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 copsed 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 ck 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-levelbatant.


    Alex was puzzled.


    Moreover, ording 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 beforeunching 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 ces?


    "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 ces to defend. The number of necromancers was bing insufficient. They could summon undead, each one an undead army.


    Emerald Hills, Grimstone, King Kong, and Sophie''s castle all needed Monarch-level undead to guard them.


    Especially Emerald Hills and Grimstone, where wars could break out at any time. Necromancers were essential.


    "Never mind, I''ll summon a necromancer next time."


    Currently, only Alex could summon Monarch-level corpses. Monarch-level necromancers couldn''t summon them.


    The ckwater Altar could, but its summoning was random, unlike Alex''s specific summoning.


    Alex devised a n. 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 pce for their upgrades. She could take this time to rest.


    On Arsen Continent, in Grimstone.


    Since the Silverbeard n nobles were purged, the oppressed dwarfmoners rejoiced. The city was now peaceful, and the dwarves were very supportive.


    Durin and Balin hadpletely 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 equipment and defenses were outdated. The forging techniques and personnel were controlled by the nobles, which was why they could firmly control the n.


    But the remaining equipment was enough to defend Grimstone.


    A few days had passed, and the Silverbeard n, now able to act, should have made a move.


    Durin had been busy. As a former Silverbeard n noble, he knew the n well. To overthrow the Silverbeard n, he needed the support of dwarfmoners from various cities and viges.


    Durin had sent dwarves to give speeches and rally themoners while gathering intelligence on the Silverbeard n.


    Soon, they had collected the intelligence.


    The Silverbeard n faced a joint attack from two ns and was struggling to hold on.


    The Silverbeard n 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 Rockhammer City, one of the Silverbeard n''s four remaining cities.


    Rockhammer City was the n''s logistics hub, surrounded by the other three cities.


    The two attacking ns aimed to capture Rockhammer City.


    The Silverbeard n wouldn''t let this city fall and was fighting desperately against the two ns.


    The two ns, though temporary allies, both wanted to unify the dwarf kingdom. Neither wanted to face the Silverbeard n head-on, fearing heavy losses and losing the chance to dominate.


    The stalemate gave Durin the perfect opportunity.


    Though Grimstone wasn''t directly behind Rockhammer City, attacking it was easier than for the other two ns.


    Rockhammer City was now poorly defended, with its main forces in the other three cities. Only a few dwarf fortresses stood between Grimstone and Rockhammer City.


    But as the Silverbeard n''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 nned to take it by cunning.


    "Tomorrow night, I''ll disguise myself and a few dwarves as refugees from Grimstone and infiltrate Rockhammer City. Balin, you must seize the moment 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 Rockhammer City really take in refugees in these times? The nobles didn''t care aboutmoners.


    "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 n, seeking credit and requesting reinforcements."


    "Before dawn, I''ll disable the city''s defenses and open the gates. Then we''ll take Rockhammer City. Once the other ns see Rockhammer City fall, they''ll attack the Silverbeard n''s main city, and the n will be finished."


    Durin knew the Silverbeard n''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 time 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 informed Sophie of the Silverbeard n''s intelligence and their n 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. Withoutbat talent, she had to prove her value in other ways.


    Sophie agreed without hesitation. With Alex''s city needing more resources, she had to elerate 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 n would provide more resources to help Alex.


    Sophie informed Alex, who had noment. 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."