Extraordinary Rise: Starting Contract with the Silver Dragon Countess

News of the fall of the Crimson City spread like wildfire, reaching every corner of the Lost Lands at an astonishing speed.

All forces, regardless of size, reacted with disbelief upon hearing this news, followed by a chilling sense of dread.

Scarlet City!

That was the southeastern gateway of Twilight Continent, which had been cultivated for nearly a thousand years. It was a well-known fortress that was difficult to attack and fall, and the front line of the vampires' defense against the chaotic Demon Continent.

Throughout the long history of border conflicts, this city-state has never been truly threatened.

However, from the official announcement of the establishment of the Demon Gold Empire to the complete fall of the Crimson City-State, less than ten days have passed.

This terrifying speed of advance and ability to break through enemy lines completely overturned all parties' assessments of the Mojin Empire's military strength.

The alliance between Thrall and Hextech is no longer seen as "a temporary union of two arrogant individuals," but rather as revealing its ferocious fangs.

The vampires' crushing defeat was like a resounding slap in the face, waking up those forces that were still watching from the sidelines, or even secretly mocking Thrall for "overestimating himself."

Within the Twilight Continent, a tremendous upheaval and panic ensued.

With the southeastern gateway wide open, a formidable army, displaying terrifying combat power, was stationed on the border, its advance aimed directly at the heartland.

The vampire leadership was forced to urgently reassess the threat and shrink their defenses, while internal debates about whether to fight or make peace intensified.

Other forces, such as the werewolves of Nightmoon Continent, and many small and medium-sized oases and city-states, also felt unprecedented pressure and began to seriously consider how to deal with the impending storm.

Just as shock and panic began to spread, an organization called the "Supreme Committee for the United Resistance and Nation-Building Preparations of the Lost Lands" was officially established and began operating in the Endless Lands.

Its founding members included:
The Endless Alliance and the Effie behind it, the Mysterious Continent, the Unicorn Trading Company, the Fallen Church, the Taivo Family, the Solari Family, and the Nilsson Family.

Each name on this list represents the pinnacle of power in a certain area of ​​the Lost Lands—emerging military superpowers, mysterious forbidden lands, wealth empires, cores of faith, financial giants, ancient nobles, and arms dealers.

Their combined power is in no way inferior to the newly established Demon Gold Empire!
In fact, the day after the Demon Gold Empire was announced, the Supreme Council issued a clearly worded public statement:

The sole purpose of this committee is to unite all forces that cherish the existing order and are unwilling to be swallowed up by the destructive tide of chaos and machinery, to jointly address the existential threat posed by the Demon Gold Empire, and to defend the freedom and diverse future of the Lost Lands.

The statement sincerely invites all those who share the same ideals, regardless of size, including forces, city-states, tribes, or powerful individuals, to join the united front and discuss strategies to resist the enemy.

And together they will work to establish a new order that can safeguard the interests of all parties in the future.

However, despite the imminent threat of the Magnum Empire and despite the Supreme Council's impressive lineup and clear banner,

In its initial stages, the statement did not generate much of a response among the smaller factions in the Lost Lands, and even aroused considerable suspicion.

The reason is not hard to understand.

First, there is a deep-seated distrust and a self-preservation mentality.

For thousands of years, the Lost Lands have been a gladiatorial arena where powerful forces vie for supremacy, wage war against each other, and where there is no sense of trust or justice.

Small and medium-sized forces are able to survive in the cracks by being vigilant, tactful, and never easily entrusting their fate to others.

The Demon Gold Empire is indeed terrifying, but are these seven top forces united as a force to be reckoned with?
If I were to join them, wouldn't it be like escaping one wolf's den only to fall into another?
Nominally an "alliance," but with such a disparity in strength, wouldn't their meager resources and manpower be like lambs to the slaughter, eventually being devoured by these big shots under the guise of "unified command" and "resource integration" until nothing is left?
Rather than risk siding with a behemoth that might swallow them up, it's better to assess the situation first and perhaps find an opportunity to play both sides in the gaps between the two giants' confrontation.

Secondly, there are doubts about the prospects of "fighting the demon".

Although this "Supreme Council" boasts an impressive lineup, it has only recently been established. Can it truly withstand the combined forces of Thrall and Hextech, the two great Order Oases?
If the war goes badly, the first to be sacrificed will likely be these insignificant little characters who joined later.

It would be wiser to wait and see, until one side shows clear signs of defeat, or until it is confirmed that the committee truly has a chance of winning.

Finally, there are also reasons related to information asymmetry and communication channels.

Although the Supreme Committee issued a statement, key details, such as the conditions for joining, rights and obligations, and how to protect the interests of small and medium-sized forces, were not fully transparent.

Many remote areas or isolated factions were skeptical of the committee's composition and intentions, fearing it might be a trap.

Therefore, after the establishment of the Demon Gold Empire, apart from a few forces that already had close ties with the committee members, they began to cautiously make contact.

The entire Lost Land was shrouded in an eerie silence.

Most of the smaller and medium-sized forces chose to remain inactive, strengthen their defenses, and frantically gather all available intelligence on both sides, anxiously watching the situation unfold.

They are like small animals huddled tightly in their dens before a storm, fearing both the devastating winds and rain outside and being wary of other potential large predators.

The silence and wait-and-see attitude shown by the various forces in the Lost Lands, especially the small and medium-sized oases, city-states, independent tribes, and wandering powerful individuals.

The Supreme Council was not surprised. A thousand years of chaos and betrayal had long since etched the principle of "not easily trusting any behemoth" into the marrow of every survivor in the Lost Lands.

To expect a single statement to bring all parties to their knees is wishful thinking.

The committee's work continues at a steady pace.

Currently, the Lord of the Mysterious Continent, Belmod Vynyard, serves as the overall leader of the Allied Forces and the rotating chairman of the Supreme Council.

Residing in the Endless City, he handled the complex affairs of the early days of the coalition, including coordinating the allocation of resources among the member forces, formulating the basic coalition charter and command framework, establishing an intelligence-sharing network, and planning defense lines and strategic points.

The other committee members each used their strengths to provide full support from the rear.

Conrad's Unicorn Trading Company network became an important channel for resource allocation, intelligence transmission, and initial recruitment.

The fallen church began to unite people on a spiritual level and used its underground network for infiltration and propaganda.

The Taiwo, Solari, and Nilsson families began to transform their astonishing wealth and connections into a continuous source of war potential, injecting it into the newly established Supreme Council.

However, the committee's core strategy was already clear in the initial few secret meetings: to remain still and wait for the right moment to strike.

The Supreme Council's current plan is clear: there is no need to rush into a full-scale decisive battle with the Sarr.

The primary task is to consolidate itself, establish an unbreakable defense system, and integrate existing forces.

Let the armies of the Demon Gold Empire deal with Twilight Continent and Night Moon Continent first.

The Twilight Isles still retain their rich heritage, while the Nightmoon Isles are filled with ferocious and untamed werewolves—both are tough nuts to crack.

Let them fight and wear down the Demon Gold Empire.

With each step forward, the Demon Gold Empire sows deeper fear and hatred in the hearts of vampires and werewolves, and reveals its plundering and destructive nature more clearly to the entire Lost Land.

Once both sides have been badly beaten, injured, or even crippled, those small and medium-sized forces that are still hesitant and fantasizing about remaining neutral or playing both sides will truly understand that there is no room for them to survive in the order of Thrall and Hextech.

By then, they will naturally know where to turn, and the Supreme Council will be able to accept these forces driven by fear as saviors, and choose the most opportune moment to deliver a fatal blow to the Demon Gold Empire.

However, the situation developed more smoothly than Cohen and others had anticipated.

The Demon Gold Empire swiftly and decisively conquered the Crimson City-State in just a few days, and the shockwaves from this news were far more intense than anticipated.

Fear is the best catalyst. Many leaders of small and medium-sized forces who originally intended to stay out of it were all shocked and broke out in a cold sweat after confirming the news.

The destructive power and ruthless desire for conquest displayed by the Demon Gold Empire's expeditionary force shattered their illusions.

Under this real pressure to survive, they have already begun to take action in secret.

There was no public surrender, nor any grand announcement, but hurried figures began to appear on the various secret routes leading to the Endless City.

They came from remote desert oases, from perilous and dark regions, from independent city-states struggling to survive between two continents, and from smaller mercenary groups, merchant guilds, and hermit communities.

They cautiously approached the Supreme Council's diplomatic personnel under various pretexts such as "trade negotiations," "cultural exchanges," and "private visits."

For a time, Windsordler, who was in charge of diplomatic and liaison affairs, was extremely busy, shuttling between the temporary residences arranged for representatives of all parties in the Endless City.

But Cohen and the core members of the committee knew that allies attracted by fear alone would be unstable and far from sufficient.

To truly convince these fickle people to fully commit and side with us, we need a heavy blow to shatter the last vestiges of their illusions.

That is to completely and openly reveal the truth about the Demon Gold Empire's army—that it is not an ordinary army, but a "demon legion" driven by demon souls and fed on destruction and pain!
Once this truth is revealed, it will cause great panic throughout the Lost Lands.

Those forces that still harbor illusions will fully understand that there is no possibility of making peace with the demon legion.

This is also another core mission of Korn's infiltration into the Demon Lord Thrall's inner circle, which is even more important than providing strategic misleading information to Thrall.

……

With the fall of the Crimson City, Cohen has now become an indispensable part of the power center of the Magnet Empire.

He shuttles daily between the military camp and the temporary palace, handling various military and political documents. He also analyzes the terrain and fortress defenses along the Twilight Continent's borders for Thrall.

We also need to devise supply line plans for the army and optimize the coordinated tactics of different unit types (demon soldiers, modified monsters, and mechanical units).

With his assistance, the Demon Gold Empire's offensive against the Twilight Continent became an unstoppable force.

The imperial army, like a black tide relentlessly eroding the coastline, gradually devoured the outer territories of Twilight Continent, its advance now pointing towards the heartland.

However, thanks to the presence of the Bone Master Gregory, the demon legion's movements remained undetected.

Gregory is the most mysterious half-legendary figure under Thrall's command, and the secrets of the demon legion are kept exceptionally well-protected by him.

Gregory was not only responsible for the production and maintenance of demon soldiers, but also for the post-war cleanup of the battlefield.

The remains of demon soldiers destroyed or irreversibly damaged on the battlefield are quickly recovered and processed by their special force of necromancers.

They erased all traces that might point to the corruption of the abyss, covering the nauseating sulfur and putrid smell of demon flesh with the stench of death magic and alchemical potions.

Therefore, the vampire soldiers fighting on the front lines feel an instinctive disgust and fear when they encounter those "special enemy forces" whose eyes burn with madness.

They could even sense the strange power emanating from the other party, yet they still couldn't connect them with the demons of the endless abyss.

After all, demons have been a legendary taboo for thousands of years, and the Lost Lands have never lacked all sorts of strange and bizarre dark magic and forbidden experimental products.

Therefore, most vampire commanders and scholars, after analyzing the scattered intelligence sent back from the front lines, tend to believe that this is a forbidden black magic developed by the infamous "Touch of Black Magic" organization controlled by the Demon Lord Thrall, capable of enhancing soldiers.

Or perhaps it is a kind of enhanced soldier that combines the native monsters of the Chaotic Demon Continent with Hextech alchemy.

The military might of the Demon Gold Empire, like a tightening black iron clamp, continued to press down on the defenses of the Twilight Continent.

Despite the fierce resistance from the vampire warriors, who relied on their ancient martial arts skills, familiarity with the terrain, and unwavering determination to defend their homeland, the vampire warriors put up a stubborn fight.

But in the face of Thrall's war machine, territory is still being lost bit by bit.

Border fortresses were reduced to ruins by the continuous roar of alchemical cannons and the relentless charges of demon soldiers, and surrounding towns fell one after another.

Refugees and defeated soldiers scattered inland, bringing with them a cloud of defeat and panic.

The once glorious Twilight Continent is being forced to retreat step by step, bearing unprecedented pressure.

Just as the clouds of war were gathering, a letter encrypted with special magic crossed the battlefield and quietly arrived at the Eternal Night Royal Court, the core of Twilight Continent, and was presented to Blood Lord Lucius Aragell.

The letter was signed by King Effie, Lord of the Endless Alliance, and Cohen Corleone, a member of the Supreme Council for the United Resistance and Nation-Building Preparations of the Lost Lands.

In his letter, Cohen objectively described the crisis brought about by the rise of the Magnet Empire, pointing out that Thrall and his ally Hextech's ambitions are by no means limited to a small area, and their destructive and predatory nature is destined to create irreconcilable conflicts with all existing forces.

He emphasized that the rapid fall of the Crimson City was not accidental, but rather the terrifying first appearance of this new mode of warfare, with the Demon Lord Thrall possessing a power beyond anyone's imagination.

Then, he shifted his focus and introduced Lucius to the founding purpose of the "Supreme Council for the United Resistance and Preparation for the Establishment of a Nation in the Lost Lands," clarifying that it was not a loosely assembled alliance.

Rather, it is a powerful alliance aimed at consolidating forces, jointly resisting the expansion of the Demon Gold Empire, and planning a new post-war order.

Cohen made it clear that the committee highly values ​​the power and heritage of Twilight Continent and believes that the addition of the vampires is crucial to balancing the situation and ultimately defeating Thrall.

He then offered the most enticing condition: the Supreme Council had officially reserved a seat for His Excellency Lucius Aragell.

This means that as long as Lucius agrees to join, Twilight Continent will no longer be fighting alone. It will not only immediately receive substantial support from other members of the committee, but will also have a place in the highest decision-making circle that determines the future fate of the Lost Lands.

Participate in the formulation of rules to safeguard the interests and living space of vampires in the new era.

This is not surrender, but an equal strategic alliance, a wise choice when facing a common and powerful enemy.

This letter, like a stone thrown into a deep pool, caused ripples within the upper echelons of Twilight Continent.

The vampire lord, who had ruled the Twilight Continent for countless years and witnessed countless rises and falls, completely disregarded Cohen's letter.

In his view, while the Demon Gold Empire was indeed formidable and had put enormous pressure and caused great losses to Twilight Continent, it was far from being crippling or shaking the very foundations of the nation.

The vampire clan's accumulated resources over thousands of years, countless slumbering castles, hidden magic, loyal families, and their true trump cards yet to be used—how could outsiders easily estimate their true strength?

Thrall's idea of ​​swallowing the entire Twilight Continent whole is simply wishful thinking.

The current setbacks are merely frictions in the early stages of the war; the true power of the vampires has not yet been fully revealed.

Joining that so-called committee not only means bowing down to a group of "nouveau riche" and "speculators" and sharing power, but also risks being exploited and consumed in the internal power struggles of the committee, ultimately losing autonomy.

This was even more unacceptable to him than the losses inflicted by open warfare on the battlefield.

Cohen was not surprised by Lucius's reaction.

He never expected that a single letter would make this proud Blood Lord immediately submit and switch sides.

This letter is more like a seed that was planted in advance.

Cohen knew the mindset of Lucius and many other established rulers—they would never easily give up their inherent pride and illusions of independence until they were driven to the brink of destruction and personally experienced the terror of annihilation.

His primary purpose in writing this letter was not to immediately forge an alliance, but rather to pave the way by demonstrating the existence and stance of the Supreme Council, letting the Twilight Continent leadership know that they had a "third way" to choose from besides fighting to the death or surrendering to Thrall.

In some desperate moment in the future, this seed may sprout.

At the same time, it also planted a seed of controversy and reflection within the ruling elite of Twilight Continent, sowing a seed of division in the minds of some pragmatic or worried nobles.

Last but not least, it lays the groundwork for the future.

When the truth about the Demon Legion is finally revealed to the world in the most tragic way, Lucius Aragell, and all those who have read or heard of this letter, will recall Cohen's "prophecy" today and understand that the Supreme Council is not exaggerating, but has truly seen the true nature of the Demon Gold Empire.

Only then will the true value of this letter be revealed; it will become proof of the Supreme Council's "foresight" and a powerful weapon for winning hearts and minds.

……

Under Sal's personal supervision and Mayne's precise strategic guidance, the war machine of the Magnum Empire continued to crush forward with astonishing efficiency.

The vast territory of Twilight Continent continues to shrink under the advance of the Black Legion, and the flames of war on the borders spread all the way to the heartland.

In just one month, the Empire's military might has reached a crucial threshold for the vampires—Twilight Nexus, also known as the "Eternal Night City-State" by the vampires.

This city is far more than an ordinary fortress or administrative center.

It is situated at the intersection of several major magical energy channels in Twilight Continent, and is also a hub for several ancient trade routes and strategic passages that traverse the continent.

The city not only stockpiles massive amounts of military supplies, food reserves, and alchemical materials, but it is also a core node for troop deployment, information transmission, and resource transfer between the eastern and western parts of Twilight Continent.

Deep underground, there is a hidden passage that connects directly to the ancient blood pool of the vampires, providing the guards with a near-inexhaustible supply of magic power.

It can be said that the Eternal Night City-State is the heart and backbone of the eastern border of Twilight Continent. Once this place falls, the consequences will be unimaginable.

This will not only completely sever the connection between the eastern and western parts of Twilight Continent, but the huge amount of war resources stockpiled there will also aid the enemy, enhancing the Mojin Empire's ability to sustain combat operations.

Even more devastating is the psychological blow—the breach of such a vital heartland would be devastating to the morale of Twilight Continent.

At that time, the vast lands in the east, having lost unified command and supplies, will be like ripe fruit, ready to be picked by the Demon Gold Empire.

Taking over the City-State of Night means that half of Twilight Isles has fallen into Thrall's hands.

Blood Lord Lucius Aragell understood the strategic value of this city better than anyone else.

Even the proud man he was now abandoning all his disdain and elevating the defense of the Eternal Night City-State to a matter of racial survival.

He mobilized almost all available elite troops from the east, along with a portion of the Imperial Guard protecting the Eternal Night Royal Court, and poured them continuously into this massive fortified city.

The ancient magical defense system, which had not been fully activated for hundreds of years, was completely reactivated, and the "Crimson Sky" enveloped the entire city like an inverted giant bowl.

The "Blood-Draining Earth" magic array operates within the earth's veins, capable of eroding the life force of any approaching enemy troops while slowly restoring the defenders' losses.

In addition, there are countless hidden magical traps, automatically triggered ancient mechanisms, and constructs and gargoyles driven by vampire secrets, scattered throughout every corner inside and outside the city walls.

Lucius even went so far as to use some of his treasured ancient vampire artifacts to enhance the defenses of key points.

The entire city-state of Eternal Night has been armed into a super fortress riddled with death traps. Lucius is determined to make Thrall's army suffer heavy losses here and turn the tide of the battle! (End of Chapter)