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Mr. Skelly nodded and nodded again. “I see,” he said. “I see. You’ve recruited some nobles to help you conquer the world. It’s not such a bad idea, and you don’t have to worry about any logistics of running an empire for a long period of time since we’re leaving soon anyway.”
“Yeah,” Tafel said. “It’s really convenient. I can give out promotions to people without having to worry about actually rewarding them, and they’ll work themselves to the bone for me.”
“I knew it!” Henry VIII said from his spot in the corner. He flinched when Tafel stared at him with a blank expression. The translator that Tafel had brought over through a portal looked away as well. Henry gulped. “I, I mean, knew what? I didn’t hear anything.”
“Anyway,” Tafel said, turning back to Mr. Skelly. “Here’s a map of the known world.” She pulled a map out of a portal. “It’s a bit crude, but this is where we are.” She pointed at a spot on the map and furrowed her brow. “I think. No, I’m pretty sure we’re here, yeah.” After reassuring herself, she nodded. “So far, my underlings are exploring outward from this region over here. You have some undead working for you, right? Do you think you can take over this region over here?”
Mr. Skelly stroked his chin. “Well,” he said. “I don’t have too many undead with me.”
Tafel waited for Mr. Skelly to elaborate, but he didn’t say anything. The two of them stared at each other. “And?” Tafel asked, breaking the silence.
“Ask me how many undead I have,” Mr. Skelly said and cleared his throat.
Tafel sighed. “How many undead do you have?” she asked in an exaggeratedly bored voice. “Let me guess; you have around three hundred. I haven’t heard any rumors of graveyards and cemeteries being robbed, so you can’t have that many, but you probably have enough to take over a small city.”
“You almost guessed right,” Mr. Skelly said. “I have a little over three hundred”—he paused and grinned—“thousand skeletons.”
“Three hundred thousand!?” Tafel asked, her voice cracking. “Why do you have three hundred thousand!? Isn’t that more than you had back home!?”
Mr. Skelly’s grin widened. “That’s right,” he said and stroked his lower jawbone. “You see, you weren’t the only one who’s been busy. I’ve already saved the world. There was this giant ritual site underground; it was really massive. It must’ve taken a group of necromancers dozens of years to prepare everything, but I ruined their plan ahead of time and took control of all the undead they gathered. Which reminds me, you shouldn’t act so rampantly. There’s dark organizations, like that group of necromancers, hidden under the normal-looking surface of the world.” He gestured towards Henry VIII. “Even the pope was expected to be an expert capable of smiting devils and demons.”
“Is that so…?” Tafel asked and frowned. “Are you sure it was a ritual site and not a mass grave?”
“Yep.” Mr. Skelly nodded. “Well, it could’ve been both, but it was definitely an evil ritual too.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Tafel said and sighed. “Does this mean I should stop my plans? Why does world domination have to be so difficult?”
“Don’t say world domination,” Mr. Skelly said. “It makes you sound like a villain.” He chuckled. “Say world unification instead. Anyway, even if there are hidden powers, with the two of us working together, we shouldn’t lose. Besides, Alice will join our world unification cause soon too. I don’t like working out in the open while our enemies hide in the shadows, but we have to work with the cards we’re dealt.”
Tafel nodded. “With three hundred thousand skeletons, there’s nothing we can’t do.”
“And don’t forget the two hundred thousand ghosts too.”
“The what?”
“You see, if a body is cremated, you can’t really bring it back as a complete skeleton.” Mr. Skelly waved his hand, and a ghost flew out of Henry VIII. “But it’s pretty easy to summon a ghost with the ashes. They’re perfect for scouting, and if there’s enough of them, they can physically grab things too.”
“Why was that ghost inside him?” Tafel shook her head before pursing her lips. She exhaled through her nose. “An organization that can gather half a million dead bodies won’t be easy to deal with.” She furrowed her brows and turned towards Henry VIII. “Do you have any idea who they might be?”
Henry VIII listened to the translator before shaking his head. “If I had to take a guess, then the people responsible would be witches. They gather under the dark of the night, and they’re known to work with devils.”
“I don’t think it’s them,” Tafel said and shook her head. “A group of witches already joined my cause.” She scratched her head. “I almost completely forgot about them.”
Mr. Skelly raised his brow, contorting his eye sockets. “Witches?”
“They’re people with supernatural powers,” Tafel said. “But most people who’re accused of being witches are just people who’ve been framed by the church. That’s actually how my conquest started. I met some people trying to burn a woman at the stake because she was an alleged witch.”
Mr. Skelly rubbed his chin. “Well, we can speculate all we want,” he said, “but it’s not getting us anywhere. Whoever they may be, we’ll deal with them when the time comes, but for now, I’ll gather my army and expand to the south. I’m great at dealing with unexplored lands. Your army of nobles and knights should focus on dealing with the areas that’ve been thoroughly mapped out.”
“Alright,” Tafel said. “You’ll conquer this landmass over here, Africa. I’ll finish consolidating all the land up here before moving to the east.” She put her finger on the map. “I should meet Alice somewhere around here. I could teleport her to you, but I was thinking of putting her in charge of the Ottomans. Their empire is supposed to be pretty big.”
“The only thing my dear Alice loves more than me is fighting in a war,” Mr. Skelly said and chuckled. “I’m sure she’ll be happy to lead an empire, but you should establish a way for her to keep in contact with me.”
“Of course.”