Extraordinary Rise: Starting Contract with the Silver Dragon Countess

From the Ash Plains to the capital of Ceylon, from the border fortress of Serene to the arcane tower of the Eastern Empire, battle reports from Eagle's Beak Gorge spread like a plague along the magical communication network to the entire continent of Magic Tide.

After learning the ins and outs of the battle, the news shocked the great empires, kingdoms, and countless monarchs and generals.

A tremendous sense of horror swept through the power center of the entire continent like a tsunami.

They didn't even have time to think about why the Kingdom of Serene would suddenly intervene in the war between the Kingdom of Ceylon and the Kingdom of Windbreak, contrary to its usual behavior.

All intelligence agencies are desperately trying to verify what kind of military miracle could allow an army of such size to traverse the territory of a sovereign nation without triggering any early warning systems.

At this moment, in the midst of a bloody battle in Eagle Beak Canyon.

Marshal Griffiths stared intently at the black flags that appeared like ghosts on the sand table.

He finally realized that what he was facing was not a war in the traditional sense, but a dimensional attack that had long exceeded all his military knowledge.

The piercing magical alarms, like the wails of a dying man, echoed back to command from all directions of the frontline troops.

Especially after the battle report came back that a "special forces" army equipped with two pieces of divine and demonic equipment appeared on the battlefield, the entire command room fell into a deathly silence.

Marshal Griffiths grabbed the battle report, his eyes fixed on the names of the two divine and demonic artifacts that only existed in the five great empires.

He simply couldn't understand why a mere Efein would possess divine and demonic equipment that only the five great empires could have, and not just two pieces at once.

The Star Guardian Armor had already appeared at the Northwest Region Exchange Conference, so it wasn't too surprising.

But isn't the "Phantom Dragon Wing Cloak" an exclusive divine and demonic equipment of the Eastern Empire?
Why would he appear in Effie's army?

Aren't the Eastern Empire and Efein mortal enemies?
Griffith preferred to believe that the scouts were terrified by the orc army and were giving false reports.

However, the horrific scene of the frontline defeat soon proved all of this.

The image projected by the communication crystal showed that a mere hundred-strong orc assault team had easily torn apart the "Holy Light Barrier" formation that Therean was most proud of.

This is a battle formation built by a thousand "elite" soldiers!

Griffiths slumped into his chair in despair.

He finally understood why even the two great empires had repeatedly suffered setbacks against Effie.

The situation on the battlefield deteriorated rapidly. Even though Serene's army was equipped with elite troops, it was unable to mount any effective resistance.

Faced with overwhelming power and superior equipment, any tactic becomes meaningless.

Marshal Griffith's painstakingly constructed defenses proved as fragile as a sandcastle against the "elite" and "special" orcs.

As the battle lines drew ever closer, Griffith completely lost the will to confront the enemy head-on.

"Have you made contact with Marquis Selal?"

The communications officer shook his head, his face deathly pale:
"All communication magic on the Eastern Front was blocked. The last message we received was that General Cyril's command post was subjected to a massive bombardment by magical cannons..."

Griffith slowly closed his eyes.

At this moment, he finally saw the whole situation clearly—from the Windbringer Army's unusual defensive stance, to the sudden appearance of the Effie Army, and now to the loss of contact with the Cyrell forces.

All of this was a pre-ordained web of death, and he and his hundreds of thousands of troops were the prey caught in it.

Griffiths did not hesitate any longer. He looked at Naxos standing to the side and said in a deep voice:
"Master, how many legendary-level extraordinary beings did you bring this time?"

Nactus paused slightly, a hint of wariness flashing in his eyes. He naturally understood Griffith's subtext.

Before the combined encirclement by Effie and the Windrise Kingdom could be completely secured, all the top-tier superhumans and the main force were gathered together and launched a fierce attack in one direction, trying to break through the encirclement as much as possible.

This is the only chance to preserve our strength.

Nactus frowned and said:
"The legendary-rank units I brought are for dealing with the Windrise Kingdom, not for use as infantry."

Griffith's eye twitched violently. Seeing that his opponent was still trying to conserve his strength at this point, his voice hardened:

"Master, can't you see the situation clearly?"

Efein's army is crushing our last line of defense, and Cyril's forces are likely already doomed.

If our army is completely annihilated today, my personal life, honor, and disgrace are insignificant, but for His Majesty's prestige, it would be a fatal blow!

The three tomb owners only took the scepter from King Peter because of the strength of the Black Tomb. Many traditional nobles were still watching in secret, and many military generals were only forced to submit.

If the first large-scale battle ends in total annihilation, the Kingdom of Serene will be thrown into chaos in an instant.

How will the parents, wives, and children of the fallen soldiers, and the officers who lost their comrades view this usurper? Serene will instantly be engulfed in the flames of civil war.

Nactus took a deep breath and finally relented:

"Take me with you, there will be three legendary-level characters in total."

Griffiths breathed a sigh of relief, pointed to a hilly area in the northeast corner of the sand table, and said:

"Please hurry up and get them to join the army. I just observed that the fewest elite troops are in the northeast. We'll break out from there."

After the order was given, Griffith's entire army began preparations for a breakout.

Time ticked by, and an hour had already passed the scheduled time for the breakout.

Nactus and the legendary warriors he had promised were nowhere to be seen, and Griffith paced anxiously in the command tent.

Without legendary-level magic to tear through the enemy's defenses, ordinary soldiers simply could not possibly break through those orcs equipped with divine and demonic weapons.

Just as he was about to send his personal guards to forcibly invite Naxtos, a young mage dressed in the Black Tomb style robes appeared silently at the tent entrance.

The young monk bowed slightly and said calmly:
"Commander, my teacher asked me to tell you that the breakout plan may need to be postponed."

Marshal Griffith's body stiffened abruptly. He wondered if he had misheard. He slammed his hand on the table in front of him, shattering it to pieces, and roared angrily:

"What did you say!"

The old marshal was like a wounded lion, and even the guards patrolling outside the tent rushed in.

If the person in front of him hadn't come from the Black Tomb, Griffith would have already been unable to suppress his murderous intent.

The Black Tomb mage, however, maintained his infuriating composure, speaking slowly and deliberately:
"Your Excellency Marshal, our teacher has discovered a target in the enemy's ranks that must be dealt with as a priority. This person is ranked number one on our Black Tomb Kill List."

Now that we've discovered it, we can't ignore it. Please understand the teacher's choice.

"Bastard!"

Griffiths shoved aside the military briefing in front of him and roared angrily:

"Is Nactus going to use the blood of hundreds of thousands of my Serene soldiers to pay for his assassination mission?"
What kind of damn important figure could be more important than the survival of the entire war effort?

The Black Tomb Mage's lips curled into a strange smile:

"Commander, don't get agitated. The culprit who orchestrated all of this has appeared!"
The person you hate most, King Alfion, Cohen Corleone!

After the Black Tomb Mage finished speaking, he bowed slightly and turned into dissipating black mist.

Before disappearing completely, it left behind a whisper that filled Griffith with utter shock and fury:

"Your Excellency Marshal, my teacher asked me to tell you that if we can successfully obtain Cohen's head this time, Serane's sacrifice will surely become the most glorious chapter in the Black Tomb epic!"

...A somber atmosphere filled the command post. Marshal Griffiths slumped in the oak commander's chair that had been with him for twenty years:
"Who the hell wants to become the glorious chapter of your Black Tomb!"

This roar exhausted his last bit of strength, and his eyes, which had never blinked before thousands of troops, were now filled with despair.

As a soldier, he was not afraid of death, but the old marshal could not accept that the lives of hundreds of thousands of comrades would be sacrificed for the selfish interests of an assassin organization.

Several staff officers hurriedly gathered around, and Griffith, clinging to the last shred of his sanity, spoke in a hoarse voice:

"Order that each legion break into smaller units and break out separately, with as many as possible escaping."

Cohen's deliberate appearance must be a trap, designed to attract the attention of us high-level superhumans.

He already knew that the people from the Black Tomb were there, and he also knew where our only chance of survival lay.

He's using himself as bait to deliberately lure us.

Thrane is finished! "

After the old marshal finished speaking, he could no longer hold on, vomited a mouthful of blood, and fainted.

……

When the deep blue royal banner embroidered with a soaring eagle suddenly appeared on the smoke-filled battlefield horizon, Naktos, upon seeing the banner, immediately chose to abandon his teammates.

In his heart, the soldiers of Serene were far less important than Cohen alone; Cohen Corleone's head was worth ten Kingdoms of Serene.

Since the founder of Black Tomb, "Tomb," personally issued the highest order of pursuit and elimination of the Demon God's Blood Seal in front of the Abyss Altar five years ago, King Effie, who has repeatedly thwarted Black Tomb's grand plan, has become a target that all core members of Black Tomb must eliminate.

Therefore, upon learning that Cohen had appeared on the battlefield, Nactus did not hesitate and directly abandoned the collapsing Serene front.

He led two of his men straight towards the direction where the eagle flag was located.

Cohen had clearly anticipated this; he wasn't even wearing a helmet, allowing Nactus to see the face engraved on the Black Tomb's most wanted poster from thousands of meters away.

His sharply defined jawline, his pupils that seemed to pierce the soul, and his composed demeanor that looked down upon all living beings were exactly as described in the file.

Almost at the same moment, Cohen's gaze also drifted toward the direction where Naxos and his two companions had stealthily moved.

According to intelligence from the Military Intelligence Bureau's Toringard station, Cohen knew that the other party was the favorite disciple of the Three Tomb Masters.

As expected, Naxos led the Black Tomb's top combat forces away from the main battlefield and headed straight for them.

Cohen knew his plan had worked; Marshal Griffiths and his hundreds of thousands of troops' last hope of breaking out had vanished with Nactus's departure.

Without the support of its top-tier combat power, the fate of the Serene Legion, which is surrounded, is sealed. The main force of the Serene Kingdom will be completely annihilated this time.

……

At the junction of Deadwood Hills and Eagle Beak Canyon, on a relatively high rocky area, two invisible forces are colliding fiercely in the air.

The two sides were locked in a suffocating standoff, but neither side took the initiative to make a move, and the stalemate continued in this strange manner.

Nactus's face, hidden in the shadow of his hood, was unusually solemn; he knew perfectly well what was going on.

With just these three legendary-level individuals, it would be nothing short of a pipe dream to try and take down the King of Effie, who is already famous throughout the continent.

Since the other party dared to appear here, they must have made ample preparations. In fact, Naxos could also sense several powerful auras watching this place.

All he had to do was pinpoint Cohen's location and then stall him for as long as possible.

With Nactus's limited understanding, he was either unable or disdainful of considering the deeper strategic intentions behind Cohen's high-profile appearance.

He couldn't understand why Cohen was using himself as bait to buy precious time for Effie's various armies to completely solidify their encirclement of Serene's main force and complete the final annihilation war.

However, even if Nactus knew, he would probably be happy to see it happen.

To him, how could the survival of Serene's hundreds of thousands of troops compare to the death warrant personally issued by "The Tomb" against Cohen?
If the sacrifice of those soldiers could bring about even the slightest possibility of killing Cohen, then that would be their greatest honor.

At this moment, Cohen was just standing there quietly, showing no signs of taking the initiative to attack or retreat.

Nactus was secretly delighted.

Maintaining this tense standoff is exactly what he wants to see; every minute that is delayed is more advantageous to him.

Although at the Northwest Regional Exchange Conference, "Tomb" promised Cobalt Soul Academy that those below the Saint level would not attack Cohen.

But that was before the start of the Noble Martial Arts Festival; now, the entire Black Tomb organization's attitude towards Cohen has long since changed.

That means eliminating this person at all costs and to the greatest extent possible!
This person is too terrifying. Not only did he make history by winning two championships in a row at the Martial Arts Festival, but he also touched the threshold of the rules and domains at the Gold rank.

If he were to break through to the legendary rank in the future, he would be a fatal threat to the entire Black Tomb. We must kill him before he grows up!
Cohen's sudden appearance on the battlefield undoubtedly gave Naxtos an opportunity.

The moment he confirmed Cohen's identity, Nactus had already secretly passed a message to the Black Tomb's higher-ups.

……

Time ticked by in the suffocating standoff until Nactus received a reply from the three tomb owners, at which point his tense face finally began to relax.

He took a deep breath, took a step forward, and said to Cohen in the distance:

"Your Majesty Corleone, you should never have set foot on this land that will become your grave!"

A hundred meters away, Cohen merely smiled faintly upon hearing this, his gaze sweeping over Nactus and the two legendary figures behind him:
"Nactos, you don't actually think you can take me down with just the three of you legendary-ranked beings, do you?"

Upon hearing this, Narctos was not angered at all; instead, he burst into a hearty laugh:

“Cohen, you’re too arrogant. Do you really think you can escape from desperate situations time and time again?”
Do you really think someone will always save you?

His voice suddenly rose, becoming fierce:

"You have greatly underestimated the strength and determination of the Black Tomb!"

As soon as the words were spoken, a terrifying aura erupted from the rocky area where the two sides were located.

All extraordinary beings below the legendary rank, whether soldiers in the distance or attendants nearby, were horrified to find that their bodies felt as if they had been filled with tons of lead.

Even lifting a single finger has become incredibly difficult.

The surrounding light began to distort, and the sounds seemed to be swallowed up.

In an instant, all spatial passages were blocked, all soul communications were blocked, and this place became a dead zone completely isolated from the world!

Immediately afterwards, the space not far from Naxos began to ripple violently like the surface of water.

A moment later, a burly figure draped in an elaborate dark gold robe slowly appeared before the crowd.

His appearance did not bring more pressure; instead, it plunged the sealed space into a deeper tranquility.

The three tomb owners turned to look at the young king, a hint of undisguised admiration flashing in their eyes:

"As expected of a super genius who was able to win two championships in a row at the Martial Arts Festival."

A mere seventh-tier transcendent being was able to remain fearless and completely unfazed under the intimidation of my domain.

You are even more powerful than your queen, the youngest legendary-rank queen on the continent! (End of Chapter)