Dwarves 2,4,4
The starting heroes aren't great, but I have Argath in prison.
Plus, the area seems convenient. The Great Oracle is very far from the Castle, more than one turn away, which allowed me to ignore it for a long time. There's a Factory, and weak portals to the Castle are nearby. So, I decided to play.
It was very difficult afterward.
Ora didn't gain enough experience to effectively clear out enemies.
Argath wasn't given a tent. I took two Dwarves with some weak units to gain experience.
I didn't have enough money for a ransom. Argath's tent was blocked for a very long time.
I didn't get defense. I took leadership, which delayed getting defense.
It's very, very far away. I cleared the Treasure on day 137. But the guards were wild and had no defense, plus there were still a lot of mages, and I didn't have enough for upgrades - I'm using un-upgraded units. I launched scouting and built a chain. Ora is gathering knowledge for Minotaurs in parallel. But I don't have enough money to ransom Titans either, so she's attacking minor enemies.
Scouting revealed that a Gnomish Tome is lying on the ground in the Treasure.
This determined the plan to collect it. On the fourth day, I defeated the Phoenixes, first taking the Amulet of the Elements. With two Phoenixes, I was able to collect two Temples and the Utopia. I took the Shield from the Berserk, giving up all the Goblins, and losing one Phoenix. On the fifth day, I got +2 Phoenixes and moved mages back and forth to get the other two artifacts.
Plus, on the fourth day, I bought the Amulet of the Dragon and the Home. On the following week, I only needed the Dragon Scale Helm and the Home. Ora reached level 18 and arrived at the Castle at the same time.
I got +20% Minotaur bonus and moved forward through the center. I immediately took the Dragon Scale Helm in the center and now have two tomes. I managed to take an empty Barbarian Castle on day 217, now Argath had a portal and could control the map. Shakh went to the secondary Castle. The path there wasn't visible.
I don't have enough money for full scouting either. As a result, I cautiously peeked out of the Castle for two days. But then the opponent ransomed meat from the Dwarves, and I went after the caravans. They led me to the secondary Castle, which I also took without a fight on day 224. I don't need Cyclops. And it wasn't always possible to constantly get Titans because Argath was already too weak, but I did get 4 Titans from the tome.
I teleported to the Mage's Guild, partially bought meat (Titans, mages), and Shakh appeared. On day 225, I teleported back to the secondary Castle and could catch up with Shakh in two days, which happened on day 227 in the Barbarian's home Castle. Shakh was without the Treasure and was far behind.

The battle was one-sided. Thanks for the game.