Chapter 29
Upgrade light swept the Territory and faded almost as quickly, and the settlement it left behind was transformed.
Size first — that was impossible to miss. The Territory had grown by half again at least. Lilith stared out over the newly claimed ground.
"Town-tier upgrades are this dramatic?"
The walls stood higher now. The castle had swelled into something larger and considerably more imposing, and while the inside still felt a touch bare, from without the place finally read as a proper fortified town.
The entrance had changed most of all: a massive black gate set between the walls, a fortified gatehouse squatting above it.
The castle's interior had shifted too, its furnishings now those of a medieval aristocratic estate. Ornate. Traditional. A touch severe.
Lilith could not have cared less about the decor. She had the Territory panel open before the light finished settling, hunting for newly unlocked Structures.
[Territory Name: God of Light]
[Territory Rank: Green Town]
[Territory Radius: 1,600 feet]
[Territory Privileges: While inside the Territory, you may automatically collect and dismantle resources, instantly learn skills or spells, teleport to any location within the Territory, and observe any creature that enters the Territory.]
[Unlocked Structure: Garrison Outpost]
[Upgrade Requirement: 10,000 units of Wood, 8,000 units of Stone, 5,000 Iron Ingots, and 400 Mana Crystals.]
[Prerequisites: Construct all available Structures, or submit one Lord Core.]
It actually unlocked something new? She hadn't expected another Structure at all. "And it's military."
Lilith selected it.
[Building Name: Garrison Outpost]
[Building Rank: None — Linked to the Training Grounds]
[Description: Establishes a permanent defensive force responsible for guarding the Territory.]
[Garrison Effect: All stationed Units gain three Tiers while on duty.
Their movement is restricted to the Territory walls.
There is no minimum deployment requirement.
Maximum capacity: 2,000 Units, equal to the capacity of the Training Grounds.
Undead stationed here continue to receive all Training Grounds benefits. ]
[Construction Cost: 200 units of Wood, 200 units of Stone, and 10 Mana Crystals.]
"This is good."
No more keeping the training undead tucked away inside the Training Grounds — she could post them along the walls as a standing defense, and an unconditional three-Tier boost would harden the Territory considerably.
Given how high the walls ran, ranged undead would get the most out of a post up there.
"Skeleton Archers, then."
A force of enhanced undead should hold off most native assaults even with Lilith away. Her chief concern, as ever, was the Goblins to the south.
She set about organizing the garrison at once. Before long, Skeleton Archers lined the battlements with a scattering of Specters among them — Tier 7 Recruit or higher, nothing less. Once the Garrison Effect took hold, every one of them would stand at Veteran Rank.
Over a hundred Veteran undead on the walls.
Add the Territory Guardian, the Necropolis of Echoes, the Grimacing Trees, and the Bone Heaps ringing the outer perimeter, and the Territory had become brutally difficult to assault.
Short of the Goblins committing an Elite, tearing it down was next to impossible.
The one loose thread: Eldran, Morwen, and Varkhul still had to hold Frostbound Bastion. With the three of them out of reach, she couldn't fully relax.
If tonight's war hands me an Elite corpse, the Goblins are the first faction I'm wiping out.
She stepped through the Portal. The rest of her preparations would happen in Bonnie's Territory — Bonnie herself had already crossed over the other way to keep watch in her absence.
Lilith gathered every Gargoyle she had. Her promise to defend Bonnie's Territory hadn't been an empty one; for days now, every suitable beast corpse found nearby had been raised as a Gargoyle, and the count had passed a hundred.
She picked out exactly one hundred for the expedition — enough for a respectable showing, while leaving Bonnie's Territory something to stand behind.
From the top of the wall, under the night sky, she watched them wheel overhead. Broad wings, hunched silhouettes. They looked like enormous bats.
She rubbed her chin. "Something still feels off."
They weren't impressive enough, that was the problem. An army like this, and other races might walk away concluding the Undead Faction was nothing but a parade of ugly monsters.
So Lilith returned to her Territory and summoned the one undead creature guaranteed to make an entrance.
A Bone Dragon.
Combat-wise she expected little from it. Its whole job was to carry her and make her arrival unforgettable. The enormous dragon came down before the wall, its spine rising nearly level with her spot on the battlements, and she leaped straight onto its back.
"Let's go!"
Wings spread, the Bone Dragon surged upward and tore through the forest canopy, one hundred Gargoyles falling in behind. Wind howled past Lilith where she stood upright on its spine, facing the horizon.
The Orc war didn't worry her much. Not out of faith in the Seer's prophecy — but because she and Auriel both had ways out.
They weren't even the main force; the Wood Elves and the Centaurs would be handling the strongest enemies.
If things soured, she could simply withdraw.
From where she stood, the war offered enormous rewards at very little risk.
It was still early, but she meant to meet Auriel at Verdant Spire before the fighting began. A Bone Dragon flew far faster than a Skeletal Warhorse, and the Wonder came into view in no time.
Auriel hadn't arrived. Blaise was already waiting, though — and beside him, another familiar figure.
Rowan.
Blaise waved with both arms. "Lilith! That entrance is incredible!"
The Bone Dragon folded its wings and touched down smoothly, a hundred black Gargoyles descending in its wake. Lilith hopped off and looked at Rowan.
"Why are you here?"
"My mentor originally planned to send Elowen to meet you. I volunteered to come instead." He was studying her troops with open curiosity. "Those aren't Skeletons. Another kind of undead?"
A nod. "Gargoyles."
Blaise, meanwhile, had noticed something else. He'd met Lilith's three undead commanders before, and not one of them was here. A moment's thought, and he quietly fired off a message.
[ArtilleryKing: Boss, Lilith's only bringing enough troops to make an appearance. Don't bring every Angelkin you have!]
No reply.
Then, from directly behind him: "You're too late."
Blaise spun around. His face fell.
"Boss... no."