Kazte Plains.
Located in the northwest corner of the continent.
A cursed land southeast of E-Rantel and northwest of the Dragon Kingdom.
It is a place where Undead are frequently born, sometimes even producing powerful entities such as Skeletal Dragons.
The plains are often covered in a thin mist.
Although the mist itself is harmless, it triggers Undead reactions, which interferes with Undead detection and renders it ineffective.
Because of this, many adventurers are ambushed each year by Undead lurking within the thick fog.
Most of the Kazte Plains consist of a vast stretch of reddish-brown earth, a barren wasteland where nothing grows.
For that reason, people also call it the Bloodstained Land.
Since it is a region where Undead frequently appear, if too many low-tier Undead gather, they can accumulate and give rise to stronger and far more dangerous Undead.
Because of this, in the past, adventurers from the Kingdom and knights from the Empire would periodically conduct joint sweeps of the area.
...
High in the sky, two figures floated in midair.
"Hmm... not bad. Feels pretty good."
Naohara looked down at the land below, where scattered Undead wandered aimlessly.
He took a deep breath, drawing the thin mist into his body.
Naohara smacked his lips.
The dense aura of death in the air was strangely stimulating.
It felt almost like smoking back in his previous life.
"You're still the same. Completely unreliable."
Keno, resting in his arms, shook her head and complained.
She had been somewhat surprised by the range of the teleportation magic.
After all, they had just traveled from the Dragon Kingdom to the Kazte Plains in a single jump.
But considering the many surprises he had already given her today, she decided not to make a fuss about it.
Naohara simply shrugged.
Then, under Keno's guidance, the two began moving forward.
Along the way, they encountered quite a few monsters.
From the lowest-tier Skeletons.
To Skeletal Dragons, creatures immune to low-tier magic and piercing damage, capable of flight, and considered the most troublesome and dangerous enemies for native mages and warriors.
Naohara even spotted a Death Knight.
To confirm its identity, Naohara casually punched it.
Only after seeing it successfully lock its health did he confirm what it was, then he followed up with another punch.
Of course, the most unusual thing they encountered along the way was a Ghost Ship controlled by an Elder Lich.
It was enormous and completely dilapidated.
The ship floated about a meter above the ground, moving forward as if thick, long oars were paddling through water.
A large hole gaped in the hull, and many of the wooden planks had warped and curled upward.
Although it still had three masts, two square sails, and a fore-and-aft sail, its broken condition made it look incapable of functioning as a real ship anymore.
At the front was a particularly striking ram, polished smooth and gleaming with a faint magical glow.
Thick mist constantly formed around the ship, wrapping it like a membrane.
Even some distance away from the vessel, the fog remained extremely dense, anything beyond fifteen meters inside it became impossible to see.
The moment Naohara saw the Ghost Ship, he became interested.
Ordinary Undead were nothing unusual.
But Undead formed from inanimate objects were quite rare.
A Ghost Ship clearly belonged to that category.
Without hesitation, Naohara directly stored it away.
He planned to bring it back to Nazarick as a collectible for Momonga.
As for the Undead aboard the ship, considering appearances, Naohara didn't wipe them out completely.
Instead, he casually tossed them several thousand meters away. After all, the little Vampire in his arms was still watching.
"I'm really too kind."
Naohara sighed.
Keno rolled her eyes at him.
After traveling for some time longer, the two finally arrived at their destination.
Collapsed spires and other structures from several hundred years ago were scattered across the land.
They protruded from the ground like tombstones, yet not a single building remained intact.
A tower that had once stood six stories tall had collapsed above the third floor, its shattered debris scattered across the surrounding ground.
The thick outer walls were reduced to less than half their original length.
As they stepped into the ruins, the scene before them overlapped with the memories in Keno's mind.
A trace of sadness appeared in her eyes.
Hundreds of years had passed.
Before long, everything that once belonged to the Inveria Kingdom would likely be forgotten by history.
The once-glorious kingdom now had only a single survivor left.
A long-forgotten loneliness wrapped around her.
Even though she had become a Vampire, she still couldn't help but shiver.
Just as Keno began drifting into those thoughts, a sudden warmth on the top of her head snapped her back to her senses.
"Don't overthink it."
Naohara's voice came from beside her.
Hearing this, Keno nodded unconsciously. For some reason, his words brought her a small sense of reassurance.
At this point, she had to admit it.
Naohara had already become the pillar supporting her heart.
Meanwhile, after confirming that Keno had calmed down, Naohara turned his attention back to the ruins before them.
According to historical records, the fact that a nation had once existed on the Kazte Plains meant that this place had not originally been a cursed land.
Perhaps the curse was the side effect of some powerful magic.
Perhaps a powerful Undead had once settled here and gradually changed the environment.
Or perhaps both possibilities were true.
No matter how he looked at it, everything seemed to point toward a particular answer.
At the same time, Naohara raised his head and looked toward the horizon.
A blood-red streak of light was rushing toward them through the sky.
"Looks like we weren't the only ones who found this place."
Naohara smiled as he spoke.
The crimson light descended and landed in front of them, transforming into a ferocious dragon.
It was the Vampiric Dragon Lord.
Noticing the wary look in Keno's eyes, Naohara quickly explained.
"Don't worry."
"This is the Vampiric Dragon Lord. He's also one of my subordinates."
"Huh?"
Keno stared at the enormous dragon in front of her, her mouth twitching uncontrollably.
This was also one of their people?
Alright. It seemed she had been the shallow one after all.
"My King, what brings you here?"
The Vampiric Dragon Lord lowered his head and assumed a submissive posture before asking.
To be honest, when he first sensed Naohara's aura, he thought he was imagining things.
Only after confirming it again and again did he rush here as quickly as possible.
"I came looking for the Elder Coffin Dragon Lord, but it seems I arrived a little too late."
Naohara explained.
Since the Vampiric Dragon Lord was here on the Kazte Plains, then Herohero should also be somewhere nearby.
Judging from the fact that only the Vampiric Dragon Lord had arrived, the battle on Herohero's side had likely already begun.
"The Elder Coffin Dragon Lord hides his aura extremely well. Even I, as an Undead, couldn't detect his exact location."
"This time we actually have this fellow to thank. Otherwise, Your Majesty might really have beaten us to it."
The Vampiric Dragon Lord glanced at Keno, who was hiding behind Naohara, a faint glint appearing in his eyes.
Then he nodded slightly and released his left dragon claw.
A half-dead dragon fell heavily onto the ground.
Undead Dragon: Guphandera Argoros Class: [Night Lich] Lives in the Mountain of the Dead and uses psychic-type magic.
The Vampiric Dragon Lord and Herohero had been able to locate the Elder Coffin Dragon Lord so quickly thanks to the clues provided by this dragon.
"Another dragon that turned into an Undead?"
Naohara examined the unconscious dragon lying before him.
Herohero had probably deliberately spared this one so it could be given to Momonga as a gift.
An Undead dragon that wasn't even a True Dragon Lord would make a perfect mount for Momonga to raise.
"Let's go, Keno."
"It's time to meet the one responsible for destroying your country."
Naohara looked toward the depths of the Kazte Plains.
Beside him, Keno had been listening to the conversation between the Vampiric Dragon Lord and Naohara with a slightly confused expression.
When she heard those words, she immediately snapped back to full awareness.
"…The murderer?"
Keno lowered her head.
Her fists slowly clenched, and a faint crimson light flickered in her eyes.