Ashen Dragon

But there was a sound like "sizzle—", and those two strong Whisker Demons seemed to be deflated balloons, shriveled and dried up, their entire bodies drained of blood, leaving only two dirty, hideous skins with their chin tendrils still twitching.

"Pop."

The two drained skins were discarded onto the ground like two pieces of rag.

And that "Mortal" was hovering mid-air, still pale-faced, a flash of blood-red light flickering through his dark eyes, surrounded by thick blood mist, with a crimson cloak billowing behind him.

"Tsk, now that's what I call a surprise."

The Vampire, or rather the Swashbuckler, looked disdainfully at the Whisker Demons on the ground, speaking in a lazy, slightly mocking noble tone.

However, the next moment, his cloak was yanked violently, almost causing him to tumble to the ground, stripping away the aura of the Vampire Noble.

"Enough of that bullshit, stop pretending to be cool, wasting time here after killing a couple of small monsters, just love to make a drama for yourself." Europe King complained irritably.

Natural War Maniac maintained a calm demeanor, murmuring, "Be careful, this place is a super high-difficulty dungeon, with all sorts of demons and monsters. If we provoke those Great Devils, we'll get wiped out."

Wolf of the Dark Night echoed in a low voice, "Yeah, boss, since we're in Hell, let's not be reckless."

"That's really boring, no sense of style at all," Swashbuckler complained disdainfully, then descended from mid-air, dripping a few drops of Potion onto the Whisker Demon's remains.

Instantly, those two shriveled skins turned into fine powder, drifting away with the wind carrying a bloody odor, leaving no trace.

Looking up at the blood-red sky, gazing at the towering pillars of bone that reach the heavens, breathing air mixed with sulfur and the scent of blood, Swashbuckler sighed, "This is Hell, truly a rare, wonderful place."

The other three looked at him with strange expressions: "What's good about this place?"

Swashbuckler heavily patted the back of Wolf of the Dark Night's head: "They don't understand, but you, a Vampire, don't get it either?

This place lacks sunlight, it's filled with evil, corrupt forces, and countless enemies. It's practically a Holy Land for Vampire players to level up!"

Europe King retorted, "You're lucky you're not considered an Experience Pack by others."

Swashbuckler turned around, face full of resentment, and that pale face seemed to turn red: "Who asked you? Just a mere drag queen, daring to shout here?"

"Who are you calling a drag queen?"

"You, of course—"

Suddenly, the emblem on Swashbuckler's right arm began to gleam, emitting firelight, and a furious voice echoed in everyone's mind.

"Enough, Contractor! I spent energy to teleport you to Hell, not for you to chatter endlessly here!"

Swashbuckler's face immediately broke into a flattering smile, patting his chest, he said, "Of course, Lord Bail.

We will definitely not disappoint your expectations, work hard to complete the job, strive for precision and efficiency, quality and quantity in completing the mission, and fight for your cause to reclaim Aphernas...

"..."

Swashbuckler kept talking until the Flame Emblem completely dimmed, he reluctantly stopped.

Natural War Maniac rubbed his polished bald head, his mouth twitching slightly, finally sighed, "Okay, enough with the nonsense, let's hurry and complete the task."

All four of them were players who signed contracts with Devils, each with their own strengths, their combat prowess substantial, just as Cassius promised "reinforcements."

And there are over a hundred such elite squads in Hell, appearing in every corner of Aphernas, all here to support Zareel.

The squad led by Swashbuckler and Natural War Maniac is the most powerful among them, with an average Occupational Level of Level 12, naturally receiving extra favor from their employer Bail.

"Whoosh—"

Suddenly, the sound of rushing wind came from high above, and an overwhelming evil pressure spread out.

They saw a powerful Devil holding a steel fork, slowly flapping those ten-meter-wide Bat Wings, flying from the sky.

Covered with metal-like scales, with massive horns, and a whip-like long tail, the image was particularly hideous and terrifying, it was a high-level devil of Hell—Horned Demon.

The Horned Demon stared at the ground with murky eyes, seemingly noticing abnormalities near the Door of Curse, roaring: "Where are those two lazy creatures?

Not even as good as inferior Devils! Daring to disobey Lord Zareel's orders—absent from duty! I will send them to the Abyss to die!"

He circled the sky above the Door of Curse several times, unable to detect the traces of Whisker Demons, then angrily flew off into the distance.

...

"Phew, that was close..."

Wolf of the Dark Night finally breathed a sigh of relief. If he weren't a Vampire, he'd probably be sweating profusely and trembling all over.

"Indeed, Aphernas lives up to being a high-risk dungeon. Even a security captain watching a zone is so powerful." Europe King also couldn't help but sigh.

Natural War Maniac gazed towards where the Horned Demon disappeared, clenched his fist, and softly said, "A Challenge Level 15 Devil, wonder how powerful it could be."

Swashbuckler then stowed away the cloth covering everyone, boastfully spoke, "If it wasn't for my Stealth Cloak, we'd be wiped out from the start, shouldn't you call me dad?"

Europe King angrily retorted, "If you hadn't wasted time here, we would have slipped away a long time ago!"

Seeing the mission hadn't even started, and there was already tension within the team, Wolf of the Dark Night was anxious, stomping his feet.

Finally, Natural War Maniac stepped forward, using arms thicker than an ordinary person's waist, hugged the two to his left and right, kindly said, "Teammates should abandon conflicts, cooperate with each other, and complete the mission together.

Do you agree—yes or no?"

Under Natural War Maniac's gentle gaze and tremendous strength, Swashbuckler and Europe King stiffly shook hands.

Wolf of the Dark Night then pulled out a map, pointed towards the distant massive mountain-like building, and whispered, "See that, that should be our mission location."

The center of Aphernas is a rugged, rigid, and massive city—Bronze Fortress.

It's famous for twelve concentric circular walls, each ring filled with numerous War Machines, and thousands of low-level Devils going towards Blood Battle fill the city, enough to raise several Blood Battle Legions.

At the center of those twelve concentric circular walls is the private fortress of the Hell Lord who controls Aphernas—Zareel.

Armored Devil Army is guarding here.

The sulfur storm tore through the last Holy Light Barrier, black Crystal Clusters formed on Adeline's Silver Armor. Ranger Silvia suddenly grabbed her shoulder armor: "Careful!" A Hellfire Arrow grazed the Paladin's neck guard, embedding in the scorched earth, blasting nearby ten feet of bones into phosphorescence.

"Three o'clock direction!" Half-Elf Ranger drew three Holy Silver Arrows with a backhand, "Twelve Hellhounds, led by a Chain Demon Executioner!"

Mage Orean's Mage Robe flapped in the heat wave, he was using Secret Silver Staff to erect the Rainbow Bridge on the Magma. A huge wave suddenly surged from the Styx River, carrying wailing resentful spirits crashing into the team. Priest Ivan's Holy Emblem exploded with dazzling light: "In the name of the Dawn!" A golden light screen barely blocked the crimson tide, but the young priest's nosebleed stained through the white robe.

Warrior Greyson's iron boots crushed a Skeleton, the rusty Great Sword pointed towards the end of the canyon: "There! Ruins of the Blade Throne!" Former Bronze Armor shards flashed in his pupils—three years ago he crawled out of Hell here, carrying the Devil Rune burned into his back by Zareel.

The hook of Chain Demon tore through the air, Silvia's Arrow drew silver lines in the sky. The Holy Silver Arrowhead pierced three burning skulls accurately into the Chain Demon's eye socket, the burst festering blood solidifying into Curse Rune in mid-air. Orean's incantation abruptly stopped, and the Rainbow Bridge began to collapse.