Extraordinary Rise: Starting Contract with the Silver Dragon Countess

Lord Simmons led his elite vampire troops, silently approaching the abandoned mine.

The thick, rotting swamp mist and the chaotic energy field of the black rock hills provided them with excellent cover.

At a high vantage point not far from the mine, Simmons waved for the team to stop.

He then personally cast a high-level "Eye of Truth" detection spell, which originated from an ancient bloodline tradition.

Invisible magical ripples spread like mercury across the ground, silently covering the distant mine.

The information returned by the spell was so surprising that even the well-informed and legendary city lord found it hard to believe.

Under the "Eye of Truth," the aura of the ordinary soldiers patrolling and standing guard was clearly exposed.

To Simmons's surprise, these scents gave him a vague sense of familiarity.

Soon, the well-informed Simmons realized something that sent chills down his spine.

The aura emanating from the other party seemed to resemble the characteristics of low-level demon soldiers from the ancient war between gods and demons recorded in ancient texts.

This is a state that no human or any conventional race could achieve through training or modification!
Simmons' voice was hoarse, filled with disbelief and horror, as he murmured in a low voice:

"The abyss... the purest abyssal aura... and a soul imprint mixed with chaos and corruption..."

Hearing Simmons's mutterings, a chilling guess instantly arose in the minds of the accompanying vampire elders:

Could it be that the invincible and endless black-armored legion of the Demon Gold Empire is not an alchemical golem or enhanced soldier at all?

Or is it a demon army that has been mass-produced or "awakened" in some way?

They weren't fighting Thrall or Hextech, but rather the demons of the Abyss.
This fact is far more terrifying than the discovery of a "secret arsenal"!
This means that they are facing not only Emperor Thrall's ambition and a newly emerging powerful empire, but also a disaster that could sweep across the entire Lost Lands!

The expansion of the Demon Gold Empire may conceal a terrifying secret: it connects to the abyss and manipulates demons!
Lord Simmons forcibly suppressed the turmoil in his heart, a resolute glint flashing in his eyes:

This message must be sent out immediately!

Once this is made public, the Demon Gold Empire will become the common enemy of the entire Lost Lands!

All races that fought the demons in the ancient wars, and all forces that feared the power of the abyss, will stand against them!
Thrall's ambitions will be laid bare, and his empire will become the target of everyone's wrath!

Another elder also roared excitedly:

"Excellent! We must immediately relay this discovery back to the vampires and find a way to spread it! Then we will no longer be fighting alone!"

Lord Simmons took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down:
"Distant water cannot quench immediate thirst. Before the news spreads and various forces react, our central city-state of Eternal Night, and our Twilight Continent, may very well have already been trampled flat by this demon army!"
The most urgent task is to destroy this source right now!
Even destroying just a portion of them would severely cripple their manpower replenishment, buying us time!

Simmons' suggestion was immediately approved by everyone, and he once again focused his senses on the mine's defensive capabilities.

His legendary-level keen senses told him that the guarding force here was exceptionally strong.

On the surface, there were more than five auras of half-step legends flowing faintly, and dozens of energy reactions of the gold level, not to mention the disciplined, coherent, and obviously well-trained "demon soldier" formation.

This force is enough to easily destroy most small and medium-sized forces in the Lost Lands, and can even pose a serious threat to some large forces.

Such a powerful force was used merely to guard this remote "factory"...

Simmons' voice was solemn, yet carried a hint of determination:
"The importance that the Demon Gold Empire attaches to this place far exceeds our imagination."

This further illustrates the importance of this place; it must be destroyed at all costs!
"Pass down the order: proceed as planned, with a swift and decisive strike to penetrate the core and destroy those pillars!"

"Yes!" The elders and elites responded in hushed tones, their eyes burning with the flames of a final, desperate battle.

Lord Simmons took the lead, unleashing his legendary domain, transforming it into a death zone interwoven with shadows and blood energy, silently covering the entrance to the mine.

It instantly suppressed the outer perimeter's guard formations and patrol teams.

The five half-step legendary elders followed closely behind like five sharp knives, each unleashing a powerful aura, their target the core of the energy fluctuations deep within the mine.

Five hundred elite vampires scattered like ghosts, some following closely behind the powerful warriors as they advanced, while others quickly occupied key outer positions, setting up anti-magic barriers and blocking formations to prepare for reinforcements that might emerge from the mine or come from outside.

Everything seems to be going well.

Simmons's surprise attack was swift and precise. The "demon soldiers" guarding the perimeter were caught off guard by the suppression of the legendary realm and the assault of the half-legendary.

They easily tore apart the enemy's outer defensive formation, broke through the mine entrance with unstoppable momentum, and advanced inward along the passage.

The magically reinforced rock walls on both sides of the passage collapsed under the aftershocks of the legendary powerhouse.

Finally, they rushed into the huge underground space, where three enormous "demon conversion pillars" were right in front of them!
Then they saw the "black-armored soldiers" guarding the Demon Pillar.

Their formation was terrifyingly orderly. Faced with the onslaught of a powerful enemy, there was no panic, no roar, only a deathly silence, like that of a machine.

Lord Simmons, who was charging ahead, felt a chill run down his spine, sensing that something was amiss.

Before he could react, colorful magical runes suddenly lit up the surrounding walls.

These runes interlocked, instantly forming a complex magic array that covered the entire underground space!

Imprisonment, gravity amplification, energy disorder, soul suppression... dozens of negative effects were instantly applied to every vampire powerhouse who broke in!
At the same time, the seemingly rough rock walls around them collapsed with a roar, revealing the densely packed and boundless elite forces of the Demon Gold Empire behind them!

They had clearly been waiting there for a long time; their armor was gleaming, their swords and spears were like a forest, and their intense killing intent mixed with the violent demonic energy, forming a suffocating storm.

The outer guards, whom they had previously "easily breached," now surged out from the passage behind them like a tide, completely blocking their retreat.

What chilled Simmons to the bone even more was that, high up and in the shadows all around, there were many terrifying supernatural auras, slowly awakening like sleeping beasts.

The space was completely locked, the magical traps were fully activated, and there were enemies several times stronger than themselves on all sides, as well as auras of the same level or even stronger that were watching them with predatory intent.

trap!

A meticulously planned, flawless death trap!

All their actions were actually within the other side's calculations!
There was no time to figure out exactly when the plan was leaked.

Simmons' eyes widened in fury, and he roared:
"withdraw--!"

Then, his magical power surged, and his legendary domain erupted at full force, attempting to break through the spatial confinement and lead his subordinates to break free.

But it's too late.

A familiar yet utterly loathed voice boomed overhead:
"Tsk tsk tsk, look who's here?"

Elder Simmons of the Eternal Night City-State, and all my old friends from the vampire clan... how have you been?

This is quite a large-scale mobilization, it's really unexpected!

Accompanied by the sound, the tall and imposing figure of the Demon Lord Thrall slowly appeared.

A smug smile played on his lips as he slowly swept his gaze across the horrified and enraged vampires below, as if they were prey caught in a net.

Lord Simmons looked up at the figure in the void that resembled a demon god, his heart sinking heavily.

He was surrounded by an impenetrable array of Imperial elites, and above him stood Thrall, radiating a terrifying aura.

He knew that not only had the raid failed, but they had likely already stepped into an abyss of no return.

But after all, he was a legendary powerhouse who had weathered countless storms. After his initial shock and anger, his legendary pride helped him calm down.

He waved his hand, signaling the elders and elites behind him who were struggling against the suppression of the magic circle to move closer to him and form a defensive circle. At the same time, he raised his head, his blood-red eyes fixed on Salli:
"Thrall! You madman! How dare you collude with the demons of the abyss! Do you know what you're doing?"

You are playing with fire, dragging the entire Lost Land, not the entire Demon Tide Continent, into an abyss of no return!
Have you forgotten the horrific scenes of the ancient war between gods and demons?

Those demons are the embodiment of destruction and chaos; they bring only endless slaughter and destruction.

You are courting your own destruction, and betraying all living beings on this land. Do you want to become a traitor to the entire continent?

His only response was a mocking sneer from Sal.

"Colluding with demons? Betraying the continent?"

Simmons, you're still so naive, so... self-righteous.

History has always been written by the victors; strength is the only truth.

"The winner takes all, the loser is condemned—such a simple truth, don't you old bats who've lived for thousands of years understand it?"

He spread his hands, making a slightly exaggerated gesture, and surveyed his silent and grim army around him:
"Besides... what evidence do you have?"
You accuse me of colluding with the devil, where is the evidence?
If we simply leave every single one of you who came here today behind... who will know what really happened here?

He paused, his smile growing increasingly cruel:
Even if some news accidentally leaks out.

So what? Without solid evidence, who would believe it?

You call it a demon, I call it a newly developed alchemical creature. You call it a erosion of the abyss, I call it the revival of ancient lost technology.

In a land lost where might makes right, tell me, are there more people who believe the 'mad ravings' of a leader of a dying race, or more people who believe the monarch of an empire that expands its territory and is invincible?
Besides, Simmons, have you forgotten something?
Who did the eldest princess of the Eastern Empire marry?

That noble prince consort, his bloodline is that of a pure demon god!
Even the royal family of the Eastern Empire, one of the five great empires, has a marriage alliance with the bloodline of the demon god, so who would care whether I use the power of the demon?

Power is power. As long as it can be used to my advantage and help me achieve my goal of domination, does its source... matter?

Sal's last words sent a chill down the spines of Simmons and all the vampires.

Yes, the marriage between the Eastern Empire and the Son of the Demon God is undoubtedly an excellent shield.

If even the Eastern Region Empire can accept demon bloodlines, what right do others have to criticize the Demon Gold Empire?
What chilled Simmons even more was the subtext of Sal's last words—he had no intention of letting the news leak out!

This trap is designed to bury all those in the know!

Simmons's expression changed drastically, and he suddenly pulled out a magical communication crystal engraved with intricate spatial and communication runes from his pocket.

This is the highest-level communication artifact of the Eternal Night City-State. Theoretically, it can forcibly transmit brief messages even within most interference barriers.

Without hesitation, he poured magic into it, trying to convey the crucial information that "Thrall colluded with demons to create soldiers, and this place is a trap!"
However, the expected spatial fluctuations and telepathic light did not appear.

The crystal only flickered faintly in his hand a few times before quickly dimming, as if it were tightly covered by an invisible, heavy veil.

Simmons' heart sank to rock bottom.

He could clearly sense that a super shielding magic array, so powerful it was almost despair-inducing, had already completely enveloped this underground space and even the entire surrounding mining area.

Let alone sending a message, it would probably be difficult to even penetrate with a trace of soul fluctuation!
Unless he immediately and at all costs spreads the news the moment he discovers the truth about the "devil's factory".

At the time, however, he was blinded by the enormous temptation of "discovering the source and being able to destroy or even seize it in one fell swoop," thinking that with his own legendary team led by his own elite troops, he could sweep away the enemy's stronghold and win the battle quickly.

Who would have thought that this was a huge trap from beginning to end?

"Damn it!"

Simmons abruptly raised his head, his blood-red eyes flashing with an almost manic glint of fury. The power of his legendary domain erupted without restraint, his voice shrill and piercing:
"You want to wipe us all out? Sal! You and these cowardly rats?"

"Wishful thinking! Even if I perish here today, I will make you pay a heavy price!"

A legendary powerhouse's last stand is absolutely terrifying.

The vampire elders and elites behind him also turned red-eyed, unleashing a fighting spirit to the death, and began to prepare various vampire secret techniques for a final showdown.

However, faced with Simmons's frantic threats, Sal simply smiled faintly and even shook his head with some regret:
“You’re right. If a legendary-level vampire superhuman tries to escape at all costs, there’s really nothing I can do on my own.”

but……"

He clapped his hands lightly, and with the applause, a person slowly walked out from not far behind Sal.

This person looked to be around forty or fifty years old, with an ordinary face, the kind of person you wouldn't notice if you threw him into a crowd.

Dressed in a gray outfit without any markings, he exuded a calm and restrained aura, seemingly blending into the surrounding shadows as he walked. If one did not consciously perceive him, one would almost ignore his presence.

But as he stepped out of the shadows and calmly surveyed the besieged vampires below, a legendary aura, no less powerful than Simmons's, quietly spread out.

Upon seeing this person's face, and especially feeling that familiar yet chilling legendary aura, Lord Simmons stared intently at him, as if something was stuck in his throat. After a long while, he managed to squeeze out a name through gritted teeth:
“Keles...it’s you.”

The middle-aged man named Kellers still had a cold expression.

He met Simmons's incredulous gaze and slowly nodded:
"Lord Simmons, it's been a long time."

Keles is another legendary-level transcendent being in the Chaotic Demon Continent whose strength is unfathomable, besides the Demon Lord Sal!
Throughout the entire Chaotic Demon Continent, including the Demon Lord Thrall, there are four legendary-level transcendent beings on the surface.

Thrall himself is a legendary high-level player with unfathomable strength, and his power is renowned throughout the southeast of the Lost Lands.

The other three, Keles, Anderson, and Nasus, the "Curse Binder" who has guarded the core forbidden area of ​​the Demon Continent for many years, are all low-level Legendary.

Although it is only a low-level one, a legend is a legend. It is the ultimate force that can suppress the fortune of a region and determine the course of a large-scale battle.

What puzzles and even unsettles outsiders is that Keles, Anderson, and Nasus all broke through the legendary barrier in the last few decades.

This phenomenon of "mass production" of legendary items is extremely rare in the history of the Lost Lands.

This is why, although Chaos Continent is not the largest in territory, population, or economy, it still holds a dominant position among the five major oasis-level powers, which gives Thrall the confidence to covet the entire Lost Lands.

Over the years, the leaders of other oases such as Twilight Island and Night Moon Island have privately made speculations and conducted investigations.

They suspected that the Chaotic Demon Continent possessed some kind of forbidden, unknown method.

It could be the unearthed legacy of a lost ancient civilization, the discovery of a special source of magic, or the conduct of some kind of inhumane large-scale sacrifice or soul experiment... There are all sorts of speculations, but no conclusive evidence.

Until this moment, until Simmons personally confirmed the existence of the "Demon Conversion Pillar," sensed the pure demonic aura emanating from those "Black Armor Soldiers," and witnessed the appearance of Keles, this "newly crowned" legend...

All the clues instantly connected, pointing to a chilling truth—the Chaotic Demon Continent, or rather, the Demon Lord Thrall, had already established a solid and deep connection with the demons of the Endless Abyss, or even a powerful demon god!

Those seemingly "newly emerging" legends may not have achieved their breakthroughs through their own arduous training or fortuitous encounters, but rather by receiving "gifts" from the abyss.

Simmons felt a chill in his heart. All his doubts had been resolved, but at the cost of their imminent annihilation. This earth-shattering secret, which was enough to shake the entire Lost Land, would likely be temporarily buried with their deaths.

He looked at Salna's confident, all-encompassing smile, then turned his gaze to the other side, speaking coldly with deep-seated hatred:
"Since even the venomous snake from the shadows of Kellus has crawled out... then Anderson, you filthy butcher, you despicable executioner, shouldn't you also come out and show your face?"

"What? You killed so many of our people, and now you only dare to hide in the back like a bedbug?"

A strange laugh suddenly rang out.

"Simmons, you old bat have a good memory, and you hold grudges quite a bit."

So many years have passed, all I did was casually kill a few of your blind vampire bastards, right?

Why keep bringing it up until now?

Before the words were finished, a figure strode out.

This person was exceptionally tall and robust, almost two heads taller than the average person.

Several hideous scars ran across his square face, the most conspicuous being a horrifying knife mark that slashed diagonally from his forehead to his jaw, adding an extra layer of ferocity to his already menacing appearance.

It is Anderson, another of the four legends of the Chaotic Continent, known for his ferocity, cruelty and close combat!

This person is unscrupulous, cruel, and bloodthirsty, and has had several fierce conflicts with Simmons, who is stationed on the eastern border of Twilight Continent.

In the most serious incident, Anderson raided a noble vampire squad that was hunting rare magical beasts deep in the border region of the Demon Continent, slaughtering the vampires, including several of Simmons' direct descendants. From then on, the two became mortal enemies.

There's no room for maneuver now, and no need for further words.

Negotiation? Surrender?
Having exposed the demon's secrets, facing an attack from three legends, and harboring a blood feud with Anderson, any compromise would only bring humiliation upon themselves, and Thrall would never let those "insiders" off the hook.

Only fight to the death!

In the face of death, perhaps one can still find a glimmer of hope, or... make the other party pay a heavy price!
Simmons's voice, like the roar of a dying beast, echoed through the underground mine:

"Vampire warriors! Today, we are trapped in a desperate situation!"

With demons before us and enemies at our sides, there is no point in clinging to life; the only option is to fight to the death and break through!

Before he finished speaking, Simmons no longer hesitated. He transformed into a dark red blood shadow that tore through space and pounced on the most terrifying demon lord, Sal, high in the sky!

He knew that Thrall was the core player, and if he could entangle or even injure Thrall, he might be able to create an opportunity for the others.

At the same time, the legendary domain expanded at full speed, and the blood energy transformed into countless roaring crimson dragons, which not only attacked Thrall, but also subtly enveloped Keles and Anderson. It was as if one person was trying to forcibly hold back three powerful enemies of the same level.

“City Lord!!”

Several vampire elders roared in despair, but they also understood that this was the only possible way out.

Suppressing their grief and anger, they instantly reached a tacit understanding. Five or six half-step legends and more than a dozen peak gold-level experts each unleashed their strongest power, no longer sticking together, but like exploding fireworks, charging desperately in different directions.

The five hundred elite vampires also let out desperate cries, formed small battle formations, and launched a suicidal charge against the imperial army.

They used their own flesh and blood to pave the way for their superiors!
"Trying to leave? Too late!" Sal laughed wildly, facing Simmons' desperate attack, he neither dodged nor avoided, and threw a punch.

Kellers and Anderson followed suit, launching an attack.

The battle instantly entered its most brutal and bloody phase!

The brilliance of magic, the clash of weapons, the explosion of energy, the dying screams, the roars of anger… all these sounds mingled together, turning this underground mine into a veritable meat grinder! (End of Chapter)