Building the Strongest Undead Empire from Scratch

Chapter 251: Ant King Evolution Energy

[Congratulations on successfully killing the lv6 Monarch man-eating ant king, earning 600 experience points.]

[Congratulations on conquering the man-eating ant kingdom, earning skills: Invisibility, Ant King Evolution Energy, Auxiliary Barrack, and Kingdom's Tear.]

With the death of the king ant, all the man-eating ants were slain by the undead and converted into new undead.

This underground cave housed fifty thousand man-eating ants. Summoning them all as undead resulted in an army of one hundred thousand.

In other caves, there were still some young and elderly man-eating ants. Alex didn't bother having the undead kill them, as they had already submitted to her. There was no need for total annihilation.

It wasn't out of mercy but rather a strategic thought inspired by Thalor. These man-eating ants were of little use to Alex, but their rapid reproduction rate was beneficial. Once their population recovered, she could command them to fight, and their deaths would continuously provide her with experience points.

Moreover, their low intelligence made them easy to control. The dead man-eating ants could be reused, summoned again as undead.

However, with the queen ant dead, it would take some time for their population to recover.

These man-eating ants survived by digging, and their lairs held little of value to Alex—mostly rotting food, unappetizing and useless.

Though she didn't gain much in terms of resources from the man-eating ant kingdom, the other benefits were substantial.

The system rewards for conquering the man-eating ant kingdom were even more generous than those for the hobgoblin kingdom. Alex's experience points were maxed out, allowing her to level up at any time.

Additionally, some of the lower-level Monarch undead had leveled up, though the lv7 or lv8 ones still had a long way to go.

"Let's get out of here. This underground cave is too oppressive," Alex said, gesturing to Xiao Mu and Xiao Hui.

"Let's go. The undead can handle the rest," she added.

"Miss Alex, I can level up again!" Xiao Hui exclaimed excitedly, amazed at how quickly her experience had increased. Following Alex had benefits beyond her imagination.

The three of them, led by the Death Spirit, retraced their steps and left the underground cave.

This wasn't the nearest exit to the surface, but Alex worried that other exits might lead them into the depths of the Dark Forest. To be safe, they returned the way they came.

It's worth noting that the Death Spirit's leveling speed was astonishing, having jumped from lv1 Monarch to lv3 Monarch.

Phew—

The three of them breathed a sigh of relief. The dark, damp, sunless underground cave was suffocating, and they were finally back on the surface.

"Finally out!" Xiao Hui took a deep breath of fresh air, feeling much better.

"Death Spirit, you handle the rest. I'm heading back to Undead City," Alex instructed. The Death Spirit didn't respond, but Alex knew it had heard her.

Back in the city, Alex didn't waste time and immediately checked her rewards.

First, she took out the Kingdom's Tear from the man-eating ant kingdom and absorbed it, increasing her progress by two points.

[Kingdom's Tear Upgrade Progress: 6/100]

This revealed a pattern: Race's Tear added one point, while Kingdom's Tear added two.

"I wonder if it depends on the strength of the race," Alex mused. The man-eating ant kingdom and the hobgoblin kingdom were among the weakest. Surely stronger kingdoms like the Titans would add more than just two points?

Next was the Auxiliary Barracks from the conquered race. Although Alex found the man-eating ants disgusting, she built their Auxiliary Barracks in Gemini City, adhering to her principle of not wasting resources.

Like the hobgoblin Auxiliary Barrack, it automatically summoned units one major rank below Alex. However, the man-eating ants' maximum rank was Monarch, making them suitable only as cannon fodder.

Then there was the race skill Alex had gained—the man-eating ants' invisibility. This skill was quite useful.

Alex activated the skill, and a transparent ripple spread out, making her body disappear instantly.

She looked down, unable to see her legs or arms but still feeling their presence. She took out her scythe, which also turned invisible in her hand.

Pleased, Alex decided to test further. She walked over to Xiao Mu and placed her hand on his shoulder.

Xiao Mu immediately sensed it and was about to react when he noticed his body becoming transparent and disappearing.

"Leader, did the system reward you with the man-eating ants' skill?" Xiao Mu quickly realized. In Undead City, it was safe, and only Alex could have done this.

If it were Xiao Hui, Xiao Mu guessed she would have kicked him instead.

"Yes, it seems this skill is quite good. Not only can I turn invisible, but I can also make those around me invisible," Alex said as she and Xiao Mu reappeared.

Invisibility combined with teleportation made for a powerful ambush combo.

Finally, there was the most peculiar reward: [Ant King Evolution Energy].

From the name alone, Alex had no idea what it was. She needed the system to check it.

Alex took out the energy orb, and Xiao Mu curiously looked over.

"Does this mean absorbing it will give you the ability to devour and evolve?" Xiao Mu speculated, seeing the name.

"Evolve? I don't want to turn into a slime. I think being a mage is fine," Alex said. If it was as Xiao Mu guessed, she didn't want it.

[Name: Ant King Evolution Energy]

[Effect: After consuming the target's flesh, gain the ability to evolve and acquire the target's skills and race traits. Enhancement lasts one hour, with each evolution permanently increasing one attribute point.]

[Note: Can continuously consume different flesh to extend enhancement time. Side effects stack.]

Side effect: Weakness, vulnerability.

[Absorb now?]

Alex clicked "No" without hesitation.

She shouldn't have expected much from a Monarch-level man-eating ant. This ability was too disgusting.

Especially the side effect—Alex was stunned.

Each evolution permanently increased one attribute point, which seemed strong but was actually quite useless.

It added one point in total, not one point to each attribute.

Alex's level-ups added at least thirty points to her attributes. What use was one point?

She handed it to Xiao Mu, who stepped back, clearly uninterested and disdainful of it.

Just then, Xiao Hui, looking refreshed in new clothes, walked over.

"Here's something good for you," Alex said, tossing the Ant King Evolution Energy to Xiao Hui, who caught it, puzzled.

"Huh?"

Xiao Hui checked the system interface.

"Ah! I don't want to turn into a man-eating ant. Don't give it to me!" Xiao Hui was about to throw it to Xiao Mu but then stopped, a sly smile forming.

???

Alex was confused.

"Miss Alex, this thing is useless to Xiao Mu and me. Look, even Sophie is at Monarch level now. As your earliest follower, she has no combat ability. This thing would be wasted if thrown away. Why not give it to her?"

Xiao Hui suggested, pretending to be considerate of Sophie.

"That makes sense," Alex thought. No one wanted it, and it seemed suitable for Sophie, whose rank cap was the lowest among them.

Without special opportunities, Sophie might cap at King level. Alex wanted to help her, as strength was necessary for self-protection.

Alex agreed but needed Sophie's consent.

She sent Sophie a message, showing her the Ant King Evolution Energy and asking for her opinion.

Sophie understood her situation. Her combat ability was the lowest, and her value to Alex was mainly due to her early allegiance.

With more elite Lords joining Alex, Sophie knew her role was diminishing.

Meanwhile, Xiao Mu noticed Xiao Hui secretly messaging Sophie, persuading her.

Under Xiao Hui's persistent persuasion, Sophie agreed to absorb the Ant King Evolution Energy to enhance her strength.

As for consuming flesh, Alex had the alchemy warlocks prepare pills from parts of powerful Monarch corpses, making it easier to consume and store.

The only issue was the side effect, but Alex couldn't help with that. There had to be some trade-off; otherwise, it would be too easy to boost attributes indefinitely.

Xiao Hui smiled, pleased with her plan. She was eager to see Sophie's transformation.