The news of the fall of Kolo Province on the empire's southern border spread throughout the Thunder Empire in less than three days. It reached all corners, from the four borders to the heart of the empire's capital city.
This news sparked intense discussions among the people. Titles such as the ruler of the Chaos Forest, the new king of the dragon-kind, the mightiest Demon King within the empire's region, and the Dark Dragon King were now common topics of conversation.
However, up to this point, the entire empire seemed to maintain a rather nonchalant attitude. Most people did not view this as a severe matter. After all, for the vast majority of the empire's inhabitants, Kolo Province was a remote and insignificant border region. Its occupation did not seem to have any significant impact on their daily lives.
Indeed, the appearance of the Dark Dragon King was an exceedingly rare event, and it could potentially bring disaster. However, given the origin of the Chaos Forest, the question remained: how powerful could it truly become? Relying solely on a single Dark Dragon King to threaten the very foundation of the empire seemed almost impossible.
Of course, this incident had put a dent in the empire's reputation. As a result, the empire increased the reward for killing the Dark Dragon King. Anyone who could slay this formidable Demon King would be granted the title of a Marquis and receive 3 billion imperial gold coins as a reward. This was, without a doubt, the highest bounty the empire had offered in several decades.
This newfound bounty had thrust the Dark Dragon King into the spotlight across the empire. Adventurers yearning for instant fame, mercenary groups hungry for rewards, and Heroes dreaming of instant glory were all gearing up for action. Numerous monster-hunting plans were being devised and executed.
Simultaneously, in the main city of the empire's southern border, Duke Bachor wore a grim expression. He had to admit that he had underestimated the strength of the Dragon Demon King. He had never expected his adversary to be a monarch-level existence. It seemed that the Undying Phoenix, Hubert, had likely met his end in failure, and the eight Guardian Knights were probably lost as well. This realization left Duke Bachor deeply frustrated. If he was not bound by his responsibilities as a Guardian Grand Duke, he would have left his duchy without hesitation and personally journeyed to Kolo to rip the accursed Demon King into pieces.
"Your Grace! Marquis Belok Kregi has arrived!"
Bachor nodded and said, "Let him in." A few minutes later, the head butler escorted in an elderly, spirited gentleman. This was Marquis Kregi of the southern empire.
The Kregi family had a unique tradition that set them apart from typical hereditary nobility. In each generation, they would select five to ten outstanding heirs, make them adopt pseudonyms when venturing into the world. These heirs would then travel, build their reputations, and ultimately, the one who achieved the highest renown and fame would inherit the title of Marquis.
Marquis Kregi, from the current generation, had been an adventurer in his youth. He had traveled through several countries, embarked on countless adventures, and at the peak of his fame, rivaled even the likes of the Undying Phoenix, Hubert. Despite now holding the title of Marquis within the empire, he remained a top-tier powerhouse. Among the nobility of the south, his strength ranked among the top three, just behind Bachor. He also commanded a significant following of adventurers and renowned mercenaries who had rallied under his banner. His influence was not to be underestimated.
"Duke Bachor," Marquis Kregi greeted with a respectful bow, "I've heard about the situation in Kolo. While it's not an important territory, it's still sacred imperial land. I'm willing to take on the task of subduing Kolo, uniting the surrounding lords to exterminate the Abyssal Dragon Demon King."
Duke Bachor responded, "I don't doubt your strength, but even the Undying Phoenix, Hubert, has failed. This Demon King is more dangerous than we anticipated. You should reconsider carefully."
Marquis Kregi chuckled. "Hubert, the Undying Phoenix? Hah! Back when I was a roaming adventurer, he was probably playing with mud somewhere. I've encountered plenty of such presumptuous adventurers who ultimately met their demise."
"Rest assured, Duke Bachor. If I'm volunteering, it's because I'm absolutely confident in dealing with this Demon King. Besides the high-caliber experts that I, along with several other Counts have cultivated, there's another force we can leverage this time."
Duke Bachor took a moment to contemplate, his thoughts aligning with Marquis Kregi's proposal. "Are you referring to the Thunderous Society?"
Marquis Kregi nodded, confirming, "Indeed, the Thunderous Society. Guardian Knight Gordes and Undying Phoenix Hubert were both members of that society. It's a highly secretive group of elite Heroes, a dozen or so of the finest in the entire Thunder Empire."
Gordes was Huang Hui.
Hubert was Yan Qianjun.
Both of them were incredibly lucky Hero players. In truth, within the Thunder Empire, there were at least a dozen more as fortunate as them. Some had distinguished backgrounds, others possessed unparalleled strength. These high-achieving Heroes formed an exclusive circle among themselves.
As they were the elite champion Heroes of the Thunder Empire, they named this circle the Thunderous Society. Each member was highly exceptional. For Heroes of their caliber, ordinary Demon Kings would not pique their interest. Only the absolute top-tier Demon Kings could ignite their desire to hunt. But such top-tier Demon Kings were exceedingly rare. Now that the Abyssal Dragon Demon King had emerged, how could they not be tempted?
Duke Bachor had exceptional intelligence capabilities within his southern territories. Naturally, he was aware of the existence of the Thunderous Society, even knowing the identities of some of its members. It was indeed a force worth utilizing.
For Duke Bachor, both Heroes and Demon Kings were challenging entities. Powerful Heroes like these posed a threat to the Bachor Duchy and even the entire Thunder Empire. If he could manipulate the situation to make these super Heroes and super Demon Kings contend with each other, then Duke Bachor would be more than happy to bide his time and act as the ultimate beneficiary when the time came.
Duke Bachor pondered for a while before speaking, "The Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Legions will be arriving at the southern border shortly. I will entrust you with the command of these four legions. You should know what to do."
Marquis Kregi smiled confidently, replying, "You can rest assured, Your Grace."
Duke Bachor then issued another command, "Knight Commander Bard, this time I'll need you to personally take action."
A knight in golden armor stepped forward. He was the commander of the ten Guardian Knights in the southern region and now held the mere title of the chief knight as all nine of his subordinates had fallen to the Demon King. This knight, named Bard, had been harboring a deep-seated desire for revenge.
"I will personally take the head of this black lizard!" Bard, the Guardian Knight Commander, stated with unwavering confidence. "Please, Your Grace, await good news from me!"
With Marquis Kregi being the strongest noble in the Southern region, just below Bachor himself, and a renowned adventurer from twenty years ago, along with Bard, a Level 6 Guardian Knight Commander, the strength of just these two individuals was substantial. Adding to this formidable force were the Marquis's noble family, along with several nearby Counts and Viscounts who would join the battle.
The four empire legions were already in position, and with the involvement of the Thunderous Society, the Abyssal Dragon Demon King would be hard-pressed to contend with such a force.
As for Duke Bachor, he was the guardian of the southern region, the last line of defense. He would not leave the safety of the southern capital city easily. However, in case of extraordinary circumstances on Kregi's side, Duke Bachor could arrive swiftly to provide support. That dark dragon, despite its power, would not be able to stir up too much trouble.
...
Meanwhile, in the Darkness City, Peiti had completed her training. She now knew what to remember and what to forget. For instance, she needed to forget the existence of the true Demon King and treat the Abyssal Dragon King as the Demon King to continue this strategic deception against their enemies.
Additionally, Peiti had gained insights into the situation within the Darkness City and some of the miracles it had produced. This left her utterly astonished. The abilities of the Demon King were far more complex than she had imagined. Almost everyone who had pledged allegiance to the Demon King had received benefits, which tempted Peiti and her companions. They realized that they could no longer return to the empire now; they were committed to this path.
In the afternoon, as they prepared to return, something completely unexpected caught their attention. In the central square of the Darkness City, there were 1,000 draconian craftsmen and 10,000 high laborers standing in orderly formations. In addition, there were units of human knights, about 5,000 to 6,000 strong, dressed in knightly attire and mounted on horses. Even the weakest among them had elite-level strength. This knightly force was comparable in size and strength to the Kolo Knight Order, if not slightly stronger. Lastly, there were at least 2,000 human mages present, all clad in robes, wielding staffs. Each of them was formidable, making up an elite mage corps. Peiti was bewildered. Chaos Forest did not have any human cities, so why did the Darkness City have such a well-equipped knight order and mage corps?
At this moment, a voice resonated, sending shivers down Peiti and her companions' spines. It was not just any voice, it was the voice of the true Demon King himself.
"Your Majesty!" Peiti and the others looked towards the true Demon King. He was disguised in a cloak and appeared ready to depart, making it impossible to discern his true identity.
Zhang Nu explained, "This is the first batch of reinforcements for Kolo. My construction units will assist in repairing the city, strengthening defenses, and improving infrastructure. The knight order and mage corps will be temporarily stationed in Kolo City to help defend against potential attacks."
Rather than assisting Kolo in defense, it seemed more like a strategic move to control the region better. They had recruited 5,000 junior knights for one million gold, 2,000 junior mages for another million, and spent an additional two million gold to recruit 500 intermediate mages and 1,000 intermediate knights. In total, it cost six million gold.
While all of these recruits were only Level 1 or 2 elites, they were significantly stronger than the previous forces in Kolo. Zhang Nu intended to dispatch this force to bolster the defenses. However, he knew very well that this force would not be able to withstand a full legion from the empire.
To counter that, Zhang Nu had prepared a team of 11,000 draconian construction workers to swiftly repair and reinforce Kolo City and construct more defensive structures. His plan was to change the gatekeeper of the Chaos Federation from the Bloody Fortress to the Kolo region after capturing it, thus pushing the battlefield out of the forest, which would benefit the stability of the Chaos Federation.
However, the downside was that the defense would be more challenging than before. At this moment, Zhang Nu intended to go himself. He wanted to inspect the situation in Kolo and had another reason for his visit. He knew that there was a particularly unique ruin near Kolo that was worth exploring.
After eliminating Yan Qianjun and inheriting the legacy of the Undying Phoenix Hubert, Zhang Nu had examined all the treasure maps, information on ruins, dungeons, and forbidden areas that Hubert had collected over the years. He had pinpointed two places of particular interest. One of them was a mysterious ruin where Hubert himself had experienced the most significant adventure of his life. In this ruin, he had obtained the blood of the Undying Phoenix, the top-tier epic equipment - Heart of Space. However, Hubert had not explored the entire ruin, likely due to the increasing difficulty in its later stages, even for someone of Hubert's capabilities.
This ruin was located far away, and Zhang Nu was not ready to attempt it just yet. As for the other ruin, it was relatively close to Kolo, a place of great value. Zhang Nu planned to visit it during his inspection of the Kolo region, hoping to find unexpected and significant treasures.