The outcome was no longer in doubt, as the overwhelming might of the abyssal dragons had crushed Kolo City's resolve entirely. The terrorizing power of the Dark Dragon King left everyone in despair. The swift advance of the orcs, trolls, and dragonkin into the city was underway. The lives of the hundreds of thousands of civilians in Kolo City hung by a thread, and the forest races showed no sympathy for humanity. The entire city might be wiped out.
This battle was being won far too easily, and oddly enough, it left Long Yi somewhat conflicted. "Our orders were to capture the Kolo region. But, the methods and processes weren't specifically instructed," he remarked.
Earth Drake Grand Marshal Wang Er nodded. "The simplest and easiest way would be to turn all of Kolo into scorched earth. In the entire Kolo region, there are five cities and twenty-one towns, with a total population of over two million. Burning down all the towns and annihilating the population wouldn't be difficult for Your Highness or our army."
However, Sun Liu, the Sky Drake Archpriest, had a different perspective. "This doesn't align with the King's interests!"
"Nor does it align with the Chaos Federation's best interests!"
"The Kolo region is a hilly plain embedded within the Chaos Forest, and it's also the primary gateway for the Chaos Forest to enter and exit the Thunder Empire. This place holds immense strategic value."
"While it's easy to completely destroy this area and turn it into scorched earth, rebuilding it in the future would require a significant amount of manpower, resources, and time."
Long Yi agreed with this perspective. As the most loyal servants of His Majesty, their loyalty to their master's interests superseded everything else, even their own lives. They could not choose an easier and safer approach just because it was troublesome or posed a threat to their safety. But how exactly should they go about subduing these humans?
"Your Highness!"
A Level 4 lord-ranked orc approached, and it was none other than Gru, the lord of Berserk Beast City. The six thousand elite orcs participating in the operation had all been handpicked and led by Gru from Berserk Beast City. He wanted to earn more merit for the orcs. It was worth noting that his title for Long Yi was "Your Highness," which might sound similar, but it was entirely different. Gru believed that only a true Demon King could be addressed as "Your Majesty".
Long Yi inquired, "Lord Gru, what's the matter?"
Gru replied, "We've captured a member of the Kolo family. She claims to be the first heir in line for the count's succession. She insists on meeting you in the capacity of a surrendering noble to negotiate."
Negotiation? How laughable!
"Bring her here," Long Yi commanded. "I'd like to see what this so-called heir of the count wants to say."
A captive female knight was brought before the draconians. She was wounded in multiple places, and her armor was shattered, indicating fierce combat. However, she was only a Level 3 lord, incapable of turning the tide of battle.
"You... you must be the Demon King!" Peiti Kolo, a self-proclaimed brave knight, believed she would never cower in the face of any powerful enemy's might. But when confronted with these terrifying beings before her, she could not help but feel the urge to tremble.
Terrifying! Too terrifying!
The three true dragons reverted to humanoid form. In addition to them, present on the scene were Earth Drake Grand Marshal Wang Er, Sky Drake Archpriest Sun Liu, five marshals, five high priests, twenty generals, and twenty priests. These draconians were not only imposing and domineering but also emitted an incomparably powerful aura. Peiti even doubted if she could defeat an ordinary draconian general.
Was this the Demon King's strength? Was this the true power of the Chaos Forest?
Long Yi asked, "What do you want to say?"
"I, Peiti Kolo, am the sister of Count Seinberg Kolo, and I am currently the first heir in line for the title of Count Kolo," she replied.
The aura of the dark dragon was overpowering. Peiti felt that each word she uttered required all her strength and courage. She almost felt like giving up several times. But she could not back down. It was necessary for her to step forward. She had to uphold the oath she took when becoming a knight. Even if she could not save the city or the Kolo family, she wanted to at least rescue the innocent people who had served the Kolo family's lands for hundreds of years.
Seinberg Kolo was the Hero Su Wenhao. Peiti Kolo was his younger sister. In cases where the imperial hereditary nobles did not specify an heir, the usual order of succession was children, siblings, uncles, aunts, and cousins. Since Su Wenhao did not have children or brothers in this world, his uncle, Aubrey Kolo, became the new lord after his death. And after Aubrey's death, it was Peiti Kolo's turn.
"Ridiculous!" Long Er scoffed, "The status of an imperial noble means nothing to the federation. It won't save your life. Instead, it might just hasten your death!"
Wang Er added, "Your Highness, why waste words on her? The heir of the Kolo family is all the more reason not to let her live!"
Hearing these words, Peiti broke out in a cold sweat. "I've come to negotiate. Occupying the empire's territory won't benefit you in any way. It will only bring about stronger retaliation from the empire," she hurriedly explained. "But if you're willing to withdraw from Kolo, I'm prepared to represent my family and offer substantial compensation. As long as there's no loss of territory, the empire won't pay too much attention."
The moment those words left her mouth, Peiti felt a twinge of regret. A boundless aura of death and killing intent surged forth from the "Demon King", making her feel as if an invisible hand had gripped her neck, making it difficult even to breathe. In the next second, light vanished from her surroundings, and Peiti plunged into a sea of darkness. This was not an exaggerated depiction but a realistic portrayal. She was horrified to find herself in a space brimming with dark energy. Countless specters and malevolent spirits, born of the darkness, converged on her from all directions. Immobile, she was savagely torn at and drained of life force and flesh.
"Monarch's domain!"
"You're actually... a monarch! A Dragon King!"
It dawned on Peiti. She had made a grave mistake. This was a genuine monarch, and not just any monarch---a rare and exceptionally scarce Dragon King! Even worse, she had arrogantly attempted to leverage the empire's might to coerce a proud and noble Dark Dragon King into withdrawing his army.
"No! Stop!"
"Great King of Darkness! I'm willing to lead my people to submit to you."
"I offer every inch of Kolo's land and every drop of its water, only asking for a path of survival for the people of Kolo."
The Dark Dragon King sneered, "Kolo is one of the most active slave trading centers along the southern border of the empire. Tens of thousands of forest folks are trafficked through Kolo every year."
"You've tamed the forest people into labor and slaves, subjected them to immense suffering and humiliation, treating them as commodities to be bought and sold within the empire."
"You ask me to spare the people of Kolo?"
"Perhaps you should ask whether the people of the federation agree to that!"
Peiti's face turned pale. The primary source of Kolo's income was forest folks trafficking. Every year, numerous mercenaries and slave traders would infiltrate the forest to attack tribes, villages, or capture isolated members of the various forest tribes. The forest tribes held a deep-rooted grudge against human slave traders, and they would never sympathize with humans.
This was the reality. Peiti hastily knelt down and bowed her head: "I implore the great King of Darkness to show mercy. As long as you can pardon Kolo's sins and spare the innocent people of Kolo, we are willing to pay any price. The Kolo family is willing to serve forever."
"Kolo still has four cities. I'm also willing to offer them all!"
For a hereditary noble to give away their fiefdom and territory to an outsider was an act that the empire absolutely could not tolerate. The moment Peiti handed over the land and the population of the cities, she knew she would never be able to return to the empire. But she had no other choice. The Kolo family was practically finished. She only wanted to rescue the trapped civilians.
Long Yi was relatively satisfied with Peiti's attitude. If the Kolo family led the way in completely surrendering to the federation, the other four cities and affiliated villages could be acquired without launching an assault. The issue of governance could then be resolved. The Chaos Federation could support Peiti and allow her to continue governing Kolo on behalf of the federation. After all, Peiti desired a way out, and the Dark Dragon King was willing to grant the humans a chance at survival. However, this offer excluded Heroes, mercenaries, adventurers, and slave traders. These individuals had no place in the Dark Dragon King's plan. They must all die!
For the rest, ordinary soldiers and common citizens, a chance at survival was possible, but it came with a condition: they had to pay substantial reparations to secure their continued existence. Including Peiti, the various city management personnel would be required to drink from the Holy Grail of Blood, ensuring they would never betray the arrangement.
Two days later, within the Darkness City, the true Demon Lord, Zhang Nu, opened his player interface and received a series of notifications:
[You've conquered Kolo City!]
[You gained "Gorgeous Mythminite Chest" x1!]
[You've conquered Reno City!]
[You gained "Shining Mithril Chest" x1!]
[You've conquered Rom City!]
[You gained "Gorgeous Mithril Chest" x1!]
[You've conquered Ava City!]
[You gained "Gorgeous Mithril Chest" x1!]
[You've conquered Tavi City!]
[You gained "Gorgeous Mithril Chest" x1!]
[......]
[1.5 million human inhabitants of Kolo region plead for surrender. Do you accept?]
Seeing the five notifications, Zhang Nu knew that Long Yi had succeeded. The Chaos Federation had successfully counterattacked and taken control of an empire province. The gains were quite substantial: a mythminite treasure chest and four mithril treasure chests. Apart from these quality chests, what surprised Zhang Nu even more was the relatively low enemy casualties. With a population of 2.4 million humans in Kolo, a staggering 1.5 million had surrendered.
The remaining 900,000 were unlikely to all be killed. The death toll probably would not exceed half of that number. During the advance of the Demon Lord's army, some individuals who were well-informed would have slipped away. These escapees would spread what they had witnessed in Kolo, such as the betrayal of the Kolo family, the surrender of all five Kolo cities, and the terror of the Dark Dragon King.
An entire province had fallen, and not just fallen, but been occupied. For the Thunder Empire, and especially for the southern guardian Grand Duke Bachor, this was undoubtedly a significant blow and humiliation. The decoy Demon Lord of the Chaos Forest, the Dark Dragon King, had become widely known through a single battle. From now on, he would be the focus of countless Heroes and various forces, placed squarely under the spotlight.
Thinking about this, Zhang Nu could not help but feel a sense of satisfaction. When Heroes flocked to assassinate the Demon Lord and finally succeeded after numerous attempts, only to discover that the Dark Dragon King was a counterfeit and not the real Demon Lord, he wondered what kind of expression they would have. But for Zhang Nu, the real satisfaction came from hiding himself behind the scenes.
However, it would be wise to build the resurrection altar in advance. If one day Long Yi was truly killed and needed to be resurrected, the altar could be used to bring him back and have him continue to charge forward, drawing the enemy's firepower."
