Cataclysm: Undead Dragons and Zero Empire

"Go do what you need to do. Death is always equal for everyone, and I respect your choice."

"Here's the information you'll need, it's free, consider it a celebration of our partnership."

Howard recalled the last moment he walked out of that tin shack when Terrence pushed a paper document toward him, which contained information about the person in charge of Glorious Heavy Industries.

The words of the leader of the Death Faction still echoed in his ears: "Although decapitations have never been decisive, your enemy has recently discovered something he shouldn't have."

"They have found traces of our Lord's existence and have even begun reconnaissance, but this earthquake will end everything. Before this giant corporation can regroup, cutting off its head may not be a bad idea."

"Let the building crumble, like the sacrificial fireworks that take the stage as the 'Revered Death Cavalry,' this struggle will spread like wildfire."

That arrogant and domineering colonel, Howard's former superior, had been secretly engaged in the slave trade. His goods came from lands invaded by war, and the company backing him was Glorious Heavy Industries, the largest buyer in the slave market.

Howard has been waiting for this moment for far too long.

Howard was contemplating the plan as he threw his fist at the colonel’s despicable face. As he sat in his solitary confinement cell staring at the ever-burning fluorescent light, the plan gradually took shape in his mind. After being acquitted and evading assassination attempts, he finally finalized the details of the plan.

Just moments before the earthquake struck, as he was about to resign from Dr. Agnes and looking out at the bright sunshine, he was preparing to carry out this long-dormant plan.

"It all begins with this blood."

Thus began Howard's journey. He investigated along the way, obtaining information from members of the Death Faction, finding the right contact, and gradually searching for his old companions. His cause required the efforts of more people.

Years of military service honed him; war and smoke tempered him, making him more efficient and enabling him to extract the information he needed step by step so that he could put his plans into action.

In that old capital city called Valentine, he acquired an identity, cover, a code, and most importantly, the location of the secret room and security that would fail if necessary.

Valentine is a place where wealth and fame converge, a jewel in the crown of industry, a stage for scientific geniuses and ruling elites. Countless skyscrapers that once shone in the sunlight stood proudly in this capital, as dazzling as diamonds, showcasing exquisite and magnificent architectural art to the world, and together forming an unparalleled and magnificent landscape.

This is a megacity that remains one of the world's centers even after the devastating earthquake. Teams of construction workers, like worker ants mending their nests, are patching up Valentine's badly injured and dying body.

People continued to conduct all sorts of transactions in the city. Some people took advantage of the crisis to prosper and become arrogant, while others suffered heavy losses and retreated to their homes, licking their wounds like wolves, waiting for an opportunity to come back and strike again.

In Valentine, you can find any of the latest trends, high-fashion movements, or cutting-edge technologies, which quickly gain widespread acceptance and praise globally. Leading the trend is one of the giant companies, Glorious Heavy Industries, which is located in the industrial heart of Valentine.

In this high-tech arena of fame and fortune, wealth and luck can be lost and gained at any time. What Valentine, this bustling city, lacks most is imagination, while what this city will never lack is power and ever-changing conspiracies.

The magnificent Valentine, amidst the devastation of the earthquake, tore away the facade of false dreams, exposing the true wealth disparity and the gap between the upper and lower classes.

In this city that once shone brightly at night and was the first to have its power restored, seemingly returning to normal life, there also exists a long, lingering shadow that has shrouded an even larger area since the earthquake.

This is indeed a bustling metropolis, but it also has slums and dark alleys where many people have died, and some still live on.

The people living in this swamp in the shadows have no beautiful houses with balconies, no servants to serve them, expensive imported food is irrelevant to them, and most of the time, they don't actually get any food at all.

A place known as the Drainage Canal is hidden in much of this glittering city, even extending to the base of the Parliament Building, whose white marble columns always radiate dazzling light, as if the midday sun were always shining on them. Even now, in its worthless ruins, it shines brighter than the drainage canal where the "moles" burrow underground.

The drainage ditch was a large slum, a place of filth, death, and violence. Valentine's ugliness was as omnipresent and undisguised as its glory.

Howard adapted to the slum environment with ease. He found secret passages that no one who had lived there all their lives had ever seen, navigating the labyrinthine network of underground roads.

Although he had never been here before, the Death Faction was everywhere. They provided Howard with intelligence, which he then used to navigate the slums and find the necessary people—bar owners, unassuming vendors—whose knowledge and thoughts gradually woven together a more complete network for Howard, enabling him to construct a route through the underground slum to reach his target.

Howard had rehearsed this route time and time again. Now, dressed in a white servant's uniform, he walked from the city's filthiest swamp into modern skyscrapers, where even earthquakes could not topple them, just as the wealth piled high into the clouds remained unmoved as a mountain.

It's as if the goal is to completely transform this place into an ancient castle standing in the city, even though from the outside it still looks like a building surrounded by glass curtain walls. The servants all call this core area "the castle".

The door in front of him was huge, dark, and incredibly treacherous; Howard thought this style was perfect for the person living inside.

He looked at the door and thought of the safety valves that had once led his squad in raids. Those fragmented and simple memories had become something stagnant in his life, something that could never be relived, yet something he could never shake off.

His gaze lingered on the keypad next to the door, but the password wasn't the problem. He had already taken measures to deal with all the security procedures, the first being to create a complete and plausible new identity for himself.

All problems were solved with sufficient preparation, and of course, the death faction played its part in this.

As Howard entered the password, he noticed his hands were trembling slightly, and he forced himself to calm down.

The massive armored iron door slowly opened, and the light behind it was even dimmer than in the corridor. He had never expected to see such a scene before him.

As the door closed behind him, he closed his eyes, suppressing the burning emotions in his heart, and first allowed his eyes to adjust to the darkness.

Before him lay a metal device that looked like a huge coffin, placed in the silent, empty tomb.