Ashen Dragon

Just being swept by that gaze, over a hundred devil soldiers fell from the sky, bleeding from all seven orifices, their faces pale, dying with terror etched on their faces.

And Piere also felt that terrifying killing intent directed at him, causing his heart to tremble.

If he were hit by that arrow, he might actually die!

Piere could clearly feel that the arrowhead of that arrow was imbued with the "death" essence of the Abyss, capable of taking the life of any being!

As a "Lord" holding seventy percent authority, Piere's soul was not yet completely bound to Avernus and he could not achieve immortality.

At this moment, the Hell Lord finally understood where Mastifa's confidence came from.

In the name of the Lord of Nine Prisons, how could an Abyssal Lord with an unremarkable reputation and a power level that hadn't reached demigod possess such power! This wasn't magic at all!

"Ignorant inferior beings..."

As if guessing Piere's thoughts, Mastifa spoke in a hoarse voice: "Over ten thousand years ago, the Gray Centaur God was hunted by the Hunting God Mala, forced to flee to the Abyss, but ultimately, he still died.

From the corpse of the Gray Centaur God, gnawed by Mala, I was born—the great Hunting Monarch Mastifa!

My presence in the world will shake it, and you, young Hell Lord, you will become my first prey out of the Abyss!"

"Whoosh—"

Before the words finished, Mastifa released his grip, and the pitch-black arrow tore through the canopy, shooting towards Piere like a meteor.

Piere exerted all his strength to flap those powerful bat wings, stirring up a violent storm, ascending thousands of meters in an instant, a wall of hellfire manifesting beneath him.

But that terrifying arrow seemed to anchor on this Deep Prison Demon Refiner, piercing through the wall of flame instantly, shooting straight at him.

"You can't kill me!"

Piere roared through gritted teeth: "I am the great Master of Avernus, Duke of Hell! After painstaking efforts and hundreds of years of scheming to reach this supreme position, do you think I'll let you easily take my life!!"

The Deep Prison Demon Refiner swung his longsword with all his might, creating intersecting rifts in the surrounding space, causing lava to flow down.

Piere shuttled back and forth between the space passages, constantly seeking opportunities, trying to launch a sneak attack on the Hunting Monarch.

But Mastifa was surrounded by dense chaotic black mist, disrupting Piere's teleportation spell, causing him to hit a wall repeatedly.

If the opponent were the Black Water Lord, Piere could possibly set up an array to banish him, even consume him continuously, until he figures out a countermeasure.

But Mastifa's arrows are extremely deadly to Piere, risking his life with every misstep.

"Piere, give up your futile struggle; your fate is already sealed—to become my prey!"

Watching the devil shuttle back and forth, Mastifa coldly sneered, bending his bow again and firing arrows in succession, releasing over a dozen arrows that trailed black light, interweaving in the high sky into chaotic, disorderly trajectories.

Piere released the power of Avernus within him, surges of hellfire bursting from his body, destroying several arrows in succession, yet unable to completely annihilate the law of "death."

Even as the arrowheads melted into molten iron and the shafts burned into charcoal, those arrows relentlessly shot towards Piere's heart, stopping at nothing until they reached their target.

Piere, unable to cope, had several arrows pierce through his body, surges of chaotic power flooding into his insides, spouting streams of scorching demon blood.

Finally, this Hell Lord, dragging his damaged and scarred body, desperately shouted in the direction of the Bronze Fortress:

"Cassius, save me!"

"Whoosh—"

Cassius had been watching the spectacle with relish

Based on the status of its inhabitants, Bod Gate is divided into the noble Upper City and the commoner Lower District, with the Outer City District scattered around Chenyi Mountain. The gate separating the Upper and Lower Cities is called Bod Gate, and the entire city is named after it, serving also as a monument to the city's founder, Bodlan.

Currently, Bod Gate is governed by a four-person council, with each member being a Grand Duke. One acts as the council leader, and if a vote is deadlocked, the decision is made by Grand Duke Elder Ravenclaw. The security of the Upper City is managed by the elite official police force, the Watch, while the Flaming Fist mercenary group is responsible for the security of other areas. Grand Duke Elder Ravenclaw is also the highest leader of the mercenary group, headquartered at Bodlan Sea Tower, the strongest fortress against maritime invasions. Encircling Bod Gate like a crescent is the economic lifeline—Gray Harbor, with hundreds of merchant ships entering and leaving daily, bringing in gold coins, along with greed and crime.

The Upper City, situated on higher ground, comprises the Castle District, Temple District, Manoburn District, and Wide Alley District. It is rich with religious structures, Miracle Hall, and Supreme Miracle House, all serving as centers for the Church of the God of Craft, Gund. Miracle Hall showcases Gund's great inventions, while the Supreme Miracle House also functions as a workshop. The Lower District mostly consists of stone houses, with six districts: Sea Tower District, Blonrich District, Steep District, Crowded Side District, East Road District, and Branpton District. The middle class typically reside in the Blonrich District close to the authorities of the Upper City, while the East Road District near the Stone Lizard Gate connecting the Outer City is more diverse, bustling with lively bars and cheap inns. The Sea Tower District is where the Flaming Fist mercenary group is stationed. On the largest rocky offshore island near the Sea Tower District stands the headquarters of the mercenary group, Bodlan Sea Tower. The Branpton District and Steep District are relatively rundown, serving as community spaces for sailors and laborers. The Outer City District is spread along the Chongsar River, filled with temporary buildings and shantytowns, the hallmark structure being a stone bridge crossing the Chongsar River—Flying Dragon Crossroad, which draws many vendors, even expanding the bridge deck with planks to accommodate various buildings. Here, law and order are non-existent, and the protection offered by the Flaming Fist is very limited. The area is a refuge for those unable to settle in the city, including the destitute and criminals.

The moss on the vaulted sewers glowed ghostly green under the dim lantern light, while the murky sewage rose over boot tops, each step eliciting a thick "gulugulu" sound. Blackish-purple ooze seeped from the wall cracks, pooling into drainage outlets like veins—typical of the neurological corrosive matter specific to the Spirit Sucking Monster's nest. Inhaling it caused auditory hallucinations, as though numerous tiny tendrils were wriggling in one's ear canals. Suddenly, the sound of bones dislocating, "ka-ta," echoed from behind a broken cast-iron pipe, as if something was twisting.

Three patrolling guards had just raised their lanterns when the sewage suddenly exploded! Four Spirit Sucking Monsters erupted from beneath, their pale humanoid forms covered in decay, octopus-like heads with vibrating tendrils releasing visible purple mind shock wave patterns. The helm of the foremost guard caved in, eyes bursting into bloody mist under intracranial pressure; the second guard, unable to scream, had tendrils pierced into their ear, spinal cord extracted like a puppeteer's string; the sole surviving guard stumbled back, only for the sound of his misfiring gun to be utterly consumed by the sub-frequency shrieks emitted by the Spirit Sucking Monsters collectively.

These Spirit Sucking Monsters clearly received tactical training. Two individuals feinted, slamming the water surface with tendrils, stirring a misty veil filled with corrosive liquid that obscured vision; the third hung upside down from the ceiling, using suckers to latch onto the guard's skull, tendrils precisely puncturing the occipital foramen—not killing instantly but controlling the captive like a puppet, forcing his trembling hands to reload ammunition for his companions' firearms. Meanwhile, the fourth Spirit Sucking Monster was using bone blades on its knuckles to open the fallen guard's chest, extracting the warm liver and stuffing it into its mouthpiece, with pale yellow digestive fluid dripping from its mandible, etching wisps of smoke into the ground.