On the Calamity Land, which grew increasingly desolate under the flow of Purgatory Fire, dense demonic clouds obscured the sky. Only at the edge of vision could one see a few weak rays of light struggling to pierce the clouds, casting down on this land about to become a battlefield.
A dragon roar filled with ferocity and extreme fury echoed, as a Dragon Demon with a wingspan of over a hundred meters circled above Hell City. Its dragon scales, seeming to be carved from obsidian, reflected a metallic sheen under the light of Purgatory Fire.
Sharp bone spikes pointing toward the sky stood like jagged peaks on the back of the Dragon Demon. This avatar, cast through the Gate of Hell, soared beneath the gloomy clouds, spewing scorching flames from its mouth and nostrils, causing the air to boil. The smell of sulfur surged like a tide, and the world trembled under its roar.
The projection of the Hell Lord!
Though it was called such, when the Hell Lord’s projection actually descended, Noah, who was already leading the angels far away, looked on. He could only see that this Dragon Demon bore no difference from a creature of flesh and blood, showing none of the ethereal vagueness that a projection should possess, instead appearing extremely real.
"Wow, it can even bleed!"
Noah watched as his foster father’s chopping axe heavily struck the Dragon Demon’s body, scales shattered, bone spikes snapped, and a large amount of putrid, foul black blood flowed down, spilling onto the earth. Even high-ranking demons of Hell would let out cries of agony upon contact with the splattered Dragon Blood for their bodies were corroded.
"Is this a projection? It’s too real!"
This was also the first time the Golden Dragon saw the Hell Lord’s projection in the real world. While such things were documented in the inheritance and could be found in books, nothing compared to the thrill of witnessing it firsthand.
As for why he hadn’t seen it before, it was because his foster father hadn’t returned. Noah, with nothing better to do after eating his fill, thoughtlessly joined the coalition to counterattack the Gate of Hell. A Golden Dragon without legendary combat power should’ve stayed put in the rear for real business.
"This projection possesses a part of the real power of the Dragon Demon Lord. Once the projection is destroyed, the Lord’s true body in Hell will also be wounded."
The angel, watching the battle in the distance between the Titan Giant and the Hell Lord’s projection, had a look of longing and aspiration. She also wished to participate in such battles, but unfortunately, she was far from qualified. Even wielding her father’s sword wouldn’t change that.
"I recall that in Hell, didn’t a lord suffer betrayal due to repeated failures in invading the Material Realm that led to a decline in power?"
The angel’s words evoked a memory recorded in the Golden Dragon’s inherited knowledge.
"Yes, a Hell Lord, although second only to the Lord of Hell, must lead a Hell Legion and win victories in invasions of the Material Realm to maintain their lordship.
If they suffer consecutive failures, the lord will first incur the displeasure of Hell’s Will and be scolded by the Lord of Hell. Then they will certainly face betrayal from subordinates and assassination attempts. Ultimately, a lord who has lost everything will face the most terrifying end."
Angels, long active on battlefields against the Abyss and Hell, are extremely knowledgeable about their enemies. She revealed to the Golden Dragon the cruel competitive mechanism within Hell.
Even in Hell, for a Hell Lord whom billions of devils look up to lifelong, failure to lead subordinates and legions to plunder enough souls in the Material Realm would result in a very miserable outcome.
Though they were opposing enemies, at this moment, Noah couldn’t help but feel some sympathy for the devils, because once fallen into Hell and becoming a devil, they can only do everything they can to climb upward. Not climbing means only serving as cannon fodder.
And even after becoming a High Rank Devil and being promoted to a lord, one must figure out how to lead a group of inherently rebellious subordinates to invade the Material Realm and plunder souls.
Indeed, this means never having a moment of leisure from birth to death, not a second of downtime, constantly considering how to accumulate merits and elevate one’s status.
"Are you sympathizing with the devils?"
Upon hearing Noah’s sigh, the angel couldn’t help but cast a peculiar glance.
"No, no, I just think that I probably couldn’t endure the life of a devil. Even if I became a lord capable of challenging and opposing the Divine, without becoming the highest-ranking Lord of Hell, I’m just a puppet, not free."
"Freedom? That’s too extravagant for a devil. While devils excel at using the power of contracts to bind, tempt, and threaten intelligent beings, it is ironically the devils themselves that are most constrained by contracts."
"I say, do you still have the mind to chat with me here? Aren’t you going to help?"
"Do you think your foster father needs my help?"
Ophelia said in a somber tone, pointing to the distant aerial battlefront.
The confrontation between the Titan Giant and the Dragon Demon didn’t remain at a stalemate for long. The disparity in strength quickly became apparent, as the seemingly fierce and brutal Demon Dragon, which even a Near Saint had to carefully deal with, was now thoroughly blood-soaked.
When Noah looked over, he saw that his foster father had already seized one of the Dragon Demon’s thorned, bone-plated Dragon Wings. Accompanied by a harrowing tearing sound, the Dragon Demon’s entire side wing was ripped off.
The intense pain from the avatar’s projection caused the Hell Lord’s true body to feel it. The Demon Dragon let out a roar filled with rage, not only from the pain but also from its dignity as a Hell Lord being scorned and trampled. Even though the opponent was merely an inheritor of the Titan Bloodline and not a Divine incarnation, he still couldn’t match him.