Beneath the surface of the world, underneath the kingdoms that currently appeared strangely quiet, hundreds of flesh tendrils of various sizes were already moving silently through the underground depths.

Some of them were as small as serpents while others possessed gigantic bodies that were large enough to tunnel through entire layers of stone without slowing down.

They moved with clear purpose. But their speed was deliberately restrained.

The Void Architect did not allow them to create too much disturbance yet because too much commotion would only make the kingdoms become fully alert before the real attack began.

He did not want that. After all, He had already created distractions across the world.

The giant corrupted creatures appearing in distant regions, the spreading cracks, the collapsing communications, and the growing corruption beneath the kingdoms were all parts of the same strategy.

The Void Architect understood His own limitations better than anyone. Right now, He was still too weak.

He could not confront the Dragonborns directly in His current condition. Not after everything that had happened to Him before. The existence of Erend and the others still posed too much danger.

But humans were different. Against ordinary kingdoms and mortals, the Void Architect still possessed enough power to act.

And that was exactly what He was doing now.

Across the vast darkness between worlds, the Void Architect continuously exerted His Magic energy to control the flesh tendrils spreading beneath the surface of the planet.

In truth, even this process placed tremendous strain upon Him.

He was forcing His corrupted power into another world from an enormous distance while simultaneously trying to maintain influence over hundreds of separate tendrils at once.

The burden was far from light.

Because of that, the Void Architect had been forced to temporarily withdraw many of His agents from observing the expeditions. For now, He no longer focused entirely on monitoring Erend and the others.

He had another plan. A plan designed specifically to force the Dragonborns into making a choice they would not be able to ignore. If the kingdoms themselves faced destruction, then the Dragonborns would have no choice except to abandon the expeditions and return.

That was the outcome He desired.

However, even the Void Architect knew He could not waste time.

His current power was unstable and far weaker than it once had been. Maintaining this scale of interference already consumed enormous amounts of energy.

He needed to use this opportunity perfectly before His condition worsened again. And now, after moving for so long beneath the earth, the flesh tendrils had finally begun approaching the kingdoms themselves.

The walls would not stop them. The Magical barriers would not stop them either. But the kingdoms still did not realize that yet.

—

Above the walls of Leonora, King Garrie continued staring toward the five gigantic flesh tendrils standing in the far distance beyond the corrupted lands.

The massive abominations towered against the dark skies like horrifying pillars of living flesh while countless defenders atop the battlements watched them nervously alongside the king. Waiting for what would happen next.

Nobody understood why the creatures had not advanced yet. The tension across the walls remained suffocating. Then suddenly, several soldiers widened their eyes.

"Your Majesty..." one of the knights muttered.

King Garrie immediately narrowed his gaze.

The gigantic tendrils were moving. But not toward the kingdom.

Instead, the enormous flesh structures slowly began descending back toward the ground. Their colossal bodies squirming while the corrupted flesh gradually sank down as if something beneath the earth was pulling them back.

The defenders atop the walls immediately became confused.

"What are they doing?" one of the mages asked uneasily.

The five gigantic tendrils continued lowering themselves deeper and deeper into the earth until only fragments of their upper bodies remained visible above the distant landscape.

Then even those disappeared beneath the ground completely.

Silence spread across the battlements. King Garrie’s expression slowly hardened instead of relaxing. They were gone but somehow, this felt even worse.

King Garrie continued staring toward the distant landscape long after the gigantic flesh tendrils disappeared beneath the earth. His instincts continuously warned him that something was terribly wrong. Part of him wanted to immediately send another scouting squad outside the walls to investigate what the creatures were planning.

But the moment that thought appeared, the memory of the previous scouts immediately resurfaced inside his mind. Three scouting squads had been annihilated.

Only one young scout had managed to survive and even that happened purely because he possessed the fastest movement speed among them. Everyone else had been dragged screaming beneath the ground by the flesh tendrils.

King Garrie slowly clenched his jaw. He could still remember the terror inside that scout’s eyes while explaining how the creatures moved underground. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

No. He could not risk throwing more men away blindly again.

"Maintain defensive positions," King Garrie ordered firmly for the dozen times while keeping his eyes toward the distant corrupted lands. "Nobody leaves the barriers."

The surrounding knights immediately obeyed.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The king remained standing atop the battlements afterward while cold wind swept heavily across the walls. Uneasiness continued growing deeper inside his chest.

Then suddenly, the ground rumbled. A deep vibration suddenly echoed from below.

The battlements trembled beneath everyone’s feet. Stone dust fell from parts of the walls while several soldiers nearly lost balance from the sudden shaking.

"What was that?!" one of the knights shouted.

Another rumble erupted beneath the kingdom. This time the vibration became stronger.

King Garrie’s eyes immediately widened. The scout’s words suddenly resurfaced inside his mind again.

"They move underground, Your Majesty."

A horrible realization instantly struck him.

"Don’t tell me..."

King Garrie immediately turned and sprinted across the battlements at full speed. The surrounding soldiers quickly moved aside while the king rushed toward the inner side of the wall overlooking the city itself.

Then he stopped. His mouth slowly opened. The expression on his face immediately changed into horror.

Cracks were appearing throughout the inner city. Massive fractures suddenly spread across the streets, between buildings, and along the stone foundations inside Leonora itself.

Dark mist began pouring upward from the cracks. The same corruption. The same black-red energy.

Citizens below immediately started screaming in panic as more fractures spread through the ground beneath them. Then the earth moved again.

—