Building the Strongest Undead Empire from Scratch

Chapter 217: Kingdom's tear

After killing Thalor, Alex turned her gaze towards the hobgoblin king. At this point, all the hobgoblin shamans had been slain, leaving only the weakened hobgoblin king surrounded by undead.

The remaining hobgoblin army in the distance had also ceased their assault. With their king captured, they had lost the will to fight.

"Esteemed extraterrestrial visitor, I am willing to submit to you!"

The hobgoblin king prostrated himself before Alex as she approached, expressing his submission.

Alex touched her cheek with her left hand, looking upwards in thought. If the hobgoblin king chose to submit, wouldn't that count as the fall of the hobgoblin kingdom? The system should reward her with the Kingdom's Tear.

Wait, this wasn't certain.

Killing the hobgoblin king would not only grant her experience but also allow her to summon an undead and definitely earn the Kingdom's Tear.

There was no need to consider further.

Without hesitation, Alex used her scythe to kill the hobgoblin king.

The hobgoblin king died in confusion, thinking that Alex's contemplation meant he had a chance, only to be struck down suddenly.

[Congratulations, you have killed lv6 hobgoblin king, gaining 1,000 experience points!]

[Congratulations, Lord, for destroying the hobgoblin kingdom, gaining the hobgoblin Barrack crystal and the exclusive item Kingdom's Tear.]

[Conquered Race count: 1]

"A Barrack crystal? What does 'conquered race' mean?"

Alex immediately checked the system, feeling that Thalor's rapid leveling method was hidden here.

[The old king falls from the throne, and the new king will be reborn in glory]

[Congratulations on conquering your first race. The entire race will submit to you, their souls sacrificed to you. Even in death, you will still gain experience points.]

[Note: Only those who die in external battles will grant experience points, and only half of the original amount. Brutal slaughter and tyranny will lead to rebellion (eliminating a rebelling race will no longer grant experience points).]

"So that's how it works."

Alex understood, and Xiao Mu and Xiao Hui also gathered around to read the system description.

"So, Thalor ruled the entire goblin race, using their hatred for hobgoblins to wage war. Even though he only gained 50% experience from their deaths, the nearly 100,000 goblins allowed him to reach lv4."

"So that's why Thalor sent the goblins to their deaths, just to gain experience points."

Xiao Hui understood after Xiao Mu's explanation.

So, this was the method to conquer races? Just destroy their core rulers?

Alex had always thought conquering a race meant eliminating all its members.

Killing the hobgoblin civilians was pointless for Alex. At least keeping them alive meant they could mine resources and develop technology.

With the hobgoblin king's death, the battle was over.

Aside from the entire hobgoblin race submitting to Alex, allowing her to utilize their resources, there didn't seem to be any other benefits.

Using these hobgoblins in battle was a joke.

The system didn't give any special rewards, or maybe it did, but Alex wasn't the first Lord to conquer a race.

Given Alex's understanding of the system's quirks, there might be a race conquest leaderboard in the future, but not yet.

In that case, she needed to find ways to increase her conquered race count.

"Xiao Hui, take the undead into the city and see if there are any resources we can use. Bring them back, and leave the rest for the hobgoblins."

"Xiao Mu, there should be surviving goblins. They can't be completely wiped out. Find out from the hobgoblins where their stronghold is and take it over. Also, bring the best hobgoblin artisans to Undead City."

Alex assigned tasks to the siblings, who immediately set to work.

In Eldoria, magic and supernatural powers were mainstream, but technology was also indispensable. With advanced technology, Alex could build special structures and even upgrade them.

As development progressed, she could become less reliant on system rewards.

However, participating in system events was still necessary, as they allowed Lords to grow stronger quickly, mainly through system rewards.

After handling these matters, Alex took stock of her losses on the battlefield.

Aside from the hobgoblin shamans devoured by Thalor, all the Monarch-level hobgoblins had been summoned as undead.

Alex now had a staggering 43 Monarch-level undead, including the high-level hobgoblin king and Thalor, significantly boosting her strength.

This didn't include the six Race Kings, the Siblings, and Alex herself.

In total, Alex had fifty Monarch-level combatants, an overwhelming force.

Even Alex was surprised by the number, believing she must be the strongest among all Lords.

"Arthas, Crane, take ten Monarch-level undead to Emerald Hills!"

"Yes, my queen."

The battlefield held nearly 40,000 hobgoblin corpses. Alex used her domain to summon 20,000 high-level undead, while the remaining 20,000 were summoned as regular undead by necromancers, enjoying a double summoning bonus. In total, she had 60,000 undead.

Despite the losses in Monarch-level combatants and the undead army, the post-battle gains were substantial, with the undead numbers multiplying several times.

The hobgoblins had lost all their high-end combatants, now weaker than the goblins. They lay prostrate, awaiting Alex's judgment in fear.

Alex didn't concern herself with them. How they lived was their business. She only cared about their abilities and whether they could aid her development.

The lv6 hobgoblin king was summoned as a Reaper Guard, the highest level currently, and would undoubtedly be useful to Alex.

As for the other Monarch-level corpses, Alex summoned necromancers for mass production, while the rest became bone dragons, ghost dragons, and liches. Zombies, skeletons, and specters had low caps, maxing out at Commanding level, and couldn't be summoned as Monarch-level beings.

The battle ended, and the giant skeleton creature sank into the ground, leaving a massive circular magic circle, ready to awaken when enemies attacked again.

The undead fortress needed a few Monarch-level guards. Alex looked up at the sky, thinking the hobgoblins should repair it.

This would enhance the fortress's concealment.

Alex took a brief tour of the hobgoblin royal city, deciding to keep the teleportation array for communication with other hobgoblin cities.

Next was cleaning the battlefield and tallying the spoils. Alex sat on the wall, swinging her legs, waiting for the cleanup to finish.

"Hey, Azure, tell Xiao Mu not to bother looking for goblins."

Alex noticed a special item in the Warehouse after clearing Thalor's belongings, resembling a tear, similar to the Kingdom's Tear.

Though she couldn't take it out, she could view its attributes.

[Name: Race's Tear]

[Item Level: None]

[Description: A special item dropped after destroying or ruling an entire race. Its use is currently unknown. Can be absorbed by the Kingdom's Tear to enhance its quality.]

Alex also noticed her conquered race count had increased from 1 to 2.

"It seems this item is key to conquering races."

Alex speculated that if she gave the Kingdom's Tear to someone else, the hobgoblins would submit to them instead.

"Absorbing it means permanent submission, with no chance of rebellion?"

At least, that was Alex's current guess.

By dusk, Xiao Hui returned with a large haul of resources, and Xiao Mu brought several hobgoblins.

"Leader, these hobgoblins are responsible for most of their technology and research."

"Esteemed leader." The hobgoblins trembled as they bowed to Alex.

"Good. Arrange for them to live in Undead City."

Alex nodded in satisfaction. Though she knew little about technology, she believed in the hobgoblins' potential.

As for the resources Xiao Hui brought, they were useful to Alex. She had no interest in weapons and armor.

"Miss Alex, I found a batch of silver weapons in the city."

Xiao Hui tossed a sword at Alex's feet.

These swords, shields, and armor were clearly not hobgoblin-made but human equipment.

Alex picked up the sword and examined it. Made of specially processed silver, it could inflict soul damage, making it a bane for undead, werewolves, and vampires.

"This equipment looks like Starfallen Empire's, but different. Could it be from the templar knights?"

Alex had seen both factions' equipment, but these weapons were distinct.

"Sell them on the World Chat."

With no way to trace their origin, and the hobgoblin leaders dead, the trading post was the best place to offload them.

Keeping them was pointless for Alex. Selling them quickly was best.

With everything packed up, the undead army began to withdraw in an orderly fashion.

"Let's go."

Alex called out, leading everyone back to the city.