Ashen Dragon

Anselm was born in the Ashen Swamp and has lived for over eight hundred years. In this long stretch of time, he has enslaved and killed countless humanoid creatures, including, but not limited to, Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes...

He really enjoyed tasting elf maidens, which he considered a delicious delicacy, and occasionally tried young gnomes, treating them as a special snack...

But now, he has been injured like this by a group of despicable, insignificant humans!

Anger, hatred, shock, and unwillingness intertwined in those narrow, vertical pupils, but in just a moment, his pupils dispersed, and his eyes lost their brilliance.

Without the heart as the driving force, the Ancient Green Dragon's whole body lost support, those broad wings drooped powerlessly, and the enormous, hideous body fell from the sky, crashing hard onto the ground.

Debris flew, dust rose, and the dragon's body created a huge crater as it lay there like a small mountain, with Dragon Blood gushing from the wounds and spreading into a scarlet river.

That massive head tilted and rested on the ground, its wide-open eyes scattered in spirit, yet still revealing immense unwillingness before death.

Anselm died just like that, at the hands of the humanoid creatures he despised the most.

"Amanata above!"

"Such terrifying power! It is simply Divine Punishment!"

The watching Soldiers burst into exclamations, noisy discussions and exclamations incessantly filling the air.

Mandrian also stood motionless, staring at the dragon corpse, utterly shocked, and after a moment, stammered, "They... they killed an Ancient Green Dragon so easily!"

Duke Franz remained silent for a long time, the death of the Ancient Green Dragon, which was a major threat and had killed countless compatriots, should have made him feel joyful and excited.

But at this moment, apart from the satisfaction of getting revenge, a strange sense of desolation surged in his heart.

Duke Franz hesitated for a long time before speaking in a deep voice, "Be careful of those from the North. You cannot trust them completely. The strength they hold... is too terrifying."

"Lord Anselm is dead! He was actually killed by those humans!"

Seeing the Ancient Green Dragon dead, the remaining Green Dragons let out panicked roars, frantically flapping their wings and fleeing into the distance.

Near the Sword Bay Region are several famous cities such as Waterdeep City, Elturel, Neverwinter City, and so forth. Waterdeep City is established on the former capital of the Elf Empire Ilfaen—Erin Vier, with numerous Divine temples; the Miracle Temple is the grandest Magic Goddess Temple in the game, featuring luxurious towers embedded with various artworks and magical decorations, full of magnificent Baroque style, while Neverwinter City leans more towards Gothic architecture, formed after nearly a century of development in the earliest Human settlement Aegostor, and the Main City Bod Gate is the largest and most prosperous trade city-state in the Sword Bay Region, a mix of Nobles and Commoners, Thieves, and Adventurers, known as the "nexus of conspiracy" among adventurers. The name Bod Gate comes from a Hero, the Gray Harbor Adventurer Bodlan, who explored the continent outside the Sword Sea, returned with wealth, and led a team to build the city here. According to the status of residents, Bod Gate is divided into the Noble Upper City District and the Commoner Lower District, along with the Outer City District scattered around Chenyi Mountain, and the gate distinguishing Upper City and Lower District is called Bod Gate, naming the city and serving as Bodlan's monument. Currently, Bod Gate is ruled by a council of four, all Great Dukes, with one as the council leader; if voting reaches a tie, decisions are made by Grand Duke Elder Ravenclaw. The Upper City District's security is managed by the elite official police force Watch, while other areas are covered by a mercenary group named Flaming Fist, with Grand Duke Elder Ravenclaw also as the mercenary group's highest leader, headquartered in Bodlan Sea Tower, Bod Gate's strongest fortress against sea invasions, surrounded like a crescent moon by the economic lifeline—Gray Harbor—with hundreds of merchant ships entering and leaving daily, bringing Gold Coins, greed, and crime. The Upper City District has a relatively high elevation, composed of Castle District, Temple District, Manoburn District, and Wide Alley District, with numerous religious buildings, Miracle Hall, and Supreme Miracle House, both centers of the God of Craft Gund's Church in Bod Gate. Miracle Hall showcases Gund's great inventions, and Supreme Miracle House also serves as a workshop. The Lower District is mostly stone houses, with six districts: Sea Tower District, Blonrich District, Steep District, Crowded Side District, East Road District, and Branpton District. The middle class generally resides in Blonrich District close to the Upper City District nobles, while East Road District near the stone lizard gate connecting the Outer City District is relatively chaotic, with many bustling bars and cheap inns, and Sea Tower District is where Flaming Fist Mercenary Group is stationed, located on the largest Rocky Offshore Island near Sea Tower District, building the headquarters Bodlan Sea Tower. Branpton District and Steep District are relatively run-down, serving as living communities for sailors and laborers. The Outer City District is distributed along the Chongsar River, gathering temporary buildings and shanties like slums, with a landmark stone bridge—Flying Dragon Crossroad—spanning the river, crowded with vendors, even widening the bridge surface with wood boards and building numerous structures on it; law and order scarcely exist, even the Flaming Fist Mercenary Group's protection range is very limited here, gathering both less settled poor people and criminals. The moss on the sewer dome glows under the dim phosphorescent lamp,; murky sewage laps at the soles with each step, creating sticky "gurgling" sounds. Between the wall cracks, purple-black mucus seeps like veins, converging into the drain. This is the nerve-corroding matter peculiar to Spirit Sucking Monster Nest, causing hallucinations when inhaled by ordinary people, as if countless tiny tendrils are wriggling in the ear canal. Suddenly, a crackling sound of dislocated bones comes from behind a broken cast iron pipe, as if something is twisting, squeezing through the narrow space. A Spirit Sucking Monster bursts forth from the water, its pale humanoid body covered in decaying matter, octopus-like head's tentacles vibrating at high frequency, releasing visible purple Mind Shock Wave. The foremost Guard's helmet dents, the eyeballs burst into a bloody mist from increased intracranial pressure; the second person screams without a sound as a tentacle pierces his ear canal, his spine extracted like a puppet string from the torso; the only survivor staggers backward, his firearm misfires, its roar drowned by the Spirit Sucking Monsters' collective subsonic keen completely. These Spirit Sucking Monsters are obviously tactically trained. Two individuals feint, using tentacles to strike the water surface, creating a mist shrouded by corrosive liquid to obscure vision; the third descends upside down from the ceiling, using suckers to adhere to the Guard's skull, tentacle tips precisely penetrating the foramen magnum—not immediate death, but forced puppet-like manipulation of the captives to turn, using his trembling hands to load ammunition for his companion's firearm. At this moment, the fourth Spirit Sucking Monster slices open the fallen Guard's chest cavity with bone blades on finger joints, extracting a warm liver into its mouth, pale yellow digestive fluid dripping from the lower jaw, creating wisps of blue smoke as it corrodes the ground. Three patrolling guards raise lanterns just as the sewage suddenly explodes! Four Spirit Sucking Monsters, the parasites had not completely died. The remains of the guards suddenly twitch, crawling up, and from the neck wound, a half-transparent Spirit Sucking Monster larva's tentacle emerges, pupils expanding into cloudy milky white. It grabs a Dagger and stabs its former comrade, an inhuman synthetic sound squeezing from the throat, "Skull... offer to the main brain..." And the real terror is just beginning—the distant sewage pond starts boiling, more pale figures rising from the water, dragging along dozens of captives wrapped in mucus cocoons, those human faces contorted into voiceless screams under the chrysalis.