Building the Strongest Undead Empire from Scratch

Chapter 180: Orc camp

The strength of this wave of orcs wasn't particularly high, and their numbers were dwindling, soon to be wiped out. Xiao Mu and Xiao Hui focused intently, fully engaged in the battle, completely unaware of Sophie high above.

Suddenly, Xiao Hui stumbled and fell to her knees. Xiao Mu, quick to react, blocked a fatal blow from a Commanding level orc, pushing it back.

"Are you okay?" Xiao Mu asked, keeping his eyes on their surroundings without turning to look at Xiao Hui.

"I'm fine, just a bit tired..." Xiao Hui replied, sounding dejected.

Hearing this, Xiao Mu immediately picked her up and retreated to the castle. He didn't say a word, gently laying her down and covering her with his coat.

"Take care of yourself," he said before charging back into the fray.

Xiao Mu was also injured, but his wounds were not as severe. Aside from some blood loss, his combat ability was largely unaffected.

However, Xiao Hui didn't recover as quickly. Once injured, she would remain weak for about twenty minutes, which was extremely dangerous on the battlefield.

Before Xiao Mu could finish off the orcs, another orc unit arrived, launching a fresh assault.

Both the previous orcs and Xiao Mu and Xiao Hui's troops were seen as enemies by this new orc unit, which attacked indiscriminately.

Xiao Mu's face darkened, feeling a sense of despair.

This new orc unit was more elite and numerous than the previous one. Even at their peak, they couldn't guarantee they could fend them off.

The original orc unit was quickly slaughtered, and Xiao Mu was forced to retreat, nearing the town's territory.

The town's defense towers activated, sensing the enemy's invasion. Xiao Hui, hearing the commotion, came out to check.

The sight before her was despairing: countless orc warriors charging at the town. To resist the orc charge, the Light Phoenix and Dark Jiao had abandoned their aerial advantage, fighting on the ground to block the orcs.

Xiao Mu, already exhausted, was injured again in the struggle. Ignoring her own weakened state, Xiao Hui rushed to fight alongside him.

"Brother, I don't think we can hold out this time," Xiao Hui said.

"Stay strong. Don't give up until the last moment," Xiao Mu replied.

Though both had reached lv8 Commanding level, the orc leader was a pseudo-Monarch level, with two lv9 Commanding level guards. They were no match.

"Excuse me, but it seems you two could use a little help," Sophie said, suddenly appearing around Xiao Mu's castle.

Xiao Mu and Xiao Hui were startled, turning to see two figures and a griffin behind them.

From their attire, they immediately recognized Sophie as a Lord.

But Sophie didn't wait for a response. As she spoke, the necromancer had already acted.

Bones Domain activated instantly, and the orcs before Xiao Mu and Xiao Hui were pierced by bones and killed.

The siblings were shocked, realizing the necromancer was a undead, not a Lord.

The orc leader, a pseudo-Monarch level, was familiar with domains. Seeing the opponent was a Monarch level, it didn't flee but instead joined its two guards in attacking the necromancer. These orcs seemed to have lost their minds, showing no fear of the Monarch level.

The biggest difference between Monarch and Commanding levels was the domain. Though the orc leader had Monarch-level strength, without a domain, it couldn't be considered a true Monarch level.

The domain's gap couldn't be bridged by attributes alone. The necromancer's attack displayed immense pressure, with endless bones easily piercing the two lv9 Commanding level orc guards and trapping the orc leader.

Other orc warriors abandoned their attack on Xiao Mu, Xiao Hui, and their troops, swarming the necromancer instead.

To them, the necromancer was a frail mage with a staff. Even a Monarch level would die if overwhelmed.

Unfortunately, the orcs didn't understand undead. They had high battle lust but couldn't kill the necromancer.

Xiao Mu and Xiao Hui were stunned. A Monarch-level undead was too powerful, capable of fighting thousands of orcs alone.

As more orcs died, Sophie finally relaxed. She had been gripping the griffin's reins, ready to fly away if the necromancer was overwhelmed.

The necromancer wouldn't die, but the time it took to revive could be enough for the orcs to kill her.

But she had underestimated the necromancer and overestimated the orcs.

The ground trembled as more undead rose from the corpses.

The necromancer summoned over three thousand corpses, creating more than six thousand undead. In an instant, the undead outnumbered the orcs, engaging them in battle.

Initially, the orcs looked down on the undead, but they soon realized the undead couldn't be killed.

Skeletons, zombies, death conquerors, specters, ghouls, and gargoyles began slaughtering the orcs.

Green blood stained the ground as the undead multiplied, and for the first time, fear appeared on the orc warriors' faces.

The necromancer's growth cap was King level. Though it could double summon, it couldn't summon undead beyond its level cap.

Thus, it couldn't summon high-level undead like liches, bone dragons, or Destroyers.

The necromancer's Bones Domain covered the battlefield, ceasing its attack and flying into the sky to prevent the enemy's escape.

Sophie stood with undead guards summoned from the two lv9 Commanding orc guards, watching the two Lords.

"These are... undead!"

If the siblings hadn't recognized the necromancer's troop before, the summoned skeletons made it clear.

Xiao Mu was shocked. He knew the undead Lord was on Eldoria, so why were there undead on Arsen?

Xiao Hui looked at Sophie with concern. The Monarch-level necromancer and the undead summoned from orc corpses were beyond their ability to handle.

The undead's power shattered their understanding. A Monarch level could summon ten thousand undead in an instant, each one unkillable. What a terrifying troop.

Xiao Mu knew they had no choice. Regardless, the other party had saved them.

"Thank you for your assistance, Undead Lord," Xiao Mu said.

Xiao Hui quickly followed, "Thank you for saving us."

Sophie, seeing their similar faces, understood why light and dark elemental beings could ally.

They were siblings.

"Why are these orcs attacking you? I saw their camp was far from here," Sophie asked, adopting a friendly approach.

"These orcs are a bit crazy. They attack nearby Lord territories for no reason every so often," Xiao Hui explained, with Xiao Mu occasionally adding details.

There had been other Lords to the south, but some died resisting beast tides, and others were killed by orcs after their novice protection period ended.

The siblings had survived due to their strength, but even a small orc camp had a Monarch-level leader.

In the orc society, only Monarch levels could establish camps.

Orcs governed by camps were similar to feudal lords. Monarch levels could create camps and receive land from the empire or stay in their original camp.

The empire allocated land based on strength. To grow stronger, one had to defeat other camp leaders and annex their camps.

Theoretically, a strong enough camp could overthrow the empire, becoming the new ruler.

But in reality, the royal camp had remained unchallenged for thousands of years. Other camps couldn't even shake it.

Orcs valued freedom and power, leading to constant camp conflicts. The royal camp never intervened, as this was their belief, producing strong orc warriors.

Sophie understood this was different from the dwarf kingdom's rule. This was why orcs were stronger, not because of unity.

The more intelligent a being, the more it craved power and absolute rule.

"So, this is within the orc empire's territory?"

"This area is called the Emerald Hills. There are many orc camps here. The further south you go, the stronger the camps. The orc empire has no defined borders; they claim to be an empire," Xiao Hui explained, seeing Sophie's interest in the orc empire. With her strength, ruling the Emerald Hills would be easy.

"So, the orc camps aren't united?"

"On the contrary, orcs fight among camps, but they unite against external threats, fighting to the death," Xiao Mu explained. He described the orcs as vengeful mad dogs.

"By the way, what are your names?" Sophie asked, as the battle ended and the necromancer returned.

"I'm Xiao Hui, and this is my brother, Xiao Mu."

"How about submitting to the undead Lord? The orcs won't be a threat, and you'll have security," Sophie suggested, her tone leaving little room for refusal.

This was the confidence Alex had given her.