Ashen Dragon

The Hell Lord flapped his broad, bat-like wings and flew towards the Red Dragon.

...

Above the blood-red sky of Aphernas, a majestic giant dragon cast a massive shadow over the scarred battlefield.

"It's finally over."

Cassius gazed down at the battlefield gradually becoming clearer, a slight smile forming at the corner of his mouth, and a sulfuric breath fuming from his nostrils, a rare look of relaxation on his dignified dragon face.

Suddenly, he felt a gaze full of anger and jealousy coming from afar, so the Red Dragon turned his head to see the source of the gaze.

"Heh, so it's that cheap ally of mine, it's time to return seventy percent of the Hell Authority," Cassius withdrew his gaze, thinking to himself.

Under the effect of the Power of Oath-breaking, that contract in the eyes of the Red Dragon was actually just a piece of paper, without any binding power.

But Cassius was not yet willing to expose his ability, let alone completely fall out with Piere.

One must take bites one at a time, steps one at a time; claiming Aphernas at this time would do more harm than good for him.

After all, above Piere, there is Asmonthy

As the saying goes, the bird that sticks its neck out gets shot first; if that ancient being that has existed since the universe's inception discovers his ability and ambition, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Even if the Lord of Nine Prisons lets it slide, other Hell Lords would also feel his threat, possibly even join forces against him; such a rash occupation of Aphernas would only make him enemies all around, outweighing the benefits.

The best choice was to let Piere gradually become his puppet and agent, semi-colonizing Aphernas, forcing them to rely on the Ashen Empire.

Thinking of this, Cassius cheerfully looked at the Deep Prison Demon Refiner flying towards him, and murmured, "Piere, my dear ally, I am fully supporting you to continue being the Hell Lord..."

At this moment, the space in front of him experienced violent tremors, and a tremendously powerful, yet familiar and intimate aura emerged, accompanied by the chaotic roars of giant dragons coming from afar.

"This aura..."

Cassius's expression changed drastically, his face serious as he said, "Damn, it's Tiamat!!"

The giant dragon roared, the world twisted, and an evil pressure spread out.

Two enormous claws tore through space, and the red, green, blue, black, and white ferocious dragon heads twisted and turned, extending from the crevice. A mountainous, nightmare-like ferocious dragon body descended upon Aphernas, appearing in the skies.

Meanwhile, within the space rift, the blue and green dragons and other five-colored dragons loyal to Tiamat emerged one after another, flapping their wings, surrounding Tiamat, among which was also a sturdy red dragon.

Among these five-colored dragons, the least were adult dragons, and there were even three or four colossal ancient dragons.

However, compared to the two mountainous and majestic giant dragons, Tiamat and Cassius, their figures appeared particularly small, like a flock of flapping-winged moths.

"They come with no good intentions..." Cassius gritted his teeth, glaring stubbornly at the nominal Mother Goddess.

This time, in his rush to Hell, he overlooked one important thing—

Tiamat's Divine Realm.

Izhar is situated in Aphernas!

Due to Barto Hell being an Outer Plane, Tiamat can even descend in her true form to Aphernas!

But fortunately, Cassius had Avernus' Authority, he wasn't without means of retaliation, at least having a substantial chance to escape back to the Material Plane from Hell.

Piere looked up at the sky, his face mixed with shock and anger, shrouded in gloom, "Not good, it's the Five-Colored Dragon Queen! Could it be that greedy Red Dragon called them here? This is his conspiracy!"

"Oh Lord of Nine Prisons..."

"The Mother of Evil Dragons actually descends at this time, she hasn't appeared in Aphernas for centuries!"

"Could it be... Aphernas is going to undergo a change?"

The devils unanimously gazed at that nightmare-like five-headed giant dragon, panicked and at a loss.

Could it be... Aphernas is going to become a realm ruled by giant dragons? Where would this leave the native devils!

"What is the situation here?"

"Holy crap, isn't that the Mother Goddess of the five-colored dragons? Why is she here?"

"Technically speaking... the Five-Colored Dragon Queen is also Cassius's Mother Goddess, are they joining forces to conquer Hell? Exciting, exciting."

"This atmosphere doesn't seem right, there's none of that familial warmth, could it be Emperor Kai is going to fight the Five-Colored Dragon Queen?"

"Watch the show, watch the show, front row seats selling sunflower seeds! Love seeing big shots fight, the special effects are maxed out."

Unlike the panicked and tense devils, the players were full of excitement, eagerly discussing, seemingly not worried about making things worse.

And high in the sky, the black divine power radiated pressure in all directions, Tiamat looked at Cassius, who had incarnated as the Dragon of Hell, seemingly scrutinizing him closely.

Feeling the aura of Hell Authority, the Red Dragon Head first showed surprise, then revealed a sinister smile, an endless greed filling those pale golden pupils.

The Dragon Queen slowly opened her mouth, smiling as she said, "Long time no see, Cassius, my child, truly proud of you."

"I really didn't expect it... in just a few short years, not even enough time for me to nap, you have grown to such a level—even helped us five-colored dragon clan occupy Aphernas."

The classic Tiamat-style rhetoric turned Cassius's achievements into those of the entire five-colored dragon clan, then further into her own.

Clearly this matter had nothing to do with her, but the Dragon Queen could twist it to bring the benefits and credit all to herself.

Upon hearing this, the entire audience was in an uproar, the revelation igniting waves of shock.

"What, this truly is the Dragon Queen's conspiracy!!"

"Oh Lord of Nine Prisons, Aphernas really is going to change!"

Piere's face twisted, furiously roaring and howling: "Cassius, damn reptile, you have the audacity to be so shameless! Aphernas belongs to the devils!!"

"The great Lord of Nine Prisons will not let you off! You will pay the due price!"

In the Hell Lord's view, his greatest fear still came to pass, that greedy Red Dragon allied with his Mother Goddess, seizing Aphernas!

The five-colored dragons surrounding Tiamat let out cries and roars of excitement, uttering a term long since dormant: "Praise the Dragon Prince!"

"His Highness Cassius truly is the favored offspring of the Mother Goddess!"

"Wonderful, from now on Aphernas will be our five-colored dragons' domain! Those slippery-tongued red-skinned devils are all our slaves!"

If only I could mate with such a powerful being..." That robust female red dragon looked with admiration towards the majestic dragon body not far away, those golden vertical pupils full of restless desire.

Facing this overwhelming pressure, the deafening chaos, Cassius lowered his head slightly, then calmly said, "Good day, Your Majesty Tiamat."

"But I'm afraid I've disappointed you; I haven't conquered Aphernas, but merely temporarily borrowed my ally Piere's Hell Authority to fight against the Abyssal Lords."

"Besides..." Cassius's tone paused as he raised his head, gazing at the Five-Colored Dragon Queen, feigning a curious tone, "what does this have to do with you?"

He directly revealed the truth, stating facts, ruthlessly tearing apart Tiamat's lies and rhetoric.

Cassius's words caused another uproar.

"Thank goodness, thank goodness it wasn't the Dragon Queen's conspiracy..." Piere finally calmed down, nervously observing the situation in the sky, exhaling heavily in relief.

The devils couldn't fathom the situation, remaining silent, not daring to speak, fearing being caught up in this divine dispute.

Only the players continued to loudly discuss, unconcerned about invoking the wrath of the divine.

"I'm hearing this conversation, doesn't sound right, why's it so tense?"

"Mama Tia: Hand over the territory! Emperor Kai: Old thing, still thinking of making me spit up gold coins?"

"Filial, so damn filial!"

"Wow! Is this the rebellious phase? Good, good, good, I'm here for the mother-son battle!"