Chapter 265: Heroes' Ranking and The Empire's Intervention
The Demon King rankings had appeared, and naturally, the Hero rankings were no exception. Inside a casino in Bachor City, Su Yan, disguised as a human youth, was busy gathering information. When she received this news, she was slightly taken aback and quickly opened the ranking interface to check.
The Hero rankings were quite different from the Demon King rankings. The Demon King rankings had 500 slots, while the Hero rankings had a whopping 5,000 slots. This wasn't surprising, as Heroes, in terms of sheer numbers, were at least several dozen to a hundred times more numerous than Demon Kings. Having a longer ranking list was quite normal.
"I can't believe I didn't make the list!" Su Yan didn't receive a notification about being ranked. Among the 5,000 ranked Heroes, there wasn't a spot for her. She felt extremely frustrated, wondering if she was still considered a weakling.
It's worth noting that Su Yan had already advanced to a Level 5 Hero and had mastered several A-rank skills. By leveraging intelligence and the capabilities of her Dragon's Shadow Hero Group, she had even taken down several Demon Kings within the empire's territory. At least within the Thunder Empire, her strength was second only to top-tierHeroes like those from the Thunderous Society, and she had even reached the level of strength where she could defeat a guardian knight who served as pillars for the empire. Yet, despite such achievements, she didn't even qualify for the rankings, highlighting just how formidable the true top-tierHeroes were.
Additionally, unlike the Demon King rankings, the Hero rankings disclosed a lot of information. Less than half of the Heroes chose to hide their information. This is because, unlike Demon Kings, Heroes can move freely. Even if others know their level and information, they are not easily targeted or exploited. Moreover, disclosing information can actually enhance their reputation, attracting nearby Heroes to join them, thus increasing their prestige.
When Su Yan glanced over the rankings, she was profoundly shocked.Fịndd new updates on n(o)v/e/lbin(.)com
1st place: Isaac Harold
Level (Hidden), Race (Hidden), Identity (Hidden)
2nd place: Su Yuwen
Level (Hidden), Race (Hidden), Identity (Hidden)
3rd place: Sophia Gregg
Level (Hidden), Race (Hidden), Identity (Hidden)
4th place: Emilia Ray
Level 7 Legend, Seraphim, Chief Battle Archangel of the Celestial Flame Kingdom in Outer Space
5th place: Guo Xingchen
Level (Hidden), Race (Hidden), Identity (Hidden)
6th place: Wang Badao
Level 7 Legend, Sacred Dragon, Ancient Dragon Emperor of the Holy Dragon Kingdom
7th place: Hoshino Ryoko
Level (Hidden), Race (Hidden), Identity (Hidden)
"Big boss is too powerful! He actually took out Duke Bachor!" Su Yan was also shocked by the scene she witnessed. The Bachor Duchy had fallen into an unprecedented level of panic, and at this rate, it seemed likely to collapse without even needing to be attacked.
However, this chaos did not last long. At this critical moment, a lavishly equipped team arrived directly from a distant place through the teleportation array of Bachor's main city, setting foot in this southern region of the empire. The team was not large in number, totaling just over a hundred people, but each member exuded an extremely powerful aura. The leading trio, in terms of strength and status, were awe-inspiring enough to stem the tide of collapse in the southern empire.
These three were none other than:
The Western Guardian Grand Duke, Gehrman Kofiepol
The Eastern Guardian Grand Duke, Bismarck Blakely
And the Thunder Empire's Chief Knight, the current leader of the Guardian Knight Order, Kroft, sent by the Emperor himself.
Any one of these figures could dominate a region on their own, and their personal strength was no less than that of Bachor. Moreover, aside from these three distinguished individuals, the other hundred or so members were no ordinary individuals. They had not planned to arrive in the south so soon, but the situation deteriorated so severely that they had to advance their arrival to stabilize the situation and morale. The rest of the reinforcements, including other powerhouses, mercenaries, and armies, were set to arrive in Bachor's Duchy within the next ten days, ready to keep the Demon King at bay within the southern border of the Empire.
"Did Bachor really die? I didn't expect him to be so useless." The Western Grand Duke Kofiepol was a slightly overweight middle-aged man with a prosperous look, wearing a brocade robe and a lavish gemstone ring on his thumb. He usually appeared very genial and seemed very amiable.
However, anyone familiar with the Western Duke would know that this imperial duke, who seemed as affable as a wealthy merchant, was in fact a very cunning, insidious, and terrifyingly powerful figure. "Cunning Fox Kofiepol" was his nickname in his younger years. Duke Kofiepol commanded a host of powerful individuals, established the empire's strongest mage group, and controlled several of the empire's top forces. His resources and strength were unfathomably deep.
He gloated at the current situation in the south. Duke Bachor not only met his demise but also led his ducal knights to near total annihilation, depleting much of the duchy's resources and losing tens of millions of people in the southern territories. Given the current trend, it seemed likely that the marquisate regions like Elro would also fall.
In other words, not only was Bachor gone, but he also caused the empire to lose at least dozens of provinces and at least tens of millions of people. The damage inflicted was immeasurable. The Bachor family's honor was in tatters, and they would undoubtedly be held accountable after this affair was settled. The ducal title was definitely lost. Even if the Bachor family managed to escape complete ruin, they would likely be demoted to marquisate. This presented Duke Kofiepol with an opportunity.
"You fat old fox, don't be foolishly careless. Bachor was far from incompetent!" Grand Duke Blakely of the East warned, "This enemy is extraordinary. Let's not follow Bachor's path to ruin."
This Eastern Grand Duke, standing at two and a half meters tall with a very sturdy build and a face covered with a bushy beard, looked like a strong brute. However, he was far from a simple musclehead. The Blakely family was recognized by the empire as the strongest warrior family. Every member of this family was exceptionally talented, with the least among them being one in a hundred or one in a thousand martial prodigies. Bismarck Blakely, the current head of the family, was regarded as having the most potential and the strongest combat Qi among the empire's four duchies.
Despite their words of wariness, both dukes harbored more anticipation than apprehension in their hearts. The more dangerous the enemy, the greater the opportunity. The future of the empire's southern territories was a huge pie. With the Azure Water Federation in chaos, if everything went smoothly, the empire's expansion southward could potentially connect directly with the Sea of Chaos. If they could connect to the Sea of Chaos and annex the Pale Moon Peninsula in the chaotic waters, the southern territories of the empire would become the wealthiest region of the Thunder Empire.
By seizing this opportunity and laying the groundwork in advance, they could quickly cultivate their forces in the region while the local powerhouse, the Bachor family, was severely weakened. The benefits that could be reaped in the future were immeasurable.
At this moment, the chief commander of the Guardian Knights, Kroft, said, "The priority is not to investigate the cause of Bachor's death or to rush into a counterattack, but to first stabilize the duchy."
"Exactly," the others agreed. "After all, it will take some time for all our troops to arrive."
"The Bachor Duchy has a population of over a hundred million and still has several million official troops. As long as we can stabilize this place, and with our support along with the emperor's Guardian Knight Order, it's not too late to launch a full-scale counterattack and offense."
After the arrival of the Eastern Grand Duke, Western Grand Duke, and the Empire's Chief Knight, these three significant figures immediately revealed their identities and quickly stabilized the morale of the southern territories. This news was swiftly relayed back to the Darkness City in the Chaos Forest through the Dragon's Shadow Heroes Guild. Zhang Nu was studying the Heroes Ranking List when he received this news. He was slightly taken aback, not expecting two of the empire's dukes to personally join the battle. It seemed the empire was finally taking this seriously.
But this level of intervention was still not enough. After all, the Darkness City now was not the same as it was two or three months ago."