Chapter 730: Kostchtchie
The red dragon opened its gaping maw, and a torrent of dragonfire surged from the depths of its throat, sweeping across the land like a sea of flames intent on incinerating all.
Even more terrifying, within the fire burned silver-white inner flames radiating a sacred, majestic aura.
——That was the Flame of Order, capable of erasing demons completely from existence, beyond even the Abyss's power to salvage them!
Kremron was stricken with fear, collapsing to the ground. He crawled backward, screaming, "Lord Kostchtchie, my lord, please save me! I am your most loyal follower!"
"Looks like he's too scared to show his face. The so-called Lord of Wrath, King of Frost Giants——is nothing more than this!" Cassius sneered as his breath engulfed the land, instantly turning hundreds of demons to ash.
The fiery tongues lashed out like wild beasts, charging at Kremron.
Struggling, Kremron raised his great hammer and poured all his bloodline power into it, summoning howling winds and blasts of freezing light. Ice pillars burst from the ground to form impenetrable barriers of frost.
But against Cassius's all-consuming dragonfire, these ice walls and snow melted instantly, turning first into white steam and then vanishing completely.
Just as the fire was about to consume Kremron, an enraged roar echoed from beyond the dimensions.
"Damn lizard! Who gave you the courage to oppose me——"
The voice reverberated across the hellish wasteland, instilling soul-deep terror in all living things. Even the normally chaotic demons fell silent.
With piercing winds and violent tremors, colossal glaciers rose from the ground, blocking the dragonfire. Spotted frost imbued with chaotic power descended from the sky, gradually forming a massive phantom.
A hunched frost giant with blue skin appeared, towering hundreds of meters tall. His muscular body was clad in armor sewn from dozens of white dragon hides.
Unlike ordinary frost giants, his hair was not snowy blue but a filthy black-gray. His pitch-black eyes radiated cruelty and savagery, as if they could tear everything before him apart.
His identity was self-evident——King of Frost Giants, Lord of Wrath, Kostchtchie!
"You've picked the wrong opponent, lizard. The great Kostchtchie will turn Avernus into a paradise for the Abyss!"
Looking up at the towering phantom, Cassius narrowed his eyes, pupils constricting. He felt a familiar sensation.
Immortality—true divine essence.
Having encountered many gods, Cassius was deeply familiar with this trait.
Just as Bel had said, this Abyssal Lord possessed quasi-divine power—no, more precisely, he was a demigod among the tanar'ri!
Even the glaciers carried divine power from the domains of Strength and Cold, capable of freezing everything and turning entire human kingdoms into snowy wastelands.
Yet Cassius was no mere mortal. He chuckled coldly.
"This is your trump card? Even a demigod-class demon is no match for me here in Avernus!"
With that, the red dragon flapped his wings, stirring a scorching hurricane as he soared into the sky, facing the towering frost giant phantom from above.
"Die!"
Kostchtchie raised his hand, unleashing a terrifying blast of cold light from the void, aimed directly at the red dragon's heart. Sharp ice spikes pierced the earth, rising skyward.
But Cassius showed no fear. With another beat of his wings, he flew thousands of meters higher, gazing down at the demonic frost giant. His dragon crystal gleamed like a sun, radiating ten thousand rays of light.
Simultaneously, endless hellfire gathered around his body, forming a sword of purgatory—this was the manifestation of Avernus's authority!
"Avernus's power... So, you're a Hell Lord too?" Kostchtchie frowned slightly, contemplative.
But Cassius showed no mercy. He roared to the sky, releasing a pillar of fire bursting with immense energy. It shot down like divine judgment.
"Boom!"
The earth quaked, the roar deafening, and white mist enveloped everything.
The summoned glacier was pierced by the fire pillar, leaving a massive crater. Boiling brine surged down from it, forming a rushing river.
The frost giant lord bellowed, firing beams of freezing light from the void to counter Cassius's flames.
"Boom!"
Cold and heat clashed—two opposite forces collided, triggering chaotic energy waves that stirred violent weather shifts: now clear skies, now storms, now overcast gloom.
But soon, Cassius gained the upper hand. The fire pillar pushed closer to the frost giant. After all, Avernus was a scorching, arid purgatory—cold could never reach full potential here. And Cassius was bolstered by the plane's will.
Kremron stared at the advancing fire, disbelief etched on his face. "Impossible… Lord Kostchtchie is invincible. How can a lizard like you..."
Demons trembled in terror, scattering across the barren wasteland to escape the residual shockwaves.
Devils, however, felt their fear of the Ember Emperor deepen to the bone.
Atop the bronze fortress, Bel observed the cataclysmic battle, and upon seeing the familiar power, his face darkened.
"That power... It was supposed to be mine."
Bel clenched his teeth and fists, powerless in the face of it all.
There was no doubt: Cassius was powerful. And Bel needed that power to maintain Avernus's order and prevent demon conquest.
Though his heart burned with resentment, Bel had to admit——Avernus needed Cassius. Right now, he needed Cassius.
This was the conclusion reached after weighing the pros and cons.
"Roar——"
Cassius unleashed Avernus's power within him, roaring, "Kostchtchie, if you had come in person, I might have shown you some respect.
But sending only an avatar—how dare you act arrogant before me!"
In the next moment, a hundred-meter-long purgatory blade fell from the sky, cleaving straight through the frost giant lord's form from head to toe.
Then, hellfire erupted from the sword, engulfing Kostchtchie's avatar in flame.
The hundred-meter-tall frost giant billowed white smoke as his body melted. Murky meltwater streamed from his mouth and nose, chaotic power clashing with hellish energy.
"Cassius... enemy of frost giants... when I descend in person, your death is certain!"
"Boom——"
With a final hoarse roar, Kostchtchie's massive form completely collapsed, ice chunks falling and transforming into a glacier drenched in meltwater.
"No... Lord Kostchtchie is invincible..." Kremron staggered up, waving his hammer, howling to the sky.
But under the sky-piercing fire pillar, the frost giant's cries and resistance seemed so small, so fragile, so insignificant.
"Boom!"
Amid blinding flames, a massive fireball hundreds of meters wide erupted across the land, devouring everything—including the frost giant leader who had plagued the cosmos for years.
Kremron perished just like that. Under the red dragon's onslaught, nearly a million demons either died or fled. The once-mighty army that had besieged the bronze fortress completely collapsed.
A terrifying war machine indeed.
Gazing at the ravaged earth and abyssal death fog spreading over the wasteland, every devil officer present shared this sentiment.
A mountainous frame, scales harder than steel, claws sharper than swords, and a breath that could destroy all—such a creature was pure disaster on any battlefield.
Devils had lost count of how many times they felt immense relief.
Thank goodness.
Thank goodness this monster was their ally—and not their enemy!
Crisp applause echoed through the sky. Bel flapped his wings and appeared behind the red dragon in a swirl of hellfire, his face wearing a false smile.
"Heh, what a splendid performance, Your Majesty Cassius, my dear ally. As expected of the strongest dragon in the Material Plane—you destroyed a demon army single-handedly."
Cassius turned around, nodded slightly, and returned the polite smile: "Of course. After all, we are both the designated lords of Avernus by Asmodeus himself. We must perform accordingly."
"You..."
Bel's face instantly darkened.
Without the full authority of Avernus, he could not become a true Hell Lord—and this was his greatest pain.
His enemies even spread rumors like "Bel is not favored by the Lord of the Nine Hells" and "Zariel will be resurrected" all because he had yet to become the rightful master of Avernus.
Cassius continued, "Now, it's time for you to fulfill your promise, Lord Bel."
"What promise?"
"The imperial concession. You said so yourself not long ago. Don't tell me you're backing out already?"
"Heh, of course not, Your Majesty Cassius. Your army certainly deserves a foothold in Avernus." Bel sneered inwardly.
It's just a small piece of land. What, does this greedy red dragon think he can take over all of Avernus?
"Very well, then I choose this place for the concession."
Cassius circled in the sky and casually pointed to a front-line area of the devil army. "This land will serve as the Empire's leased territory."
"Fine. Avernus will forever welcome the Empire. This is how we care for our allies."
"Let's hope you won't regret this later... and don't cry too hard when the time comes," Cassius thought, smirking.
The red dragon extended his claws, radiating an overwhelming force of law. Beside him, Bel's expression shifted, his pupils contracting.
This greedy red dragon... what's he up to now?
Why was he sensing plane law energy? Was Cassius trying to seize his authority—or worse, become the true Lord of Avernus?
Bel's face twisted with uncertainty. His whole body radiated danger, and a hellsword appeared in his hand.
He might strike at any moment, exercising his fine tradition of backstabbing, aiming for a surprise attack on the red dragon.
"Boom——"
The earth rumbled and shook. Dust billowed across the wasteland as a massive stone stele rose from the ground, towering over Avernus's soil.
A single line was carved upon it:
[Imperial Boundary Monument]
"What the hell is this?" Bel stared at the mysterious stele in utter confusion, at a complete loss.
Just then, amid twinkling lights, several humanoid figures appeared next to the stele. Strangely dressed humans materialized beside it.
"First! I'm the first one here!"
"Where is this place?"
"No clue. I just saw a new teleport point and jumped in. Too bad I didn't snag first place."
"This blood-red sky... looks like Baator. Are we in Avernus?"
More and more figures appeared beside the stele. Dozens turned to hundreds, then thousands, and finally tens of thousands, flowing like a mottled tide.
Even the devils found it unbelievable. A stele with no magical aura had summoned tens of thousands of troops?
What baffled them even more was that these "humans" kept multiplying, showing no signs of stopping.
A cross-planar teleportation of this scale—shouldn't that require a group of at least archmage-level spellcasters? This was way too reckless!
No, this wasn't magic at all!
Cramped in the tight space, the humans showed no fear of Avernus's harsh environment—on the contrary, their faces were filled with delight and curiosity.
"Hey, give me some room! I'm getting crushed here!"
"Damn, is this the legendary hidden dungeon?"
"I read a guide—this should be Avernus. There was even an official special quest to reach it, but my level was too low to qualify."
"These devil armors look cool... Hell Iron set? Maybe I can steal one..."
The players chattered noisily, louder even than the demon horde from earlier.
Suddenly, someone pointed at Cassius and shouted, "Look, it's Big Bro Cassius!"
"It's really him! In the flesh! I barely saw him back in the Empire!"
"That model is huge..."
The crowd erupted. For these players, this legendary NPC—the Emperor of the Ember Empire, the dragon who clashed with gods—was all too familiar.
"Awesome! Emperor Cassius is here! This has to be a major main quest—we got in early!"
"Great, I'm ready to be carried by the Emperor!"
"Where Cassius goes, nothing survives!"
"His Majesty is getting hotter every day. If only I could touch him... hehehe."
"Hey, hey! Imperial Society Decency Patrol, we've found another pervert from the Dragon-Fetish Club. Please execute them immediately! Purge for the people!"
"What pervert? It's called faith, okay? Faith!" That player stared at Cassius with fanatical eyes, unconsciously wiping drool from the corner of his mouth.