Chapter 739: Hunting Sovereign
“No—!”
The Lord of Black Waters writhed in the blurred expanse of space, as if being dragged into a profound vortex, unable to break free. With a mournful cry, the massive, obsidian form grew increasingly translucent—then vanished completely into the void of Avernus, while the hundreds of thousands of Rotting Harbingers dissolved into mud.
“Long live Lord Bair!”
“Victory to the invincible!”
“Only a Powerfully wise and enlightened Lordship like Lord Bair could lead Domain Avernus to triumph, crushing those Demons beneath the Bottomless Abyss, forever trapping them in eternal damnation!”
The Devils erupted in cheers, lavishing their most ecstatic adulation without restraint.
Bair raised his Infernal Sword high, basking in the adoration of his subjects. He could feel Avernus’s strength gathering around him—the divine gift bestowed upon the true Hell Lord!
Shwaa—!
At that moment, the sharp, explosive crack of Spines echoed through the sky. A glowing-eyed Arrow, forged in the heart of darkness, pierced the heavens—aimed straight at the Deep Hell Forgemaster’s core.
The Arrow stretched five meters long, its tip crafted from blackened metal—razor-sharp, gleaming with a cold, deadly light. Its shaft bore intricate, ancient carvings.
Before the Arrow even arrived, Bair sensed it through his foreknowledge, his mind alight with the power of prophetic wisdom. He snapped his wings wide, unleashing a storm of sulfurous smoke, attempting to dodge. Molten lava surged from the void, swirling around him, forming floating shields that blocked the Arrow’s path.
But the Arrow moved too fast. It pierced through the evil auras like paper, shattered the molten barriers with a thunderous crash, and sent shards of stone flying in every direction.
Spines—!
The Arrow grazed Bair’s left shoulder, tearing through the thick Devil wing membrane with a sickening rip. A fearsome wound split open, and tendrils of shadowy light—like writhing, distorted serpents—slithered into the gash, poisoning the flesh with Chaos Mist.
Bair roared in fury, bellowing into the distance: “Who?! Who is this?! Tell me—WHO ARE YOU?!”
“Bair…”
A hoarse, rasping voice echoed from afar.
At the edge of the wasteland, shrouded in a veil of dark mist that clung to the earth, another towering figure emerged—slowly, deliberately—into view.
It was a beast over forty meters tall, its body a deep, leaden gray. Its upper half was humanoid, but its lower half was that of a powerful horse—half-man, half-beast. Yet unlike ordinary centaurs, this Monster’s form was grotesquely distorted, monstrous beyond comprehension.
Its human torso was covered in festering, poisonous wounds that exhaled noxious fumes. Its equine legs were armored with scales and jagged bone spines, as if the creature were a twisted fusion of lizard and horse—a foreign abomination.
But the most terrifying thing was its eyes—two piercing, cold-gleaming orbs that burned with icy intent, as if capable of seeing through every weakness in existence.
The centaur wore a light armor stitched together from the skins of thousands of humanoid beings. In its hands, it gripped a longbow forged from the spine of a colossal beast, slowly drawing back the string and nocking an arrow.
—Exactly the same Arrow that had struck Bair.
Bair locked eyes with the creature. A chill ran down his spine, as though he were being stalked by the most fearsome Hunter the world had ever known.
“So… it’s you,” Kai Xiusu murmured from the city wall, rising to his full height, wings unfurling. His gaze fixed on the monstrous centaur.
“A truly powerful Demon. Extremely dangerous. A threat even to my Life Force. Hmm… perhaps Bair will finally have to accept my terms. Beg for my help.”
No further suspicion was needed. The overwhelming Aura of Intimidation, the swirling Black Mist—it all screamed the truth.
This was Mastifa, one of the three Abyssal Lords invading Avernus—the Hunting Sovereign.
Bair tightened his grip on the Infernal Sword, slowly raising it. His voice was low, cold. “Mastifa. Leave Avernus. Or your fate will be far worse than that of the black wretch.”
The centaur—Mastifa—regarded the Devil from afar, his tone flat. “Hmph. Bair, clever little Devil who stole Avernus. Frankly… I should thank you. You exiled Ishinix, the fool. Now I’ll claim a greater share of the spoils in this war.”
Bair sneered. “So all of you Abyssal scum talk big? Truly blind, short-sighted fools. You only see眼前的 gains. The outcome of this war is still uncertain.”
Mastifa smirked, licking his lips, a grin that sent shivers down the spine. His piercing eyes locked onto the Devil, like a predator staring at prey.
“Rest assured, Deep Hell Forgemaster. You are a rare and valuable prey. As a reward for exiling Ishinix, I’ll preserve your intact body after the hunt—craft it into the most perfect specimen.”
He paused, as if remembering something. A regretful shake of the head. “Too bad Zaril is dead. That beautiful, mad Fallen Angel… she would’ve been a far more worthy collection.”
With that, the Hunting Sovereign drew back his bone bow, eyes blazing with lethal intent. The Abyssal Power surged around him, darkening the Arrow to absolute black. When the bowstring reached full tension, the world itself trembled beneath the weight of his killing intent.
Just a glance from those eyes—hundreds of Devil soldiers fell from the sky, their faces ashen, mouths gushing blood, dying in terror.
Bair felt the crushing pressure of that gaze, his spirit shaken. If this arrow struck, he might truly die.
He could feel it—the Arrow carried the essence of the Bottomless Abyss, a true Death essence capable of stealing any Life Force.
And though he was a Lord of Hell with 70% Authority, his soul was not yet fully bound to Avernus. He was not Undying.
Now, at last, the Hell Lord understood where Mastifa’s confidence came from.
Lord of the Nine Hells! How could a Lord of Abyssal origin—neither visibly powerful, nor even reaching Semi-God status—possess such strength? This was no magic. This was heresy.
“Foolish, inferior creature,” Mastifa rasped, as if reading Bair’s thoughts. “Ten thousand years ago, the Gray Horseman God was hunted to extinction by the God of Hunting, Mira. Fleeing to the Bottomless Abyss, He was still slain. From His corpse—devoured and corrupted by Mira—I was born. The Great Hunting Sovereign, Mastifa! My arrival will shake the world. And you, young Hell Lord… you shall be my first prey, when I step out of the Abyss.”
Shwaa—!
Before the words even faded, Mastifa released the arrow. The black shaft tore through the sky, screaming toward Bair like a death warrant.
Bair unleashed every ounce of strength, flapping his bat-like wings, summoning a storm of infernal fury. He soared thousands of meters in an instant, forming walls of Hellfire beneath him.
But the Arrow had locked onto him—like a true hunter. It pierced through the flames, racing straight for its target.
“You won’t kill me!” Bair roared, teeth clenched. “I am the great Lord of Avernus, Duke of Hell! I endured countless trials, schemed for centuries, to claim this supreme throne! How dare you steal my life so easily?!”
The Deep Hell Forgemaster swung his Longsword with fury, carving jagged rifts in space, causing molten lava to cascade down like rivers. He darted through the air, searching for an opening—planning an ambush.
But Mastifa was surrounded by thick Chaos Black Mist, disrupting Bair’s teleportation spells. Every attempt failed.
If it were the Lord of Black Waters, Bair might have set up a Rune Array, exiled him, or worn him down through attrition. But this Arrow… it was lethal. One misstep, and he would be dead.
“Bair,” Mastifa said coldly, his voice like ice. “Surrender your futile struggle. Your end is already written—you will be my prey.”
He drew back the bow again, firing a volley of over a dozen arrows. They streaked through the sky, trailing black light, weaving chaotic, unpredictable paths.
Bair unleashed the power of Avernus, spewing Hellfire from his body. He destroyed several arrows, but the Death edict within them remained unbroken.
Even when the arrowheads melted into molten iron and the shafts burned to ash, the arrows pressed on—unrelenting, driven by an insatiable will to kill.
Overwhelmed, Bair was pierced through the throat by multiple arrows. Chaos energy surged through his body, forcing him to spit out torrents of searing demonic blood.
Finally, the Hell Lord, wounded and broken, fled toward the Bronze Fortress, screaming at the top of his lungs:
“Kai Xiusu—help me!”
“Oh? So you’ve finally reached your limit?”
The Red Dragon, who had been watching with amusement, suddenly snapped his wings. A scorching hurricane erupted beneath him as he took flight.
Shwaa—!
A blazing trail of fire erupted from Kai Xiusu’s back. He streaked across the sky like a meteor, arriving at the battlefield’s front line—right beside Bair.
Bair spat out corrupted black blood, his breath ragged. “Hurry, Kai Xiusu! Kill that damned Gray Horseman! It wields Death itself!”
But the Red Dragon turned, his voice calm. “So… you agree to my terms?”
Bair’s eyes flashed with desperation. “I accept! Kill that Gray Horseman—now!”
Shwaa—!
A barrage of arrows tore through the air, shredding the space where Bair had stood. But the Deep Hell Forgemaster had already escaped through a Spatial Rift.
He burst out, roaring in fury. “Kai Xiusu! What in the Nine Hells are you doing?!”
To his shock, the Red Dragon calmly reached into a gap between his scales and pulled out a scroll—then handed it to him.
“Bair. You betrayed your old master. I don’t trust your promise. Sign this Pact.”
“Damn it—now, at a time like this, you’re still—”
Another arrow pierced the air, slamming into Bair’s left wing. A massive gash tore open, reducing his wing to tattered ruin.
“Now?” Kai Xiusu smiled.
Bair clenched his jaw, seized the scroll, and pressed his true name onto the parchment. With gritted teeth, he spat a single word: “Fine.”
The moment he signed, Kai Xiusu stepped in front of him, spreading his wings wide—shrouding Bair in shadow. His chest glowed with a radiant, pulsing Dragon Crystal.
The Red Dragon opened his blood-red maw, and a blinding white light flared from his throat.
Boom—
【Ultimate Order Restoration Breath】
A pillar of pure, silver-white flame—symbolizing Order—spewed forth from Kai Xiusu’s maw. It stood straight and flawless, like a celestial column forged from heaven’s will.
In an instant, the dozen arrows were swallowed by the light. Even the Death essence of the Bottomless Abyss was utterly erased.
This was Kai Xiusu’s Order Fire—refined and strengthened beyond measure. His breath now rivaled Divine Power itself.
Bair stared, wide-eyed, at the Red Dragon. Had he not experienced the Dragon’s greed and deceit firsthand, he would have sworn this was Bahamut’s Avatar walking among mortals.
“Nine Hells… I’ve actually seen an evil Red Dragon breathe fire purer than an Angel’s!”
The Deep Hell Forgemaster could only whisper in awe.
“Long live Emperor Kai Xiusu!”
“Long live the Empire!”
“For the Emperor of the Ashen Flame!”
“Emperor Kai is invincible! Let’s turn these Demons into barbecue! Kai Ge’s Barbecue—unmatched in the world!”
The battlefield erupted in wild cheers. Players roared with excitement, some even calling for more—eager for the slaughter.
“Too bad this War Mission only lasts three days. The Emperor’s already wrapping it up.”
“Hurry—kill a few more Demons! Who knows when we’ll get another chance!”
“Hey! That Demon’s ours! Don’t you dare steal it! Have some decency!”
To them, Kai Xiusu’s arrival meant the war was nearing its end. More accurately—its victory.
Far away, in the mist-laden wasteland, Mastifa lifted his head, his eyes fixed on the towering Dragon breathing silver fire.
His profound gaze glowed with an emotion beyond words—ecstasy.
“I found it… I’ve found it!” Mastifa raved, his hands trembling as he gripped the bone bow. “Unparalleled! If I could peel back those thick Dragon scales, pierce that beating heart, sever that proud head—what a triumph! That Dragon… he is the perfect prey! Far more precious than the Deep Hell Forgemaster! He shall be my greatest offering to the Great Abyss!”
Kai Xiusu’s expression darkened. He smiled, cold and terrifying.
“Want to make me your prey? Foolish centaur… you don’t have the strength. You don’t have the right.”
(End of Chapter)
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