Building the Strongest Undead Empire from Scratch

Chapter 190: Iron beast

South of Tara Plain, at the ruins of the hobgoblin kingdom.

This place was farther from the hobgoblin kingdom. Xiao Mu, Xiao Hui, along with Arthur and Riven, brought two Monarch level beings to the outskirts of the kingdom ruins.

In the distance lay a dilapidated city, filled with ruins and rubble, showing no signs of its former glory as the hobgoblin royal city.

Outside the city, a few chevaux-de-frise were placed, but not a single hobgoblin was guarding them. Only a few sleepy hobgoblin sentries on the wall were dozing off, barely keeping their eyes open.

The defense was shockingly lax.

"The hobgoblin king's eldest son is supposed to return here. How could they not have any news? Now that he's missing, the city's defense is still so slack. Isn't that a bit unusual?"

Xiao Mu found the hobgoblins' reaction odd. Even if they didn't know Muckmire was dead, they should at least put on a show of welcoming him, right?

"I think we should just charge in. These hobgoblins seem super weak," Xiao Hui suggested, believing brute force could solve everything.

"No way. Do you think you're undead? What if there's danger?" Xiao Mu disagreed, feeling it was too reckless.

"We can always run if we can't win," Xiao Hui muttered.

"I'll go," Arthur's ethereal voice came from behind. He then spread his wings and flew towards the ruins of the hobgoblin royal city.

A ghostly blue breath of dragon shot towards the hobgoblins on the wall but was blocked by an invisible barrier, causing a transparent ripple.

Immediately after, Arthur was hit by an unknown attack. Half of his body was obliterated in mid-air, and he began to plummet to the ground.

The siblings hiding behind were startled.

"Brother, I was wrong!" Xiao Hui admitted she had been naive. The hobgoblins might be weak, but they weren't as dumb as she thought. There was indeed an ambush.

Arthur, with his level 7 Commanding strength and immunity to elemental magic, was undoubtedly attacked by a Monarch level being.

The two Monarch level Destroyers in the rear, seeing Arthur under attack, no longer hid and launched their assault.

At the very least, they needed to break the city's defenses and take down the opposing Monarch level.

This time, the enemy didn't react as quickly. The two Destroyers attacked simultaneously, instantly shattering the city's shield.

Unexpectedly, the hobgoblins didn't choose to defend passively. Instead, they opened the city gates and launched a counterattack. But what emerged from the gates weren't hobgoblins; they were several iron beasts covered in magical runes.

These iron beasts were entirely covered in magical runes, exuding a strong elemental aura. It was unclear whether hobgoblins were driving them from within or if they were operating autonomously.

Inside the city, there were not only Monarch level guards but two of them, clearly prepared for this.

The attack on Arthur came from one of the hobgoblin Shamans. Arthur's body had already reformed and was attacking the iron beasts again.

Riven and the siblings also charged towards the enemy.

The most peculiar sight on the battlefield was the six iron beasts. Despite their large size, they were dwarfed by Arthur. However, their defense was astonishing, able to withstand Arthur's attacks.

"What the hell are these things?" Xiao Mu wondered. If it weren't for the lack of a domain, he would have thought they were Monarch level.

Whether it was Arthur or the siblings, facing an iron beast alone was challenging. With more iron beasts than them, plus the hobgoblins on the wall occasionally firing cannons, the situation quickly turned against them.

These mechanical and magical constructs resembled oversized felines. Despite their bulky appearance, they were more agile than expected and had incredible magical and physical defenses.

Xiao Mu's holy light was completely blocked. Even when he blinked to the beast's head and struck with all his light-element power, it caused no significant damage. The iron beast merely lowered its head slightly, unscathed, and Xiao Mu's hand throbbed with pain.

Arthur stopped wasting Mana Points and engaged the iron beast in close combat.

Xiao Mu used his speed advantage to hold off two beasts, but that was his limit. He observed the beasts and the others' battles, trying to find a weakness.

To Xiao Mu's surprise, the first problem arose with Riven's opponent. It wasn't Riven who had an issue, but the beast facing her.

Previously, the iron beasts had seamlessly alternated between physical and magical attacks, even timing their ranged attacks perfectly.

But Riven's opponent now moved sluggishly and stiffly, as if its brain had shrunk.

"I get it! These iron beasts are piloted by hobgoblins!" Xiao Mu realized, spotting the flaw.

Alex had previously briefed the siblings on undead abilities, including specters and ghost dragons, which attacked with soul, life, or curse-based attacks.

As a Ghost Dragon King, Riven had released an invisible attack that the hobgoblins couldn't react to or fully defend against, killing the hobgoblin inside the iron beast.

Given the iron beast's size, it was unlikely to be piloted by just one hobgoblin. Xiao Mu guessed Riven had killed the hobgoblin controlling the beast's limbs.

With this realization, the situation became clear. If there were pilots, the beasts had weaknesses.

When Xiao Mu looked at his sister, he was stunned.

The joints of the iron beast she faced were oozing black mist, and its magical runes were destroyed, emitting a sizzling sound.

The beast stood frozen, rendered useless. Xiao Hui's dark element had spread throughout the beast, destroying its internal mechanisms.

Xiao Hui raised her right hand, and a giant fist formed of dark energy smashed into the iron beast.

Boom!

The iron beast exploded, its mechanical parts intact but scattered instantly. Broken hoses fell to the ground, spewing green pus like the beast's blood.

As the beast disintegrated, Xiao Mu saw six bewildered hobgoblins fall from its belly.

The cockpit was in the belly, and six hobgoblins piloted it together!

The fallen hobgoblins were quickly killed, and Xiao Mu noticed that more than half were Commanding level.

Xiao Hui saw Xiao Mu watching her from the sky and realized she was the first to take down a iron beast. She proudly showed off to Xiao Mu.

"How about that? Am I awesome or what?!"

Xiao Mu, exasperated, didn't praise her but instead scolded her.

"Focus! Stop showing off. This is a battlefield."