Building the Strongest Undead Empire from Scratch

In the grand hall of the undead imperial capital, four figures sat around a table, the Death Spirit Clone standing silently beside them. They were gathered to report on their respective progress.

Death Spirit, Drake, and Xiao Mu took turns detailing their advancements, while Xiao Hui listened attentively, occasionally interjecting with a comment or question.

The northern regions, from the Twinface Mountains to the far north, were now completely under their control, seamlessly connecting the undead territory with the Arctic Tigerfolk kingdom. Expansion efforts continued eastward in the Dark Forest and westward in the Barren Plains.

Gemini Territory, surrounded by weaker factions, faced no significant threats.

Their primary concern lay with the two most powerful native races of the Arsen Continent, currently embroiled in a war against the humans. These formidable forces were also engaged in their own power struggles, creating a volatile landscape.

Xiao Mu believed that if not for the presence of major factions, the undead could easily conquer the Arsen Continent, given enough time.

Both Gemini Territory and the undead territory were developing smoothly, their expansion almost effortless.

Drake, bolstered by the King level undead reinforcements and the dragon race's non-interference agreement, was making remarkable progress in Dragon Territory. He was growing bolder with each passing day.

The Featherfolk battlefield in the dwarf territory remained the most challenging front. Progress was slow and arduous, a grueling war of attrition. However, the undead held a distinct advantage in a war of attrition against the Featherfolk.

Among Alex's subordinates, Drake was level 9, Xiao Mu was level 8, and Xiao Hui remained at level 7.

"Your top priority now is to reach King level," Xiao Hui addressed Xiao Mu and Drake. "Kill as many enemies as you can. Try to avoid accepting their submissions. With our current fusion technology, we can create one King level undead from roughly ten thousand standard undead."

"We'll continue to research new fusion techniques here to further enhance our strength," Sophie added.

"By the way, what about that bone thing in the city? I heard it can summon King level undead too. Why aren't we using it?" Drake's question reminded the others of the bone pile.

"Let's go take a look. Alex made that thing. We haven't touched it," Xiao Hui said.

The group headed towards the wall, where the bone pile stood.

From afar, it appeared small, but up close, it towered over them at a staggering 10 feet tall. An eerie black energy emanated from the structure. However, there was no system interface to be found.

All eyes turned to Xiao Hui, urging her forward. As a death angel, she was considered undead and might possess a natural affinity for the structure.

"If I remember correctly, this bone pile was created by fusing all those Skeleton Soldiers," Xiao Hui said.

Tens of thousands of Skeleton Soldiers had been sacrificed to create it. If they were truly all fused together, its level couldn't possibly be just level 1 King level.

As the bone pile activated, a massive magic circle unfurled beneath it, stretching to the edges of the wall, its diameter reaching almost a hundred meters.

The bone pile trembled, and gigantic bones rose from its depths, converging above.

They assembled into a colossal skeletal creature, identical to the one that had attacked the hobgoblin kingdom, but this one was even larger and radiated a more terrifying aura.

The magic circle on the wall began to shrink, condensing into a ball of blazing soulfire that then shot towards the giant skeletal creature and merged into its body.

At that moment, blue flames ignited in the creature's empty eye sockets, and its massive body stirred to life.

"Thank goodness, it's just one. I thought there would be a whole bunch of them," Sophie sighed in relief. Fewer numbers usually meant greater individual strength.

Xiao Hui, with everyone watching, opened the system interface to check the creature's information. Its true power was finally revealed.

[Warlord Skull]

[Race: Undead]

[Loyalty: 100% (Never Betray)]

[Life Tier: King level]

[Level: 6 (Can be leveled up by killing enemies)]

[......]

[Life Limit: Emperor level]

"Level 6?!" Everyone gasped in astonishment. This was currently the highest level among all the undead in the undead imperial capital.

Tens of thousands of max-level Commanding level skeletons had fused into a single level 6 King level entity. It was definitely more cost-effective than ten level 1 King level undead.

"As expected of Alex. The undead summoned by the structures she creates have a life limit of Emperor level, while ours are only King level," Sophie said, her admiration for Alex evident.

This was the first time the bone pile had been fully activated. Even Alex herself might not know its true strength.

"Let's send it to the Featherfolk battlefield with the Death Spirit. That's where we need high-level King level support the most. Any objections?" Xiao Hui asked the group.

"None," Xiao Mu and Drake agreed. Low-level King level undead were already a great help to them. With the addition of the Warlord Skull, they might be able to take down the Featherfolk and significantly bolster the undead empire's power.

"Right, all the special structures in the undead imperial capital have been upgraded to King level. Who's taking the enhancement crystal?" Sophie retrieved the crystal from her Warehouse and offered it to Drake and Xiao Mu. They exchanged glances.

"You take it. You need it more than I do," Xiao Mu said. Drake didn't refuse and accepted the enhancement crystal from Sophie.

"Don't lose it, or our leader will be very upset," Sophie reminded him.

The group returned to the palace, while the Death Spirit left with the Warlord Skull, which, after all, didn't need any food.

As evening descended and the four of them enjoyed dinner and light conversation, a different scene was unfolding on the eastern border of the dwarf kingdom on the Arsen Continent.

A group of Templar Knights clad in silver armor had gathered. They had just completed a mission and were preparing to return to Knight City.

However, they stopped less than a hundred miles from the Featherfolk territory and began to confer amongst themselves.

"The Featherfolk are too close to the human cities. We've been making too many moves lately. It's not wise to provoke them further."

"Agreed. Featherfolk were at war with the undead. They're of no use to us. They just want us to help them fight those undead."

The Templar Knights were aware of the undead empire's rise, so the mention of undead didn't faze them.

Their goal was to get the Featherfolk to help them attack the humans, not to fight the undead for them.

These were critical times. Even though the undead weren't a major threat, they didn't want to stir up trouble. If the humans discovered their presence in Featherfolk territory, it would be a huge problem.

"Alright, Bofur, you go alone. Investigate the situation and remember to stay hidden."

They were still reluctant to give up on the Featherfolk as a potential ally.

"Yes, Captain."

Bofur removed his armor, handed it to his comrades, and ventured alone into Featherfolk territory.