next target, and Khalid might even ally with the undead if they shared a common enemy. What should he do?

While Azis was contemplating his next move, his detection system picked up several cruise missiles launched from the Ottoman Levant coast. It was clear that they had been fired from cruisers or destroyers stationed nearby. Azis decided to wait and observe; he knew that the cruise missile warheads from the Ottoman Levant were far more advanced and destructive than anything he had at his disposal.

He wanted to see what would happen next.