Chapter 404: Chapter 398 Acquaintance

Just after leaving the Blood War Battlefield, Leon thought of a way to expand the scope of the Blood War.

He could easily cause trouble in Aphnas, throwing it into chaos and giving demons an opportunity to conquer Aphnas… If there is a chance to conquer Aphnas, I doubt any Demon Lord could sit still.

If that doesn’t work, he’ll have to personally go to the layer of the Bottomless Abyss where the Demon Lords reside and create trouble for them. Just a bit more effort.

As for the specifics of causing trouble, Leon hasn’t thought it through yet. He’s decided to take a spin around Aphnas first, looking for opportunities… After all, he has already undergone Bone Shedding and Rebirth and is no longer a mortal. Even if the gods wish to spy on him, it’s difficult to achieve. This is known as being beyond the reach of divine eyes, let alone with the aid of the 72 Transformations.

After leaving the Blood War Battlefield, Leon encountered no further disturbances—no Yellow Spring Bees, Vroms, Succubi, Bone Demons, or Horned Demons—all now circling over the wastelands of Aphnas.

Leon saw little warlords on the wastelands of Aphnas, searching for soul coins and scrap metal to fuel and repair their Hell War Cars.

“What is that thing?”

“A motorcycle?”

Leon swooped down from the sky, attacking a Hedgehog Demon, which appeared to be a tall humanoid creature covered in sharp spikes, barbs, and quills. It wasn’t because the Hedgehog Demon held any high status, killing it could disrupt Aphnas, but purely because it was riding a super cool Devil’s Vehicle.

The Devil’s Vehicle is a two-wheeled Hell War Machine, operated like a motorcycle, equipped with spiked tires, an engine that screams while driving, and a fairing shaped like a grinning devil. It even has a horn and brakes, simply too cool.

With just a snap of his fingers, Leon immobilized the Hedgehog Demon and easily finished it off. He casually tried out the Devil’s Vehicle and waved his hand to store it into the small space of the Sleeve of the Universe… again forgetting he shouldn’t continue doing bad things or devolve into chaotic evil, although he originally came to cause trouble.

Moving forward, Leon discovered numerous Hell War Machines.

Vehicles crafted by the Nine Prisons, using cursed souls as fuel. In addition to Hell Vehicles that look like motorcycles, there were Hell Torturers resembling desert off-road vehicles, Demon Smashers resembling large armored four-wheeled war vehicles, and Scavengers like small buses for recycling work.

The strongest of the small warlords scavenging on the Aphnas wasteland were Horned Demons. Leon didn’t spare any that had something he wanted. Having taken a trip to the Bottomless Abyss, he was increasingly resembling a chaotic evil Red Dragon.

Leon had heard Tassera mention that there was a Wandering Mall in Aphnas and was surprised at his luck in encountering it… Not really luck, merely inevitable. After all, flying high and looking down from above, what Wandering Mall could escape detection?

The Wandering Mall is a cluster of vibrant tents, surrounded by giant Hell War Cars in a horseshoe layout. Between them hang curtains made of small iron plates and lamps on chains.

The Wandering Mall features quite a few shops, including a Larva Ranch run by Hobgoblins… Larvae are a type of low-level evil demon, retaining facial features of their previous form but with the body of a fat worm.

An Anzu Demon with green skin, short and plump with bat-like wings, resembling a Stone Golem with a gigantic, elongated head, pig eyes, a pug nose, and a large mouth full of sharp teeth, offers various long-distance casting services, including exchange services: one hundred Gold Coins can be exchanged for a soul coin.

The Fire Snake Forge is operated by three Salamanders.

…

The most intriguing attraction for Leon in the Wandering Mall was Hell Bliss City.

Upon entering Hell Bliss City, Leon encountered an Enchanting Demon Maid who insisted he sign a Purgatory Contract. The contract only briefly mentioned one thing, requiring the customer to pay for all goods and services consumed before leaving.

“If I don’t sign the contract, will you not let me in?” Leon asked. His proficiency in Purgatory Language was average, clueless on how to interpret the contract, only knowing not to sign Purgatory Contracts.

The Enchanting Demon Maid maintained her smile and continued, “Please don’t make it difficult for us.”

“What if I refuse to sign the contract but insist on going in?” Leon stated plainly.

The Enchanting Demon Maid gestured, and immediately two Refined Demons wrapped in chains, obviously the security of Hell Bliss City, approached.

“Let him in.” The proprietor of Hell Bliss City emerged. In Leon’s Heavenly Eye Technique, it appeared to be a Rakshasa—looking like a humanoid tiger, with a noteworthy aberration of palms facing opposite that of humans. “I’m called Mahadi. Is there anything I can help you with?”

“No, you don’t need to worry about me.” Leon responded and entered Hell Bliss City, which possessed an extraordinary semi-plane.

The Enchanting Demon Maid looked questioningly at Mahadi.

Mahadi did not answer the other party, his sixth sense was frantically sounding an alarm.

In short, Leon was placed in a private room, allowed to order luxurious foods from existing planes, and enjoy spa services ranging from simple and unpretentious to exotic and atmospheric, including dream therapy, full-body restoration, life extension, and numerous other services to satisfy either wholesome or decadent desires.

No place in the Material Plane could compare to Hell Bliss City’s stores. Leon was very satisfied and didn’t want to end on a bitter note, so he paid ten thousand gold coins before leaving.

Upon leaving the Wandering Mall, Leon discovered a massive volcano emerging from the horizon, with thick clouds of fire and dust spewing from its caldera. The air trembled with its angry roar, and a massive multi-tiered fortress had been carved into the volcanic rock slope.

The fortress seemed to be a forging factory providing weapons and armor for the Blood War.

Leon approached the forging factory and noticed two Horned Demons leading a patrol of ten Whisker Demons. He easily evaded the patrol’s line of sight and slipped into the forging factory… What he didn’t know was that although he could ignore prophecy magic targeted at him, it’s difficult for a master to remain uninformed when intruding on someone else’s territory.

This is the office on the top floor of the forging factory.

An elegant man looked at the tall devil with molten rock skin standing in front of him, a Hunting Demon notorious for its keen senses and mastery in tracking and searching, and said, “We have a guest. Zaren, go and greet them.”

Zaren thumped his chest, then strode out of the office. As soon as he stepped out, he pulled out a massive brass crossbow.

He was not an ordinary Hunting Demon but an elite among them, even stronger than an Ice Demon, with only one failed endeavor over many years. No one could escape his tracking.

Leon hadn’t mastered divination yet, otherwise, he could calculate that a Hunting Demon was searching for him. He was now flying around chaotically as a Magma Mephit.

The factory’s temperature was extremely high. Without flame immunity, it was impossible to move an inch. He wanted a small size with flame immunity, appears as inconspicuous as a fly, and able to fly conveniently, leaving little choice.

Leon saw a bubbling lava river meandering through the facility, its intense light illuminating a massive anvil. A group of Prison Fire Villains was forging, while another group of Fire Giants was shackled and working, with many Salamanders present. Sparks flew like raindrops.

Leon wondered who managed this factory; it must be a powerful devil, possibly a Pit Fiend… Just as he thought this, he noticed a Hunting Demon approaching and, without hesitation, raised the brass crossbow to aim at him, shooting out a sticky entangling net.

As a barren Magma Mephit, Leon had no chance of evading the Hunting Demon’s net. He was ensnared and fell from a steel beam to the ground.

“Too easy.” Zaren strode over to the transformed Magma Mephit that was Leon and lifted him up with a shake, hurling him to the ground, “Are you a Druid? What is your purpose for coming here? Show me your true form.”

Leon had not expected to be caught. Regardless, the Magma Mephit was powerless against the Hunting Demon, so he transformed into a Half-dragon… He was becoming increasingly accustomed to the Half-dragon form.

“A Half-red dragon?” Zaren noticed the Half-dragon looking at him, “You seem to recognize me?”

“Let me think of your name… Za, Zaren, you’re called Zaren, right.” Leon recalled for a moment, “We knew each other before and even fought once.”

“I don’t remember knowing a Half-red dragon, let alone one who survived after fighting me.” Zaren frowned with an ugly face.

“The Lost Plateau.” Leon reminded him, “Inside the Fire Giants’ fortress, you were there protecting the Prison Fire Villains.”

Encountering an acquaintance in Aphnas truly made Leon quite excited.

Upon hearing this, Zaren’s eyes slowly widened… A Half-red dragon, a Red Dragon, was already so strong back then, how powerful must it be now?

Zaren turned to flee, just lifted a foot to enter invisibility when his whole body stiffened in place, recalling that the Red Dragon knew the immobilization spell; back then, he could quickly break free, yet now he was utterly unable to resist.

Leon walked up to the Hunting Demon, patting the big sturdy arm, snatching the brass crossbow, and muttered, “Your crossbow is quite heavy. Back then, you used this crossbow to wound me… You had no idea that your arrows had barbs, a dragon’s nerves are very sensitive, how painful it was to pull out the arrow.”

Applause suddenly erupted.

“Even Zaren is no match, your strength is impressive.” The elegant man sat on a flying throne.

“My name is Bell.” The elegant man looked at Leon, he naturally lacked nothing in true vision, “Young Red Dragon, what’s your purpose in coming here? Did Tiamat send you?”

Leon looked at the man, frowning slightly. He had encountered only one Secondary Demon Lord in the Bottomless Abyss, yet on the first day arriving in Aphnas, he met a Great Devil?