Extraordinary Rise: Starting Contract with the Silver Dragon Countess

Chapter 346 Prince Xia Zuo, long time no see! (Happy May Day!)
"Retreat! The defensive guards move forward to protect the accompanying mages. Everyone, leave the rocky area immediately!"

Joren's roaring command was quickly torn apart by the second wave of explosions. The mountain wall on the east side suddenly collapsed. It wasn't rocks falling, but the entire mountainside caved inward like melted wax.

As soon as the defense guards, holding up their magical shields, chanted the protective incantation, the ground beneath their feet suddenly cracked open, and a crimson stream of magic surged from the cracks in the rocks, sweeping away the defense guards' legs like a living river.

In an instant, the once peaceful mountains were transformed into a living hell!
……

At the Ceylon Border Legion's garrison, Legion Commander Marcus Adler stood atop the watchtower, gazing towards the Redgard Mountains. Behind him stood the legion's high-ranking officers, all with solemn expressions.

Marcus withdrew his gaze and said in a deep voice:

"Have the scouts sent out to investigate returned with any news yet?"

The adjutant responded in response:

“The Redgard Mountains are quite far from us, and we haven’t received any detailed intelligence yet.”

Marcus looked at the group of officers behind him and asked:

"Is there anything unusual going on in the southern border of Effie?"

An officer replied:
"No, everything is fine."

Marcus thought for a moment and said:
"They shouldn't be targeting us, otherwise there would have been some activity in the southern border."

The border guards have reached a consensus: sooner or later, the southern border of Effie to the north and the city of Guimian to the south will launch a pincer attack from the north and south, breaking through the border line.

The adjutant asked:
"Could it be internal strife within the fake princess's faction?"

A hopeful look appeared in everyone's eyes, but Marcus shook his head and said:
"Don't get your hopes up. I'm more inclined to think this is related to the previous incident than to believe it's an internal conflict."

The adjutant continued:
"General, are you referring to the battle between the legendary figures of the two great empires in the Breiburg region?"

Marcus nodded slowly:
"The Redgard Mountains are so far away from us, and the commotion is so large. This scale of fighting is very likely a clash between 'elite' armies."

It's highly likely that the Central Empire and the Eastern Empire were the ones who made the move.

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions turned grim.

Ceylon's lands became a battleground for other nations, and an inexplicable sense of humiliation weighed heavily on their hearts.

Just then, the soldiers who went to gather intelligence returned.

After reading the intelligence, the adjutant was deeply astonished and immediately handed it to Marcus.

After reading it, Marcus's eyes immediately turned deep and unfathomable. He handed the intelligence to everyone to read among themselves, and then spoke:
"It's the elite legions of the Central Empire fighting against the orc legions of Efein."

The intelligence reports indicate that the Central Empire ambushed Efein's army, but their ambush site was a trap set by the enemy, resulting in heavy losses for the Central Empire.

A look of surprise appeared in everyone's eyes, and an officer immediately suggested:
"Commander, Efein's orc army is locked in fierce fighting with the Central Empire. Should we take this opportunity to launch a surprise attack on their rear?"

After a brief moment of thought, Marcus shook his head and said:
"It's too risky. We have to consider whether Efein has other troops lurking nearby, waiting for us to launch an attack."

The intelligence report just mentioned that the leader of this army is Arnold, who defeated Daniel at the Twin Towers Fortress. Given his skill level, he wouldn't reveal such an obvious weakness to us.

This might be a trap set for us.

Besides, given the fighting strength of Arnold's orc legions, the Central Empire's army probably won't even last until we reach the battlefield. It's better to be safe than sorry.

Marcus's words were quickly agreed upon by everyone; rather than risking an attack, it was more prudent to hold fast to strong fortifications.

"Pass down the order: the entire army is on high alert and in a state of combat readiness. Closely monitor the battlefield movements in the Redgard Mountains, especially the movements of the Efein Legion after defeating the Central Empire's army!"

……

Eagle Beak Rock: The circular magic circle engraved inside the mountain has been fully revealed, and the entire valley has become an inverted magical furnace. A circular altar with a diameter of fifty meters rises from the ground, and strange and complex runes float around the altar.

With each rotation of the rune, a crimson beam of light pierced through the Empire's military formation.

Joren's various high-level magical equipment shimmered with all sorts of colors. As the nephew of the chief of the Central Empire's Noble Academy, his life-saving equipment was enough to allow him to survive attacks from those below the Saint level.

But the imperial soldiers behind him were not so lucky. Every time the crimson beam struck, it would claim the life of a soldier. The temperature of the entire mountain was rising at an unbelievable speed, and even the two legendary guards beside him felt powerless.

The accompanying scholar finally recognized a hint of familiarity in the runes on the altar, his face contorted with horror, and he shouted:
"It's...it's the dwarven ley line furnace!"

Young Master Joren, they buried a ley line furnace beneath this mountain, which the dwarves used to forge magical weapons!

"Damn it, when did these stubborn dwarves become so friendly with humans!"

Dwarves?
Joren was equally shocked. The fact that the Pale Wings, the Western Empire, and Efein had joined forces to establish an inter-species trade route with the dwarves was still top secret. He was even more unaware that the Forging Tribe, one of the ten great dwarven tribes, had completely submitted to Efein.

This furnace array is a large-scale destructive array designed by Queen Adel of Efein, based on the dwarven ley line furnace.

The mountain continued to collapse, and more and more soldiers fell. Joren's heart was bleeding. He suppressed his grief and commanded the army to leave Eagle Beak Rock.

But what happened next plunged him into despair.

Five powerful and extraordinary auras rose into the air, and with the addition of a legion of ten thousand orcs, Joren felt nothing but despair.

Even if they could leave the range of the magic circle, how could the decimated imperial army withstand the attack of five legendary transcendents and a legion of ten thousand orcs?

Although extremely reluctant, the guards beside Qiao Lun still offered him the most feasible suggestion:

"Young Master, let's retreat. If we don't retreat now before these five legendary-ranked beings surround us, we'll miss our chance."

Tears of blood welled up in Qiao Lun's eyes:
"But...but these soldiers..."

The guard sighed:
“Let them surrender. We don’t have that deep-seated hatred with Effie. His Majesty’s chief minister is still their king’s queen. As long as they surrender, they won’t kill them.”

However, before the guard could finish speaking, Arnold's powerful voice rang out from outside, shattering his illusions:

"Young Master Qiao Lun, leave behind what you obtained from the prince of the Southern Region Empire, or we will spare no one in the Central Empire today!"
"This commander will not accept prisoners unless he sees something!"

As soon as he finished speaking, another surge of magic appeared outside.

The guard's voice had a hint of panic in it:
"This is bad! This is a spatial isolation array, a spatial isolation array controlled by five legendary-level extraordinary beings working together. All spatial teleportation scrolls will be rendered ineffective!"

Qiao Lun was shocked. The other party was too well prepared. How could this be?

He quickly gleaned a great deal of information from Arnold's words.

The other party actually knew that the three of them had kidnapped the prince of the Southern Region Empire and taken over the Southern Region Empire's assets in the Northwest Continent.

He suddenly thought of many things. Could it be that this whole thing was a setup from beginning to end?

Arnold's voice then rang out:

"And that pirate captain, do you think I don't know about the adjutant you planted next to me? He's a bunch of rats who only know how to scheming and plotting in the gutter."

"With your intelligence, you dare to plot against His Majesty? Hand over the goods obediently, or none of you from the Central Empire will leave here alive today."

Melantha's face showed shock and anger as she said to Joren:

"Young Master Qiao Lun, don't you understand?"
We've been used as pawns!

King Effie definitely had an informant planted by Prince Gregor; he deliberately gave us the intelligence.

He wants to use us to extort money from the Southern Region Empire and incite hatred between us and the Southern Region Empire.

Finally, they'll wipe us out in one fell swoop and take back everything we've worked so hard to acquire.

What a ruthless plan, what a brilliant tactic!

Now I finally understand why you can't beat him!

Melantha had barely finished speaking when Arnold's voice rang out again:

"And that pirate leader, you were the one who secretly planned this, weren't you? Give back what you took."

"Considering your fiancée and Princess Isa were once good friends, hand over your belongings obediently, and I'll let you go!"

Upon hearing Arnold's coercion of Yann, Joren began to accept Yann's earlier speculation.

Outsiders only know that he and Prince Xia Zuo of the Eastern Empire did this together, and that Commander Yaen had been hiding behind the scenes all along. How could Arnold know so much about it?

That can only mean one thing: the three of them had already fallen into Cohen's trap from the moment they started plotting against the prince of the Southern Region Empire.

An overwhelming sense of frustration and resentment filled Joren's chest, almost causing him to vomit blood. He had been so smug back then, thinking he could pull off such a big heist so soon after arriving in the Kingdom of Ceylon.

Even the House of Nobles has started using this as a model, but now he only feels that this kind of praise is slapping him in the face.

Everything was designed by this King Efein.

Melantha said to Joren:

"Young Master Qiao Lun, life is more important than anything else."

Besides, if none of the Imperial soldiers you brought this time return, would you dare go back to the Central Continent?

Those who can enter the Imperial Elite Forces must at least be of noble birth. Although they suffered a major defeat in Florence last time, at least they managed to save their lives.

If all five thousand people were to die in a foreign land, Qiao Lun broke out in a cold sweat just thinking about it.

Seeing more and more soldiers fall, Joren completely broke down, his voice hoarse:

"Stop! I'll hand it over!"

Arnold smiled slightly and said calmly:

"List of assets, handwritten letter, tokens of affection."

Just like what you asked Greg for back then.

Joren felt a wave of dizziness. The other party knew even such details. He was completely certain of his suspicions. This was a grand scheme set up by King Effie.

I've resigned myself to my fate. After returning home this time, I will never set foot on the Northwest Continent again!
Filled with grief and indignation, Joren handed over the items, and Melanie followed suit.

A legendary transcendent from the Starburst Clan approached Joren and accepted the list, the token, and the handwritten letter.

Arnold accepted the gifts, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"You can surrender now. According to international conventions, you have the rights that prisoners of war should have."

Leave your weapons where they are, and I will stop the magic circle and let you leave Eagle Beak Rock.

Joren had no other choice but to issue the order.

The Imperial soldiers, dejected, dropped their divine and demonic equipment, lined up, and left Eagle's Beak Rock one by one. Not long after, another army appeared. Upon seeing its leader, Joren nearly choked, while Melantha feigned shock.

It was none other than Princess Freya, the mistress of Guimian City.

Freya looked at Melantha with a faint smile and said:

"Commander Yaen, you don't actually think Lucia is one of yours, do you?!"

Joren suddenly understood everything. No wonder Freya had cooperated with their actions so much at the beginning; it turned out she was also an important part of the whole plan.

Even Captain Ya'en was deceived by the other party.

A primal instinct stirred within Joren. He looked at Freya and asked in a deep voice:

"You've always been Cohen's man, haven't you?"

"The Lord of the Sequence is merely a cover for you!"

Melantha, standing to the side, felt a surge of surprise. She recalled what Cohen had told her about Joren earlier—

This person can be really smart sometimes.

Freya's lips curved slightly as she said softly:

“Young Master Joren, if I were you, I would never oppose His Majesty Corleone again from now on.”

Joren took a deep breath and looked back at Arnold in the distance:
"I have done as you said. Release the formation and let us go."

The soldiers were bound to become prisoners of war, but I couldn't be captured myself.

Otherwise, it wouldn't just be his face that would be lost, but the face of the entire Central Empire's Noble Council.

Arnold chuckled and said:

"Don't worry, since Young Master Qiao Lun is cooperating so well, I certainly won't break my promise. I just ask Young Master Qiao Lun to wait here patiently for a few hours."

The control center of the magic circle is in Princess Freya's hands; she will be here watching you!

Joren then remembered that Princess Freya was a highly talented mechanical sorcerer.

He knew the other party's intentions; his side had already failed, and Xia Zuo's group was probably in dire straits as well.

Arnold was preventing himself from tipping off others.

However, the other party was wrong about this. Even if Qiao Lun had a way to contact Xia Zuo, let alone the fact that he couldn't, he would never go.

It's better for two people to fail than for one person to fail.

If even the First Prince of the Continent loses face, then few people will criticize him, the nephew of the Chief of the Central Empire's Noble Council.

Arnold stopped talking, waved his hand, and led his army toward Cohen.

……

Leon Lorthermar, the patriarch of House Lorthermar, suddenly looked up and gazed towards the Redgard Mountains.

The aura of the five legendary figures over there immediately alerted him.

Cohen, who had been resting with his eyes closed, slowly opened them and said to Leon:
"Don't worry, it's Arnold who's started making his move."

Leon's expression grew even more tense; Marshal Arnold's move meant they had to act immediately as well.

This also means that they will soon be facing special forces and legendary-level extraordinary beings from the Eastern Empire.

Cohen stretched and said to Leon:

"Old Viscount, calm down, let's go!"

Leon took a deep breath and followed Cohen, continuing their march in the same direction as before, towards the place where Prince Shazo was lying in ambush.

As the five legendary-level transcendents made their move, Xia Zuo also noticed the commotion.

A hint of surprise flashed in Xia Zuo's eyes, and he murmured softly:

"That direction should be where Joren and Yann ambushed Arnold's army, so why are there so many legendary-ranked warriors appearing?"

One of the legendary-rank guards spoke up:
"Could it be that the Ceylon Border Legion also made a move?"
Arnold's original objective was to attack the border corps.

Xia Zuo frowned and said softly:
"That's possible, but why was the time brought forward?"
Based on their marching speed, Arnold's army shouldn't have reached the Ceylon border by now. Could it be that Joren was exposed, and they acted ahead of schedule?

Xia Zuo pondered for a moment, then took out his communication stone to contact Qiao Lun and ask him what was going on.

No matter how he called out, no one responded.

Xia Zuo immediately became alert. There were two possibilities for why Qiao Lun didn't respond: either he was already engaged in battle with Effie and didn't have time to respond.

Either he has already...

Just as Xia Zuo was lost in deep doubt, another legendary-rank guard who had gone to monitor Cohen and his group returned with news that left Xia Zuo no time to ponder:
"That army has started moving again, and it's much faster than before. It's rapidly approaching this place."

The guard from before said:
"Could it be that King Efein learned of the ambush on Arnold, and thus accelerated his march in order to quickly eliminate our reinforcements before returning to rescue him?"

Xia Zuo's eyes flashed with deep thought, and after a brief silence, he said:

"Proceed according to plan. No matter what happens on Joren's side, as long as we can capture Cohen, then tonight's plan will be a success!"

"Yes."

……

In the desolate wilderness, with all sorts of strangely shaped stone pillars standing tall, Cohen led his army to this place called the Valley of Chaotic Stones.

Xia Zuo's army also appeared at the other end of the Chaotic Stone Valley, and the two armies clashed directly face to face.

Cohen gave the order to the general of the guard:

"Go all in, don't worry about whether you can win or not."

The enemy will definitely feign a retreat, chasing them towards the Redgard Mountains so they can join Arnold's army as soon as possible!

Then, at the general's command, five thousand soldiers, wielding their battle axes and longswords, charged towards Xia Zuo's army.

The two armies immediately clashed. Following Xia Zuo's instructions, the soldiers of the Eastern Empire did not display excessive combat prowess. The two sides engaged in a back-and-forth battle, resulting in a strange stalemate.

After engaging in close combat, Xia Zuo's legendary-rank guard noticed something amiss and said to him:

"Your Highness, these soldiers are human soldiers, not orcs!"

Xia Zuo's heart skipped a beat, but before he could think any further, a familiar figure appeared in the distant army formation.

That person who humiliated him and will never be forgotten!
King Alfiein, Cohen Corleone!
Xia Zuo suppressed his speculations and, without any further hesitation, spoke with unusual sternness, tinged with a barely perceptible excitement:

"Cohen doesn't only have an orc army under his command!"

Besides, since the last battle of Florence, all the countries on the continent have strengthened their control over orcs, so where would he get so many orcs to train?

This could very well be another army he trained.

As long as he's here, we don't need to worry about anything else; we can continue according to plan.

"Try not to give him any openings. Slowly retreat, luring him to pursue. Once he's within the spell's range, then we'll make our move!"

After Cohen made a public appearance to reassure Xia Zuo, he went back into hiding among the army.

It's better to be safe. What if Xia Zuo has some legendary-ranked subordinates who are good at speed? If they launch a surprise attack and restrict him, the show will fall apart.

Leon Lorthermar, the old patriarch of the Lorthermar family, stayed close to Cohen, his magic already surging, his eyes scanning the surroundings warily.

Freya had given him very clear instructions before sending him.

If anything were to happen to Cohen, the entire Lorthermar family would have no reason to exist.

At Leon's age, the continuation of his family's legacy is more important than his personal safety.

Fortunately, Cohen quickly disappeared into the army after making one appearance, which relieved Leon.

He knew that there were four legendary-level opponents on the other side, and if a fight really broke out, he didn't have much confidence that he could protect Cohen, who was only a silver-level.

The battle intensified, and Xia Zuo's army was clearly beginning to falter.

Looking at the situation before him, a hint of admiration appeared in Leon's eyes.

Although Freya had briefly explained Cohen's general plan to him before they arrived, Leon couldn't help but marvel when he saw the powerful army from the Eastern Empire begin to retreat as Cohen had planned.

Having managed to outmaneuver the most powerful prince on the continent, the heir to the most domineering Eastern Empire among the five great empires, Leon suddenly felt fortunate that his family could become the other party's subordinate.

Cohen also received a battle report from Arnold at this time.

The ambush on Joren was a great success, with all five thousand elite troops captured.

Under duress, Qiao Lun also handed over the assets of the Southern Region Empire in the Northwest Continent that he had just taken over and hadn't even had a chance to warm up.

Cohen had already planned that these matters should be left to Prince Hauge and Viser to handle.

In Joren's eyes, "Pirate King Yann Hughes" also handed over the items.

Even if Qiao Lun later discovers that the Southern Empire's assets in the Northwest Continent are all under the Golden Wing family, it can be completely explained.

Leon began by saying:
"Your Majesty, the enemy has begun to retreat. Should we pursue them?"

Cohen put aside his thoughts and estimated the time.

It's estimated that the orc legion will arrive in about an hour, while the legendary Starbringers will arrive sooner.

As long as five legendary figures arrive to protect him, he will not be afraid of the other party's methods.

A glint of shrewdness appeared in his eyes, and he said in a low voice:

"Pursue, but don't go too fast; try to buy time!"

(End of this chapter)