Building the Strongest Undead Empire from Scratch

Chapter 119: Your strength has earned my respect

The weakened Samson could no longer muster a retort; he only knew that the undead Lord had arrived.

"You look pretty bad. Need a hand?" Alex teased, looking down at Samson with a smirk.

"No... no need... go help... them..." Samson, though barely able to speak, hurriedly refused Alex's offer, fearing she might actually take the opportunity to kill him.

"You should stop talking," Alex said, turning her gaze forward. She had seen Baldwin's strike that had severely injured Samson. Without the frost armor, Samson would likely have met his end already.

In the distance, Ivy noticed Samson being flung away and saw a white-haired girl talking to him.

"Thank goodness, Samson's not dead!" As the healer on the field, Ivy knew she could save any teammate as long as they were alive. She immediately rushed towards Samson.

Baldwin also noticed Alex in the distance but didn't pay her much mind. He regretted not killing Samson with one strike and knew he couldn't let Ivy heal him.

Baldwin charged at Ivy, while Cain, Earl, and Lucian tried to catch up, but they were too far away.

Just as Baldwin was about to reach Ivy, her body trembled with fear, but she prepared to defend with all her might.

At that moment, a figure suddenly dashed past Ivy. A scythe burning with black flames met Baldwin's sword.

Bang—

The scythe and sword clashed. Despite Alex's double attribute boost, she felt immense pressure. The ground beneath her feet caved in, forming a pit.

Alex felt her entire body creak, her wrists numb from gripping the scythe.

Baldwin was surprised. This little girl had blocked his full-strength attack. Unbelievable!

Moreover, her eyes glowed red and blue, giving her a mysterious aura. She seemed to be struggling to hold on.

Baldwin was about to increase his strength when he noticed the black flames on the scythe corroding his weapon. He quickly retreated, not wanting to engage in a prolonged clash.

Baldwin wasn't a mage, but he understood that his prized armor couldn't withstand those black flames.

The five Lords watched in astonishment, especially Ivy, who felt it most acutely.

"She... she... she actually repelled a Monarch level attack!"

Cain and the others were equally shocked. Cain realized that Samson's assessment of the undead Lord had been too conservative.

They knew they couldn't withstand a Monarch level strike. If Alex hadn't intervened, Ivy would have ended up like Samson.

Taking advantage of the time Alex bought them, the others surrounded Baldwin again.

Baldwin's gaze remained fixed on Alex, recognizing her as the most powerful and threatening among them.

Alex, holding her scythe, didn't say a word but internally cursed.

'Holy fuck, his strength is insane. My wrists are killing me!'

Her hands still felt numb, and she had to lean the scythe on the ground, glaring fiercely at the Monarch level enemy.

Ivy, snapping out of her shock, rushed to Samson. If she didn't heal him soon, he might really die.

Alex stood facing Baldwin, with Earl and Cain behind him, and Lucian and Boreas in the sky.

The five surrounded Baldwin. As he swung his sword, they all attacked simultaneously.

But Baldwin seemed to see only Alex as his enemy. He dodged her scythe before she could strike, kicking Cain away and slashing at Lucian.

Lucian's blood-formed sword was shattered by Baldwin, but Lucian turned into a shadow to evade the attack.

Lucian wasn't attacking blindly. As a vampire, his vision was far superior, and he noticed the burn marks on Baldwin's sword from Alex's flames. His blood had a similar, though weaker, effect, so he targeted that spot.

Baldwin ignored Boreas's attacks, relying on his armor to block the wind blades, which frustrated Boreas.

Boreas, feeling insulted, decided to use a mana-intensive spell, his self-proclaimed ultimate move.

All the wind elements around him gathered and compressed into a spinning wind blade slightly larger than his hand.

"Cain!"

Boreas, struggling to hold the wind blade, called out to Cain before launching it.

Cain understood immediately. As Boreas released the wind blade, it ignited, turning into a flaming wind blade spinning towards Baldwin.

Alex, hearing Boreas's shout, looked up.

The wind blade spun rapidly. Baldwin, turning around, saw Boreas's attack and sneered. Wind blades were useless against his armor.

But Baldwin's eyes widened as the flaming wind blade turned black upon reaching him.

Boom!

The attack was the most effective yet, sending Baldwin flying and crashing to the ground.

Everyone turned to Alex, who still had her hand raised. They had seen the black flames on her weapon when she blocked Baldwin, confirming that the attack was hers.

Samson and Ivy smiled, realizing that calling the undead Lord for help had been the right choice.

Under Ivy's healing, Samson's wound stopped bleeding and began to heal slowly. Ivy's life magic couldn't instantly heal like werewolves or vampires, so Samson needed time to recover.

"Ivy, go help them. I'll be fine here."

Samson sighed.

"Alright, rest well."

Samson felt dejected, sitting painfully on the ground and watching the distant battle.

Baldwin, being of Monarch level strength, had nearly one Commanding level captain for every thousand troops in his army.

With fifty thousand cavalry, there were fifty Commanding level captains, while the six Lords had fewer than twenty Commanding level troops combined. Lucian had the most, as the Elemental Alliance members had left some Commanding level troops to guard their bases.

Elemental beings weren't immortal; they just had high limits. Flame spirits, for example, weakened with each death as their fire elements diminished, eventually dying when they couldn't reform.

Other elemental troops had similar weaknesses, like elemental countering. Snow maidens could melt into snow to avoid attacks but would die if evaporated instantly. Tree spirits feared fire, and flame spirits feared water.

Only Earl's earth monsters, drawing power from the ground, were the strongest among the Elemental Alliance troops.

The fifty thousand human cavalry outnumbered the six Lords' troops five to one.

If not for the special nature of their troops, they would have been slaughtered. Even so, troops continued to die.

The cavalry captains wore heavy Commanding level armor, easily blocking most elemental attacks.

Supported by the mage association, the Starfallen Empire's Commanding level troops practiced magic, mastering basic elemental spells like fire, water, and earth.

These magic-wielding captains had the simplest and most direct methods to kill elemental beings.

Ordinary cavalry relied on numbers, repeatedly killing and reforming the elemental beings until their cores were exposed and destroyed, a laborious process.

All troops fought desperately. Even surrounded by human cavalry, they charged fearlessly at the enemy.

Even the vampires, the most advantaged on the battlefield, weren't invincible. Some captains wielded mithril weapons, which could directly harm vampires, preventing them from self-healing.

...

In the northern part of Frostwind snowy mountain, the Arctic Tigerfolk had just settled when they saw undead flying overhead.

"Something's happening..."

Among the undead were Commanding level beings. Nearly ten Commanding level undead flew over their cave, causing one Arctic Tigerfolk to feel a sense of crisis. It felt that Frostwind snowy mountain wasn't as safe as they had thought after the frost dragon's death. It decided to report to the tribe immediately.

Meanwhile, the smoke cleared, and Baldwin stood up, looking disheveled. Though his armor had blocked the damage, the impact had left him uncomfortable.

His armor was covered in scratches, with many black marks standing out. His sword had a small crack from the previous attack.

The last time Baldwin had been this battered was decades ago when he was a lowly soldier.

He couldn't believe he had been injured by Commanding level beings. Now understanding their abilities, he wouldn't be caught off guard again.

"Your extraterrestrial visitor abilities are diverse. Even if you defeat me, can you defeat the entire empire?!"

Baldwin threatened, knowing that Lords had castle limitations. Once their castle was discovered, they were exposed.

Lucian had already decided to move his castle afterward. Everyone here knew its location, making it too dangerous.

Even if they repelled Baldwin, what about next time? What if two Monarch level enemies came?

"I'll give you a chance. Your strength has earned my respect. Submit to the empire, and all past grievances will be forgiven."

Baldwin tried to sow discord, knowing the extraterrestrial visitor Lords couldn't be united.

Seeing the others hesitate, Alex felt exasperated.

"Hey, do you really think his words matter? If they did, why would they need an emperor?"

Her clear, melodious voice snapped them out of their thoughts.

Alex led by example, charging at Baldwin.

She didn't care if they surrendered. If they did, the promised corpse would be lost!