Although the Dwarves guarding outside the bedroom heard the commotion inside, the Paladin had previously given them a strict order not to disturb them, so they hesitated and didn't dare to come in to check.
Unas continued casting the spell, and another five minutes passed before the cast was nearing its end. The moment the Redemption was complete, the familiar feeling told him that the resurrection was successful!
All the cracks in Rendaen's body closed, and his chest rose and fell slightly. Unas carefully checked his pulse and, after confirming that he was truly alive, collapsed to the ground.
He was utterly exhausted. He already had less than half his energy left. Although Divine Storm and Holy Wrath didn't consume much energy, they were cast together with Redemption. Overlapping spells would consume many times more energy, and now he truly felt completely drained.
"Come in!" After catching his breath, he immediately called out.
Rendaen's confidants and physicians rushed in. The appearance of the Dwarf woman on the ground certainly surprised them, but there was no time to pay attention to that now. Everyone quickly surrounded the bed and examined the Dwarf lord's body together.
"A miracle! It's a true miracle!" the doctor who had been crying earlier exclaimed in surprise, "The master has really come back to life!"
Once the fact of Rendaen's resurrection was confirmed, the Dwarves immediately cheered. When they turned around, the sight of Unas slumped on the ground, his languid posture and exhausted face did nothing to diminish the gratitude and reverence in their eyes.
Seeing Unas the Dwarves were practically ready to rush over and lift him up in celebration, Unas quickly raised his hand to urge them to quiet down. "Quiet! Lord Rendaen needs to rest. You must protect him during this time and prevent him from being harmed by treacherous villains."
The Dwarves immediately fell silent, and a loyal commander whispered, "Rest assured, my Knight, we will protect our lord to the death."
Unas nodded and pointed to Moira, who was lying on the ground. "You all know who this woman is. She's the most important prisoner. Tie her up and keep a close watch on her."
Lady Bronzebeard of Thaurissan is known to all in the Dwarf world, and their ill-fated relationship is almost written into the Dwarf epic.
The legendary woman was right before their eyes, and the Dwarves rushed over excitedly, binding her while making comments and hurling accusations, naturally hurling a string of vulgarities. Some of the more vulgar ones even took the opportunity to grope her a few times.
Just then, a commotion arose at the door, and the red-bearded military leader burst in with an old Dwarf.
The crowd immediately blocked the bedside, and the gray-bearded loyalist hissed, "Gude! What do you think you're doing? The lord needs quiet!"
Gude, ignoring the timid Dwarves around him, shouted loudly, "I suddenly remembered I have a divine healer here. I brought him to save your life, sir. He's definitely stronger than this human. Get out of the way!"
"You're too late," Greybeard chuckled coldly. "The lord has already been revived by the Holy Light of the Paladins; he doesn't need your divine healer."
"What?!" Gude was immediately shocked.
He and the traitor remained in the hall, their anxiety and fear driving them to desperation. Unable to wait any longer, they found one of their old medics and made up an excuse to check on the situation. Little did they expect that their worst fears would come true.
Feeling as if he'd been thrown into an ice cave, Gude, chilled to the bone, made a final, desperate struggle. "I don't believe it, I want to see it with my own eyes..."
"A cough," a cough interrupted him, and a harsh, hoarse voice came from behind the Dwarves, "What don't you believe, Gude?"
The Dwarves turned around in surprise to see Rendaen propped up on his elbows, barely able to sit up in bed. He had been woken up when Redbeard burst in.
Gude saw the Dwarf lord's lifeless, bloodshot eyes staring at him, and cold sweat poured down his back. Overcome with fear, his legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud, crying, "My lord, spare me!"
Rendaen had just woken up and was completely unaware of what was happening. He asked his subordinates around him in confusion, "What's going on?"
The Dwarf beside him gave a brief explanation. Rendaen's eyes flashed with a mixture of pain and resentment. Overwhelmed with anger, he coughed a few more times. "Remove his badges and medals. Lock him up first, and he'll be dealt with according to military law later!"
"Spare me! My lord, please consider the service I've done for you..."
Someone kicked him in the face, silencing the terrified traitor. The crowd surrounded him, confiscated all his weapons, armor, and belongings, then tied him up like a dumpling and threw him into a corner.
Of course, the other traitor who dared to support him also couldn't escape; someone had already gone to arrest him on Rendaen's orders.
The Dwarf lord turned his gaze to the Paladin. "Unas Knight for saving my life. I swear on my honor that I will never forget your kindness."
"It is the grace of the Holy Light," Unas, getting up to accept the thanks, putting on a charlatan's air. "The Holy Light teaches us to heal the wounded and save lives. If you must thank someone, thank the great Holy Light."
"The Holy Light is indeed great. I thought I was going to die. If I could become the king of Blackrock Depths, I would build a chapel for Him to express my sincere gratitude."
This was an agreement to allow the Church of the Holy Light to preach among the Dark Iron Dwarves —truly wonderful news! Unas quickly replied, "Thank you for your sincerity, Lord. I can't wait to see you don the crown."
"It's too early to talk about this now," Rendaen said, having narrowly escaped death. "We still need your continued strong support, Sir Knight."
"Of course."
The Dwarf lord ordered his men to lift him up, and the group escorted Gude and Moira back to the underground hall.
At this moment, all the puppets stopped and remained in place, the Dwarf nobles were all taken prisoner with their hands bound, another traitor was also tied up, and the soldiers were all resting.
Before Bael'Gar's "Stone Cocoon," a group of humans were gathered around Huoye, and the incantation was still being performed.
Although Rendaen was carried in, the Dwarf soldiers, seeing that he was in good spirits, knew that their lord was alright, and cheers immediately erupted.
Rendaen responded to the cheers, loudly encouraging the troops, and then began issuing a series of commands.
The first thing they did was to arrest and interrogate several puppet designers among the Dwarf nobles, but the answers they received were not satisfactory.
All the Iron Golems had a small amount of Thaurissan's mental power implanted in their core gems, so with Thaurissan's death, they were essentially dead as well.
If there were a terminal controller, they might be able to operate it, but the soldiers searched the entire area and couldn't find one, so these puppets could only be left here as scrap metal for the time being.
The second thing was to reorganize the troops, scatter the men of the two traitorous military leaders and infiltrate them into various units, and only then did they begin to clean house.
Rendaen publicly announced the two men's crimes, leaving no room for argument, and immediately ordered their beheadings. The two bloody heads were quickly strung on a flagpole, demonstrating the Dwarf lord's zero tolerance for treason.
"My brothers and people, the war is not over! The evil Fire Elementals are still attacking our cities, Firelord is trying to enslave all the Dark Iron Dwarves. Tell me, do you still want to be enslaved?!"
"No!" The soldiers, who were originally slaves, shouted the loudest, and the hall seemed to tremble.
"Then, continue the fight with me!" Rendaen shook off his subordinates' hands, stood up, and raised his Warhammer high. "I swear to bring you victory!"
"Victory!" the Dwarves shouted, rushing towards the hall entrance in the direction Rendaen had pointed.
"Knight Unas, I'm leaving this place to you."
The Dwarf lord led his main force out of the hall; clearing out the remaining Fire Dwarves and reinforcing Water Elementals was now the top priority.
Only two hundred Dwarves remained in the hall to guard the prisoners, and several hundred human soldiers under Unas also stayed behind to deal with Bael'Gar, who might wake up at any moment.
Neither Huoye nor Molten Core Monster has changed during this time, so it seems that both evolution and spellcasting require a considerable amount of time.
Angela was setting up Magic Circle on the side, hoping to trap the Lava Monster in case the Huoye failed, thus ensuring her side's invincibility.
Unas approached Fran, who was being closely guarded by four soldiers. The Dwarf weapons merchant was sitting on the ground with his head tilted to one side, looking dejected.
Do you know why I arrested you?
"Yes, Knight, your men have already informed me," Fran immediately stood up, bowing repeatedly. "The Firekiss is in my collection room; I will certainly return it to you."
"You're a smart guy," Unas nodded, his tone laced with threat, "That's good, otherwise we might both be in some trouble."
"Yes, yes," Fran bowed and scraped. "Sir, I have a small request, I wonder if it's possible..."
Unas gestured for him to continue.
"Everything in my collection room will be yours; I only ask that you provide shelter for me and my son."
Rendaen's act of executing the two traitors on the spot terrified many powerful figures who usually acted arrogantly and oppressed and abused slaves. Now they were all afraid of being retaliated against Reckoning.
Their fate rests entirely on the shoulders of Rendaen. If the Dwarf lord is determined to establish a new Dark Iron Kingdom, he will inevitably have to thoroughly purge the old forces, and their end will be predictable.
By then, apart from the highly skilled technicians, such as the puppet designers, most of these prisoners will likely be sent to the guillotine.
Unas thought for a moment. This guy was at least a good arms dealer and connoisseur, and had some talent. Maybe he could be of use. So he said, "No problem. As long as you haven't committed any heinous crimes against the slaves, I will protect you and your son."
"No, no," Fran quickly replied, "My interest is entirely in weapons; I don't even know all the servants in my household, how could I possibly mistreat them?"
The Dwarf couldn't help but feel fortunate that he had always been a gentleman and treated his servants fairly well. He didn't manage the slave laborers in the Arsenal much, and although some of them had been beaten to death, the direct responsibility did not lie with him.
"If what you're saying is true, then don't worry, you and your son will be fine."
"Thank you, Knight." Fran bowed deeply, without uttering any more words.
Unas waved his hand, turned and walked away, and several soldiers surrounded the Dwarf again.
Back down beside Huoye to rest, Erigor nudged his shoulder and asked, "I had no idea you were skilled in healing. Even Namelia said the Dwarf lord was doomed. How did you revive him?"
Unas was mentally prepared for this kind of question and replied evasively, "This is a secret technique of the Holy-favored, a powerful healing spell that can only be used once a day, capable of healing even the most serious injuries."
"Really? Could you teach me?"
"These are exclusive to those Holy-favored, and their magic is divinely bestowed; they cannot be taught to others," Unas, raising his chin. "You should go and study the scriptures and doctrines more, and strive to gain the favor of the Holy Light and become a glorious Holy-favored like me."
"Get lost! I've never seen you study scriptures before!"
"You only see my success but don't know the silent sacrifices I made behind the scenes. What a loser."
Erigor was furious and immediately gave him a test, "Then tell me what the first sentence of chapter two, verse four of the Holy Book is? A good student who is well-versed in the scriptures couldn't possibly not know that, could he?"
Unas, completely ignorant of the scriptures, was speechless and unsure how to gloss over the situation when the circumstances finally changed.
First, the Lava Monster's Stone Cocoon began to vibrate and emit high temperatures, with red light shining through the cracks on its surface, as if it were about to explode.
Huoye frowned, his chanting suddenly became louder, and his skin began to turn red. Judging from his expression, he was probably enduring pain, perhaps due to the effects of Bael'Gar's bodily fluids.
Angela immediately released freezing air to cool both of them down, because high temperatures would definitely be disadvantageous to her side.
Natasha also cast a Power Word: Shield on Huoye, but this spell could only block external damage, and Huoye's pain was not reduced at all.
Erigor, having no time to argue with Unas, asked urgently, "How else can we help him?"
Darian said, "If he can't hold on any longer, I'd like to try out my new spell— Hand of Sacrifice." (Applies Holy Hand to the target, transferring 50% of the damage they take to the Paladin.)
"You even learned this spell?" Erigor exclaimed in surprise. "You're really not afraid of death!"
"As Paladin, how can you save others without a spirit of sacrifice?" Darian spouted righteousness and morality. "The Holy Light teaches us to have compassion, and I am willing to give my body to take away the suffering of the world."
"Brother, you should become a missionary, really," Erigor patted him on the shoulder, his tone ambiguous, whether genuine praise or sarcasm, "Pure Priest like you are rare in the Order of the Silver Hand."
Unas shook his head. He sometimes pretended to be a charlatan to fool people, but Darian was different. If things continued like this, he would become a real charlatan. This kid was a good student who had thoroughly studied the scriptures, but his flaw was that he was too serious.
But now is not the time to comfort Darian. He pointed to himself and said, "Could your Hand of Sacrifice be converted into a link between me and Huoye? I have Divine Shield to block for a while, and I can withstand any damage."
Invincible Sacrifice is a skill used by Holy Paladins in the game. By applying Hand of Sacrifice to the tank while activating Invincible can reduce the damage taken by the enemy by 50% without dying. The effect is extremely powerful.
Unas didn't learn the Hand of Sacrifice spell, nor did he intend to. This spell could easily cripple him, and he neither wanted to be a healer nor was he that Consecration, so why waste skill points?
"No, this spell can't be used like that," Darian changed the subject. "However, I've mastered a high-level technique that can add another target for the transfer. Unas, how about you and me?"
The idea of two people sharing 50% of the damage Huoye takes sounds much safer, especially since Unas has Invincible.