Volume One: Hell-Level Lord World Chapter 106: The Level 9 City Blocking the Road

Once the plan was set, Chen Gu proved to be quite decisive in action. The Vine Light moved swiftly, and with a detailed map in hand, they soon entered the boundaries of Changfeng City.

Along the way, Chen Gu had already revisited the situation of Changfeng City. This city was a level 7 city, on par with Yonghua Forest. It was one of only two level 7 cities in the southern part of the Elven Kingdom; beyond this level, no larger cities existed there. The rest of the Elven Kingdom comprised one level 11 city, three level 9 cities, and six level 7 cities, all situated in the northern and central regions.

Chen Gu had chosen his position wisely. If he could capture Changfeng City, the main city in the south, he would have a foothold to confront the undead city occupying Yonghua Forest. However, Chen Gu never expected that halfway through their journey, Pan would activate the Ground Mode on his own initiative.

Chen Gu immediately sensed something was amiss.

“Have we encountered undead patrols?” he asked.

“It’s no longer patrols. It’s a full undead army. Seems like we’ve come at the right time,” Pan replied. Since Pan was in contact with the crows, he could gather intelligence on the situation ahead—a more reliable reconnaissance than usual scouts. Pan had just received word from the crows and concealed themselves underground in advance.

“What’s the situation exactly?” Chen Gu asked sternly once they reached a relatively safe spot.

“The route ahead is different. We came from here. About fifty miles ahead lies an undead city. Judging from the current situation, it’s likely a level 9 city,” Pan explained.

“You’re sure?” Chen Gu glanced at the map. The location Pan indicated was not where Changfeng City was, but along the path leading to it. According to the Elven maps, this place lacked suitable resources or important nodes to justify a level 9 city—unless it contained something different from what the elves needed.

After some thought, Chen Gu suddenly stood up—only to bump his head on the ceiling of the vine carriage.

“This is an ancient battlefield. It must be the final battleground between the undead and the elves. A vast number of elves perished here—so many that even the undead refuse to abandon it,” Chen Gu declared loudly.

Upon hearing this, Pan immediately caught on to the possibility.

If the undead had once reached Changfeng City, the city certainly wouldn’t have been sealed off like Wuchao City. Outside Changfeng were numerous elven villages and towns. If Changfeng, the main city, had been sealed, the elves outside would have been doomed. From what Chen Gu understood about the elves, Changfeng wouldn’t have shut its gates, nor would they have had permission to retreat to the elven ancestral lands. Their final stand would have been a concentrated battle, with all elven forces gathered at one point to face the undead. The entire elven force of Changfeng would have perished.

Chen Gu lightly tapped the map and sighed deeply. Although he understood the undead situation, facing such a battle still left an inexplicable heaviness in his heart.

After a while, he spoke slowly, “We fight.”

As he said this, his mind raced, quickly calculating the resources he could leverage. To assault this undead city directly was impossible relying on the troops he had. While his forces could easily handle level 1 villages or level 3 towns, level 5 towns were already challenging. The level 9 city ahead, with its triple-layered walls, moats, and defense towers, could withstand large-scale attacks.

On paper, Chen Gu commanded about 200,000 fire elementals and several thousand hydras. Yet even if all were deployed, victory wasn’t guaranteed.

“My lord, I understand your thoughts, but we lack the manpower for such a siege. Moreover, we don’t even have siege engines. And since the enemy are undead, we cannot outmatch them. Perhaps we should bypass them?” Pan offered.

“Bypassing won’t help. The area behind is also occupied by undead. Unless we take this city, we’ll face undead armies when attacking Changfeng,” Chen Gu replied coolly.

“Then we should settle this fight here and now,” he added.

“But my lord, even if we want to eliminate these undead, we need sufficient forces. With our current numbers, we can’t breach the undead city walls. As for underground infiltration, that’s impossible—they’ve already raised the Dark Canopy, which means they’re defended from above and below,” Pan argued.

“No,” Chen Gu shook his head. “I never intended to occupy this city. You’ve been mistaken in thinking that capturing it is necessary. Our goal is only to uproot this city.”

“Not to capture it?” Pan queried.

“Yes. What use is conquering it? We’re not necromancers; we can’t control undead,” Chen Gu explained his thoughts.

With this shift in perspective, Pan pondered seriously.

“If it’s not about siege, then maybe it’s possible. But the difficulties remain. We can only use fire attacks now; flames deal heavy damage to undead. But they’ll anticipate that.”

“No, we can’t ignite such large fires, and the undead aren’t foolish—they’ll extinguish them. If we act, it’s better to use water. Pan, check if that lake still exists and whether there are undead nearby,” Chen Gu said, pointing to the map.

Pan glanced and nodded. “Understood. I’ll handle it immediately.”

With that, Pan closed the window and maneuvered the Vine Light to the surface. They stopped a fair distance from the undead city, then released all the crows.

Kebas, who had been sitting in the tavern carriage, stepped out.

“My lord, what’s happened? Why the sudden stop?”

“There’s a level 9 city ahead. I intend to uproot it before proceeding.”

“A level 9 city? Impossible—there’s no suitable place here for such a city,” Kebas, an experienced elven hero familiar with the area, rejected the idea outright.

Chen Gu’s words made Kebas fall silent.

“Count me in for this battle,” Kebas declared.