Chapter 147: Hollow Ground

The next morning, Kaiser, Marina, Michael, and Emilia left Steel Forged City and headed toward the Hollow Ground.

The dungeon was located about ten kilometers away from the city.

The distance was intentional.

The Hollow Ground was considered dangerous enough that the area around it had been heavily guarded. Keeping the dungeon at a safe distance from Steel Forged City also gave the city enough time to prepare if a dungeon break ever occurred.

Dunegon Break is an phenomenon where Dungeon spew all the monsters inside or it outside, creating a massive Monster tide.

Its an very dangerous situation and many cities have fallen to these tides thus cities nowadays are built at safe distance from the dungeons.

After traveling for a while, the group finally reached the dungeon.

Kaiser looked ahead.

A massive white-grey portal stood in the middle of a large fortified area.

Tall walls surrounded the entire dungeon entrance, and dozens of guards were stationed around it.

Several adventurers were also gathered nearby, preparing to enter the dungeon.

Kaiser looked around with interest.

"So this is the Hollow Ground."

Michael nodded.

"Looks like it."

The group walked toward the entrance.

As soon as they reached the gate, two guards stepped forward.

"Stop."

One of them looked over the group.

His expression changed slightly when he sensed Michael and Emilia’s auras.

"Rank 3?"

Michael nodded.

"Yes."

The guard then looked at Kaiser and Marina.

Both of them were much weaker in terms of visible aura.

The guard frowned.

"You two are not allowed to enter."

Kaiser raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"The Hollow Ground is a Rank 2 dungeon. Only adventurers who meet the required strength are allowed to enter."

The guard pointed toward Kaiser and Marina.

"Your auras are too weak."

Kaiser was about to respond when Michael stepped forward.

"They’re with us."

The guard shook his head.

"Rules are rules. If they don’t meet the requirements, they can’t enter."

Emilia stepped forward as well.

"They won’t be fighting alone. We’ll be responsible for them."

The guards exchanged glances.

One of them looked at Michael.

"You understand that if something happens to them inside, the dungeon guards won’t be responsible?"

Michael nodded.

"We understand."

The guard hesitated for a moment.

He then looked at Kaiser and Marina again.

"Are you both adventurers?"

Kaiser nodded.

"Yes."

The guard sighed.

"Fine. Since two Rank 3 adventurers are taking responsibility for you, you can enter."

Kaiser smiled.

"Thanks."

The guard stepped aside.

"Don’t cause any trouble inside."

Kaiser nodded.

"We won’t."

Marina also thanked the guards.

The four of them continued toward the massive white-grey portal.

As they approached, Kaiser could feel a strange cold sensation coming from it.

Unlike normal dungeon portals, the Hollow Ground’s entrance didn’t produce much noise or visible energy.

It simply stood there, quietly waiting for people to enter.

Kaiser looked at it for a moment.

’Ghost-type dungeon.’

He smiled slightly.

’Let’s see if I can find the undead I’m looking for.’

Michael looked toward him.

"Ready?"

Kaiser nodded.

"Yeah."

Marina stood beside him.

Emilia also prepared herself.

The four of them stepped forward together.

As soon as Kaiser passed through the portal, his vision was covered by white light.

A cold sensation swept across his body.

The next moment, the scenery around him completely changed.

The four of them appeared inside a dark and silent area.

Kaiser looked around.

The dungeon was completely different from the outside.

There was no sound of people or city life.

Only darkness surrounded them.

A faint blue mist covered the ground, and several pale lights floated in the distance.

Marina looked around nervously.

"This is really creepy."

Emilia nodded.

"Its an ghost type dungeon after all."

Suddenly, a faint sound came from somewhere in the darkness.

"Hhhhh..."

Kaiser turned toward the sound.

A shadow slowly emerged from the mist.

Two pale blue eyes appeared first.

Then the rest of the ghostly figure became visible.

Kaiser smiled.

"Looks like we’ve already found our first monster."

Kaiser immediately raised his hand.

"Come out."

Dark energy suddenly spread around him.

One after another, his undead summons and pets appeared.

Selene emerged first, followed by Rachel, the Corpse Lord, Garuk, the Gravity Slime, and the Skeleton King.

Behind them, thousands of undead soldiers appeared.

Death Knights, Skeleton Mages, Skeleton Warriors, and other undead filled the area.

In just a few seconds, nearly two thousand undead stood behind Kaiser.

Marina looked at the massive undead army.

Even though she had seen Kaiser’s undead before, the sight still surprised her.

Kaiser looked at his undead army.

"Spread out."

The undead immediately moved into formation.

"Search the entire area. Kill every monster you find and bring their corpses back to me."

All of the undead nodded.

"Yes, Master."

The next moment, they rushed in every direction.

The sound of battles quickly began echoing through the dungeon.

A Spirit Wraith suddenly appeared from the blue mist and rushed toward one of the Death Knights.

Before it could attack, a sword passed through its body.

Slash!

The Spirit Wraith disappeared instantly.

A notification appeared before Kaiser’s eyes.

[Your Death Knight has killed a Spirit Wraith.]

[You have obtained 1 Soul.]

Kaiser glanced at the notification before looking ahead.

"Let’s move."

Michael nodded.

"Alright."

The four of them continued deeper into the dungeon at a relaxed pace.

They didn’t need to worry about encountering monsters.

Kaiser’s undead army was already sweeping through the surrounding areas.

Every few seconds, another notification appeared in front of him.

[Your Skeleton Mage has killed a Spirit Wraith.]

[You have obtained 1 Soul.]

[Your Death Knight has killed a Spirit Wraith.]

[You have obtained 1 Soul.]

[Your Skeleton Warrior has killed a Spirit Wraith.]

[You have obtained 1 Soul.]

Kaiser ignored most of the notifications.

His undead army continued moving through the dungeon, killing every Spirit Wraith they encountered.

Some of the undead returned occasionally, carrying the corpses they had collected.

Kaiser stored each corpse in his inventory.

’This is much more efficient than searching for them myself.’

Marina looked at him.

"Master, how many have they killed already?"

Kaiser checked the notifications.

"Quite a lot."

He smiled.

"And we’re only on the first floor."

Michael looked around.

"With this many undead, I doubt many monsters will survive."

"That’s the point."

Kaiser continued walking.

"I don’t need experience from these monsters. I need their corpses."

Emilia nodded.

"I understand."

As they moved deeper into the dungeon, the blue mist became thicker.

The number of Spirit Wraiths also increased.

However, Kaiser’s undead army continued sweeping through the area without slowing down.

Then another notification appeared.

[Your Death Knight has killed 100 Spirit Wraiths.]

[You have obtained 100 Souls.]

Kaiser glanced at the notification.

’Looks like they’re moving quickly.’

He continued walking alongside his parents and Marina.

In the distance, the sounds of battle continued to echo through the Hollow Ground.

For Kaiser, however, the dungeon had already become less of a dangerous dungeon and more of a massive hunting ground for collecting corpses.