Ashen Dragon

She flapped her wings and soared into the sky, transforming into an Avenging Angel, diving towards the Sword Spiders—this was the most powerful form of the Avenger Paladin!

"Die—"

A shout of rage echoed, and even the Sword Spiders halted in their tracks under the intimidating aura of the Legendary Paladin.

Rhea wielded the Silver Sword in mid-air, releasing a twilight radiance from the blade. A Light Blade dozens of meters long sliced through the air, unleashing unparalleled Divine Power.

"Supreme Holy Slash!"

With the whistle of the blade, the Sword Spiders were sliced in half by the Light Blade, turning into heaps of debris on the ground.

"Lowly mongrels!"

In the distance, the Spider Elf Sorcerer grimaced fiercely, raising a Magic Wand and sending a beam of malicious disaster energy towards the Half-Elf Paladins.

However, Rhea's figure flickered, disappearing into thin air, leaving only a puff of silver-white mist behind.

The Spider Elf Sorcerer rotated its densely packed six compound eyes, scanning around, unable to spot the Half-Elf's figure, and cursed in a fit of rage, "Damn it, where did she go?"

The next moment, Rhea's figure appeared above the Spider Elf's head. She grasped the Silver Sword with both hands and stabbed down with all her might.

"Rip—"

Accompanied by a crisp sound, blood splattered, brains sprayed, and the Spider Elf's head was penetrated from top to bottom.

Nearby, the Demon Hunting Spiders also noticed the Half-Elf's presence.

As elite hunters in The Abyss, they fixed their gaze on the Half-Elf, silently approaching and encircling her, with dim rays shooting from their crimson compound eyes.

Petrification Ray.

However, Rhea had already detected the approach of the Demon Hunting Spider with Divine Sense.

She sneered, turned around, and drew out the Silver Sword embedded in the Spider Elf's head. The smooth blade happened to block the path of the Petrification Ray, reflecting it back.

"Whish—"

In the distance, a Demon Hunting Spider was petrified by the ray it released, turning into a giant spider stone sculpture.

Rhea leapt forward, pursuing with a strike, plunging the sword into its head, causing the stone sculpture to shatter into pieces, scattering across the ground.

Nearby the Sword Bay Region, there are several famous cities, such as Waterdeep City, Elturel, and Neverwinter, with Waterdeep built on the ruins of Ilfaen's capital, Erin Vier, of the Elf Empire. It houses numerous Divine temples, with Miracle Temple being the most magnificent Magic Goddess Temple in the game, featuring ornate towers, various paintings, and magical decorations, filled with baroque style. In contrast, Neverwinter leans more towards Gothic architecture, formed over nearly a century of development from the earliest human settlement, Aegostor. The Main City, Bod Gate, is the largest and most prosperous trade city-state in the Sword Bay Region. From Nobles to Thieves, it is a melting pot, deemed a "breeding ground for intrigue" by Adventurers. The name Bod Gate comes from a hero, the Gray Harbor Adventurer Bodlan, who explored the continent beyond the Sword Sea, returned to Gray Harbor with wealth, and led the founding of the city.

According to the residents' status, Bod Gate is divided into the Nobles' Upper City and the Commoners' Lower City, with the Outer City District scattered around Chenyi Mountain. The gate separating the Upper and Lower City is called Bod Gate, which the entire city is named after, also serving as a monument to the city's founder, Bodlan.

Currently, Bod Gate is governed by a council of four Grand Dukes, with one acting as the leader. If the vote reaches a stalemate, Grand Duke Elder Ravenclaw makes the decision. The elite official police force known as the Guard maintains order in the Upper City, while other areas are under the security of a Mercenary Corps called "Flaming Fist." Grand Duke Elder Ravenclaw is also the supreme leader of the Mercenary Corps, headquartered at Bodlan Sea Tower, Bod Gate's strongest fortress against naval invasions. Additionally, Gray Harbor, the crescent-shaped economic artery of Bod Gate, welcomes hundreds of merchant ships daily, bringing Gold Coins, as well as greed and crime.

The Upper City's terrain is relatively high, consisting of the Castle District, Temple District, Manoburn District, and Wide Alley District, featuring numerous religious buildings. Miracle Hall and Supreme Miracle House stand as the main centers of the God of Craft's church at Bod Gate. Miracle Hall showcases the great inventions crafted by Gund, while Supreme Miracle House also serves as a workshop. The Lower City buildings are mostly stone houses across six districts: Sea Tower District, Blonrich District, Steep District, Crowded Side District, East Road District, and Branpton District. The Middle class generally resides in the Blonrich District, close to the Upper City's elite. The East Road District, near the Stone Lizard Gate connecting the Outer City, is more diverse, with lively bars and cheap inns. The Flaming Fist Mercenary Group is stationed in the Sea Tower District, with their headquarters Bodlan Sea Tower constructed on the largest rocky offshore island near the Sea Tower District. Branpton District and Steep District are relatively rundown, serving as residential communities for sailors and manual laborers. The Outer City is distributed along the Chongsar River, hosting temporary buildings and slums. Its landmark is a stone bridge spanning the Chongsar River—Flying Dragon Crossroad, which gathers numerous vendors who have broadened the bridge with planks and built many structures on it. Law and order are virtually nonexistent here, and even the Flaming Fist Mercenary Group's protective scope is very limited. Many poor or criminal individuals unable to settle in the main city gather here.

The sewer arches' moss glowed in a ghostly green under the dim lantern light, murky sewage lapping against boot soles with every step, creating a viscous "gurgling" sound. Purple-black slime oozed from the wall cracks, converging toward the drainage like veins—this was the nerve-corrosive substance unique to the Spirit Sucking Monster Nest, causing hallucinations in ordinary people, as if countless tendrils whispered unsettling words into their subconscious. Suddenly, a "crack" sounded like something twisting and forcing its way through a narrow space as three patrolling Guards raised their lanterns, and the sewage erupted, four Spirit Sucking Monsters burst from below the water, their pale humanoid bodies covered in organic matter, with octopus-like tentacles vibrating at high frequency, releasing a visible purple Mind Shock Wave. The first Guard's head burst into a bloody mist, while the second was skewered through the ear by a tentacle, his spinal cord yanked out like a marionette from its shell. The only remaining survivor staggered backward, their attempt to fire their firearms stifled by the sub-frequency screeches collectively emitted by the Spirit Sucking Monsters.

These Spirit Sucking Monsters were evidently trained in tactics. Two were fixating on the Half-Elf, silently approaching and encircling her, their crimson compound eyes casting dim rays. The third hung from the ceiling using suction cups to latch onto a Guard's skull, with its tentacle tip piercing precisely into the foramen magnum—not killing immediately, but manipulating the captive like a puppet to use his trembling hands to load ammunition for its companions' firearms. Meanwhile, the fourth Spirit Sucking Monster dripped corrosive liquid from its jaw onto the floor, emitting wisps of blue smoke.

The parasitized one wasn't entirely dead. The Guard's mangled body suddenly convulsed, writhing with the translucent tentacles of a young Spirit Sucking Monster protruding from the split neck, with dilated, milky white pupils. He grabbed a Dagger and stabbed it towards his former comrade. The final gunshot dissipated, and the sewer returned to eerie silence. The Spirit Sucking Monsters dragged their captives deeper into the drainage pipes, while the occasional twitch from the slimy cocoons seemed to hint at "Seeds" about to hatch within. Meanwhile, in the Mind Flayers' psychic network, the coordinates of these new hosts turned into a string of cold purple light, converging on the pulsating giant shadow beneath Bod Gate.