This time, the empire's forces surged forward with unstoppable momentum, forcing Darkness City's troops into a continuous retreat. This was an unprecedented situation since the war began, and the empire wasn't about to let go of such a perfect opportunity to kick an enemy while they're down.
"They're fleeing towards the southwest!" Duke Blakely said. "Commander Kroft, have your Guardian Knight Order lead the chase. We'll flank them from the left and right and ensure they can't escape so easily!"
"Yes!" The Chief Knight immediately accepted the order.
Duke Kofiepol of the Western Duchy had no objections. Before the attack on the Elro region, he had thoroughly studied the area's terrain. The southwest direction led to a vast, sparsely populated plain, making it difficult to set up ambushes. If a large army were hiding there, it would be hard to conceal and easy to spot.
Duke Kofiepol issued an order, "Keep the magical reconnaissance troops on alert. If any enemy movements or suspicious activities are detected, report them immediately!"
"Yes!"
"Rest assured, Your Grace!"
Commander Kroft personally took action, leading the Guardian Knight Order in a direct assault. Despite the high mobility of Darkness City's aerial troops, the imperial forces were equally capable of maneuvering swiftly, enabling them to pursue. Riding majestic golden griffins and boosted by both combat Qi and acceleration magic, the Guardian Knights rapidly closed the distance. In just a quarter of an hour, they caught up with the Darkness City troops.
With a single strike of his Qi, Kroft cleaved through a dragon over a kilometer away, instantly splitting the abyssal dragon in half and scattering its blood and shattered scales everywhere. Such a feat, cutting down a dragon with one blow, was impressive even though it was just an ordinary abyssal dragon. Abyssal dragons, being top-tier Level 5 overlords, could contend with Level 6 overlords for some time, thanks to their formidable defense. Yet, to see one so easily bisected was startling! The Thunder Empire's Chief Knight demonstrated terrifying strength, inspiring the soldiers and other Guardian Knights.
Meanwhile, another figure emerged, moving even faster than Kroft without riding any mount. In the blink of an eye, he approached the Darkness City troops. Without any visible action, he passed through the ranks of Darkness City warriors, and countless sword Qi automatically formed around him and were released in all directions, instantly killing dozens of draconian royal guards near Level 5 overlord strength. Such power was astonishing, and this person was none other than the Hero, Sato Satoru. As the foremost among the Seven Sword Saints of the Sunset Empire, he was the most formidable presence in the empire's ranks, with Darkness City's forces having no one capable of single-handedly contending with him.
To Sato Satoru, all except the seven dragon kings were mere fodders. He had little interest in dealing with these lesser foes; his sole target had always been the Dark Dragon King, believed to be the Demon King of Darkness City. As a Hero, Sato Satoru knew that slaying the Demon King would yield the greatest rewards, especially since the core components of the Darkness City units were direct summons of the Demon King.
Instead of expending effort to kill them one by one, it made more sense to directly eliminate the Demon King. Without the Demon King, the rest of the units would be of little concern. Sato Satoru ignored all other targets and pursued Long Yi, with countless invisible sword energies trailing behind him, converging into a river-like flow, all focusing into a single sword Qi.
With a loud roar, Sato Satoru unleashed a massive invisible sword Qi that pierced through tens of kilometers in an instant, shredding dozens of Darkness City units and heading straight for the Dark Dragon King. The attack was incredibly sharp.
"Be careful!" Earth Drake Sovereign Wang Er raised his spear to block the attack.
However, how could a mere Level 5 Dragon King withstand a strike from a Level 6 mythic Sword Saint? With a loud bang, Wang Er's spear broke, and the sword Qi directly hit him, causing almost fatal damage in an instant.
"Begone!" Sato Satoru scoffed coldly, instantly launching seven or eight extremely fast invisible sword Qi that pierced through Wang Er's body in the blink of an eye, instantly killing him on the spot.
A Dragon King had thus fallen. He wasn't just any dragon but a defensively renowned Earth Drake. Even so, his defenses were as fragile as paper in front of a Sword Saint like Sato Satoru.
Long Yi, Zhang San, and Li Si were furious! Although they knew Wang Er wouldn't truly die and the Demon King would surely resurrect him, seeing their comrade so easily slain right before their eyes filled them with rage and apprehension.
Who was this guy? Information about him was scarce in the Dragons Shadow Hero Guild's intelligence. Who could have imagined the empire had such a mighty fighter?
Sato Satoru, arrogantly ignoring the surrounding abyss dragons and royal guards, laughed provocatively, "I thought the Demon King of Darkness City who killed Xiu Si was strong, but it seems your strength is mediocre, merely a bunch of clowns."
"Come at me, all three dragons of Darkness City. Lets see how many rounds you can last against me."
Such arrogance! No one had ever dared to be so bold towards the Darkness Three Dragons. However, Long Yi, Zhang San, and Li Si were fully aware that even if they combined their might, they could at best only contend with him, and the hope of defeating this old foe was slim. Behind Sato Satoru, the human faction had at least three or four Level 6 monarchs and hundreds of Level 6 overlord units, along with thousands to tens of thousands of Level 5 overlord units. The gap in strength was simply too vast. Once they fell within the range of his domain, escape would be impossible! From the beginning, their mission was not to fight.
Faced with Sato Satoru's provocation, the Darkness Three Dragons showed no response. Protected by numerous abyss dragons, royal guards, and aerial units, they continued towards the vast plains in the southwest.
"Hmph! Cowards! Not even the courage to face a challenge!" Sato Satoru taunted, "You are praised by outsiders as nearly invincible, but it seems the reputation is unearned. Today, I'll personally shatter the myth of Darkness City!"
As he spoke, Sato Satoru launched continuous attacks. One after another, the abyss dragons and royal guards were helpless against his invisible sword Qi, falling to his blade. Although Sato Satoru was boastful, with so many of Darkness City's forces obstructing him, he couldn't get close to the Dark Three Dragons for a time.
In this manner, Sato Satoru, Kroft, and the Guardian Knight Order, closely pursued Darkness City's army, steadily increasing their losses. If Darkness City's army was a fleeing behemoth, then the empire's forces were cunning hunters, continuously bleeding their prey. At this rate, it wouldn't take long for the beast to falter. After several chases, the losses of Darkness City's forces expanded to tens of thousands.
At this moment, Long Yi shouted, "We're here! Get ready to break away!"
The Darkness City army swiftly entered a nearby forest, and as Kroft led the Guardian Knight Order about to follow, arrows shot out from the forest. Simultaneously, in front of Sato Satoru, a spatial teleportation fluctuation appeared, and an elf in green attire, with silver hair and pointed ears, holding a scepter, appeared in front of him, neutralizing the Sword Saint's sword Qi.
Nancilia immediately activated her domain, Divine Tree Sanctuary, enveloping the area.
"A sanctuary? A mythic elf?" Sato Satoru did not hesitate to activate his domain as well.
When their domains contacted, they mostly canceled each other out, but Sato Satoru had a slight advantage, thus gaining control of the field and trapping the elf in front of him.
"So you're the elf from the Chaos Forest?" Sato Satoru scoffed, "You're more than just an Elven King. I didn't expect you to be an Elven Emperor. It's a pity you must have broken through not long ago, you still lack experience compared to me!"
"That's not necessarily true!" Nancilia had prepared a countermeasure.
Two majestic Elemental Emperors were summoned, one of fire and one of ice. As the domains of ice and fire expanded, they immediately broke Sato Satoru's domain, surprising him. He hadn't anticipated that this mysterious elf could summon mythic elemental beings. Even though they were the most basic mythic units, they were no less powerful than top-tier monarch units. Who exactly was this elf, and how could she be so formidable?
Under Nancilia's command, the two elemental beings immediately launched an assault on Sato Satoru. Knowing she was about to be surrounded by the Guardian Knights, Nancilia didn't linger for a fight but seized the opportunity to teleport away from the spot.
Facing this situation, the imperial forces acted with caution and restraint, not immediately pursuing into the forest in case of an ambush. Kroft and the Guardian Knight Order stopped outside the forest, and as the main imperial forces arrived, they sealed off the forest thoroughly.
"Theres no ambush in this forest," one of them noted. "They simply fled here in panic."
Kofiepol personally cast a scouting spell and saw the severely wounded Darkness City army hadn't regrouped with any other forces. After successfully hiding in the forest, they immediately reorganized their ranks.
"What is this...?" Kofiepol noticed something astonishing. The Darkness City army was gathering at the center of the forest, where a massive spatial distortion was taking shape, emitting intense energy fluctuations.
At first, Kofiepol thought it might be a trap. But after observing for two minutes, he was shocked to find it forming into a spatial gate.
"A gate! A spatial gate!" he exclaimed. "Damn it, they plan to escape through the spatial gate!"
Kofiepol immediately ordered, "Charge! Hurry up and attack, don't let them get away!"
But it was too late. The spatial gate had already formed. Long Yi, Zhang San, and Li Si led their troops through the gate, emerging from the Stellar Gateway in Darkness City.
Simultaneously, for some unknown reason, the previously clear sky suddenly turned blood-red, as if soaked in blood. An indescribably bizarre, profound, dark, and unknown aura permeated between sky and earth, as if an ancient Evil God was awakening from its slumber, about to descend upon this world."