I was a lord farming, how did I become an emperor?

Chapter 370 Necromancers and Nemesis

……

……

Eastern Province, Moon Lake Forest in the south.

A giant eagle, about the size of an ox, frantically flapped its wings and fled, as if something terrifying was chasing it.

Just as it was about to escape the forest, Thunder suddenly burst out from below!

The giant eagle immediately flapped its wings and turned to try to escape, but it was no match for Thunder's speed and was caught by a claw.

Thunder flapped its wings and descended, pinning the giant eagle to the ground.

Rhodes slowly emerged from the forest, a smile on his face as he looked at the giant eagle.

"You can't escape, so you might as well join my team."

Rhodes crouched down, gazing at the giant eagle pinned to the grass, and said earnestly:
"Joining the army will give you access to the imperial system, with free food and drink, and guaranteed safety."

"And your litter of children will not face any danger in the future."

"And in the future, I might make you evolve again."

Rhodes reached out and gently stroked the giant eagle's head.

However, the aura of a dragon slayer emanating from him made the giant eagle dare not move at all.

The giant eagle clearly understood Rhodes' words, its eyes filled with pleasure.

But in the end, it closed its eyes and nodded.

"Good bird, so well-behaved."

With a smile, Rhodes reached out and conjured a Seed of Nature, which he then placed into the giant eagle's body.

……

……

Rhodes has been traversing the mountains and forests of the southern and eastern provinces these past few days, capturing all the flying magical beasts reported by the demon-hunting teams.

Two giant eagles, four giant bats, and a giant owl, making a total of seven.

It is worth mentioning that Rhodes discovered that gigantification is one of the main directions of mutation in beasts.

These seven magical beasts were weak and, apart from their increased size, did not possess any magic, making them perfect as mounts.

Rhodes doesn't need them to engage in direct combat.

In the future, they will only need to carry soldiers and Molotov cocktails into the air and drop them into the enemy's army to complete their mission.

This could be considered the simplest bomber, right?

Most importantly, it's low-cost.

In normal times, these flying magical beasts can also serve as mounts for messengers, transporting important items or letters.

Watching the Seed of Nature merge into the giant eagle's body, Rhodes waved his hand, signaling Thunder to release the giant eagle.

"Alright, let's move on to the next destination."

Rhodes turned to Vivian, "It seems to be only fifty miles from here, right?"

Vivian didn't answer immediately, but kept her head down as if she was thinking.

But she quickly looked up, exchanged a glance with Rhodes, and immediately reported: "The Western Alliance has sent word that everything is normal in the small alliance countries bordering the southwest."

"And the small countries surrounding the west coast of the Western Alliance were all overrun by the ghoul plague."

……

……

Western Alliance, Green Forest Kingdom, Royal City.

On the city wall, Prince Golden Hammer, draped in a black cloak, looked completely different.

His pale face was devoid of color, with rotting flesh still clinging to his cheeks, and his eye sockets glowed with a blood-red light, making him look ferocious and terrifying.

He stood in the shadow of the tower, quietly surveying everything within the city.

The city is in complete chaos.

Countless people infected by the ghoul plague grew claws and fangs, and pounced on the living people around them, tearing them apart.

Drawn to flesh and blood, they showed no fear in the face of the soldiers' weapons.

Even when facing knights, they would not back down.

Even if only half of a person's body remains after being bitten, they will still be infected by the ghoul plague and turn into a half-bodied ghoul that crawls towards other living people.

The ghouls weren't very strong; they were about the same strength as ordinary soldiers.

But people are emotional after all, especially when faced with such an unknown monster, and no one can help but panic.

Once a ghoul gets a bite out of you, killing it won't help.

Knights are the ones who do the most damage to ghouls.

Even a novice knight, if calm enough, can decapitate someone with a single sword strike.

Lomisa stood behind Prince Golden Hammer and asked respectfully in a low voice, "My lord, shall I go and kill those knights?"

"After living with humans for so long, have you started to pity even these lowly cannon fodder?"

The Golden Hammer Prince uttered a cold, hoarse female voice, "Or do you think I care about the lives of these ghouls?"

“I’m sorry, my lord, your servant Romissa was far too foolish!”

Lomisa hurriedly knelt down to admit her mistake, her voice trembling.

"Get up."

Prince Golden Hammer spoke in a flat tone, but his voice remained cold, "You are the most useless of all the servants, yet you have the most tenacious vitality."

"Look at the meager imperial bloodline in this body you prepared for me; it's utterly incapable of withstanding my power."

"If it weren't for that, I wouldn't need to rely on these ghouls to fight against the world's hatred of me."

The golden hammer prince standing before Romisa was none other than Carly, the former necromancer and goddess of vengeance.

What Lomisa said before was all fabricated.

Compared to the goddess of magic and death, Kali is far more evil and insane.

Carly was once a weak deity who was skilled at controlling the undead army. She could use magic to influence memories and devour souls, and had more followers than necromancers, avengers, and shadow wizards.

Because it was a god with weak divine power, it did not attract much attention from powerful beings, and hid a wisp of its divine soul to sleep, avoiding the pursuit of wizards and the bombardment of the world's will.

However, even a weak deity's soul would be noticed by this self-sealed world and suffer a backlash from its rules if it tried to revive itself through this means.

Therefore, Kali must be resurrected in the body of the emperor's bloodline once recognized by this world, devour his soul, and deceive the world's rules.

Prince Jinchui's bloodline can only be said to be related to the emperor, but it is not pure.

Therefore, even though Carly is currently just a wisp of divine soul without divinity, she is still punished and suppressed as long as she uses her power.

Kali must create countless undead to use necromantic energy to help her suppress the world's rules.

In fact, Romissa's original target was Atreus, whose bloodline was purer.

After being poisoned by the bloodline curse, she dared not face the legendary knight again.

Ultimately, Lomisa chose the prince of the collateral branch, the Golden Hammer.

Lomisa did not deceive the Prince of Golden Hammer; he did indeed gain immense power.

But he paid the price with his soul.

“I’m sorry, my lord, your servant is incompetent!” Lomisa lowered her head even further.

"Alright, stop talking nonsense."

Prince Golden Hammer, also known as Carly, inquired, "What's the situation in the surrounding duchies?"

"It's all arranged. The ghoul plague can be detonated at any time."

Lomisa respectfully reported, "The royal families of the Redwood Kingdom and the Golden Lion Kingdom, which border the Shattered Rock Empire, have been infiltrated and can control their armies to launch an attack on the Shattered Rock Empire at any time."

"No rush, that Rod is not easy to deal with."

Carly's voice was cold. "Even the Church of Dawn fell into his hands. We must be careful."

“I need more time to recover my strength, and those heretics in the Holy Council need even more time to refine them.”

After listening, Lomisa hesitated and said, "But, my lord, I don't think Loth will give us time..."

“I know perfectly well that once the news gets out, that Rod will definitely not just stand by and do nothing.”

Carly smiled. But the combination of her voice and smile made her look extremely sinister and terrifying.

“That Rhodes will spread the word about our horrors and unite all of humanity against us.”

Carly turned and looked down at Lomisa. "At that time, you can destroy the souls of those kings, control their bodies, and make them stab Rhodes in the back."

"Yes, my lord."

Romisa wasn't stupid; she had thought of this too.

Lomisa, however, felt that the plan was unlikely to succeed, as someone like Lot would not act without caution.

However, even if Rhodes sees through it, it doesn't matter. The result is that the battle will break out first, and the Redwood Kingdom and the Golden Lion Kingdom will still consume Rhodes's forces.

But Lomisa didn't say any of this.

After all, if Lomisa knew everything, then he would not be able to demonstrate the wisdom of his Lord.

"Alright, this royal city is almost ready."

Carly's figure slowly floated up. "Let's go check out the nearby villages, then move on to the next city."

……

……

"This is the current situation in those countries in the Western Alliance."

In the council chamber of the Yanlong City Palace, the long table was filled with people, and almost all of the empire's key personnel were present.

Vika the Lynx briefly described the intelligence sent back from the front, adding, "The specific details are in the files you all have."

Vika is now the head of the Imperial Intelligence Department, and all intelligence information is gathered and reported to him.

Rhodes made this arrangement intentionally to protect Vika, because as a supervisor, he wouldn't need to always be on the front lines and would have more time to train.

Not just Vika, but anyone with the ability, Rhodes tries to protect.

The empire needs these people; it cannot allow them to rush to the front lines at will any longer.

"This is terrible. We absolutely cannot let that ghoul plague happen here."

Atrei took a deep breath, turned to look at Rhodes, her eyes filled with worry and pleading, "Your Majesty, we must stop this."

"You don't need to worry about these things; I've already made arrangements in various locations."

Rhodes remained calm.

Rhodes was well aware of the horrors of the ghoul plague, and Night Whisper was keeping a close eye on it.

It's not just the ghoul plague; all the poisons and diseases associated with the undead are terrifying.

Therefore, the empire was wary of these things both openly and secretly.

"Luxembourg is also prepared with a plan."

Rod looked at Lusen on the other side.

Luxem replied respectfully, "Yes, Your Majesty."

"We regularly inspect food and water sources."

"The specially prepared necromancy potion is ready, and it will be eliminated immediately if any necromancy is found."

Luxem assured him firmly.

In the Flame Dragon Empire, some remote villages are now converging towards towns, making it difficult even for necromancers to target remote villages.

Rhodes nodded slightly, his gaze falling on the crowd.
"Our most important task now is to get rid of those ghouls."

"Judging from the location of the countries where the ghoul plague occurred, they are all very remote and far away from us."

Durant looked at the map on the table.
"If we send troops into the Western Alliance, we will still have to cross the lands of the Redwood Kingdom and the Golden Lion Kingdom."

Durant looked up and shook his head slightly. "I don't think they'll let us through easily."

The others nodded in agreement.

"Your Majesty, we can negotiate with them."

Chris chimed in, "The undead are the enemy of all humanity."

"As a member of the Western Conference, I think those two kings should be even more afraid now."

Chris looked at Rhodes, "I think they should be willing to send troops to help us wipe out those ghouls."

“At this time, we should unite everyone. You’re right, Chris.”

Rhodes nodded slightly, then changed the subject, "But I'd like to hear what others have to say."

Rhodes's gaze swept across everyone's faces, seemingly with a hidden meaning.

The White Frost Prophet, seated at the very end, cautiously peeked out.

The White Frost Prophet's Purifying Flame can also cleanse necromantic energy, and his participation is also necessary in this war.

“Your Majesty, at this moment, it is best not to trust other countries,” said the White Frost Prophet.

Rhodes nodded slightly. "Yes, continue."

“Those necromancers have been in the Western Alliance for a long time, and the Redwood Kingdom and the Golden Lion Kingdom are likely colluding with them.”

The White Frost Prophet speculated, "They might attack us at any time."

“That makes sense, we definitely need to be careful.” Durant nodded in agreement, frowning.

"Intelligence indicates that no trace of the Healing Church or the Eternal Life Church has been found in those two kingdoms."

Vika flipped through the report in his hand, looked up and reported, "It should be alright."

"That just illustrates the point, I think."

The White Frost Prophet looked at Vika, "While other places have suffered from the ghoul plague, they are peaceful and have not reacted at all."

"Why is this?"

The White Frost Prophet asked and answered himself, "Perhaps this is a trap they're setting for us."

Vika nodded. "You're right. I can't prove this isn't a trap."

At this moment, the former commander-in-chief, Leon, who was sitting at the end of the table, spoke up: "Even if it's not a trap, we must be cautious about the allied forces."

All eyes turned to Leon, who involuntarily straightened his back.
"The interests of the coalition cannot always be aligned, and we must consider the possibility that they may have ulterior motives."

"An army can only have one commander-in-chief."

Leon earnestly suggested, "Your Majesty, it would be best if you took the lead in everything."

"But it's best to avoid conflict altogether."

Atreus spoke again: "There are too many ghouls. According to the intelligence we've gathered before, there are probably around six or seven hundred thousand."

Even ghouls transformed from the elderly, young, and women are still monsters.

Therefore, what Atreus said was a conservative estimate.

If relatively few ghouls die in the chaos, then it's not impossible for their numbers to reach a million.

"Your Majesty, if possible, we should unite with the surviving kingdoms of the Western Alliance."

Rhodes didn't speak, his gaze slowly sweeping over everyone.

"Very good, what you all said makes sense."

Despite the terrifying number of ghouls, Rhodes was still very happy.

Rod deliberately remained silent.

After the last Imperial Conference, Rhodes discovered that after he spoke, others were less inclined to express their opinions.

This is not a good thing for an emperor.

Therefore, Rhodes chose to remain silent this time, neither expressing his opinion nor agreeing with or opposing anyone's viewpoint.

When faced with a plan from the enemy, these subordinates discussed and reached a conclusion.

"What you're saying is exactly what I want."

Rhodes stood up with a smile. "Lusen and Vika stay here. The rest of you go and mobilize the troops to assemble on the southwestern border."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The legion commanders rose simultaneously and responded in unison, then left the council chamber one after another.

Once the gate was closed by the guards, Rod looked at Lucien and Vika.
"Just as Chris and Atresia said, we cannot afford to kill each other and deplete our army."

Rhodes looked at the two of them solemnly, “Therefore we must keep those kings firmly under our control.”

(End of this chapter)