Building the Strongest Undead Empire from Scratch

Chapter 352: Gather intelligence

"Right this way, please."

They led Alex towards a hidden chamber, navigating through layers of intricate mechanisms until they reached the deepest room underground.

The room was small, its surfaces cluttered with letters, unfurled scrolls, and stacks of paper, all covered in minuscule writing.

"This is where you gather intelligence?" Alex asked, her eyes struggling to make sense of the sheer volume of information. How did they even differentiate between the intelligence from different continents?

"Indeed. Besides ourselves, the church has a couple dozen personnel who assist us in managing, organizing, and selling this information to other races. However, our primary clientele remains the human nobles within the Empire. They're mainly interested in information about the Empire and the Mage Guild, which is easy enough to obtain."

"What intelligence would you like to know first, leader?"

Alex settled casually into a seat as the five men stood respectfully before her.

"Tell me about the previous generation of Lords." The Lord enigma was the most intriguing to Alex.

The five exchanged glances. Finally, the eldest King level stepped forward to address Alex. This wasn't because he was one of the Liberty Church's founders, but because he was the last of the five to become a Freelancer, and therefore knew the most about the Lords.

Silence descended upon the cramped, dimly lit room, broken only by the man's voice. Alex listened intently, lost in thought from time to time.

As she had initially suspected, once these former Lords became Freelancers, the loyalty of their troops vanished completely.

Barracks lost their summoning abilities, but their existing troops remained unaffected. This aligned perfectly with Alex's earliest hypothesis.

Upon arriving in this world and becoming Lords, they all possessed a certain "foreign element" within them. Becoming a Freelancer meant the disappearance of this element, allowing them to integrate into human society.

However, humans were intelligent beings with diverse cultures and customs. Even without the foreign element, there was always a risk of their true identities being exposed if they weren't careful.

Similarly, this foreign element also existed within their troops. Once their Lord became a Freelancer, these troops would assimilate into the native races of this world.

Less intelligent races would fully integrate, becoming a part of the existing power structure.

Unique troops, those without a corresponding race on Astralon, would evolve into an entirely new race.

Their future development depended entirely on the potential of that new race.

This explained the increasing diversity of races on Astralon. At least, that was the prevailing theory shared by the Liberty Church, Edgar, and even Alex herself.

As for the previous generation of Lords, none had survived long enough to witness the fate of those who came after.

The most crucial piece of information they revealed was this: two months from now, at the conclusion of the Hundred Kingdoms War event, the system would force all Lords who had established kingdoms to fully integrate into the Astralon and begin their conquest.

Of course, this "full integration" wasn't as simple as gaining the World's Heart's recognition like Alex had done with her Undead Empire.

It meant the commencement of a multi-racial ranking system, where only ten factions would ultimately survive.

This revelation startled Alex. It seemed the system's plan was entering its final stage.

When that time came, all Lords would face a choice: become a Freelancer, join another Lord's faction, or perish.

However, Alex wasn't overly concerned. Two months was ample time to reach Emperor level. Self-preservation wouldn't be an issue then.

"Leader, this was just the event during our time. Things might be different now. Consider it a point of reference." The five bishops spoke respectfully.

This was the extent of their knowledge about the system. Beyond this point, Freelancers were completely out of the loop.

"What do you know about the number one Lord of your time?" Alex asked.

Ruby's father, like herself, was once the top-ranked Lord. He couldn't have been a nobody. Having survived the previous Lord's struggle for dominance, they must know his name.

"That's..." The mention of that name made the five bishops uneasy.

Their knowledge was limited. The former number one Lord had only begun exploring the outside world after reaching Emperor level.

His exploits had only become known after he officially entered the Eldoria continent. By then, these bishops were already Freelancers, the church wasn't established, and they were practically living like illegal immigrants hiding within human cities. They had been in no position to pry into other people's business.

"Leader, his name is forbidden. A god has placed a taboo on it. Speaking his name invites disaster." The five bishops explained, their expressions strained. They were especially wary of mentioning gods, afraid of being discovered.

Alex wanted to ask which god, but thought better of it. These bishops knew little about the Lord's deeds, let alone matters of the divine.

Logically, the Liberty Church could have easily investigated the number one Lord during its early days. It was likely divine intervention that had deterred them from such a risky endeavor.

"Leader, he's not the only one with a taboo placed upon him. There are others, influential figures who could disrupt the world's balance. To our knowledge, there are four in total."

"The former number one Lord, the undead Lord, the chieftain of the Shadow race, and a demon."

"A demon?" Alex was puzzled. The Shadow race, similar to the undead, possessed immense potential for growth. It made sense for them to be targeted.

But why a demon? Weren't they always powerful?

"Legend has it that after the Demon Era, the Demon race was poised to rule a second era. Unfortunately, just as they were about to succeed, a god broke the rules and intervened. It's said that this led to the unspoken rule of one race, one era."

This information was ancient, its veracity impossible to verify. Hence, the five bishops used the term "legend."

"I see. You must have heard from other Freelancers about my troops. You know their race, don't you?"

Of course, they did. Even before meeting Alex, they knew that the current number one Lord was the undead Lord.

"Are you interested in information about the undead Lord, leader?"

Alex nodded. She wanted to know if the Liberty Church possessed any deeper knowledge.

After all, the undead Lord's fall had occurred shortly after their arrival, and in Eldoria, no less.

"Leader, you're probably already aware of the basic information about him. But we have heard some rumors."

Alex was surprised. The Liberty Church was merely a King level organization. Seeking such information was a considerable risk.

"It's said that the last known location of the previous undead Lord before his disappearance was Holy City."

"The Holy City of the Angel race?"

"Yes. He vanished completely after that. Some say he perished at the hands of the Angel race. Others believe he's imprisoned beneath Holy City."

The five bishops explained that Holy City wasn't an ordinary city, but a sky city, perpetually bathed in a radiant pillar of holy light.

The tomb of the previous undead Lord was rumored to be within that very pillar of light, beneath Holy City.

If true, that was troubling. Even at Sovereign level, Alex wouldn't dare to go there.

Unless she became a god. But once she reached that level of power, would the mystery of the previous undead Lord's fall even matter?

"No, remember the former number one Lord who sought revenge for him?" One bishop suddenly interrupted, as if recalling something crucial.

"It's said he erected a tombstone for the previous undead Lord. Obviously, it was a fake. There was nothing inside." Another bishop countered.

If there had been, any relics or inheritance would have been claimed by the previous undead Lord's followers long ago.

However, Alex merely sought the truth. Her current inheritance was complete. She didn't need the help of the previous undead lord.

Still, that former number one Lord was a loyal, if somewhat foolish, soul.

Why couldn't he have been more discreet? Wouldn't it have been a better choice to seek revenge after becoming a god?

"Where is this tombstone he built?" Alex asked after a moment of thought.

"It's no secret. The tombstone is located on Cliffside Mountain in the south, overlooking the sea. After the former number one Lord's death, the Alphas(Kings) of other races didn't bother destroying it."

Of course not. Firstly, the tomb was a fake. Secondly, those Alphas knew the truth. As long as the undead Lord was dead, a fake tomb was of no consequence.

However, the official story remained that the undead Lord had gone missing. The truth about the fake tomb was known only to a select few.

The Liberty Church bishops, with their ability to enter people's dreams, had access to these hidden truths.

But these were distant memories, events of the past, offering little help to Alex's current situation.

What she needed now was information about recent major events in this era and the movements of the various races.

First on her list was the most mysterious of the seven continents: Arcadia.

"Arcadia?" The five bishops exchanged glances, a hint of apprehension in their eyes.

One of them leaned closer to Alex, lowering his voice. "Leader, there's a god present in Arcadia!"

Alex's eyes widened. She looked expectantly at the bishop, eager for more information.

Arcadia was home to the Mage Guild's headquarters, and that god was none other than the youngest deity alive: the Magic God of the Mage Guild!

Many races had gods, but only this Magic God had been known to intervene in worldly affairs, making their presence known to all.

The reason for this remained a mystery.

The whereabouts of the other races' gods were also unknown.

Arcadia was the complete opposite of Nytheria. The former welcomed extraterrestrial visitors, integrating them into human society, while the latter sought their extermination.

It wasn't that Arcadia had no Lords. It was just that they had all been absorbed into the human race.

That continent was the true heart of humanity. Even the notoriously bold Angel Race wouldn't dare to make any significant moves in Arcadia.

Of course, humans and angels maintained a superficial alliance that had lasted for millennia.

"So, this Magic God is the true ruler of humanity?" Alex was astonished. She knew that powerful races had gods, but this was the first time she had heard concrete information about one.

"Not entirely. The ruler is the president of the Mage Guild. It's said that he's just one step away from becoming a god himself. With his talent and the support of a god, he should have ascended long ago. But for nearly a thousand years, he hasn't taken that final step."

This was a mystery that puzzled even the Liberty Church. It wasn't exactly a secret, so the bishop shared it freely with Alex.

Alex pondered this new information.

Why was the Magic God present, yet the president held the reins of power?

The Magic God himself had been the president before ascending to godhood.

"Is it possible that gods are forbidden from interfering in the affairs of races?" Alex voiced her thoughts.

The five bishops immediately grasped the implications.

"You're right! Perhaps there's a time limit on how long gods can remain in this world. The gods of other races might have already departed, while the younger Magic God still has time left."

"That would explain why they can't interfere in their own race's affairs. It could be a restriction imposed by some higher power."

"The true rulers of the major races are all on the verge of godhood. Perhaps their inability to ascend is for the sake of their race's development!"

Inspired by Alex's words, the five bishops engaged in a lively discussion, their minds racing with possibilities.

Alex's line of thinking stemmed from the countless web novels she had read back on Earth. Weren't these tropes common in those stories?

However, one thing still bothered her. If humanity had a god, making them the undisputed strongest race, why would the Angel race dare to make any moves against them?

And why wasn't humanity more assertive? They weren't weak, but their actions were far from dominant. They were…average, not at all like a race with a god on their side.

As Alex lost herself in thought, the five bishops dropped an even bigger bombshell:

Gods didn't exist in the same world as them. There might be a "divine realm" above their own!