Building the Strongest Undead Empire from Scratch

Chapter 32: Dirt Farmers

"Dragon Flame!" John's fiery breath forced the Dirt Farmer Elites back underground. His Level 7 stats were overwhelming. Even the Level 22 and 23 Elites were no match for his immortal might. With the help of Mike and the Elite skeletons, John even managed to kill a few, scoring the first kills of the battle. He puffed out his bony chest, proud of his accomplishment.

Alex, ever the encouraging master, rewarded John's efforts.

"Summon!" A black rune appeared above a Dirt Farmer corpse, and a Level 20 Elite Skeletal Warrior emerged. 40 in all stats! Almost as strong as John himself!

John had killed nine Dirt Farmers in total, ranging from Level 18 to 20. Alex now had nine new Elite skeletons, further bolstering her forces while simultaneously weakening the enemy. The Undead advantage in action.

With the reinforcements, John became even more aggressive.

"Dragon Flame!" The Dirt Farmers cowered. They couldn't afford to die. Every death empowered the enemy.

"This is insane! Fall back! Don't fight them! It's pointless!"

"Then what do we do?! Give up our ancestral home?!"

"Better to live and rebuild than die for nothing!"

"But they've blocked the exits! We're trapped!"

"We have to fight!"

"But we can't kill them! They're Undead!"

"This is a nightmare!"

The Dirt Farmers watched John, the fire-breathing dragon, with despair. How could they fight an immortal enemy?

"We're just farmers! Why are we fighting monsters?!"

John hovered above them.

"Ahem," he said, channeling his inner Arthur. "Our Master, the great Queen, offers you her protection in this dangerous world! Remember her mercy! Uphold her glory! Pledge your loyalty! Serve the Queen!" He'd added a few flourishes, hoping to impress Alex.

Alex, watching this, just shook her head.

The Dirt Farmers murmured.

"What's he saying?"

"They want us to surrender."

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"To their queen?"

"Yeah."

"Will they spare us?"

"Probably."

"Then let's surrender!"

"But..."

"Is dying better? We can't win! They're immortal!"

The Dirt Farmers weren't exactly warriors. Surrender seemed... reasonable. But they couldn't make that decision. Their Chief was still fighting.

"Accelerated Growth!" The Chief cast his skill on a weed, which instantly grew into a massive vine, ensnaring Arthur.

"Dragon Flame!" Arthur incinerated the vine.

The Chief looked defeated. His only effective skill was useless against dragon fire. He was outmatched, outskilled, and outgunned.

"Chief... we should surrender..." the other Dirt Farmers pleaded. Their Chief couldn't win. Surrender was their only hope.

The Chief trembled. "Have we... come to this?" He had no choice.

"...We surrender. We pledge our loyalty to the... great Queen." He dropped his hoe and knelt, bowing towards Alex.

The other Dirt Farmers followed suit. "We surrender to the great Queen!"

Alex, arms crossed, accepted their surrender. *Queen, huh? Sounds villainous.* Still, she was pleased.

She looked at their ruined lair. "Everyone, relocate! To my castle!"

The Dirt Farmers obeyed, returning to their burning homes to salvage what they could.

"Mike, help them."

"Yes, Master!" the Level 10 Elite replied.

*Another Mike bites the dust,* Alex thought.

During the battle, John had killed nine Dirt Farmers. Alex had summoned them as skeletons, adding nine more Elites to her army, including two Level 20s. The old Mike's days as captain were numbered.

"Mike," she said to the Level 10 skeleton. "In your memory... all future Skeleton First Squad captains will be named Mike."

*So... I'm nameless now?* the old Mike thought, his nonexistent heart breaking.

[Healing Herb]

[Effect: Instantly restores 20 HP, then 5 HP per second for 10 seconds.]

Alex acquired a Healing Herb from Kuri, the Chief. 70 HP. Very useful.

"Do you have a name, old man?"

"Kuri, your Majesty."

"Kuri, you're still in charge. Keep farming."

"As you command, your Majesty."

"What else can you grow?"

Kuri puffed out his chest. "Anything, your Majesty! Even a World Tree!"

Alex raised an eyebrow. *If only I had a World Tree seed...*

"What seeds do you have?"

"Wheat, rice, mint, sunflowers, Healing Herbs, corn, soybeans..." Kuri listed over twenty crops.

"How long do they take to grow?"

"A week for wheat and rice. A day for mint and sunflowers."

A week?! A day?! Alex was shocked.

"This world is... insane."

"Plant them all! I'll send skeletons to help!"

Kuri beamed. "Thank you, your Majesty!" He was a farmer at heart. This surrender wasn't so bad after all.

After an hour of salvaging, Alex had acquired a mountain of crops:

[Wheat: 186,473 units]

...

[Healing Herbs: 23,748]

...

A massive haul!

She deposited everything in her warehouse.

Arthur, John, and Baxter became transport dragons, ferrying the Dirt Farmers back to the castle. Four trips later, everyone was back. Loading and unloading the short farmers was a slow process.

Back at the castle...

"Mike!"

The Level 10 Elite skeleton turned, but Alex pointed to a Level 20 Elite. "You're Mike now."

The old Mike stood still, speechless.

"Mike greets the Queen!" the new Mike declared.

"You're the new captain of the Skeleton First Squad. Go cook some meat."

Alex had summoned 150 new skeletons during the expedition. Her Skeleton First Squad now numbered 602. Their meat-processing capacity was now 120,000 units per hour! At 10 resources per unit, that was 1.2 million resources per hour!

"Skeleton First Squad, get grilling!"

She turned to the Dirt Farmers.

"Kuri, do you *have* to live underground?"

"Not necessarily, your Majesty. We lived underground for safety. Now, we can live above ground."

Alex considered this. Safe during the day, but not at night.

"Stay underground. I don't want living beings near my castle at night."

Kuri sighed. "As you command, your Majesty."

He led his tribe to a new location east of the castle and began digging. *No skeleton labor for us,* he thought glumly.

Alex opened the Free Market and listed her new crops.

[Wheat]

[Price: 1 Magic Crystal per 5 units]

...

[Healing Herb]

[Price: 5 Magic Crystals per unit]

...

As Eldoria's most famous lord, Alex's listings caused an immediate uproar on the world channel.