Upon first arriving at Aphnas, Leon was honestly a bit anxious.
The reason for his anxiety was simple: he was a Red Dragon, belonging to the Colorful Dragons, and the creator of the Colorful Dragons, the Evil Dragon Queen Tiamat, lived in Aphnas. Once she found out he was in Aphnas, no one knew what she might do.
Tiamat’s divine realm was a mountain fortress bristling with jagged edges, resembling a crown. Five watchtowers, each sculpted into the head and neck of a vigilant giant dragon, extended upward and outward from the main structure, with the primary entrance located at its top, and a cave serving as a secondary entrance.
As for why Tiamat stayed in Aphnas, even the wisest sages were baffled. The most common theory was that her confinement related to the end of a long war between dragons and giants, and that she was sealed here by a powerful curse cast by a forgotten giant god.
Leon entertained some idle thoughts but wasn’t overly worried. If things went south, he had the Long Rainbow Escape. Then, amidst the shocked gazes of other Blood War Mercenaries, he soared into the sky.
The scenery of Aphnas was hidden beneath the ugly cloud layer of a dim sky, as if illuminated by nine sunsets. Yet, there were no real celestial bodies, with only the occasional meteor streaking by before crashing into the ground.
Leon wrinkled his nose and sniffed, detecting the stench of sulfur and burning tar permeating the air.
As a Red Dragon, Leon was not averse to the smell of sulfur and burning tar. He looked down and saw hot, fierce winds sweeping across Hell, howling as they scoured the land below. Sometimes, these winds would whip up massive sandstorms capable of stripping flesh from bones and plunging everything into darkness.
Looking further, the sharp edges of the crystal rocks could easily tear through clothing and flesh, fang-like peaks loomed faintly on the distant horizon, and blood and viscera were scattered everywhere across the land of Aphnas. The stumbling debris might just be a rock or could be fragments of bone or ripped-off horn from a demon or devil’s corpse.
No scenery compares to the Blood War.
The sight of countless demons assaulting the orderly devil army was so thrilling that it made Leon eager to join in.
The demons had a numerical advantage but lacked any discipline. In the face of a devil army with superior tactics, unyielding morale, and better equipment — the devils’ mastery of military technology was unparalleled, much like their fervent devotion to intrigue — they were like waves crashing upon a rocky shore.
Despite this, when the enemy’s numbers were twenty times one’s own, no amount of intelligence or courage could make a difference. The devil’s army appeared to be teetering on the brink.
Leon saw the Pit Fiend, standing behind the army, commanding the troops. He saw the Balor, its head resembling a flaming bull, which, after cutting down several Chain Demons, suddenly turned and cleaved a Fierce Battle Demon in half because it blocked its path... out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a Yellow Spring Bee flying towards him.
The Yellow Spring Bee was an intelligent, malevolent insect native to the Nine Prisons. It possessed a heavy protective shell, metallic slender wings, and claws at the end sharp as a sword.
The Yellow Spring Bee could communicate, but Leon had no interest in conversing. He swung his hand back and split the Yellow Spring Bee in half. Thinking about it, being a Half-dragon seemed a bit conspicuous. So he transformed into a Yellow Spring Bee, only to be attacked by a group of Vrock... never expect to stay out of things on the Blood War Battlefield.
The Yellow Spring Bee, as a large evil demon, was no slouch in power, but the enemies were Vrock with a higher Challenge Level, and there was a crowd of them. Leon hesitated for just a moment before decisively transforming into a Vrock.
The Vrock were low in intelligence, and seeing the Yellow Spring Bee vanish and a Vrock pop up, they noisily wandered off elsewhere.
Leon did not follow that group of Vrock. He watched the demons and devil armies battling on the ground, sure that he had not fully shaken off the influence of the Abyss.
He even fantasized about jumping to the ground to unleash a Sanmei Divine Wind, which could undoubtedly take tens of thousands of lives in one go, or even more. Unfortunately, the battle line was stretched too long, and a single breath wouldn’t clear it all.
Leon noticed the Balor under continuous organized attack by the devils — honestly, without a Vajra Body, he wouldn’t dare rashly join the fray — and teleported away. The Pit Fiend never entered the fray, always playing the role of Commander.
Leon thought of the Dark Eight Demon Generals. According to legend, since time immemorial, the Dark Eight Demon Generals had been leading armies in the Blood War against demons. In reality, this claim was just another devilish deception.
The deaths of Dark Eight Demon Generals were quite regular, either from battle or internal strife. By quickly selecting successors for fallen Generals, each new Pit Fiend adopted the names of the deceased and reshaped their appearances as needed to take over the position, thus covering up the truth.
"Dark Eight Demon Generals..."
The Dark Eight Demon Generals were the Pit Fiends, equivalent to the Balor of the demons, basically akin to Secondary Demon Lords of the Bottomless Abyss. For this reason, Leon wasn’t very interested.
Leon dallied a bit and took arrow fire. Turning around, he saw an Erinyes aiming a bow and shooting at him.
The Erinyes were the most beautiful and striking of all upper and lower devils, depicted as handsome humanoid males and females with large wings. They were also the fiercest and most disciplined warriors, often adorned in uniquely styled armor and horned helmets, wielding exquisite treasure swords and fine bows.
Leon did not entangle with the Erinyes and turned away. He wanted to see how far the Blood War battle line could stretch. He flew for an indeterminate amount of time, waiting for the anticipated Demon Lord to appear... Demon Lords were difficult to handle on their own territory, much easier on the Blood War Battlefield.
Leon flew a circuit and found that the most advanced demons and devils on the Blood War Battlefield were the Balor he had seen leading the demons to charge the devil regiment and the Pit Fiend commanding the devil army.
Indeed, though the Blood War was unending, Demon Lords rarely entered the fray. Those Demon Lords typically focused more on their territory than personally participating in the Blood War. The main forces in the Blood War were low-tier and mid-tier demons led by a high-tier demon, often a Marilith or Balor.
Leon hovered in the sky, pondering that if he couldn’t see Demon Lords on the Blood War Battlefield, he would have to venture into the layers of the Bottomless Abyss governed by those Demon Lords, where the Challenge Level would be much higher. So, what could be done to expand the scale of the Blood War?
When the scale of the Blood War increased, Demon Lords would surely participate. Engaging in the Blood War could effectively enhance his influence.
Leon contemplated for a while but couldn’t find a clue. He decided to explore Aphnas, perhaps finding some opportunity there.