Building the Strongest Undead Empire from Scratch

Alex returned to the undead Imperial Capital, parting ways with Emberon. The situation was escalating, and as she had suspected, the dragon race sought the undead race's assistance.

"The dragon race, having lost their true god and with only pseudo-gods remaining, seems to be the weakest among the major factions now," Alex mused. If she had a true god level combatant, she could wipe them out easily.

It seemed it was time to try communicating with the Sea Race.

...

On the Arsen continent, the battle between the undead and the Sea Race raged on.

The undead race had demonstrated strength on par with the Sea Race. Without deploying pseudo-gods, the Sea Race had no hope of defeating the undead.

Any Sovereign level beings above the first stage were easily handled by the undead pseudo-gods, posing no real threat.

However, since their last encounter, the Sea Race had been deploying fewer and fewer Sovereign level beings. The war had devolved into a brutal war of attrition between lower-level combatants.

The low-level Sea Race creatures flung themselves at the undead hordes on the coastline with suicidal abandon, their attacks disorganized and ineffective. They seemed to be endlessly throwing themselves into the meat grinder.

The sky above the ocean was filled with a swarm of undead, and the ground below teemed with their ranks. The once azure waters were now stained a sickly green, the air thick with the stench of blood and decay.

Alex surveyed the scene, appalled by the Sea Race's apparent descent into mindless aggression.

She flew out over the ocean, her gaze sweeping across the teeming masses of Sea Race creatures, searching for a leader, someone with intelligence.

Activating her space sphere, Alex pulled an Emperor level Sea Race being from the horde.

It struggled in vain, its eyes wide with terror as it faced Alex.

This was the commander of this battlefield, a mere Emperor level being, hiding among its troops, endlessly sending them to their deaths on the shore.

"I am the lord of the undead race," Alex said coldly. "Inform your true rulers, those with actual authority, that I wish to speak with them."

The Emperor level Sea Race creature stared at her, stunned. Before it could respond, Alex kicked it back into the ocean.

It immediately dove towards the depths, eager to relay her message.

...

Beneath the waves, swaying seagrass carpeted the ocean floor. Marine life teemed around a magnificent, sacred palace, carefully avoiding it.

Strange-looking Sea Race creatures, more fish-like than humanoid, guarded the palace.

Their enormous bellies expelled thousands of eggs every second.

The eggs drifted on the currents, collected in a massive container, where a Sea Race priest imbued them with power, transforming them into a swarm of tiny fish.

Within days, these hundreds of thousands of hatchlings would become fierce warriors.

This was the Sea Race's method of replenishing their ranks, not through summoning like the undead, but through sheer, relentless reproduction.

A Sea Race priest suddenly stopped what he was doing, glaring at the Emperor level being that had just entered the palace.

"Why aren't you commanding your troops? What are you doing here?"

"Leader, the undead lord has appeared," the Emperor level Sea Race creature reported respectfully. "She wishes to speak with us."

"There's nothing to discuss," the priest scoffed. "We must obey Poseidon's divine decree. We must conquer the Arsen continent."

Unless Poseidon himself countermanded the order, they wouldn't stop.

"Yes, Leader."

The Emperor level being turned to leave, knowing its trip to the surface had likely been a suicide mission. But it couldn't disobey a direct order, even if it meant certain death.

"Wait."

A voice echoed through the hall. A slender figure emerged from the palace's depths.

She looked almost human, with pale skin and flowing hair, like a human woman, except for her sky-blue tresses, piled high on her head.

She was barefoot, and small bells, attached to anklets around her ankles, chimed melodiously as she walked.

"Greetings, High Priest."

Both the Emperor level being and the priest bowed respectfully.

"I'll go see her."

As the High Priest spoke, she floated towards the surface. The marine life, both flora and fauna, parted before her, and even the water itself seemed to divide, creating a path.

The two Sea Race beings exchanged stunned glances. The High Priest hadn't left the Sea Temple in nearly a thousand years!

And now she was going to meet with an lord?

Could there be more to this than met the eye?

...

Above the waves, Alex hovered in the air, sensing a powerful aura approaching.

The ocean churned violently. To Alex's astonishment, the sea parted, creating a massive chasm.

A breathtakingly beautiful woman, borne aloft by the water, rose from the depths, stopping before Alex.

The sheer power radiating from her was unmistakable. This Sea Race being was a pseudo-god!

"Greetings, Undead Lord," the woman said with a gentle smile, her manner of speaking oddly formal, as if mimicking human customs. "I am the High Priest of the Sea Race, the current acting ruler."

"What is your stance in this conflict?" Alex asked directly, her gaze unwavering despite the High Priest's overwhelming power.

"We are but small fish in the vast ocean," the High Priest replied, her smile unwavering. "The great Sea God granted us life, and as his subjects, we have no right to choose."

The High Priest's words implied that they couldn't obtain a core of will and therefore had no right to choose a side.

"And what about after you conquer the Arsen continent and obtain a core of will?" Alex pressed.

The High Priest simply shook her head.

"You won't tell me?" Alex's tone hardened. "Do you think the undead race is your only enemy?"

The High Priest didn't seem interested in a genuine discussion. It was as if she was merely indulging her curiosity.

"No, I don't know," the High Priest replied.

"How can you not know?" Alex muttered under her breath. "You don't know, and I'm supposed to?"

"This is the will of the great Sea God. We are merely following his orders. After realizing we couldn't defeat you, I've scaled back our attacks to minimize our losses," the High Priest explained, a hint of helplessness in her voice.

Even she, despite understanding the futility of their efforts, couldn't disobey the Sea God's decree. She could only make minor adjustments within the confines of his divine will.