Above the River Styx, within the Crimson Moon, there seemed to be a layer of molten gold flowing around.
A warm, bloody wind swept across the area, accompanied by the mutterings of the devils.
This ten-odd li long river bend was called "Thorn Bend". To the south was a bottomless abyss, and to the north was the crisscrossed Liao Castle. This section of the river bend was slightly concave to the land, and was a rare shallow bend for anchoring. The magic power of the water of the Styx River was weak here, so it would not swallow the hull.
The imps gathered there and rode on their pure black feathers on the River Styx. Every day, hundreds of thousands of fresh souls were brought to shore.
This was something that had never happened before.
Most of the souls had already been determined before they entered the Nine Hells. These 'currencies' belonged to the various dukes of Hell. They would receive their receiver at a certain point in the River Styx and be thrown into prison wagons to be sent to the territory of their intended ruler. After a long period of oppression, they would be squeezed dry of all their value.
But with the invasion of the Abyss, the first level of Hell had completely fallen. Duke Norton had also left his humble servants forever. The souls that originally flowed to the first level of Hell were now ownerless. The other dukes couldn't just sit by and watch the precious treasures disappear, so they fought for the ownerless souls before the River Styx flowed into the abyss.
A fight of this scale would definitely lead to chaos. The master of the second level of Hell wanted to stop it, but it was a joint decision of the Duke Of Hell. It involved everyone's interests. Even the Lord of Nine Hells sent people to participate.
So, the Duke Of Sheehan of the second level of Hell had no choice but to make an agreement that only the weakest and lowest ranked imps were allowed to enter Thorn Bay to reduce the chaos as much as possible.
It was time to harvest again. The boiling water flowed down the river with the wailing souls. Immediately, hundreds and thousands of devils came forward. They stretched their necks and sniffed at the unfortunate newcomers. They used their steel forks to fish the souls out of the river while pushing the other Kuroh to the side.
The local devils referred to these outsiders as "shameful thieves." They had squeezed their way in from the other planes of Hell, paddled the Kuroh, and picked out every valuable soul. After capturing them, they locked them up in tall soul-imprisoning wagons and dragged them back to the plane where their masters were.
Spike Demons and Barbed Demons were the most despicable demons. It was very difficult for them to find an opportunity to rise. They were treated as dust on the battlefield, and it was even more difficult for them to obtain the qualifications to go fishing in the material world. They could only rely on their own labor to accumulate rewards bit by bit. After working for hundreds of years, they could finally be promoted.
The appearance of Thorn Bay was a good thing for them. They only needed to rely on a pitchfork and a bunch of Kuroh to swim in the blood-stained river. As long as they could find a valuable Spirit Soul, they would be rewarded by their superiors and have the possibility of being promoted.
In the river bend, Kullo and Mta formed a team. They flapped their little red wings, clenched their teeth, and pushed the other little demons away. They dragged Kuroh to the river bank, the steel pitchforks in their hands full of howling souls.
They were demons from the second level of Hell. They didn't look very big, and they looked like round balls with eyes, mouths, horns, and fleshy wings.
Someone had been waiting for them for a long time. The dark-skinned Soul Catcher was standing on the shore that was covered in blood. Wearing a ragged armor, the prison cart beside him was waving its green claws at them.
"Bawo, Bawo."
Two little demons jumped on the Kuroh, waving their pitchforks. "We'll call it a day. We got the best one!"
These two rolling ball demons and the Captor Of Souls could be called colleagues. They were loyal to a powerful Mind Eater. Every day, when it was time to harvest, the Captor Of Souls would wait here. Kullo and Mta would snatch the most valuable souls from the River Styx and send them to their superiors.
"How good is the best one this time?"
The Captor Of Souls grinned, revealing a mouth full of eerie teeth. Although his face was repulsive, his words didn't have a hint of terror.
"It seems to be a king of some material world. A soul like this will definitely be able to squeeze out a lot of sin." Kullo waved his pitchfork.
Bawo opened the prison wagon, and Kullo and Mta stuck their pitchforks in, shaking the souls into the prison wagon like they were shaking insects. This was the happiest time of the day. Although a portion of the souls in the prison wagon had to be handed over to their superiors, the Heart Eater, the rest would be sent to the Grand Duke. Every one of them could make the Grand Duke write an extra line in their book.
"At this rate, you'll be able to complete your promotion after another year of work." The Captor Of Souls encouraged them.
"At that time, I'll be Kullo the Barb Demon, I'll …"
The little demon tossed up and down, feeling proud. Suddenly, he froze.
The three demons turned their heads and saw a figure on the riverbank not far away.
It was a giant dragon that was hundreds of meters long. Its body was covered in bright and hard scales. Its body was thick and strong, and its head was shockingly large. There were twisted horns on it, and its fangs were fierce. When it looked around, its eyes flashed with red light.
It appeared just like that, tore through the world barrier, and suddenly descended.
"Enemy, enemy, enemy … enemy attack!" Kullo was terrified. He jumped up like a bouncing ball.
Mta quickly covered his mouth.
In order to deal with the threat from the abyss, the Master of Nine Hells hoped that all the gods, civilizations, and races could join the bloody battle against the demons. Hell opened the door that had been closed for a long time to the Astral World. Many creatures from the outside world came to Hell because of this. Among them were many evil creatures that were lured by benefits, but there were also many kind creatures that voluntarily resisted the abyss.
The Master of Nine Hells welcomed all of them. He claimed that as long as they did not destroy the ecology and order of Hell, they were friends of the demons. The Duke Of Hell took out all kinds of treasures, each of which was extremely valuable, and generously gave them to every living creature that bathed in blood in the bloody battle.
That was why dragons weren't a rare sight in hell. Chromatic dragons, metal dragons, and many other legendary dragon species whose identities were hard to identify had all left their footprints in this world, whizzing past the blood-red dome.
It was just that the dragon's appearance was too strange. It was very scary, and its expression was full of aggression. That was why Kullo cried out in surprise.
They looked at each other, and for some reason, there was a sudden awkward silence. After a while, Mta gathered his courage and flapped his wings. "Are you going to join the army of the various races of Hell?"
Caesar looked at the somewhat timid little demon in front of him. Suddenly, he felt that the Hell of Baator seemed to be different from what he had imagined. He smiled slightly, and the lines on his face softened. "How do I join?"
"That depends on which army you want to join.
The armies of King Tiamat, King Bahamut, King Farazur, and King Dius are all the armies of the Dragon Army that fought in the Bloody Battle. "
Mta explained excitedly. "But this is the second level of Hell, and those armies are near the Skull Pillar. You can join our army first and enter the first level of the battlefield. If you want, I can take you to see the Duke Of Sheehan now."
These words were true, but Mta also had his own thoughts. This dragon looked very powerful. If he could introduce it to the Duke Of Sheehan and let it join the army of the demons, he could accumulate a lot of merits.
Caesar did not answer. The Black Dragon stepped on the rocks and approached the river bank. It looked at the demons wandering on the River Styx. They sat on the Kuroh and fought to salvage the souls in the river. They pushed and shoved each other in disdain. It was a novel feeling.