Chapter 6

In response to Kadec's words, Zane did not react. He just sat there, silent. The black robe's hood obscured Zane's face and blocked all lines of sight.

At this moment, Kadec was trembling with fear. The danger of doing business with a necromancer was no less than that of a lich. If the other party was unhappy, turning him into a mummy would be a matter of a moment.

In fact, Kadec had long noticed that the girl standing behind Zane was not a living being. Just from her somewhat unnatural ashen skin, it was clear that she was a dead one, and a high-level undead creature at that. For such an undead creature to willingly submit, it meant that Zane, the necromancer, was probably not simple.

Seeing Zane's silence, Kadec had no idea what he was thinking. Just as the gray dwarf governor was about to further explain, he suddenly felt a chill on his shoulders. Then, a banshee appeared out of nowhere and pressed down on his body. At the same time, Zane's deep voice came calmly.

"Your meaning is... to have me serve you, just like those lowly half-orc mercenaries and those stinking kobolds?"

Zane's voice was not loud, but it was filled with icy coldness and disdainful mockery. As if to echo Zane, the banshee opened her pitch-black mouth and let out a shrill, soul-piercing scream.

"No! No! No!! Of course not, my lord!! It is our humble request!!"

Faced with the threat of death, Kadec finally could not hold on. Most importantly, Zane had hit the nail on the head. Although his attitude was respectful, Kadec indeed hoped to establish a dignified image in front of his subordinates. If he could persuade Zane to serve him, it would greatly enhance his prestige.

However, Zane was not swayed by this, which made Kadec increasingly anxious, especially when he felt the "affection" of the banshee up close. For any living being, that was far from a pleasant memory. It was like standing on the edge of a cliff, staring into the shadow of death in the dark abyss.

Kadec realized for the first time how close death was to him, just a finger's distance away.

Not only him, but his subordinates were also surrounded by other banshees that had appeared out of nowhere. Although Kadec still hoped they would remember their duties, it seemed they were struggling to save themselves.

"My lord! Respected mage lord!! Please forgive us, we absolutely did not mean to offend you!"

If Kadec had any doubts about Zane's identity at the beginning, he had no more now. This was indeed the city of the gray dwarves, and in theory, anyone who conflicted with the gray dwarves or killed the gray dwarf governor would not have a good end.

But the problem was, Zane was a necromancer.

He would not care about the gray dwarves' numbers, because the more people there were, the more potential troops for a necromancer. Once a full-scale war broke out with the gray dwarves, Zane, as a "necromancer," could use necromancy to create a large number of undead creatures for battle.

Unfortunately, the gray dwarves had no resistance against this. Their natural constitution allowed them to resist most spells, but it also prevented them from learning magic. In this situation, dealing with a necromancer was clearly very passive. Even if they could eventually eliminate the necromancer, they would pay a heavy price—something the gray dwarves absolutely did not want to see.

Kadec was well aware of this.

Although Brandon Stone City was known as the pearl of the north, it was just one of many underground cities, and a relatively weak one at that. It had no high-level military protection, which was why Kadec wanted to recruit Zane. After all, having a necromancer on their side would make them feel more secure.

However, dealing with mages was dangerous. They were dangerous, reclusive, and very strange.

Necromancers were even more so.

"Please forgive my rudeness, we did not mean to anger you!! We truly seek your help!"

That was enough.

Seeing the sweat-soaked, pale-faced Kadec, Zane was silent for a moment, then waved his hand. Soon, the banshee released the gray dwarf governor and floated back.

Feeling the departure of death, the gray dwarf governor let out a long breath, his face showing the expression of a survivor.

He finally understood why necromancers had such a bad reputation in the world.

However, it was easy to get on board but hard to get off, and the gray dwarves who lived in the underground world understood this. Although Kadec was deeply regretful in his heart, he still steeled himself and continued.

"Please believe our sincerity. We can assure you that this is a humble request. And we are willing to pay a sufficient price. You must need many magic gems and materials for your experiments here, I assure you, if you can help us solve this problem, we..."

Here, Kadec paused, and in the end, he chose his life over his interests.

"... Brandon Stone City can provide you with these materials for free... as long as we have them."

Of course, if possible, he still wanted to keep some of his interests.

"...... Tell me more."

Hearing this, Zane no longer remained silent. His goal had been achieved. The gray dwarves were a greedy race, not to the point of valuing money over life, but close. Pushing too hard would not be good for either side, so after hearing Kadec's words, Zane nodded and spoke.

Hearing Zane's response, Kadec immediately showed a delighted smile.

"Very well, my lord, in fact..."

The matter Kadec spoke of was actually quite simple. A while ago, the gray dwarves discovered a ruin while digging underground veins (this made Zane jump, thinking his underground city had been discovered, but he later realized they were in different directions, so he relaxed). However, if that was all, it would not be unusual for the gray dwarves.

The underground world was different from the surface. You could never imagine how many historical ruins existed here. Due to the special nature of the underground, any place could potentially have and contain ancient ruins or cities. There were all kinds of dangers, but also all kinds of wealth.

It was no exaggeration to say that wherever you were in the dark underground, as long as you followed the cracks and kept going, if you were lucky enough not to die halfway, you would eventually find a sealed, buried, or sealed building—be it a ruin or a tomb.

But whatever it was, it would bring you rich rewards.

The gray dwarves were well aware of this, so they sent a team of skilled slaves to investigate. But then, the trouble began.

The slaves did not return, and the gray dwarves sent a group of elite troops, but this time it was even worse. A group of brave gray dwarf soldiers in anti-magic armor were almost completely wiped out. Only one person escaped, and he was so frightened that he could not explain what had happened.

At this point, the gray dwarves realized something was wrong, so they sealed the ruin and continued their mining work. However, this time, their mining work did not go smoothly.

Because the mining team was attacked.

Each gray dwarf who escaped could not clearly explain what they had encountered, but the mining teams suffered heavy casualties. They even lost several battle masters. Faced with this mysterious threat, the gray dwarves were also very troubled. They had sent adventurers to investigate more than once, but their fates were not much different from the gray dwarves.

Only a kobold mage, after investigating, warned the gray dwarves that the ruin might be related to some mysterious ancient magical creature, which ordinary people could not deal with. The kobold mage also did not have the ability to explore the ruin, so the matter had to be put on hold.

For the gray dwarves, this was clearly not an easy decision to accept. Because that vein connected to a huge silver vein, which was very profitable for the gray dwarves. If they gave it up, the gray dwarves would be so heartbroken they couldn't sleep.

That was why, when Kadec learned that a "powerful" "necromancer" had entered Brandon Stone City, he rushed over, trying to recruit the other party to serve him.

He just didn't expect that the other party was clearly beyond his ability to handle, and he almost lost his life in the process.

"I see..."

After listening to the gray dwarf's story, Zane nodded. At the same time, he quickly thought about whether it was worth it. The gray dwarves would indeed prepare a generous reward for him, but Zane was sure that if he failed the task, the gray dwarves would not give him any benefits. From the current situation, this task was relatively difficult for underground creatures.

But, this was only for underground creatures... If Zane was not mistaken, he had already sensed the true identity of the so-called "ruin" from Kadec's story.

It seemed that his trip to Brandon Stone City was not in vain.

Thinking of this, a faint smile quickly flashed in Zane's eyes, and then he reached out and gently pushed his glasses.

"Alright, I'll take a look."

Then, he spoke.