The Red Dragon Just Wants To Do As It Pleases

Just as they had seen on their way, the Styx River was like a boundless sea, yet some of its bends nearly hung above the ground. Like some large rivers in the material world with high sediment content, it too changed its course, and these changes occurred very frequently. To harvest Soul Shells more steadily, demons drove countless lesser devils, such as Inferior Demons, to endlessly pile up embankments along the Styx River's banks each day.

It was a tacit understanding that demons generally avoided attacking the Styx River's embankments. This was because a change in the river's course would greatly delay their offensive toward Barto Hell. Furthermore, if they touched the Styx's waters, they likely wouldn't even return to the Abyss as a remnant soul; even if they did, they would be thoroughly "cleansed." The innate nature of lower-plane creatures made them instinctively stay away from this 'Mother River.'

POOF!

After nearly a month, they were shocked to find, for the first time, that there were suddenly no enemies in sight—only the vast expanse of the Styx River.

At this moment, even if his mind was damaged, Dragon Father Attilicia could guess David's intention. Facing the fear of the unknown, the scales of this Silver Dragon, currently clad in the guise of a Red Dragon, stood on end.

"My boy... are we really going to do this?"

"Otherwise, you come up with another idea," David said through gritted teeth. All along the way, he had cursed the demon general named Dagos ten thousand times over.

Damn it, if you don't give me a way out, you're not going to die a good death either!

David's Wrath flared. Attilicia immediately dared not utter a sound.

By this time, the other dragons had also realized what was happening, and the Dragon Father instinctively glanced back.

Good heavens... just the Flomo chasing them had almost gathered into a low-lying dark cloud.

"Prepare for takeoff!" David commanded.

"Fly?!" Mofei was completely astounded. With fiery meteors almost raining down behind them, wouldn't flying now turn them into barbecue? He was a 'disordered' White Dragon too, no less!

But before he could hesitate, when the Soul Train was still half a li from the Styx River's embankment, David yelled, "Jump out! Fly as close to the ground as possible!"

He then immediately used his dragon tail to flick Tania out of the Soul Furnace as though casting a fishing line.

The moment this chaotic Red Dragon rose into the air, a barrage of fiery meteors smashed down. But David looked up to the sky and opened his massive jaws:

Authority — Gluttony

A dozen or so fiery meteors were directly devoured by David in quick succession.

Then, an intensely compressed and surging Dragon Breath blasted towards the Soul Train, which was about to crash into the Styx River embankment. David followed it with a smoky belch.

BOOM! A low roar sounded.

The edge of the Blood War battlefield fell silent for a moment.

The Soul Train, already near scrap, was shattered by the Dragon Breath. The exploding Soul Furnace also disintegrated, blasting a deep pit below the Styx River's embankment. But compared to the majestic embankment of the Styx River, it was merely like a hole burrowed by ants.

Just when David and his companions, their faces like still water, thought they had failed...

CRACK.

Suddenly, a fissure appeared in the embankment.

At first, it was just a small crack. But soon, the waters of the Styx River began to ripple slightly, then, as if animated, they surged violently.

BOOM... It was as if the heavens and earth were fracturing at that moment. Huge columns of water shot into the sky. The black current, like an enraged beast, broke free from the river's constraints. It poured towards the demon army, which had instinctively begun to halt its retreat, through the increasingly collapsing breach.

The demons pursuing from behind were caught completely off guard. Those demons submerged by the Styx's waters had their bodies instantly corroded and disintegrated. Even their souls began to manifest within the river, wailing and struggling like the drowned dead.

Giant waves, like a tsunami, began to sweep across the battlefield. Innumerable demons were swallowed by the waters of the Styx amid their screams.

Far away, thirty thousand li at the heart of the battlefield, Dagos was still commanding his troops against the demons. Roars, screams, and the clash of weapons echoed to the heavens.

He suddenly felt somewhat grateful for the Red Dragon that had unexpectedly appeared on the battlefield. That creature had managed to attract at least one-tenth of the demon forces from the battlefield's center. This brought a subtle balance to the front line, which had been steadily pushing into the heartland of Avernus.

That's how demons are; they always follow their hearts and desires. It was precisely because of this that devils, with their exceptional discipline and order, always managed to achieve a significantly better kill-death ratio than demons.

Yet for some reason, Dagos always had an inexplicable sense of unease, the same feeling he had experienced nearly half a month before.

Suddenly, he received an alert from the edge of the battlefield:

"My... My Lord, the Styx River! The Styx River has changed its course! Uh... GURGLE GURGLE GURGLE... AH! Who am I! Who the hell are you?!"

The moment he heard this message, a sharp BEEP seemed to ring in Dagos's head, which then began to buzz.

Then, he resolutely ordered, "Retreat! Abandon the second line of defense! All forces retreat!"

"All forces retreat! Retreat to higher ground!"

Not long after the order was issued, the ground began to rumble faintly.

The demon army, immersed in the thrill of their great victory and ready to pursue their foes, stopped in astonishment. All devils and demons simultaneously turned to look eastward.

They saw a rapidly surging wall, at least dozens of meters high, rushing toward them with the speed of a tsunami.

Demons on the battlefield and devils who hadn't evacuated to high ground were submerged by this sudden disaster. Their bodies quickly rotted and dissolved in the Styx's waters. Their screams, drowned by the raging currents, became part of the Styx itself.

The Styx River changed course. Its black waters flooded much of the battlefield, engulfing everything from this Blood War battle in its dark, abyssal depths.

The battlefield, once filled with fury and slaughter, seemed so small and fragile before the Styx's cold indifference.

The Styx continued its flow, carrying all the horror and Despair to its next destination.

Dagos, gliding on his wings through the air, watched everything before him with an indifferent expression.

They had won this bloody battle, this encounter deep within Avernus...

The redirected Styx had also flooded and collapsed the tunnel from which the demons had been pouring.

But, the losses were too great.

If such an unexpected catastrophe happened again soon, it would all be over! At least his time in this position would be.

"That damned Red Dragon Whelp must," Dagos, known as 'Pride and Contempt,' murmured, his voice low, "Pay the price!"

He could no longer afford to be arrogant.

Like a dog that had lost its home, he raced toward the Bronze Citadel.