Extraordinary Rise: Starting Contract with the Silver Dragon Countess

Mephisto took a deep breath, suppressing the involuntary look of amazement at Grace's unparalleled beauty that flashed in his eyes.

He performed an ancient and elegant curtsy with impeccable demeanor towards Grace on the soft couch, his voice deep and magnetic:
"Hello, esteemed and beautiful lady."

I am Mephisto, and in the eternal night city, people prefer to call me 'The Creditor'.

I don't sell weapons, nor do I lease out troops. I only offer one thing: credit.

I can assure you that every penny you pay will bring you the exact return you expect.

I can make even the most cunning steel devil's contract terms appear as clear as the purest crystal before you.

This will expose any hidden traps and tricks.

I can also ensure that your alliance with the Abyss Lord is built on a rock-solid pact, so that even in the face of the most chaotic and treacherous Abyss, you need not fear the dagger behind your back.

In short, esteemed lady, I can provide you with everything you need, along with an unbreakable guarantee in the name of Mephisto.

Mephisto's self-introduction was straightforward and to the point.

There was no superfluous boasting, only a precise explanation of its own value.

This instantly eased the atmosphere in the living room.

Grace gently set down her teacup, her captivating eyes meeting Mephisto's directly. Without any hesitation, she asked bluntly:
"So you already know why I'm here?"

Upon hearing this, Mephisto immediately bowed slightly, his face displaying just the right amount of respect and honor, and humbly replied:
"It is my greatest honor to serve the descendants of the esteemed Demon God."

Grace nodded slowly:
"My husband is preparing to start a dimensional war and needs some weapons."

"What level of arms dealers can you connect me with through your channels?"

Mephisto didn't answer immediately. He hesitated for a moment, a cautious look on his face, and carefully asked:
"Beautiful lady, please forgive my intrusion, but could you please tell me in which plane this dimensional war is taking place?"

Although Mephisto was already 80-90% certain of the other party's identity.

But when it comes to such a large and sensitive arms deal, he could never completely trust the other party based on just a few words.

He needs more detailed and specific information to corroborate his judgment.

Assessing the authenticity and risks of this transaction will also provide an accurate basis for recommending suitable arms dealers in the future.

A true "trustworthy person" would never make a promise lightly without complete information.

Grace seemed to have been prepared for Mephisto's cautious questioning.

She slightly raised her chin and spoke calmly in a tone that carried a hint of detachment and condescension:
"Dragon Dimension".

His gaze swept over Mephisto's face, which had frozen in mid-air, and his tone carried a subtle hint of provocation:

"Of course, the premise is that you have the ability to know what is happening in the Dragon Plane."

If you can't even verify this much information..."

Her voice suddenly turned cold, carrying an undeniable resolve:

"I think there is no need for us to cooperate at all."

Because I never cooperate with the weak!

After saying this last sentence, Grace didn't even look at Mephisto again, and turned away abruptly.

She left the living room with elegant and proud steps, leaving behind a stunningly beautiful silhouette for the two people behind her.

At that moment, Cohen, playing the Berserker, stepped forward and said in a low, hoarse voice:

"You can leave now."

Mephisto, however, was struck dumb by the words "Dragon Plane" and stood frozen in place.

Mephisto's leaden eyes were filled with disbelief and a rapid flash of thought; clearly, the appearance of this plane's name had caught him completely off guard.

He only snapped out of his daze when he saw Grace's figure disappear into the corridor deep in the living room.

He immediately bowed slightly in the direction Grace had left, and said loudly in a tone that conveyed urgency and a solemn promise:

"Please give me two days, Your Highness!"

I will definitely visit you again in two days and give you a clear answer!

After saying that, he didn't linger and gave Flora, who was standing guard to the side, a wink.

The two quickly and quietly left Villa No. 1.

……

Mephisto stepped steadily out of the heavy gate of Villa Number One.

Outside the door, the air, a mixture of sulfur and desire, unique to the Eternal Night City, rushed in, but it did nothing to ease his mind.

His brain was working at lightning speed.

The words "Dragon Plane" reverberated in his mind like a thunderclap, stirring up waves that were difficult to quell.

"The Demon Dragon Dimension!"

Mephisto cried out silently in his heart.

"That's the Demon Dragon Realm!"

As a seasoned middleman who had spent countless years navigating the Nine Hells, Mephisto was naturally very familiar with the history of this renowned, or rather, infamous, dragon race.

He knew perfectly well how this powerful and rebellious group had betrayed the gods and the abyss one after another, ultimately leading to the downfall of the three giants: the gods, the abyss, and even Dragon Valley.

They joined forces in a rare act to banish them to that desolate and dangerous wandering plane.

He knew even more clearly the dragon race's extremely fierce fighting power and their innate extraordinary strength.

That was a terrifying race that even abyss lords and powerful gods were unwilling to easily provoke.

However, he never expected that the power behind the "favored concubine of the Demon God's son" was preparing to start a war in this sensitive and dangerous plane.

A war on a plane level!

What a grand undertaking and astonishing ambition this must be!
Mephisto felt his heart, which had long been hardened and cold by countless contracts and interests, begin to beat violently and uncontrollably.

A surge of heat, a mixture of excitement and trembling, swept through his body, making him almost shiver.

If the other party is not lying, if all of this is true.

This would be the biggest, most amazing, and most disruptive deal of his long career as Mephisto.

The scale and impact involved will far exceed any of his previous experiences, even those that facilitated the rebellion of the Demon Grand Duke and the Abyss Lord!
Mephisto took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

The meaning behind the other party's last words couldn't be clearer.

Not only was he judging whether they truly possessed the capability to conduct such a massive arms deal, but the other party was also testing his qualifications as Mephisto.

If he doesn't even have the ability to verify information related to the "Dragon Plane," then he naturally loses the right to cooperate with the other party on an equal footing.

As the succubus lady said, she never cooperates with the weak.

They have the qualifications!
Thinking of this, Mephisto's usual gentle and composed demeanor gradually faded.

Instead, he wore an extremely serious and solemn expression.

Without further hesitation, he left the villa area and immediately blended into the bustling crowds and lights of Eternal Night City.

He began to utilize his vast network of contacts and intelligence channels, which he had cultivated over countless years, to conduct an intensive investigation into every detail about the "Dragon Plane".

……

Since the news spread that the wandering plane to which the dragon race was banished not only did not collapse in the endless void, but instead flourished, the situation has been very different.

This news was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake across all planes, stirring up towering waves.

Whether it's the various empires and secret organizations in the material plane, the gods who reside in the divine kingdom, the demon gods who dwell in the abyss, or even the transcendent Dragon Valley.

None of them could remain indifferent to this sensitive name, and they all sent their intelligence and reconnaissance personnel to that exiled land in various ways.

The spatial passage leading to the Dragon Plane is naturally not limited to the one controlled by the Noble Council alone.

As an important dimension that once stirred up many storms, various forces have more or less mastered some open or covert ways to enter it.

As a powerful force standing alongside the Abyss, the Nine Hells Plane is no exception.

They not only control multiple stable spatial passages leading to the Dragon Plane, but have also sent out several waves of elite spies to infiltrate it.

They have a certain understanding of the basic situation, power distribution, and recent trends of this plane, and have established corresponding intelligence files.

However, due to the strength of the six major races in the Dragon Plane, most forces are limited to gathering intelligence and do not have the ability to intervene in the plane.

After all, their ancestors fought alongside gods and demons, and now their strength is even greater than it was during the time of the Black Dragon Clan.

Mephisto, a top-tier middleman who has been operating in the Dis Layer for countless years, has a network of connections that has already penetrated every corner of the Nine Hells plane.

This extends even to other levels and planes, naturally including the infamous Dragon Plane.

His strong connections and extensive networks are the foundation of his success.

Upon receiving Grace's "test," Mephisto immediately sprang into action. In a short time, he contacted a Quaserf named Demogorgon through an extremely secretive channel.

Like Mephisto, Demogorgon is also a dimensional middleman who walks in the shadows.

They had a number of pleasant and successful collaborations, and had built a certain level of trust and understanding between them.

However, unlike Mephisto, who mainly operates in the second level, the steel city of Domains, filled with arms and desire, Demogorgon's main area of ​​activity is in the seventh level, Maradomini.

That despairing place shrouded in endless ruins and suffocating bureaucracy.

There, information and secrets are themselves a form of hard currency that can be traded.

Demogorgon was a master of this art.

He has intricate connections with the deeply entrenched, devilish bureaucratic system of the Seventh Layer.

They have access to a great deal of classified information that is sealed deep within archives or quietly circulates in the correspondence of bureaucrats.

Mephisto had an even more important reason for choosing to contact Demogorgon.

This man, who appears to be just a middleman active in the seventh layer of the domain, has a much more illustrious identity hidden behind him—he is also the private intelligence officer of Grand Duke Balzeb.

Grand Duke Balzeb, a powerful demon duke in the Nine Hells Plane, had long coveted the Dragon Plane, a land full of both opportunities and dangers.

Demogorgon was the key figure who was appointed by Grand Duke Balzeb and was fully responsible for intelligence gathering and strategic infiltration of the Dragon Plane.

Therefore, his understanding of the Dragon Plane and the freshness of his information are among the best in the entire Nine Hells Plane.

Mephisto believed that through his old partner, he would be able to obtain sufficiently authoritative and detailed information.

To verify whether what the succubus lady said was true, and to assess the enormous value and risks of this potential transaction.

Mephisto retrieved the astral communication stone he had used to contact the casino owner, Bagula Mokulagan, with the final agreement.

After infusing a trace of pure magic, a slight spatial fluctuation occurred.

A blurry phantom gradually coalesced before him, revealing the figure of Demogorgon, who was far away in Maradomini on the seventh level.

The two first exchanged seemingly casual but subtly witty pleasantries, probing each other's recent situation and intentions.

Mephisto then skillfully steered the conversation back on track, but instead of directly stating his purpose, he tentatively asked in a tone that was both familiar and teasing:

"Hey buddy, I heard things are getting really lively in the Dragon Realm lately!"

"Your Grand Duke Balzeb has finally found the perfect opportunity to attack the Dragon Plane, hasn't he?"

The phantom of Demogorgon on the other end of the communication stone swayed slightly, remained silent for a moment, and then let out a low laugh filled with obvious surprise:
"Hehe, truly worthy of being our Nine Hells' renowned 'trustworthy man'!"

After a brief pause, Demogorgon's tone carried a subtle mix of admiration and wariness:
"Your intelligence capabilities are truly impressive; you even managed to find out about something that just happened."

admire!"

He paused again, as if weighing something, before continuing in a tone that was both a confirmation and a sigh:

"Yes, you're right."

The Dragon Realm is indeed about to become 'lively', and the commotion will likely be quite significant.

Dude, could you share your intelligence network?

I've been racking my brains lately about how to increase our penetration into the Dragon Realm. How about we cooperate?

Upon hearing Demogorgon's almost unequivocal answer, Mephisto was overjoyed.

A sharp glint flashed in his leaden gray eyes, but his face remained calm.

really!

The succubus lady, with her noble demeanor and generous spending, had not deceived him; something big was indeed about to happen in the Dragon Plane!

This not only confirms that what the other party said was true, but also means that an unprecedented interdimensional war is likely to begin soon, and the resulting demand for arms will be an unimaginable astronomical figure.

Mephisto suppressed his excitement, knowing he needed to be more cautious and skillful in extracting more crucial details from Demogorgon.

Especially the existence of a major client like Grace must not be exposed.

Although Demogorgon had a good relationship with him, the two were, after all, colleagues, and it was rather ridiculous to talk about friendship in the Nine Hells!
Mephisto lowered his voice even further, as if afraid of being overheard by an invisible being.

He spoke in a sincere and frank tone:

"Brother, to be honest, I only heard some rumors through certain channels."

It's hard to tell if it's true or false, that's why I specifically came to ask you, a professional, for verification!

Demogorgon chuckled on the other end of the communication stone, but his laughter carried a subtle, almost imperceptible, scrutinizing tone:

"Haha, don't be so modest in front of me."

"Tell me, what specific thing do you want to verify?"

Mephisto took a deep breath, stopped beating around the bush, and asked in a deep voice:
"I've heard that someone is plotting to start a plane-level war in the Dragon Realm?"

There was a long silence on the other end of the communication stone.

The silence was so long that Mephisto even began to wonder if there was a problem with the connection to the Astral Communication Stone, or if Demogorgon had encountered some unexpected situation.

Just as he was about to ask again, Demogorgon's voice finally rang out, his tone carrying a complex and enigmatic meaning:

"Dude, that's a bit unfair of you."

His voice sounded half joking and half serious:
"When did you send people to the Dragon Plane as well?"
They made such a secretive move that I didn't even get a word of it, and they didn't even bother to let me know.
Let's cooperate and achieve mutual benefit!

Mephisto felt a chill run down his spine, realizing that the news was most likely true.

However, this caused a misunderstanding, and the other party quickly explained:

"No, no, that's not true!"

I swear to the Nine Hells Contract, I heard this by chance from a client with an extremely special background!
Could this news actually be true?

There was another brief silence on the other end of the communication stone, followed by Demogorgon's voice becoming unusually grave:

"Based on the intelligence we currently have, the news you 'heard' is most likely true."

In the past two or three months, there has indeed been an extremely mysterious force operating in the Dragon Plane.

They are secretly plotting to instigate a massive conflict among the six major races of the Dragon Plane.

Moreover, according to our latest intelligence analysis, this is by no means an ordinary tribal conflict or local war.

It is very likely to be a plane-level war aimed at unifying the entire Dragon Plane!

Unify the entire Dragon Plane!

These words struck Mephisto's heart like a heavy hammer, causing him to hold his breath and his eyes to flash with disbelief.

Mephisto's fingers tightened slightly as he gripped the Astral Communication Stone.

Although his business rarely directly involved the Dragon Plane, as a well-informed middleman, he had some understanding of that exiled land.

It is a place where even the chaos and bloodshed of the Nine Hells plane pale in comparison; it is a true abyss of disorder.

The six major dragon races are: Shadow Dragonborn, Thunder Dragonborn, Mourning Dragonborn, Molten Dragonborn, Corruption Dragonborn, and the oldest and most powerful Black Dragonborn.

Their bloody struggle, which has lasted for tens of thousands of years, has long since turned that plane into an endless battlefield of slaughter.

And now there is a force that is secretly colluding in this chaotic land and trying to push for a war aimed at unifying the entire plane?
What a magnificent spirit and skill this requires!
The energy and background behind this must be incredibly profound.

Mephisto took a deep breath, as if trying to suppress the shock pounding in his chest.

The definitive information he received from Demogorgon, the chief intelligence officer of the Balzeb Empire, completely dispelled the last trace of doubt in his mind.

The succubus lady who claimed to be the beloved concubine of the son of the demon god not only represented a real force, but her ambition and strength were far more terrifying than he had initially imagined.

At this moment, Mephisto had no more hesitation or doubt in his heart.

He knew perfectly well that he was facing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, a tremendous chance to take his career to a whole new level!
What he needs to do next is no longer to test and verify.

Instead, we must demonstrate our value and capabilities at all costs, firmly grasp this top client, and never let her slip away from us.

With this in mind, Festo no longer hesitated.

After a casual exchange of pleasantries, he quickly ended his communication with Demogorgon.

He then immediately assembled his team and began making thorough preparations for the upcoming transaction.

He himself also rushed to Villa No. 1 again.

He had to visit her again as soon as possible to present the crucial intelligence he had just acquired as a "pledge of allegiance" to the noble succubus lady.

This proves that Mephisto is absolutely qualified to cooperate with her.

The ceaseless clamor of Eternal Night seemed to have faded into the distance, leaving only one thought in his mind—

Seize this opportunity, at all costs! (End of Chapter)