Building the Strongest Undead Empire from Scratch

Chapter 140: Three Monarch-level undead

"This can't be happening!" Lucian, watching from a distance, was in utter disbelief as he witnessed Alex kill two Monarch levels.

Seeing Count Nocturne fall, Lucian didn't hesitate to flee. He hadn't dared to run while Count Nocturne was alive, but now he had no such reservations.

Alex noticed Lucian's escape but didn't pursue him. They were too far apart, and maintaining the Death Domain was already consuming a significant amount of her Mana Points.

Alex's flying skills were still unrefined, relying mostly on floating and teleporting for movement.

Lucian's castle wasn't going anywhere. Alex needed to handle the immediate situation and get accustomed to her new abilities first.

She retracted her domain and slowly descended to the ground. She walked over to where she had buried the Godhead, kicked away the dirt, and retrieved it.

Ruby ran over as soon as she saw Alex had dealt with her opponents.

"That was so cool, Alex! But your domain looks a bit... evil."

"Undead are inherently dead things. Domain isn't inherently good or evil; it depends on the user," Alex replied, her gaze shifting to the battlefield where her undead were fighting the werewolf. The werewolf's bloodlust had faded, and he was visibly exhausted.

Alex had no intention of personally dealing with the werewolf. The undead could handle it; he wasn't going anywhere.

Ruby listened to Alex and seemed to understand a bit. Her own abilities were inherited from the Arctic Tigerfolk, so it made sense that Alex, as the Undead Queen, would have undead abilities.

When Alex killed the two Monarch levels, her Death Domain automatically began summoning, but even after five minutes, the process wasn't complete.

Alex's mid-level Undead Summoning Magic allowed her to choose what to summon, unlike before when it was random.

She decided to summon a necromancer and a lich from the two Monarch level corpses. They were small, mobile, and powerful, making them the best choices.

Alex finally understood the magic grading system. She had been confused about the difference between third-tier and mid-level. Now she knew that the most basic magic had nine tiers, followed by mid-level, high-level, and forbidden spells.

Thinking back, Alex realized she had been lucky to get a mid-level fire magic book directly.

Each tier from one to nine essentially granted one skill, which was considered basic.

"Now you don't have to worry about the dangers of the snowy mountain, but be cautious. " Alex warned Ruby. With the Godhead now out in the open, the snowy mountain was in chaos and would no longer be considered a forbidden area.

But just as the mage had threatened before, no one could guarantee that if you beat the small ones, the big ones might not come.

"Don't worry. Once I get back, I'll sleep and ascend to Monarch level. Then I'll be the boss of the snowy mountain!" Ruby said confidently, hands on her hips.

Alex checked the system time. It had been fifteen minutes since the mage died.

Finally, a necromancer appeared over the mage's corpse.

Alex couldn't understand why summoning a Monarch level took so long.

"Kill him," Alex ordered the necromancer. The werewolf was already on the brink of death, and with a Monarch level necromancer joining the battle, his fate was sealed.

"Is this how you get so many undead?!" Ruby asked, suddenly envious of the extraterrestrial visitors. No wonder Alex took such risks; the rewards were incredibly tempting.

"Of course," Alex replied, checking her system dashboard. The Monarch level necromancer had mid-level Bone Magic and ninth-tier summoning magic, making him very powerful.

The necromancer waved his staff, and countless bone spikes erupted around the werewolf, piercing and immobilizing him.

The werewolf howled in agony. His bloodlust had faded, and his wolf shadow was dissipating. Weak and bound by the necromancer, he was doomed.

"You'll face the retribution of Skyreach Mountains, and you'll regret your foolish actions today!" the werewolf snarled, trying to turn his head to glare at Alex.

Alex wasn't afraid. All the werewolves were dead, leaving no witnesses. After summoning and disassembling the bodies, she'd burn everything, leaving no trace for Skyreach Mountains to find.

Ignoring the werewolf's threats, Alex didn't bother responding. Who argues with a dying werewolf?

The necromancer's Bone Magic drained the werewolf's blood and dismembered him, ending his life.

Alex cast a summoning spell on the werewolf's corpse and left it to the undead, then began cleaning up the battlefield.

She had considered summoning other Monarch levels but decided against it. Bone dragons, ghost dragons, and zombie titans were too large.

Alex wanted undead that could pass through the Portal of Transit, which would be useful in the war against the dwarves.

Necromancers were essential for raising armies, so she decided to summon another necromancer from the last Monarch level corpse.

Three Monarch level corpses yielded two necromancers and one lich.

...

"Do you want this food?" Alex asked Ruby, offering the elite food dropped from the disassembled werewolf and vampire corpses.

"No, thanks. Now that it's safe, they can find their own food," Ruby declined.

Since Ruby didn't want it, Alex stored the food.

Ruby found Alex's ability to disassemble corpses into food fascinating. She only saw Alex point at the air, and the corpses turned into food.

The abilities of extraterrestrial visitors were indeed strange.

With three new Monarch level undead, Alex didn't need to personally hunt for points.

She instructed the three Monarch level undead to head to Lucian's castle.

"Go take him out."

"Yes, honorable Queen," the necromancers and lich replied, flying towards the snowy mountain.

Alex knew she needed to act quickly before Samson and the others claimed Lucian's head.

Surveying the battlefield littered with bones and undead corpses, Alex estimated that nearly three thousand undead had died in the battle.

But gaining three Monarch level undead was a huge win.

With the snowy mountain no longer dangerous, it would become Alex's backyard.

The undead could now develop without hiding in the castle.

Alex disassembled the three Monarch level corpses, finding only magic crystals and Essence Shards.

However, the vampire dropped his slender sword, a Monarch level weapon that required blood to use, clearly designed for vampires.

This was Alex's first Monarch level weapon, excluding her scythe.

The trading post had no records of Monarch level weapons, so Alex priced it at ten thousand magic crystals and listed it.

Standing in the center of the battlefield, Alex ignited black flames, burning the bloodstains and undead corpses to ashes.

Satisfied that no traces remained, Alex turned to the undead tree affected by her domain. The system identified it as a Ghostface Tree, with a Commanding level cap, slow movement, and the ability to disguise as a dead tree, attacking only when enemies approached.

It was similar to gargoyles but weaker.

With everything settled, Alex prepared to return to the castle.

She looked at the Godhead in her hand, deciding to keep it for future use.

"Alex, are you leaving?" Ruby asked as Alex approached.

"Yeah, I can't stay here forever. My castle is just ahead. Want to come see it?"

Ruby hesitated, clearly curious about the outside world but ultimately decided against it.

"No, I need to take care of my people and find a place to sleep."

Ruby felt unbalanced seeing Alex ascend to Monarch level. She knew she could grow stronger by sleeping, but she had fallen behind.

"Alright. The area is full of undead. If you need to find me, just ask one of them. I still owe you a big thanks for your help."

Without Ruby's space magic to steal the Godhead, Alex might have given up. Running into three Monarch levels was nearly suicidal.

"No need to thank me. It was nothing. I know you extraterrestrial visitors live in those big castles."

Ruby looked towards the Dark Forest, seeing only flat land.

"Stop looking. My castle has special concealment. You can't see it."

At the top of Alex's castle, Sophie had watched the entire battle.

Her expressions ranged from fear to worry, joy, and shock in just twenty minutes.

When Alex urgently called for all the undead, Sophie knew it was serious. She had seen Alex go out often but never in such an emergency.

Thankfully, the crisis was over, and Alex's strength had grown significantly.

The sight of three Monarch levels fighting thirty thousand undead was still etched in Sophie's mind. She realized Alex had over a hundred Commanding level troops, while she was only a lv9 Standard.

As the undead returned, Sophie went to the castle grounds.

Alex and Ruby were saying their goodbyes.

"I'm leaving," Ruby waved to Alex, then remembered something.

"Alex, we're friends now, right?"

"Yes," Alex nodded.

Ruby smiled, showing her small fangs. She had made her first friend.

"Can humans tell extraterrestrial visitors apart?"

Ruby was curious about human society. Alex was the first extraterrestrial visitor she had met.

Alex thought for a moment. Without revealing abilities and ignoring cultural differences, extraterrestrial visitors and native humans were indistinguishable.

"Just by appearance, if you change clothes, they can't tell."

Lords wore modern clothes, different from the native Gothic style.

"Then take me to human society sometime."

"Sure."

Ruby transformed into a white tiger and flew towards the snowy mountain.

Alex led her undead back to the castle.

Having ascended to Monarch level, Alex no longer feared the Silverbeard Clan dwarves. She planned to send an army of ten thousand undead, five thousand air units, and five thousand death conquerors.

Necromancers were essential, so once the three undead killed Lucian, she'd send a Monarch level necromancer.

Alex tested her abilities, now able to fly freely using dark elements, similar to teleportation. Flying consumed Mana Points, but it felt great.

"Flying feels amazing!"

Alex finally had the flying ability she had longed for.

Though she flew slowly without the Death Domain's boost, she was content. She still had teleportation.

Meanwhile, the three Monarch level undead flew out of the snowy mountain, spotting Lucian's castle.

Floating in the air, one necromancer rasped, "This must be the place the Queen mentioned."