Building the Strongest Undead Empire from Scratch

Alex wasn't worried about Ruby's safety. As a King level powerhouse, she was practically invincible in this backwater town. Who could possibly threaten her?

Alex, meanwhile, would use this time to master the earth magic book. It was a welcome break from their hectic schedule.

...

Time flew by, and soon evening arrived, the sky darkening as the sun dipped below the horizon. Alex closed the earth magic book, rubbing her tired eyes.

Her understanding of the book's contents had deepened, her control over earth magic becoming more fluid, more instinctive.

It would take an ordinary mage at least a year to master a mid-level magic book, but Alex's affinity for magic was exceptional. She had learned it in a matter of days.

"Maybe I'm a magical prodigy," she mused, gazing out the window.

The setting sun bathed the small town in a golden light, creating a picturesque scene.

As darkness deepened, lights flickered to life in the houses below. Wealthier families used mage-enchanted stones for illumination.

But judging by the inn's humble appearance, the owner couldn't afford such luxuries.

Alex, using her earth and fire magic, crafted a makeshift lamp. It was crude, but it served its purpose, illuminating the dimly lit room.

Ruby had been gone for hours.

Alex was about to go looking for her when the door creaked open, revealing Ruby, a smudge of grease on her cheek.

"You've been eating all day?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not all day. Maybe half a day," Ruby replied matter-of-factly.

"By the way, this inn was empty when we arrived this morning. Now it's packed," Ruby remarked, her brow furrowed in confusion.

Alex, after a moment's thought, understood.

"The owner must have spread the word. People feel safer staying near mages."

The townsfolk were terrified of the unknown creatures. And proximity to mages offered a sense of security.

Night fell, but the city remained peaceful. Alex and Ruby were about to turn in for the night.

"Looks like those creatures are taking a night off," Alex said, a hint of disappointment in her voice.

She had been hoping to catch a glimpse of these mysterious beings.

"Good riddance. If they show up, we'll squash 'em!" Ruby declared, her voice brimming with confidence.

These creatures couldn't be King level. Otherwise, Border Town would have been wiped out already.

Or perhaps they were trying to avoid attracting the Mage Association's attention, deliberately keeping their forces below King level.

If Border Town fell, the Mage Association would definitely intervene.

Ruby burrowed under the covers, ready for sleep. Alex was about to do the same when a muffled conversation from the next room caught her attention.

The walls were thin, and their King level senses picked up every word.

"Jenny, scoot closer. Spread your legs wider!"

...

"Oh my God, Richard, you useless man! Your cock is smaller than my finger!"

Alex, hiding under the covers, cringed. She hadn't expected to encounter such an awkward situation in this city.

The walls were paper-thin. She could hear every detail of their lovemaking.

It was over in less than three minutes, much to the woman's displeasure.

Judging by their voices, they were a young couple, likely wealthy, considering they could afford a room on the fifth floor, right next to hers.

"Alex, are they fighting?" Ruby asked, poking her head out from under the covers.

"Maybe they're... exercising," Alex replied vaguely, hoping to change the subject.

"Exercising?" Ruby looked at her skeptically.

"Yeah, they're just... working out."

As if on cue, the sounds from the next room ceased. Alex was about to drift off to sleep when a scream ripped through the night, jolting her awake.

"Aah!"

It was the man's voice. Had he been brutally murdered for failing to satisfy his partner's desires?

Alex and Ruby hadn't sensed anyone else entering the room. The woman had to be the killer.

"Alex, should I go check it out?" Ruby asked.

"Nah, I'll go."

Alex got out of bed, activating her Invisibility skill as she headed towards the door.

The hallway was abuzz with activity, the guests whispering anxiously, their fear palpable.

But no one dared open their doors. Even the innkeeper was nowhere to be found.

Alex, her Invisibility concealing her presence, opened the door to the next room and stepped inside.

The sight that greeted her sent a chill down her spine.

The woman was dead!

The room was dark, the woman's face frozen in a mask of terror, her eyes wide with shock, as if she had witnessed something unimaginable.

The man lay on the bed, his throat slashed, blood staining the white sheets crimson.

It wasn't the woman. There had been a third person in the room, someone who had evaded both her and Ruby's senses.

Alex hurried to the window, peering out into the darkness.

The street below was deserted, the only sound the gentle whisper of the wind against her face.

She was certain these two had been killed by the creatures, those elusive, shadowy beings.

She focused her senses, trying to detect any trace of their presence, but there was nothing. They had vanished without a trace.

She pulled out a mage-enchanted stone, illuminating the room, and examined the woman's wound.

It was identical to the man's: a clean, precise cut to the throat, an instant kill.

She stood up, her brow furrowed in thought. What kind of creature could infiltrate this inn without her noticing?

Then, her gaze fell on the woman's body, and her eyes widened in horror.

"They don't have shadows!"

She hurried to the bed, her mage-enchanted stone illuminating the man's body. He, too, lacked a shadow.

How was that possible?

She was stunned, baffled. This was beyond creepy.

She drew her scythe, activating her Soul Sight. The world around her turned white, the details fading away, replaced by a hazy, ethereal glow.

Behind the two corpses, their souls lingered, their forms fading rapidly, their essence dissipating into nothingness.

Their souls were still present, but they were fading, dissolving. That was the truly disturbing part.

The man and woman hadn't been powerful. They were Standard level. Their souls should have lingered for at least seven days after death.

But these were fading fast, their essence dissolving into nothingness. They would be gone within half an hour.

"It's the wound on their necks!"

Alex realized the truth. The creatures' attacks could harm souls, accelerating their dissipation.

What kind of creatures were these?

She deactivated her Soul Sight, secured her scythe, and flew out the window, heading towards the city gate.

She needed to speak to the general, to learn more about these creatures.

====

Clayton City Gate, City Defense Fortress.

Alex arrived at the gate, only to be greeted by another unexpected sight.

Beasts were attacking the city!

There were only a dozen or so, mostly Commanding level, with no Monarchs in sight.

They were a distraction, their presence clearly orchestrated.

The Clayton City general was engaged in battle outside the city walls, his lv1 Monarch strength barely holding back the onslaught of Commanding level beasts.

The soldiers on the walls were providing support fire, their attacks peppering the battlefield.

Within the city, however, the defense force was woefully inadequate, numbering only a few hundred, with no Commanding level soldiers in sight.

Alex guessed that most of the border troops had been deployed to the front lines, leaving Clayton City vulnerable.

And the attackers, despite possessing the strength to overrun the city, were merely harassing them. Their motives were unclear.

The soldiers and the general, their attention focused on the beasts, were oblivious to Alex's arrival.

Suddenly, a bolt of purple lightning struck the battlefield, instantly obliterating the beasts.

The general turned, his eyes widening as he saw Alex hovering in the air.

"Thank you for your assistance, honored Magus!"

The soldiers, breathing a collective sigh of relief, followed his gaze and saluted.

"Thank you, merciful mage!"

"Let's go inside. I have some questions for you," Alex said, landing gracefully beside the general and leading him back into the city.

The soldiers began clearing the beasts' corpses. The conversations of powerful figures were none of their concern.

"Tell me everything you know about those shadowy creatures," Alex said, leading the general to his room.

She noticed, that the general did have a shadow. One of her theories had just been debunked.

"I only saw them once. It was a shadowy figure, moving incredibly fast. I tried to pursue it, but it vanished around a corner," the general replied, his voice respectful.

"Was it during the day or at night?"

"At night."

"Have there been any attacks during the day?"

The general paused, racking his brain.

"No, all the victims were killed at night. But the beasts have been spotted during the day."

Alex's question had made him realize that the beasts were a red herring, a distraction.

Of course, as the city's sole protector, burdened with both administrative and combat duties, it was understandable that he had overlooked this detail.

"Do you still have the victims' bodies?"

"Yes, we have a few. They were killed recently. We haven't had time to dispose of them yet."

"Take me to them."

The general led her to the city morgue, where three bodies lay, all killed on the same day.

Each victim had a single, fatal wound to the neck.

Alex illuminated the bodies with her mage-enchanted stone.

"Notice anything unusual?" she asked the general.

The general, his brow furrowed in concentration, examined the bodies carefully. But he couldn't find anything out of the ordinary.

"Their shadows," Alex prompted.

The general's eyes widened in realization. The victims had no shadows.

Nighttime attacks. Shadowy figures. Missing shadows. These clues pointed towards a specific type of creature.

But with thousands of races in this world, no one could claim to know them all.

"Do you recognize this race?" Alex asked.

The general shook his head. "Never seen anything like it."

"Perhaps you didn't lose it. Perhaps it merged with the shadows, becoming invisible," Alex suggested.

"So they only attack at night to conceal themselves?" the general murmured, piecing together the clues.

"And they can evade my senses. Interesting."

Alex turned and left, her mind racing. She had a good idea of what they were dealing with now.

The general, watching her go, was stunned.

"What kind of creature can even evade a King level mage?"

Alex, instead of returning to the inn, suppressed her aura and wandered through the deserted city streets.

She wanted to draw the creatures out. If they could evade a King level mage's senses, finding them in this sprawling city would be nearly impossible.

It was better to use herself as bait.

She also wanted to test whether ordinary light could reveal their presence. If so, finding them would be much easier.

And if she could kill one, she could use the system to identify its race.

But she wasn't sure how many there were, or if they would even attack tonight.

These creatures, with their shadowy nature, were likely aligned with darkness, the opposite of angels. Perhaps the Holy Court wasn't behind this after all.

She walked aimlessly, blending in with the darkness, the city shrouded in an eerie silence.

After half an hour, with no sign of the creatures, she changed tactics, venturing into the city's dark, narrow alleys.

A faint sound, a soft thud, echoed from the end of one alley. Alex, her eyes adjusting to the dim moonlight, peered into the darkness.

"Just a stray cat," she muttered, her shoulders slumping slightly.

She turned and continued her exploration.

Just then, a cloud drifted across the sky, obscuring the blood moon, plunging the city into absolute darkness.