Building the Strongest Undead Empire from Scratch

Chapter 154: Win over Durin

Sophie's dwarves lacked high-level combatants, and Durin seemed like a good candidate.

After months of torture, Durin had lost faith in the Silverbeard Clan. Nori, being the chieftain's son, made it clear that the chieftain was complicit in his suffering.

The city's commoners believed their beloved Lord Durin was dead.

"I am a noble. Can you trust me?" Durin asked.

"Words alone aren't enough. We need a contract," Alex replied.

Durin fell silent. Signing a contract meant he couldn't betray Alex, which was the safest option, but he also didn't fully trust her.

"I need... to see outside," Durin said.

Alex used her scythe to break the iron door and cut the chains binding Durin.

Durin struggled to stand, stumbling towards the exit. Alex watched silently. In Durin's current state, she could kill him instantly if he tried anything.

Outside the castle, Durin, covered in wounds, finally saw the sunlight. The bright light made him squint, taking a moment to adjust.

Durin's body was covered in scars, both old and new. His appearance was frightening.

Some commoners peeking through windows recognized their former lord.

"Look, isn't that Lord Durin?"

"Yes, it's Lord Durin! He's alive!"

Brave dwarf commoners soon stepped into the streets, bringing clothes and food. They dressed Durin and supported his frail body.

"Take me... to the gate," Durin said.

The dwarves didn't understand why Durin wanted to go to the gate despite his injuries, but they helped him anyway. Alex followed silently to avoid misunderstandings.

"Fellow dwarves, to the nobles, we are nothing but livestock. They exploit and oppress us. In their eyes, we are not even considered sentient beings. Are you willing to continue living like this? Why not be brave and fight for freedom and equality with your own hands?"

Before reaching the gate, Durin heard a dwarf passionately speaking. A crowd had gathered around him.

On the wall stood a human and three undead, watching silently. They were the companions of the human girl.

Durin also saw many dwarves from outside the city. Their armor was less refined, indicating they weren't regular troops. Despite this, they maintained order.

The city guards had been subdued, laying down their weapons. Balin Forgeheart's speech was swaying many hearts.

Durin was stunned. Alex hadn't lied. From the dwarves' behavior, it was clear they weren't being coerced.

"What do you think? While you may not fear death, I must say, if you choose to side with the nobles, I will kill you," Alex said, stepping in front of Durin. The two dwarves supporting him looked at the human girl in fear.

"I am willing... to take a chance with you. The corrupt noble system... I've had enough of it," Durin said, coughing. He had long wanted to overthrow the nobles.

"Good!"

Alex waved to Sophie on the wall, who quickly came over.

"Heal him and make a contract with him."

Sophie, though puzzled, complied. She conjured a green magic circle, and life energy flowed, healing Durin's wounds visibly.

Durin's complexion improved, and the dwarves released their hold on him.

Durin then signed a contract with Sophie, not a life-and-death master-servant contract. It wouldn't bind him to die if Sophie did.

"Help stabilize the city," Alex instructed.

She had other matters to attend to, such as the city's equipment and resources, and the surrounding dwarf fortresses.

Leaving the city's affairs to Sophie and the dwarves, Alex returned to the central castle with the dwarf artisan to inspect the basement's small teleportation array.

"It seems the dwarves' magic technology isn't that advanced," Alex remarked.

She had expected a large portal like the Portal of Transit but found a small one, only allowing one person through at a time.

It was likely Nori's emergency escape route. Where it led, Alex didn't know.

"Can you replicate it?" Alex asked the two dwarf artisans. They were among the few in Sophie's castle capable of crafting Commanding level equipment. If they couldn't, she'd have to abandon the idea.

The artisans examined it carefully and shook their heads.

"Leader, there's magic involved. We don't understand magic, so we can't replicate it."

Alex had expected this answer. She destroyed the teleportation array and left the basement.

The castle held some ancient texts about the Silverbeard Clan, but they contained little useful information. Who cared about the clan's history? Durin knew everything she needed.

The city also had many weapons and equipment, superior to those in the dwarf fortresses.

Alex handed these over to the dwarves, as they were useless to her undead troops.

"Durin, can you mobilize the troops in the surrounding dwarf fortresses?"

Alex asked at the gate. If he couldn't, she'd send the undead army to eliminate them.

With Grimstone secured, Alex wouldn't tolerate other dwarf fortresses between it and Sophie's castle.

"I can, but it will take some time."

The troops within the city were not all loyalists of the nobility; those in the fortresses even less so. They simply followed orders from their superiors, and as for who those superiors were, that was not their concern.

"Gather all the troops from the fortresses to Grimstone and restart the White Rock Mountains' mines."

Alex had a defense plan. The fortresses were too spread out, with scattered forces. Concentrating them in Grimstone was more effective.

She'd withdraw all fortress troops to Grimstone.

Excess dwarves would be sent to the White Rock Mountains to restart the mines, providing resources for Alex's castle.

Combining the fortress troops would yield about twenty thousand, plus the city's remaining ten thousand, totaling thirty thousand.

To be safe, Alex planned to leave twenty thousand undead in Grimstone to help Durin and Balin Forgeheart maintain control.

These undead were all ground troops, too slow for long marches. Alex didn't want to bring them back, as they were summoned from the corpses of the fallen dwarf troops.

If the Silverbeard Clan attacked, Durin would lead the dwarves in defense, with the undead as a last resort, also collecting and summoning corpses on the battlefield.

The lich remained the most powerful undead, with Emperor level potential, the highest among her troops besides the three race leaders.

Alex summoned a lich and a Destroyer from the two Monarch level corpses. Though the zombie titan also had Emperor level potential, its size made it impractical for now.

In this battle, Alex gained two additional Monarch-level fighters. To be precise, it was actually three, since Durin also counted. However, Durin had to stay and guard Grimstone, so Alex couldn't bring him back.

Alex gave Durin Nori's armor and weapon to enhance his combat ability.

With Durin, the former lord, the transition was smoother. His speech quickly rallied the commoners, who pledged to help overthrow the nobles.

Balin Forgeheart led the dwarves in rooting out the remaining nobles, with the commoners' support.

Soon, Balin captured a group of Silverbeard Clan nobles who had hidden during the battle. With the commoners' help, they were easily found.

Balin brought them to the gate for Durin to deal with, as the troops and commoners watched.

"Durin, are you betraying the clan to side with these lowly commoners? How dare you!"

"This is treason!"

The kneeling nobles cursed Durin, forgetting he was a Monarch level.

Perhaps they thought Durin's previous capture showed he was a coward, incapable of killing them.

Durin knew this was the time to assert his authority. Without a word, he activated his domain, confining it to the nobles. They coughed blood and died instantly.

The onlookers were stunned, then erupted in cheers, their faces alight with excitement.

"Good, they deserved it!"

Meanwhile, Alex inspected the dwarves' high-tech equipment on the wall. She noted their proficiency in enchanting gear for various situations.

Alex was glad she had attacked quickly. Given more time, the dwarves would have enchanted weapons with soul damage, causing heavy losses to her undead.

By noon, the city's affairs were mostly settled, and Alex prepared to leave.

"Durin, what's the Silverbeard Clan's strength?"

Alex almost forgot the crucial information. As a former noble, Durin would know the clan's capabilities.

"Leader, I haven't seen the chieftain in six months. He was lv6 Monarch level then. The Silverbeard Clan controls seven cities, ranking mid to low among the seven clans. I don't know the exact number of Monarch levels."

Durin thought for a moment before answering.

They talked for a few more minutes, and Alex learned that the former dwarf king had reached King level, the highest among the seven clans. None of the other clans had a King level, or they would have unified the kingdom.

King level seemed to be the minimum strength to establish a kingdom.

With this information, Alex realized she had overestimated the Silverbeard Clan. The chieftain was just a high-level Monarch, not a King level, making them less threatening.

Durin and the dwarves could handle them. Alex left Grimstone to Durin and Balin, with twenty thousand undead, and took the remaining thirty thousand undead back to her castle.

She also took several thousand dwarves to man the White Rock Mountains mines and Sophie's castle.