Chapter 380: It's time to go back
Twenty-three days flew by. Since Xiao Hui had first noticed the change in the sky, the perpetual gloom had begun to recede.
Massive gaps in the cloud cover expanded rapidly, merging with others, allowing sunlight to gradually bathe the land.
Even the vegetation surrounding the Dark Forest was no longer so lifeless, slowly regaining its vibrancy.
During this time, the undead empire had recovered its strength to pre-war levels.
The Sea Race had gone quiet. While they periodically culled their weaker members, this recent invasion was clearly not a simple matter of population control.
Zarvox remained elusive, as if he had vanished into thin air. Logically, he couldn't have known about Garethor's arrival. Once his injuries healed, he should have returned to the Dark Forest.
Everyone had enjoyed a period of relative peace. The Beastman Empire, cowed by the dragon race's warning, had become more restrained. They tacitly accepted the undead's expansion.
Without the Beastmen's interference, the surrounding minor races were no match for the undead empire.
However, these were all small races, offering little value to the undead empire's development.
Sophie had secretly established a dwarf kingdom in a remote region of the Valoria continent, and the undead's progress there was well underway.
Furthermore, the undead empire had developed fusion techniques for zombies, Death Knights, and gargoyles, further enhancing their strength.
Sophie, with the assistance of Arthas, had perfected the zombie fusion. By reconstructing the flesh and merging soul fires, they could create a King level Roaring Zombie.
Death Knight fusion was achieved with the help of Garethor. The King level Flame Knights now wielded hellfire, the same type of flame used by Garethor.
The fusion concept involved separating the human and horse into two distinct entities. They had also discovered a way to fuse zombies and Death Knights, two completely different troop types.
This new troop type was named the [Fearless Warrior].
It possessed the characteristics of both zombies and Death Knights, boasting greater combat power and a level cap of Emperor level!
However, despite their best efforts, Sophie and the others couldn't directly fuse a Fearless Warrior at the Sovereign level cap. They suspected they were missing something, or perhaps a King level Fearless Warrior needed to level up to reach Sovereign level.
This project was still ongoing.
With the Fearless Warrior serving as a template, they successfully cracked the gargoyle fusion puzzle.
The fused gargoyle's level cap was raised to Emperor level. The new gargoyle was significantly larger, retaining its magic immunity and gaining the ability to reflect magic.
As for troop types with an inherent Emperor level cap, after much discussion, they decided that fusion was unnecessary. Their current focus was on enhancing the undead empire's lower-level forces.
Thanks to these technological advancements, the five million strong undead army was reduced by 70%, resulting in the creation of over a dozen new King level undead.
Although everyone had advised Sophie to abandon her research on Sovereign level cap troop fusion, she remained persistent.
The Light Titan, the Rock Dragon, and the death angel all had a level cap of Sovereign level. She wanted Alex's troops to have a Sovereign level cap troop type as well.
This was her motivation, a goal she had never shared with anyone but held close to her heart.
There were quite a few Emperor level cap undead troop types: bone dragons, zombie titans, Reaper Guards, Destroyers, ghost dragons, liches, and so on.
Among these, she, like Alex before her, believed that the bone dragon was the best candidate for fusion.
However, even Alex had failed, so Sophie's chances of success were slim.
She explored several other research avenues, but they all ended in failure.
She concluded that fusing Sovereign level cap troops was simply too difficult, or perhaps her own strength was insufficient, and she hadn't found the right method.
Then, one day, inspiration struck, and she stumbled upon a new research direction.
She attempted to fuse a zombie and a Death Knight. Although it didn't result in any improvement and cost her a zombie, the scientific value was invaluable.
It proved that cross-race fusion was possible.
If zombies and Death Knights could be fused, what about bone dragons and ghost dragons?
Both were dragons, making them seemingly compatible.
Excited by this discovery, Sophie immediately began her research. Soon, she made some progress, but significant challenges remained.
Fusing these two creatures was incredibly difficult, far beyond her current capabilities. However, Sophie was confident that she was on the right track.
She immersed herself in her research, rarely leaving her lab within the city.
Xiao Hui knew that Sophie wanted to surprise Alex, but she was also concerned about Sophie overworking herself to the point of mental exhaustion.
However, Sophie's approach was sound. Developing undead fusion technology was a viable way to enhance their combat power, especially when the undead empire faced developmental bottlenecks.
And so, the undead empire, like the other races on the Eldoria continent, entered a period of tranquility, quietly biding their time. Everything seemed to be progressing smoothly.
Since the undead empire's location had been exposed in the north of the Eldoria continent, they hadn't encountered any trouble. The anticipated Angel race attack never materialized.
Night fell. Today marked the hundredth day of the Hundred Kingdoms War event. Although scattered across different continents, Xiao Hui and the others were closely monitoring the event's progress.
One hundred kingdoms to be established in one hundred days. This meant that at least one hundred lords had to reach King level.
It was the final night of the event, but only fifty-two kingdoms had been successfully established.
They were far from reaching the target of one hundred. The World Chat was abuzz with activity as the event's end drew near.
However, white names now dominated the chat, accounting for over ninety percent. Most lords had chosen to become Freelancers instead of establishing kingdoms.
No one dared to gamble on reaching King level, let alone securing a spot among the top one hundred kingdoms.
Judging by the current activity in the chat, the number of surviving lords was likely less than one in fifty thousand.
Everyone was now waiting for midnight, eager to see what new event the system would introduce after the Hundred Kingdoms War concluded.
Time: 00:00 AM
[Congratulations to all lords who have achieved the goal of establishing a kingdom. You are true heroes!]
[Event Reward: All kings receive an unlimited level +1 (vassal kingdoms are not ranked and do not receive rewards).]
[Now, the fifty-two kings shall embark on their final trial. Establish your divine kingdoms, ascend to godhood, and stand atop all races!]
[Event Description: You are all heroes, possessing the potential for godhood. Each continent has a core of will. Conquer it, and you shall establish your divine kingdom!]
[Event Duration: Indefinite]
[Good luck to you all. We eagerly await your ascension to godhood!]
The next day, on the other side, within the Cliffside Mountain Cave.
Alex's figure suddenly materialized within the cave. Two desiccated corpses slowly stirred, having stood guard all this time.
The first thing Alex did was to open the system dashboard.
"It's been over two months. It's time to go back."