Hyperdimensional Player

Chapter 419 Demon Lord - Red Shroud
"Ability replacement complete!"

As Duncan gained an aura of evil, some unique abilities belonging to the Dark Guardians were activated.

—"Dark Blessing (Special Ability); The Dark Guardian can add his Charisma bonus to all saving throws." (All current saving throws +5)

The human form is quite charming.

However, the biggest boost came from the holy water of the Eternal Golden Pool bestowed by the goddess of love, beauty, and goodness, Shuni. After using this divine item, Duncan's human form gained an extra mark of 'charisma'.

Of course, his increased charm is not entirely due to his improved looks, but rather to an intangible inner quality and a unique affability.

To say he's more handsome is a bit of an exaggeration, since Duncan's scars disappeared after using the holy water of the Everlasting Pool, and even his skin became incredibly smooth. But these are relatively minor things, because the biggest benefit of increased charisma is enhancing a warlock's spellcasting abilities, that is, their affinity for magical energy.

In special advancements such as Dark Guardian and Tim Warrior, the extra Charisma can increase saving throws and even grant more divine power when praying for divine favor.

—"Desperate Aura: The Dark Guardian can emit an evil aura that causes enemies within 10 feet of him to suffer a -2 penalty on all saving throws."

— "Summon the Necromancer: Summons an undead creature to fight."

—"Summoning Infernal: Dark Guardians can summon Infernal Servants."

Once the class rank is replaced, all Paladin abilities disappear. Duncan gains 'Sneak Attack' in place of 'Holy Light', but his original combat feats remain largely unchanged; only his unique class abilities are altered.

The simplest point is that after replacing the Dark Guardian path, Duncan no longer needs to use 'Evil Slash'; he can only use 'Good Slash'.

After a Dark Guardian is promoted to Legendary, they can contract more powerful Infernal Minions, the most representative of which is the Succubus.

Because succubi are capable, and quite capable at that.

inside the room.

Sara Tyblont knelt on the ground, fastening Duncan's belt and adjusting his equipment. A servant beside her presented him with a pair of exquisite storage gloves, which contained about two cubic meters of space to store weapons and allow for direct switching between weapons and shields.

Storage bags in the Forgotten Realms are quite expensive, and many adventurers cannot afford them. As for storage rings, they are extremely rare, and many legends have never even seen one. Only very powerful mages can forge them.

But whether it actually exists or not has always been just a rumor, because very few people have actually seen it.

Even with the power and status of the five shrewish women, all they could do was prepare storage bags and unique small storage gloves for Duncan.

"Does Your Excellency really intend to enter the abyss alone?" Sarala asked, a hint of worry in her voice.

In her view, Shadow Eater Victor was an outsider, and it wouldn't be convenient for Duncan to take him along.

But too many people are also not suitable; the Abyss is not a place like any other, where too many people would only make things more chaotic.

Duncan calmly flexed his wrist, and a two-handed greatsword appeared in his palm before quickly disappearing. He said indifferently, "This operation is only for gathering information; fewer people will make things easier."

Upon hearing this, Sarala hesitated and said, "We can recruit legendary rogues."

"If they're willing to spend the money, they'll find a way."

That's how extravagant the five shrewish women are.

Recruiting legendary wanderers is a piece of cake, given the wealth of the Church of Wealth.

Unfortunately, even the legendary ones aren't enough.

The Bottomless Abyss is not like any other place; there are as many ordinary legendary characters as dogs there.

Duncan shook his head and said, "Only I can go in person."

"rest assured."

“I have the divine grace of the goddesses upon me, and I am confident.”

Sarala finally sighed softly, stepped forward to give the man a hug, then offered him a kiss on the lips, murmuring, "I've prepared some new gadgets."

"Await your return."

To say how deep the feelings were, that would definitely be an act, but the climax she felt was not faked. Duncan was the best and most suitable man she had ever met.

However, her status is now below Duncan's, and the future may be increasingly distant; it would be good enough if she could just serve him.

If Duncan really rescues the Goddess of Fortune, she'll have to kneel down whenever she sees him.

Duncan remained calm and unmoved.

Once this man enters a state of combat readiness, he becomes truly heartless. No amount of beauty matters to him; he will only consider standing up and kicking after the fight is over.

He didn't look back at Sarala, who was reluctant to leave, even once more. Whether her feelings were genuine or feigned, it didn't matter.

At the Faron Grand Stage, those without performing skills will not go far.

Even the Mother of Great Bliss possesses acting abilities far exceeding those of ordinary people. Others, such as Mrs. Thursta White, are also first-rate actors, capable of portraying liking, admiration, and worship.

Duncan just needs to make sure his abilities are enough to get them to work for him.

inside the room.

Shadow Eater Victor had already set up the teleportation array. He glanced at Duncan in front of him and said respectfully, "My lord, everything is ready."

Duncan's gear wasn't exactly luxurious. Too much gear could cause trouble, while too little gear would be even more problematic.

He was wearing spare equipment, and the equipment of the Church of Wealth was too conspicuous for those operating in the Abyss.

A flash of inspiration appeared.

Along with a slight dizziness, everything Duncan felt was completely different. His mind had come into contact with an extremely powerful will, far surpassing the power of a god. This must be the legendary will of the abyss.

The only recorded instance of action so far is the destruction of an unnamed pantheon by the will of the abyss, which gave birth to a void dimension called the 'Nightmare Abyss'.

This nightmare of death in the pantheon has evolved into a new demon—Lomara.

How strong is the will of the abyss?

It's not clear yet, but it's highly likely that it won't be weaker than the Supreme Holy Light of Paradise Mountain.

Discontinuity.

The town is composed of many collapsed towers, dating back to the time of the Obiris Chaos Demons. Outside the town are numerous simple fortifications such as moats, walls, and spiked roadblocks. Further away is a vast market and merchants and mercenaries from various planes of the material plane.

The demons hire outsiders to help them fight, and their reward is souls.

However, since the Holy Cataclysm has only recently ended, the current Abyss Blood War is in a truce period, with the devils reinforcing their fortifications and the demons recuperating.

A faint smell of sulfur permeated the air.

The town is occasionally enveloped by a blood-red fog that resembles a shroud, and the air is filled with the stench of decay and the acrid smell of sulfur. Every breath feels like inhaling the breath of a demon, making one feel extremely uncomfortable.

The red shroud represents the ruler of this place, a demon lord.

As a powerful mage, Shadow Eater Victor was quite cautious upon arriving here. He cast protective spells on himself beforehand, and then turned to the fully armed Duncan and said, "My lord."

"The town of Duanyu is just ahead."

"There are quite a few mercenaries from the Abyss Blood War gathered inside, you'd better be careful."

Duncan nodded slowly.

Along the way, you can see many grotesque monsters, mainly demons, but there are also supplicants from the Abyss. They are usually slaves and servants. Demons capture souls from the material plane, then reincarnate, enslave, and devour them. Most of them are the currency of the Abyss, and can only be used as slaves after one ascension.

Undead creatures linger on the edge of the battlefield, assimilated by the laws of the bottomless abyss, and are becoming the form of the Prayer, a foul-smelling corpse, which may evolve into the Boda Corpse in the later stages.

The trenches are a group of busy slaves.

They are called 'spirits', and they have pale skin, cruel claws, sharp teeth, sparse hair, and deathly white eyes. Often, many maggots can be seen wriggling and crawling within the spirit's swollen body.

Souls that survive for many years are sometimes promoted to lower-level demons.

Those who reincarnate from the abyss cannot retain many memories; only the strong can retain some memories of their past lives, and they are often more likely to be promoted to demons.

Further away was a group of 'herdsmen'.

Upon entering Broken Domain Town, a Night Witch wearing a wizard's pointed hat and a tattered gray robe eyed the two with ill intent. They were 'herdsmen' and thieves,' and behind them was a large swarm of ferocious insects with distorted human faces on their heads.

Soul worm!

The unique products of the Abyss, which are common throughout the lower planes, are the souls of intelligent beings such as humans. They are currency, food, soldiers, and the foundation of the lower planes.

The soul is the hard currency of the entire abyss.

"Entry fee!"

"Two soul crystals, or something of equal value."

A freak dressed as a scribe glanced at Duncan before him and wrote down with a blood-red quill: "This is the decree issued by Lord Red Shroud."

"All demons must obey."

Duncan was prepared and handed over two gray gems enhanced with the Soul-Stealing spell.

The demon, Flor, kept his hand outstretched, but glanced at Duncan again. Then he took out a small soul crystal and placed it down. This demon, known for his cunning, finally smiled, a very ferocious smile. For a moment, he even seemed somewhat friendly, and said, "If you encounter any trouble, you can come here to find me."

"As long as it complies with the laws for women."

The demons of the first level of the Bottomless Abyss, the Plains of Ten Thousand Abyss, have long since become as cunning as devils.

The territory of the red funeral shroud is governed by laws and order.

The succubus's territory was much better than the chaotic state of other demon territories.

After Duncan entered the dilapidated tower, a large number of succubi appeared. They were the offspring of humans and demons, and were usually found in places where succubi were active, because succubi's physical characteristics were closest to humans, and they had strong sexual desires and were most likely to reproduce.

They are in the lower to middle tier of the Broken Realm. Some powerful individuals are able to manage demons because they are more intelligent, and they are in charge of the Broken Realm's trading markets.

Duncan walked through the crowd.

Because of the decree regarding the red shroud, the demons who enter here are relatively well-behaved, but it's hard to say what will happen once they leave Broken Domain Town.

——Twilight Tavern.

Duncan stopped in front of the tavern. At the entrance were two enormous heads, seemingly the heads of berserkers. Next to them was a decorative structure forged from a spine, and at the very top was the head of a chain demon, a trophy from the Abyss Bloodbath.

In the projection page of the dimensional space, units marked with three stars or higher can be seen everywhere in the entire Broken Domain Town, and most of them are light red hostile targets.

creak.

The door slowly opened.

Duncan entered expressionlessly and walked to the bar. A beautiful succubus was idly wiping glasses when she saw Duncan's face. Her eyes lit up, and her gaze lingered on his physique, her eyes burning with desire. She even extended her long, thin tongue, like a snake spirit, and licked her crimson lips. Her tongue was very long, even capable of curving.

— Succubus Servant (3-star silver-gray).

"What would you like to order, guests?"

"liquor?"

"Still me?" The succubus was wanton and alluring. As she spoke, her small demon tail rose, and the venomous spikes trembled slightly.

Temptation, danger, and death.

Duncan sat down calmly, his gaze icy, and slowly said, "Summon Kroglas-Eater to see me."

Bloodforged Demon - Kroglas - Soul Eater.

Arms dealers in the Wanyuan Plain.

Demon hybrid.

Upon hearing Duncan's words, the succubus waiter in front of her was stunned for a moment, but her expression quickly turned serious. She hurriedly left, and not long after, a towering figure, two meters tall, appeared. His dark red skin was covered with scales, making him look more like a demon than a human. A pair of huge, curved demon horns emerged in the darkness, and his appearance under the dim light was both handsome and sinister, because he had some succubus blood.

"Lord Duncan?" Kroglas-Eater's voice was low and hoarse.

Duncan glanced up at the other person and slowly nodded.

The Church of Wealth's dark web of trade, a bottomless abyss of arms trading.

It was because of the dark web of trade in the Abyss Bloodbath that the Goddess of Wealth, Woking, risked returning to her divine kingdom through the bottomless abyss, only to find that the demons were not trustworthy at all, and she was completely overturned.

Kroglas sat down in front of Duncan. He was a warrior, clad in blood-forged armor, wielding a guillotine. He said in a deep voice, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

If you have enough money, even the deepest abyss can be used to bribe your henchmen.

A portion of the weaponry used in the Abyss Bloodbath was secretly provided by the Church of Wealth, or rather, the trade channels were established by 'plane merchants'.

They smuggled things from the Prime Material Plane—Feralas—into the Abyss.

They even occasionally smuggle souls.

A merchant can sell the rope that hanged him, provided there is enough profit.

Duncan stared at the Cambyon before him, a four-star gold-marked unit, and said calmly, "I want to see the Red Shroud."

Red funeral clothes.

A very powerful succubus.

Her mother was the demon lord of Obiris, the wind demon king Pazuzu, and her mother was the succubus queen Mechanshute.

Such a player would be very useful to Duncan.

The Broken Domain is the outpost of the Succubus Queen Mechanshute in the Abyss. The succubi gathered in the Abyss Blood War were basically recruited in the Broken Domain.

Kroglas-Eater pondered for a moment and said, "Yes."

"But the right time is needed."

Duncan gestured to Victor beside him, who immediately took out a bag that made a jewel-like tinkling sound.

Kroglas accepted the money without leaving a trace, and his tone immediately became warmer. He said in a deep voice, "I happen to have a batch of weapons being delivered to the Broken Domain. Perhaps you could come with me to meet the lady."

"but."

"Some visitors have recently arrived in the domain, so you may have to wait a day."

Duncan raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.

Kroglas-Eater immediately replied, "It is an envoy from Sokos-Bennos."

never heard of that.

Is he a demon lord from some hidden corner of the abyss?

Victor, who was standing to the side, was clearly very knowledgeable. He used telepathy to say, "Sokos-Pinos is the embodiment of sex and taboo."

"He is one of the succubus queen's allies."

Some sensitive words.

However, the succubus queen herself was corrupt enough, so it's not surprising, given that this place is a bottomless abyss.

Duncan nodded slightly.

There are too many layers in the bottomless abyss, and there are many demon lords in the nooks and crannies, and they change from time to time.

They are good prey because they possess a trace of divinity.

Silent all night.

The next day, Duncan accompanied Crogras-Eater to the main hall of the Plague Call, which was a vast underground labyrinth containing storage rooms, armories, interrogation rooms, catacombs, and more. The Red Shroud resided in the underground labyrinth and rarely showed herself; even demons seldom saw her true face.

As Duncan walked through a narrow corridor, he came into view of some male succubi. They were stronger and more ferocious. The leader of the succubi warriors had a sinister look in his eyes. His gaze swept over the crowd and landed directly on Duncan.

That gaze is very uncomfortable. A succubus's eyes are full of desire. It's okay if a female succubus looks at you like that, but if a male succubus looks at you like that, it's very ill-intentioned.

Like spying on prey.

These must be the messengers of the demon lord Sokos. Duncan had questioned Victor and knew some information about him. This demon lord also had quite a few male succubi serving under him.

"plz follow me."

A beautiful woman with human features but light red skin stepped out. She was also a half-demon, called an Almma, which refers to the offspring of a female succubus and a mortal.

Half-demon warlock.

Duncan's projection screen showed a large number of demon warlocks, scattered throughout the various rooms of the underground labyrinth. In the deepest hall sat a bewitching woman draped in a blood-red robe. She revealed the outline of a succubus, but appeared in human form, a transformation spell.

The Red Shroud is known for its cruel methods; any demon lord who can gain a foothold in the first layer of the Abyss is a ruthless individual.

Duncan followed Kroglas into the hall, and soon a large number of succubus servants, both male and female, appeared in front of him. Their eyes were filled with malice as they looked at the group with the same expression of admiring their prey. Some of the female succubi even stood up flirtatiously, showing off their beautiful curves.

They never hesitate to bestow pleasure.

Among them were followers of the succubus queen Mechanost, who stood beside the red shroud, watching Duncan with keen interest.

These succubi use various means to seduce mortals, usually through sexual intercourse. When their prey reaches climax, they kill them using their preferred method. The souls of mortals killed in this way (ritual) do not go to the plane of the gods they worshipped in life as they would normally do, but instead go directly to the territory of Mecanshite to become the eternal slaves of the succubus queen.

When Duncan first captured the human form, he was surprised to see a tycoon summoning a succubus party.

If they mess things up.

The soul was directly captured and taken to the succubus territory of the bottomless abyss, the 570th floor, Sadella.

Even the otherworldly attendants of the gods might not be able to retrieve the soul.

—Red Shroud (Legendary Enchantress) (Demon Lord) (Six-Star Gold)

On the throne above the hall, the succubus, whose face was obscured by magic and whose alluring crimson figure could only be seen, slowly rose. Her gaze passed over Kroglas in front of her and landed directly on Duncan and the others. Her voice was slightly playful: "Kroglas."

"You seem to have brought me an incredible gift."

Upon hearing this, Kroglas-Eater broke out in a cold sweat. He gestured to Duncan beside him and quickly stood up, saying, "Madam."

"This is a partner from the material plane."

"They are plane merchants."

"This is not a gift for you."

It's normal for demons to be unreasonable; those who follow rules are devils. He was genuinely afraid that the red shroud had taken a liking to Duncan's soul.

The man in the red burial shroud smiled without saying a word, merely sizing up Duncan in the crowd. The man's imposing figure remained as steady as a rock, and even under the gaze of many succubi, he remained unfazed. In contrast, the legendary mage Victor beside him broke out in a cold sweat.

Demon Lord.

Even a legendary mage wouldn't be confident of defeating a demon lord who still has the home-field advantage; escaping would be a good outcome.

Just as the atmosphere was beginning to freeze.

Duncan suddenly stepped forward, looked past Kroglas-Eater, and stared up at the red shroud before him, saying calmly, "We have indeed brought a gift for the lady."

"But I wonder if the lady would dare to accept it?"

The woman in the red burial shroud's eyes flickered with surprise. She waved her hand gently, and some of the servants outside stepped back. Then, she looked at Duncan with interest, slowly sat down, and said, "Tell me about it."

"mortal."

This human is very brave, extremely brave.

She hadn't encountered such a daring mortal in a long time.

Duncan glanced around casually and said, "Is this how a lady treats her guests?"

Upon hearing this, the woman in the red shroud raised an eyebrow and with a wave of her hand, a succubus attendant presented her with a chair. However, the chair was forged from the complete skeleton of a bone demon and even carried a trace of a curse. The entire spine was forged into the backrest of the chair, which was decorated with spikes, reliefs, and inscriptions.

Duncan, looking completely calm and fearless, sat down with an air of nonchalance.

For a while.

To outsiders, the chair forged from the devil's corpse actually suited his temperament quite well.

Because it carries the scent of death and slaughter.

This is a formidable opponent!

Only then did the terrified Crogras-Outstalker cautiously stand behind Duncan.

As the chosen one of the goddesses of the Bright Water Domain, Duncan can leave the first level of the Bottomless Abyss whenever he wants. As long as he doesn't go too deep, even a demon lord can't stop him.

Strength is the cornerstone of negotiation.

What Duncan truly wanted to see was not the red shroud, but his mother, the succubus queen Mechanost.

………………

(End of this chapter)