Chapter 148: Hollow Ground II

They continued moving through the dungeon.

It didn’t take long before they reached the end of the first floor.

In front of them was a large stone doorway surrounded by blue mist.

Kaiser looked at it for a moment.

"This should be the entrance to the second floor."

Michael nodded.

"Then let’s go."

The four of them passed through the doorway.

As soon as they entered, the atmosphere changed.

The blue mist was much thicker than before, and the area was larger.

Kaiser looked around.

"So this is the second floor."

Marina looked at the information they had received from the Adventurer Guild.

"The second floor is where the stronger Wraith-type monsters appear. Wraith Knights, Wraith Warriors, Wraith Mages, and several other variants can be found here."

She paused before continuing.

"There are also Wraith Lords. They are the mini-bosses of this floor."

Kaiser nodded.

"Good. Tell the undead to focus on these monsters."

He immediately sent an order through his connection with the undead army.

"Continue searching. Kill everything on this floor and bring back the corpses."

The undead army spread out again.

This time, the battles were more intense.

Not long after entering the second floor, several Wraith Warriors appeared.

They were larger than the Spirit Wraiths from the first floor and carried weapons made from condensed spiritual energy.

The Wraith Warriors charged toward the undead.

A Death Knight raised its sword and blocked the first attack.

Clang!

The Death Knight pushed the Wraith Warrior back and immediately counterattacked.

Another group of undead surrounded the remaining Wraith Warriors.

The battle ended quickly.

Several corpses were left behind.

More notifications appeared in front of Kaiser.

[Your Death Knight has killed a Wraith Warrior.]

[You have obtained 3 Souls.]

[Your Skeleton Warrior has killed a Wraith Warrior.]

[You have obtained 3 Souls.]

Kaiser stored the corpses brought back by his undead.

A few minutes later, they encountered Wraith Knights.

Unlike the Wraith Warriors, the Wraith Knights wore full armor and carried large swords.

Their strength was also much higher.

However, they were still unable to stop Kaiser’s undead army.

Several Death Knights surrounded one Wraith Knight while Skeleton Mages attacked from behind.

The Wraith Knight tried to break through the formation, but another Death Knight blocked its path.

After several attacks, the Wraith Knight was finally destroyed.

Kaiser received another notification.

[Your Death Knight has killed a Wraith Knight.]

[You have obtained 5 Souls.]

Kaiser looked at the corpse when one of his undead brought it back.

"Keep the Wraith Knights separate from the other corpses."

The undead nodded.

"Yes, Master."

Marina looked at Kaiser.

"Are you planning to use them?"

"Maybe."

Kaiser looked at the Wraith Knight’s corpse.

"If their bodies are suitable, I might be able to create something useful from them."

They continued deeper into the second floor.

The number of Wraith Knights and Wraith Warriors increased as they moved farther from the entrance.

Wraith Mages also began appearing.

Unlike the warriors, the Wraith Mages stayed at a distance and attacked with different types of spiritual magic.

Blue flames, dark energy, and several strange spells flew across the dungeon.

However, Kaiser’s undead army had enough numbers to deal with them easily.

Skeleton Mages fought against the Wraith Mages while Death Knights and Skeleton Warriors dealt with the melee monsters.

The entire second floor soon became filled with battles.

Kaiser continued walking with Michael, Emilia, and Marina.

They didn’t need to participate.

Their undead army was doing everything for them.

After some time, one of the undead returned.

It was carrying the corpse of a much larger Wraith.

Kaiser immediately noticed the difference.

"This one is different."

Marina looked at the corpse.

"Is it a Wraith Lord?"

Kaiser nodded.

"It should be."

The Wraith Lord was much larger than the other Wraiths. It wore heavy armor and carried a large spiritual weapon.

Kaiser inspected the corpse.

"This is much better."

He stored it in his inventory.

"If we find more Wraith Lords, bring all of them to me."

The undead nodded before returning to the battlefield.

Kaiser continued forward.

The farther they went, the stronger the monsters became.

More Wraith Lords appeared, and some of them were accompanied by groups of Wraith Knights and Wraith Mages.

Even then, Kaiser’s undead army continued advancing.

The second floor was supposed to be dangerous for most Rank 2 adventurers.

For Kaiser, it was simply another source of corpses.

After clearing a large area, the undead army finally reached another massive doorway.

Kaiser soon arrived there as well.

He looked at the doorway.

"So this should be the entrance to the third floor."

Marina nodded.

"According to the information from the guild, the third floor is the deepest part of Hollow Ground."

"What monsters are there?"

"Wraith Kings."

Marina answered.

"They are the main bosses of the dungeon. There are also powerful Wraith Royal Knights that serve them."

Kaiser smiled slightly.

"Then let’s see how strong they are."

Michael looked at him.

"Are you going to fight the Wraith King yourself?"

Kaiser shook his head.

"Not unless I need to."

He looked toward the doorway.

"I came here for corpses and a suitable undead for infiltration. If the Wraith Royal Knights have useful abilities, I might have another option."

Kaiser walked toward the doorway.

The others followed him.

As they passed through it, the environment changed once again.

The blue mist became much darker.

The entire third floor was noticeably different from the floors above.

Kaiser looked ahead.

"Let’s see what this floor has."

The moment they stepped deeper into the third floor, several powerful auras appeared in the distance.

Michael’s expression became serious.

"Those are much stronger."

Kaiser nodded.

"Looks like we’ve finally reached the interesting part."

The undead army began gathering around them.

At the same time, several figures slowly emerged from the darkness.

They were wearing dark blue armor and carrying large weapons.

Behind them stood several Wraith Mages.

And at the center of the group stood a much larger Wraith wearing a crown-like helmet.

Kaiser looked at the group.

"It seems we’ve already found them."

The Wraith King raised his weapon.

The surrounding Wraith Royal Knights immediately prepared for battle.