Chapter 353: Officially Taking Over Blackrock Fortress

Thanks to the overlapping troop rotation, the high-end combat power stationed in the Alliance's major cities had essentially doubled. Unless the abyss lords had lost their minds, they would never choose this exact moment to launch an all-out war with the Alliance.

Master Owen thought the same.

"An all-out war isn't likely right now, you two, but I'm a little worried about what will happen a year from now. Once I withdraw, the demons might launch a retaliatory offensive."

"What's there to be afraid of? when soldiers come, a general will block them; when water comes, earth will dam it. Do you really think Amos and I are scared of them?!"

"Exactly. With Leopold and me guarding Blackrock Fortress, plus the White Tower, holding the line won't be an issue. Even if an all-out war breaks out, the Alliance will send reinforcements. We just have to stay on guard in case the abyss lords suddenly lose their minds. If the Blade Sovereign shows up in person, things will get really interesting."

That night, the White Dragon Lord received news that demon reinforcements had reached the front lines. The allied forces attacking the demon cities hastily retreated. Some managed to pull back safely without a scratch, while others had to fight their way out before fleeing back to their cities.

Just as the two dragons and the human had discussed, the abyss lords didn't choose to start an all-out war with the Alliance right now. After driving away the attackers, the demon reinforcements hastily turned back.

After all, the demons' enemies weren't limited to the Alliance; they also included the devils and the Divine Factions. Funneling troops away from other regions would inevitably leave those defenses vulnerable, giving their other enemies a prime opportunity to strike.

Gradually, the front lines returned to their usual stalemate.

Regular armies garrisoned the cities, while adventurers from various planes ventured out to hunt demons. In response, the demon cities sent out "conscription teams" to compete with the adventurers over the wild demon resources.

Notably, because of the Winter Cataclysm, the area around Ten Thousand Blades Fortress had become inhospitable to ordinary demons. The local demon population had plummeted, and the number of adventurers visiting Blackrock Fortress dropped along with it.

The White Dragon Lord wasn't the least bit worried about this. The sharp decline in demons around Ten Thousand Blades Fortress was a natural consequence of the Winter Cataclysm, so it was only logical that the adventurers who made their living hunting them would also decrease.

But this was only temporary. A demon's ability to adapt to its environment was terrifyingly potent. When evolving in the Spring of the Abyss, demons instinctively adjusted to their surroundings. In scorching heat, they evolved into fiery variants; in freezing conditions, they became ice demons.

Scorching environments were everywhere on the Blood War Battlefield, but freezing domains like the territory around Ten Thousand Blades Fortress were incredibly rare.

Rarity bred value. The White Dragon Lord could practically envision the hordes of adventurers that would flock here to hunt frost-attribute demons. Of course, it would take time for those frost demons to grow; Low Tier demons simply weren't worth much.

...

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, half a year passed.

After six months of study, the White Dragon Lord was fully prepared to officially take charge of Blackrock Fortress. It was also time for the White Castle Army to take over the fortress's defenses.

Just as the White Dragon Lord had needed to learn the ropes, the White Castle Army also needed time to acclimate. Everything was proceeding according to plan.

...

Overseas Archipelago.

The sun had not yet risen, but the citizens of Oqi City had woken up bright and early. After a hasty breakfast, they poured out onto the city's broad streets.

According to the notices posted on the public boards, today was the day the White Castle Army would march into the Abyss Battlefield. The residents of Oqi City had come out spontaneously to see the heroes off.

"They're coming! They're coming!"

As the army approached, the whispering crowd instantly fell silent, watching the troops who were about to march onto the battlefield.

The ogre warrior phalanx marched past, clad in heavy armor and shouldering Spiked Clubs. Armed with this gear meticulously forged by gray dwarf blacksmiths, the four-meter-tall ogres looked like humanoid tanks—living engines of war.

The gnolls wore leather armor and wielded gleaming broadswords. Mounted on fierce hyenas, they served as the White Castle Army's light cavalry.

The Harpy aerial squads whistled as they soared through the sky overhead.

The army marched all the way to Snowsurge City, where they boarded ships bound for the Yafiavi Kingdom's third-largest island: Glamorgan.

Triumph Plaza on Glamorgan Island housed a massive portal connected to the abyss. Elite forces scattered across the various islands would convene on the island before stepping through the portal together to reach the White Dragon Lord at Blackrock Fortress.

On the Blood War Battlefield, troops were valued for their quality, not their numbers.

Therefore, the White Dragon Lord hadn't drafted a massive force. The expedition numbered 100,000 soldiers in total: 10,000 ogres, 80,000 gnolls, and 10,000 special troops, which included the Mage Corps, Harpies, Land Dragons, and Wyverns.

Compared to the demon armies that frequently numbered in the millions, the White Castle Army was incredibly small. However, every single soldier was an elite. The minimum requirement for a gnoll soldier was to be a Level 8 Warrior, while the lowest threshold for an ogre was a Level 10 Warrior.

Setting aside the Sky and Earth Twin Dragon Legion and the Harpy squads, who served as scouts and couriers, the White Castle Mage Corps alone boasted 5,000 spellcasters. Their minimum entry requirement was to be a Level 8 Mage.

In truth, given White Castle's strength, it could have easily mobilized an army several times this size. However, the White Dragon Lord couldn't do so.

Just as spatial rifts leaked demonic energy and corrupted ordinary creatures, the Blood War Battlefield—even after being processed by The Gods—still harbored residual energies that were harmful to living organisms. While this energy wasn't as terrifying as pure demonic energy, staying on the Blood War Battlefield for too long would cause that harmful energy to accumulate in the body. Eventually, it would corrupt the organisms and cause them to fall, turning them into demons.

Through long years of trial and error, the Divine Factions had figured out a pattern. The safe duration for an ordinary High-Tier Legend to remain in the abyss was two hundred years. For a legendary practitioner, it was fifty years. A Master Tier combatant could last twenty years, while a general professional could only survive for ten.

This meant that to prevent the soldiers from undergoing demonic corruption, ordinary armies had to be rotated every ten years. Factoring in the possibility of sudden war, battlefield casualties, and the need for reinforcements, the White Dragon Lord had to prepare an army at least twice the size of his active-duty garrison to guarantee Blackrock Fortress's standard defenses.

Therefore, beyond the army heading into the abyss, another 100,000 troops were stationed in the military district surrounding Triumph Plaza, ready to reinforce or relieve the frontline army at a moment's notice.

A few days later, the elite forces from all across the country finished assembling on Glamorgan Island. They gathered in the massive square that the White Dragon Lord had named Triumph Plaza. The 100,000-strong army arranged itself into neat phalanxes divided by race.

Ogres, gnolls, Harpies, three hundred Wyverns, and five hundred Land Dragons waited quietly beneath the sun.

Roar!

A dragon's roar echoed through the heavens. A massive White Dragon flew in from the distance, piercing through the wispy white clouds as it descended. Its majestic body landed on the massive frame of the Abyss Teleportation Portal. Folding its dragon wings against its sides, it looked down at the vast army below. This was none other than the White Dragon Lord's avatar.

The avatar shared the same consciousness and interconnected senses as the main body. Standing high upon the portal's frame, the White Dragon Lord swept his gaze over the dense sea of monster army phalanxes below, feeling deeply satisfied by his heavily disciplined troops.

"Mage Corps! Cast the spell and open the gate with me!"

"Yes!"

Receiving the command, the Mage Corps standing at the vanguard stepped forward. They surrounded the massive gateway in multiple layers. Accompanied by the White Dragon Lord's incantation, they channeled their magic into the giant portal.

The White Dragon Lord guided the collective magic released by everyone, channeling it into the portal's various nodes to activate the gateway.

Gradually, a continuously spinning vortex of purple magic appeared within the empty frame. It was profound, mysterious, and looked as if it could devour everything.

The purple magic vortex grew increasingly dense, until one could no longer see the scenery behind it.

The Abyss Teleportation Portal was fully activated!

"Move out! Warriors of Yafiavi!"

The monster soldiers brandished their weapons. The Land Dragons and Wyverns threw their heads back and roared, and a wave of excited roaring swept across Triumph Plaza.

Led by Gurgalu, the ogre phalanx maintained its formation, marching toward the portal in unified steps. Behind the first batch of ogres, the grand army of more ogres and gnolls formed a long line.

Gurgalu was the first to step through the portal. After a brief wave of vertigo, he appeared on another plaza.

Meanwhile, the White Dragon Lord's true body, Master Owen, and the Gold Dragon were waiting on the plaza. Behind the two dragons and the human stood a number of human soldiers clad in enchanted armor.

Gurgalu bowed respectfully to the White Dragon Lord, who nodded in return. Gurgalu then walked over to the Legendary Rank Warrior under Master Owen's command. Following the Legendary Rank Warrior's explanation, Gurgalu understood the upcoming arrangements.

Soon, more of the White Castle Army stepped out of the portal and headed for the barracks under the guidance of Master Owen's soldiers.

Before the White Castle Army arrived, the two dragons and the human had just seen off half of Master Owen's soldiers, specifically to free up space for the White Castle Army.

The area where the two dragons and the human currently stood was Blackrock Fortress's military district. This district was closed to outsiders—not just because it was a military camp, but because it housed the core of Blackrock Fortress: the Cross-Realm Portal.

It was entirely by connecting the portal on Glamorgan Island with the portal here that the White Castle Army was able to appear directly in Blackrock Fortress.

Master Owen watched the departing two-headed ogre with keen interest.

"How incredibly rare, a two-headed ogre. You have great luck, Amos. A fully grown two-headed ogre is terrifying."

"What? Have you seen a two-headed ogre before, Owen?"

"Mhm."

Master Owen nodded, a look of lingering fear on his face.

"During my past travels in the Star Realm, I encountered a High-Tier Legendary Level two-headed ogre. It was casting spells while simultaneously unleashing energy slashes. That encounter genuinely almost cost me my life. Fortunately, I had a reliable companion by my side, much like the two of you, otherwise we wouldn't have had the chance to forge this friendship."

"Right!"

Master Owen seemed to suddenly remember something. He brought out a four-meter-tall Totem Pillar as thick as an adult's waist, a wooden Black Token, and a Stone Slab. The Stone Slab was inscribed with strange, glyph-like writing.

"This Totem Pillar was the weapon wielded by that High-Tier Legend two-headed ogre. However, this piece of equipment has a bloodline restriction—only ogres can use it. I've been keeping it stashed in my Dimensional Bag, so I might as well give it to your vassal."

"Oh?! I offer you my sincere thanks on Gurgalu's behalf."

The White Dragon Lord naturally wouldn't refuse a good item that could boost his vassal's strength.

"This Black Token and the Stone Slab were also acquired from that ogre. Both the slab and the token are protected by a unique magical energy and cannot be decoded with magic. I've never been able to figure out what they're for, so I'll give them to you as well."

Accepting the Totem Pillar and the other items, the White Dragon Lord couldn't help but envy Gurgalu's luck. A weapon used by a High-Tier Legendary Level two-headed ogre was at least a top-grade legendary weapon. Gurgalu had acquired it without lifting a finger, and it was the White Dragon Lord who owed the favor for it.

Thinking back to how he had bitterly scoured the cities of the Star Realm to gather materials, the White Dragon Lord couldn't help but feel a little depressed.

Just who was the real protagonist here?!

However, a vassal's strength was still considered part of the White Dragon Lord's own power. Thinking of it this way made him feel much better.

...

The residents of Blackrock Fortress were stunned to discover that the soldiers stationed on guard duty everywhere had been replaced by gnolls and ogres. Jaws dropped across the city.

A squad of adventurers who had just returned spotted the tall, hulking ogre at the city gates and hesitantly stayed where they were to watch. If they hadn't seen a human soldier chatting and laughing right next to the ogre, they might have simply turned and run.

"What's going on? Has Blackrock Fortress been taken over by monsters? Why is an ogre guarding the gate?"

"Can't you see the guard next to the ogre?! It's probably time for the rotation."

As an experienced veteran, the adventurer's companion knew a bit about the rotation, so he confidently continued walking toward the city gate.

"I heard long ago that the next lord of Blackrock Fortress would be from the Dragon Race. I just didn't expect him to bring his vassals along. Tsk, tsk... to think that even I, the monster hunter Ogro, would live to see the day I peacefully coexist with monsters."

"Hmph! There are plenty of things you haven't seen coming!"

Hearing the self-proclaimed monster hunter Ogro's sigh, another adventurer couldn't help but speak up.

"Ogro, that dragon lord you're talking about comes from the same plane I do—the Nordhill Plane. He's quite famous in our plane. He's already founded a nation, and... well, he actually has a pretty good reputation. He does business all over the world."

"Oh?! A dragon doing business?! Is that even a thing?!"

"Why would I lie to you? You know the Blood Rose Inn here in the city? Their signature dish, your absolute favorite Stewed Mogha Fish with Kelp, is made from ingredients produced in His Majesty the dragon's territory."

...

The adventurers continued chatting as they walked toward the city gate. Just as expected, after paying the usual entrance tax, the ogre guards let them through.

Inside the city, the adventurers spotted even more monsters, but they gradually grew accustomed to the sight.

After the initial commotion, the people of Blackrock Fortress gradually got used to living alongside the monsters. This was entirely within the White Dragon Lord's expectations.

However, what the White Dragon Lord hadn't expected was that the arrival of the monster army caused Blackrock Fortress's name to spread once again throughout the Alliance's many cities, second only to when they breached Ten Thousand Blades Fortress. Blackrock Fortress experienced a minor surge in foot traffic, bringing in even more tax revenue.

A month passed.

During this month, Master Owen's soldiers gradually transferred the city's defensive duties over to the White Castle Army. The White Castle Army smoothly took over.

Finally, White Castle formally took over Blackrock Fortress.