Chapter 26
Zhang Kai and the other two died!
He had ordered them to go conquer a goblin village, as well as collect information about any nearby Demon King nests, but he didn't expect those three idiots to disobey their orders and act on their own!
To think that they wanted to monopolize the Demon King of the Darkness Valley! However, the result was that rather than killing the Demon King, they themselves ended up killed instead! They truly are a bunch of unsalvageable fools!
"Worthless trash!"
"Those incompetent fools!"
Zhao Lei was in a rage.
The other minotaurs shied away in fear.
One Hero stepped forward to speak, "Boss, based on the report from the warriors who managed to escape, the Demon King of the Darkness Valley is an undead type!"
Zhao Lei calmed down at that and immediately asked, "How strong is he?"
The minotaur Hero answered, "The battlefield was very chaotic when Zhang Kai and them got ambushed, so the warriors who managed to escape never saw the Demon King."
Zhao Lei let out a cold snort, "How many forces does he have?"
The minotaur Hero replied, "About 400 to 500 or so. All of them are undead grudge ghosts. That's why Zhang Kai and them ended up completely wiped out."
"That many?"
Zhao Lei was quite surprised at that.
Zhang Kai only had 50 minotaurs with him. If he got ambushed by something like 500 grudge ghosts, then it's only natural that he didn't stand a chance.
Another Hero who's a minotaur mage spoke, "This Demon King is developing far faster than expected. He'll definitely be a major threat in the future!"
Zhao Lei's expression turned dark.
Compared to Heroes, the greatest advantage that Demon Kings have is their unlimited growth potential.
That applies for both them personally and their factions.
So long as they have enough resources, they can quickly expand their forces.
"This Demon King is no weakling. Plus, he's also an undead type, so his costs and upkeep are low to begin with. If we were to allow him to keep developing, he'll definitely end up a major issue for us."
He slammed his hand down on the table before rising.
"The Demon King just won a great victory, so he'll definitely relax his guard. Gather all our warriors immediately. We'll raid the Darkness Valley and destroy him right away!"
Zhao Lei had a vicious look on his face, "Fucking hell, that damn bastard. To dare to kill so many of my subordinates like that. I won't let you die an easy death!"
Three minotaur Heroes exchanged glances.
They didn't think that Zhao Lei would order an attack that decisively.
A minotaur Hero spoke up again, "Should we ask the Ironblooded Heroes Guild from Giantree City for help? Our chances will be more certain that way!"
Zhao Lei shook his head, "Giantree is too far away, they won't get here in time. Plus, I haven't agreed to join the guild yet, so they may not actually be willing to help us with this."
"There's no need to ask for help. Our existing power is already more than enough!"
At this point, the rest of them had no more objections.
For one, Zhao Lei is the boss here and he already made his decision.
Second of all, the Demon King's growth rate is rather terrifying, so the sooner he's destroyed, the better, especially given that he's an undead Demon King!
Finally, the Bloodhoof Tribe is capable of assembling a huge army with numbers more than ten times what Zhang Kai had with him. Add in the fact that Zhao Lei is a level 2 unit, their full might is incomparable.
With all that taken into account, is there any doubt as to the results of this oncoming battle?
The Demon King couldn't even completely wipe out Zhang Kai's little group after all.
The simple fact that several minotaur warriors were able to escape and report, exposing his unit composition and forces ahead of time was enough to show that the Demon King really is only just that much.
"Forward!"
Zhang Lei assembled 700 minotaurs and 200 warriors of vassal tribes for a total army of 900 combat units and set off toward the direction of the Darkness Valley.
Zhao Lei was filled with a sense of achievement as he gazed at the huge army before him.
He had a very smooth time of it for the past half month. Not only was he able to successfully inherit control of the Bloodhoof Tribe, he also swallowed up a number of small villages and factions.
Therefore, Zhao Lei was absolutely confident that this time will be no different.
After subjugating the Darkness Valley, his power and position are certain to take yet another step forward.
The fox-kin Su Yan didn't follow Zhao Lei in his expedition.
Zhao Lei didn't really trust this newly joined Hero all that much, so he left her behind in the tribe and had the minotaurs keep her under house arrest.
After witnessing the Bloodhoof Tribe's demon subjugation army, Su Yan finally realized just how much of a difference there is between Heroes!
No wonder she ended up like this.
Against such a mighty army, the Demon King is dead for sure.
Su Yan was quite depressed. It's because the stronger the Demon King, the greater the rewards they'll end up generating at death. If Zhao Lei's subjugation was successful, then wouldn't he end up growing far stronger?
She's also rather disappointed.
She had finally realized that with her abilities and Talent, unless she has some kind of stroke of luck, she'll never be able to become a top class Hero!
This was something that she really didn't want to resign herself to!
About half a day later, the Bloodhoof Tribe's demon subjugation army had arrived at the Canyon.
A hero spoke up, "Boss, they were ambushed by the Demon King in this canyon back then, so we should properly prepare ourselves first!"
Zhao Lei observed the geography and hmphed, "No wonder they were nearly completely wiped out. This place is indeed very suitable for an ambush. However, the same failure won't be happening twice. Have the priests enchant the warriors' weapons!"
Several minotaur priests started busying themselves.
Minotaur priests are support units. Their combat power isn't very strong, but they have support and recovery magic, so they are a power multiplier for the army.
Based on the report, the Demon King's minions are grudge ghosts.
As ghosts, grudge ghosts have high physical resistance. This doesn't mean that they can't be dealt with though. They'll be able to easily deal with them if they magically enchant some of their weapons.
That said, enchantments do have a limited duration and the priests will have to continuously reapply the spell.
Thus, they can't waste any time. They have to move quickly.
Zhao Lei raised up his fire element enchanted warhammer and roared out, "The Demon King of the Darkness Valley is currently plotting to devour our home and conquer the entire forest!"
"Heroes of the Bloodhoof Tribe, the time for glory is now. Follow me to crush the Demon King and his minions!"
Several hundred minotaurs roared out.
Their fighting spirit blazed forth.
Zhao Lei acted as the vanguard and led his troops into the canyon.