Building the Strongest Undead Empire from Scratch

Chapter 332: Death Angel

Raphaela's eyes widened in horror. Alex knew about faith power?

Alex, with Raphaela in tow, landed just outside the Angel City, her arrival immediately drawing the attention of the angelic guards.

They surged from the city, their forms radiating a blinding holy light, their wings beating furiously as they charged towards Alex.

Alex, however, didn't even flinch. A flick of her wrist, a mere thought, and a wave of spatial blades sliced through the air.

The blades passed through the angels effortlessly, severing them in half. Their bodies tumbled towards the ground, their holy light flickering and fading.

The spatial blades, their momentum unchecked, continued onwards, shattering the Angel City's protective barrier, cleaving through the city walls, and tearing through buildings before finally dissipating.

This casual display of power shattered Raphaela's last vestiges of hope.

King level. So powerful. It was despair-inducing.

Alex, with Raphaela still imprisoned, entered the city. The remaining angels, their previous bravado gone, kept their distance, their eyes wide with fear.

"I thought angels were fearless. Turns out they're just as afraid of death as everyone else," Alex scoffed, ignoring them as she headed towards the palace, her destination the Angel Resurrection Pool.

Destroying the pool was the only way to permanently eliminate Raphaela. Destroying the city crystal might work, but Alex couldn't gauge the city's level. If it was maxed out, it wouldn't affect Raphaela directly.

She had to be thorough.

She guided Raphaela towards the palace, the angels trailing behind cautiously. Even with her back turned, they didn't dare attack.

Suddenly, Alex stopped, her gaze fixed on the palace entrance.

The angels, startled by her abrupt halt, froze in their tracks.

The angels she had just slain were emerging from the palace, their wounds healed, their holy light restored.

The Angel Resurrection Pool could resurrect not only Raphaela but also ordinary angels.

Witnessing it firsthand, Alex finally understood its true power. It was true immortality.

And angels, unlike undead, were powerful individuals, capable of flight and wielding the purifying power of holy light.

No wonder Raphaela had been so formidable in the early stages.

Then, a thought struck her.

Transform Undead!

She had almost forgotten about this skill. She had intended to experiment with it after acquiring it, but it had been put on hold. Now was the perfect opportunity.

What would happen if she tried to transform an angel, a creature whose very essence was antithetical to her own?

Would they become undead? Or would they simply perish?

She suspected angels had a high level cap. If this worked, it could significantly boost her power.

She turned, her gaze locking onto one of the angels. The angel froze, its movements seized by an unseen force. In the blink of an eye, it was standing before Alex, its wings bound, its holy light flickering uncertainly.

The other angels gasped, but they didn't dare intervene. Even Raphaela, despite her fear, looked on with a flicker of curiosity.

Alex's left eye glowed with an eerie blue light. A black orb, the size of a coin, formed in her palm. She thrust it into the angel's chest.

"Aaargh!"

The angel screamed in agony. Alex released her hold and stepped back, observing the transformation.

The angel writhed on the ground, its holy light flaring, its form seemingly purifying, becoming even more angelic.

What was happening? Why was it becoming more angelic?

Then, as quickly as it had intensified, the holy light vanished, replaced by a dark, unsettling aura. The angel's white wings and robes turned black in an instant.

It rose to its feet, its strength restored, its gaze flickering between Raphaela and Alex, its mind struggling to comprehend the transformation.

Its former master, the source of its holy power, and the new emperor, its bloodline now calling to a different master... It was torn.

Its once-sacred form was now a twisted mockery of its former self, a dark, corrupted being resembling a fallen angel.

The other angels, witnessing this horrifying transformation, recoiled in fear. But their lord was still in Alex's clutches. They had to stand their ground.

Raphaela, however, was utterly horrified. This was beyond anything she had ever witnessed.

Alex could transform angels into fallen angels?

No, not fallen angels.

She stared at Alex, fear gripping her heart. She knew her fate was sealed. She struggled against her bonds, but it was futile.

Alex, pleased with the successful transformation, approached the death angel, who stood frozen, its gaze fixed on her, its mind a whirlwind of confusion and fear.

Alex, however, didn't harm it. She stood beside it, opening her system interface. Even she wasn't sure if this creature was truly undead.

[Death Angel]

[Race: Undead]

[Loyalty: 30%]

[Life Tier: Commanding Level]

[Level: lv5 (Can be increased by killing enemies)]

[Health Points: Undead trait, immortal as long as the soul fire burns]

[Mana Points: 150]

[Strength: 91]

[Stamina: ?]

[Agility: 84]

[Growth Limit: Emperor Level]

[Active Skills: Death Mark, Death Shroud]

[Passive Skill: Infect Summon]

"Death angel?"

Alex blinked in surprise. It was indeed an undead creature. But the transformation process seemed excruciating, and the creature retained its memories.

She could now summon not only the dead but also the living, transforming them into undead. Even angels, beings of pure light, were susceptible to her power.

She skimmed through its skills. Nothing particularly noteworthy, except for the passive skill.

Death angels emitted a constant aura of darkness that corrupted living beings, eventually transforming them into undead.

"Interesting."

She unleashed a soul attack, instantly killing the death angel. Its loyalty was too low. It was useless to her.

The advantage of transforming living creatures was that, unlike summoned undead, they could level up by killing enemies.

The downside was that their kills didn't grant her experience points.

She had kept her system interface visible throughout the process, allowing Raphaela to see the death angel's stats.

Death angel. A creature she had never heard of. It was distinct from a fallen angel, possessing the undead's inherent immortality.

Alex glanced at Raphaela, her face pale with terror, and guided her towards the palace steps.

"Don't worry. Your turn is next."

===

Meanwhile, at the foot of Stone Pillar Mountain, Ruby was having a field day, effortlessly cutting through the enemy ranks.

As the Arctic Tigerfolk queen, she excelled in close combat. But these opponents weren't even worthy of getting close. Her spatial and ice magic were more than enough to handle them.

The thousands of angel beasts, mostly transformed from the Lords' troops, were all Commanding level.

Despite their angelic transformation, they hadn't changed much physically. They had sprouted white, feathery wings and gained a faint holy aura, but that was about it.

They were weaker than their undead counterparts, serving primarily as cannon fodder for Raphaela's rapidly expanding army.

Ruby was making short work of them. The dozens of Monarch level Lords, instead of engaging her directly, had sent their troops forward, hoping to deplete her mana points.

It was a sound strategy, considering she was outnumbered.

But Ruby was happy to oblige. She ignored the Lords for now, focusing on obliterating the rank-and-file troops.

The more she killed, the more her experience bar surged, fueling her excitement.

To maximize her efficiency, she expanded her spatial domain, its reach encompassing almost the entire battlefield. The Lords were forced to retreat, lest they be caught in her deadly embrace.

Finally, one of the Monarch level Lords, snapping out of his holy light-induced fervor, realized the truth.

"This isn't Monarch level power! She's a King level!" he shouted, his voice laced with terror.

His words jolted the others back to reality. Some of them, their minds clearing, finally grasped the situation.

Raphaela hadn't sent them to fight. She had sent them to die!

They looked around, their hearts sinking as they realized Raphaela was nowhere to be found. Not a single angel was in sight.

"What are we waiting for? Run!" one of the Lords, a recent addition to Raphaela's ranks, shouted. The holy light's influence hadn't fully taken hold yet, and fear had shattered its grip on his mind.

But they had forgotten one crucial detail. They had submitted to Raphaela. Where could they possibly run?

As the Lord turned to flee, a spatial blade pierced his chest. Ruby's domain had expanded, its reach encompassing them all.

She wouldn't let them escape. She had to eliminate them before Alex dealt with Raphaela.

If Raphaela died, these Lords, bound by the Submission Contract, would perish as well. But their deaths, caused by the system's power, wouldn't grant her any experience points.

She had to act now.

Seeing her intent, the Monarch level Lords and their remaining troops, trapped and desperate, charged towards Ruby.

"Brothers, attack! We outnumber her! We can take her!" one of the Lords shouted, his voice laced with false bravado.

His words were cut short as his head flew from his shoulders.

Ruby, teleporting into the heart of their formation, unleashed a wave of icy power, freezing them in their tracks. Then, a ring of spatial energy, expanding outwards from her position, ripped through their ranks.

Most of the Lords were obliterated instantly. Only a handful of Monarch level Lords managed to escape the initial onslaught.

Among them were Raphaela's two allies: the Behemoth Lord and the Troll Lord. They stared at Ruby, their eyes wide with terror, and activated their transformation abilities, boosting their resilience. Then, they turned and fled.

They were allies, not subjects. Raphaela's death wouldn't affect them.

While they were influenced by the holy light, their survival instincts outweighed their loyalty.

"So you're the Behemoth and the Troll Alex mentioned," Ruby muttered, abandoning the other fleeing Lords and pursuing the two.

In the blink of an eye, she teleported in front of them, blocking their path.

"Please, spare us..."

Ruby, however, wasn't interested in negotiations. She conjured a barrage of ice spikes, impaling their limbs, pinning them to the ground.

Then, she encased them in ice, adding a layer of spatial sealing for good measure.

Their powerful regenerative abilities, a byproduct of their bloodlines, wouldn't allow for a quick kill.

With them secured, she turned her attention back to the other Lords.

The surge of experience points thrilled her. At this rate, she would definitely level up!

Under the onslaught of Ruby's formidable assault, the angel beasts were decimated, leaving only the disarrayed Lords and their dwindling troops behind.

To buy themselves time, the Lords sacrificed their troops, mostly low-intelligence units.

High-intelligence troops, realizing they were being used as pawns, would likely rebel and flee.

"This is so tedious," Ruby grumbled, watching as the Lords scattered in all directions.

She couldn't maintain her domain's reach across such a vast area. Eliminating them all at once was no longer an option.

She had to resort to chasing them down individually. Fortunately, her spatial magic granted her incredible speed. These Monarch level Lords couldn't outrun a King level.