Chapter 255 - Twelve: Entering the Path_2
The official document from the Kingdom Star Chamber Court to strip Boninski of his noble title and status had reached Jazair, but it sank without a trace, as expected by Duke Philip. Leon had fallen, and in the short term, it could not be regained. Boninski had in fact lost his territory, and the revocation of his nobility was only a matter of time. Even if the kingdom intended to protect him to strike at Philip himself, he could not save his title. Surrendering territory to the mob was entirely different from losing territory in a foreign war, it was unforgivable, and the kingdom dared not set such a precedent.
The stance the kingdom was deliberately taking fueled speculation, and Boninski’s public defiance of Duke Philip’s authority had given the nobles of Cyprus a taste they had never known before. It was like a long-brewed wine whose lid was pried open, beginning to emit a faint, almost indiscernible fragrance. This scent was called royal power. Of course, whether that lid could be sealed tightly again depended on the methods of Duke Philip, the sole ruler of the Homer region.
Upon returning to Ugru, Komer almost immediately went to his secret chamber, bypassing the magic prohibitions and traps he had set up. Entering the inner layer of the secret chamber, Komer’s most secretive laboratory was divided into three rooms. Besides the innermost room, which was used for his own cultivation, the middle room housed the still-maturing zombie, and taking into account the special circumstances of this Light Mage, Komer had also placed her in the last room of the secret chamber. This secret chamber was determined to be the center of the Eye of Darkness by Rebury and Newman after their assessments. The naturally abundant yin energy here was an excellent place for cultivating Dark Magic Power. As the owner of the castle and the Lord of the territory, Komer appropriated the entire area of the second floor as his forbidden zone, and several mages and Dark Knights also took over several rooms on the first floor around the Eye of Darkness for their own cultivation experiments and living quarters.
The zombie lay quietly in a stone casket, or more accurately, a sarcophagus, with the lid already opened. Its square face had its eyes slightly closed, and its brows were slightly furrowed as if it had felt some pain just before life was lost, still bearing its initial appearance. Several bouts of fighting seemed to have had no effect on the zombie, other than some damage to the surface of its clothing. The golden flesh gleamed under the light, as the intense Poison of Sappan Wood had penetrated every part of its muscle, a condition that couldn’t be alleviated even in its zombified state.
Komer had renamed this unidentified zombie, calling it Garam. The term Garam comes from the ancient language of Dhārayaṃtikā, meaning the immortal god. To others, giving this name to a zombie was undoubtedly the greatest desecration and insult to the gods, but Komer was indifferent to this, for he liked the name. Komer gently touched Garam’s cold skin. Ever since he entered Damarlinsk Castle, Komer had used this sarcophagus as the zombie’s dwelling. The yin energy from the Eye of Darkness was also excellent for cultivating the zombie’s own constitution. Komer had been reluctant to bring it with him to Leon, hoping that it could absorb as much yin energy from the Eye of Darkness as possible to promote improvement to its constitution.
After carefully checking Garam’s condition, Komer left the room satisfied. He had been busy with the transformation of the neighboring Light Mage and had somewhat neglected the zombie’s training during this time. Fortunately, the Eye of Darkness was there, and he could use this opportunity to enhance Garam’s physical transformation, to reduce resistance in the next stage of training.