On the outskirts of Northwind Castle.

Inside the Iron Dragon Wing Palace.

Cassius sat on the Iron Throne, and below him were the three dukes, Rump, Dolo, and Medorash.

Now, most of the empire's senior officials are working in Istalia. This time, they were urgently teleported from Istalia because they received an urgent summons from Cassius.

Cassius looked around and then asked:

"Everyone, you all know the general situation, right? What do you think of this lich?"

Medrash frowned and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, with all due respect, this ancient, evil undead creature is not worthy of trust."

After all, he was once a paladin and understood that the lich was a hopeless creature.

Doro retorted: "He can be a great help to the Empire in the war, and can just fill our gap in necromancy."

Trump said, "Your Majesty has the lich's life box in your hand. These old monsters have lived for hundreds of years. Their memories contain lost knowledge and terrifying secrets that have been lost in the long river of time. It is simply a treasure trove."

“We can squeeze it out bit by bit.”

The ogre mage licked his lips, his tone revealing endless greed.

"Well said."

"But first, let me show you his usefulness."

Cassius nodded slightly.

At his command, a team of tiefling soldiers came in carrying the sarcophagus and opened the lid with great effort.

"This is Earl Hart."

There was a tall and strong half-dragon lying quietly in the sarcophagus. There was a shocking wound on his chest, and his skin, which had been specially treated, was pale - it was obvious that he had lost his life long ago.

During the Magur Incident, Hart, the leader of the "Free Trade Caravan", was first frozen by magic and then stabbed to death under siege by the Allied forces.

But Duke Leo was surprised to find that the body of the Dragon Blood Count was so strong that it could not be burned by flames.

So, the allied soldiers brought Hart's body back to Stratford, and the northern nobles wanted to discover the secret of the dragon vein from him.

Unfortunately, before they could conduct research, the army of the Burning Cinders Kingdom broke through Straff Castle and took back the body.

After the victory of the war, Hart was officially promoted by the Empire as a "hero who dedicated himself to the liberation of the North" and was awarded the title of honorary marquis. His statue and remains were also displayed in the Imperial Memorial Hall.

But now, this body with dragon blood was transported here.

It was self-evident what Cassius wanted to do - this was the earldom he had personally bestowed upon him, and it would be a waste to let him die in vain.

"Let Orestes in."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The lich walked into the hall tremblingly and knelt in front of the red dragon. As the life box fell into the hands of others, the lich's momentum was weakened a lot.

"No, my Lord, I come here to obey your orders."

"Convert him."

"Yes, Master, but I wonder what kind of undead creature you want to be resurrected into?"

"The most advanced kind, the kind with autonomous consciousness."

"But."

Orestes looked troubled on his haggard face.

Cassius raised his claws slightly, and the [Bone Scepter of Melkor] fell in front of the lich out of thin air.

"I'll lend it to you."

"Thank you Master for the gift."

Orestes waved the skeleton staff, pointing it at Hart's body, and the dark magic stone was surging with the energy of the dead.

"An evil undead spirit transformed from a mortal driven by dark desires and great vanity" "Corpse, obey my call"

[Summon Higher Undead]

When death silences a man's heart and extinguishes his life force, his spirit can return in undead form, attach itself to his body, and wage eternal war on the living.

That is the corpse demon.

They obey the orders of whatever dark entity transformed them into undead, retaining their autonomy while swearing to serve their new masters.

Never tired, the wights will pursue their goals ruthlessly and without distraction.

Trump, who was standing by, suddenly said coldly: "Lich, are you converting your slaves? Look carefully, who is the master here!"

Orestes froze for a moment, and he realized that hundreds of years of habit had almost made him make a huge mistake.

This is not transforming the undead for yourself!

But it’s for that Majesty!

He quickly lowered his head towards Cassius and said, "Of course, Your Majesty Cassius, you are the undisputed master of this corpse."

"Master, please surrender your will and complete this final step."

The powerful will of the red dragon descends.

Completed the final call.

The mist of undeath filled the half-dragon's body.

Like embers, negative energy spread from the heart to the entire corpse, then penetrated the flesh, clothing and armor, transforming the body into a vessel large enough to hold the spirit of the undead.

Hart only felt that he had been sinking in the dark void for a long time, and in his mind emerged images of several spears stabbing him to death and flames burning his body - that was the image he saw before he was alive and also his last memory before he died.

He seemed to hear some distant and grand calling.

"Hart——"

That was the voice of the Dragon Lord.

That was the voice of His Majesty who had given him a new life, changed his destiny, and endowed him with noble blood.

"Your Majesty needs me"

"I want to go back."

Finally, he slowly opened his eyes, his eyeballs dark and flickering.

"Am I alive?"

Hart slowly stood up and looked at his cold body in confusion, but he soon realized everything - His Majesty allowed him to return to the world and gave him new life.

Corpses have memories and are driven by their previous self-consciousness, but whether the newly born corpse is an undead monster with false memories that is completely different from the original owner, or a continuation of the existence of the living, is a controversial issue.

He gradually adapted to the existence of the undead creature, and crawled out of the coffin, half-kneeling in front of the red dragon.

"His Majesty."

The corpse demon's voice was hoarse and low, without any emotional fluctuations.

But Cassius could feel the loyalty from the depths of their souls, which included the submission of the dragon followers and the following of the undead creatures to their summoners.

"Welcome back to the Empire."

"Marquis Hart."

Cassius looked down at the newly born corpse demon and spoke calmly.

In the blueprint for the empire's future, undead creatures are also a piece of the puzzle. These guys are extremely cheap cannon fodder, recyclable labor, and can play a miraculous role in the Underdark.

However, Hart's resurgence is just the beginning.

Now, Cassius has a more greedy and bolder idea for using this lich. (End of this chapter)