Ashen Dragon

"So... what does the Empire need us to do?" Adrian asked cautiously.

Misha didn't answer directly, but threw a token engraved with the Empire's insignia, and said coldly, "If you've made up your mind, activate this token; the master will be waiting for you in Isdalia."

Adrian hastily held the token, feeling somewhat at a loss.

Before he could finish speaking, Misha's body turned into surging flames, the surrounding space gradually twisted, and with the sound of the air bursting, she vanished, leaving the others staring at each other.

After a long silence, Rolf was the first to ask, "Lord Adrian, what should we do?"

"This invitation comes from the Ashen Empire. I don't know if it's genuine, but it's certainly extremely dangerous. If it's a trap of the Dragon Worship Cult... we'll be walking right into it."

The female dwarf struggled to get up from the ground and said angrily, "Those bastards with evil dragon bloodline are nothing but villains, they can't be trusted."

"Yes! We've seen their greed, cruelty, and shamelessness. They might just be luring you to become a sacrifice," another dwarf stood up, shouting indignantly.

Adrian, however, looked calm, stroking his chin, "But with the power she just showed... if she intended to harm us, she could have easily captured us and offered us to the Dragon Queen, without such elaborate means." For a better reading experience, visit MVLEMPYR.

The dwarf warrior bandaged her wounds, forcibly setting her bones with a crisp creaking sound, and said in a deep voice, "The Dragon Queen's lackeys are the most cunning and deceitful, full of schemes and plots. You cannot be careless."

The human warrior who accompanied him also advised, "Lord Adrian, we should first enter the mine to ensure our safety. The Dragon Worshipers won't find us for now. If it takes too long and they discover the death of their monks, they'll start a massive hunt... we won't be able to escape then."

Adrian looked at the dark clouds shrouding the south, remained silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head, "No, I want to go to the Ashen Empire to meet that Emperor, even if it's a trap, I'm willing to give it a try."

He gripped his longsword tightly, speaking in a heavy tone, "Now the evil dragons are rampant, people are suffering, and the mad Dragon Worship Church has nearly taken over the Kingdom of Seleucis. This... is our last opportunity."

Near the Sword Bay Region, there are several famous cities, such as Waterdeep (Waterdeep City), Elturel (Elturel), Neverwinter (Neverwinter), among others. Waterdeep was established at the site of Erin Vier, the former capital of the Elf Empire Ilfaen, with numerous divine temples. The Miracle Temple is the game's most magnificent Magic Goddess Temple, featuring a lavish high tower adorned with colorful artworks and magical decorations, full of luxurious Baroque style, while Neverwinter leans more towards Gothic architecture. It was the earliest human settlement formed after nearly a century of development of Aegostor, and the main city of the story, Bod Gate, is the largest and most prosperous trade city-state in the Sword Bay Region, mixing nobles and commoners, thieves, a hotbed of intrigue. Bod Gate's name comes from a hero, Bodlan, a Gray Harbor adventurer who explored beyond the Sword Sea in the continent, returned with wealth, and led a team to build the city. Depending on the residents' social status, Bod Gate is divided into Upper City for nobles, Lower City for commoners, and an Outer City scattered around Chenyi Mountain, naming its gates the Bod Gate, also serving as a monument to the city's founder, Bodlan. Currently, Bod Gate is ruled by a four-person council, all of them Grand Dukes, with Elder Ravenclaw leading the council and making decisions in tied votes. The Upper City's security is handled by an elite official police force called the Watch, while other areas are patrolled by a mercenary group known as the Flaming Fist. Elder Ravenclaw also serves as the mercenary group's highest leader, with its headquarters in the Bodlan Sea Tower, the strongest fortress against maritime invasions. The Crescent Moon encircles Bod Gate's economic artery—Gray Harbor, where hundreds of merchant ships dock daily, bringing gold coins along with greed and crime. The Upper City, situated on higher ground, consists of the Castle District, Temple District, Manoburn District, and Wide Alley District, with numerous religious buildings. The Miracle Hall and Supreme Miracle House are the centers of the Church of the God of Craft, Gund, in Bod Gate, showcasing Gund's great inventions in the Miracle Hall, which also functions as a workshop in the Supreme Miracle House. The Lower City's buildings are mostly stone houses spread across six districts: Sea Tower District, Blonrich District, Steep District, Crowded Side District, East Road District, Branpton District. The middle class generally resides in Blonrich District, adjacent to the Upper City's nobility, while East Road District, near the Stone Lizard Gate connecting the Outer City, is more bustling with a mix of locals, lively bars, and cheap inns. The Sea Tower District houses the Flaming Fist mercenary group, with its headquarters on the largest rocky offshore island near the Sea Tower District, the Bodlan Sea Tower. Branpton District and the Steep District are relatively rundown, home to sailors and laborers. The Outer City stretches along the Chongsar River, filled with temporary structures and shantytowns, the landmark being a stone bridge called Flying Dragon Crossroad, teeming with vendors. Planks have widened the bridge, adding numerous structures atop it, where law and order are practically nonexistent, with even the Flaming Fist's limited protection scope. Here, the poor and even criminals who can't find a place in the city gather. The vaulted sewer arches gleam with ghostly green in the dim phosphorescent light, with turbid sewage flooding below the boots, each step stirring gooey 'gurgles.' From the cracks in the walls seep purple-black slime, resembling veins converging toward the drain—it's the neural corrosive substance unique to the Spirit Sucking Monster Nest, causing auditory hallucinations for ordinary people as if countless tiny tendrils were wriggling in their ear canals. Suddenly, a skeletal 'clack' sound emerged from behind a broken cast iron pipe, as if something was twisting its way through a narrow space. The monster erupted from the water, its pale humanoid body covered in decay and slug-like tentacles on its octopus-like head vibrating at high frequency, releasing visible purple mind shock wave ripples. The foremost guard's helmet dented, eyeballs burst into a bloody mist under increased cranial pressure; the second person, unable to even scream, had tendrils pierce his ear, spinal cord extracted like a puppet's strings removed from its shell; the last surviving guard staggered back, the firearm discharge roar was completely swallowed by the collective subsonic screech of the spirit-sucking monsters. These mind flayers had clearly received tactical training. Two feinting individuals slapped the water with tendrils, raising a corrosive liquid mist to obscure vision; the third descended inverted from the ceiling, using suction cups to grip a guard's skull, one tendril's tip accurately piercing through the occipital foramen—not killing instantly, but manipulating the captive to turn like a puppet, using his trembling hands to reload ammunition for the comrades' firearms. Meanwhile, the fourth mind flayer was using its bone blade-tipped knuckles to slice open a fallen guard's thoracic cavity, extracting and stuffing a warm liver into its mouthparts, pale yellow digestive fluids dripping from its jaw, engraving the ground with wisps of smoke. Three patrolling guards had just lifted their lanterns when the sewage suddenly erupted! The four parasitic mind flayers were not completely dead yet. The remains of the guard suddenly writhed and crawled, a transparent mind flayer larva's tendril emerged from the neck wound, pupils expanding into a cloudy milky white. He grabbed a dagger, stabbing toward his former comrades with inhumane synthesized sound: "Skulls... for the Brain Master..." The real horror was just beginning to surface—a distant sewage pool began to boil, more pale figures emerged, dragging several captives cocooned in mucus, their human faces twisting into silent screams beneath the cocoon shells.