"Cannon fodder? Then before reaching the Gate of Hell, there should be no more obstacles."
Main Angel Ophelia mused.
"Oh, you knew about that?"
"Why wouldn’t I know?"
An angel’s flame whip formed in her hand, crackling as it lashed towards the Giant Dragon, who casually swung its tail, summoning six light chains out of thin air, twisting like agile Dragon Snakes, intending to bind this Main Angel.
"Sorry, I underestimated you!"
Noah dodged the angel’s attack, and though his frame was immense, in agility, he was no less than an angel. There was no direct correlation between size and speed.
Just as Noah and the angel had predicted, after conquering eight bronze fortresses in a row, the subsequent numerous checkpoints were all unguarded devil cities crumbling under their own emptiness. The devils, aware of the situation, had already fled, retreating all forces to amass near the Gate of Hell.
Hence, when the Alliance Legion reached the vicinity of the now-dissolved former Kingdom Capital, they saw hundreds of thousands of devils gathering in a magnificent bronze-cast city.
A mass of High Rank devils gathered, their demonic qi visible to the naked eye, forming black clouds that blotted out the sun, shrouding all beneath with shadow, yet not without light, although this light came not from above but from below.
Lava flowing from the Gate of Hell eroded and assimilated this land, causing it to crack, molten rock reflecting firelight flowed through crevices, indistinguishable from the soil of Hell, where mundane creatures could not survive.
This was truly soil of Hell, and on this vile land, the most conspicuous and prominent was the towering Gate of Hell amidst the fortress.
A Purgatory Gate formed from glaring white bones, standing at an imposing 280 meters tall, comprising skeletal arms outstretched and heads turned outward, striving to break free, yet this was impossible, with blood tears of anguish and resentment flowing from their skulls.
Tens of thousands of souls were bound to the portal, eternally emitting cries of anguish and wails. If a weak-willed Transcendent were to unwittingly arrive and hear such sounds, in just a few breaths, their consciousness would be erased, their soul shattered.
"This broken gate looks bigger than last time!"
Noah, at the Legion’s center, glanced from afar at the colossal skeleton portal connecting realms and stirring the vortex of demonic qi, and suddenly spoke.
"Of course, the Gate of Hell is the devils’ greatest assurance for traversing the Material Realm, and they would spare no cost to fortify it."
"By ’cost’, you mean the souls of mortals from the Material Realm, right?"
"What else, do you think those devils would sacrifice themselves?"
"Speaking of which, though mortals may seem insignificant, their souls hold tremendous importance, whether to the All Gods or the Abyss Hell, who compete for them without end, always wanting more, never seen refusing."
Staring at that giant skeleton gate capable of connecting two realms and neutralizing world rule conflicts, Noah pondered aloud.
"Souls belong to the domain of the All Gods, not something you and I should discuss."
Ophelia waved her hand, instantly creating a sound-proofing barrier around them to ensure such remarks don’t spread.
"Why so tense? I wasn’t planning on meddling in the domain of souls?"
Seeing the clear change in the angel’s expression, Noah remained unconcerned,
"Is it not acceptable even to talk about it? The All Gods from Heaven shouldn’t be that petty, right?"
"Have you truly never thought of meddling?"
"Then how did you earn the title of Holy Dragon? Why do you diligently maintain the common people’s praise and adoration for you?"
Ophelia hit him with a direct question.
"I like it, is that not enough?"
Noah responded after only a brief pause.
"Such a reason couldn’t even fool me, who do you think it could deceive?"
Ophelia didn’t argue with Noah but posed another question,
"They won’t be swayed by your words, only by your actions. Should you cross the line, no Divine will hesitate."
Even Noah knew that this angel was kindly reminding him, so he dryly explained,
"I never intended for divine enthronement."
"Telling me isn’t enough; you’ll have to convince those Majesties in the future."
Ophelia shook her head.
The existence of the Golden Tree was Noah’s greatest secret, something he naturally couldn’t reveal. The causal links he formed with sentient beings to harvest fruit, in the eyes of some, appeared as collecting faith to prepare for future divine enthronement, yet it couldn’t be explained nor stopped.
"You don’t have to worry; after all, you have such a powerful foster father, don’t you?"
Seeing the silent Golden Dragon, Ophelia pointed to the distant flashing thunder, within which a Titan Giant appeared, gazing down upon the world,
"Even if a Holy Dragon descends in Saint Form, they would still be cautious with your foster father."
Thick black hair flying in the wind, brilliant golden eyes like two suns descending into this land of sin and filth, the man’s gaze swept across the earth, and no devil dared to meet it.
Though alone, his imposing aura overshadowed a city, not just any city but Hell City amassed with hundreds of thousands of devil army, hundreds of High Rank devils garrisoned, led by nearly ten Purgatory Legends!
Even Noah, who considered himself quite familiar with his foster father, couldn’t help but gasp while observing him reveal his true body unabashedly.
While Casius couldn’t compare to the Gate of Hell in height, however grand, it was just an immobile edifice, whereas Casius was a Giant that stood tall next to mountains.
Even his casual movement caused tremors, and storms were stirred with each breath, more so as Casius the Titan, whose vibrant life force brewed storms with every inhale and exhale.
At this moment, both friend and foe were stunned by Casius revealing his true form,
The famous Tidel with Titan Bloodline was known to most legends present, numerous Purgatory Legends had faced him. Though respectable, not tarnishing the Titan name, it wasn’t unexpected, merely this.
But now, the devils guarding the Gate of Hell could hardly keep it together.
"Damn, are we supposed to fight this mythic being?"
"This is a real Titan, not a mixed-blood mongrel!"
"I think we should retreat. Isn’t there another gate to the west? We don’t necessarily have to hold this one."
Not only were the devils frightened, even Noah couldn’t help but wonder if his foster father, despite having residual bloodlines untraceable by any array after severance, transformed into a pure-blooded Titan after four awakenings?
That’s utterly impossible!
"Such a nostalgic power, too bad it only fools uncultured fools for a moment, you’re not a pure-blood Titan!"
Casius, ceasing to hide his power, elicited a massive reaction from the Gate of Hell, as demonic qi surged at its portal, forming the head of a massive Evil Dragon with erratic horns, which could easily swallow the current Noah whole,
"You cannot complete the final step, so, are you interested in working for me? I can help you complete the final step and make you a true Titan!"
"Hey! This Hell Lord is your Dragon Clan relative!"
The angel nudged the Golden Dragon.
"Your relative! It’s merely a fallen Dragon Demon."
While the Dragon and the angel bantered, the Titan Giant already drew his battle axe and swung it down, paying no heed to the lure of transformation into a pure-blooded Titan.