Charlot returned to the military carriage, stroking the Mask of the Cat in his arms and murmured to himself, "So this thing is standard gear for the Orc Assassin Alliance."

  The mask Frederica used was clearly also a simir extraordinary artifact.

  Even during the march, Charlot didn’t rex his training. As usual, he first practiced the Spider Technique for an hour and a half, followed by the other four Blood Runes. After his training was complete, he took a short nap.

  The next morning, Charlot discovered that more than ten people had escaped.

  The training and discipline of the Old Continent’s armies were far different from those of modern Earth. Even during a basic long-distance march, countless soldiers would flee, sometimes even causing the entire army to colpse. His West Wind Knights Order was cobbled together with a handful of regur city patrol guards, while the rest were adventurers, prisoners, and gang members. Only a dozen people escaping was already a testament to the success of the promises he made yesterday.

  Charlot spent some time regrouping the knights and delivered another round of spirited rhetoric to boost morale before announcing breakfast. After eating, they resumed their journey.

  On the second day, another thirty or so people deserted, forcing Charlot to slightly adjust their marching route.

  By the fifth day, nearly three hundred had fled. After absorbing the Bck Scorpion gang, the West Wind Knights Order had swelled to over three thousand members, but now their numbers had dropped below that threshold again. Nevertheless, Charlot finally led the Free Knights Order to Machubi.

  The West Wind Knights Order entered the byrinthine Machubi Fortress, where all members were individually converted into NPCs.

  Suddenly, Charlot felt a wave of consciousness emanating from the Diary hidden in his coat: Charlot Mecklenburg’s Machubi Labyrinth has gained a rge number of NPCs, fulfilling the conditions for advancement. A second byrinth can now be constructed.

  Charlot was both surprised and delighted—who would have thought the ruins of the Machubi Fortress could support a second byrinth?

  He eagerly opened Agmirs' Labyrinth, pced the book on the ground, and felt the Diary absorb the page beneath his palm. A formless force began to expand, and an insidious power once again corrupted the ancient ruins of the Orc Kingdom's fortress.

  The consciousness spoke again: Machubi’s dual byrinth will be completed in eighteen days. During this time, you must not leave this location.

  Charlot immediately realized that once the second byrinth was established, Machubi would form a yered byrinth world. His control over the NPCs would deepen further, enabling him to issue more tasks and increase the number of missions avaible to them.

  More importantly, Charlot could roughly monitor the movements of his soldiers. Within Machubi, they wouldn’t be able to escape at all. Even outside Machubi, any soldier within a certain range of Charlot would trigger a location marker—each deserter essentially “reporting” their movements back to him.

  Charlot ordered the knights to set up camp and spent hours studying the Diary, absorbing the newly acquired information and deepening his understanding of byrinth techniques.

  The documents Charlot had received instructed him to proceed to the Behemoth Principality as soon as possible, but what exactly was meant by “as soon as possible”?

  Charlot, of course, had no intention of leaving. What did the war between the Behemoth Principality and the South Seraph restorationists have to do with him? Besides, his ragtag army would surely colpse on the battlefield, achieving nothing and probably causing more trouble for the Behemoth Principality. Staying put was clearly the better choice.

  Some members of the West Wind Knights Order—particurly the adventurers whom Charlot had lured into the city patrol guards with promises of “small long-term payments”—were already familiar with Machubi. Thanks to these “veteran guides,” the new recruits quickly adapted to the byrinthine environment.

  No country on the Old Continent had the logistical capacity to support long-range raids, and the West Wind Knights Order was no exception. They hadn’t brought sufficient supplies, relying instead on vilges and towns along the way. Even so, their march had been marked by hunger and hardship.

  Since Charlot had chosen to stop at Machubi, supplies were out of the question. He dispatched small combat squads to “forage” for food.

  He had grumbled about the Fars Empire’s ck of logistical systems—comparing it unfavorably to ancient China—but in this world of extraordinary abilities, wars were often decided by powerful Transcendents. Armies of ordinary soldiers were little more than cannon fodder, and military infrastructure had stagnated as a result.

  Under Charlot’s instructions, the foraging teams even brought back a batch of seeds. Although Charlot knew they wouldn’t yield crops in a matter of days, he had a nagging feeling that Machubi would become his long-term base. As a precaution, he led the knights in clearing nd for farming around Machubi.

  Days passed in a blur. Though Charlot was overwhelmed with work, the West Wind Knights Order miraculously suffered no further desertions, much to the amazement of Dolores and Frederica.

  Yellow Bear and Dubin, meanwhile, had become Charlot’s trusted aides. Despite his gang background, Yellow Bear cked the typical vices of gang members. He was fair in his decisions, and as a Transcendent, he quickly earned the respect of the troops.

  One day, Charlot left the camp and visited the site where Hannah was buried.

  Although he had no deep connection with the female adventurer and had never intended for any romantic entanglement, Hannah’s death—the first casualty under his leadership—had weighed on his heart.

  A swirling mass of bck mist hovered before him, drifting aimlessly without the byrinth power to bind it.

  Charlot performed an imperial salute and said quietly, “I promised to avenge you. Though it’s taken some time, I hope you don’t mind.”

  He pressed his palm gently toward the mist, summoning the byrinth power to contain it. The creature shattered instantly, dissolving into a puff of blue smoke.

  It wasn’t a grand gesture, but Charlot had carried this burden for a long time. Now that he had avenged Hannah, a weight was lifted from his mind.

  By now, most creatures within the byrinth—be they monsters, horrors, or evil entities—had been transformed into NPCs. However, the byrinth was only a reflection of Charlot’s will, not a fully “gameified” system, and his control over these extraordinary beings remained limited.

  After a moment of silent reflection, Charlot drew the Blood Rose. When Lord Leo fled, he had abandoned two of his attendants. Charlot intended to eliminate them and further enhance his strength.

  Lord Leo was a high-tier Transcendent, and his two attendants were mid-tier elites, selected from hundreds of blood servants.

  Charlot was confident that killing them would save him at least dozens of days of training.

  Focusing on the byrinth’s feedback, Charlot quickly located the two attendants—both of whom were currently devouring gophers. With a flicker of his body, Charlot disappeared on the spot.