Building the Strongest Undead Empire from Scratch

"You really are a Freelancer," Alex muttered, seemingly to herself, yet her words were also directed at Castellan. With that, she conjured a fireball in her hand, as if about to strike him down.

Just then, a dark figure appeared in front of Castellan.

"Must you do this?"

The newcomer was a middle-aged man, seemingly in his thirties or forties. He shielded Castellan with his own body.

Unlike the Liberty Church members in Glory City, this man wore no mask. Judging by his power, he had already reached King level and was undoubtedly one of their bishops.

"You could have shown yourself earlier. Sneaking around like a rat," Alex said disdainfully, not taking the man seriously.

"Thank you for saving me," Castellan expressed his gratitude to the man, but received no response.

The middle-aged man was facing immense pressure from Alex. He was like a small boat adrift in a vast ocean, about to be swallowed whole.

"May I ask why you have come to Tomb City?" the man asked politely. He knew he was no match for Alex and could only try to stabilize the situation and negotiate with her.

"Can you represent the Liberty Church?" Alex asked coldly, staring at the middle-aged man.

"Why don't you tell us your demands first? We will do our best to satisfy them," the man replied calmly, unfazed by Alex's attitude. Of course, there was another reason for his composure.

Alex had sensed the changes around her. Her arrogance was meant to provoke them.

"I want the Liberty Church to submit to me," Alex stated, her voice icy. The middle-aged man and Castellan's expressions changed drastically. The former even revealed a hint of anger.

"Don't push your luck!" the middle-aged man roared, his King level aura exploding as he prepared to attack.

At the same time, the situation in the room suddenly erupted. Four King level bishops emerged from the surroundings, charging towards Alex. Outside, hundreds of Freelancers had surrounded the area.

Facing the siege of five King level opponents, Alex remained calm and composed.

Snap!

A crisp snap echoed through the air. The five Liberty Church bishops who were attacking Alex froze in their tracks. Even the remaining ordinary members were stunned, unsure of what to do.

Ten black figures had suddenly appeared before them, each emanating a King level aura!

Moreover, the aura from each figure was even stronger than that of the five Liberty Church bishops!

Were they surrounding Alex?

No, it was Alex who had surrounded them!

Ten King level Reaper Guards stood in the air, their overwhelming presence preventing all Liberty Church members from making a move. The immense pressure made it difficult for them to breathe, their legs trembling uncontrollably.

"Undead?! Those are undead!" someone in the crowd exclaimed. The Freelancers were in an uproar.

"She's the number one Lord on the leaderboard!"

"The undead Lord is already this strong?!"

"How is this possible?!"

Disbelief was etched on everyone's faces. If they knew that this was only a fraction of Alex's true power, they would be even more astonished.

The five bishops were also stunned. They had guessed that Alex was the current number one Lord, but they never expected her power to have grown to such an extent!

The five bishops who had founded the Liberty Church were reminded of the fear they felt a thousand years ago when another number one Lord had dominated an era.

They too had been forced to become Freelancers.

"So, still want to fight me? Freelancers will always be Freelancers, forever in the shadows," Alex taunted. She had shown mercy by not killing them outright for daring to attack her.

The five bishops fell silent. Alex could easily eliminate them. Once their headquarters were destroyed, the Liberty Church would cease to exist.

"We apologize for our actions. On behalf of the Liberty Church, I sincerely apologize. We are but a group of pitiful souls with nothing of value to offer. You must be here for information. Ask, and we shall tell you everything we know," an elderly King level church bishop finally spoke up. Alex guessed that he was the archbishop of the Liberty Church.

Alex tossed the fireball into the air, illuminating the surroundings.

She turned her back on the five bishops and took a few steps forward.

"I'm not one for unnecessary bloodshed. It's always better to resolve conflicts peacefully. I heard that you are the previous generation of Freelancers? I'm curious, how did you survive until now?"

The five bishops exchanged glances and dismissed the other Freelancers in the city. This matter likely involved their secrets, and they didn't want ordinary Freelancers to hear.

Alex didn't stop them. The entire city was already sealed by her spatial magic, preventing anyone from escaping. With the Reaper Guards monitoring the situation, she had complete control.

The five bishops had no choice but to comply. They had lived for over a thousand years and had faced countless dangers. They didn't want to die here and now without understanding why.

"Slumber. We survived through slumber."

"Slumber? Don't tell me you can just put yourselves into slumber."

Alex was skeptical. Not everyone could simply decide to slumber.

It was clear that with their King level strength, they couldn't achieve this on their own. They must have relied on some object or received help from a powerful being.

Seeing that they couldn't fool Alex, the five bishops had no choice but to tell the truth.

Their slumber relied on the ability of a certain race that could induce deep sleep in their souls, slowing down their bodily functions. As long as protective measures were taken, they could slumber for centuries.

It was through this race's ability that they controlled all the Liberty Church members across the seven continents. Even without the ability to travel between continents or communicate directly, they could still issue commands and direct operations.

This race was the foundation of the Liberty Church's existence. Without it, the entire organization would crumble.

Alex was intrigued. This was the first time she had heard of a race with such an ability.

"Take me to this race."

The five bishops lead Alex to their headquarters in the city.

Their headquarters were located underground, with the entrance hidden in the northeast corner of the city. It was so well-concealed that no one would have suspected a thing without knowing that Tomb City was the Liberty Church's base.

Even in the dimly lit underground passage, they didn't dare to attack Alex. They had no idea if she could summon twenty King level beings now after summoning ten earlier.

Soon, they arrived at the depths of the dungeon and saw the race with the peculiar ability.

"Are you sure it's her?" Alex asked, a hint of doubt in her voice. In the room before them stood a human woman. There was nothing extraterrestrial visitor about her appearance.

"Yes, within the church, we treat her as an equal. But she rarely speaks and prefers to stay in her room," one of the bishops explained to Alex, clearly considering this extraterrestrial visitor as one of their own.

"She's the only one?" Alex asked, sensing the woman's King level strength with slight surprise. They had mentioned a race, so where were the others?

"She is the entire race. Her race seems to be ancient, possibly survivors from a bygone era. It's been so long that their origins are lost to time," the bishops explained helplessly, their hearts filled with trepidation. They feared that Alex would harm her, which would spell doom for the Liberty Church.

Ignoring the others, Alex entered the room. A moment later, to the astonishment of the five bishops, the woman willingly handed over her race's Tear to Alex!

When Alex emerged from the room, she didn't explain anything to the stunned group.

The truth was, from the moment Alex had stepped foot underground, she and the woman had been communicating telepathically.

The race was called the Dream Race, and her name was Selene. She was the last of her kind.

The only difference between Dream Race and humans was their ability to create dreams and kill their enemies within those dreams. Their potential was arguably even greater than that of humans.

However, their numbers were few. Although their way of life and civilization were similar to humans, they were eventually discovered. Fearing for their own future, humans had waged war on the Dream Race.

Alex already knew the outcome. Selene was the sole survivor, forced into hiding. She had come to the Liberty Church nearly a thousand years ago, hoping for a chance to avenge her people.

Of course, the power gap between them had grown too vast, and revenge seemed like a distant dream. That was until today, when she met Alex, a Lord with the potential to become a god. This was her best chance for partnership.

To Alex's surprise, the Dream Race' enemy wasn't all of humanity, but the Holy Court.

To be precise, it was the Holy Court of old, a time when they were still dedicated to the advancement of humanity, albeit through extreme measures. This had led to numerous conflicts with the Mage Guild.

It wasn't until they became servants of angels that they completely abandoned their original ideals and turned their backs on humanity.

Alex explained the difference between the Holy Court and the Mage Guild to Selene. She had to be truthful about the situation outside the human world. Not all humans were enemies of the Dream Race.

In this way, Alex and Selene found common ground and immense potential for collaboration.

To earn Alex's trust, Selene had willingly offered her race's Tear.

However, all of this communication had taken place within the dream world, unbeknownst to the five Liberty Church bishops. That was why they were so shocked by what they had just witnessed.

The five bishops knew that without Selene, the Liberty Church would be finished. But she had submitted to Alex, and they seemed to have no other choice.

No, perhaps their fate had been sealed the moment Alex arrived in Tomb City.

"So, you five are the true leaders of the Liberty Church?" Alex asked, ignoring their astonishment.

"Yes. There used to be one more, but he passed away. Now it's just the five of us."

"How many Freelancers from the previous generation are there in the Liberty Church?" Alex pressed further.

"Three hundred and fifty-two. But very few managed to reach King level. Most of them died of old age."

Alex suddenly understood. Becoming a Freelancer meant losing the talent bestowed upon them by the system.

In simpler terms, their lifespan was shortened. Even for a King level, living for a thousand years was a difficult feat.

"I'll give you a choice: submission or death. And one more thing, I'm very interested in the powerful previous generation of Lords." Alex's cold voice echoed through the silent, dark passage.

The five bishops barely hesitated. Perhaps they had already come to terms with their situation.

"We are willing to lead the Liberty Church in submission to you!" they declared in unison.

A satisfied smile spread across Alex's face. Her mission here was a resounding success. Now, it was time to gather information.

"Very well. Now, let's find a more private place where you can tell me everything you know about the seven continents."