Chapter 81: Royal Elf Craig, Corpse King Hel, Hel
Resting his head on one hand, he idly toyed with a white feathered envelope.
This man was none other than Sylvia Craig, the ninth ruler of the Elf Empire.
Despite being only an eighth-tier in strength, Craig held a unique status as the sole brother of the current Elf Empress, placing him just below her and above all others within the empire.
Yet, at this moment, Craig felt somewhat melancholic.
He couldn\'t understand why his doting sister had placed him under house arrest for six months just because he had violated a minister\'s daughter. She even instructed him to reflect on his actions.
Craig couldn\'t fathom what exactly he was supposed to reflect on.
His behavior?
Shouldn\'t it be an honor for that minister and his daughter to be violated by someone of his noble bloodline?
"Consider yourself lucky, I\'ll let you live a few more days." Craig muttered, glancing at the feathered envelope in his hand before tossing it into the trash.
He had originally lost hope in the Altar of Elements, but to his surprise, Ethan had been so considerate as to voluntarily send him the location.
A king-level Relic was extremely valuable, even for someone like Craig, who only possessed two such items.
Now that he had the location, there was no way he would let this Relic slip through his fingers.
...
A month flew by in the blink of an eye.
Inside the palace of the Zerg territory, Charles was reviewing his recent gains.
Over the past month, the unstoppable Zerg army had rapidly expanded Charles\'s territory.
His domain now spanned 150 kilometers with an additional 300 kilometers of affiliated territories, and the population had surged to 180,000.
This period saw an increase of 12 third-tier warriors and 3 fourth-tier warriors.
Among the fourth-tier ranks, one was a general from the Queen\'s Guard, while the other two, Karman and Wilton, had been fiercely fighting on the front lines with the main army.
These two were truly relentless!
Charles had initially thought it would take them at least a month to earn enough points for the Bio-Magic Gun, but they managed to do it in less than twenty days.
Which left Charles somewhat emotional.
It seems I can\'t sell it so cheaply in the future.
Moreover, as more and more people are drawn to the Bio-Magic Gun, both his wallet and territory were expanding rapidly each day.
Charles had called Eve and Catherine back to stay within the territory and help him with internal affairs.
Charles\'s plans were progressing smoothly.
At the current rate, he estimated it would take less than three months to fully conquer the Serene Forest.
Twisting the feathered pen in his hand, Charles contemplated his future plans.
Once the Serene Forest was under his control, the next challenge would be to digest its resources. Given his current capabilities, he couldn\'t fully exploit the Serene Forest in one go.
The territory of a Gold-level Overlord could only reach a maximum radius of 300 kilometers, approximately 70,000 square kilometers.
However, the diameter of the Serene Forest was over 1,000 kilometers, equivalent to a small country on Blue Star.
To completely consume the Serene Forest\'s resources before the end of the novice period, Charles needed to upgrade his Zerg Hive to a Diamond-level.
Upgrading to a Diamond-level territory required not just a Diamond-level Heart of the Overlord but also meeting specific criteria for population, territory size, and Overlord combat strength. Fortunately, Charles had already met these requirements, all that was left was to find a Diamond-level Heart of the Overlord.
Charles sketched and wrote on his desk, marking the key points to consider.
Once everything was organized, he had a clear plan in mind.
After conquering the Serene Forest, he would leave Eve, Catherine, and others to manage and exploit its resources.
Meanwhile, he would take Medusa, Little Green, and others beyond the Serene Forest into the Serpent Empire, to find a base, a Diamond-level Heart of the Overlord, and the semi-divine Relic.
After double-checking everything, he set down his feather pen and stretched, ready to take a break.
Just then, his parchment made a noise.
Charles, halfway up, froze instantly.
He sighed and said, "Seems like there\'s no rest for the weary."
Saying this, he sat back on his throne and picked up the parchment.
Immediately, a message popped up in front of him.
To his surprise, the message was from Little Green.
What\'s this girl looking for me for?
Charles frowned, a sense of foreboding creeping into his heart.
He clicked to open the message.
The next moment, his pupils contracted.
[Little Green: Master, something terrible has happened! Sister Medusa and Sister Amy are surrounded by undead creatures!]
"Undead creatures?!" Charles shot to his feet, his expression grim.
Damn it, those ghostly things have come out again!
He had no time for further questions. Blood-red wings unfolded from his back abruptly.
"I want to see just how hard you are to kill!" Charles\'s gaze was icy as he transformed into a black streak shooting into the sky.
In his wake, his cold voice echoed through the territory for a long time.
"Catherine, bring ten thousand Zerg and the Bio-Mana Cannon, and follow me to the rescue!"
In the Zerg Armory, where she was supervising the assembly line, Catherine froze at his words.
Immediately, a look of excitement flashed in her eyes.
"Catherine, understood!"
She knew it was finally time to showcase her proud creation!
...
Meanwhile, in the northwestern region of the Serene Forest.
A fierce battle was unfolding in a somewhat secluded valley.
Thousands of pale-skinned, deathly undead creatures had surrounded Medusa, Amy, Little Green, and their forces.
They were leading the Zerg army in a desperate fight against these undead.
"Roar! Roar! Roar!!!"
The sounds of roaring and battle cries echoed through the valley, with severed limbs and blood splattering everywhere, turning the entire valley red with blood.
The Zerg army they led was dwindling at an alarming rate, with thousands already fallen in a very short time.
Medusa and her comrades wore grim expressions.
Their army wasn\'t equipped with soldiers that could counter the undead, leaving them utterly helpless against these creatures.
"Die! Die! Die! Just die already!" Hel, his expression twisted and his frame gaunt.
Enveloped in a dense aura of death as he battled fiercely with Medusa, who wielded a long whip.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!!!"
Terrifying energy waves radiated outward, disintegrating the surrounding undead warriors into a bloody mess.
But soon enough, the undead would rise again at Hel\'s command.
Over the past month, Hel had consumed all of his subjects, rapidly elevating his combat strength to the upper fourth tier!
Additionally, he had gained the ability to control and bestow the undead trait to other creatures.
This undead army was his masterpiece.
And Charles and his Zerg army were intended to be the first sacrifices for his undead empire!
"Stop your futile struggles. If you agree to become my women, not only will I spare your lives, but I\'ll also make you my queens!" Hel\'s face twisted into a lecherous grin as he ogled the wounded Medusa and her companions. "Don\'t worry, I can satisfy you far better than Charles ever could!"
"You piece of shit, you think you can compare to our master?" Medusa\'s eyes filled with disgust as her whip movements suddenly became ferociously fast, striking Hel\'s head directly.
"Bang!"
Hel\'s head exploded like a watermelon, splattering brains and blood everywhere. But Medusa did not relent, her whip danced like a phantom, shredding Hel and the nearby undead into mincemeat.
Yet as soon as Medusa paused her attack, within mere breaths, Hel and the undead began to revive once more.
"Damn it, these things are hard to deal with!" Medusa panted heavily, unable to hold back a curse.
"Let me handle this!" Amy suddenly appeared.
Her eyes glowing with a dark light. Agile and swift, her long blade gleamed like a silver crescent moon as it slashed toward Hel\'s neck.
"Soul-Cutting Blade!"
Hel\'s expression changed dramatically as he sensed the danger from her strike, hastily dodging. Though Amy had timed her attack perfectly, the disparity in their combat strength was too great, and Hel easily evaded her blow.
However, she did succeed in enraging Hel.
"If you want to die so badly, I\'ll oblige!" Hel\'s eyes darkened, and he began to gather thick, gray mist in his hands.
A powerful aura of death erupted from Hel\'s body!
Medusa\'s face changed as she urgently warned, "Captain Amy, be careful!"
But before Amy could react, Hel had already struck her with a forceful palm.
"Ugh!"
Amy spat out a mouthful of blood, her slender figure flying backward like an arrow shot from a bow.
"Amy!" Little Green quickly moved forward, catching Amy in her arms. The impact was so strong that it pushed Little Green several steps back.
Ignoring everything else, Little Green hurried to check Amy\'s injuries.
She immediately noticed that Amy\'s face was as pale as paper and her internal organs were severely damaged.
At that moment, Hel was already speeding toward Little Green and Amy.
"Stop right there!" Medusa shouted in anger, her beautiful eyes glowing with a purple light.
Her pupils instantly transformed into vertical slits, and a powerful aura burst forth from her body.
"Petrifying Gaze!"
In the next moment, Hel\'s body began to petrify at a visible speed, soon becoming completely still.
They had trapped him!
Everyone\'s eyes lit up with joy.
If they could just hold him off until their master arrived, they would be saved.
However, just then—
"Crack!" A sharp cracking sound suddenly echoed, and a fissure appeared on Hel\'s petrified form.
"This is bad!" Medusa\'s expression changed drastically.