Building the Strongest Undead Empire from Scratch

Chapter 156: Crisis of the Elemental Alliance

There were originally seven Commanding level extraterrestrial visitors here.

Every time Baldwin thought about being defeated by these seven, he felt immense anger. He hadn't killed a single one of them, only some of their troops, and the Empire's cavalry had suffered heavy losses.

When he returned with his troops, he found that the vampire Lord was already dead.

But the other extraterrestrial visitor Lords could bring troops over, meaning they weren't too far away. Except for the undead flying from the snowy mountain, none of the elemental troops could outpace the Empire's cavalry.

Moreover, the extraterrestrial visitors weren't friends; they were competitors.

The snowy mountain was treacherous, and the undead Lord was powerful. Baldwin decided not to send troops to search for the undead Lord yet. His primary targets were the others.

Soon, the human cavalry split into two groups, advancing along both sides of the snowy mountain, while the remaining forces stayed behind to wait.

The mage from the mage association looked ahead, deciding to investigate personally.

"General Baldwin, I'll leave this place to you. I'm going to the snowy mountain to check things out."

A magnetic voice came from within the black robe. Baldwin was taken aback. His plan was to eliminate the extraterrestrial visitors first and then investigate the snowy mountain together. He didn't expect the mage to be so eager.

"Gareth, the snowy mountain might be dangerous. It's not wise to go alone."

The appearance of the Godhead, the mysterious deaths of three Monarch levels—everything that happened on the snowy mountain was a mystery.

"Don't worry about me. I'll just do a preliminary investigation and won't go too deep."

With that, Gareth flew towards the snowy mountain. He understood that any force capable of killing three Monarch levels was beyond his ability to handle, so he proceeded with caution.

Baldwin had no choice but to wait with his troops.

Gareth stood atop a mountain, surveying the devastated snowy landscape, filled with massive cracks and fewer and fewer living creatures.

He didn't know the exact location of the Godhead's emergence, so he searched aimlessly. According to intelligence, there was an undead extraterrestrial visitor in the snowy mountain, but Gareth hadn't seen a single undead on his way.

"Strange."

As Gareth ventured deeper, he encountered no danger. He noticed more cracks in the ground, leading him to the Godhead's emergence site.

Finally, Gareth arrived at the frost cave where the Godhead had appeared. The mountaintop had a gaping hole, surrounded by web-like cracks.

Entering the cave, Gareth found it empty.

"There are signs of life here."

Gareth picked up a small piece of food residue and some hairs on the ground. It seemed to be from some beast race. Beast races shed fur, and Gareth estimated they had recently vacated the cave.

As for what kind of beast race, Gareth couldn't tell. The snowy mountain's races mostly had white fur, making it impossible to identify by color alone. He'd have to take it back for magical analysis.

Gareth exited the cave and found signs of a Monarch level battle.

"Four Monarch levels?!"

Gareth was shocked. The intelligence only mentioned werewolves and vampires sending forces, but the battle traces indicated three Monarch levels attacking another.

He couldn't sense any lingering elemental energy in the air. In a magically blasted pit, he brushed away the snow and found a green coagulated substance, possibly blood.

Gareth immediately returned with these findings, not continuing his investigation.

Unbeknownst to him, an Arctic Tigerfolk hidden under the snow was watching. Once Gareth flew away, it darted back to its tribe.

Back at the Starfallen Empire's mage association, Gareth personally delivered the findings for analysis, believing the unknown fourth Monarch level was the key to the mystery. He didn't think the extraterrestrial visitors had the power to do all this.

With Gareth gone, Baldwin was left to guard the area alone.

...

In the Barren Plains, the Elemental Alliance.

Because Samson and Boreas's troops could fly, they handled all the scouting.

Since repelling Baldwin last time, the Elemental Alliance had kept a low profile, fearing the Starfallen Empire's return.

But Starfallen Empire had shifted from investigating the border village deaths to exterminating extraterrestrial visitors. Even with Lucian dead, they wouldn't spare the Elemental Alliance.

And now, the inevitable had come.

Wind spirits and snow maidens spotted a group of human cavalry heading towards their castle from the north, along the snowy mountain's edge.

It seemed they were specifically investigating extraterrestrial visitors. If they moved a bit south, they'd soon find the Elemental Alliance's castle.

In the open Barren Plains, without cover or special measures, their castle was too easy to spot.

Samson and Boreas quickly informed the others, and they gathered at Earl's castle.

Everyone looked grim. What they feared had come to pass.

"Do we know their strength?" Earl asked first, all eyes turning to Samson and Boreas.

Samson shook his head.

"The Starfallen Empire's troops are numerous and spread out. I didn't dare send the snow maidens too deep, fearing they'd be discovered. But they came from the east, likely finding the vampire Lord's destroyed castle and now searching for us."

"I've sent troops to the snowy mountain to circle around. It should be safe, but it'll take time for them to report back," Cain said.

Boreas was also anxious. Monarch levels were too powerful, and their current strength was insufficient to handle them.

"This time, their strength will be greater than before. I'm afraid..."

Cain didn't finish. Their priority was survival. Fighting head-on would be suicide.

The only options were to disband the Alliance and relocate or ally with Alex, using her powerful undead army to eliminate the threat.

Cain saw that Alex wasn't bloodthirsty. With her current strength, she likely didn't covet their resources. Constantly fleeing would hinder their town's development and risk demotion to a castle.

The others were silent, contemplating the situation. Time was running out. The human cavalry would soon find their castle.

Only Ivy remained silent, deep in thought.