In Galvin's mind, such a Lord could not be allowed to exist. The ability to summon an entire race of undead was a terrifying concept.
Undead were not like goblins or slis, low-tier races. An entire race of undead was sothing that instilled fear in everyone.
This was the chain reaction caused by Alex revealing her strength. Now, almost every Lord knew that the [Hamburger]'s troops were undead.
Alex, of course, wasn't afraid. After all, if they really attacked, she had the ho-field advantage.
What Alex didn't know was that due to more detailed information being leaked, the Alliance searching for her was growing stronger, potentially exceeding what she could handle.
In the westernmost part of the Arsen continent, there was the territory of the last of the three first-tier Lords without an Alliance, [Calamity Source].
The owner of Calamity Source was nad Lilith. Her castle was perched on the edge of a cliff, overlooking the vast ocean.
Beyond the sea lay an unknown continent.
Not far from here was the border of the elf kingdom, and the occasional harassnt from sea creatures also contributed to her rapid developnt.
Outside the castle were thousands of sea and elf warriors under her control. Inside, her troops stood solemnly on either side, eerie yet dignified.
Lilith, dressed in a black gown, stood on the castle balcony, gazing at the sea behind the castle, lost in thought.
She had also received Galvin's Alliance invitation. For lone wolves like Lilith and Satan, who had no Alliances, Galvin's plan was to temporarily unite them.
Lilith didn't give a clear response, choosing to observe for now. World Chat was still targeting Alex, recruiting mbers for an attack.
For so reason, watching this unfold, Lilith felt a sense of human hypocrisy.
Claiming that undead were a symbol of disaster and ominous creatures, it was really just fear of soone being too strong and threatening these Lords.
Disasters weren't limited to undead; any creature could be a disaster if the Lord was strong enough.
Lilith's resources ca entirely from the sea and elf races, rarely trading on the trading post, making her less known in World Chat.
Castle and Barracks levels didn't directly affect her strength, and she never planned to form an Alliance, keeping her town at lv1.
Lilith turned from the balcony, walking through the castle.
She looked at the thousands of elves and sea creatures under her influence and the troops standing motionless inside the castle.
A black feather at the door caught Lilith's attention. She bent down to pick it up, examining it.
"Perhaps my troops are more ominous than the undead."
If the undead Lord died, would she be the next "ominous"?
To Lilith, good and evil, ominous and holiness, couldn't be defined by one or a few people.
Lilith rembered a Lord nad [King Kong] who was near the undead Lord.
The undead Lord didn't kill her but made her submit. The submitted [King Kong] Lord hadn't suffered misfortune; otherwise, she wouldn't be active in World Chat.
Lilith searched for this Lord, finding her alive and well. From this, Lilith deduced that the so-called ominous of the undead Lord wasn't a madman.
Lilith decided to help Alex. The actions of these Lords were truly disgusting.
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"What kind of day is this, eting all these strange people?" Alex wondered. Was it because soone wanted to attack her that they all wanted to help?
But given the unique nature of the undead, no matter how many enemies ca, if they couldn't defeat Alex, her troops would only grow stronger.
Even within the first tier, there were differences in strength. The top first-tier Lords were on a different level from the average first-tier Lords.
Alex was directing the undead to enter the Portal of Transit. Many large undead couldn't pass through, so she didn't summon them.
She gathered only twenty thousand undead, leaving so to guard the castle. With Arthur and Ice Cream there, she felt secure enough not to leave any Monarch level undead behind.
Though twenty thousand undead weren't many, Alex had other plans.
Upon arriving at White Rock Mountains, the dwarves were ready, each wearing armor they had crafted, wielding swords or war hamrs, lined up neatly.
There were fewer than a thousand dwarves ready for battle. Not everyone had a mount, so Sophie only equipped the stronger dwarves with them.
Without the ability to enchant equipnt, the dwarves wore Commanding or Standard level gear, providing basic attribute boosts but no special effects.
The batch of muskets Alex had seized was likely their most powerful weapon.
The dwarves were needed because if Alex wanted to take over Grimstone, she needed them to govern it. Sending undead would cause panic and chaos among the dwarf civilians. Alex wasn't a butcher; she only killed the corrupt dwarf nobles.
It was afternoon, and marching to Grimstone would take until night. The distance was greater than crossing the entire Frostwind snowy mountain.
Alex pondered, with all the dwarves and undead looking at her, waiting for her command.
Her plan was to ti the attack for the next morning. Without knowing Grimstone's exact strength, a night attack would be risky, as the enemy would have double attribute boosts.
"Move out!"
Alex and Sophie mounted their griffins, leading the undead and dwarves.
Due to the presence of ground troops, the march through the mountains was slow.
In Grimstone, the youngest son of the Silverbeard Clan chieftain, Nori, lay in a luxurious palace, two dwarf won massaging his feet.
The won were unwilling, as they weren't Nori's servants but the wives of two civilian dwarves, forcibly taken because Nori fancied their looks.
If they disobeyed, the dwarf nobles outside would be waiting, and their husbands' lives would be at risk.
"Leader, we've found the extraterrestrial visitors in White Rock Mountains!"
A dwarf troop burst in. Nori, about to get angry, brightened at the news, kicking the won to the ground.
Nori stood up, towering at 5 feet, half a head taller than the dwarf troop, with fair skin, not looking much like a dwarf.
"Mobilize the army imdiately. We can't allow extraterrestrial visitors behind our lines. I'll wipe them out!"
The previous scouting squad's disappearance had enraged Nori. There were no major forces nearby, so it had to be extraterrestrial visitors.
"Leader, their troops are undead."
"Those disgusting things. No wonder our elite warriors vanished. If it's undead, that explains it. Prepare imdiately and enchant weapons with soul damage."
Nori knew how to counter undead. Though they had disappeared from Arsen for years, the clan's records detailed the terror of undead sweeping the continent a thousand years ago, including their weaknesses.
Nori had suspected extraterrestrial visitors, now almost certain.
He believed the legends were exaggerated. Undead were low-tier creatures, easily dealt with if you knew how.
Alex's army reached the outskirts of White Rock Mountains, 5 miles from the endless green plains.
Alex halted the army, addressing three specters.
"Tell about the nearest three dwarf fortresses."
"Yes, Queen."
Only 20K undead troops ca through the portal, and facing 20K dwarf soldiers is already quite challenging. Moreover, this is a siege battle, so the number of undead seems a bit insufficient.
No problem. If there weren't enough, she'd summon more. That's why Alex arrived early.
The specters knew the locations of the dwarf fortresses around Grimstone.
Each fortress had about three thousand troops. Three fortresses ant nearly ten thousand, allowing Alex to summon twenty thousand undead.
Alex planned to send two necromancers and a lich to fortress, increasing efficiency.
The necromancers' summoning magic wasn't mid-level, so they could only summon random types. The lich could only summon skeletons.
It didn't matter to Alex. She couldn't personally visit each fortress to summon air troops.
She sent the three alone, without additional undead support.
Alex led the army to wait. She looked up at the starry sky, knowing it would be a sleepless night.
Ice Cream took four hours to fly over the snowy mountain. Ground troops would take at least ten hours. The distance to Grimstone was even greater, making an all-night march inevitable.
The undead's infinite stamina was an advantage. The dwarves and beasts, though not infinite, could endure a night of intense marching.
They were only for cleanup; the undead would lead the siege.
Alex worried Grimstone might have a teleportation array, but at the sa ti, she also hoped it did.
If Grimstone was attacked, the news would reach the Silverbeard Clan chieftain, a downside.
The upside was that the dwarves could replicate the array, easing future marches. Otherwise, Alex would have to leave troops at Grimstone, limiting her strength.
She couldn't afford to run a day's journey for reinforcents, arriving too late.
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