Tirion Fordring

"Just like that, we won?" Xiao Yu stared at the massive black mark on the ground, a sense of disbelief washing over him. A six-skull-level boss, the once-mighty Dreadlord, had been defeated so easily? It felt too effortless. Could this guy have faked his death again?

It's no wonder Xiao Yu thought that way; the Dreadlord are masters of running people over, and this Balnazzar has a history of it.

But thinking about it, it shouldn't be that bad. The system even gave a kill notification, and reputation points can't be faked. The reason Balnazzar was able to escape back then was probably because he turned into a bat and ran away, but this time all the bats he created were frozen to death.

Having considered this, Xiao Yu was certain he had killed the enemy, and then he decided to check if any items had dropped.

Balnazzar's corpse had already disappeared as it transformed into countless bats, but some Ashes and remains remained where his body had been. Xiao Yu searched through the Ashes and actually found two treasures.

Drop 1, --

[Name: Orb of Darkness]

[Category: Equipment - Accessories]

[Quality: Legendary (Story Item)]

[Function: Attack power +30, and allows your normal attacks to hit enemies at a distance]

[Item Effect 1 (Passive): Pact of the Dead, turns enemies you kill (units with flesh and blood only) into skeletons of the same level.]

[Item Effect 2 (Active): Cloud of Darkness, summons a black cloud that obscures an area within 30 yards, rendering enemies unable to see within it.]

[Note: The power of darkness is sealed within this small orb, awaiting its release by the user.]

Drop 2--

[Title: The Book of Evil Spirits]

[Category: Books - Secondary Item]

[Quality: Epic (Story Item)]

[Function: Stamina +10, Intelligence +10]

[Item Effect 1 (Active): Summon Evil Spirits, summons four skeleton Warrior and four skeleton archers to aid you in battle. Cooldown: 24 hours]

[Note: This is a magical book that records an evil ritual. The cover, made of human skin, has a strange line of text written in dripping blood. You cannot decipher the meaning of the writing; it is probably some kind of demonic language.]

(Damn, a six-skull-level boss only dropped two items, that's incredibly pathetic. But at least one is legendary, it's better than nothing.)

As he pondered this, Xiao Yu put the two treasures away. Both items were story-related, but unfortunately, he couldn't use them. He would either put them in the loot box later or sell them for money.

Turning back to look at the Scarlet Crusade fighting the demons, he had no intention of helping them. Most of the demons had already been killed, and a large Scarlet army was rushing towards them from afar—probably reinforcements from Tyr's Hand, arriving belatedly after everything was over.

He didn't leave either, because he was curious how Scarlet Glory would find out about this. They had gone to such great lengths to hire him to kill the Dreadlord; Scarlet Glory must have some ulterior motive. Although Abbendis said he didn't intend to take over, he didn't quite believe it.

The Crimson Army quickly approached, and this force was truly a constellation of brilliant generals and powerful figures: Crimson Commander Alfred, Crimson Commander Valdemar, Crimson Zealot Malor, Crimson Archbishop Marcus, and Crimson General Bridget Abbendis.

(Huh, how come another Abbendis has appeared?) Xiao Yu carefully examined the two Abbendis. This General Abbendis looked about six or seven parts similar to the previous Linia Abbendis, but she looked more mature. They should be sisters.

Bridget Abbendis (Scarlet General): "What exactly happened here? Doan said you betrayed the Scarlet Crusade and tried to murder Dathrohan, is that true? Where are the Dathrohan?"

Linia Abbendis (Scarlet Crusade Commander): "Sister, I'll explain these things to you later. For now, don't worry about that. Help us deal with these demons."

The crimson general glanced hesitantly at Azathoth beside her. Although the Elemental Lords seemed like a threat, it was clear that when facing demons, it was necessary to prioritize attacking them. After all, demons and Undead were the mortal enemies of humanity, while elemental creatures were considered neutral units in comparison. Therefore, she quickly made her choice.

Bridget Abbendis (Crimson General): "Everyone, charge! Slaughter all these demons!"

With everyone working together, they quickly wiped out the remaining demons.

With the battle over, the high-ranking members of the Scarlet Crusade could finally breathe a sigh of relief and talk.

Bridget Abbendis (The Scarlet General): "What on earth happened? Doan said you betrayed the Highlord, is that true? If that's really the case, even if you're my sister, I have to do what I must do."

Linia Abbendis (Scarlet Crusade Commander): "Of course not. That Dathrohan is actually dead. The one who has been with us day and night all this time is actually the Dreadlord Balnazzar. Herod and the others witnessed what happened before. If you don't believe me, ask him."

The other Scarlet Crusade generals were immediately in an uproar upon hearing this, surrounding Herod and bombarding him with questions.

Herod then recounted what he had seen earlier.

Valdemar (Scarlet Crusade Commander): "What?! This is unbelievable! We've been fooled all along!"

Marcus (the Scarlet Archbishop): "We actually obeyed the orders of a demon! Those who were ordered to be executed—good heavens, what have we done?!"

Although this sounds a bit far-fetched, since Herod and the others witnessed what happened with their own eyes, and there are the corpses of the demons around as evidence, there's obviously nothing more to say; this matter is clearly true.

The only saving grace was that Balnazzar's identity was discovered beforehand; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Malor (Crimson Zealot): "What do we do now? The Grand Warrior is dead. We need a new leader, and what about our strategic plans? Should we continue to carry out the orders given by Dathrohan?"

Malor asked the question that was on everyone's mind: the consequences of Dathrohan's true identity were probably far more complicated than they appeared. But after learning the truth, everyone was in a state of bewilderment. The beliefs they had held onto all along had been proven to be a farce. Nothing could be more devastating than this blow to their faith.

Moreover, it's obvious that the Scarlet Crusade isn't a monolithic entity; it's divided into various factions. This is why Dathrohan was able to navigate these factions so effectively in the past. But now that Dathrohan is dead and there's no supreme commander, the remaining members seem somewhat independent of each other.

No one dared to claim that their prestige was sufficient to command the respect of the masses.

Valdemar (Scarlet Crusade Commander): "We need a new leader; we should elect one."

However, no one responded.

Linia Abbendis (Commander of the Scarlet Crusade): "I do have a suggestion. I have found someone with enough prestige to lead us in continuing the fight against the Undead Scourge. That person is Tirion Fordring."

Her words sparked a flurry of discussion among the crowd.

Tirion Fordring was also a veteran of the Silver Hand, of the same generation as Dathrohan, and even more prestigious. However, due to some matters related to Orcs, Tirion Fordring was banished by the Silver Hand and disappeared without a trace.

However, the Silver Hand is now a thing of the past, and the war between humans and Orcs has long ended. The Scourge is now the Scarlet Crusade's greatest enemy, so what happened back then is no longer a big deal. Tirion Fordring is indeed a good candidate, and the Scarlet Crusade commander, Taelan Fordring, is Tirion Fordring's son. Therefore, this candidate immediately gained some support when he was proposed.