Ashen Dragon

Silver Moon Elves are a race naturally endowed with magical power, known as nature's darlings. Almost every member can become professionals like Rangers, Archer Warriors, Druids, etc.

With many from the Serenia Country joining, Catherine's forces expanded rapidly, soon reaching as many as fifteen thousand people.

Elves have long lifespans and a sparse population, so fifteen thousand people for them already constitutes a considerable army, which shows how deep the elves' resentment towards the Elder Council is.

Seeing this scene, a smile appeared on Rhea's face: "Your Majesty, do you see? I have long said that the entire people of Serenia will support you."

The Ancient Gold Dragon also echoed: "Your Majesty Catherine, it seems this holy uprising has become popular support."

"You flatter me, they have just been oppressed by that filthy scum for too long, unable to endure any longer. I am not gratified by this, but rather deeply pained. What I must do is overthrow the Elder Council and completely end their rule."

Catherine nodded, her voice resounding and powerful: "I will never betray the expectations of the people. They have suffered enough hardships and pains. It's time for... this dark era to end."

She raised her scepter, pointing at the towering giant tree: "Everyone—set off! Follow me to reclaim the Holy Tree!"

The words had barely fallen when the roar of battle, the neighs, and cheers soared into the sky. The "Holy Alliance Army," composed of various creatures from the Justice Camp, marched into the Soul Bell Tree Sea, grandly advancing towards the Holy Tree.

Near the Sword Bay Region, there are several well-known cities, such as Waterdeep, Elturel, and Neverwinter. Waterdeep is built on the site of the former capital of the Elf Empire Ilfaen—Erin Vier—and hosts many temples of the Divine. The Miracle Temple is the grandest Magic Goddess Temple in the game, with splendid towers embedded with various paintings and magical decorations, full of luxurious Baroque style, while Neverwinter leans more towards Gothic architecture, formed after nearly a century of development from the earliest human settlement Aegostor. The story's main city, Bod Gate, is the largest and most prosperous trade city-state in the Sword Bay Region, from nobles to commoners and thieves, a mix of all sorts, known to adventurers as a "breeding ground for conspiracy." The name Bod Gate comes from a hero, the Gray Harbor adventurer Bodlan, who explored lands beyond the Sword Sea and returned to Gray Harbor with wealth to lead the team in establishing a city here.

According to the status of the residents, Bod Gate is divided into the noble Upper City and the commoner Lower District, with an Outer City District scattered around Chenyi Mountain. The gate separating the Upper City and the Lower District is called Bod Gate, and the whole city is named after it, also serving as a monument to the city's founder, Bodlan.

Currently, Bod Gate is governed by a four-person council, all of whom are Great Dukes, with one serving as the council leader. If a vote deadlocks, the Great Duke Aelder Ravenclaw makes the decision. The Upper City's security is handled by the elite official police force Watches, while other areas' safety is managed by a mercenary group named "Flaming Fist." The Great Duke Aelder Ravenclaw is also the highest leader of the mercenary group, headquartered in the Bodlan Sea Tower, Bod Gate's strongest fortress against sea invasions. The economic lifeline, Gray Harbor, envelops Bod Gate like a crescent, with hundreds of merchant ships coming and going daily, bringing gold coins as well as greed and sin.

The Upper City is situated on higher ground and consists of the Castle District, Temple District, Manoburn District, and Wide Alley District, with numerous religious buildings. The Miracle Hall and the Supreme Miracle House are the church centers for the God of Craft Gund in Bod Gate. Miracle Hall showcases Gund's great inventions, while the Supreme Miracle House also functions as a workshop. The Lower District mainly features stone houses spread across six districts: Sea Tower District, Blonrich District, Steep District, Crowded Side District, East Road District, and Branpton District. The middle class generally lives in the Blonrich District, which is near the upper city's nobility, while the East Road District, closer to the Stone Lizard Gate connecting the Outer City District, is relatively more mixed. It has many bustling bars and inexpensive inns. The Sea Tower District is where the Flaming Fist mercenary group is stationed, with the group's headquarters, Bodlan Sea Tower, built on the largest rocky offshore island from the Sea Tower District. Branpton District and Steep District are relatively more dilapidated, belonging to sailors and laborers' residential communities. The Outer City District stretches along the Chongsar River, gathering temporary buildings and shantytowns as slums. A landmark is a stone bridge crossing the Chongsar River—the Flying Dragon Crossroad—where many vendors gather, even widening the bridge deck with planks to build more structures on it. Law and order do not exist here, and even the protection range of the Flaming Fist mercenary group is very limited. Some poor people or criminals unable to find a place in the city gather here.

The moss on the arched sewer ceiling glows eerily under the dim phosphorescent lantern light, and the murky sewage laps over the boot soles with each step, creating a viscous "gurgle" sound. Purple-black mucus seeps through wall cracks, converging like veins toward the drain—this is a special neural corrosive substance characteristic of the Spirit Sucking Monster Nest. Ordinary humans inhaling it will experience auditory hallucinations, as if countless tiny tendrils are wriggling in their ear canals. Suddenly, a "clack" sound of bone misalignment comes from behind a broken cast iron pipe, as if something is twisting through the narrow space. The three patrolling guards just raised their lanterns when the sewage suddenly exploded! Four Spirit Sucking Monsters burst from the water, their pale humanoid bodies covered in detritus, their octopus-like head tendrils vibrating at high frequency, releasing visibly purple mind shock wave ripples. The helmet of the foremost guard dented, and his eyeballs burst into blood mist under the increased intracranial pressure; the second person hadn't even screamed before tendrils pierced his ear canal, spinal cord extracted from the shell like a marionette. The lone survivor staggered backward, the boom of his misfiring firearm completely swallowed by the sub-frequency screeches emitted by the group of Spirit Sucking Monsters. These creatures were clearly tactically trained. Two diversionary attackers slapped the water with tendrils, raising a mist of corrosive liquid to obscure vision; the third hung upside down from the ceiling, using suction cups to adhere to the guard's skull, tendril tips precisely piercing the occipital foramen—not causing immediate death, but like manipulating a puppet, forcing the captive to turn and load ammunition for their companion's firearm with trembling hands. At this moment, the fourth Spirit Sucking Monster was using bone blades on its knuckles to open the fallen guard's chest cavity, extracting the warm liver to stuff into its mouthparts, pale yellow digestive fluid dripping from the jaw, corroding green smoke from the ground. The parasitized person was not completely dead. The guard's remains suddenly twitched to crawl up, half-transparent Spirit Sucking Monster larval tendrils emerging from the neck wound, pupils dilating into a milky white. He grabbed a dagger to stab his former companion, squeezing out an inhuman synthesized voice from his throat: "Skull... dedicated to the master brain...". And the true horror was just beginning to unfold—the distant sewage pool started bubbling, more pale figures emerging from the water, dragging a dozen prisoners wrapped in mucus cocoons with tendrils, human faces twisted into silent screams beneath the shell. When the last gunshot faded away, the sewer returned to dead silence. Only the floating tattered uniforms and the still pulsating neural corrosive biological blanket bore witness to the massacre. The Spirit Sucking Monsters dragged the captives into the depths of the drainage pipes, the mucus cocoons occasionally twitching, as if the "seeds" inside were on the verge of hatching. In the mental network of the master brain, the coordinates of these new shells were transforming into a cold string of purple light, converging into the massive shadow pulsating beneath Bod Gate.