Zephyr was standing in the under-rode of the dwarves, and from what his green scouts reported, the dwarven army was to descend upon them soon. Zephyr had spent two weeks straight making every under-road entrance a death trap. Elevated platforms from which thousands of reds will fire down upon the marching host, minefields filled with dwarven explosives, and three walls down each tunnel, garrisoned by over a thousand minions. All leading to the three main gates of the dwarven brewery city, where every black dragon knight and priest, as well as fifteen thousand minions, were standing with Zephyr. All were waiting for whatever managed to break through the speed bumps he placed in the under roads. Except for the succubi and the high priest, they were being kept in reserve as a secret weapon for near the end of the battle. A few hours into the waiting, a green minion came running to Zephyr with news from the front.
"Dwarfies on da move! They break through the first walls in side tunnels, but middle one yet."
"Thank you, Sticker. Get back to the front, and keep me informed of any further developments." The little thing then ran off to get more news for him. Zephyr looked over his other defenses, catapults with dwarven bombs in them. The dwarves operating them did so under protest. They were not comfortable with firing on their own kind, but they took to their grim duty with the same determination as they would any other task. Three hours later, the little green person came back with news.
Dwarfies get through da walls fast, masta! They at the last ones in the side tunnels, but middle army not gonna make it past secant wall!"
"Wonderful news. once the minions have dealt with the army in the middle tunnel, tell them to use the minion holes to flank the two remaining armies."
"Yes, masta!" Sticker said as he ran off.
"Alright, you rat bastards heard the runt! Aim the catapults towards the two side entrances, and divert front line forces to them as well!" As his army did as he commanded, Zephyr did as any front-line general would and stood with his men. He chose to place him and his horde at the left tunnel while putting half of his human forces at the other. Most would call him foolish, but most do not have an honor guard armed with minion-empowered Arcainium weapons. He had all of the new recruits with him. The poor bastards looked pale as ghosts. Zephyr would have to fix that before the enemy breached the last barricade.
"My warriors, my children, my black dragons. Know that today you stand not only on the cusp of inevitable victory but in the shadow of a god. You stand with the one who ended the plague of Heavens Peak! You stand with the one who purged the corruption from Evernight! And you stand with the first one to ever conquer even a small portion of the Golden Hills! You stand in the shadow of a god made flesh, so tell me. DO THE INVADERS STAND A CHANCE IN HELL!?"
"NO!" They cried.
"WILL THEY WIN THIS DAY!?"
"NO!" They cheered.
"WIll WE CRUSH THEM!?"
"YES, WE WILL!" Roared not only the green recruits but all of the black dragon army. And as their spirits were high, the first of the dwarven invaders were spotted. The catapults did their job and pelted bombs at the runty fucks, blowing most of them up into meaty chunks. But, despite the effectiveness of the bombardment, the invaders would not stop charging. It twisted Zephyr's guts a bit to see a non-minion army charge headfirst into certain death, and no matter how many they killed, the dwarves would not break.
"You have to respect the stubbornness of dwarves, sire. Even when faced with inevitable death, they simply march on like it's nothing. It's almost minion-like!" Gnarl said, the old fuck showing begrudging respect for the enemy did not make Zephyr feel better. He reframed from telling Gnarl to shut up. The last thing his human troops needed to see was their leader talking to himself like a lunatic. After twelve minutes of constant bombardment, the catapults finally ran out of bombs, and that was his knight's cue to attack.
"Charge children of darkness! Show the runts why you are named black dragons!"
"For the overlord!" Both minion and non-minion alike cheered as they charged forward, clashing their blades with that of the enemy. Zephyr had him, and his minions charge the dwarves head-on, while the new bloods flanked them and kept them from being flanked in return. He was using the betrayal spell as frequently as he could, as well as his flamethrower spell. But even with superior weapons, and the magical support of the priests, the dwarves were proving a challenge. The regenerative effects of his armor were put to the test, and for the first time in a long time, Zephyr was beginning to wear out. Deciding to go ahead with his plan early, he signaled the succubi and the high priest to begin the ritual. It only took them ten minutes to send forth a dreadful curse upon the dwarves as their own dead began to rise back up and attack them. Their stone-faced resolve quickly cracked as they became hopelessly outnumbered by their fallen kinsmen. But retreat was no an option, as zombie dwarves were charging in from where the minion slaughtered them in the tunnels on the way there. Zephyr stood tall and proud over the battlefield, raising his ax Dominator high as he cheered for his warriors.
"VICTORY! You have earned victory, my minions! You have earned victory, my black dragons! And even you have earned victory this day, my dwarven subjects! Tonight there is to be a feast in honor of the crushing blow we have delt to the forces of the enemy. All hail the army of overlord Zephyr!" The massive horde cheered on as more dead rose up from the field of corpses. While his troops rested and mourned what little losses they had taken, Zephyr went to talk to the succubi and high priest.
"Well done, ladies! And you to Marten!"
"It was our pleasure, master~." Jill said as she made a curtsey.
"What are we to do with this massive host of the dead, lord?" High priest Marten asked as he looked over the herd of walking dead.
"When we are good and ready, I will divide the army into three sections. You five will lead the dead army, the chapter masters will lead the knights and priests, and I will take my horde. That should make it two dwarven clans each, but we will need to make preparations before the conquest of all the Golden Hills. Begin organizing the dead, and keep them away from the living if at all possible, don't want an accident."
"Yes, sire." Marten said as Zephyr returned to his tower, walking up to the library, where he knew Rose would be.
"Knock knock! How's my favorite book worm?"
"Doing quite well, thank you. How's my beloved blood-thirsty tyrant doing?"
"About the same just turned the entire invading army into my own zombie horde."
"I can't imagine they smell any better dead than they did alive!"
"HA! Good one. We are going to have a massive feast in the dwarven city. I figured my mistress should be with me during such an event, do you agree?"
"And endure the stink of drunken dwarves? You truly ask too much of me, but I will give in to your demands, sire~."
"Oh, anything else you feel like giving into~?"
"Maybe~." The two of them arrived fashionably late to the party after spending some intimate time together.