Building the Strongest Undead Empire from Scratch - Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Death Warrior
The undead creatures were still too weak for Alex’s liking. Arthur was only level 3, and if he were a bit higher, he could easily steamroll the Goblin tribe.

Alex had considered grinding down the enemy with her undead army, but she feared that before they even got close, the Goblins would smash her skeletons to bits with a single hammer blow. The disparity was just too great; it wasn’t about wearing down the enemy, it was about exhausting them to death.

She could imagine fighting for five days and nights without any result, which would just waste her precious leveling time. Besides, Goblins were intelligent beings, not fools—they’d run if they couldn’t win!

For now, it was best not to stir the pot and quietly develop her strength. Alex remembered what Greenbean had mentioned about the Moon Silver Wolf clan in the snowy mountains, which immediately heightened her sense of urgency.

“I wonder if Arthur can reach Commanding level in seven days?”

“It would be great to get four Essence Shards. Then I’d have ten in total, and I could start building the Bone Throne. That would really speed up my leveling.”

As for upgrading the Barracks, the magic crystals in the Warehouse were far from enough; she needed a thousand, and Alex didn’t even have five hundred. Moreover, compared to unlocking troops by upgrading the Barracks, building the Bone Throne seemed a more profitable move.

Alex decided to bet her luck on the Barracks.

Arthur brought back the remaining Goblin corpses, and Alex, buzzing with excitement, prepared to start summoning.

Mana Points: 37/40

A gray magical circle shimmered over Greenbean’s body, and a figure gradually emerged. Standing about six feet tall, clad in black armor, with eyes glowing red and a long, narrow sword—slightly longer than a katana—strapped to his waist.

“Whoa, what the heck is this?! Not a Skeleton Warrior, but what?!”

It was a completely new species that Alex had never seen before.

[Death Warrior]

[Race: undead race]

[Loyalty: 100% (Never Betray)]

[Life Tier: Standard]

[Level: lv5 (Non-upgradable)]

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

[Mana Points: 0]

[Strength: 18]

[Stamina: ∞]

[Agility: 16]

[Growth Limit: Commanding level]

“Death Warrior! Must be a job change from zombie level 3. This is way too cool!”

Alex only had zombies that hadn’t reached level 3 and undergone a job change, but now a brand-new undead had appeared, definitely a zombie that had leveled up by some fluke and changed jobs. It seemed that Alex had lucked out and managed to summon one directly.

The Death Warrior’s Agility was significantly higher than that of a Skeleton Warrior of the same level, but its Strength was somewhat lower. It was like comparing a tank to a fighter—easy to understand.

Phantoms were mages, death knights were spell-warriors, and as for Arthur, he was probably at the tyrant level by now.

Alex continued her summoning, with Lady Luck smiling upon her! This time, she didn’t summon any Skeleton Warriors. From the five Goblin corpses, she summoned two level 5 Phantoms and three level 5 Death Warriors.

[Death Knight]

[Race: undead race]

[Loyalty: 100% (Never Betray)]

[Life Tier: Standard]

[Level: lv5 (Non-upgradable)]

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

[Mana Points: 0]

[Strength: 24]

[Stamina: ∞]

[Agility: 20]

[Growth Limit: Monarch level]

As troops unlocked from the second-level Barracks, death knights had attributes that were more balanced compared to Skeleton Warriors and Death Warriors, without any significant weaknesses. And really, can those with mounts be compared to those without?

The attributes of a level 5 Death Warrior still didn’t match up to Arthur at level 3, a difference determined by their growth limits. The gap between a Monarch level cap and a Divine level cap was vast from the start.

“Maybe I won’t have to wait for Arthur to reach level 9 before attacking the Goblin tribe.”

Alex checked the attributes of the two level 5 Phantoms nearby,

[Phantom (ethereal)]

[Race: undead race]

[Loyalty: 100% (Never Betray)]

[Life Tier: Standard]

[Level: lv5 (Non-upgradable)]

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

[Mana Points: 0]

[Mind: 21]

[Stamina: ∞]

[Agility: 16]

[Growth Limit: Commanding level]

The Mind attribute of the Phantoms had also successfully broken through twenty points, a pity that these summoned undead creatures couldn’t level up.

She was now curious to see if any changes would occur if these undead reached level 6.

Alex dismantled the Goblin corpses, scoring five sets of common-grade gear, 5 magic crystals, and 1 Essence Shard. She tossed them into the Warehouse.

All in all, a tidy little profit—she now had 7 Essence Shards, just 3 shy of her goal. Keep it up!

After a morning of hunting, Arthur had also leveled up to lv4, beefing up his strength a bit more.

Now, Alex commanded 8 level 5 undead, a massive army of 500 sub-level 5 undead, plus a level 4 Arthur. It was hard to imagine that in just a day and a half, Alex had amassed such a formidable force.

It was like an undead apocalypse!

Yet, this undead army couldn’t even beat the nearby Goblins.

Alex sighed, her stunning face clouded with thought. Could she kill monsters and summon at the same time?

She immediately shook her head. No, summoning would require her to venture out herself, and she was still too weak. Goblins were at the Commanding level; one wrong move and she could be toast.

“Alright, alright, you guys go hunt too,” Alex commanded the level 5 undead.

By noon, the skeleton army returned from another hunting trip. This time, they brought back nothing but wild chickens!

“Did they really just raid a chicken coop?” Alex wondered.

There were hundreds of these wild chickens. Although they had less meat compared to wild boars or antelopes, their sheer numbers were a win! This meant Alex could summon another wave of undead.

“Your Majesty, we found a chicken coop about 1.5 miles northeast of the castle, and we’ve slaughtered them all,” the leading level 4 Phantom reported respectfully.

Alex extended her thumb in approval, “Nice job!”

Using her mana points and recovery rate, summoning undead from the hundreds of wild chickens took a lot of time. Alex sat on the ground, exhausted, her forehead dotted with sweat as if she had just finished a strenuous workout. Tiring, but thrilling!

The undead army was bolstered again—356 wild chickens meant 356 new undead, including 45 level 3 chickens, 120 level 2 chickens, and 191 level 1 chickens.

Chickens, whether level 1, 2, or 3, didn’t offer much of a boost, but for the undead army, dealing with them was like, well, a walk in the park.