Building the Strongest Undead Empire from Scratch

Chapter 173: Soul judgment

"Well done!"

A black sword flew into Satan's hand as he praised Ruby.

Magnus had seemed formidable, but in reality, he was less of a challenge than Titus. Just a brute, Satan thought, regretting letting Alex handle Titus.

"Of course," Ruby replied smugly.

The two hovered in the air, weapons in hand, looking down at Magnus as if judging a dead man.

Magnus, no longer as crazed, seemed to sense his impending death.

Just as they both moved to strike Magnus, the ground began to tremble, and a cloud of dust and debris erupted into the air.

By the time Ruby and Satan tore through the dust, Magnus had vanished.

"He ran?!"

Satan was furious. He had fought for so long and hadn't claimed a single kill.

"Over there!" Ruby shouted.

Alex was about to finish off Titus when a beam of golden light descended from the sky, blocking her attack and saving Titus.

Alex looked at the woman with a holy aura standing before her. She had a pair of pure white wings and radiated holy light.

Her aura bore an uncanny resemblance to Lilith's.

"An angel," Alex muttered, gripping her scythe tightly, her right eye glowing red.

Raphaela stared intently at the undead Lord before her, saying nothing.

At that moment, Ruby and Satan joined Alex, and Lilith and her three fallen angels descended from the sky.

Raphaela and the severely injured Titus were surrounded by seven Monarch-level beings.

For the first time, Raphaela's face showed a hint of worry. She glanced back at the injured Titus.

"Drake, take Titus and Magnus and go. I'll buy you time!"

Drake didn't hesitate. His body glowed with an earthy yellow light, and sand began to swirl around Titus, preparing to take him away.

In an instant, all seven moved.

Ruby's attack was the fastest. Her slash shattered the sand around Titus before Raphaela could react, interrupting his escape.

Spatial magic!

Raphaela knew a bit about Lilith and her fallen angels' abilities, but she had no knowledge of Satan, Alex, or Ruby.

Raphaela tried to use her domain, golden holy light enveloping the ground and Titus. But her domain was nearly torn apart in an instant.

Everyone's domain, except Ruby's, greatly suppressed hers.

Raphaela bit her lip, her eyes turning gold. She radiated a blinding holy light, forcing everyone back. Holy light was also effective against them.

But the intense holy light lasted less than half a second before dissipating. When they looked again, Titus was gone.

Raphaela's aura had noticeably weakened, indicating the high cost of such a powerful holy light attack.

"I think you've lost your mind. First time I've seen someone willing to die for others," Satan remarked, almost using "dumb blonde" but reconsidering since the rest were women.

Satan charged at Raphaela, sword in hand, and everyone else followed suit.

Raphaela barely blocked Satan's attack with her holy sword when Lilith's strike arrived. She turned to defend, her shield also blocking Ruby's ranged slash.

Just fending off three attacks drained her significantly. With the three fallen angels joining in, she was overwhelmed.

Alex attacked from the side. Raphaela tried to use her holy light shield to block, but it shattered instantly. She could only shield herself with her wings, but Alex and the fallen angels still left four wounds on her.

Alex's wound was the deepest and most painful.

The seven Monarch-level beings attacked in two waves, effortlessly wearing Raphaela down.

Raphaela lost her once-holy, pristine aura. Her wings were stained with blood, her holy light tainted by darkness, making her look pitiful.

The three Lords had escaped, but Raphaela couldn't be allowed to leave. Surrounded by seven Monarch-levels, even Drake couldn't save her.

Raphaela knew from the moment she stayed that she wouldn't escape. At lv1, facing seven equals, she had no chance of winning.

But why did she choose to stay?

She hadn't expected Lilith and her fallen angels to arrive so quickly, nor the addition of Ruby.

Drake had intended to save their alliance members, but Alex's quick reaction thwarted his rescue.

Raphaela had to cover, but as soon as she landed, she was surrounded.

As for the other Lords, they were a joke compared to these opponents.

The other Lords had only ten Monarch-levels, already at a disadvantage. They struggled against the undead. With Titus and Magnus gone, they wouldn't hold out long. Their castles destroyed, their escape routes cut off, they had no hope of leaving.

Raphaela's Justice Alliance could safely retreat because Grom held their castle.

Seeking help from the other Lords was futile. Summoning their troops wouldn't work either. Though the Justice Alliance had five Monarch-levels, their combined troops were fewer than Alex's. By the time reinforcements arrived, the battle would be over, and Alex's undead numbers would swell, making their troops cannon fodder.

Raphaela quickly realized she had only one option: wait for death.

Despite knowing her fate, Raphaela wouldn't go down without a fight. She decided to give it her all.

Raphaela suddenly flew skyward, and everyone thought she was fleeing, so they chased her.

In the sky, Raphaela turned abruptly, her holy sword glowing brightly. She poured all her Mana Points into one strike, gripping her sword with both hands and pointing it at the ground.

"Judgment!"

The clouds parted, revealing seven beams of sunlight. Seven holy swords formed from the golden light, descending upon the group.

Alex's eyes narrowed.

She recognized this move from when the six-winged angel killed the frost dragon!

"Soul Judgment!"

All the black flame creatures in Alex's domain, along with hundreds of undead on the battlefield, perished instantly.

The holy swords descended, and Alex raised her left hand, a dark vortex forming in her palm to meet Raphaela's desperate attack.

The holy swords' judgment couldn't be dodged; everyone had to withstand it.

Satan threw his weapon into the sky, choosing to face it head-on.

Lilith and her three fallen angels combined their domain powers to resist.

The holy swords' judgment seemed ineffective within Ruby's domain. She swapped places and successfully dodged, stunning everyone.

Raphaela, now severely injured and exhausted, suddenly felt a powerful soul attack.

In her prime, she could have resisted, purifying everything with holy light. But now, drained and out of Mana Points, she couldn't.

Raphaela's mind went blank. Her body didn't change, no blood flowed, but she began to disintegrate into golden light.

Her entire body vanished.

[Congratulations on successfully killing lv1 Monarch-level Angel Lord, earning 300 experience points.]

Alex's vortex dissipated, and she lowered her arm, still tingling from blocking Raphaela's attack.

Seeing the system notification, Alex confirmed Raphaela's death and looked at the others.

Except for Satan, who looked a bit disheveled from taking the attack head-on, everyone else was fine.

If the attack had been focused on one target, it would have been powerful. But split into seven, it was manageable for top-tier Lords.

"I think these angels are all a bit crazy. No wonder so many factions hate them," Satan said, reverting to his human form.

"I thought she had some trump card, but that's it?" Alex complained. She died without leaving a corpse, which was disappointing.

"Is she dead?" Satan asked Alex, watching Raphaela disintegrate. He had clearly seen Alex's attack hit her.

"The system says she is," Alex replied. "It says she's dead."

Hearing Alex's confirmation, everyone relaxed. The system wouldn't lie.

Lilith signaled to her three fallen angels, who immediately joined the battlefield to clean up the remaining enemies.

The three of them hovered in the air, positioned behind the undead army, observing the battle below.

At this point, even without their intervention, their troops could easily secure victory. There was no need for concern.

"All these extraterrestrial visitors must come from the same world, right?" Ruby suddenly asked.

Lords were called extraterrestrial visitors because they came from another world.

Alex nodded, acknowledging Ruby's question.

"But if they're from the same world, why do they have to fight each other here?" Ruby's question left the three of them silent, each lost in their own thoughts.