Thunder Empire.
This was a dynastic empire with a historical heritage of three thousand years.
An empire that had experienced four changes of dynasty.
The Thunder Empire covered 50 million square kilometers with a population of nearly one billion. To maintain such a vast territory, a management system similar to a parallel system of counties and duchies was implemented.
The emperor sat in the center of the empire, with self-governing duchies in the east, west, south, and north, each led by one of the four guardian Grand Dukes, along with various noble counties scattered throughout.
The House Kolo.
It was one of the noble counties in the southern territories.
Count Kolo's territory was located on the border of the empire, with five cities, a population of 2.4 million, and several hundred thousands of empire soldiers. If this were on Earth, such scale and strength would be sufficient to establish a small country.
However.
In here.
In this empire.
A territory of such scale was nothing.
Most of Count Kolo's territory bordered the Chaos Forest and was the most deeply entrenched county in the forest among the others.
It had a unique and privileged geographical environment.
Since two hundred years ago, material and slave trading had been prevalent.
Every year, a large number of mercenaries, adventurers, and merchants entered the perilous outskirts of the forest to try their luck.
Some hunted monsters.
Some searched for herbs.
Or did business with the natives.
Slave traders and mercenaries often plundered the weak villages, capturing young and beautiful fox-kin women, rabbit-kin women, and even elves, as well as strong minotaurs and boar-kins to sell to customers in need.
In summary.
Despite being situated in the borderland.
Kolo County was not deprived or poor, but in fact, quite prosperous.
The current Count, "Seinberg Kolo", was hailed as the most talented swordsman in the Kolo family for the past two hundred years.
At the age of thirty or so, he had achieved and attained one of the best swordsmanship skills in the region and was the object of admiration for countless youngsters.
And yet.
The Count.
Now possessed a secret identity.
But it was little known among the people.
His other identity was: Su Wenhao, a Hero, the captain of the Divine Sword Heroes Guild and the head of Kolo Heroes Guild.
About a month and a half ago.
Su Wenhao formulated a plan to conquer the Chaos Forest.
It gained the strong support of the southern Grand Duke Bachor.
He sent his most capable assistant, He Tianzong, to carry out this important mission, while he himself worked behind the scenes to plan and strategize.
A month passed.
The good news kept coming in.
The Divine Sword Heroes Guild was growing rapidly and flourishing.
Not only did they recruit a large number of Heroes hailed from the forest, they also enlisted more than ten Demon Kings, including Bai Hongzhuo under the empire's service.
The construction of the Bloody Fortress was soon to be completed.
At this rate of development.
The empire was bound to take control of the Chaos Forest without anyone noticing.
Su Wenhao believed that if he could pull this off, his status in the empire would rise to a whole new level, giving him the opportunity to ascend to be among the top decision makers.
Just as everything was progressing smoothly.
And when the plan was just about to enter the next phase.
Without any warning.
Bleak tidings were conveyed to him back to back.
Bloody Fortress had fallen!
The twelve Demon Kings were slain one after another!
All the members of the vanguard Hero squad were wiped out!
Even the deputy head, He Tianzong, was nowhere to be found!
In just a few short days, the situation had taken a complete turn for the worse!
The Hero guild and the county spent a lot of time and resources, painstakingly laying out the plan for more than a month, only for it to be completely flopped in an instant, collapsing thoroughly.
The Divine Sword Heroes Guild...had failed!
Su Wenhao was boiling in anger.
"Damn it all!"
"Useless idiots! Every single one of them!"
Priceless vases and artworks in the castle were shattered all over the place.
Dozens of servants were groveling, cowering on the ground, trembling. In the past month or two, their master's temperament had changed drastically, making him rather unpredictable.
It was no wonder Su Wenhao was so furious.
After all, he had invested too much into this plan.
Leaving aside the members of the Hero guild, including He Tianzong, just from bribing the major forest cities and tribes, Su Wenhao had spent millions of mainland gold coins worth of resources.
In addition to this.
In order to support the Demon Kings, including Bai Hongzhuo.
Su Wenhao used the convenience of being the president of the Heroes guild to discreetly capture several high-leveled Heroes who were at odds with him, and sent their souls to these Demon Kings to obtain their favor.
Otherwise.
How else could this worthless scum, Bai Hongzhuo become a Level 4 Demon King so quickly?
And now, because of the emergence of the Dragon Demon King in the Darkness Valley, the plan that Su Wenhao had invested so much effort and resources to lay out was destroyed and ruined.
How could he not be outraged when something like this happened?
However, Su Wenhao did not lose his mind in anger.
He knew that getting angry would not solve any problems.
Grand Duke Bachor attached great importance to the Bloody Fortress and had discreetly provided a lot of help. If all of this was lost, how could he explain it to the Duke of the South?
An elder butler approached.
"Master, the guild has finished the arrangement and is awaiting your arrival."
Su Wenhao calmed himself down and his rage subsided for now.
He then boarded a carriage drawn by four superior breed unicorns, and emerged from his magnificent and dignified count's palace, driving on the wide avenue of Kolo City.
Fifty fully armed knights of House Kolo, mounted on their war steeds and equipped with great lances, were escorting the carriage in the front and back, paving the way for the count.
Wherever the cavalcade passed.
The subjects casted their awestruck glances.
"Look!"
"It's the lord's carriage!"
"The lord's knights and guards are so mighty and imposing!"
"I also want to be the lord's escorting knight!"
"Stop dreaming! Someone like you want to be a knight of House Kolo? They are all one in a thousand elites, the best of the best, each with the strength to face off a hundred!"
"..."
Su Wenhao was an extremely individual.
As an executive of an international corporation in the previous world.
He had become a noble of the empire in this world.
Not only did Su Wenhao possess immense strength, he also ruled a territory with a population of 2.4 million. Every trip or traveling he took would attract numerous onlookers among the commoners.
The awe and fascination from their gazes.
It used to bring him satisfaction and enjoyment.
However, as time passed, Su Wenhao gradually became accustomed to this awe. Now, he believed that he was meant to be superior to others.
In this empire.
In this world.
A mere county was too insignificant.
It was nowhere near sufficient to satisfy his growing ambition.
Su Wenhao desired even greater power, even higher authority, and an even more abundant and vast domain.
Half an hour later.
At the Kolo Heroes guild.
The top brass of the four local Hero guilds were all present.
Within Kolo's territory, there existed thousands of Heroes, divided into four major Hero guilds.
The Divine Sword Heroes Guild was the top among the four guilds, with more than a thousand Heroes, almost all of whom had reached Level 2.
Those whom He Tianzong had brought along to the forest were only a part of the guild.
Hence, even though the loss of the entire Hero squad had caused the Divine Sword guild to be greatly wounded, it was not a catastrophic blow.
"Guild master."
"Did something arise?"
"Why did you summon us urgently?"
The leaders of the other three major Hero guilds all looked puzzled.
Su Wenhao, sat at the top seat with an expressionless face, "See for yourselves!"
As his words stopped.
He activated a memory crystal.
This peculiar item could record both visual and audio information.
This memory crystal was brought back by a deserter from the Bloody Fortress. When the crystal was activated, the process of the Bloody Fortress being attacked and breached was immediately presented before their eyes.
"Ah!"
"What the hell is this??"
"How could the defensive barrier be so fragile?"
The scene that was playing out before the leaders and senior members of the three major Hero Guild was a jolt to their senses.
A golden diamond dragon ignored the dense attacks poured upon it and easily penetrated and breached the barrier, as if puncturing a piece of paper. Then, it continued forth with an unstoppable momentum, and pierced through the fortress walls.
That terrifying temperament.
That savage and ruthless menace.
It made the Heroes feel as if they were personally on the scene.
Everyone could not help but break out in cold sweat.
After this massive dragon breached through the fortress, hundreds and thousands of draconic creatures and draconian units flooded into the fortress like a tidal wave, bringing forth destruction in their wake.
These leaders and senior members on the scene.
Suffice to say, they were all seasoned veterans and experienced.
They were certain this was not just a monster wave.
This was clearly an organized and premeditated operation led by a Demon King.
Su Wenhao broke the silence, "This incident took place in the Chaos Forest, and the location is just over a thousand miles away from Kolo City...".
Upon hearing this.
The three captains revealed a grim expression.
Skyfire Hero Guild leader, Li Tianyan furrowed his brow and muttered, " I've recently caught wind of a powerful Dragon Demon King emerging from the Darkness Valley area of the Chaos Forest. Could it be the one in the image?"
Quicksand Hero Guild leader, Huang Sha scoffed, "Isn't that obvious?"
Seven Stars Hero Guild leader, Qi Xing remarked, " Judging from the performance of this Demon King, I believe he's at least a Level 4 overlord. Such strength is difficult to come by. Plus, considering his identity as a dragon race, we could almost be hundred percent certain."
Su Wenhao nodded in agreement, "Do you know what it means for us to have such a powerful demon king born in the Chaos Forest?"
The three captains felt a sense of great crisis.
Li Tianyan said, "This is indeed a formidable and problematic threat to us, to Kolo, and even to the empire. I suggest that we send in the empire's formal army to eradicate him immediately!"
Su Wenhao retorted, "Bloody idiot. If it were that easy, why do I need to summon you all?"
"The empire's border troops are not under the control of a mere Count like me, only Duke Bachor has the authority to mobilize them!"
"Moreover, once the Imperial army enters the Chaos Forest on a large scale, this movement will be almost impossible to conceal. What will the Azure Water Federation and the Sunset Empire think of this? This will surely lead to a series of even more complex problems!"
"We must resolve this matter by ourselves!"
"I summoned the three of you here today, just to work out a strategy!"
The three Hero captains were put in a difficult position.
Huang Sha of the Quicksand guild commented, "Based on the power displayed by this Demon King, not only does he possess terrifying power at the level of a Level 4 overlord, but even among those with the same level of strength, he is probably an existence that stands atop all of them!"
"I agree!", Qi Xing of the Seven Star guild concurred. "Although we are all Level 4, we are not even close to being a match for him!"
At that moment.
Li Tianyan of the Skyfire guild suddenly spoke up, "The strength of a Level 4 overlord is indeed enough to dominate and take over some areas of the Chaos Forest, but not necessarily the entire forest."
Hearing this statement.
The other guild leaders turned to him.
Li Tianyan continued, "The Chaos Forest has dozens of forest cities, most of which are led by city lords of only Level 3 strength, but there are also some particularly powerful ones among them."
Huang Sha immediately asked, "Are you talking about..."
Li Tianyan resumed his explanation, "As far as I know, there is the Thunderclap City inhabited by the giant race in the western plateau of the Chaos Forest, which can be regarded as the strongest force in the chaotic forest. If we can exploit these giants and turn them against the Dragon Demon King, it may be plausible to take him down."
Qi Xing also remarked, "Speaking of which, I've also heard that there's dwarven clan mountain cities in the endless mountain range of the east. These cities were built right inside the mountains, with tens of thousands of dwarves living within it. There may also be a Level 4 overlord existence among them!"
"That's right!"
"Why not use these forces against the Dragon Demon King?"
"Even if we can't defeat the Dragon Demon King, we can at least weaken his strength or divide his forces, giving us a chance!"
"But the giant and dwarf clans are very reclusive. Although they have a fierce temperament, they generally do not meddle with the outside world."
"..."
Su Wenhao was listening in on their discussions.
Plans and ideas gradually formed within his mind.
He had no way to mobilize the formal army of the empire, but he did have some forces at his disposal, including the knights of the Kolo family and his own private army.
These forces.
Though they were not numerous.
They were highly elite.
Why not use the three major Heroes guilds, or the giant and dwarf clans, to suppress the Dragon Demon King, and then use his own forces to easily reclaim the Bloody Fortress?
As long as the Bloody Fortress was in his hands.
Then he could answer and explain to the Grand Duke Bachoor.
As for the Dragon Demon King?
Based on his display of strength in the memory crystal, he was indeed immensely mighty, possibly one of the most powerful and top-ranked Demon Kings in the world at this stage.
But Su Wenhao, with his current strength.
As long as he was prepared, he should be able to contend with this Demon King.
After all, as Count Kolo, he was a famous swordsmanship genius in the southern border of the empire, and his strength was on par with a Level 4 overlord!