Alex’s cold voice emanated from within the black robe, and the flames on the dwarf’s body were extinguished. He immediately fell to his knees, begging Alex for mercy.

The reputation of dwarves as honest and straightforward seemed unfounded now. These dwarf nobles had become corrupt, proving that any intelligent being could succumb to the lure of power.

“I’ll talk, I’ll talk! Please, honorable mage leader, spare my life,” the dwarf pleaded, his face contorted with pain, sweat pouring down his face. The agony of having his soul burned had left him weak.

“The city is called Grimstone, ruled by the youngest son of the Silverbeard Clan’s chieftain. There are twenty thousand dwarf soldiers stationed there.”

That didn’t make sense. Alex had seen the city from afar, and it was quite large. How could it only have twenty thousand soldiers?

“Such a large city with only twenty thousand soldiers?” Alex questioned, clearly skeptical. Black flames flickered in her hand, causing the dwarf to panic and beg for mercy.

“Please, leader, calm down! I’m not lying! You see, Grimstone is on the edge of the Silverbeard Clan’s territory, far from the front lines. The chieftain dotes on his youngest son and placed him here because it’s relatively safe. That’s why there are only twenty thousand soldiers; the rest are just civilians.”

The dwarf hurriedly explained, terrified of experiencing the soul-burning pain again.

So that’s it. The Silverbeard Clan was embroiled in internal conflict, vying for the throne. Fearing for his youngest son’s safety, the chieftain had stationed him in this remote location.

“How many dwarves are in the Silverbeard Clan?”

“There are fewer than ten thousand nobles. Including the army and civilians, there might be close to a million, but there’s no exact count.”

The dwarf didn’t dare look up at Alex, recognizing her as a human female mage from her voice.

Alex extracted more information from the dwarf, learning about the surrounding area.

Grimstone’s highest combat power was Monarch level, but the dwarf didn’t know how many or their exact levels. The dwarves Alex encountered in White Rock Mountains were sent by the chieftain’s second son.

The iron mining in White Rock Mountains and the dwarf fortresses were all under Grimstone’s control.

The Silverbeard Clan had seven cities and countless fortresses, with most of their forces engaged in battles with other clans.

Alex didn’t know the exact strength of the clan chieftains, but the late dwarf king had reached King level. She estimated the clan chieftains were likely high-level Monarchs at most; otherwise, they would have rebelled long ago, not waiting for the king’s death.

The dwarves, as a mid-tier race on Eldoria, weren’t particularly strong. For Alex, they weren’t too challenging.

To be safe, Alex decided to proceed cautiously. While undead could quickly expand in number, she couldn’t indiscriminately slaughter dwarf civilians.

Moreover, there was a significant gap between Monarch levels. A lv1 Monarch level and a lv9 Monarch level were worlds apart. Alex wasn’t confident she could take on a lv9 Monarch level dwarf.

The distance between White Rock Mountains and Grimstone was considerable. Alex doubted that with dwarf technology, there must be teleportation arrays or similar structures between cities. If she couldn’t capture Grimstone in one go, she would face reinforcements from the Silverbeard Clan.

Alex had no intention of exterminating all the dwarves. Her plan was to subdue them and have Sophie manage them, providing a steady supply of resources and support for her castle.

“Let’s put this on hold for now. We’ll focus on Traitors this week and deal with the dwarves later when we’re stronger.”

Alex had silently marked the dwarves as her first opponents in the All-Races Battle Royale.

She dealt with the dwarf, ensuring no traces were left, and whistled sharply.

The griffin circling above descended swiftly, and Alex mounted it, flying back towards White Rock Mountains.

On the way, Alex noted the general location for future reference. She expected the chieftain’s second son to send more dwarves to White Rock Mountains soon, given how many she had killed.

Checking the leaderboard, Alex saw her score was now 8, putting her ahead of the 7-point Traitor Lord and into first place.

It seemed climbing the ranks was easier than she had anticipated.

By the time the sky had fully darkened, Alex returned to Sophie’s castle.

“Big Shot, it looks like everything went smoothly. You weren’t spotted by the dwarves, were you?” Sophie asked, having been monitoring the leaderboard. She knew Alex had dealt with the Traitor when her score increased a few hours ago.

“The Traitor was a pitiful soul. I gave her peace. As for the dwarf city, I’ll deal with it soon enough,” Alex replied casually, not going into detail. She hoped Sophie and Chi-Chi would never have to face the world’s harsh realities.

“I’ve left a Monarch level necromancer here. You don’t need to worry about safety for now. Keep having the undead search for Traitors.”

Alex waved her hand and headed towards the Portal of Transit. The presence of a Monarch level necromancer gave Sophie a great sense of security. Her castle, deep within White Rock Mountains, was indeed very safe for now.

Sophie would stay to manage the dwarves and gather intelligence.

The Monarch level necromancer replaced the previous lv6 Commanding level necromancer, taking charge of the area.

It would manage the undead, ensure the castle’s safety, and expand the undead forces.

“This place is in your hands now.”

“Yes, my Queen.”

Alex stepped into the Portal of Transit, returning to her castle. She removed her black robe, satisfied with its effectiveness. While humans could easily see through it, it was useful for deceiving other races.

“Arthur, John, Azure, focus on leveling up and gathering experience,” Alex instructed the three race kings. Their ascension to Monarch level would be her greatest support.

She then used the iron ingots she had collected to upgrade her town to lv4.

After completing these tasks, she collected the ten thousand magic crystals from selling Count Nocturne’s Monarch level weapon on the trading post and fed Ice Cream.

With her tasks for the day complete, Alex took a bath and went to bed.

[Night retreats, dawn arrives!]

Time: 06:00 AM

Alex woke up on time, getting dressed and ready for the day.

She hadn’t checked World Chat when she sold the Monarch level weapon, unaware that her listing had shocked many Lords.

Selling a Monarch level weapon implied the ability to kill a Monarch level!

Most Lords chose not to believe it, thinking it was too soon for anyone to have developed that much.

However, the five members of the Elemental Alliance believed it, as Samson had witnessed it firsthand. Alex’s strength was far beyond what other Lords imagined.

Alex expected the next couple of days to be quieter. With the snowy mountain’s troubles resolved, finding Traitors wouldn’t be easy.

She headed to the Barracks to summon troops.

Meanwhile, at Chi-Chi’s castle, Chi-Chi had just killed a beast, successfully reaching Commanding level.

Chi-Chi had woken up early, taking advantage of the double attribute boost at dawn to hunt. She had been lv9 Standard for a long time and felt she was on the verge of breaking through.

Eager to level up, she had gone out at dawn and succeeded with her first kill.

Chi-Chi was proud to have reached Commanding level before Sophie and planned to boast about it.

She also wanted to visit her family, feeling more confident in her ability to protect herself now. But she wasn’t sure how to bring it up with Alex.

Chi-Chi had discussed it with her brother Luca, who suggested using the Portal of Transit to visit, then dissolving the Alliance afterward.

Chi-Chi knew Alex didn’t have an Alliance, and her brother’s side only needed one person to temporarily leave their Alliance to make room.

Alliances could be dissolved unilaterally if there were no shared resources or personnel. If there were interactions, both sides had to agree to dissolve it.

For example, if Alex used the portal to visit another Lord’s castle, they couldn’t dissolve the Alliance and leave her stranded.

Chi-Chi’s brother had tested this, so even if her castle couldn’t be moved, she could still visit her brother.

With this plan, Chi-Chi was eager to see her family.

She had mapped out the swamp creatures and felt her beasts could manage without her.

Determined, Chi-Chi rode her Flying Nimbus to Alex’s castle.

Regardless of Alex’s response, Chi-Chi needed to discuss it with her.

At Alex’s castle, she had just finished summoning troops and was instructing the undead to search for Traitors and hobgoblin kingdom traces.

From the hobgoblin Shaman’s retreat and lack of pursuit, Alex deduced that the hobgoblin kingdom was the weakest of the four factions, likely just trying their luck in the snowy mountain.

Alex saw the hobgoblin kingdom as a potential target for expansion, so she wanted to locate them while searching for Traitors.

“Chi-Chi’s here.”

Alex remembered Chi-Chi’s promise to visit once she reached Commanding level. Checking her dashboard, she saw Chi-Chi had indeed leveled up.

“Not bad. She really made it to Commanding level.”

Chi-Chi waved from the sky as she approached the castle courtyard.

Landing her Flying Nimbus, she ran to Alex.

“Miss Alex, I reached Commanding level!”

Chi-Chi shared her joy with Alex.

“Impressive. How were you so weak before?” Alex teased, genuinely impressed. For someone so young, reaching this level was remarkable.

They chatted briefly, but Alex noticed Chi-Chi seemed troubled. She knew Chi-Chi had more on her mind and pressed her to share.

Chi-Chi revealed she had found her family and explained her plan to visit them.

Alex was silent for a moment, understanding Chi-Chi’s desire to see her family.

“Are you sure your brother can be trusted? Is he a Traitor? Is it safe there?”

Chi-Chi was touched by Alex’s concern.

“Miss Alex, my brother and I have always been close. He’s not a Traitor, and he’s with my dad in a desert or wasteland. It’s safe there. That’s how they survived the beast tide.”

Chi-Chi explained, and Alex understood her longing to see her family.

From Chi-Chi’s explanation, Alex knew what she wanted.

Being in a foreign world, facing its harsh realities, Chi-Chi had done well to stay strong.

“Alright, I respect your decision. But first, I’ll upgrade your castle to a town and build a subsidiary castle in my town. It’s too dangerous to leave your castle unattended.”

Alex had enough iron ingots to upgrade Chi-Chi’s castle and build a subsidiary castle.

With full control over her subjects, Alex upgraded Chi-Chi’s castle to a town and built a subsidiary castle in her town, making Sophie a neighbor.

“Miss Alex, I don’t know how to thank you. You’ve been so kind to me.”

Chi-Chi was emotional. Alex not only agreed to her plan but also ensured her castle’s safety by building a subsidiary castle.

“Enough with the mushy stuff. Go contact your brother. I’ll have Sophie watch over your Barracks.”

Alex dismantled Chi-Chi’s Time Chamber and rebuilt it in her town, upgrading Chi-Chi’s Barracks to lv9, even higher than her main castle’s Barracks.

Alex saw Chi-Chi’s beasts as valuable, especially when combined with Sophie’s dwarves to form a special army.

With the focus on Alex’s castle, it would be easier for Sophie to manage. Alex wanted the dwarves to become her logistical backbone, not to destroy them, so Sophie would eventually manage the other dwarves.

Chi-Chi messaged her brother while Alex summoned Chi-Chi’s beasts to her castle, then sent them to Sophie’s castle.

Soon, Alex received a friend request from a Lord named [Big Boobs].

Luca knew Chi-Chi had submitted to a top-tier Lord who was kind to her, so he was very polite to Alex.

He expressed gratitude for taking care of Chi-Chi, and Alex sensed he didn’t plan for Chi-Chi to return, but that was Chi-Chi’s decision.

Alex and Luca formed an Alliance, and she and Chi-Chi went to the Portal of Transit, setting the destination to Luca.

As the portal glowed orange, Chi-Chi hesitated, then hugged Alex.

“Miss Alex, thank you.”

Alex gently patted Chi-Chi’s back.

“If you face any trouble, let me know. I’m a Monarch level now, very strong.”

Chi-Chi nodded, releasing Alex and stepping into the portal.

“Miss Alex, I’m leaving.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep