Chapter 744: Tiamat's Temptation
"Citizens of Hell, destroy them! Drive these filthy lunatics back to the Bottomless Abyss!" Cassius's roar echoed across the battlefield.
Under the red dragon's command, both players from the Material Plane and native devil soldiers of Hell surged forward with high morale, chasing down the demons.
At that moment, the red dragon in the sky seemed like the true Lord of Hell, commanding the legions of Avernus.
Seeing the devils' response and the red dragon rallying the armies, Bael's expression darkened further, the fire of fury in his eyes barely concealed, his mood growing heavier.
That greedy red dragon, that damned Ember Emperor—he's using all my lines!
"Forget everything else—open fire with everything we've got! Kill every last one of those demons! Glory to the Machine God Cult!!"
"Boom! Boom!"
Wyverns soared through the sky, dropping bombs and missiles like rain into the demon horde, detonating massive explosions that turned countless demons into charred corpses.
Skyships sped across the air, sweeping the battlefield with beams of light that left no blade of grass behind. Demons perished wherever the beams passed, and the ground was scorched with deep cracks.
Steam tanks thundered across the land, plowing into the demon ranks with reckless abandon, grinding them into mangled piles of flesh.
"We haven't lost yet! For the great Lord Kostchtchie! For the supreme will of the Abyss!" A frost shaman raised his staff high and summoned a blizzard that swept toward the players.
The Tannaric Frost Giants' eyes turned bloodshot, faces twisted with rage, and they roared madly, brandishing giant clubs and spears, charging toward the players in a frenzy of icy wind.
But just then, a fierce, blood-red figure appeared in midair—tall, bat-winged, wielding a steel trident and wreathed in hellfire.
It was the Deep Infernal Fiend, the nominal Lord of Avernus—Bael!
"That's..." The frost shaman's face twisted in terror. Without hesitation, he turned to flee, shouting, "Damn it, it's Bael! Run, brothers, run!"
Bael roared through gritted teeth: "Kostchtchie is dead—and you'll die too! Under Hell's wrath, you Abyssal scum will all be burned to ashes!"
If not for Kostchtchie, he would never have handed over Hell's authority!
If not for that damn demon lord, how could the Ember Emperor steal the spotlight in his own domain!
Rage burned in the Deep Infernal Fiend's eyes, and his trident crackled with roaring flames, as if all his fury was about to be unleashed on these "remnants of Kostchtchie."
"Swoosh—"
Bael flapped his wings and instantly appeared behind the frost shaman. His trident swung through the air and decapitated him in one strike, sending filthy, icy blood spraying from the neck of the headless corpse.
The frost giant's head rolled to the ground, still frozen in an expression of terror and despair.
The frost shaman was dead, and the cold wind vanished. The Tannaric Frost Giants howled in rage, charging Bael in waves, hoping for a final counterattack.
But reality was cruel—Bael's eyes burst with hellfire, instantly incinerating the charging Frost Giants into ashes.
"You fools who don't know your place—I am a Lord of Hell, the supreme ruler of Avernus! I'll drive all you mongrels back to the Abyss!!"
"It's not you!"
One of the frost giants wiped blood from his mouth and pointed at the distant red dragon in the sky, laughing wildly: "It was that dragon who defeated us! He's our true enemy! He is the Dragon of Hell! The enemy of Frost Giants!"
"And you? You're nothing but a cowardly devil! A pathetic leech clinging to strength! That's what we giants despise most—"
"Splurt—"
Before he could finish, the furious Bael charged up and tore through him. With a wet, ripping sound, Bael rammed his trident into the frost giant's abdomen, disemboweling him as filthy intestines spilled out.
Immediately, hundreds of elite devils arrived, led by a commander of the Deep Infernal Fiends, forming up around Bael.
The devil commander bowed his head respectfully. "Lord Bael!"
Bael smirked coldly. "Heh... So you finally showed up. I was beginning to wonder if my orders didn't matter anymore."
"Of course not, my lord. We all know you're the true master of Avernus." Cold sweat broke out on the commander's forehead, his hand gripping his sword trembling slightly.
Forcing a flattering smile, he continued, "What shall we do with these Frost Giants? Their demonization isn't complete—perhaps they can still be used."
Bael glanced in disgust at the frost giant's corpse and waved dismissively. "Kill them all. Leave no survivors."
"Yes, Lord Bael."
The devils responded in unison. Under the commander's orders, they formed tight battle ranks, completely surrounding the remaining Tannaric Frost Giants, their black eyes filled with killing intent.
"Kill them all!!"
"Damn devils! Break through the encirclement!" the Frost Giants roared.
A slaughterfest began.
Meanwhile, Bael brooded over the words that frost giant had shouted.
"Dragon of Hell, huh..." Bael muttered under his breath.
He looked toward the distant sky at the majestic infernal dragon, his brows tightly furrowed, eyes full of wariness.
The Hell Lord spread his bat-like wings and flew toward the red dragon.
In Avernus's blood-red sky, the colossal dragon cast a massive shadow over the tattered battlefield.
"It's finally over."
Cassius looked down at the clearing battlefield. His lips curved slightly upward, sulfurous breath puffed from his nostrils, and a rare ease spread across his regal dragon face.
Suddenly, he felt a gaze filled with fury and jealousy from afar. The red dragon turned his head toward its source.
"Heh... So it's my dear, cheap ally. I guess it's time to return that seventy percent of Hell's authority," Cassius thought.
Under the effect of [Oathbreaker's Power], that contract was just a scrap of paper to him—it held no binding power.
But Cassius didn't want to reveal his ability yet, nor did he want to tear things completely with Bael.
Meat must be eaten bite by bite, roads walked step by step—taking over Avernus outright now would do more harm than good.
After all, Bael still had Asmodeus above him.
As the saying goes, the shot hits the bird that sticks its head out—if that ancient bastard, who's existed since the dawn of the universe, discovered his power and ambition, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Even if the Lord of the Nine left him alone, the other Hell Lords would see him as a threat—and might join forces against him. Seizing Avernus now would only make him everyone's enemy.
The best plan was to turn Bael into a puppet, a proxy, slowly colonize Avernus, and force them to depend on the Ember Empire.
Thinking of this, Cassius grinned at the approaching Deep Infernal Fiend and muttered, "Bael, my dear ally... I'm counting on you to keep being Lord of Hell."
Just then, space in front of him rippled violently. A powerful, yet strangely familiar and warm aura emerged, accompanied by the raucous roars of dragons in the distance.
"This aura..."
Cassius's expression changed. He muttered grimly, "Damn it—it's Tiamat!!"
Dragon roars echoed, the world twisted, and evil pressure spread.
Two massive claws tore open space. Red, green, blue, black, and white draconic heads twisted and writhed through the rift—a mountain-sized, nightmarishly ferocious dragon descended upon Avernus, appearing in the sky.
At the same time, chromatic dragons loyal to Tiamat—blue, green, and more—poured from the rift, flapping their wings and circling around her. Even a burly red dragon was among them.
The weakest of them was at least an adult dragon, and there were three or four ancient wyrms among them.
But under the shadow of the mountain-sized forms of Tiamat and Cassius, they looked tiny—like fluttering moths.
"This is trouble..." Cassius clenched his teeth, staring hard at the so-called Mother Goddess.
He'd rushed to Hell in a hurry... and overlooked something important—
Tiamat's divine realm.
The Dragon Queen's Nest was located in Avernus!
Since Baator is an outer plane, Tiamat could descend to Avernus in person!
Fortunately, with Avernus's authority in hand, Cassius wasn't powerless. At the very least, he had a strong chance of escaping back to the Material Plane.
Bael looked up at the sky, panic and fury on his face. A shadow loomed over him. "Damn it, it's the Dragon Queen! Did that greedy red lizard summon her? This is all part of his scheme!"
"Oh Nine Lords of Hell..."
"The Mother of Evil Dragons is descending now of all times? She hasn't shown herself in Avernus for centuries!"
"Does this mean Avernus is about to change hands?!"
Devils looked up at the nightmare-like five-headed dragon, panic spreading among them.
Was Avernus really about to become a kingdom ruled by dragons? Where would native devils like them go?!
"What's going on?!"
"Holy shit—isn't that the Mother of Chromatic Dragons? What's she doing here?!"
"Technically, Tiamat's also Cassius's mother god. Are they teaming up to take over Hell? Damn, this is wild."
"Doesn't seem like a warm reunion though. Maybe Emperor Kai's gonna throw hands with Dragon Mom?"
"Grab popcorn, front row! I love watching big shots brawl—this one's gonna have maxed-out special effects."
Unlike the nervous and frantic devils, the players were practically buzzing with excitement, chatting loudly and reveling in the chaos.
In the sky, black divine radiance spread in all directions as Tiamat gazed intently at the infernal dragon incarnation of Cassius, seeming to scrutinize him.
Sensing the authority of Hell, the red dragon head showed surprise, then curled into a sinister grin. Greed surged in those pale golden eyes.
The Dragon Queen slowly spoke with a smile: "It's been a long time, Cassius, my child. I'm truly proud of you."
"In just a few short years—barely a nap for me—you've grown so much. You've even claimed Avernus for our chromatic dragon kin."
Classic Tiamat speech: turning Cassius's deeds into the work of all chromatic dragons, then claiming it all for herself.
She had nothing to do with any of this, but still twisted it so all the glory and gains belonged to her.
Her words caused an uproar—like a stone tossed into a stormy sea.
"What?! So this really was the Dragon Queen's scheme!!"
"By the Nine Lords—Avernus is truly changing hands!"
Bael's face twisted in fury as he screamed: "Cassius, you damned lizard! How shameless can you get?! Avernus belongs to the devils!!"
"The great Lords of the Nine will never forgive you! You'll pay for this!"
In the Hell Lord's mind, his worst fear had come true—the greedy red dragon had teamed up with his mother goddess to seize Avernus!
Around Tiamat, the chromatic dragons burst into wild cheers and roars, shouting an ancient title: "Praise to the Dragon Prince!"
"Lord Cassius truly is Mother's most favored child!"
"This is perfect—Avernus will now belong to us chromatic dragons! Those silver-tongued red-skinned devils will all be our slaves!"
"If I could mate with such a powerful male..." The strong female red dragon looked at Cassius's majestic form with worship in her eyes. Her golden pupils burned with restless desire.
Facing the overwhelming pressure and deafening noise, Cassius lowered his head slightly, then calmly said: "Good day, Your Majesty Tiamat."
"But I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. I haven't claimed Avernus—I merely borrowed my ally Bael's authority to fight the Abyssal Lord."
"Besides..." Cassius paused, raised his head, and stared at the Dragon Queen. In a puzzled tone, he asked, "This was all my doing—what does it have to do with you?"
He tore through her lies with blunt honesty, exposing the truth and discrediting Tiamat's manipulation.
Cassius's words caused another uproar.
"Thank the Nine... so it wasn't the Dragon Queen's plot after all." Bael finally calmed down, gasping for breath, nervously observing the situation in the sky.
The devils couldn't read the situation, so they stayed silent, too afraid to speak for fear of getting caught in a divine-level conflict.
Only the players kept babbling without a care, unafraid of provoking any divine wrath.
"Something's off with this conversation—feels tense as hell."
"Tiamat: Hand over the land! Emperor Kai: You old hag, trying to shake me down for loot again?"
"This is peak family drama."
"Damn! Is this what a rebellious phase looks like? Hell yeah—I wanna see this mother-son battle!"