For golems created by humans, loyalty to their master was paramount. The golems were also created for the purpose of protecting the Emperor.
[However, the Emperor wasnāt satisfied with just ordinary golems. He wanted them to think and move like a normal human being, while also being able to gain karma and grow. Aside from their unwavering loyalty, he wanted every aspect of them to be as close to a human being as possible. Because of that, we began our experiments. To create an absolute fighting force that was loyal only to the Emperor himselfā¦]
They sucked the Empireās precious resources dry, as well as the souls and magic of several young knights, and at the end of all those sacrifices, they succeeded in creating monsters; the Golden Army that originated from the Golden General, Arema Steelworker.
[There are many who probably donāt know about it. ā¦We lived much longer than the citizens of the Empire couldāve imagined. But by the time the Emperor, who dreamt of immortality, created us, he was already old and decrepit.]
āHa.ā
The knights, whose human souls were combined with a golemās body, certainly were loyal to the Emperor alone, thought like humans, and were also beings who were capable of growth. Above all, they possessed strong bodies and magic, and were able to survive for such a long length of time. They were the best guards for the Emperor.
āThe Emperor dreamt of eternal youth and immortality, yet he didnāt think of becoming a golem himself?ā
[There was a huge problem. Ultimately, we couldnāt achieve a success rate of 100%.]
āAhā¦ā
The Emperor probably couldnāt take that risk. Lee Shin Woo just laughed. He didnāt plan on attempting to seriously verify Arema Steelworkerās claims; but since heād become so immersed in his interesting story, he naturally became serious about it.
It wasnāt his intention, but it had a positive effect on the way Arema Steelworker treated Lee Shin Woo. Though Aremaās face softened only slightly, it was enough.
[I knew about the Emperorās desire for immortality, but because I had pledged absolute loyalty to the Emperor, I couldnāt express any opinions regarding it. And ultimately, the day that horrific curse was completedā¦ the Emperor become undead, and we were freed. Since the spell that restricted our free will didnāt factor in the Emperor becoming an undead.]
āThen, what did you do after you were freedā¦?ā
[I led my subordinates out of the capital and we hid here. The Emperor left me in charge of this place, and it was the only place where we could be safe. The Golem Production Facility.]
They hid? Thatās what they decided to do once theyād become free of the Emperorās control? Without even trying to fight once? Lee Shin Woo noticed that the conversation had taken a strange turn. After all, this was a bit different than what heād envisioned!
[Aside from us, everyone else became undead, including the other generals who possessed a fighting force equal to mine. I couldnāt win against all of them, and I didnāt want to fight against them either.]
āMmā¦!ā
It was such a weak thing to say, compared to how imposing he seemed when they first met. He wanted to ask if he was weaker than General Seagald by any chance, but now wasnāt the time to provoke him. While he was boiling up on the inside, Arema Steelworker cut in.
[Weāve lost our purpose. We have nothing left to direct our loyalty to, and just remain idle, slowly losing our free will over the passage of time. Weāre just souls who are unable to sleep, and live underground, gradually rusting away.]
āHmmā¦ā
[You, the undead who are able to resist the Empireās curse. I donāt know who you are, or why you decided to bravely come here.]
At some point, the conversation was coming to an end. Unexpectedly, Arema commended them, and spoke like this.
[Weāve lost our wills and weāre just lingering dolls, so just leave us be and go back.]
āā¦ā
Thatās a lie. Lee Shin Woo was absolutely sure of it when he heard that. He was a way higher level than him, but unfortunately, his acting was much worse than Lee Shin Wooās.
It didnāt matter whether he was a golem or not. It didnāt matter if there were faults in his reasoning or not. His incredible intuition that developed with his Acting skill was telling him this. Arema Steelworker had different intentions, and he didnāt want him to interfere, so he was trying to keep him out in advance!
āNot yet.ā
[Hmm?]
Lee Shin felt like it was time to use his winning move. Right now, concealing his identity or ascertaining their identity wasnāt important compared to this. He decided that heād extracted all the information he could from them, and that there was still a chance to adjust their relationship!
āI have a request.ā
Lee Shin Woo said courageously. As always, Arema Steelworker sported a smile, but he was a golem, so Lee Shin Woo couldnāt trust his expression.
[I was interested in your ability, so I called you here and spoke to you personally, but I can do nothing more for you. I cannot permit anything else. Go back. The next time you make a copy of that seal and use it to intrude, I wonāt just sit by and leave you be.]
[Alright. If youāre done talking, shall we go?]
When Arema Steelworker finished softly, but firmly, Guillotine Steelworker approached them whilst emitting a turbulent spirit, as though he would execute them if they didnāt listen.
All he was doing was emitting mana from his entire body; despite that, Lee Shin Woo felt his body go stiff. He knew that he was no match for him.
āI have no intention ofā¦!ā
[Huh!?]
However, Lee Shin Woo utilized Rule of Bone to its very limit, resisting the pressure, and yelled out. In order to achieve his primary objective of coming here!
āI have no intention of stepping into this place, so please allow us to continue using that train! We wonāt bother you, and we wonāt talk to you. We just want to ride that train to move around. If you allow us to use the train, weād like some information regarding the destination as well!ā
[ā¦]
āWeāre going to take care of the undead in the underground empire, and those trains will be really helpful in doing so. Ah, Iāll also take care of the golems youāre not using, too!]
[You amazing bastardā¦]
The unexpected request startled Arema Steelworker. Lee Shin Woo acted like he was asking for something trivial, yet it was actually an extremely brazen request; Guillotine Steelworker was astonished that heād ask for such a thing, and muttered. He may not look it, but he had made the request after planning everything out.
[You truly are brave. Despite the difference in strength, youā¦]
āThatās exactly why. Weāre nothing compared to you, so thatās why we can speak to you like this. Since weāre nobodies to you, and it wonāt hurt you to accept a request from some nobodies.ā
[ā¦]
Regardless of what Arema Steelworker was thinking about, at the very least, Lee Shin Woo was sure that he was no longer under the Emperorās command. And though he wasnāt moving proactively, he held no love for the curse that covered the Empire.
In addition, Lee Shin Wooās intuition told him that based on those feelings, he had some kind of secret plan in the works. Figuring out their identity was likely to ascertain whether they would get in the way of said plan.
āLike I said, all I want is to be able to use the train!ā
[Haā¦]
Lee Shin Woo was well aware of that, so thatās why he made such a suggestion. He roughly understand their situation, so he asked for a little bit of help, on the condition that they donāt bother them. It wasnāt a bad offer for them either, so he thought theyād have no reason to refuse.
But if they did refuse his offer? Then, they would just get the hell out. The idea of āTry it. You have nothing to loseā had lead to this situation.
[General, shall I take care of them?]
[ā¦No, theyāre interesting.]
The moment Arema said that, Lee Shin Woo inwardly smiled elatedly. It was exactly the response heād been hoping for. Heād been acting desperately from the moment they met in order to retain that small āfavorable impressionā that tinged his voice.
[Fine. Do as he asks. Iāll allow it, on the condition that you not leave the station.]
āThank you very much.ā
[Generalā¦]
[Guillotine, Iām ordering all the golems including you. From this point on, if those two enter headquarters, kill them without mercy. But if they donāt, donāt touch them.]
[ā¦I understand.]
He seemed dissatisfied, but Guillotine complied obediently and nodded his head. He had no choice but to do so. Based on the flow of mana, it seemed like Guillotine didnāt have any choice in the matter and that Arema was in control.
Was the reason that a golem could become the master of the other golems due to the unnatural nature at which they lost connection with the original master? There was no way of knowing that right now.
[I heard a lot from you, but I havenāt heard your name yet.]
Arema Steelworker said. The reason he hadnāt asked for their names was because he didnāt think theyād see each other again. However, the fact that heād changed his mind and had asked for their names meant that Arema unconsciously thought that āthey might meet each other againā.
āMy name is Paul Zero.ā
Lee Shin Woo replied in an overwhelmingly confident voice. He felt that it was a relief that they hadnāt spoken each otherās names once since they came here, and he lied in a situation where he didnāt think he would.
[Paul Zeroā¦ Iāll remember that name. Along with your partner, that is.]
āYouāll be able to hear about me from various parts of the Empire.ā
[At the very least, your spirit is impressive. However, the fact that you possess the will to push forward, despite being in an undead body, leaves quite the impression on us. Go as far as you can.]
Heād lied until the very end, and the moment heād successfully tricked Arema, his Acting skill had unexpectedly leveled up again!
[The Acting skill has become Lv9. Whenever you make a new personality, people suspect you of having multiple personalities.]
Lee Shin Woo remained stiff, even after heād received permission to use the train, and dragged Jin through the corridor. Guillotine Steelworker sent them off. Perhaps it was because heād lied so perfectly, but Guillotine didnāt treat Lee Shin Woo too badly.
[Are there a lot of undead like you outside?]
āIāve met a few of them. They were partial successes from the Anti-Skull Project, though they degenerated into skeletons like me.ā
[Hohā¦]
He was instinctively respectful to Arema Steelworker, but spoke comfortably with Guillotine like when theyād first met. It mightāve been because heād received an order from Arema, but he wasnāt concerned with that.
[On that day, I saw General Seagaldās form and thought that perhapsā¦ So it really was like that. From the very beginning, that guy was damn impressiveā¦]
āAs I thought, he maintained his reasoning as well?ā
[Well, you did say that you were asleep following the experiment, so youād be unaware of that disastrous day. Youāre right. He was fighting against the Emperor even as an undead. I saw him being restrained by the other generals and him leaving the capital. We were able to leave by taking advantage of that commotion.]
Heād gotten a hold of some great information! Lee Shin Woo only nodded his head, without getting caught. Around that time, Jin, whoād been āfrozen solidā, slightly bumped Lee Shin Woo with his head. He was timidly complaining that Lee Shin Woo had dragged him all the way here and put him through all that.
[Huh? Now that I think about it, didnāt this guy talk a lot before?]
āHeās too exhausted from putting up with the Golden General.ā
[Well, itās true that the Generalās magic is considerable. Then how did you endure it? You were also able to obtain the general administratorās rights, so who exactly areā¦]
At that very moment, the train arrived. Lee Shin Woo saw the door connecting the station platform and the passageway completely close and inwardly, slightly, very slightly, breathed a sigh of relief.
He put in a lot of work to get everything to work out, but he couldnāt believe that heād actually gotten what he wanted. Plus, his Acting skill had even grown! Lee Shin Woo trusted that todayās deceit would bear fruit in the future.
[Take it. Itās the map for each supply line. You can do as you wish with the abandoned golems there.]
āThanks.ā
As expected, he was right; there was a map. From an outside view, it looked to be just an iron plate, but if he displayed the special mana pattern, the map would appear on top of the plate; it was a relief that it was the type of map that he could use with the general administrative rights.
[Then Iāll get going now. You better keep your promise. Since the General doesnāt lie.]
āI donāt lie either.ā
He lied up until the very end and his trustworthy expression (his blazing red goblin fire) seemed to satisfy Guillotine, as he nodded his head and went back. Soon, they couldnāt see him as he had gone through the passageway. Of course, this was still their territory, so they couldnāt afford to be reckless.
When the two were left alone, Lee Shin Woo activated the map and picked the place closest to the outskirts of the Empire, aside from where they had been before. Thatās because it was the easiest to handle.
āAlright. Then shall we go?ā
āā¦Iām not dead yet, right?ā
āOf course youāre not. We have so many golems left to kill, so you canāt die on me now.ā
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āYou want me to fight again!?ā
āBe happy. When we go past there, Iāll give you that (the Bone Original Core).ā
āIām not happy at all, you know!ā
The two skeleton heroes unhesitatingly embarked on the train (golem) towards the southern outskirts of the Empire. Like heād learned from before, he didnāt forget to hold on tight.
The train departed right away. And so, Lee Shin Woo began his trip along the Empireās railway.