While the Tree of Miracle was rising in Giantree City with hundreds of thousands of elves cheering in excitement and euphoria.
A city, nine hundred miles away.
It was undergoing a ferocious and bloody battle.
Zhang San, the Earth Drake Grand Marshal, led a force of nearly 8000 elite draconian troops, along with ten thousand strong orc army, in order to successfully capture the Magi Mojo City.
This was one of the three cities that the Demon King planned to conquer.
Silver Spring City and Thousand Fangs City were already in his hands.
The Demon King, however, had no intention to deal with Magi Mojo City personally.
Magi Mojo City was the weakest of the three cities, with only 14 or 15 hundred thousand forest trolls. The overall strength of these forest trolls was also quite mediocre, thus it was more than enough to leave the city to his subordinates to deal with.
As the Demon King's influence expanded and the scale of his legion grew, he would surely have more and more cities and settlements under his control.
He could not possibly be required to personally conquer each and every city in his way, right?
The status of the Demon King was that of a monarch, an emperor and a ruler!
He was not a common soldier nor a general, charging in the frontlines.
All he needed to do was to sit tight in his castle and patiently await the outcome of the battles, as well as its spoils.
In the future, most of the territories or cities that needed to be conquered could be fully delegated to the suitable subordinates. Except for a few tough nuts that might require personal attention, the Demon King would not need to take the matters into his own hands anymore.
Zhang San began to try to coerce and persuade the Magi Mojo City to surrender and submit.
After witnessing the powerful military strength of the draconian legion, as well as the terrifying might of the top tier Level 4 overlord, grand marshal Zhang San, the troll city lord already began to have thoughts of surrendering.
Unexpectedly.
The Heroes residing in Magi Mojo City threw a wrench into the surrendering plan.
They went and assassinated the troll city lord of Maji Mojo City.
The surrender agreement that was imminently about to be made was destroyed and forfeited.
The forest trolls then colluded with the Heroes in an attempt to continue the resistance against the Demon King's legion.
Zhang San was extremely furious.
He decided to make an example of the Magi Mojo City.
He wanted all the citizens and administrators of the other cities to witness what the consequences would be for them if they ever colluded with Heroes and attempted to oppose the Dragon Demon King.
Dusk fell.
The battle had basically just ended.
Atop the ruins of the city lord's fortress.
The grand marshal Zhang San stood proudly with his battle spear in hand.
The high ranking draconians, the marshals Wang Er and Zhao Wu, as well as the high priest Sun Liu, stood behind the grand marshal and gazed down upon the devastated city.
Despite the battle took no small amount of effort.
With the strong commanding capabilities and skills of the grand marshal Zhang San, as well as the aid of the blood ritual and various supporting buffs performed by the high priest, they did not actually pay too much of a price to attain this victory.
Draconian marshal Zhao Wu was delivering a report, "Grand marshal, Magi Mojo City has been fully captured. We have slaughtered about a hundred thousand forest trolls in the process, and the remaining several tens of thousands of their surviving kind are willing to submit."
Another marshal, Wang Er suggested, "These forest trolls are cunning, fickle, and treacherous. They may not necessarily be sincere in their surrender. It would be better to eradicate them all and eliminate the trouble forever. Let the other cities witness the consequences that will befall them whenever one stands up against our master!"
Just then.
The high priest Sun Liu proposed a different approach.
"We have already massacred a hundred thousand of their people. This is more than enough to set up an example. These forest trolls are proficient in alchemy and poison crafting. Our master may have some use for their talents."
Zhang San pondered for a moment.
Sun Liu's words made sense and he had a point.
Just executing them all in one go would be the easiest and most efficient method.
However, it was not the most advantageous nor beneficial approach.
As a loyal servant, he should not choose the easiest method to deal with the trolls.
Instead, he should consider and prioritize the best interest of his master.
Therefore, Zhang San issued a command, "Search and destroy every single troll who has ever had any contact with the Hero's guild. Leave none of them alive. As for the others, send them back to Darkness City and imprison them within the dungeons. Our master shall decide their fate!"
"Yes, sir!", the draconian marshals Zhao Wu and Wang Er immediately answered, after they received their orders.
"Grand marshal!"
"We have the latest military intelligence!"
An ordinary draconian general rushed over to deliver an urgent report.
"The human army will be arriving at the Bloody Fortress soon!"
"Humans? Hmmph!"
Zhang San sneered, "Finally, they're here? It's about damn time! We're just about done with this city. Now we'll go and deal with these pests for our master!"
The Magi Mojo City was not far from the Bloody Fortress, the distance was about three to four hundred miles, which could be traveled within a day.
The Demon King then entrusted the task of defending the Bloody Fortress to his grand marshal, Zhang San, which demonstrated his confidence and trust in him.
Zhang San was incredibly thrilled at this.
For him, this task must be executed flawlessly no matter what.
If this bunch of riff raff manage to force their master's hands, under his watch no less, then it would be an indication of their incompetence and a great shame.
Zhang San first gathered intelligence regarding the enemy forces.
The humans had mobilized about 15 thousand troops this time.
Yet only 5 thousand of them appeared to be well-trained elites.
The remaining 10 thousand soldiers were mostly clad in mish-mashed armor and armed with various weapons, resembling more of a mercenary platoon than a formal army. However, there should be many Heroes blended within their ranks, and their strength ought to be quite formidable and should not be underestimated.
Sun Liu claimed, "With the current state of us priests, as long as we're given half a day to rest and replenish, we'll be able to teleport the legion over to the fortress."
The humans had yet to arrive.
There should be more than enough time.
If they took the draconian priests' teleportation field, Zhang San's troops could easily arrive at the Bloody Fortress long before the human forces could.
Instead, Zhang San shook his head, "That won't be necessary!"
As a high priest, Sun Liu possessed high intelligence, he immediately guessed what the Earth Drake Grand Marshal had in mind, "Grand marshal, are you planning to flank their forces from behind?"
Zhang San answered, "Indeed, judging from the scale of these idiots, they have clearly underestimated the defensive strength and capability of the Bloody Fortress. Whether or not their reinforcement arrives, they cannot possibly have the means to breach the fortress. In that case, why do we still need to reinforce the fortress's defenses?"
The high priest and the two marshals nodded in agreement.
The Bloody Fortress had long since ceased to be under the control of the Divine Sword Heroes Guild.
In the past few days.
The Demon King had sent over a large number of draconian craftsmen and master craftsmen using the priests' teleportation fields.
They had been working day and night to rebuild and reinforce the fortress, strengthening the defensive barriers and setting up myriads of defensive formations.
In addition to that, a fortress army was specially established.
The army included: 5000 draconian soldiers, 5000 elven elites, 5000 orcish elites, 5000 beholders, 10000 ogres, a Thunderfall Tower, and a Farsight Tower.
At that moment, the ogres had arrived one after another.
With the current defensive capabilities of the Bloody Fortress, unless the empire launched a siege with a large-scale formal army, it would be impossible for them to even sway the fortress.
Nonetheless, the current situation was that humans only mobilized an army of less than 20 thousand men.
Of which 10 thousand of these mercenaries were a mix of skilled and strong, as well as expendable fodders.
The remaining 5,000 seemed like an exceptionally elite force, likely consisting of Count Kolo's private soldiers.
But with only this level of prowess, it was impossible for these humans to break through the fortress.
Hence, there was no need for Zhang San to reinforce the fortress's defenses.
Why reinforce the fortress when they could go on the offensive?
When the humans were repelled in their attempt to breach the Bloody Fortress, they would be forced to retreat. Zhang San intended to lay an ambush along their retreat path.
Since they had come all the way here, then stay here forever!
Those who dared to challenge the great master must have the intention to risk their lives and heads behind.
Zhang San opted not to take the draconian priests' teleportation field, but rather led his troops to rapidly advance towards the fortress, and then laid an ambush for the human troops in the nearby mountains.
...
Meanwhile.
The leaders of the three major Hero guilds brought along their trusted and capable subordinates on this siege.
Totalling 700 elite Heroes on the scene.
All of these three leaders were Level 4 Heroes.
The Heroes that they brought to this battle were all top notch Level 2 or 3 elite Heroes, each with powerful and varied abilities.
In addition to the three leaders and their several hundred Heroes subordinates participating in the operation, there was also a massive army of up to 15 thousand men.
Among their ranks, 5 thousand of them were clad in armors, donned in cloaks, riding atop magical scaled war horses, and each equipped with a long spear. The imposing aura they exuded was incredibly awe-inspiring.
This was no ordinary army.
This was the elite knight order of the Kolo family.
The warriors of the Kolo knight order were all elite units.
There were 4000 Level 1 elites, 1000 Level 2 elites, and a total of 50 knight squads, each squad leader was at least a Level 3 elite, and the five knight captains were at least Level 4 elites. The knight commander possessed the strength of a Level 4 lord.
There was no doubt about it.
This was one of the most elite forces in the Kolo region.
Despite their small numbers, their equipment was extremely exquisite, and all of them were well-trained in combat, having experienced many battles!
It could be said that as long as it is not used in large-scale warfare, the Kolo family's knight order had always been invincible.
In addition to the five thousand Kolo family knights who were comparable to the formal army of the empire, there were also 10,000 accompanying warriors who were hired mercenaries.
Although the mercenaries group was a mixed bag, they had rich experience in jungle warfare and were seasoned warriors who had tasted bloodshed.
The combination of the Heroes guild, Kolo's knight order, and mercenaries group was undoubtedly very powerful, and they could complement each other's shortcomings perfectly.
"We're approaching the Bloody Fortress!" said Li Tianyan, the leader and commander of the Skyfire Heroes Guild.
"Everyone be careful, the Demon King may have set up an ambush!"
The leader of the Quicksand Heroes Guild, Huang Sha, laughed heartily, "What a load of nonsense! I heard that the Demon King is currently besieging the Magi Mojo City, and the dwarves to the east and the giants to the west are making matters complicated for him. I don't believe he still has the energy to take care of the Bloody Fortress."
"That's right!"
"The Demon King has only had the fortress for a little over a week."
The leader of the Seven Stars Heroes Guild, Qi Xing, said calmly, "I don't believe the fortress can regain its strength in such a short time. I think we may have overreacted and over prepared this time."
Li Tianyan said, "It's necessary to be well prepared. After we capture the fortress, the Demon King is likely to show up. This will be our chance."
Speaking of which.
The three captains understood each other without saying a word.
The main reason they helped Su Wenhao, the Count Kolo to capture the fortress was not only because Su Wenhao promised them a high reward, but also because they saw an opportunity to cooperate with the Kolo family knights to slay the Demon King.
For them, slaying Level 2 or 3 Demon Kings was not exciting enough. Only taking down a Level 4 Demon King like the Dragon Demon King would be sufficiently thrilling.
Moreover, among the current Level 4 Demon Kings, the Dragon Demon King was the most dominant and powerful. No matter the cost, no matter how heavy the price they would have to pay, if they managed to slay him, they could immediately rewrite their fate and destiny.
At that time, it would be a piece of cake to advance to Level 5.
As long as they became Level 5 Heroes.
Even facing Count Kolo. Su Wenhao, they would be on equal footing as Level 5 Heroes.
After all, how many people in the world had the opportunity to advance to Level 5 at this point?
"Prepare yourselves, everyone!" exclaimed Sairu Kolo, the commander of the Kolo knights.
"This battle is of utmost importance to Count Kolo!"
"For the glory of the family, we must achieve victory at all costs!"
Sairu Kolo drew his knight longsword, and a burst of energy emanated from his body, instantly enveloping everyone present.
[You have received the "Knight's Aura" blessing, +100 HP, +10 strength, +10 constitution!]
"Amazing!"
"It's actually a commander skill!"
"The Kolo family's knights are truly extraordinary!"
The Heroes were amazed by Sairu's display of commander skill, and their morale and confidence skyrocketed.
They thought the Kolo knights were already formidable enough, but they did not expect such a powerful commander!
The mercenary army had also readied themselves for battle.
The several heads of the major mercenary groups were all top-tier Level 4 elites, renowned figures in the Kolo region.
With such a strong lineup, it was clear that Count Kolo was determined to reclaim control of the fortress.