This army of demons was more than enough to destroy the weaker nations like Crenoth kingdom and even rival one of the empires' military strength in this continent.
With the archdemon equipped with full legendary grade items as well as a large amount of pawns, this army was like a lesser demon lord army.
However what Adrosiean wanted was not the destruction of the Crenoth kingdom. There was nothing to gain from destroying a weakened nation.
Crenoth kingdom was already weakened because of the Astenora Empire. If not for the prophecy of the demon lord, the Astenora Empire might already use far greater force against the Crenoth kingdom.
Adrosiean only needed them to buy enough time until he reaches the dragon spires. Blindly destroying the Crenoth kingdom was not a wise choice. It would mean there won't be any compromises.
All the nations will see him as the biggest threat in the world and surely send their full military might against him.
Adrosiean would be truly besieged by the whole world. Now was not the time to bravely face the whole continent.
Although the nations will send their armies to attack him, their numbers will be few. Most of them were still wary of each others and holding back. They won't go seriously about eliminating him.
For the time being, the smaller kingdoms intended to stay behind the powerful forces like Solarstras Empire and preserve their own strength.
No matter how bad the prophecy was, as long as Adrosiean did not start destroying first, the smaller nations will mostly bark with no bite.
They were all humans with their own motives after all. No one wants to be a hero without getting something in return. Adrosiean knew this was the best time for him to strengthen himself.
"With the kingdoms holding back, Azralion should be hold out for quite a long time. The enemy is in the open while I am in the dark. No one know my true strength and I still have many of my trump cards."
With the analysis Adrosiean had done when he was in the Crenoth kingdom together with the information from the Crimson Cross, he roughly grasped the nations' strength in this continent.
Expect for the two empires, most of nations won't be able to gather their strength right away. Normally the national forces of a nation was scattered acorss the land.
It was difficult for the nations to gather their full military strength in just a short period of time. Thanks to the Astenora empire's threat, this was more true for the Crenoth kingdom and the nearby nations.
Moreover, because of the plaque demon, the whole forest will be filled with corruption and the human soldiers won't dare to enter carelessly.
It will be a long battle of attrition. Thus, the continent forces won't be able to purge this corrupted forest anytime soon.
"Now the preparations are finally over. Assemble the cult. We are leaving this forest."
Adrosiean ordered Derroth and Rexhell.
"The cult is assembled my lord. We are awaiting your orders."
"Good. Now let's get out of this place before another army surround the forest. We won't be able to go through the kingdoms. We will march through the wild."
With the disappearance of ten thousands soldiers, the security around here soon would be extremely high. The Crenoth kingdom will be on high alert.
Even regular traders would have to pass through multiple screening and checkups just to go around in times like this not to mention the three thousand demonic humans. Some cities might even close their gates and reject all entry for a while.
"This is a fantasy world. The forests cover more than half of the land. I can sneak through the deep forests one after another without being seen until I reaches the dragon spires."
Although the route through the forests and mountains might be longer and harsher, it was safer and better than being found by the nations.
_ _ _ _ _
A few days later,
At the royal palace of the Crenoth kingdom, the king slammed his fist on the throne hand rest after hearing the report.
"What do you mean all of them disappeared? Are you saying ten thousands soldiers just disappeared and never returned?"
King Sermon asked worriedly.
"Yes your majesty. We have lost contact with the alliance army that went into the forest. Furthermore the whole forest now seem to be corrupted by the demonic powers.
The beasts are becoming vicious and violent. The forest itself was covered in thick poisonous fog. We sent several scouts into the forest but none of them returned."
The messenger said with trembling tone.
"So there's a high chance that they are already dead. This is really the worst situation."
The king sighed. The losses of ten thousands soldiers was not that disastrous to the Crenoth kingdom. They were all normal soldiers that can be replenished easily.
Moreover, half of them were from the Astenora Empire and a single solar knight was nothing to the Solarstras Empire either. But the main thing was the reason for their disappearance.
This was after all ten thousands soldiers disappeared without being able to send any information back. The only possibility was the demon lord since the forest seemed to be corrupted by the demonic energies.
The most important thing was that the demon lord was still inside the forest or not.
"Send message to the Solar Alliance ask for assistance. Also ask the Solarstras Empire for their thought and... instructions."
Although asking for help like this was hurting his pride as a king, he had little choice. King Sermon knew he cannot lose too many troops fighting against the demons.
If they suffered massive losses here, the Crenoth kingdom will be devoured by the other nations even if they managed to survive the demonic invasion.
The nations were not in a peaceful era without war. Without sufficient military might, a nation would surely fall. For the sake of the kingdom, king Sermon was willing to throw away his pride and lower his head.
"Also... summon Henarlok here."
_ _ _ _ _
After flying straight for nearly a day, Adrosiean stopped and stepped onto the ground. With a thought, his black dragon wings turned into small black particles and disappeared.
"This place should be fine."
Adrosiean opened the ledger of collection. Pages flipped and thousands of tiny red spheres came out of the ledger of collection. The spheres then transformed into the Crimson Cross members.
Derroth and Rexhell was at the front and knelt down to show their respect. Adrosiean nodded.
"You may rise."
Previously, Adrosiean had put all of the Crimson Cross members inside his ledger of collection and directly soared into the high sky to avoid being seen.
After that he flew straight towards the Crenoth kingdom's borders with his full speed. That way, Adrosiean managed to sneak out of the forest.
Without having to wait for the demonic humans like before, Adrosiean managed to leave the Crenoth kingdom in less than a day. He then quickly let the Crimson Cross members out.
Ledger of collection was an item used for storing summoned units. It cannot contain the Crimson Cross members that were not summoned by Adrosiean's mana for a long time.
If these demonic humans stay inside the ledger of collections for more than a day, they would all lost their lives and their souls would shatter.
Normally these demonic humans won't be able to even enter the ledger of collection in the first place.
However they could temporarily enter forcefully only because of the connection they made with Adrosiean when they had their demonification.
Adrosiean still need the help of the Crimson Cross because he did not know the exact directions. Previously he just flew in a straight line towards the direction that Derroth had told him. There was no way Adrosiean could reach dragon spires with just some crude maps.
Traveling with the Crimson Cross might took more time but this was the best choice. Adrosiean also had other plans along the way.
"I've heard there are a lot of powerful beasts and monsters in the deepest parts of the wilds."
"Yes my lord. Not only the beasts and monsters, there might also villages and residences of demi-humans like goblins and orcs. After all the deep parts of the forests and mountains are untouched by humans for centuries."
The deep wilds were crawling with fearsome beasts and extremely dangerous. The humanity had no time to explore every corners of the forests because it was not worth the risk.
It was dangerous for anyone to pass through these parts. But for Adrosiean, this was an opportunity. There will be less prying eyes and he would be able to use his powers freely.
The abundant of powerful beasts and monsters was a blessing for Adrosiean.
"I can subdue the beasts and monsters on my way to the dragon spires. If I find the residences of the demi-humans on the way, it would even better.
I will take those who submit to me as my warriors and kill the disobedient ones and raise them as undeads. Since I am here, I might as well raise an army."
With his strength, Adrosiean was confident in roaming even the most dangerous forests and mountains. Unless the highest tier bosses like primordial dragons suddenly appear, Adrosiean was not worried.
"We have no time to waste. Move out."
Adrosiean quickly gathered the Crimson Cross members and marched into the deepest part of the jungles.