Ashen Dragon

The Steel Torrent blew the gunpowder smoke from the barrel and said triumphantly, "Still dare to ambush? I'll crack open your skull!"

Under the comprehensive transformation of the Mechanical God Cult, the combat power of this group of Dragon Scale Cultivators was already terrifying, with almost each one capable of becoming a minor boss.

And when the Vitagis Dragon Scale Adepts expertly collaborated in tactics, their effectiveness rivaled that of Legendary Warriors, enough to reach the Empire's upper echelons.

In just a few minutes, this twelve-man squad killed more than thirty Tanari Frost Giants, their massive corpses piling in the snow like undulating mountains.

"For Lord Koschech! Kill them at all costs!!" The Frost Giants roared with hoarse fury.

Numerous low-tier demons of the Steel Ice Plain roared in the blizzard, surging towards the Dragon Scale Cultivators, the numbers vast and noise overwhelming, like a terrifying avalanche.

"Captain, there are just too many demons here, perhaps we should retreat!" Chen Yan surveyed his surroundings, his voice slightly anxious.

"Okay." Steel Torrent nodded with a serious expression and instructed a black teammate beside him, "Vulcan, go and activate the Teleportation Array."

The power armor of the Dragon Scale Cultivators contained a one-time Dimension Gate Array, which could be activated to traverse space and instantly leave the battlefield.

Watching the demons and Tanari Frost Giants surging like a tide, Steel Torrent grinned and waved at them, "Anyway, we've covered the costs this time, time to make a quick getaway!"

But soon, his smile froze awkwardly on his face.

The Dragon Scale Cultivators did not successfully teleport away as wished, and countless ferocious demons were already pouncing, their mottled torrent about to overwhelm them.

"Bang!"

Steel Torrent blasted apart a Quasi-Demon with one shot, anxiously shouting, "Brother Black, where's that teleportation you promised?"

Vulcan swung a punch, exploding a Coward Demon's head, his voice heavy, "It seems we're being affected by the Abyss's power here, making it impossible to cast spells normally. We must break out of this frost domain."

"Why the hell didn't you say so earlier!"

Steel Torrent leapt high, gripping the Power Sword with both hands and stabbing downward forcefully, the rapidly vibrating blade piercing through an Ice Demon Spider's head, causing toxic mucus to spew out.

As more and more demons, including the tall and burly Tanari Frost Giants, joined the fray, even the Dragon Scale Cultivators began to struggle, the battle becoming increasingly perilous.

After all, two fists cannot fend off four hands, and their enemies outnumbered them a thousand, ten thousand times over, sheer numbers enough to crush them.

As the blade split the sulfur mist, the Red Dragon's crimson vertical pupil suddenly contracted into a thin line, its tail, covered in dark red crystal clusters, whipping across with a sonic boom. Zareel twisted in mid-air to dodge the deadly strike, the chains wrapped around her sword hilt sparking with dark violet flames as they scraped against dragon scales. Silver-blue droplets of blood oozed from the cracks in her left shoulder's armor, sliding down the gold-plated arm guard onto the boiling magma river, where they exploded into a web of cracks amidst the red crystal.

The beast suddenly roared, shaking the rock cavern, its flowing flame eyes reflected the angel's bloodstained wings, its spiked claws clutching the Holy Sword embedded in its chest. Zareel's eyes, radiant as molten gold, erupted with brilliance, her singed silver hair whipping in the heat waves, the shattering sound distinct as the blade wedged into the scale crevices. The dark red Dragonflame under the Red Dragon's chin had burned through three main bones of her right wing, but her gaze remained sharper than any blade—she summoned a burst of strength in the searing pain as the dragon claws shredded her ribs, directing the Holy Light to spiral into the blade, blasting the obsidian armor covering the dragon heart into dust.

The dying giant dragon thrashed its neck wildly, magma spewing like a waterfall from its collapsed breastplate. Zareel's bloodstained brow furrowed, her eyes beneath soot-encrusted lashes glinting like starlit fire; her ruined wings mustered one last blaze of wind, forcing the Red Dragon's final Breath back into its burning throat. As the Holy Sword penetrated the skull, the venomous blood spattering her cheeks left a scalded mark, yet the ever-burning golden glow in her eyes, reflecting the dragon's carcass falling into the magma, never extinguished.

"Your fire is but the echo of hell's embers!" Zareel's voice rose above the magma's boiling.

The Dance of Power

Karascos whipped his mountain-like tail, smashing Zareel into the rock wall, stones showering down like rain. Yet, the Hell Lord counterattacked with even more fury—her wings exploded with a flame shockwave (Burning Sky Wings), driving the Red Dragon back. The dragon claws scraped across her armor, molten iron dripping like blood, but Zareel's fingers gripped the dragon's throat, her palm igniting with black flames (Magic-like Hellfire), scorching the Red Dragon's scales.

The Red Dragon struggled to bite her left arm, teeth piercing armor, but Zareel jerked it groundward. Both crashed into the magma river, sending a hundred-meter high plume of molten lava into the sky. The Red Dragon's wings became cumbersome in the viscous magma, while Zareel's great sword had already stabbed its chest—the runes of the Purgatory Slash exploded along the blade, dragon blood splashing like molten gold, corroding the scorched earth into a hissing pit.

"Submit, or become the step to my throne!" Zareel growled, unleashing Dominion Will. The Red Dragon's pupils momentarily unfocused, dragon claws halted in the air, but Karascos broke free from the grip with frenzied will, snapping at her head. This was blocked by Zareel's wings, singed feathers and Dragon Tooth fragments scattering.

She summoned the Deep Prison Demon Refiner (Consumable Magic Ability), the refiner's chains wrapping the dragon wings, dragging the Red Dragon towards the magma depths. Karascos roared out one final burst of flame, igniting only the corner of Zareel's mocking smile. The Hell Lord leapt onto the dragon's back, her great sword piercing through the spine, pinning the Red Dragon dead on the searing riverbed. Dragon blood steamed into a scarlet mist, reflecting her twisted victorious smile.

The sky was veiled by sulfurous smoke, and the charred earth was riddled with web-like cracks, magma surged like veins among them. The Red Dragon Grazztor—a dragon that had occupied the depths of Aphernas' fire lake atop the rift for thousands of years—had built its nest there. Zareel's Steel Fortress hovered at the rift's edge, its shadow claw-like pressing towards the Dragon Nest. Their conflict stemmed from the Red Dragon's disdain towards the Hell Legion: "Dragonflame is the true Authority of Hell!" Yet, Zareel needed this dragon's head to intimidate all the demons questioning her ruling.

Beginning of Battle: Provocation and Wrath

The Red Dragon's roar shattered the rift walls, magma geysering out like blood.

"Zareel! Your Iron Throne is but a pile of scrap metal!" Grazztor unfolded wings that blotted out the sky, a dark red Dragonflame brewing deep within its throat.

Zareel leapt from the fortress top, her Burning Sky Wings unleashing a blazing trail behind: "Your pride is hell's cheapest fuel."

The Dragonflame Breath swept forth like a meteor stream, but Zareel charged into the flames, the great sword Hope Slayer slicing through the fiery tide, the blade aimed directly for the Dragon's Eye. The Red Dragon jerked its head aside, the sword grazing its horn, igniting a string of dazzling sparks, fusing the scorched earth into glass within a hundred-meter radius.

Clash of Forces: Tearing and Regeneration

Dragon Claw vs Hell Armor

The Red Dragon's claws tore towards Zareel's chest, the Hell Lord's Black Iron Armor shrieking under the scrape, molten metal dripping like blood. Zareel reversed her grip to seize the dragon's wrist, the great sword sweeping to sever a dragon toe. Grazztor's agonized howl unleashed a magma tsunami, but the broken claw was reformed by Hellfire in mere seconds—the corrupting power of Aphernas nourishing this evil dragon.

Burning Sky Wings vs Dragon Wing Hurricane

Zareel's wings flapped, unleashing a circular blaze shockwave (Burning Sky Wings), forcing the Red Dragon back to the rift edge. Grazztor used its wings to whip up a hurricane filled with molten fragments, pulling Zareel into the storm's center, her wings' flames briefly extinguished, revealing charred, tattered feathers - scars from her fall, forever unhealed.