Building the Strongest Undead Empire from Scratch

"Yes!"

Alex, one hand pinching her breast, now firmly pressed the confirm button.

Originally, Alex planned to wait until Sophie had crafted the equipment and sold it for magic crystals before upgrading her castle and then performing the summoning. But now it was midnight, and there was still no response from Sophie, which probably meant a long wait.

Alex didn't want to waste time and decided to go ahead with the summoning herself so she could head to bed afterward.

The Barracks crystal emitted a green glow, and twenty figures began to coalesce in the light.

Another tall figure appeared, about ten feet tall, similar in size to a gargoyle but humanoid and wingless.

Alex was sure this was a troop she had never seen before.

"A rare troop has appeared!" Alex exclaimed as a figure wearing a crown and heavy armor, wielding a broadsword, materialized.

However, inside the armor was a skeleton, not flesh. Its eyes burned with a distinct red flame, different from other skeletons, exuding an undeniable leadership aura.

"Skeleton King!"

Alex recognized at a glance that it was a king among the skeleton race. The appearance of the Skeleton King made the other nineteen troops seem less impressive, although the presence of two bone dragons and two ghost dragons was still notable.

The Skeleton King, holding his greatsword, knelt on one knee and saluted Alex, with the other undead adopting a submissive posture.

"Greetings, my queen!"

The intelligent undead spoke in unison to Alex, who then motioned for them to rise and excitedly checked the Skeleton King's information.

[Skeleton King (Unnamed)]

[Race: Undead]

[Loyalty: 100% (Never Betray)]

[Life Tier: Standard]

[Level: lv1 (Can be increased by slaying enemies)]

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

[Mana Points: 20]

[Strength: 12]

[Stamina: ∞]

[Agility: 8]

[Growth Limit: Divine level]

[Active Skills: Skeleton Fall, Soul Siphon]

Skeleton Fall: Summons countless giant flaming skeletons from the sky, causing area physical and magical damage, Mana Points cost: 20.

Soul Siphon: Drains the souls of all nearby creatures lower than its own level, causing soul damage while strengthening itself, Mana Points cost: 20.

Similar to Arthur, who initially had one active and one passive skill, the Skeleton King had two active skills, both area damage skills costing 20 Mana Points each.

"From now on, you shall be called John, and all Skeleton Soldiers will be under your command!"

"Thank you, my queen, for naming me."

Alex then led them to the Blackwater Altar for enhancement. Knowing that Arthur had gained a skill during his enhancement, she was confident John would be no different.

Alex let John go first for the enhancement, while the other undead waited. After about fifteen minutes, John's enhancement was complete.

Alex then allowed the other undead to enhance and opened the Blackwater Altar's information to check John's changes.

[Enhancement: Comprehensive enhancement, the burning nether fire increases soul defense, hardened bones increase physical defense, skill breakthrough unlocked, all attributes +10 points.]

Like Arthur's enhancement, it was a comprehensive boost in soul, skeleton, and other aspects, also unlocking a skill. As kings, both John and Arthur received a 10-point increase in attributes.

[Passive Skill: Breakthrough]

Breakthrough: Allows all Skeleton Soldiers to break through their level limits.

Holy fuck, this skill is insane!

While it didn't enhance John's combat abilities directly, it significantly empowered Alex's skeleton army. Breaking level limits meant that Skeleton Soldiers Alex personally summoned could now upgrade just like those summoned from the Barracks.

With nearly three thousand undead under her command, and Skeleton Soldiers making up more than a third of that number, about 1300, the potential for upgrading them all was epic.

It seemed Alex would return to her old ways of using weapons for summoning, as two Skeleton Soldiers capable of reaching Commanding level were far stronger than a Standard-level gargoyle.

"John, your main task tonight is to level up and use the Breakthrough skill to unlock all skeletons' level caps."

The double experience at night was too good to waste. With low initial levels, leveling up was quick. Skeleton Soldiers could assist, and John could deliver the final blow if needed.

"Your Majesty, my breakthrough skill does not need to be activated; the Skeleton Soldiers just need to see me to have their limits automatically lifted."

John's ethereal, raspy voice reached Alex's ears, bringing more good news.

"Great!"

Alex slapped her thigh in excitement.

Ouch, that hurt.

She hadn't expected this passive skill to be so user-friendly. Alex had thought it would take days to fully unlock so many skeletons, but this saved a tremendous amount of time.

A godsend indeed!

With all undead assigned theirtasks, Alex prepared to head back to her bedroom for some sleep, hopeful that both Arthur and John would bring pleasant surprises tomorrow.

"By the way, John, let everyone know not to throw animal corpses directly into the Blackwater Altar anymore."

"Yes, my queen."

As John left, Alex glanced at the system time; it was nearly 1 AM. She walked to her bedroom, stripped off her clothes, and lay down in bed, pulling the covers over herself, ready to sleep.

Ten minutes later, Alex suddenly opened her eyes again, still reveling in her joy, finding it hard to fall asleep. Suddenly, Sophie sent a message.

[QuartzStriker]: "Big Shot, all 4160 pieces of equipment are crafted and ready to be sent to you!"

[Hamburger]: "OK, I'll list them right away."

Sophie was always a bit late, but Alex didn't mind too much. Even if the equipment had been processed earlier, it would still take some time to trade, and who knew what time it would be when she finished? By now, Alex figured most Lords were probably asleep.

Not everyone was like her, staying up until 2 or 3 AM, right?

[Hamburger initiates a trade!]

[One piece of ordinary equipment, trading for ten magic crystals.]

[Remaining quantity: 4160 pieces.]

Alex felt that by the time she woke up, the trading would be nearly done. This was equipment worth 40,000 magic crystals, a peak she had never reached before.

Every night, lying in bed, Alex liked to ponder life.

Is this world really a sphere? If it is, there should be time differences, right? So while she's sleeping, there must be other Lords whose day is just beginning?

"Sleep, sleep, stop thinking about such things. What does it have to do with me!"