Ember Dragon

"Master, there is a guest from hell who wants to see you."

Along with a slight fluctuation of the magic net, the image of Trump appeared in front of Cassius. He still had a respectful expression and spoke in a meticulous voice.

"Those devils who love to sell again? You can just send out an avatar to deal with them. It's endless." Cassius' tone was a little impatient.

After he defeated Barachiel, invitations from the devils came one after another, and Cassius received all kinds of fancy olive branches.

All forces in hell hope to get a powerful red dragon as a backup, to fight for them and win honors in brutal bloody battles.

But Trump hesitated for a moment before answering: "Master, the guest said he has something important to report and hopes you can come in person."

"Who are you talking about?"

Cassius then began to take the matter seriously and roughly guessed the identity of the guest.

"The former devil lord." Trump was very careful. He did not call out the name directly - after all, a great devil could sense anyone's call and respond accordingly.

Cassius didn't care. He just shook his head, gently stretched out the wings folded behind his back, and continued to ask: "Where is he now?"

"In the capital of black dragons, the leader of the wyvern tribe, Marquis Smaug, is receiving him."

"okay, I get it."

Before he finished speaking, Cassius took a step forward, and the space in front of him suddenly shattered like glass, revealing a huge hole, and the red dragon leaped into it.

As long as it is within the territory of the Burning Empire, the red dragon with the power of [Imperial Domain] can appear anywhere without restraint or scruples.

The capital of flying dragons, the treasure house of Lonely Mountain.

This former dwarf treasure house has now become the palace of Smaug, the "King Under the Mountain". He lives in it with a dozen female dragons, feeling very comfortable.

But at this moment, the usually majestic flying dragon lord was curled up in the corner of the cave, shivering, and the smile on that dragon's face was uglier than crying.

However, a handsome black-haired young man dressed in gorgeous clothes was sitting on the throne that should have belonged to him, looking around curiously.

"Is this the dwarfs' treasure house in Lonely Mountain? Tsk tsk, even I have never been inside." The young man sighed softly as he looked at the rock wall.

He turned his head and looked at Smaug, smiling kindly and asking, "Your Majesty, King Under the Mountain, it shouldn't be considered impolite for me to sit here, right?"

"Of course not, sir. You are the master's guest." Feeling the powerful pressure from hell, Smaug huddled in a corner, feeling like crying but unable to cry.

The young man looked frail, just like a nobleman who was abducted into the lair by a brutal dragon, but his dark pupils shone with a terrifying light.

Looking into those eyes and seeing through the illusion, one can see a high and mighty, cruel and violent devil lord smiling playfully. The tremendous pressure sweeping over makes Smaug feel like he is in purgatory.

Smaug originally thought that after receiving the gift of his master's blood and becoming a legendary warrior, he would be able to act tyrannically and do whatever he wants on the continent of Feansor.

But he never expected that the incarnation of gods and the devil lord would appear before him one after another, making him, the "king under the mountain", a complete joke.

Suddenly, a stronger pressure that was almost condensed into substance descended, and the air in the cave suddenly became hot, even the rock walls were burned red.

Then, the magic web in the cave stirred up huge waves, spider-web-like cracks appeared in the space, and then a portal with flames appeared.

"Sir Bayer, with your status, there is no need to scare my followers." A majestic voice came from mid-air.

Smaug seemed to have found his backbone. He let out a long sigh, and light reappeared in his eyes. He shouted eagerly: "Master, you are finally here!"

Cassius strode out of the portal. Against the backdrop of the nearly sixty-meter-long dragon body, even the Lonely Mountain Treasure House seemed a little cramped and crowded.

Bayer then put away his playful expression, put on a polite smile, and stood up from the throne: "Your Majesty, you are joking. As the most loyal ally of the Burning Empire, how could I provoke you?

You have recently demonstrated your power on the continent of Feansor, destroying the Principality of North Ethel and the Kingdom of the Mountain Dwarves, and even killing an incarnation of a god. I really admire you."

Cassius sat on the throne and interrupted mercilessly, "Sir Bayer, I have become a little impatient with the devil's flattery recently. Tell me, what did you come to see me for this time?"

“I see.” Bayer laughed awkwardly, his expression finally becoming serious, his originally gentle and mellow voice now filled with venom: “It’s that crazy woman, I can feel it—she’s getting stronger, she’s already absorbed tens of thousands of souls.

Her power began to affect the material plane, and her followers walked the land—particularly the City of the Rising Sun, when that boundary was breached."

"Will August go to hell?" asked Cassius.

Bayer gnashed his teeth and replied, "Yes, and the entire city will become her soul pasture, and she will gain endless power."

The great devil's voice was filled with hatred, jealousy, disgust - and deep greed and desire.

The soul is something that every devil is born with a strong desire for. This is the law of the multiverse, and this is even more true for Bayer, who is a great devil.

In the eyes of the devil, there are no eternal friends, only eternal and unchanging interests.

Cassius knew that if Bayer was still the Lord of Avernus, he would not hesitate to cooperate with Wilham and become an enemy of the Empire.

Bayer's voice was like a hoarse venomous snake: "Your Majesty Cassius, Zariel is too powerful now, and my army in Hell is losing ground.

With all due respect, those crazy 'soulless' under your command, although immortal, cannot provide us with even a little soul power.

As an ally of the Empire, I must obtain more souls to continue to resist her and become your helper, so.
"impossible."

Before Bayer could finish speaking, Cassius rejected him mercilessly. In these few brief words, he had already guessed what Bayer was thinking.

This great devil wanted the Burning Empire to sacrifice the souls of its citizens like the Thracian Kingdom did in order to gain greater power, or even create a similar "land of souls".

But Bayer didn't know that Cassius's goal was to become a god. In Cassius's eyes, every citizen in the empire was a valuable resource and would become the source of his faith in the future.

The empire's land even touched Cassius' bottom line. That was his country, how could he tolerate it becoming a devil's pasture? Seeing Cassius's resolute tone, Bayer smiled and persuaded him tactfully: "Your Majesty Cassius, your empire is vast and populous, and what I need is-"

The devil carefully extended a finger and whispered, "It's just a tiny part of it."

In Bayer's opinion, these five-color dragon lords basically treat their citizens as lowly slaves and materials that can be consumed at any time, and they don't care about the lives of their citizens at all.

As long as he uses sweet words, the Red Dragon Emperor will eventually give in and send tens of thousands of pure souls to hell.

How could He have imagined that this red dragon would be so greedy that he would regard every citizen as his precious property?
"Sir Bayer, there is no need to talk about this matter anymore."

Cassius' voice was firm: "To help you fight against Zariel, I will send 30,000 elite Starfallers - or what you demons call the Soulless - to fight in Hell."

Cassius' idea was simple. He sent a group of players as reinforcements, which would allow them to level up while fighting against Zariel, thus killing two birds with one stone.

But after hearing this, Bayer's handsome face suddenly became a little hideous. Tiny cracks appeared on his skin, as if it was about to be torn apart, and sulfur-smelling smoke came out.

And those dark pupils flickered slightly, filled with anger, as if a raging hellfire was about to burst out of them.

"boom--"

A strong aura of hell spread out, causing people to feel horrified and frightened, as if they could see the mountains of corpses and seas of blood in Avernus.

But Cassius just sneered, he spread his wings, and an even stronger dragon might descended, and the power of the laws of the empire also pressed down. The two powerful forces collided with each other, creating violent fluctuations.

During the confrontation between the two powerful beings, Smaug huddled in the corner of the cave, shivering and letting out a low howl.

Isn't this his lair?

How could it become like this?
Under the heavy pressure that made him unable to raise his head, the flying dragon leader even began to doubt his dragon origin.

Bayer let out a suppressed roar: "Casius, you've gone too far!! Anyone who cooperates with the devil must pay the price, even you are no exception. This is an eternal truth!"

"It's really the devil's innate ability to change concepts." Cassius sneered and took a step forward. The aura of hell was immediately swallowed up by the dragon's might.

The unique pressure of the ancestral dragon descended upon Bayer's shoulders, instantly tearing apart his disguise and making it impossible for this great devil to maintain his dignity.

Suddenly, a tall devil with wings on its back appeared in the cave, with blazing hellfire bursting out of its body - that was not Bayer's real body, but an incarnation of the source power of hell.

Cassius stepped forward and said in a cold voice: "Bayer, you got one thing wrong. In this cooperation, the Burning Empire is the absolute leader.

You are just a deposed lord of Hell. Without the support of the Empire, you might have to hide in the corner of Avernus for thousands of years, hiding from Zariel like a wild dog.

But I have many choices. In hell, there are countless demons who have grudges against Zariel, and even the lords of hell have extended olive branches to me."

Finally, the red dragon looked down at the devil with a faint light flickering in its pale golden pupils: “Remember, it was the Empire that chose you and gave you the opportunity to retake Avernus.

If it weren't for Zariel, you wouldn't have the qualifications to make any demands on me."

Every word of Cassius's was powerful and decisive, like a sharp spear, piercing the devil's body fiercely.

Cassius was not exaggerating. If he wanted, the Burning Empire could indeed sign contracts and cooperate with many Hell Lords, but that would pose too great a threat to the empire.

Compared to cooperating with those powerful and cunning lords of hell and risking being harmed and deceived, Cassius would rather support a fallen devil so that he can better control him.

After hearing what Cassius said, Bayer's arrogance suddenly weakened a lot, and even the hellfire on his body was retracted.

The great devil shrank down and turned into a slender, gentle young man again. A sneer appeared on his handsome face again. He bowed and apologized: "I'm sorry, Your Majesty Cassius, I was inconsiderate, I hope you can forgive me.

The dragon's might suddenly dissipated, and Cassius smiled and said, "No need to be polite, Lord Bayer, I have always regarded you as a solid ally.

I know that you were just blinded by greed and desire and made such an irrational request. "

"Yes."

The estrangement between the two of them disappeared completely, and there was a happy scene, as if the confrontation just now was all an illusion, which made Smaug standing there in a daze, at a loss.

Then, Cassius asked: "But, since Zariel is so powerful now, how can you overthrow her, or even - kill her?"

Bayer had a sly smile on his face: "You don't know that the day when the City of Rising Sun fell into hell, known as the 'Day of the Fall', was the moment when Zariel was at his weakest.

By then, she will have to do everything in her power to maintain the connection between the material plane and Hell, dragging the city into Avernus, and that will be my chance to strike."

Cassius was a little curious: "Aren't you afraid that she will complete the ceremony secretly?"

"impossible."

Bayer vowed, “Wilham will not give up the City of the Rising Sun until he completely loses hope.

And now, the only one who can force the king into a desperate situation is you.

Your Majesty Cassius, I hope you can lead your army to attack the Kingdom of Thrace, cut off all hopes of the king, and force him to choose to sacrifice the City of the Rising Sun to hell.

I will kill Zariel on her weakest day, during her Fall, and help you eliminate the threat from Hell.

By then, you will occupy Thrace, and I will retake Avernus, and we will both have a bright future."

The man and the dragon smiled at each other, and everything was said without words. These words could only be heard by them, and even Smaug, who was cowering beside them, was blocked out and could only look confused.

But how much other thoughts are in the hearts of Cassius and Bayer, only they themselves know. (End of this chapter)