Gargoyle Supremacy

Carn arrived at Florida safely with two squadrons of F16 following them around. The Statue of Liberty continued traveling south, heading toward Miami.

The following jets continued following the statue to Miami as planned. As for Carn, he secretly teleported and returned to Gwen's house. Upon arrival, he blinked again, appearing directly in the dungeon core's room.

Gawain and Rosa were still there, sitting idly and staring at the dungeon core in boredom. When Carn appeared, they got up and reported him.

"Master, Demon Fleur doesn't come."

"My Lord. No one attacked our dungeon."

Carn was relieved. He instructed both, "Go back to the ground and guard the perimeter. I'm going to upgrade the dungeon core."

"Already?!" The two gargoyles were stunned. As upgrading the newborn dungeon core into an active one required at least 20,000 Aether, they were baffled at how Carn had acquired the amount in such a short time.

Carn silently transferred 10,000 Aether to each of his subordinates, returning the loan earlier. He then chased them.

"Just go. Let's say, I just killed a holy spirit and got my hands on a million Aether."

"…Oh, okay."

Gawain didn't bother asking his lord, but Rosa pouted in envy, "Did you kill the Lich King or something, master?"

Carn waved his hand, shooing Rosa, "Just go up and watch the news. It's on TV."

"Oh, alright."

Rosa vanished, teleporting into Gwen's house. Gawain followed suit.

Carn paused for a moment and silently prayed that Wong and Gwen wouldn't get heart-attacked because of the two spooky gargoyles. He touched the floating orb in the middle of the chamber and injected 20,000 silver marks into it.

The orb pulsed as though it was a human heart. The enter chamber brightened once more.

Outside, the territory expanded once more. It covered a square kilometer, including the block and other houses in the neighborhood. The same applied underground, as Carn could feel the terrain within the dungeon.

A white vein emerged from the dungeon core and latched onto the tall ceiling. A moment later, transparent fluid from the dungeon core flowed along with a vein and touched the ceiling above.

The chamber's ceiling transformed into a solid white material. At a glance, they looked like marble blocks. However, the solid rock was brim with Aether and divine energy, converting rich soil above into more white mineral.

Carn gazed at the ceiling and smiled bitterly. Although he didn't want to fill this world with Aether, his dungeon would soon evolve into the one that converted local materials into Ether Stone.

Ether Stone was a unique mineral that only Overlord Impermanence and Carn could create as they mixed holy energy and Aether together, creating a unified mineral, compatible with both types of energy. Once matured, they could be manufactured into armor and weapons, which synergized with the user's Aether or holy power.

In short, they would become material for his gargoyle army and arms in the future.

The expansion had started. It would take a week before the dungeon core turned everything in its territory into Ether Stones.

Carn teleported back to the surface. As soon as he arrived, he found Rosa and Gawain in the living room. As for Gwen and Wong, they were there as well, chatting with the two monsters.

"Oh, hey, Mr. Superhero. You're back." Gwen nonchalantly waved her hand at Carn while she suppressed her past embarrassment and shame.

Wong glanced at Carn but ignored him. She then continued chatting with Gawain while she touched his gold armor.

"This is pure gold, right? How much does your armor weigh again?"

Gawain inwardly broke a sweat as he could predict what Wong was aiming for. He sighed deeply and confessed, "About 400 pounds, madam."

Wong looked at Gwen, "What's the gold price again?"

"It's 1,560 per ounce."

"12 troy ounces is one pound. One pound is $18,720. So, your armor worth $7,488,000? Why not sell your armor and wear something else, ah? Wearing heavy gold armor is a waste, ah."

Gawain wanted to cry but he had no tears. He sighed, "The armor is my skin and flesh, madam. I can't take it off."

"What a waste, lah. But wait a second. Your flesh and skin? Does that mean your armor can regenerate, ah?"

"…"

"Can we chop you up and sell you?" Wong grinned.

Carn cut in before things escalated, "Ma, don't bully my subordinates. He's not for sale, and we can't sell him."

Wong clicked her tongue and returned her attention to the TV. She pointed at the screen, which replayed the Statue of Liberty's events for the 69th time.

"Where is the statue, Carn? What did you do to the statue?"

Carn gestured, pointing his thumb behind him, "I sent her to Miami and drew the fighter jets away. I can't bring it here, can I?"

"You should have, lah. We need a bigger war trophy. You saved New York. You deserve the statue as a reward, lah!"

Carn facepalmed and stated the fact, "Then, we'll expose our hideout and get Gwen into trouble. Our lottery-winning prize will be confiscated."

"Ah, then, you should throw that statue away, lah. War trophy, no money. Lottery, bigger money, ah!"

Gwen giggled while Carn sighed deeply in embarrassment.

The group spent the rest of the day chatting and exchanging information. Carn also reported to his mother what he had been doing. But again, he didn't tell his mother about his father's condition and his whereabouts as it would trouble Han.

.

The day passed, leaving behind a fragile sense of relief in the United States. While the outbreak on American soil had been successfully thwarted, the situation in other parts of the world spiraled into chaos. For many, it marked the beginning of an apocalyptic struggle.

In India, France, and China, the undead scourge wreaked havoc. These nations, caught unprepared for the overwhelming invasion, suffered catastrophic losses.

In China, the city of Wuhan became the epicenter of the devastation. Kaim reappeared and spearheaded assaults into neighboring provinces. His campaign left entire regions in ruins, with death tolls climbing into the millions. For every death, a new undead soldier emerged. Cities fell like dominoes while the number of undead never stopped increasing.

Across the globe, France faced its own nightmare. Mordred emerged in Paris. Within a single day, the iconic city of lights was reduced to a living hell overrun with horrors. The Eiffel Tower and its surroundings became surface catacombs, full of skeletons and zombies, made from the civilians of Paris.

Meanwhile, India offered a glimmer of resistance. Its people, hardened by centuries of struggle and resilience, fought valiantly against the invasion. Even villagers pulled out blooms and sticks that they could find to join the fights.

Their death toll rose faster than the other countries. On the first day of the invasion, over 20 million fell and more than half died fighting. But on the morning of the second day, a miracle happened.

A nameless monk arose as a hero.

At the heart of India's battle stood the sacred rivers, where one of the underwater gates to the other world had opened. Rishi Shravan purified the entire river, sealing the gate and halting the undead invasion in its tracks.

Inspired by Rishi's actions, local troops launched a fierce counteroffensive. Armed with newly blessed weapons, they pushed the undead hordes back. Villages and cities that had been on the brink of annihilation reclaimed their ground, turning the tide of battle in key regions.

Rishi Shravan was hailed as a national hero, a savior, and a war buddha. His deeds were broadcast across the country.

Unbeknownst to the public, however, Rishi Shravan was an incarnation, sponsored by a holy spirit. Everything was just a play, staged by him and his sponsor.

The second day of the invasion, two more portals appeared in United States and India once more as if the undead armies hadn't given up the countries yet.

.

.

At 5 AM, Carn snapped open his eyes. He sat up on the couch as he sensed multiple intruders entering his dungeon. The energy signature indicated that they were holy spirits and their incarnations.

Carn transformed into a gargoyle and teleported to the open street, 500 meters away from Gwen's house. He then looked up as he sensed pairs of eyes staring straight at him from above.

In the sky, a rift slowly expanded. The air warped and distorted as if a black hole was forming.

Near the anomaly, three holy spirits levitated in the sky, sneering at Carn. Behind them were their incarnations, namely Arthur, Anna, and Jack in gold armor.

Carn couldn't recognize Anna or Jack, but he knew Arthur. The former detective also armed himself in white plate armor, and he held a plain-looking sword, which was sealed a fancy jewel scabbard. However, Carn sensed a terrifying dense holy energy from the weapon.

Looking at the six entities, Carn understood what they had come here for.

Arthur slowly floated in front of the group and shouted, taunting Carn.

"Kiddy Carn Yunho! Your existence is a threat to humanity and Earth! We shall right the wrong and destroy your soul! I, as the chosen saint of the new world, will punish you!"

Carn couldn't stop cringing. His eyebrows twitched, "Very corny. Did it take long to come up with that line?"

"SHUT UP!" Arthur unsheathed his sword. However, it emitted an ominous black aura and a wail of vengeful ghosts.

Carn narrowed his eyes and recognized the traits of the cursed weapon.

"A death knight's sword? A holy incarnation using an undead knight's weapon?"

Arthur didn't wait for Carn to respond. He charged at him, flying down as if he was a comet.