Ashen Dragon-Chapter 482 - 403

Chapter 482: 403

Chapter 482: 403

The Gloomy Region, Dragon Shadow City.

This place was eternally shrouded in night, never knowing the day.

Once ruled by the Shadow Dragon, the city hung precariously over an immense abyss, where the wind cutting through the chasm always screamed.

The city bore the marks of scorching flames everywhere, heavy ash blanketed it all, and the broken walls and ruins quietly recorded the Red Dragon’s ruthless razing, preserving the buried history.

“Whoosh—”

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The cold wind howled through the city’s crevices with a piercing shriek, akin to the wailing of lost souls.

But atop this wasteland, a new city had been built, its architecture simple yet grand, full of strength—a clear hallmark of the Empire.

Within this newly built city on the ruins, it was common to see Half-Dragons, Humans, and Great Goblin Soldiers coming and going, but the most prevalent were the mindless low-level undead skeletons.

Even some small traders appeared within the city, selling lanterns, canes, and boots—items frequently needed in the Gloomy Region.

“Ssss… sssss…”

A spine-chilling sound.

Outside the city, enormous skeletal Bluefoot Dragon-snakes slithered and crawled along the ground, tearing any intruders to pieces like a moat.

On the new city wall, Hart stood silently, overlooking the bottomless Howling Abyss.

“I once had a beating heart. I once could savor fine food and wine…”

The Corpse Demon sighed.

He possessed all of Hart’s memories, obsessions, and even hatred from his previous life, yet he lost that living body and original emotions.

The Corpse Demon, awakened by the obsessions and hatred of his previous life, was a fragmented soul sustaining his decaying corpse.

Hart’s lips trembled, and his two pitch-black eyeballs glimmered in the darkness.

“But… this isn’t so bad either, eternal and undying, killing one enemy after another, conquering the vast Gloomy Region for my master.”

He was a new existence.

Different from the original Hart, and unlike an ordinary Corpse Demon.

Hart forced his pale lips into a grin, trying to show a smile, though it appeared extremely eerie to Pang Ren.

“Old… General Hart.”

A familiar voice called.

“What is it?”

Hart turned his head and spoke calmly.

—It was his colleague, a living person, more precisely a Half-Dragon, also one of His Majesty’s retainers.

His name was Zaiko Granger, an elder member who joined the Empire back in the Ashen Nest days, now an Imperial Count, equal in rank with Hart.

Interestingly, he was originally one of the slave traders and had once been under Hart’s command.

Due to his undead nature, Hart did not become the Governor of the Gloomy Region for the Empire; the cabinet ministers preferred a profitable Gloomy Region—not an undead wasteland.

If Hart were alive, he would be furious, but the “Hart” with a cold heart felt indifferent to all these.

Behind the scenes, all he needed to do was lead the Immortal Legion into battle, obey orders, and slaughter bravely. As for the concerns of the rear personnel…

Zaiko perused the documents, speaking in a low voice, “Lady Ingrid is about to return to the surface; she has already dispelled the Shadow Curse of Dragon Shadow City for us.”

“Following the strategic plan, we will build near the Howling Abyss…”

Ingrid.

Hart, or rather the Corpse Demon, remembered this name.

He had seen that woman, radiating a nauseating aura of Holy Light, and her hostile gaze made him quite uncomfortable.

If Ingrid were not an envoy of the Empire, he would have gladly decapitated this priestess and hung her head atop the city walls.

Thinking this, Hart abruptly interrupted.

“You know, Zaiko, I don’t care about these things; I don’t need you to tell me, nor do I want to know that damned priestess’s whereabouts.”

“I only need you to tell me one thing—where does His Majesty want me to conquer, where I can freely slaughter the living.”

The Corpse Demon’s pitch-black eyeballs glimmered faintly in the darkness, making the battle-hardened Zaiko feel a slight chill.

“Ha…”

Zaiko’s lips twitched slightly but he couldn’t utter a word.

Hart was, of course, brutal and selfish, but to the former slave traders of humble origins, Hart played the role of “family” in their hearts.

The Corpse Demon sneered self-mockingly, then spoke hoarsely, “Hart has long been dead, at least the Hart you knew.”

“Now, the one in front of you is merely an undead monster craving to slaughter the living, born to serve His Majesty.”

“…”

Zaiko was silent for a long time before pulling out a document and slowly unfolding it:

“Near Dragon Shadow City, there’s a place called ‘Dark Wings,’ governed by the Jezreel Clan, Shadows descendant Drow Elves of Mortifael.”

Mortifael, of course, he had heard of this name.

It was the legendary “Nemesis of the Emperor,” wielding vast influence in the Gloomy Region, torn apart by His Majesty Cassius in the New Calendar 1785.

“After the fall of Dragon Shadow City, the Jezreel Clan, once under the Shadow Dragon’s control, began rapid expansion, taking over the Shadow Dragon’s forces and trade relations. Their scouts have even appeared around Dragon Shadow City.”

“This is undoubtedly a provocation to the Empire and an insult to His Majesty Cassius.”

Zaiko closed the document solemnly.

This was, in fact, a declaration of war—although he knew the scout had been captured hundreds of miles away.

The Ashen Empire merely wanted an excuse to showcase its presence in the Gloomy Region and to uproot Mortifael’s descendants to prevent future troubles.

Zaiko said, “General Hart, you should know what to do.”

The Corpse Demon merely turned his head, gazing at Zaiko with his pitch-black eyes, and asked nonchalantly, “Can I slaughter the entire city?”

Zaiko did not answer directly but instead introduced, “Dark Wings is the main stronghold of the Shadows’ descendant Drow. Sixty percent of its population are Shadows’ descendants Drow.”

He took a new letter stamped “Top Secret” from his pocket and handed it to the Corpse Demon.

Hart opened the envelope and immediately saw the words inside.

[Special Decree]

[Hereby approved to conduct a thorough purge of Shadows’ descendant Drow. Ensure it is done cleanly. —Prime Minister Ramp]

“Good, I understand.”

Hart’s bloodless lips curved slightly, his pitch-black eyes bent into a strange arc.

He drew the Scepter of Bones from his waist, ascended to the top of the city wall, and raised it high.

In an instant, the hundreds of skeletal Bluefoot Dragon-snakes and tens of thousands of undead skeletons outside the city converged into a white torrent.

The ancient bones scraped against each other, producing a crisp “click-click” sound, sending shivers down spines.

Hart leapt from the wall into the sea of bones, mounting the largest skeletal Bluefoot Dragon-snake, and swung the Scepter of Bones.

“Boom…”

Hundreds of skeletal Bluefoot Dragon-snakes emerged together, slithering and roving over the land.

The ground of the Gloomy Region trembled, as if even the black sky was crying out mournfully, with the white torrent standing out starkly against the dark earth.

“Come on, Immortal Legion…”

“Slay every living creature that dares stand in the way of the Empire’s expansion.”

Thus spoke the Corpse Demon.