Building the Strongest Undead Empire from Scratch

Chapter 30: Gift

"Greetings, great Queen! Your loyal servant, Arthas, offers his humble salutations!"

Arthas, the Level 18 Elite Skeletal Warrior and leader of Alex's 500+ Goblin Skeleton army, had arrived with his first iron ore delivery: 16,876 units.

Alex nodded approvingly. "Good work." Not bad at all. Arthas and his crew had only been mining for a few hours yesterday afternoon, and they'd already produced nearly 17,000 units of ore. Free labor was a beautiful thing.

She sent the ore to Luo Jia.

[Alex]: "Get smelting. I need that iron."

[Luo Jia]: "You got it, boss!"

Alex winced. This girl was... a character. If she wasn't so cheap, Alex would have looked for a different blacksmith.

"Arthas!" she called out as Arthas was about to leave.

"Master?"

"Tell me more about those Dwarves you used to trade with."

"Yes, Master. They live in the Sunset Mountains, about 55 kilometers south. A large tribe, tens of thousands of them. Their chief is a Level 57 Titanium Dwarf, Commander-rank. Very powerful."

Level 57, Commander-rank... That meant 171 in all stats. Way out of Alex's league.

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"Titanium Dwarf? What's that?"

"A type of Dwarf, Master. The Titanium Dwarves are warriors. They love a good fight. Always battling, or on their way to a battle. They favor giant hammers, taller than themselves."

Fascinating. So many different kinds of Dwarves. Luo Jia's Grey Dwarves were pacifist miners and smiths. These Titanium Dwarves were battle-hungry hammer-wielding maniacs. Interesting.

"You can go back to work now." Alex had learned enough. Those Dwarves were a no-go for now.

Just as Arthas left, Sophie sent her 200,000 units of raw meat.

[Sophie]: "Alex, first batch of the day, sent!"

[Alex]: "Received!"

[Sophie]: "Things aren't looking so good, Alex."

[Alex]: "What's wrong?"

[Sophie]: "It's Day Three. The top lords have Level 10 castles and kitchens. They're cooking their own meat now. And other lords are finding fire. Cain, the second guy with fire, just announced he's trading with the natives for flint! He's selling it for 10,000 basic resources! Everyone's demanding lower prices for cooked meat! Our business is in trouble, Alex!"

Sophie wasn't wrong. The cooked meat bubble was about to burst. As more lords acquired fire, the price of cooked meat would plummet. And then what? If Alex didn't lower her prices, the resellers would go elsewhere. But how low could she go? She'd end up making less than the resellers!

"It's okay," Alex replied. "We've made a good profit. We'll finish these 200,000 units, and then... we'll see. We'll ride the wave as long as we can. But I have a new plan."

[Sophie]: "What plan?"

[Alex]: "Equipment. I need you to do two things. One: check for iron ore near your castle. Two: buy iron ore, crafting blueprints, and Refined Iron on the world channel. Priority on number two."

[Sophie]: "Okay, Alex!"

The cooked meat boom was temporary. Equipment was forever.

Alex set Mike and the Skeleton First Squad to work on the new batch of meat. Every little bit helped.

Just as she was about to take a break, John flew in, panting.

"Master! I have a gift for you!"

"A gift?" Alex was surprised. This was a first.

John puffed out his bony chest. "I found a... a Dirt Farmer! I didn't kill it! I followed it! It led me right to its nest!" He looked expectantly at Alex. "Smart, right?"

Alex stared at him. "Did Arthur tell you to do that?"

John flinched. "H-how did you know?"

*Figures.* Arthur had found something interesting and sent John back to report. And John, wanting all the credit, had taken Arthur's story as his own.

"What's a Dirt Farmer?"

"They... farm, Master. Arthur says they grow... Healing Herbs. They restore health."

"Healing Herbs?!" Alex's eyes widened. That sounded incredibly useful!

"Take me there!"

She hopped onto John's skull, having learned that it was the least pointy part of his anatomy.

John took off, carrying Alex towards the Dirt Farmers' nest.