Ember Dragon

Inside the Withered Rose tavern, the air was filled with the rich aroma of alcohol. The smoke from cigarettes made the surroundings hazy, as if one were in a dream, and the people of the empire were drinking under the dim light.

With the dedicated performance of the Centaur band, the drow dancers danced in the moonlight, and the people were mesmerized.

"it is good!"

"Come on! Take off one more piece of clothing!"

"She is indeed an elf. Although her skin is a little dark, it would be worth dying for if I could have a night of pleasure with her."

"Tsk - the few gold coins you earned are not even enough to buy someone a bottle of Witch's Kiss!"

At the beginning, it was just the initial noise, with people singing, dancing and cheering enthusiastically. Later, the noise became louder and louder, and all kinds of friction and collisions were inevitable.

Until a drunken tiefling bumped into a large ogre and vomited filth all over him - the first brawl in the tavern began.

"Asshole! You're looking for death!"

The angry ogre picked up half of the table leg, wiped off the food residue on it, and let out a roar.

But the people in the tavern were not panicked, but became more excited. Their eyes reflected the lights, revealing emotions such as excitement and joy.

"It's open, it's open!"

"Betray the ogre! He just tore a hill giant apart last week!"

"I bet on the tieflings! They have more people!"

The people of the empire crowded together and shouted constantly. During the day, they might be workers who were busy to the point of numbness, soldiers who were tired from training, or merchants who were running around.

But in the bar, they can liberate their nature, use alcohol to numb their brains, and temporarily forget all the unpleasantness of the day.

At this moment, all the imperial people of different races and identities, including humans, tieflings, hobgoblins, half-dragons and even ogres, gathered here, getting drunk and enjoying this chaotic carnival full of desire.

In a corner of the tavern, some people were discussing the war on the front line. Their words were heated and their expressions were excited, as if they were on the battlefield themselves.

"Have you heard the news from the front?"

"Hahaha, of course. Our army has captured the City of Sunrise, and the Kingdom of Thrace will soon be incorporated into the Empire's territory!"

A ruddy-faced man slammed his wine glass on the table and shouted, "It's really satisfying! We should have let those arrogant southerners see how powerful we are! They are only fit to be slaves of the Empire!"

"We will let the flag of the empire fly over the abyss."

When he got excited, he waved his fists and sang the famous "Song of the South" in a slurred voice.

"What if the Empire occupies the Thracian Kingdom?"

At this moment, a low and slightly sarcastic voice came from the side, which was out of tune with the surrounding atmosphere.

Then, the voice continued, "It sounds nice, but it's the nobles who are enjoying the wealth and glory. We, the common people, still have to work overtime on the assembly line."

"What did you say?"

Everyone turned their heads and glared at him, only to see that the person who spoke was a thin young man in ragged work clothes. He was slumped over the table, drunk, with a depressed look on his face.

His name was Martin, and he was just an ordinary worker who was responsible for packing military rations. He should have received a generous bonus for working overtime for more than ten days due to the recent war.

But at noon today, Martin was so sleepy that he took a nap at his workstation, but was caught by the strict half-dragon supervisor. Not only was he severely scolded, his bonus for the entire month was deducted, and all his previous hard work came to nothing.

But when I returned to the dark and narrow room, the landlord was still urging me to pay last month's rent - he had been in arrears for a long time, and if he didn't pay, he would be kicked out.

Martin felt suffocated. His dream of buying a house in Blackstone Castle and becoming a glorious citizen seemed to be getting farther and farther away from him.

Frustrated, lost and even desperate, Martin gritted his teeth, took out his last savings, and went to the famous "Withered Rose" tavern to drink away his sorrow.

Under the influence of alcohol, he began to pour out his true feelings without hesitation.

Martin threw the bottle to the ground, blushing and cursing, "Damn it, we have nothing to do with winning the battle! We stayed up all night working overtime, but we didn't get a penny in the end!"

"That's because you're not working hard enough!"

"His Majesty Cassius made the laws himself. As long as you work hard for the empire, you will be rewarded handsomely!"

"Poor people like you are lazy. You spend all day in the pub instead of working. No wonder you can't even afford a set of clothes!"

The drunks jeered and cursed loudly.

Martin suddenly felt the blood rushing up to his head. The alcohol gave him courage and made him forget his fear for a moment. He took another sip of wine and then slammed the table - "Bang!"

"Just shut up! Even if the Empire occupies the entire Feanso, what good will it do us?
Isn't it that every day is reversed, staying up late to work overtime, living a boring life like a machine! "

At this moment, a man's voice came from the darkness of the tavern, "Everyone, think carefully about what this guy is talking about?
He doesn't want the Empire to win? What kind of thug would say such a thing!"

The voice was deep and hoarse, and its source could not be identified, but it was extremely inspiring.

After hearing these words, the drunkards in the tavern became furious. They waved their fists and stared at Martin fiercely, as if they wanted to tear his thin body into pieces.

"How dare you question the great blueprint of the empire? Insult the efforts of the soldiers on the front line?"

"Casius, without the empire, how can we live such a good life?"

"In the Northland era, this lazy pariah should have starved to death long ago! This guy, not only is he not grateful for His Majesty Cassius's gift, he even dares to provoke him. He is so ungrateful!"

"I see, he is clearly a spy sent by Fadlan!"

"Yes, he must have been sent by those damned southerners! Otherwise, he must be the remnant of the northern nobles. Otherwise, how could he say such treasonous words!"

"How about we kill this traitor right here!"

"Yes, how can we let such a person stay in the city! He must be a spy sent by the Fadlanders!" The drunk people's words became more and more intense, and their eyes looking at Martin gradually changed from hostility at the beginning to anger and even hatred.

They pulled out daggers, sticks and other weapons, shouted excitedly, and surrounded the poor worker. The tavern fell into a strange atmosphere.

Martin was awakened by the shock. His legs were shaking and he suddenly sat on the ground. His face turned pale and his lips moved: "You, what on earth are you doing? This is in the city! Killing people is against the law! Someone save me!"

But strangely, the bartender and other customers in the pub turned a deaf ear to him and seemed not to notice anything unusual happening here.

The drunks crowded around him, their faces gradually distorted, their expressions becoming more and more crazy, and they made uniform and strange sounds: "Kill him, kill him, kill him!"

"Devils, you are simply a bunch of devils!"

Martin slumped on the ground with fear on his face, shaking his head continuously, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.

He saw clearly that goat horns grew on those people's heads, their facial features gradually became distorted, and even the human figures reflected on the wall by the lights became hideous and terrifying.

"Click."

The whole world fell silent, and everyone maintained their current posture, like a frozen oil painting.

"Pa, pa." With the crisp applause, Cassius, who had transformed into a human form, stepped over the threshold and appeared in the "Withered Rose" tavern.

"It's really amazing. He is worthy of being the legendary Lord of the Nine Hells. He can transform mortals into demons without anyone noticing. This method makes me astonished."

Cassius sighed sincerely, then turned his head and looked towards the dark corner where the light could not reach, with a chill in his light golden pupils.

"It's just that... barging into someone else's house without the owner's permission and damaging their property, isn't that a bit rude?"

Before he finished speaking, an extremely powerful pressure surged towards that corner, containing terrifying power.

If an ordinary mortal were to endure such pressure, he would probably explode and die on the spot.

But at this moment, the middle-aged man with a goatee in the corner raised his head as if nothing had happened, looked Cassius up and down, and took a sip of the "Witch's Kiss" in the cup.

“Well, this is the first time in the past two hundred years that I have drunk such an interesting wine. It seems to be mixed with a little nightmare debris and the powder of psychedelic grass. It can bring the most wonderful dreams to mortals, thereby paralyzing their minds.

Tsk tsk, poor imperial people, they must be too repressed in reality and can only vent their desires in the virtual world."

The man had a neat goatee and wore a slightly worn black suit. He looked like an ordinary mortal, except that his black eyes were particularly deep.

Cassius said calmly: "If you want to taste the wine, I still have a lot. There is no need to harm my people, right?

Should I address you as your distinguished guest, or should I address you as Your Excellency Asmodeus?"

The middle-aged man did not deny his identity, but pointed at the imperial men who were gradually transforming into demons, and said with a smile: "You are wrong, I have always been kind to others, how could I take the initiative to hurt them?
I just used words to arouse the desires in their hearts and let them return to their original state. "

Asmodeus raised his eyebrows. "You, on the other hand, can actually make a group of slaves in the true sense grateful to you, and even take the initiative to protect you. This is worthy of serious study for all of Hell."

Cassius smiled politely: "You are joking, they are all my subjects, working hard for the great blueprint of the empire and their own bright future, how can you say they are slaves?

Lord Asmodeus, please forgive me for being blunt, but this is a misunderstanding of me and an insult to the empire."

Asmodeus said nothing more, but just smiled contemptuously, and everything was said without words.

And when Cassius looked at those humans who were transforming into demons, there was really no trace of magical abilities on them, only the aura of original sins such as greed, rage, and arrogance.

In other words, they chose to become devils.

What a terrible method!

Cassius was secretly shocked. Even though he came as an incarnation, he still strengthened his mental fortress a little bit to avoid being influenced by the Lord of the Nine Hells.

As if he could see Cassius's worry, Asmodeus shook his glass and said softly, "Don't worry, we devils are not the thugs who burn, kill and loot like the demons."

Cassius said mercilessly: "But the devil always has bigger plots in mind, doesn't he?"

Asmodeus did not deny it this time. He just stroked his goatee and drank the wine slowly, sip by sip.

Cassius already had a rough answer in his mind as to the purpose of the Lord of the Nine Hells.

He maintained a polite smile and asked, "In that case, Lord Asmodeus, you have come all the way from Hell. Is there anything you want to talk to me about?"

Asmodeus drank the wine in the cup, then raised his head and looked at Cassius with a smile, "Of course it's because someone killed my men and took my things without permission."

When their eyes met, Cassius felt as if he was being seen through.

A pressure from hell descended upon him, causing his soul to tremble, and the core of hell hidden within his body seemed to be slightly hot.

An old guy who has lived for who knows how many years!
Cassius cursed inwardly, unleashing the power of the empire to fight against the pressure, and said lightly: "Zariel was indeed killed by me. If you want to blame someone, blame her for being too stupid and conceited and standing in front of me."

Asmodeus shook his head slightly and sighed, "What a pity. Zariel is a good subordinate. Although she is a little stubborn, she has always done her best to complete the mission."

There was regret and even a hint of sadness in his words, but Casius would never believe it - such a vicious and cruel old guy would miss his subordinates.

Cassius reminded: "Duke Bayer who replaced Zariel is not bad either. He should be able to complete your task smoothly."

Asmodeus shook his head. "Bile has brains and the strength to become a lord of Hell, but he has one major flaw - he is not loyal enough."

Cassius smiled slightly mockingly, "Are you asking a devil to remain loyal?"

"In the face of a huge disparity in power, abiding by order and maintaining loyalty are virtues that the devil should possess."

Asmodeus smiled nonchalantly, "Hundreds of years ago, when Bayer first came to power, he was obsessed with developing his own power, ignored my orders, and disrupted the balance of the bloody war. Therefore, I made Zariel the Lord of Avernus again.

But hundreds of years later, Bayer still hasn't learned his lesson. He colluded with beings outside of Hell and murdered Zariel without my permission. It really embarrasses me, not to mention..."

Asmodeus looked at Cassius again, a glimmer in his deep eyes, "The current Bayer can't be called a complete lord of Hell." (End of this chapter)