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Chapter 550: Endgame
"Red dragon! Such audacity! Are you threatening us? Threatening three true deities?"
A thunderous boom exploded like a clear sky lightning strike. Around Tyr's incarnation, a terrifying pressure surged, the veins bulging on his lone arm gripping the steel-gray warhammer.
Facing this seemingly enraged divine avatar, Cassius fearlessly stepped forward again, using the power of his Imperial Domain to resist the pressure.
The red dragon raised his head, arching his brow scales, and softly spoke toward Tyr's avatar in the sky: "Lord Tyr, this is not a threat. It's merely a friendly reminder."
"Boom!"
The storm howled, clouds surged, and the clash of their auras generated wave-like shockwaves in the sky.
Ilmater squinted slightly, his head lowered in sorrow, his expression still one of compassion, unreadable.
Bahamut slowly flapped his wings within the clouds, looking down from above at the red dragon perched atop the mountain. His aged dragon face was expressionless, seemingly in deep thought.
After a long pause, the platinum dragon god finally spoke: "Cassius, conduct yourself well."
"Aargh—"
Bahamut raised his head, letting out a long, distant roar that echoed across the sky.
The platinum dragon's entire body shimmered with a bluish glow. His long, serpentine form gradually faded, eventually merging with the sky.
"We respectfully see off Lord Bahamut!"
"Praise the Platinum Dragon God."
"Glory to the Lord of the North Wind."
In the distance, gold, silver, and brass dragons all lowered their heads respectfully toward the direction of Bahamut's departure.
"Jezal Slak is dead. The mortal realm needs rest. This war should come to an end."
Ilmater slowly straightened, his tormented throat issuing a hoarse, tearful voice.
"The sky collapses, the earth crumbles, mortals weep, and endless suffering falls upon the world. Transfer all wounds and pain unto me."
He hummed a sorrowful hymn as he limped through the wounded land. Finally, accompanied by a gentle warm breeze, his scarred figure faded away.
"Praise the Crying God."
"The Lord of the Rack."
The solemn chants of metallic dragons and celestial beings echoed across the ruined mountains.
Even the most devout followers of the Empire could not bear to speak ill of the god who bore mortal suffering. They simply watched him leave in silence.
And in the sky above, within the rolling cloud layers, the avatar of Tyr—clad in light armor and wielding the steel-gray warhammer—began to shimmer and fade.
Tyr's incarnation looked toward Cassius, white light gleaming from his hollow eye sockets, and let out a cold snort.
"Let us hope you're truly as strong as you boast, and not merely a slave to power."
"Boom!"
A mighty rumble shook the heavens and earth. Starlight spread across the sky, countless bolts of lightning fell, and blinding white light bathed all beings.
Tyr's incarnation finally faded completely, leaving only the residual pressure behind.
"Farewell, Your Majesties."
Cassius quietly looked up at the still-surging clouds, finally revealing a relieved smile.
He had succeeded.
Everything had gone according to the plan he laid out years ago.
The abyssal invasion was thwarted by the Empire. Jezal Slak was slain by his hand, and Karrikex's intact corpse fell under his control.
"Roar—"
Cassius stood atop Dragonblood Mountain, raised his head, extended his neck, and let out a long roar, proclaiming the red dragon's supreme dominance over the Anzeta Wasteland.
"Oh, gods—"
"Praise Cassius."
"Long live the Ember Empire! Long live Emperor Cassius!"
Hundreds of thousands lifted their heads. Angels, metallic dragons, and red dragon bloodlines all gazed toward the mountaintop, countless eyes focused there.
The red dragon hovered midair, his pale golden eyes bright with majesty and power.
Sunlight cast a faint halo upon his forty-meter-long body, his crimson scales gleaming resplendently.
Winds howled, clouds churned, and even Dragonblood Mountain beneath him—shaped like a ferocious dragon—seemed to bow in worship.
Somehow, people felt a peculiar force from it—divinity.
Cassius looked down calmly at the beings below, slowly flapping his wings.
He felt their gazes—fervent, devout, fearful—narrowing his eyes.
The long-unused interface appeared before him, displaying information he hadn't yet checked.
[You have slain an Abyssal Lord. Legendary Achievement Acquired: [Demon Slayer]]
After Cassius's battle with Jezal Slak, the once snow-covered Anstica was now a devastated wasteland.
Collapsed peaks, melting snow, and molten lava bubbling from fractured terrain filled the region.
Only the newly risen Dragonblood Mountain stood tall, as if it had always been there for tens of thousands of years, a testament to Cassius's power and deeds.
After the departure of the "Three Saints of Justice," the Empire, despite minor frictions, compensated the distant reinforcements with some gold.
The celestial beings watched their gods depart, felt the Empire's unfriendly stares, and began collective planar teleportation, leaving the material realm.
Metallic dragons also opened portals, taking gold coins bearing Cassius's face and leaving Anzeta for their own realms.
These beings from across the multiverse had witnessed Cassius and Jezal Slak's battle. Surely, this legendary conflict would be recorded in history and spread far.
An Abyssal Lord had been slain—an event shocking enough to shake the multiverse.
Cassius's name would soon echo louder across the entire multiverse.
And now, countless eyes—from Mount Celestia, Ysgard, the Hells, the Abyss, and even the depths of the Astral Plane—were all turning toward this remote land of Anzeta.
Dragonblood Mountain.
"Master, an ancient silver dragon from the Melward Clan seeks an audience, along with the blue dragons of Faria and envoys from the Kingdom of Thrayce..."
"Let them wait. For the next ten days, no one is to disturb me."
Cassius coiled atop the peak formed from Karrikex's skull, exhaling sulfurous steam and letting out an annoyed growl.
"Yes, Master."
The ogre mage nodded repeatedly, waved his staff, and vanished in haste.
Cassius muttered, "Tch, such trouble. The moment this war ends, every power rushes in."
With that, he lowered his head and began reviewing the documents Langpu had submitted.
"In this war, under the leadership of Emperor Cassius..."
In resisting the Abyssal invasion, the Ember Empire had achieved a bloody but glorious victory.
Despite pre-established defenses and heavy bombardments, demons still caused significant disruption to the Empire's lines in later trench battles.
Twenty-one southern cities were destroyed by the demons, tens of thousands of civilians perished, and 140,000 Imperial soldiers and retainers died on the southern front.
Even more players perished—countless numbers. The Abyssal invasion caused losses exceeding tens of millions of gold coins.
Cassius could have flown directly to Anstica, crushed the demons, and killed Jezal Slak solo, preventing all losses.
But he chose not to.
The prolonged war tempered the Imperial army, tested and improved its tactics, and forged the Ember Empire in blood and fire.
To Cassius, demons were not just monsters of chaos and death—they were mountains of experience!
According to Langpu's stats, over 30 million demons were slain in this months-long war, much of it thanks to the Starfallers.
On Cassius's faction panel, the average level of the 3 million players in the Ember Empire faction rose by five whole levels!
Most of these were newcomers who joined during the "War of Kings" expansion and were level 1 or 2 before the war.
The war granted them massive XP, and some even reached level 7 through demon-slaying.
Veteran players from the beta who had joined Ember Nest early broke the level 10 threshold, becoming true transcendents.
The Empire's mid-tier strength was massively bolstered, with five-figure numbers of mid- to high-level Professionals joining the Ember Legion.
Compared to these real gains, the southern losses seemed trivial.
Moreover, the heavy use of armaments in the war had revitalized the Empire's military industry, injecting new vigor into a stagnant economy.
"The more we fight, the stronger we grow" was no empty slogan—it was a reality for the Ember Empire war machine.
For Cassius, the greatest reward was his personal power gain and the priceless progenitor dragon corpse beneath him.
"Years of planning... all for this moment."
The red dragon narrowed his eyes, a satisfied grin curling his snout, his menacing face brimming with the joy of triumph. The interface lit up before him.
Achievement: [Demon Slayer]
"They say only demons can slay demons. Even gods can only seal them.
To truly kill a Demon Lord, you must be even more ruthless and brutal than them—an almost impossible feat. —The Battle of Blackthorn, Arm's Scroll of Darkness"
Passive Trait Acquired:
[Demon Slayer]
Constitution +1, Charisma +1
With an unshakable yearning for order, you personally slew a Demon Lord and received a response from the world itself.
You have acquired the following traits: [Chaos-Resisting Body][Orderbound Breath]
[Chaos-Resisting Body]: You now possess resistance to all Abyssal powers and are nearly immune to corruption by Abyssal Will.
[Orderbound Breath]: After consuming massive energy, your breath will gain miraculous powers of restoration and rectification.
On the interface, the black-gold trophy glowed faintly, then slowly merged with Cassius's vast body.
Cassius closed his eyes, allowing the invisible force to reshape him.
With each breath, his muscles tightened, and the scorching heart in his chest beat stronger. His constitution was greatly enhanced.
Whirling wind surged around him. Elemental particles danced. His charisma reached a new peak.
"Whoosh..."
Steam hissed from between his scales, nostrils, and fangs.
"Roar—"
The red dragon let out a low roar, spreading his wings and stretching his limbs, feeling euphoric.
This feeling of base stat enhancement had become familiar—he even enjoyed it now.
But what intrigued him more were the new traits from [Demon Slayer]—those chaos-countering powers.
Suddenly, Cassius stared hard at the interface and muttered:
"This is... Entropy Reversal."
He spoke a word that now felt somewhat distant.
Jezal Slak hadn't been wrong.
Even in the world of Erezaghe, things tend toward chaos—what people of his past life called "entropy increase."
In a world with the Abyss and demons, this trend manifests as demonic invasion and destruction.
But the power Cassius had gained could reduce systemic chaos and completely annihilate demons as extensions of Abyssal Will.
"Buzz—"
In that moment, the world fell silent. It felt like the world whispered, and everything held no more secrets.
He saw magma beneath the earth, portals to outer planes, and the parallel Elemental Planes...
Mount Celestia, Ysgard, Mechanus, Chaos Sea, Outer Realms... these planes branched like twigs before Cassius.
In Mechanus—a clockwork realm shaped like a droplet—countless interlocking gears slowly turned in the void, casting faint light.
"Click."
Cassius felt a strange sensation, a silver spark blossoming within him, granting newfound power.
Eager, he activated this newborn strength. Silver glints flashed in his golden eyes. Then he opened his mouth and breathed scorching dragonfire.
"Boom—"
[Orderbound Breath]
A silver pillar of flame erupted. Instantly, the surrounding weave of magic spun with precision, everything falling into perfect order.
This was the power to obliterate chaos—the blade of a Demon Slayer!