Upon hearing that, Senani called Maximus and Dmitri to join him. Senani asked if they had any ideas on how to slay an ancient dragon. Senani did not entertain the idea of convincing it to join him. He knew that was extremely unlikely to happen. Maximus spoke, "Our equipment can withstand dragon fire. We also have the skills to subdue the dragon. If you allow us to fight with our house guards, we should be able to kill it. First let us meet the beast. It may not truly be an ancient dragon."
Now that Senani knew what he was facing, he dismissed all but Maximus and his troops back to the land grant. Even the dwarves were sent there as he did not wish for them to die. They then began travelling towards the area Duran had identified as the treasure room. Dragons love treasure. Logically that is where they would find it. The trip to the treasure room was extremely quiet. All they could hear is the echo from their footsteps.
Upon arrival at the doors to the treasure room everyone took a deep breath. Then Maximus and Dmitri opened the door. Inside they could see the largest red dragon they had ever heard of. It covered every surface of the treasure room. When it heard the door open, it opened one eye and turned its head in their direction. It then spoke, "What an interesting day, I would say I have had lunch delivered but your all already dead. 1 living human, and a bunch of undead. Human, who are you?"
Senani spoke, "I am the Goblin Overlord Senani, King of Solamnia. I have come to retake Gronmar for the dwarves."
The dragon laughed its toothy laugh. Some people snort when they laugh, well the dragon did something similar, but when it did it belched a bit of fire. Even that belch was hot enough to melt a bit of the stone pillar nearby. Once it had regained its composure it spoke again. "It has been years since I have been made to laugh. Perhaps I will keep you as a jester. You are too good to eat. I am Red. I rule in Gronmar. I am the Goblin Overlord. I control over 7,000 goblins in this cave system, and a great many other beasts. It is purely due to my living here that the dark elves have not ventured up from the depths. Even if by some miracle you managed to kill me, you would lose Gronmar within the month."
Now unbeknownst to Red, Senani was merely keeping him occupied while Maximus and Dmitri formulated a plan for attacking Red. They both planned to find a way to attack one of the dragon's eyes. If they could blind it, they would gain a great advantage. Maximus, Dmitri, and all the house guard charged the dragon from different directions. Red did not expect them to move as fast as they were able to. Swords striking from every direction, scales falling off with every swing. Maximus and Dmitri aimed for the head. Red raised his head and avoided most of the attacks, he swung his great tail and knocked back most of the house guards. He could keep them off him, but he could not severely injure them. They were all undead, and in artifact grade Plate mail, each, and everyone at least level 5 Tier 2. Dmitri's guards put away their swords and pulled out their battle axes. Aiming for the places they had hacked away the scales.
Little by little they began to make progress. Dmitri's guard were having the most success. They had even managed to rip into the muscle and gain a place to stand that Red could not reach them. Red was losing scales at a rate he would have never imagined. They littered the treasure hoard, but he was not done yet. He let out a mighty roar. He expected his vast army to run in. However, he was met with a mere 100 orcs, 30 orc shaman, 15 giants, 200 hobgoblins, and 30 hobgoblin shamans. Upon seeing the state that Red was in, the orcs retreated. This may be their only chance to regain their freedom. The hobgoblins could sense the aura of a second Goblin Overlord, they were unwilling to choose the losing side and chose not to act. The giants charged in. Maximus's house guard moved away from the dragon to intercept them. Senani watched all these events unfold from the side. He had not moved in to attack the dragon. At his level and his skill level, he knew he would be no match. Once he saw the potential gains, he summoned Boolah and Zorin to go speak to the Hobgoblins and orcs, respectively. Upon hearing that they could be teleported to the land grant and out of harm's way, they all agreed quickly. Senani then moved around the dragon to get to the corpses of the giants. He instantly sent them to Fred and ran back to where the orcs had come from. The corpses were too close to the tail of the dragon for him to stay there for exceptionally long.
At the head of Red, Maximus and Dmitri were making no progress. The great beast protected his eyes more than any other part. Red could feel the house guard hacking their way into his body. There was little he could do about that, however. Normally he would have flew and rolled in the sky to make them fall, but in his greed, he had grown too large to even leave the treasure room. He had little room to move, much less fly. For the first time in centuries, he missed the sky. He longed to fly, but he now feared he would die on top of his vast treasure. To reduce the enemies, count, he opened his massive mouth and chomped down on Maximus and Dmitri. Maximus and Dmitri managed to doge his teeth and went in the mouth whole. Unbeknownst to Senani and Red, Maximus and Dmitri smiled from ear to ear. They then activated the great strength of their artifact swords and they extensive sword skillset and stabbed into the roof of the dragon's mouth, you see inside the beast had no armor. They cut through the roof of his mouth like butter. The swords were not long enough to go all the way to the dragon's brain though, but this was no issue for Maximus or Dmitri. They had both imbued the swords with a measure of their skills. Maximus sword sent lightning from the tip, burning the flesh as it travelled up to the brain. Dmitri's sword sent wind, slicing through to the brain like butter. When both elements hit, they destroyed enough of Red's brain to kill him. The great dragon fell. "Quest Complete, Reward Granted", Senani saw a notification, "Congratulations, you have reached level 9. You now have access to the active skill Spirit Covenant." Spirit Covenant: This active skill allows the user to create a Covenant with the spirit of a fallen enemy. Once a soul stone is chosen, the spirit can gain a solid form and will be immortal unless the soul stone is destroyed. The dragon was so strong, Senani leveled instantly to level 9. Senani withdrew his guard back to the land grant. This was the only way he could remove Maximus and Dmitri from the dragon's mouth.
Senani called Fred in to raise the beast. The dragon was powerful. It took Fred over a month to raise it. When he raised the dragon, Fred gained an immense amount of power. His system gave a notification, "Congratulations, you have raised a dragon. In doing so you have gained an increase of 50% of the beast's power. I have increased to an artifact grade system and am not capable of upgrading further to a Lich Master system. This will change your species from human to Undead Lord, do you desire to upgrade? Yes or No. Fred chose Yes without hesitation. The enemy they strove to challenge was only a Lich King, and Fred was now a Lich Master. While he did not know the meaning of this, he did know that Senani needed all the power he could gain. Once he accepted, Fred entered a cocoon. Senani teleported him back to the land grant. He then spoke to the new undead dragon.
"What secrets lie in this treasure where can I find the best weapons and armor? What else do you have hidden?"
Red responded "I am a dragon. I covet treasure. The best lie under my belly. As for hidden things, I have a great many corpses with system stones. I can do nothing with them but the power they possess is significant. My most prized possession is Lich Overlord corpse. That creature was older even than I am. If you were to believe rumors, it is said that he controlled this entire world." Upon hearing this news Senani was intrigued. If he could gain control of the system of the owner of this planet, he should gain control of everything in the planet. That would mean he could teleport freely around the world. While he would not be invincible, it would mean that his and his minions' strength would be doubled. With the size and strength of his army, he may even be able to challenge The Great Lich King. He sent Red to his land grant to join House Sloth. He then had the undead hill giants and 50 undead humans sent to the treasure room to gather the dragon scales. As they were loot from the battle and not part of Gronmar's treasure, Senani had no intentions of sharing them with the dwarves. As soon as they were piled up, he teleported them to the smithy in his castle. While he did not yet have a blacksmith, he knew the dragon scales would prove valuable in the future.
He then had the undead pile up all the corpses they could find. He intended to make use of the vast number of system stones that the dragon claimed to possess. Though Senani had yet to decide if he would extract them or revive the dead and allow them to use the systems they had in life. He looked through the pile with Rikki-Tiki but was unable to find the Lich that Red had spoken of. Senani teleported the pile of dead bodies to the dungeon in his castle. He would decide what to do with them later. He then contacted Red to ask where the Lich Overlord corpse was hidden. Red responded, "The corpse is my most valuable possession. It is located under my strongest scale on my throat."
Senani called Red back to the treasure room. He then stated, "Red, give me your scale and the Lich Overlord that resides behind it. Are there any other treasures you have hidden in your body?"
Red responded, "The Lich Overlords weapons and armor are still on him. They are artifact quality tier 3 weapons and armor. I do not know who made them, but nothing can stand up to them in this world." Red then removed the scale with his talon. The Lich Overlords body fell to the ground. When Senani touched the corpse something strange happened. His system was unable to do anything. Senani began to see a swirling blue mist come out of the corpse's eyes. It formed into a translucent version of the corpse lying in front of him. It then spoke.
"I am the spirit of Lich Overlord Azriel. You stand in my land grant in front of the risen dragon that stole my corpse from my apprentice. Your no necromancer, and yet you control the undead dragon. I sense a system within you, but I have never seen its type before. What are your intentions in this world human?"
Senani replied, "I am Goblin Overlord Senani, King of Solamnia. I intend to convince you to allow me to absorb this world into my land grant. Once I have grown my power and absorbed the land grant I will destroy or recruit The Great Lich King. I will then use this world to propel myself and House Sloth into the great world. The name House Sloth will be feared and respected in all worlds. As will the names of my generals." Senani then extended his hand to the spirt. He received the notification, "Do you wish to activate a Spirit Covenant with the Lich Overlord known as Azriel?" Yes or No." Senani chose Yes. He feared Azriel would say no, however he had nothing to lose at this point. Azriel considered for hours before he responded. Ultimately, he was curious what would happen when he chose Yes. It was that same curiosity that ended up getting him killed in the first place. Senani looked around the treasure room and settled on a fist sized ruby to use for Azriel's soul stone.
Once bound to the stone, Azriel began to take on the form of his body. While this did not grant him access to his system, he was alive. He then gave Senani permission to remove his system stone. Once Senani removed the system stone he placed it in his pocket. He looked up at Azriel and could see Azriel staring at his old armor and weapons. Azriel knew that he would never use them again, they were the strongest gear in this world. In his mind Senani would be crazy not to use them himself. Senani spoke, "Azriel, you earned that gear. If you want it, put it on. I am now your King. I will not steal from you. I am grateful you chose to join me. I will place your soul stone in the most secure room in my castle. You will know where it resides."
Azriel moved to his body, removed the gear, and equipped it. Azriel once again looked like a force to be reckoned with. While he no longer had an artifact system, he did possess the strongest gear on the planet. He also had the highest level as a Tier 3. Ariel had never seen a system stone removed. Never had he imagined such a thing was possible. He then had more questions for Senani. Azriel spoke, "You truly are a marvel Senani. Do as you wish with that body. I no longer need it as you provided me a new one. The system stone is yours as well. I do have a request however, if you come across another system stone in your travels, I would like to have a new one. I possess great strength now, but a system allows one many benefits in the great world. Though I must admit even there I have never heard of one such as yours. What are your plans for me?"
Senani replied, "I have a great many system stones to remove, they were all a part of the dragon Reds treasure horde. You will have your pick of them. I would request that you stay in Solamnia and help Generals Maximus and Dmitri train my troops. It seems that as my army grows, so does my need for trainers."
Azriel accepted. Senani had made him immortal and intended to give me a system stone. The least he could do is to train his army. If Senani truly desired to go against The Great Lich King, Azriel had a feeling he would also obtain his revenge. His apprentice is the only one he knew of that could have risen to such a title.
Senani spoke to Maximus telepathically then sent Azriel to the land grant. He then sent Azriel's body to his room in the castle. With the dragon's personal treasures dealt with, Senani called Duran and all the other dwarves. He told them of the dragons' items he had removed from the treasury as well as the ruby. The ruby would be the first item to be taken from Senani's half of the treasure of Gronmar. Duran had feared that Senani was looting the entire treasury and taking the best things for himself. However, he realized that Senani was far more respectful than that. Senani then spoke to Duran, "Gronmar could hold thousands of dwarves. Currently you are but 15. Even if you were to call your brethren in the hills, I doubt your numbers would rise above the hundreds. I suggest that you choose the corpses of your 101 best warriors that reside in the halls here as well as your 21 best craftsmen. I will have Fred raise them, the best of each will reside with me, the rest will reside with you. I will also give any dwarves I come across the option of joining with you in Gronmar. Your numbers will grow. You will also be able to call upon the goblin kin in Drowmere. You will not be left defenseless. You also agreed to build a guild hall here. All warriors will be expected to register with House Sloth. As I recall, all dwarves are warriors, even the craftsmen."
Duran responded, "Normally I would never consider such a thing. However, I have seen the powers of Fred, all the undead he raises retain their minds. I believe our ancient warriors would be honored to guard Gronmar for eternity. I would however request a change to the numbers. I believe I will need at least 450 warriors here at Gronmar, and to do justice to the army you are building, 100 craftsmen would suffice, we also need at least 100 builders. The dragon Red spoke of something even stronger than him residing in the deep areas of this cave system. If that is the case, I fear even that number may not suffice."
Senani responded, "When Fred comes out of his evolution, I will have him do as you ask. Also remember, there will be a portal in the guild hall. If you are attacked, all of House Sloth will be in Gronmar in a matter of moments. You have but to notify me. Once I return to the castle, that strength will be greatly increased from the corpses gained here today. I also hope that in the future you will send the corpses of anything you kill here to the guild hall portal to go to Fred. The battle against The Great Lich King will likely require all the resources I can obtain. For my portion of the treasure, I would request as many ring sized gems as you can spare, as well as weapons and armor that is not dwarf sized. Send the weapons and armor to my armory, the gems will go to my bedroom. Equip your army before you send me any of the weapons or armor."
Duran replied, "You are able to claim half the treasure of Gronmar and you allow my army to be equipped first. In fact, you are providing me with my army and all you ask for is gems and the gear we can spare? When I made this agreement with you, I thought you would bleed me dry. It turns out, Gronmar is wealthier than even before the dragon attacked. Much of the wealth that is in this room, by all rights should belong to you as it was the dragons not Gronmar's. If ever you need anything here, you have but to ask and it will be yours."
Senani then collected 20 of the gemstones and returned to his land grant. He spoke to Boolah and sent him and the other goblin kin along with their camps back to Drowmere. They were instructed to build a guild hall as well. Senani then spoke to Flint, he and the undead dwarves chose to remain with Kaz. Senani then returned Solamnia to the location it had originally resided at, only the Castle and Mausoleum remained in the land grant. Senani even moved his and Fred's farms with Solamnia. He also sent the undead that had been tending the farms to continue to along with an army of undead, Kaz and the rest of the mercenaries. With the strength of his new army, he had no need to hide the kingdom anymore. He then spoke to Bear, the wolf pack wished for the Den to return to its original location as well. Senani obliged. They would be free to hunt as they desired. He sent some undead to build a guild hall in the den of the pack. It would be the only building present. Senani asked Zorin to make a portal in all the guild halls. Then told her to take her people back to Thronmar when the task was completed. Then he went to talk to Red. For now, Red desired to remain in the land grant. He would be able to fly freely in all the space that now existed and hoped Senani would allow him to create his own treasure hoard there. He also desired to teach at the training grounds. Senani quickly accepted. Senani then went to Maximus. He discussed the training of his armies, Maximus was to train the armies of each group for at least 2 hours every day in the training grounds, with the portals to each town leading to the training grounds this would be made easy. He communicated that with the leaders of each army. Senani then returned to his room at the castle to examine the new system stone he had obtained. He wondered what the integration stone would do when used with the new stone. Senani figured this would be his best chance to find out, so he pulls out both the Lich Overlord system stone and integration stone and thought combine. He received the prompt, "Do you wish to combine your Covenant System with the Lich Overlord system, as well as your body with the body of the original owner of the Lich Overlord system? Yes or No" Senani was surprised, he did not realize the body would be used in this. He had hoped to raise it and have another Tier 3 guard. He chose yes, he was curious to see what would happen after. He knew this would gain him great power either way, after all the body was Tier 3.