Under Louise's initiative and Ethan's deterrence, all the nobles of East Sea, whether willingly or not, expressed their submission to Ethan.
Following the issuance of the city lord's decree, squads of towering Divine Dragon Warriors, and even Bipedal Wyverns moved into the city.
East Sea was officially announced to have changed hands.
The Golden Dragon, Dark Lord Ethan, became the new master of East Sea.
He also became the first Dark Lord to occupy a main city of the Sunset Empire!
Upon receiving this news, the Sunset Empire was instantaneously filled with rage...
The king personally issued several orders, dispatching multiple troops to besiege East Sea.
All the surrendered nobles in East Sea, led by City Lord Louise, were branded as traitors and put on a high bounty list.
Riverside, being the closest city to East Sea, naturally became the frontline base in the fight against the dragon.
Countless Heroes began to gather in Riverside, and several elite armies directly under the Sunset Empire began to station outside Riverside.
Massive military supplies were transported to Riverside from various parts of the Empire.
In a sense, Riverside was experiencing a different kind of prosperity.
Due to Rose being severely injured, the command of Riverside and the surrounding armies was handed over to Duke Karaman of the Empire's Black Lion family.
This Duke was a well-known legendary powerhouse in the Sunset Empire, one of the three Rank S powerhouses regarded as pillars of the Empire.
Regardless of whether Rose was injured or not, with the arrival of Karaman, he was destined to become the absolute backbone of the Empire in this war.
Recognizing the situation, Rose made no power struggle and voluntarily handed over the command of her troops, winning the favor of this legendary powerhouse.
At his suggestion, Rose was promoted and bestowed with the title of Countess.
She also became a Major General of the Empire, obtaining the right to form her own army of ten thousand soldiers.
Unlike the private armies recruited by nobles, this army, the number of which was determined by Rose, was fully supported by the Empire.
Although nominally under the Empire, it was equivalent to her private army.
As a Major General of the Empire, Rose needed to return to the capital to report on her duties, and there was also a series of affairs such as the conferment of the title...
The Empire also issued a new decree, asking Rose to bring the black dragon she had captured alive back to the capital while reporting on her duties.
So, Rose, who was recuperating, set out for the capital not long after, leaving Riverside, a whirlpool of impending war.
And at her strong recommendation, Zachary, who had performed well in several battles, became the leader of all Heroes in Riverside...
Taking a huge carriage, Rose left for the capital, leaving behind Riverside, which was on the brink of a major battle.
On the other hand, East Sea was unexpectedly calm.
Facing the rule of a Dark Lord, the residents of East Sea were initially in constant fear.
However, to their surprise, the monsters that entered the city were unexpectedly friendly, even conducting trade with merchants using human currency.
Both sides didn't infringe on each other, and the golden dragon Dark Lord even personally executed several extremely evil nobles, distributing their wealth to the general public.
Unscrupulous traders who were inflating prices also received a harsh crackdown.
This Dark Lord even opened the granaries and distributed a large amount of food to the residents of the slums...
The constant mobilization of armies in distant Riverside still gripped everyone's nerves.
Only Dark Lord Ethan, acting as if nothing was happening, would regularly fly over East Sea, asserting his presence to everyone.
All wild monsters voluntarily left East Sea, and the Dark Lords were trembling with fear, not daring to stretch out their claws and plunder randomly.
The villages around East Sea experienced a rare period of peace.
After living with this for a while, the residents of East Sea gradually got used to this new life...
They found it strange that their days under the rule of a Dark Lord were actually happier than before.
Even many Heroes started to have complicated feelings about this Dark Lord.
After intimidating the wild monsters around East Sea, Ethan returned to East Sea and turned back into a human.
He didn't do all these good deeds out of overflowing sympathy.
This was all part of his plan.
With the entire Wolf Fang team wiped out, even if the Empire was dull, they should realize that something was amiss.
After all, that was an elite Hero team that was silently annihilated on the land of Riverside.
"Rather than taking a passive stance, it's better to go on the offensive," Ethan thought.
And Riverside was a superb pawn to use.
His plan was simple: brazenly take over East Sea, declare it as Dark Lord's territory...
This sort of in-your-face action would inevitably not sit well with the Empire, and a large army would certainly gather at Riverside.
This would be Ethan's chance.
He only needed to crush this army, defeat the so-called Grand Duke of the Empire, the Empire's generals, and their Heroes.
If Rose then volunteered to fight, she, the only one who had any victories against Ethan, would surely be assigned as the general of the Riverside operations.
Then it would be a case of friend fighting friend, with the Empire's resources continually coming in.
Not only could Ethan level up, but he could also help Rose do the same. Where else could he find such a sweet deal?
As long as the Riverside operations continued, and they managed to inflict heavy damage occasionally, they could drag it out for a while.
This war vortex would gradually weaken the Empire's strength, while Ethan's power would grow stronger with the Empire's resources.
Once the power gap exceeded a critical point, that would be the time for Ethan to bare his fangs...
Knocking down the Sunset Empire completely, Ethan, the dominant figure, would become the true Dark Lord!
To continue to enhance his current strength, only a war on the scale of annihilating a country could satisfy him.
To maintain his future rule, it was necessary to be good to the citizens of East Sea.
Not only did Ethan restrain his subordinates, but he also gave them a large amount of welfare, and drove out the nearby wild monsters and those Dark Lords who didn't know their place.
Over time, they would realize how wonderful life was under Ethan's rule.
These people would be the seeds for his future rule of the Empire, the best tool to pacify the public.
At that time, having the power of a whole country, his conquering the continent would not be a wild dream.
However, there was still a long way to go to complete this step.
"With just my power alone, it's not enough. The Empire is recruiting and gathering forces, and I, of course, won't be idle…" Ethan opened the world chat channel and sent a striking message to the Dark Lord camp.
[Mysterious Dark Lord: Greetings to all Dark Lords, I am Golden Dragon Dark Lord. I am now posting a bounty to all Dark Lords within Sunset Empire territory. The Empire's army is now gathering at Riverside, which is a good opportunity to strike. I've formed a Dark Lord Alliance and issued tasks to all Dark Lords who attack the Empire's territory. You can all receive rewards from me.]
[Mysterious Dark Lord: Whether it's food, treasure, or some special rewards.]
[Mysterious Dark Lord: I've created a public chat room named Dark Lord Alliance. Interested Dark Lords can join and take a look. I believe the rewards inside won't disappoint you.]
[WraithDark Lord: Woah, so the anonymous big shot was the Golden Dragon Dark Lord all along, awesome!]
[Fishman Dark Lord: Big shot directly took East Sea, amazing. It's equivalent to declaring war on the Empire.]
[Octopus Dark Lord: Scary, I'm just around East Sea. Wasn't it the Giant Dragon Dark Lord's territory before? Wasn't he making a big fuss about taking East Sea recently? Where did he go now?]
When Octopus Dark Lord sent this message, the world chat channel fell silent for a moment.
A reasonable but terrifying guess came to everyone's mind...
East Sea was originally the Giant Dragon Dark Lord's base, but now the boss has become the Golden Dragon Dark Lord.
Considering the Golden Dragon Dark Lord's disappearance, the answer behind was self-evident.
Then, the message from the Giant Dark Lord blew up the world chat channel.
[Giant Dark Lord: Holy cow, you guys should join that public chat room and take a look. The rewards inside are insane!]
Many Dark Lords clicked in to check, and the world chat channel was immediately filled with exclamations.
[Fishman Dark Lord: Holy sht, are there really Giant Dragon Dark Lord's corpse in the rewards? Dude, isn't the big shot even pretending anymore? Dragon skin, dragon heart, dragon liver are all clearly priced...]
[Snake Dark Lord: No, look at that last reward, that Blood Ritual is really badass, can actually let Dark Lord obtain the bloodline of dragons. Damn, if successful, wouldn't that be a leap to the sky?]
[Wraith Dark Lord: There's something even more shocking. Have you guys seen the total amount of resources that can be obtained through tasks? There are so many zeros, I'm freaking out.]
[Shark Dark Lord: Golden Dragon bro, I'm willing to call you the strongest! I'm leading my team to East Sea to join you right now!]
[Octopus Dark Lord: Add one! I've been fed up with those Heroes for a long time. Since Dragon Bro wants to fight them, let's do it!]
[Goblin Dark Lord: You guys are still bullshtting here, I've already claimed my task in the chat room. There are even rewards for attacking those sons of b*tches from the Empire, it's like a double loot from one robbery, don't miss this golden opportunity, guys!]
[Giant Dark Lord: My heart hurts... Why am I not in Sunset Empire? So much tempting food, why don't I have it...]
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