Divine Emperor of Death - Chapter 3789: In The West

A purple-golden-robed figure emerged from a spatial vortex, flinching lightly as they fell since there was no foothold, but almost instantly, they regained their balance. Their purple hair waved in the breeze as they slowly descended to the grassy land.

It was a woman.

She looked around, surveying the surroundings, taking in the dense trees that blotted out the land and the faint sound of wildlife teeming with magical beasts in the surrounding hundred thousand meters. She looked for her two sisters but was unable to find them, instantly becoming cautious.

“This is…?”

She looked into the distance, seeing faint flickers of fire that barely lit the forest.

The outline made from what appeared to be a fence made it seem like there was some kind of human settlement there, causing the purple-golden-robed woman to walk toward it.

As she walked closer, the scene became clearer.

The inhabitants consisted of little children to adults.

Children with thin frames and hollow eyes played lifelessly in the dirt. Their laughter couldn’t be seen. As for the adults, their bodies appeared to be weathered and scarred, moving about with a sense of resignation.

They hadn’t seemed to notice her, or rather, they didn’t dare look her way for some reason.

However, her eyes narrowed upon noticing their garbs.

They wore minimal clothing made from leaves or bark. She guessed that this place was a tribe that worshiped living with nature for them to be clothed less. However, it didn’t take her long to see what was actually going on.

A group of magical beasts descended.

Her eyes widened as she saw that they were dragons— or were they?

They appeared to have a semi-serpentine body covered in crimson scales that shimmered like molten lava over the edges. These scales transition from smoldering red to a fiery purple, surging with strange crimson-violet flames.

This dragon-like creature had a sharp, angular face with fearsome serrated teeth. Its head appeared to have a crown of horns that curved backward majestically, resembling the flames of a roaring fire. Its serpent eyes glowed with an intense, fiery light.

Semi-translucent, violet veins that pulsed with fiery energy ran through its wings. Its muscular and robust body was supported by four powerful legs, each ending in terrifying claws that could cut through any metal. Sharp, ridge-like spines protruded along its back, each one glowing with a terrifying heat, and beyond the spine was its tail that appeared like a spiked club with how a ball of molten rock adorned its tip.

Recognizing the features belatedly, the purple-golden-robed woman finally thought of a mixed-species magical beast.

“Scorchblaze Infernal Hydragon…”

As far as she could recall, they were a mix between a Fire Dragon and a Three-Headed Hydra.

Nonetheless, these beasts were no more than ten feet in size, which meant they were still juvenile, perhaps not even three days since they were born.

Such beasts landed on that settlement, and the next thing they committed shook her heart.

A juvenile Scorchblaze Infernal Hydragon came closer to a little boy and swung its long neck, catching him and swallowing him whole. The little boy didn’t even resist.

The purple-golden-robed woman’s body instinctively moved, wanting to save, but she quickly dodged.

*Booom!*

A huge dragon claw smashed the place she stood in, causing the area to cave. It unleashed devastating undulations, looking like it was going to crash into the settlement and kill every single one of them as they turned into meat pastes.

However, the light of a defensive barrier flashed, and the shockwave stalled, unable to enter the settlement.

“Human…”

A high and mighty voice echoed in the region, making the purple-golden-robed woman’s ears drum. However, she only found it inconvenient and not at all hurtful. Utmost, it appeared to annoy her as she narrowed her eyes and gazed at its huge silhouette spread by its wings that blotted out the skies along with the dense trees.

“Oh? You dodged my attack? Who are you? For what purpose are you here? Depending on your answer, you might be able to leave or become my food.”

The huge Scorchblaze Infernal Hydragon sounded surprised before it spoke without any ill intent.

However, the purple-golden-robed woman didn’t answer.

She turned to look at the settlement and saw that the juvenile Scorchblaze Infernal Hydragons swallowed quite a lot of children, teenagers, and adults. She knew that there was no saving them as the strong stomach acid of the Scorchblaze Infernal Hydragon would quickly digest them.

Her eyes were narrowed, but they relaxed before she turned to look at the Scorchblaze Infernal Hydragon.

“Is this your livestock?”

“That would be the case.”

The Scorchblaze Infernal Hydragon’s mouth lightly moved, its undulations at the Peak-Level Immortal Emperor Beast Stage roaring along with its tone.

“My name is… is- Bella.”

Isabella responded after her question was answered, “Where is this place?”

“Bella…? That’s a delicious-sounding name. You possess dragon blood, don’t you? I can feel it.”

“Yes.”

Isabella nonchalantly answered the Scorchblaze Infernal Hydragon’s gluttonous comment.

“It’s your unlucky day to have fallen here after using some kind of spatial talisman. I suggest that you don’t move, or it’ll be painful…”

The huge Scorchblaze Infernal Hydragon abruptly flashed with a violet light before he shrunk by many times, becoming a six-foot-tall violet-haired human with a charming face.

“Before we continue fighting, do you promise to release them if I were to win?”

“Haha, you cannot win, and even if you win somehow, that’s not possible. I never bound them. They’re just trapped there while the men and women I captured long ago continue to breed like rabbits, giving me and my young ones immortal or transcendent human offspring for consumption. If I’m wrong, they called it decade tribute or something-”

His eyes glowed with fervor, “I must admit they’re quite tasty, but they do not satisfy my hunger. They’re for my children. Only Sovereigns like you can faintly dull my hunger, but I presume your dragon blood would do more than that.”

“…”

Isabella closed her eyes as though surrendering, making the Scorchblaze Infernal Hydragon’s expression churn with satisfaction.

But in truth, Isabella couldn’t help but recall something.

“Suffering…?

Isabella looked at Myria while she sat along with her sisters, inclining her head in doubt, “It couldn’t be that exaggerated, right?”

They were all listening to Myria recount some of her adventures in the true immortal world.

“No.” Myria shook her head, “The true immortal world is an unforgiving place. There, you wouldn’t find it surprising to encounter suffering in every step you make or every corner you take. In fact, it is possible you would encounter humans serving spirits as an energy source or humans being a food source to magical beasts, raw and uncivilized as though we’re cattle.”

“In fact, this was how the human race was like until the ancestors from billions of years ago invented cultivation method to rise up in ranks amongst the myriad races,”

Myria sighed lightly, “Isabella, you have a strong sense of justice, and I can relate to wanting to enact justice and save people, but this time, I… we may need to act differently if we need to survive. I won’t ask you to close your eyes, but there is no need to seek justice in every corner of the world. You understand what I’m saying, right?”

“Yes…” Isabella answered, “I will make sure that we don’t harm the family in the undertaking of any righteous cause.”

“Yes!”

“We will not invite trouble in the vain pursuit of justice!” The others also echoed, some seriously, some sarcastically, causing Myria to nod.

“Good.”

“…”

Isabella opened her eyes as she looked at the violet-haired man.

She didn’t know where her family was. There was no sign of them, making her clench her fist. She realized this magical beast was most likely this territory’s master, which meant his absence would mean more vile things to the settlement and, perhaps, some unrelated settlements in the distance that she may have no idea of.

“If you let me leave, I’ll pretend I didn’t see this settlement.”

“…?”

The Scorchblaze Infernal Hydragon looked amused, “Or else what? You’re going to save them? The only thing I can think of you’re capable of is you leaving and calling your power back for reinforcements. Do I look that stupid to you?”

He closed in, reaching out his hand as though wanting to grab her face.

Just as his hand reached her face, Isabella sidestepped and took a step forward as though it was something she effortlessly did.

“…?”

The Scorchblaze Infernal Hydragon knew something was wrong the moment he was unable to touch this woman, but it was too late. She patted his shoulder as though she was an old friend, but the resulting effect of that action crumbled his shoulder. His body sank diagonally underneath the force of her palm, crumbling at the minute level all the way to his feet until he exploded into a fountain of blood.

“Ngha-!”

His head was intact, but a seal was directly placed on his mouth. It appeared to be a sealing inscription, which Isabella quickly drew with her immortal soul force.

She held his head with that same hand and performed a soulscouring art.