Not just the Giant Dark Lord, but all the Dark Lords outside of the Sunset Empire were lamenting their unfortunate circumstances.
Ethan's gesture was akin to giving out free money, yet they were ironically deprived of the opportunity due to geographical constraints.
Ethan had his own reasons for doing so.
The ongoing conflict in Riverside was bound to evolve into a war of attrition.
As long as the Dark Lords caused chaos in the Sunset Empire, the pressure Ethan faced would gradually decrease.
A quantitative change would inevitably lead to a qualitative change.
As more Dark Lords launched attacks, a domino effect would ensue.
More and more Dark Lords would join the war, dragging the Sunset Empire into a quagmire of conflict.
Regarding the rewards issued to the Dark Lords, it was a carefully considered issue.
The operation mode of the World Chat Channel was that Ethan would post tasks, and the Dark Lords would have to complete them before they could earn points as rewards.
These points could then be exchanged for various resources such as food and gold coins.
In the early stages, his resource reserves were sufficient to cover all kinds of rewards.
In the middle and later stages, all Dark Lords would simultaneously launch attacks on the Sunset Empire.
The Empire would be too busy to care about them, so they could exploit the situation freely.
At this point, the amount of reward Ethan offered would become irrelevant.
Dark Lords could convert resources into a steady stream of soldiers on the battlefield.
In contrast, whether it's the Empire's NPCs or Heroes, every loss was irreplaceable.
Over time, the Dark Lords would gain an absolute advantage.
This was the right way for the Dark Lords to wage war against the Heroes and the native residents of this world.
What was previously missing was a leader who could call upon all the Dark Lords to attack simultaneously.
Opening the map of the Sunset Empire, Ethan started to study it carefully.
He issued attack tasks aimed at several main traffic arteries and resource transportation nodes around Riverside.
So many troops had assembled near Riverside, and their daily consumption was astronomical.
In contrast, Ethan just needed to summon resources into troops when necessary.
The battle between the two sides was far from equal.
As long as Ethan focused on Riverside's supply lines and waited for their reserves to gradually deplete, the commander of the forces in Riverside, provided he wasn't a fool, would certainly launch a preemptive strike on East Sea...
That would be Ethan's opportunity, the decisive battle to determine the victor.
If he won this fight, he could march towards the Imperial City and launch a total attack on the Sunset Empire.
Aside from this, Ethan didn't forget his old allies.
With a large army gathering around Riverside, whether voluntarily or forcibly, they had to stand with Ethan.
...
After browsing through the World Chat Channel, John Foster successfully accepted a task to ambush a support convoy heading to Riverside.
As a Goblin Dark Lord, his inherent power is inherently weak.
He used to have no eligibility to participate in direct confrontations with the Sunset Empire, but things have changed now, and he has a chance to get a piece of the action.
This was a group task, and several nearby Dark Lords whom he wouldn't dare provoke also accepted this task.
Several Dark Lords started to cooperate in battle.
If this was before, it would be unthinkable.
Aside from exterminating the mortal Heroes, the Dark Lords often fight amongst themselves.
However, with the lucrative Sunset Empire present, everyone wanted a piece of it, leading to a temporary alliance.
As agreed, a group of Dark Lords lay in ambush in the forest next to the highway, scouts were dispatched wave after wave.
Along with the Goblin Dark Lord in this operation were the Bat Dark Lord and the Orc Dark Lord.
The troops of the Orc Dark Lord had the best physique and were adept at assault, so they were absolutely the main force.
The Bat Dark Lord's forces mostly consisted of some frail mage units suitable for lurking in the back and quietly outputting.
As for the Goblin Dark Lord's troops, apart from their number, they had nothing to boast of.
His task was straightforward.
At the start of the battle, let the goblins under his command die first, erode the opponent's vitality, and then let the other two Dark Lord's troops take action for the final blow.
Ordering his subordinates to keep quiet and not make any noise, John hid behind the bushes, carefully looking forward.
Obstacles were placed by his men on the highway.
As long as the supply team came, he would rally his subordinates to attack.
Holding the wolf's tooth stick in his hand, John would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous.
He usually led his goblins in petty thievery, having little experience with such frontal assaults.
The sun passed its zenith, gradually setting, and the air in the dense forest became cooler.
However, after a day of ambush, John was still dripping with sweat.
Suddenly, a chaotic howl came from the goblins in front.
John quickly rallied his spirits to look over.
He saw many carts full of supplies driving towards him on the highway.
"So many supplies..." Looking at the carts, John couldn't help but swallow.
If they could successfully take down this supply team, even if they could get a quarter, it would be enough to upgrade his troops' quantity and quality.
The road was blocked with many obstacles, and the convoy had to stop when it reached here.
The leader was a tall knight, who inspected the obstacles on the road, feeling a sense of foreboding.
"Be on guard, be on guard!" His voice hadn't been out for long when the surrounding dense forest suddenly burst into fierce shouts of killing!
"Kill them!"
"Roar!"
A group of goblins with rudimentary equipment roared and charged out.
Upon hearing the ambush, the knight leading the team first tensed up, then relaxed upon seeing it was just a bunch of goblins.
"These goblins have big guts to dare to attack our Empire's convoy."
"All listen to my command, kill these beasts, not one to remain!"
The knight gave the order, charging ahead, and knocked down a goblin with one swing, cutting it into two halves.
Behind him, a group of fully equipped soldiers spread out from the cart at the center, charging towards the encircling goblins.
The goblin, one of the weakest and most widespread monsters in this world, and every soldier has plenty of experience dealing with them.
Lacking strength, average agility, and small stature...
As long as they stay calm and don't make mistakes, it's hard for these goblins to inflict effective damage on a group of soldiers clad in solid armor, let alone achieve any victories.
The death toll of his troops was climbing rapidly, with the alert messages popping up in front of the Goblin Dark Lord's eyes incessantly.
He would be lying if he claimed not to feel the sting.
After all, these goblins were his painstakingly amassed troops.
But now, he had no room for hesitation.
Even if the casualties were far beyond his initial estimation, he had to grit his teeth and carry on.
His mission was to wear down the strength of the transport convoy.
However, the energy and vitality of the enemy showed no sign of dwindling.
"Kill! Kill for me!"
John issued the command, urging the goblin soldiers to keep charging forward.
This was indeed a suicide mission, but John had no other choice.
Thankfully, he had summoned a vast number of goblins before he set out.
Since he didn't have to reserve food to maintain the troops, he had converted all the available resources into soldiers.
Wave after wave of goblins pressed forward, then fell.
The battlefield was littered with blood and severed limbs.
The earth was stained red with blood, and the air was thick with the stench of carnage.
John's complexion had gone a shade paler, although it was hard to tell on his green skin.
"There's no other way. I can't let those two look down on me."
John gestured towards the back, and a group of goblins noticeably larger than the ordinary ones emerged from behind him.
Their skin was not only bigger but also much darker than the standard goblins'.
Some even had blue or red skin.
Unlike the cannon fodder goblins, these elite goblins were treasures that John had painstakingly saved up.
They wouldn't usually participate in regular battles, but for today's mission, he was going all out.
"Kill!"
With a roar, John led the elite goblins into battle, no longer sitting at the rear of the battlefield.
This battle was a make-or-break moment - victory would bring a brighter future, while defeat would mean starting from scratch.
But deep down, John wasn't overly concerned.
After all, he still had the backing of the other two Dark Lords.
It was highly unlikely that this ambush would fail.
Even if his goblins didn't make a significant impact, the vast number of casualties they'd suffered should earn him a share of the spoils.
Once the elite goblins joined the battle, the situation on the battlefield started to change significantly.
This transport convoy was just one of many routes to Riverside, and their standing army was limited.
Faced with the relentless swarm of goblins, they were gradually getting overwhelmed.
The Empire started to suffer casualties, and gaps began to appear in their defensive line.
"Retreat! Form up, form up!"
The leading knight realized he had bitten off more than he could chew.
They still had a long way to Riverside, and he couldn't afford to lose too many soldiers.
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