Chapter 3: The New Continent

Li Bin stopped and looked back, discovering that several undead had suddenly appeared behind him. The one closest to Li Bin was a vampire man dressed in an extravagantly ornate evening suit, standing not far from him in the shadows.

To Li Bin’s right, a ghostly man draped in a black robe was gliding toward him, and just behind the ghost, a three-meter-tall skeleton was striding quickly to catch up.

Seeing Li Bin halt, the three immediately surrounded him. Before any of them could speak, hostile sparks flashed between them.

Li Bin initially thought the animosity was directed at him, so he stepped back and explained, “Gentlemen, I don’t believe I have any enmity with you.”

“Of course not,” the ghost in the black robe replied at once. “I’m simply displeased to encounter these two.”

“You think I’m happy to see you? I thought I could get some peace for a few days, but even here on the Beginner’s Continent, I run into you,” the vampire grumbled.

Sensing the argument brewing, Li Bin quickly interjected, “Excuse me, but you’re probably here for me, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I almost forgot if you hadn’t mentioned it,” the vampire said, making a strange gesture. “Let me introduce myself: I am Mark Overland from the Death Realm, a humble shadow assassin. I’m here to deliver a message from His Majesty the Emperor of the Undead. His Majesty hopes you will come to the kingdom of the dead, the world of the undying, and develop yourself in the Death Realm.”

“Idiot,” the skeleton shot Mark Overland a glance. “Mr. Li, don’t listen to them. Their so-called Death Realm is just four or five continents completely occupied by the undead. There’s no room for you to grow there. You’d do better to join our guild and fight alongside us across various continents.”

“And your guild is…?” Li Bin glanced at the skeleton and asked.

“The great Undead Paradise—the first guild to conquer the Beginner’s Continent. We’re currently ranked second among the top ten guilds, and I am the guild’s diplomat, Many Hairs,” the skeleton said, full of pride.

Li Bin didn’t answer right away but instead looked at the ghostly man. “And what about you?”

“Me? I only bring a message from the Alliance of the Seven Undead Lords. They hope to establish an alliance with your new territory.” A faint smile appeared on the ghost’s translucent face.

As Li Bin looked at the three, he quickly assessed the situation. They seemed to represent the three major undead factions. The Emperor of the Undead was likely the most powerful among them, but as Many Hairs had pointed out, there would be little room for development there.

Undead Paradise sounded like the dreamland for undead players, but for someone like Li Bin, with no background or great strength, he’d be relegated to a peripheral member or cannon fodder at best. Any progress he made would simply be appropriated by the guild’s higher-ups.

Thus, Li Bin set his sights on the ghostly man and deliberately asked, “Alliance of the Seven Undead Lords? I haven’t heard of such a group.”

“That’s understandable,” the ghost replied casually. “We’re not very famous. It’s just a loose alliance formed by minor undead who don’t want to join either of those two major factions. Aside from the seven lords elected by alliance members, there’s no real hierarchy—everyone is equal. Any undead lord can use the guild’s internal network to sell their research, resources, troops—even heroes can be traded freely.”

With this, Li Bin understood the nature of the Alliance of the Seven Undead Lords. After a moment’s thought, he said, “Gentlemen, standing here isn’t going to get us anywhere. Why not sit down in that tavern over there and have a deeper discussion?”

Mark Overland and Many Hairs exchanged glances, realizing their missions here had essentially failed, but to save face, they followed Li Bin into a tavern.

Half an hour later, the four emerged separately. There was no way to tell from their expressions what had transpired, except that the ghostly man—whose name was Reynard—now held a carefully filled-out guild application form in his hand.

Having settled everything, Li Bin soon found the one-way portal Old Xiu Bi had mentioned. He showed his mercenary credentials to the ogre guards and was allowed through.

After a dizzying whirl, Li Bin felt a moist breeze caress his face—so different from the blood-soaked wastelands. Soon he realized he was standing amidst a mountain range, surrounded by an endless expanse of primordial forest.

His heroes, troops, and the Graveyard Mage were waiting nearby, and Tordina and the others were staring in astonishment at their surroundings.

Seeing Li Bin approach, Tordina and the rest hurried to greet him. Sanai spoke up directly, “Master, this is an excellent place to build a city.”

“Oh? Tell me your reasoning.” Since arriving, Li Bin had been admiring the scenery, not considering whether this was a suitable place for a city.

“It’s like this, sir. Here’s the map the thieves just brought back.” Sanai quickly spread out a map. “There’s a stone quarry here, and a lumber mill there. While there are some wild creatures nearby, there’s no organized force holding this area. And look here—this valley is the only pass through the entire mountain range. If we can hold it, we’ll only have to defend one direction from enemies.”

Li Bin took the map and studied it carefully for a moment before shaking his head. “No, this isn’t quite right for developing an undead city.”

“Why not?” Sanai asked, puzzled.

“You may see these mountains as a strong barrier, but to me, this vast forest serves just as well. If we build an undead city here, we’ll end up destroying everything around us. Once the forest is gone, we’ll be directly exposed to enemies on the other side.” Li Bin spoke gravely.

“So what do you suggest?” Sanai followed Li Bin’s reasoning and realized he was right.

“We’ll establish a village here, but I won’t manage it myself,” Li Bin decided after some thought. “Let Lidas handle it. The site will be in that valley.”

“Me?” Lidas asked, startled. “But I don’t know how to do anything like that.”

“You’ll have to learn. I’ll leave the City Heart: Spider 3 with you. Your task is to establish a level-three village for me here.” Li Bin’s tone was gentle but carried an irrefutable authority.