Building the Strongest Undead Empire from Scratch

Chapter 244: Holy Court

Clang! Clang!

Alex swung her scythe, clashing with Sir Roland. For a moment, they were evenly matched.

With her extensive experience in close combat, Alex's melee skills had become formidable. The scythe moved fluidly in her hands, a testament to her training.

Facing enemies like angels and templar knights, Alex's dark magic was the perfect test of her strength.

If her dark magic could hold its own against their holy light, it meant they were evenly matched. But right now, Alex was at a disadvantage, indicating that Sir Roland's level was higher than hers. However, under the influence of the scythe, Alex's attributes were enhanced, and she wasn't falling behind.

After hundreds of exchanges, Sir Roland seemed to gauge Alex's strength. As time passed, he felt a headache coming on, likely due to the bell on Alex's scythe.

Sir Roland suddenly surged with power, his sword glowing gold. Hundreds of slashes flew toward Alex. She used Dark Barrier to defend but quickly realized her Mana Points were depleting rapidly. She teleported out of the attack range.

This played right into Roland's hands. He raised his sword to the sky, summoning countless golden sword shadows from above—a lower-tier version of the skill used by the angel in the snowy mountains.

Alex dodged, but Sir Roland didn't stay still while casting. He attacked Alex again.

Alex couldn't dodge and fight simultaneously, so she activated Dark Barrier Possession and engaged Sir Roland once more.

The golden sword shadows drained her Mana Points when they hit her, but they also struck Sir Roland, who absorbed the attacks to strengthen his next strike.

Alex soon found herself at a disadvantage in close combat. Templar knights were melee specialists, and with Sir Roland's higher level, it was impressive that she could hold her own.

Several golden slashes tore through the ground, forcing Alex back. Her right eye began to glow purple.

Alex's toes pointed downward as her body floated up. Her white hair billowed behind her, and her right eye emitted a purple glow, surrounded by arcs of electricity.

Crackle—

Holding her scythe, Alex was enveloped by thunderclouds, darkening the surroundings. Lightning flashed around her, and bolts struck the ground.

Sir Roland frowned, realizing the girl could use magic.

But before he could react, Alex vanished from the sky. His pupils contracted, sensing imminent danger. He quickly raised his sword and shield above his head to defend.

Boom!

A violent purple slash struck, creating a crater in the ground.

The purple lightning struck Roland, tearing through the ground like a giant claw and even destroying the wall on the opposite side of the basin.

"High-level... magic!"

Thud!

Sir Roland fell to his knees, his sword and shield shattered, his armor covered in purple cracks.

"Leader!"

The other templar knights couldn't believe their eyes. Their leader had been defeated by an extraterrestrial visitor.

[Congratulations, Lord, for successfully killing lv8 templar knight, earning 800 experience points.]

Alex's hair slowly fell back into place, her eyes returning to their normal color. The arcs of electricity disappeared as she landed steadily, looking at the fallen templar knight.

"Leave two alive. Kill the rest!"

Among the templar knights, only a few were Monarch level, no match for thirty-plus Monarch level undead.

Alex glanced at the battlefield. The templar knights, seeing their leader fall, were panicked and despairing. They knew their chances of escape were slim against so many Monarch levels.

As for why these templar knights attacked, it was simple.

They weren't here specifically to attack the undead fortress. They likely had a mission in the hobgoblin kingdom and discovered it had submitted to the undead, prompting their assault.

Since killing an apprentice knight in the Dark Forest, Alex hadn't seen any templar knights for a month. Just as Lilith mentioned the Holy Court's recent activity, Alex encountered templar knights in Eldoria, which was unusual.

The templar knights quickly fell. Most of the Monarch level knights were around lv5, requiring six or seven undead to hold them off and wear them down.

Alex decided not to waste time. She joined the battle, finishing them off and capturing the last Monarch level knight.

She held a massive scythe to his neck, staring coldly at him. The templar knight's eyes were resolute, showing no fear of Alex's threat.

Alex liked such tough opponents. Soon, the pain of soul burning made him scream in agony, a pain few could endure.

Without his holy light protection, he might have already passed out.

"Tell me your mission, and I'll give you a quick death."

Alex looked down at the templar knight writhing in pain.

"Never! A knight... never betrays his faith!"

Despite his weakness and sweat, he didn't relent.

Alex had no idea what kind of nonsense the Holy Court had filled them with to make them so stubborn. Since the Monarch level knight wouldn't yield, she'd have to question the Commanding level ones.

Soon, several Commanding level apprentice knights were brought before Alex.

"Cooperate, or you'll end up like him."

Seeing the Monarch level knight in agony, they were terrified. "Lord, we're too low-ranked to know much."

"Cut the crap. Tell me everything you know."

Alex's shout made them tremble.

"You dare... betray the Holy Court..."

The Monarch level templar knight tried to threaten them, but Alex froze him solid, rendering him powerless.

"Lord, we only know that the Holy Court has been moving people around a lot recently. Each team has different tasks. Our only mission was the undead fortress."

"That's it?"

Alex frowned. They hadn't said much. But it did show the Holy Court's strict hierarchy, with lower members knowing very little.

"Lord, I heard some rumors. A friend in another team said their mission was to subdue a race."

Another apprentice knight spoke up, trying to please Alex. They were less brainwashed than the Monarch level knight.

"Was the hobgoblin kingdom one of your targets?"

Combining her earlier guess, Alex was almost certain.

"I'm not sure, but someone was assigned here before us. Their task was likely to subdue the hobgoblin kingdom."

"I see." Alex understood.

After their confession, the apprentice knights awaited release, but death awaited them instead. The greatest mercy Alex gave them was to kill them directly, sparing them the agony of soul torment.

This place was compromised. Facing the Holy Court was a huge problem. To keep Undead City hidden, she might have to abandon this undead fortress.

Alex summoned the templar knights as undead, the strongest being a lv8 Reaper Guard from Roland's body, capable of supporting her in all directions and ensuring her safety.

The remaining three lv5 Monarch levels were also summoned as other undead.

"Retreat."

At Alex's command, the undead returned to the fortress to lie dormant, and the Monarch levels used the portal to return to Undead City.

Suspecting the location was compromised, Alex left two Monarch levels to monitor and relay information.

She temporarily marked the undead fortress as semi-abandoned.

Alex grabbed the frozen templar knight and returned to Undead City.

She didn't kill him immediately. As a Monarch level knight, he knew more. If she couldn't make him talk, she'd take him to Lilith, hoping the fallen angel could extract information.