In Bachor City, the commander of the Guardian Knight Order, Kroft, had his forces fully assembled. This was not just any knight order, but the empire's core force - Guardian Knight Order, known for its dazzling and luxurious golden armor.
Despite the order's relatively small size, with just over 6,000 members, its strength was formidable and not to be underestimated. Each ordinary Guardian Knight possessed the power of a Level 5 overlord, and among every ten to twenty knights, there was a knight captain with Level 6 overlord-class strength. This meant the knight order boasted several hundred Level 6 overlord-class fighters. Such a force could easily annihilate a small country without breaking a sweat. The deployment of the entire Guardian Knight Order was an exceedingly rare occurrence in the Thunder Empire's history of nearly a thousand years.
Kroft had already received news that the Elro region had fallen completely. The forces from Darkness City were continuing their siege, rapidly devouring the Empire's southern territory. Apart from the Bachor Duchy, nearly half of the other noble lands had already been annexed.
The situation was dire indeed.
Kroft personally approached the two Guardian Grand Dukes, expressing his concerns with a grave tone, "The power of the Chaos Forest is growing stronger by the day. If this continues, the situation will become increasingly unmanageable, and I won't be able to explain it to His Majesty. I believe we cannot delay any longer and must mobilize our troops immediately!"
Duke Blakely of the Eastern Duchy agreed, saying, "Old fox, I think Commander Kroft's worries are quite justified. Based on the intelligence we have, the more territories the Demon King conquers, the larger the army he can command. We have no time to waste."
However, Duke Kofiepol of the Western Duchy remained composed, reminding them, "Why the rush, gentlemen? Have we forgotten the lesson from Bachor? We must not act hastily without full preparation, to avoid repeating past mistakes."
Duke Blakely frowned, "Our troops are almost fully assembled. What more preparation do you have in mind? It's better to act now rather than waste time."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Just then, Duke Kofiepol seemed to sense something. Playing with the gemstone ring on his thumb, he smiled and said, "They're here, and just in time."
Before Duke Blakely and Commander Kroft could figure out what the Grand Duke of the Western Duchy was hinting at, they heard shouts from outside.
"Intruders!"
"Who are you people?"
"This is a military restricted area!"
"Are you looking to die, barging in here?"
Commander Kroft's expression shifted as he enveloped himself in a flash of golden light, moving instantly to locate the source of the disturbance. He found a group of oddly dressed, mysterious individuals, with the leader being the most striking. The leader appeared to be just a gaunt old man in a gray, tattered robe, with a face full of wrinkles and sunken eyes, unremarkable in appearance but exuding an exceptionally sharp aura, like an ancient sword still capable of slicing through iron.
With every step the old man took, his aura was released, powerful enough to repel anyone who came close. Even the attacks launched by the guards couldn't get near him.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})"Who are you?" Kroft demanded. "You've got some nerve!"
Initially, Kroft thought these were troublemakers sent by the Demon King. He immediately drew his sword from his waist, and a swipe of golden light, as if to cleave the heavens, approached the gaunt old man in an instant.However, what Kroft, the chief knight, didn't anticipate happened before him. Just as his long sword was about to strike the old man, a barely visible layer of densely packed sword Qi enveloped the area, trapping his sword and preventing it from advancing any further due to the immense resistance.
"You're not bad with a sword," the old man commented.
Kroft nearly burst with anger upon hearing this. Although he wasn't the empire's strongest swordsman, as the empire's most distinguished knight, his swordsmanship was ranked among the top in the entire empire. For his incomparable mastery of the sword to be merely described as "not bad" was infuriating.
The old man continued, "Your swordsmanship is decent, but a tangible sword is easy to parry. Only an intangible sword can be invincible."
During the conversation, Commander Kroft felt a tremendous sense of crisis approaching. He could distinctly sense the air around him changing bizarrely, with countless sword Qi materializing out of thin air, forming hundreds of swords pointed at him, all invisible to the naked eye.
"Oh shit!" Commander Kroft immediately retreated rapidly. The ground where he passed was slashed with crisscrossing sword marks, each extending for dozens of meters as if the earth itself was splitting open.
The gaunt old man extended his left hand and pointed into the void. A massive invisible sword blade burst forth from his fingertip, reaching Commander Kroft in an instant. The speed was so fast that the empire's chief knight had no chance to dodge.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})"Guardian Golden Form!" Commander Kroft activated the Guardian Knight's signature skill. A golden aura, akin to sunlight, released from within him, eventually coalescing on the surface of his body, turning him into a golden figure. Unlike the ordinary Guardian Knight's golden body, which could extend for tens of meters, Kroft's golden body form was adjustable in size, being only two to three meters tall at the moment, with the dense combat Qi highly condensed, achieving true imperviousness to blades and spears.
With a loud bang, the old man's sword energy struck Commander Kroft. The empire's chief knight was propelled backwards for over a thousand meters by the tremendous sword Qi, leaving behind a gorge-like gulf in the earth. This scene left everyone present in utter shock. The old man's strength was monstrously overpowering. With just a flick of his finger, he unleashed sword Qi that carved through a thousand meters of the earth, clearly overpowering the empire's chief knight.
"Commander!" Dozens of Guardian Knight Captains rushed to the scene. Upon seeing their commander being forced back, their expressions changed drastically. They all activated their Guardian Gold Form, attempting to surround and attack the inscrutable old man.
However, at that moment, an overwhelming sword intent was released from the old man, enveloping an area of tens of thousands of meters in all directions. Swords of various styles, lengths, and appearances emerged from the ground, turning the land into a sea of swords. With a wave of his hand, swords of different shapes and sizes flew up into the air, creating a storm of blades.
"The Domain of Million Swords!" Duke Blakely recognized the old man's identity: "He is the foremost of the Seven Sword Saints of the Sunset Empire, the founder of the Formless Swordsmanship!"
Duke Kofiepol interrupted, "Lord Dao En, we have fully experienced your strength!"
This old man, named Dao En, was one of the renowned Seven Sword Saints of the Sunset Empire. More precisely, he was the leader of the Seven Sword Saints, the most powerful among them.
Not long ago, Xiu Si, who died alongside Duke Bachor in the Elro region, was also a Sword Saint of the Sunset Empire. He practiced the Inner-Eye Sword Style, while the old man in front of them practiced the Formless Sword Style, hence the difference in styles.
There is no hierarchy in swordsmanship styles, but there is a vast difference in the skill levels of swordsmen. The Sunset Empire, an extremely conservative and martially inclined empire, revered the Seven Sword Saints as the pinnacle of its warriors. The other six Sword Saints were roughly equal in strength, but this one was unfathomable.
However, what few knew was that this leader of the Seven Sword Saints of the Sunset Empire had a special identity; he was the Hero player Satoru Sato, a Hero from the island nation ranked 499th on the Hero Leaderboard, a Level 6 mythic entity.
Being reincarnated as a Sword Saint of the Sunset Empire was an extraordinary stroke of luck. Over the recent period, he had slain numerous demon lords in and around the Sunset Empire, now surpassing the original Formless Sword Saint Dao En in strength.
Duke Kofiepol of the Western Duchy said, "Lord Dao En came specifically to assist us against Darkness City's forces, and you've all witnessed his strength."
Duke Blakely remarked, "I hadn't expected such a legendary figure to be summoned by you, old fox. It seems this mission is assured of success."
Kofiepol added, "Without full preparation, we risk repeating past mistakes. I don't wish to become the next Bachor."
He paused before continuing, "Besides Lord Dao En, the other warriors present are also renowned figures."
The group accompanying Satoru Sato comprised several Heroes, primarily Level 6 overlords, among which a dark-skinned, bald Hero exuded the strongest aura.
Introducing him, Kofiepol said, "I presume you're the esteemed Black Barbarian King?"
This "Black Barbarian King" was the mightiest warrior from a barbarian kingdom near the Sunset Empire. The barbarians, a branch of humanity, were similar to humans in many aspects but differed in stature, intelligence, and magical aptitude. They were known for their divine strength and robust constitution, typically standing around 2.5 meters tall.
The warrior, named "Sanja Singh," was a Hero from the Ahsan nation, with Level 6 monarch-class strength, ranked 4951 on the Hero Leaderboard---a formidable presence. With Sanja and Satoru Sato leading, supported by over a dozen Level 6 supreme Heroes, this squad was exceptionally powerful. Along with two Grand Dukes and the empire's chief knight, each commanding numerous elites and valiant fighters, this high-end assembly, bolstered by military forces, posed a significant threat, not just to kingdom-level forces but even to some weaker empire-level entities.
Kofiepol remarked, "We're about ready, and I believe there's no way we can lose this time."
Indeed, if such a formidable lineup couldn't handle Darkness City, then it would not merely be a border issue but a dire threat to the empire's very existence.
Sanja, the Hero, asked Satoru Sato, "Do you think the Demon King of Darkness City is on the Demon King leaderboard?"
"Of course," Sato replied, "Given the strength he has shown in the past, he must be at least a Level 6 monarch-class Demon King, and such a Demon King would surely be ranked."
He continued, "If it weren't for this, why would I travel thousands of miles here? Killing a ranked Demon Lord is far more valuable than killing hundreds or even thousands of lesser Demon Kings."
Since his arrival, Satoru Sato had never met an opponent he couldn't defeat with a single sword strike. This had given him immense confidence. After all, the strongest Demon Kings known were merely at the Level 6 legendary class, and they were few and far between. Even if he were to encounter one, with his own Level 6 mythic-class strength and the empire's military might, along with numerous experts to assist, he felt sure he could manage.
Therefore, Sato was not the least bit worried. He only hoped that the Demon King he encountered would be as highly ranked as possible.
