Ashen Dragon

"Buzz——"

Within a radius of thousands of miles, all living beings felt their hearts sink as a sharp, piercing buzzing sound echoed in their ears.

That sound was like a mournful wailing, reminiscent of a newborn's cry, sending chills down the spine and making one shiver involuntarily.

In the high sky above, amidst the sulfur-colored vortex, a black sun slowly rose, bizarrely devouring the light like a black hole!

At the instant they saw the black sun, almost everyone froze in place, gazing upward with vacant stares, as if it had a massive gravitational pull to draw their souls out and drain them.

As the black sun rose, a bloody glow spread across the sky, dyeing half of the surrounding sky a blood-red hue, resembling a magma-like flow.

For a moment, the black sun stood in fierce rivalry with Cassius's Holy Day, even vaguely gaining the upper hand.

Fallen Sun

The black sun hung high, with blood light spreading; it was Zareel's ritual dragging August into Hell!

"Swear by the name of the Nine Prisons, the contract is the shackle, the soul is the currency—you shall receive what you seek, you shall be repaid for what you fear."

Zareel waved his burning wings, soaring into the sky, pointing upward, as countless burning chains burst from the earth, connecting heaven and earth, imprisoning the entire August City within.

"Boom!"

With a muffled roar, the ground trembled, buildings crumbled, and magma seeped from the cracks in the walls of August Cathedral.

The land beneath August was entwined with hellish steel cords, each chain engraved with twisted runes.

At the moment the chains contracted, the entire city dropped several feet, sinking into the earth, plummeting towards Hell, as lava gushed from the cracks on the ground, spawning countless terrifying anomalies within the city.

The spires of the grand hall broke off, crashing into the fleeing crowds, as a phantom of the Devil emerged amidst the dust.

"No——"

"Heavens, the earth is breaking apart!"

"Amanata above..."

"Your Majesty Cassius, please intervene and save us!"

The people wailed in terror, crying for help, and a single misstep would send them tumbling into the rifts on the ground, into the scalding magma, with even their souls being consumed by the black sun above.

The citizen's prayers turned into shrill screams, their shadows began to distort as if dragged towards the ground by invisible chains.

Beneath their feet appeared a contract array, hellish tattoos grew on their skin—foreshadowing their transformation into Zareel's soul coins or inferior devil soldiers.

The horrifying Hell song reverberated through the sky as burning devil runes emerged on the surface of the black sun.

The material plane around was collapsing and disintegrating continuously, rapidly tumbling towards Barto Hell, and it was feared that within half a day, August would be fully swallowed into Hell, becoming Aphernas's land of souls.

Cassius could not tolerate such a thing happening before him.

August, and the entire Thrace Kingdom, were indispensable parts of the Ashen Empire!

"Roar——"

The Red Dragon, over sixty meters long, let out a roar that shattered charred rock columns, its dragon wings sweeping up a storm filled with embers.

Looking at the aggressive Red Dragon, Zareel's face turned grim, eyes filled with anger, "Ignorant, meddlesome giant dragon—stop him!"

"Howl——"

At the Hell Lord's command, three Prison Fire Ancient Dragons howled at the sky, flapped their wide wings, and soared, clawing at the Red Dragon in the sky. Behind them, hundreds of Purgatory Demon Dragons flapped their wings, surging into the sky.

"Stop him, this land of souls will be ours!"

"Praise Aphernas!"

Twelve mighty, powerful Deep Prison Demon Refiners appeared in mid-air—these were Zareel's twelve "devout" Legion Commanders, each possessing significant strength, at least of Legendary Level.

They wielded steel whips, giant hammers, and various weapons, spewing sulfur smoke from their mouths; behind each Deep Prison Demon Refiner were tens of thousands of elite Devils.

The Devil Army moved like a continuous colorful stream, blocking Zareel in front, as if to slaughter all approaching them.

Cassius looked at the devil army covering the sky before him, feeling completely fearless and even slightly amused.

"Attempting a swarm strategy in front of me? Don't you know—the Red Dragon template is least afraid of swarms?"

With a thought, Cassius's nearly tangible, powerful Dragon's Might expanded like a hurricane sweeping the sky—that was the full release of Ancestral Dragon Majesty.

"Buzz——"

In an instant, the surrounding devils and Purgatory Demon Dragons within hundreds of meters suffered a mind blast, their eyes turning white, bodies stiffening as they plummeted to the ground.

Even more so, under the intense pressure, heads exploded, brain matter splattering. Even the three towering Prison Fire Ancient Dragons, each over a thousand years old, appeared dazed as if struck by lightning.

The Red Dragon dove down, a Flame Breath bursting from its throat was enough to melt mithril, a vast sea of flames instantly destroyed everything in front.

"Boom——"

Accompanied by the sound of air rupturing, thousands of elite devils and a Deep Prison Demon Refining Corps Commander were burnt to ashes instantly, not a trace of remains left.

The Red Dragon single-handedly tore through the Devil Army's defenses, slicing the mottled stream in half and creating a massive void within.

No one could stop it, no one dared.

These high-ranking devil officers were not like Zareel, fanatical about war; they weighed the pros and cons, assessed the situation, and certainly wouldn't stand against a giant dragon capable of destroying them instantly.