The dying Mary finally understood. With the undead Lord's power, how could she not be faster than Muckmire? She had done it on purpose.
Mary lost her life and collapsed to the ground. Muckmire, resolute, showed no fear of death.
This woman had driven him mad. He thought he had found true love, but Mary was no different from other hobgoblins, only coveting his power.
A black line sliced across Muckmire's neck. With a spray of green blood, his vision spun until it finally stopped. His head ceased rolling on the floor.
The intelligence about the hobgoblin kingdom differed from Alex's expectations.
First, the system's conditions for establishing a kingdom were off. The hobgoblin king didn't have King-level strength, disproving the theory that all kingdoms had at least one King-level combatant.
Alex was puzzled.
Moreover, according to Mary's information, there were no powerful forces around the hobgoblin kingdom, yet they chose to relocate and hide their true kingdom.
Muckmire, as the hobgoblin king's eldest son, was Monarch level but pathetically weak.
"This hobgoblin kingdom is quite weak, just far away."
Alex felt relieved. As long as there was no King level, it was manageable. No matter how many Monarch levels there were, they couldn't threaten her.
But she wouldn't rush. She would wait until the Undead Fortress was built before launching a formal attack on the hobgoblin kingdom.
The city they had exposed, the old hobgoblin kingdom, wouldn't be spared either.
It was another experience farm, after all.
Unlike the dwarves, Alex had found the hobgoblin kingdom's capital. Why waste effort attacking other places?
"Xiao Mu, take Xiao Hui, Arthur, and Riven, along with two Monarch levels, to the exposed kingdom site to farm experience and quickly reach Monarch level."
Following Alex's orders, they soon departed.
As for Muckmire's corpse, Alex summoned it into a Reaper Guard. This troop could support Alex from any distance, a must-have for lone wolves.
Alex should have summoned a necromancer. With her expanding territory, there were too many places to defend. The number of necromancers was becoming insufficient. They could summon undead, each one an undead army.
Erald Hills, Grimstone, King Kong, and Sophie's castle all needed Monarch-level undead to guard them.
Especially Erald Hills and Grimstone, where wars could break out at any ti. Necromancers were essential.
"Never mind, I'll summon a necromancer next ti."
Currently, only Alex could summon Monarch-level corpses. Monarch-level necromancers couldn't summon them.
The Blackwater Altar could, but its summoning was random, unlike Alex's specific summoning.
Alex devised a plan. Before attacking the hobgoblin kingdom, she would wait for the siblings, Arthur, and Riven to reach Monarch level. Then, with the Undead Fortress built, she could begin the assault.
This would maximize benefits. Otherwise, the chaotic battlefield would make gaining experience difficult.
Alex had nothing to do but wait in the palace for their upgrades. She could take this ti to rest.
On Arsen Continent, in Grimstone.
Since the Silverbeard Clan nobles were purged, the oppressed dwarf commoners rejoiced. The city was now peaceful, and the dwarves were very supportive.
Durin and Balin had completely taken control of Grimstone.
Grimstone, near the White Rock Mountains, had its surrounding dwarf fortresses dismantled, and the dwarf army gathered in Grimstone.
The city now housed 30,000 dwarf soldiers and 20,000 undead. Additionally, two Monarch levels guarded it: Durin and a necromancer.
The city's strength was no less than before.
However, the city's equipnt and defenses were outdated. The forging techniques and personnel were controlled by the nobles, which was why they could firmly control the clan.
But the remaining equipnt was enough to defend Grimstone.
A few days had passed, and the Silverbeard Clan, now able to act, should have made a move.
Durin had been busy. As a forr Silverbeard Clan noble, he knew the clan well. To overthrow the Silverbeard Clan, he needed the support of dwarf commoners from various cities and villages.
Durin had sent dwarves to give speeches and rally the commoners while gathering intelligence on the Silverbeard Clan.
Soon, they had collected the intelligence.
The Silverbeard Clan faced a joint attack from two clans and was struggling to hold on.
The Silverbeard Clan had seven cities, but three had been lost, and half their territory was gone. They couldn't deal with Durin in the rear, giving him an opportunity.
Rather than waiting to be attacked, Durin decided to strike first.
The nearest city to Grimstone was Rockhamr City, one of the Silverbeard Clan's four remaining cities.
Rockhamr City was the clan's logistics hub, surrounded by the other three cities.
The two attacking clans aid to capture Rockhamr City.
The Silverbeard Clan wouldn't let this city fall and was fighting desperately against the two clans.
The two clans, though temporary allies, both wanted to unify the dwarf kingdom. Neither wanted to face the Silverbeard Clan head-on, fearing heavy losses and losing the chance to dominate.
The stalemate gave Durin the perfect opportunity.
Though Grimstone wasn't directly behind Rockhamr City, attacking it was easier than for the other two clans.
Rockhamr City was now poorly defended, with its main forces in the other three cities. Only a few dwarf fortresses stood between Grimstone and Rockhamr City.
But as the Silverbeard Clan's most important logistics city, even poorly defended, its defenses and fortifications were second only to the main city. A frontal assault would be costly.
So Durin planned to take it by cunning.
"Tomorrow night, I'll disguise myself and a few dwarves as refugees from Grimstone and infiltrate Rockhamr City. Balin, you must seize the mont and attack the fortresses, creating as much chaos as possible. The more chaos, the better."
Durin had decided to act that night, giving Balin instructions.
"But..."
Balin was worried. Would Rockhamr City really take in refugees in these tis? The nobles didn't care about commoners.
"Don't worry. This will create an illusion. They'll think we're escaping from Grimstone. To gather intelligence, they'll take us in and report to the clan, seeking credit and requesting reinforcents."
"Before dawn, I'll disable the city's defenses and open the gates. Then we'll take Rockhamr City. Once the other clans see Rockhamr City fall, they'll attack the Silverbeard Clan's main city, and the clan will be finished."
Durin knew the Silverbeard Clan's nature well. Even if they couldn't infiltrate, he could use his noble status.
He had been missing for six months, so the guards wouldn't recognize him. In the chaos, they wouldn't have ti to verify his identity.
"Alright, let's do it."
Balin trusted Durin wouldn't take unnecessary risks. Besides, he had submitted to Sophie and wouldn't betray them.
Soon, Balin and Durin inford Sophie of the Silverbeard Clan's intelligence and their plan to strike first.
Alex had entrusted Sophie with this task. If her dwarves couldn't handle it, the undead would step in.
It was also a test of Sophie's abilities. Without combat talent, she had to prove her value in other ways.
Sophie agreed without hesitation. With Alex's city needing more resources, she had to accelerate the unification of the dwarves.
Moreover, with two Monarch-level undead and 20,000 undead soldiers at her disposal, she didn't think she would lose.
Taking the entire Silverbeard Clan would provide more resources to help Alex.
Sophie inford Alex, who had no comnt. Her focus was on the hobgoblin kingdom and the Orc Empire.
Alex simply replied, "No matter what difficulties you face, confront them bravely. The best way to eliminate fear is to face it. Just do it."
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