Global Lords: The Undead's Mobile Fortress

"Have you heard the news from Komeilan City?"

"What news? Quick, tell me."

"I'm only telling you, so don't go spreading it around. They say they've found traces of the Undead over there."

"Undead? Hahaha, what kind of joke is that? They're a Race from the legends. They don't actually exist!"

"Fine, don't believe me. Anyway, I'm heading to Komeilan City. I'm going to get some Soul Fire!"

...

By White Hair Pulan's design, news of the Undead's appearance in the tunnels spread rapidly through the three Underground Cities surrounding Komeilan City—Komeiyat, Komez Fortress, and Kemeston. An increasing number of Demonized Creatures heard the rumor.

Most Demonized Creatures were disbelieving or hesitant. But there were always some, eager to grow stronger, who decided to head for Komeilan City without a second thought. They didn't just want to see the Undead with their own eyes; they wanted to hunt them. Rumor had it that the Soul Fire of the Undead was extremely beneficial for Demonized Creatures like them.

Wave after wave of Demonized Creatures set out from their respective cities and converged on Komeilan City.

The arrival of these Commoners from various cities brought a massive grin to White Hair Pulan's face. 'They aren't just reinforcements,' he thought, 'they're walking money trees!' If they wanted to leave Komeilan City to hunt the Undead, they'd have to pay with money and supplies. There was no way they were going to hunt for free.

Ever since the last battle, White Hair Pulan had ordered the city gates closed, forbidding the city's residents from hunting the Undead in the tunnels. On one hand, it was to conserve their Power; on the other, he wanted to let the rumors simmer and draw in reinforcements.

After Komeilan City sealed itself off, the Undead got a chance to breathe. They spread out in the tunnels, their figures appearing everywhere. They even gathered before the gates of Komeilan City, but they didn't attack.

This was on Li Ziyu's orders. He was worried the Demonized Creatures might have an ambush prepared, so he only had the Undead stand guard at their gates. If the enemy made no move, they would hold off on attacking for the time being.

'It's no wonder he thought this way. In the last battle, the enemy had been shockingly fierce, relentlessly chasing down the Undead. Yet after that fight, the Demonized Creatures just vanished. They stopped coming out. There's no way something isn't up,' he mused. 'It's not like they can't win.'

'Since they aren't attacking, I won't either. Besides, the tunnels are still full of Demonized Beasts. I'll just collect their corpses and increase my number of Alien Undead. As long as I have enough Undead, they can have whatever schemes they want. If worse comes to worst, I can always just run away.'

'My real enemy right now isn't the Demonized Creatures,' Li Ziyu reminded himself, 'it's the Cancerous Tumor Alliance Army.' He hadn't forgotten his reason for coming to this Underground City.

Directly in front of Komeilan City was a vast, open plaza, several football fields in size. The ground was paved with square Stone Slabs enhanced with Magic Hardening.

Three tunnels led to the plaza, all of which were now occupied by Skeleton Undead. Li Ziyu had stationed over fifty thousand Skeleton Undead across these three tunnels. They remained within the passages, watching Komeilan City from across the plaza. The unspoken agreement was clear: 'If you don't come out, we won't go in.'

The remaining Skeleton Undead were scattered throughout the other underground tunnels, furiously hunting Demonized Beasts and transporting the corpses away.

On White Hair Pulan's orders, the great gates of Komeilan City remained shut for three full days. During that time, over 5,000 Demonized Creatures arrived from the other three Underground Cities.

And this was only because the vast majority of Demonized Creatures didn't believe the news of the Undead's appearance. Otherwise, the number of arrivals would have been several times higher. Demonized Creatures revered violence and held immense interest in anything that could make them stronger.

Even with only 5,000 gathered, it was enough to delight White Hair Pulan and the residents of Komeilan City. They weren't just reinforcements; they had also spurred a wave of economic growth. With over 5,000 people eating, drinking, and amusing themselves in Komeilan City, the spending was considerable.

This made White Hair Pulan's subordinates admire their City Lord all the more. 'The City Lord,' they thought, 'is truly a man of profound wisdom.'

'Three days is long enough,' White Hair Pulan decided. He was afraid something might go wrong if he waited any longer. 'Those are Undead out there, not some weak-kneed pushovers. Even though they show no sign of attacking, their numbers are terrifying.'

The 5,000 visitors in the city had already seen the Undead outside through various means. 'They'll be the best advertisers,' Pulan thought. 'They'll spread the news of the Undead far and wide, letting residents of other cities know. Then, even more reinforcements will come pouring in.'

White Hair Pulan simply didn't believe it. 'In this Underworld, could the Undead really wipe us out?' he scoffed. 'We Demonized Creatures have survived in the Underworld for who knows how many years, building one city after another. As if some foreign Undead could just show up and destroy us.'

Although the Undead's appearance had shocked him, he felt perfectly calm. 'After all, they don't look particularly powerful, not as fierce as the legends say,' he reasoned. 'And as luck would have it, we Demonized Creatures have never feared war. In fact, we yearn for it. What a perfect match.'

In addition to the 5,000-plus reinforcements from outside, White Hair Pulan summoned another 10,000 residents of Komeilan City, telling them to go out and fight the Undead together.

"May you return victorious! May you have a bountiful harvest!"

White Hair Pulan stood on a high platform, shouting loudly to the departing Demonized Creatures. Below, thunderous cheers erupted. The Demonized Creatures didn't look like they were going to fight the Undead, but rather like they were heading to a grand celebration.

There was no need for a rousing speech. The banner he'd raised was 'Hunt the Undead,' not 'Total War with the Undead.' What was there to mobilize? Hadn't he seen those out-of-town Demonized Creatures, clamoring every day to charge out and throw down? Their morale was already pent-up and ready to burst.