Upon receiving the orders, the soldiers began to retreat while still engaging in combat.
Using the wagons as shields, they tangled with the goblins.
Gradually, the situation on the battlefield shifted again.
After cutting down a goblin, the leading knight took a breath.
The once dense crowd of goblins had noticeably thinned.
The battle was nearing its end – or so the knight thought.
Suddenly, a piercing horn echoed from the forest behind them.
“Honk, honk, honk!”
Above the forest, a shadow as dark as a cloud appeared, accompanied by a chaotic shouting.
This black cloud swooped down from the sky, launching an attack on the Empire’s soldiers.
“Bats… It’s the bats!” Some soldiers couldn’t help but cry out.
Meanwhile, a massive army of Orcs swarmed up from the ground, ripping a hole through the ranks of the Empire’s troops almost instantly.
Having been locked in combat with a horde of goblins for so long, these exhausted soldiers stood no chance against this fresh, battle-ready army of Orcs.
One by one, the soldiers of the Empire fell to their death cries, while the Orc Dark Lord and Bat Dark Lord emerged, both laughing heartily.
The tide of the battlefield was turning quickly, heavily tilting in favor of the Dark Lords.
John, the Goblin Dark Lord, breathed a sigh of relief.
Despite the heavy losses his goblin troops had suffered, their victory in this ambush was a foregone conclusion!
As the last of the Empire’s soldiers were beheaded, the three Dark Lords convened to divide the spoils of war.
Despite their mental preparation, the sheer volume of the haul took them aback.
“No smoke without fire, as the ancients would say,” the Bat Dark Lord mused, somewhat melancholic.
“This haul is worth at least a fortnight of diligent effort.”
The three Dark Lords looked at each other and mutually put some distance between themselves.
Greed could put strains on the sturdiest of alliances, let alone between three figures of their notorious stature.
Of the three, the Goblin Dark Lord John was the most nervous.
He had sustained the greatest losses and was the weakest of the three in personal combat.
If a conflict were to erupt between them, he would undoubtedly be the first to fall.
The Orc Dark Lord coughed to break the silence: “Given this considerable bounty, it’s only natural that we might have individual desires to keep it all. I’d be lying if I said the thought hadn’t crossed my mind. But we should set aside our differences for now. Our successful collaboration owes much to the Golden Dragon Dark Lord. The Sunset Empire is ripe for the picking with all the Dark Lords stirring trouble. Why should we squabble amongst ourselves when such a large, juicy piece of meat is on offer?”
He gestured towards the fallen soldiers of the Empire and the goblin corpses strewn about.
“By combining our forces, we’ve minimized our losses, which wouldn’t have been the case if I had fought this battle alone. If you two don’t mind, I’ll divide the spoils. As the Goblin Dark Lord suffered the most, you’ll get the lion’s share—40% of the loot. The Bat Dark Lord and I, having incurred the least losses, will each take 30%. What do you think?”
John was the first to express his approval as this arrangement worked in his favor.
The Bat Dark Lord also agreed, seeing no point in fighting amongst themselves when the Empire was ripe for plunder.
With the spoils amicably divided, and having seen the benefits of cooperation firsthand, the three Dark Lords agreed to work together again.
Similar alliances were formed across the Empire. While there were a few Dark Lords driven by greed to betray their allies, the consequences of such actions, as broadcast on the World Chat Channel, were severe.
Those who betrayed their alliances faced expulsion from the chat channel, cutting them off from potential allies.
They were also marked as targets by other allied Dark Lords.
After several betrayers faced backlash, the atmosphere within the chat channel became more harmonious.
Whether voluntarily or forcibly, most of the Dark Lords banded together, focusing on taking a bite out of the Empire.
Within a few days, the Empire’s court was flooded with urgent military reports from all sides.
The pressure forced the Empire to halt its troops headed for Riverside and redirect them to quell the revolts.
The supply lines transporting supplies to Riverside were forced to halt, making it necessary for Riverside to deploy additional forces to escort the supply convoy along the route.
The pressure on the East Sea dramatically eased.
Within the Empire’s territory, the Dark Lords who were wreaking havoc tasted the sweet fruit of coordinated action.
Their collaborative efforts grew in scale, even to the terrifying extent where more than a dozen Dark Lords acted together.
A week later, another battle report threw the Empire into a panic.
Another main city, Fallsville, had fallen.
𝗈𝑣𝑳xt.𝑐𝑜𝚖
A large-scale Dark Lord alliance launched a bloody massacre on the city…
A city with a population of over a million was wiped out in the slaughter.
After this battle, three Dark Lords were directly promoted to Rank A.
With this precedent, more and more Dark Lords started to act in groups, and the flames of war spread across the entire Empire instantaneously…
Even the instigator of all this, Ethan, hadn’t foreseen such a situation.
He originally only hoped these Dark Lords would alleviate some pressure for him, but now he had become a mere side character.
Upon reflection, Ethan realized that his ambitions had been too modest.
Dark Lords could directly convert resources into soldiers.
If it were a single Dark Lord, it would be manageable.
However, when a horde of Dark Lords swarmed in, it was no longer a matter of sustaining a war with war, but an unbeatable snowball strategy.
Heroes needed to level up, and even the fastest NPC soldier needed half a year of training to enter the battlefield.
But for Dark Lords to summon soldiers, they just needed to toss the resources into the altar.
Ethan, who had originally anticipated a grand battle with the Empire, suddenly found himself relegated to the role of a fringe Dark Lord.
The forces around Riverside were even withdrawing, redirecting to quell rebellions in surrounding Empire territories.
It wasn’t that Ethan wasn’t powerful enough, but compared to those other unruly Dark Lords, his image was simply too positive…
The East Sea had barely experienced any bloody rule, and residents lived in peace and prosperity.
There were even merchant caravans from East Sea going to Riverside for trade.
This should have been a golden opportunity to break free from the Dark Lord’s control, but unexpectedly, after the traders finished their transactions, they returned to East Sea with their carts full of goods.
Ethan didn’t intentionally spread his “benevolent rule,” but word had already gotten out to the surrounding main cities.
Moreover, given the East Sea’s coastal location and the generous dispatch of Bipedal Wyverns to escort the merchant convoys, Ethan’s reputation started to spread even to the Empire’s coastal regions and neighboring seaside countries…
“Ethan is a kind Dark Lord.”
“The Golden Dragon is a magnificent good dragon…”
“Under the wise rule of Lady Louise, we’ve come to know true happiness after joining the Golden Dragon Lord.”
Even some radicals began pushing for the more aggressive slogan, “Overthrow the Empire’s tyranny, pledge allegiance to the Golden Dragon Dark Lord.”
Under normal circumstances, the Empire would never tolerate such sentiments.
But now, with wars breaking out all over its territories, the Golden Dragon Dark Lord, who was powerful but didn’t initiate conflict, started to look more friendly in the Empire’s eyes.
The Empire was currently spread thin on military forces, and in order to guard against the Golden Dragon Dark Lord, Duke Karaman had to lead a substantial force stationed there as a precaution against the Golden Dragon Dark Lord.
After all, according to the Empire’s comprehensive assessment, the rank of the Golden Dragon Dark Lord was likely A+, making him the most powerful Dark Lord in the entire Empire.
Now that the Golden Dragon Dark Lord was not waging war and was even initiating civilian-friendly policies, after intense debates, the Empire’s court made a daring decision.
“Peace talks.”
The Sunset Empire proposed signing a non-aggression pact with the Golden Dragon Dark Lord that would last fifty years.
They would recognize the Golden Dragon Dark Lord’s rightful rule over the East Sea, and the king of the Empire personally issued an edict, conferring the title of Lord Golden Dragon onto Dark Lord Ethan.
After all, compared to the Golden Dragon Dark Lord, the Dark Lords who had begun indiscriminate slaughter in order to level up were the true menace to the Empire.
When everyone heard this news, Ethan’s first reaction was that it was absurd… but it did indeed happen.
Now, Ethan was faced with two choices.
One was to accept the peace talks and sign the agreement.
The other was to take advantage of the Empire’s current internal strife and hit the Sunset Empire hard.
After careful consideration, Ethan chose to accept the peace agreement.