In front of the forest near the Crenoth kingdom capital,
The whole forest was filled with corruption and death. It reeked of the stench of demonic corruption.
This forest was formerly a nameless forest. However after the annihilation of the ten thousands troops, this forest was now known as crimson forest and became the most dangerous area in the Crenoth kingdom.
With many evidences, the nations were suspected of a demon lord residing inside the forest.
"As expected of the demons. The foul demonic stench even reaches this far."
A solar knight shook his head and said.
"But are we the only ones? If the demon lord is really here, I don't think we could defeat him with just us."
Another solar knight said while looking back at the alliance army behind them.
King Sermon had requested reinforcements from the solar alliance after hearing the disappearance of the ten thousands soldiers.
The chances of a demon lord residing inside the forest was very high. Thus, a new alliance army was quickly mobilized under the Solarstras Empire's banner.
This time, not only the Solarstras Empire, the neighboring nations that were part of the Solar Alliance also sent out some of their troops to show their support.
This alliance army was eighty thousands strong with many elites like solar knights and elite knights from the Crenoth kingdom.
The Crenoth kingdom army consisted of twenty thousand troops and an elite knight order from the capital.
The Crenoth kingdom had two elite knight orders. They were the royal knight order that directly under the command of the king and the falcon knight order from the noble faction.
King Sermon had sent the whole falcon knight order including the knight captain, Henarlok to the alliance army.
Although they were not as strong as the elites from the empires like solar knight, they were still better than normal knights.
The Solarstras Empire sent out a staggering thirty thousands soldiers including five hundred mages, twenty solar knights and the vice captain of the solar knight order. This could be considered half the division of an empire.
Mages were rare but the empires had plenty of them in their legions. The main reason the Solarstras Empire sent out this many mages was because of the rumored deadly fog inside the forest.
Without any protection, the alliance army will not last long inside the poisonous fog thus mages were deployed as support units to cast defensive spells for the alliance army.
The neighboring kingdoms sent ten thousands soldiers combined. However these ten thousands soldiers were only from nearby nations which arrived first.
The rest of the reinforcements from across the continent were still on their way towards the Crenoth kingdom. Unlike the Solarstras Empire, it took some time for the other nations to mobilize their troops.
With more than sixty thousands soldiers, the number alone was six times that of the previous alliance army.
However this time, there were many elites unlike before. The solar knights were at the front like a sharp spear while the falcon knights were positioned at the rear for unforseen situations.
The mages were evenly spread out across the alliance army as small teams and each teams of mages were to support their respective parts of the alliance army.
Unlike before, the alliance army was well formed and in tight formation. After all this army was not for eliminating a cult but to possibly fight the demon lord.
The overall strength of the new alliance army was more than ten times that of the previous one. With the demon lord likely inside the crimson forest, this was a natural response.
However, the two solar knights still did not think this alliance army was enough to eliminate the demon lord. If demon lords were this easy to kill, they won't be considered as the threats that could destroy the world.
To the nations, demon lord alone was not that big of a threat. There were many beings thay as powerful as the demon lord in the world like dragons.
The main reason that demon lords were feared was because of the demonic legions they command. Having a large amount of demons as minions, the demon lords were a force to be reckon with.
"No. We are only the vanguards. We are here to confirm whether the demon lord is still inside this forest or not. The rest of the solar knights are assembling. They will move out once we confirm the demon lord's position."
A female knight walked up to them. The two solar knights immediately saluted respectfully after seeing her.
She is Leanora, the 'Sun Blaze'. She was one of the most skilled knights of the Solarstras Empire and the vice captain of the of the solar knight order. Leanora was irreplaceable elite even to the Solarstras Empire.
"No need for formalities. What's the situation?"
Leanora shook her head.
"Yes. There are some corrupted beasts coming out of the forest occasionally but we took care of them all. There are still no sign of the cultists or the demons."
"We sent a few scouts into the forest but none of them came back. The corruption is spreading very quickly. The unsual poisonous fog is also coming out of the forest.
For now the situation isn't bad yet. However if we leave it be, we won't be able to get close to the forest safely anymore when the poisonous fog became so dense."
The two solar knights reported. Leanora frowned and looked over at the crimson forest. She suddenly sensed a pair of cold eyes gazing back from the deep forest, making her to avert her gaze in fright.
It was only for a split second but Leanora certainly felt a chill. However she quickly shook away that feelings of fear. She was not someone who would run away just because her enemies were powerful.
"Inform the alliance army. We are marching into the crimson forest with our full might! We will confirm the demon lord is here or not."
The grand alliance army of sixty thousands soldiers began to move. Moreover, this was just the first wave of many incoming attacks.
The Solarstras Empire was already mobilizing the strength of the solar alliance for more waves of attacks on the demon lord.
_ _ _ _ _
"Kill them all!"
"Slaughter these insolent animals who dared defy the will of the demon lord!"
"Kill them in the lord's name."
"For the demon lord!"
The demonic human fanatics cried out and charged towards their enemies.
"The orcs have high physical strength. Their bodies and bones are far stronger than most humans. They are truly natural born warriors."
Adrosiean nodded as he leisurely walked through the orc village. The whole village was burning in flames while the orcs were getting killed mercilessly one after another.
The orcs were not weak. Even the female orcs could fight and were strong warriors. They were not easy opponents for the demonic humans.
However there were abyssal guards that Adrosiean had summoned as well as many beasts and demi-humans that were subdued by Adrosiean in the past few days.
The orcs were no match for elite demons like the abyssal guards. Furthermore they were greatly outnumbered. Despite the orcs' brave resistance, the battle was one sided slaughter.
"Die you demon!"
An orc warrior roared and charged towards Adrosiean. However before he reaches Adrosiean, he was cut down in half by an abyssal guard.
In the middle of the battlefield, a huge orc that double the size of normal orcs was in his knees. This was the great orc chieftain.
His former proud demeanor was no where to be found and replaced by a look of pain and suffering. There were wounds all over his giant body and blood coming out of them continuously.
"Why? Why did you do this? Why do you have to go this far?"
The orc chieftain murmured painfully as he glared towards Adrosiean with a mixture of hatred and fear.
"I gave you a chance to become my warriors didn't I? But you made a foolish decision and rejected my will."
Adrosian replied with indifference. The orc chieftain's lips curled up and let out a painful laugher.
"To become your pawns and used as cannon fodders? We are the proud warriors. We rather die than to become your puppets. We will never be your...!"
A waraxe fell down from above and beheaded the orc chieftain before he could finish his sentence. Derroth walked towards Adrosiean and knelt down respectfully.
"All the resisting orcs have been dealt with my lord. What should we do with the ones that surrendered?"
The orc chieftain had decided to resist Adrosiean and fight back. However there were young and old orcs that unable to fight. When the battle started, the orc chieftain sent these weak orcs out of the village to evacuate.
However Adrosiean had his minions surrounded the village even before approaching them.
Thus, these orcs were captured instantly when they tried to escape. They were not warriors and forced to surrender.
"Hmm. Let me think. These are orcs that unable to fight. The old ones are completely useless.
For the young, waiting for them to mature would be too long. I don't have time for that right now. What I need is immediate strength."
Furthermore since Adrosiean had massacred their whole families, he was not certain of their loyalty. After thinking about pros and cons, Adrosiean decided.
"Kill them all. They are of no use to me being alive. At least undead versions of them will be better fighters than these things."
Undeads had no fatigue nor would never run away from the fight like the living. Although the undeads were slightly weaker counterparts of the original, it was acceptable for Adrosiean.
Adrosiean preferred obedient puppets than those who afraid of death. The undeads were the ultimate death soldiers that Adrosiean currently needed the most.