Your Majesty's money, why don't you engrave my name on it?

But... what was the girl on horseback shouting... "No"? What did she mean by "no"?

Heavy breathing came from in front of the demon. The scorching, burning aura of purgatory concealed a corrupting energy that could kill life. Just by standing next to it, the demon could feel its life force being slowly drained away.

Raslaufer stood there, his icy blue eyes fixed on the demon. His wounds were healing rapidly with incredible speed, but at the cost of the cultists and snake people around him who, like Raslaufer, had noticed something was wrong—they were weakening at an alarming rate!

“I should thank you,” Dobul’s eyes held no anger, hatred, or any other complex emotions, only a pure craving for food. He approached the demon step by step, but even though he extended the hand that was not holding the knife, it still made the demon feel as if it had fallen into an ice cave. “Come, let me repay you.”

"Give me your life, and I will grant you the most merciful death."

The next moment, the eerie wind from the abyss dispersed the dense sulfurous smell around them, and Raslaufer's eyes turned deathly gray in an instant. The demon's life force was stripped from his body and instantly filled Dople's body!

The devil gave him an illusion, but Raslaufer... truly possessed far greater power!

Chapter 651 Devouring Souls

The demon raised his chin in vain, trying to use his tentacles to stop the mortal in front of him from taking his life. But on the contrary, when he used this move, the demon was horrified to find that his power was disappearing at an even faster rate. What gave him the fatal blow was the battle sword that suddenly pierced his chest.

"You! You can't...kill me here!" With all his might, the demon placed a claw on the back of Reslaufer's blade, his eyes wide as if trying to memorize the man's face. "I remember you...you won't—"

"Go, go tell your master." Dubul leaned forward, and as his full weight pressed down on the demon, the strange purple body fell to the ground. Its severely injured chest turned into grayish-white mud as if it had lost all vitality, and the mud quickly spread around until the entire body turned into scattered fragments.

"I'll wait for you here."

An outer-plane creature's soul cannot be destroyed unless it is killed in its original plane; Reslaufer has experienced this many times.

But this time, as he watched his opponent vanish into thin air, and with a deep breath, his lungs and his entire being felt an unparalleled fullness. The power flowing from the outside world surged within him, as if he had just awakened from a deep, blissful dream. All his injuries and pain were completely healed and cured in that instant.

How could destroying a demon's physical body in the material world...?

"Old Rae, you—" Daisy, who had finally arrived, dispelled her flight spell and staggered, almost falling to the ground from mid-air. But she couldn't care less about that and just pointed in astonishment at Raelaw's side.

Following her gaze, Raslaufer noticed that among the shadowy spirits around him, a demon's figure had appeared—what else could it be but the Sumerian Demon?

The demon's soul was now behaving just like the surrounding spirits; he was bound there, his soul, the demon's soul, unable to return to Barto, but instead becoming one of the faces of the countless slain around Raslaufer, while all his power became nourishment for Duple's rebirth.

Just like... back then underground.

“You haven’t given me any enjoyment lately, Daisy.” Raslaufer turned to look at the astonished bard, Anne, and Verunara. The unicorn had even adopted a wary posture towards him, but in Dopler’s eyes at this moment, it was no threat whatsoever, just like the hostility of an ordinary horse.

"But look, I'm perfectly fine. It's not as serious as you think."

Raslaw's eyes did not return to their original color, but still shone with a gray light. Seeing that Daisy was about to say something, he raised an index finger, interrupting the poet lady: "Don't rush, this is definitely not the end—let's wait a bit."

"Wait until the one I truly want to kill appears."

As soon as Raslaufer said this, Angrita, riding on the back of the unicorn, clearly felt that Verunara actually relaxed a little.

Enemies surrounded him, though they posed no threat to the now completely uninhibited Raslaufer. However, if the man were to succumb to that direction, he certainly wouldn't pass up the opportunity for a "feast." But he didn't; he maintained control, and it was remarkably easy for him.

Veruna didn't know why. In her long life as a celestial being, she had seen many beings who had fallen into complete depravity for one reason or another. Even the most famous Grand Duke Zariel was not the worst case. After all, she had ultimately stood on the side of order.

The worst of the creatures completely abandoned their former stance, not even to the point of being considered adversaries—they had no idea what stance they had taken. Chaos, ignorance, and immeasurability became the essence of their lives. Some of them might be able to revive in the instant of destruction, but most were unable to even have that moment of repentance. But Raslaufer… was completely different from them.

What was the reason? Veruna wasn't an academically trained spellcaster; her power came from the Unicorn Queen's bestowal. Yet, she couldn't help but wonder: was it because he, as a Dople, a warrior with extensive combat experience, possessed a willpower beyond that of ordinary people? Or was it...?

Compared to his actual behavior, this level of behavior hardly qualifies as "indulgence."

Veruna didn't know, but she quickly stopped thinking about it. In just two or three minutes, with the complete death of the demon, the entire cave was suddenly shaken. With a rumbling sound, the entire cultist camp collapsed, and huge cracks were torn open beneath them, their depth even revealing the lava below.

A massive, imposing body slowly straightened up from below, its hands bracing against the edge of the crevice.

That was the form that best matched mortals' imagination of a demon. Standing upright, it was about the same height as an ogre, its body covered in scales as hard as iron, its enormous wings shrouding the surroundings in terrifying darkness, while its streamlined, towering horns seemed to pierce the heavens. Its fiery eye sockets stared unwaveringly at Leslaufer's location, and with a flap of its wings, this terrifying being leaped from the lava, its three steel forks crashing to the ground, its body landing steadily on the molten rock.

“Horned Demon…” Daisy took a few steps back, only in this way could she fully take in this huge creature’s vision. Although she had already received this information from Zhengling, when she actually faced such a being, the zither in her hand still trembled slightly uncontrollably.

This being is on par with Nabaso Demon and even the Soul Judgement Demon, a true high-ranking demon, a superior being among the Nine Hells. They serve as the backbone, commanding lower-ranking demons such as Lesser Demons, Bearded Demons, Chain Demons, and Bone Demons, while simultaneously obeying the commands of the Greater Demons… Why is there such a being here?

He climbed up from deeper underground, rather than crossing planes using a teleportation array. Does this mean...?

"Aren't you being a bit too nosy lately?" Veruna spoke in a human voice, her tone stern as she rebuked, "I will submit the relevant report to my superiors regarding this matter."

"Shut up, unicorn." The horned demon raised his hand, pointing his sharp steel fork at Verunara. The sheer power of his presence made even Angreta, who was under his protection, pale, even though she wasn't the one being targeted. The demon spoke in Purgatory, but he also possessed incredibly strong telepathy, allowing anyone present to understand his will without the slightest delay.

"Right here and now, right here, there's even a living, breathing abyssal scum here, and you turn a blind eye to it, instead of blaming me?!"

Chapter 652 Horned Demon

"Praise be to the great Lord Minaurus!" "His salvation has come!"

The moment the horned demon appeared, the surrounding cultists knelt and prostrated themselves before it, abandoning all fighting. The snake people who were fighting them could not take advantage of the situation. Led by Sabelmon, they fled to a distance to avoid being drawn into the turmoil.

But thinking about it carefully, the territory they've been living in recently has actually been right above this demon's head... Escaping probably won't be an easy task.

Veruna stopped speaking, not because she didn't want to refute, but because the other party was far more powerful than her, and she simply had no way to speak. On the other side, Barbasabalon also wisely hid somewhere, leaving only his master, Leslaufer, whom he had always flattered.

Worse than a unicorn, hell is not a place where lesser demons can rebel against higher-ranking horned demons.

"So you're Raslaufer?" After rebuking the unicorn, the horned demon coldly looked down at Dobul. The height difference between him and Raslaufer wasn't particularly large, but it was still about half a meter, making him very imposing.

"And you, you must be Verograc?" Leslaufer looked up at the other, not feeling the heat and malice emanating from him at all; on the contrary, he felt as if he were bathed in a spring breeze. The power of this being even made him feel unusually excited.

He has only just gotten back into form.

"That's right! I am indeed Velograc!" The horned demon slammed his left fist into his chest, producing a muffled thunderous sound. "The sharpest blade of the Minoulus hero and the Bronze Commander!"

The so-called Bronze Commander refers to Duke Bael, one of Mammon's most important vassals and an outstanding commander. He once led 66 Thorn Demon Legions in a brutal and ingenious attack against invaders who invaded Mammon's territory. While completely defeating the enemy, he also turned the defeated soldiers into his own generals, which further increased the number of people under Mammon's command after the war.

As for his achievements in defeating one demon lord after another, one only needs to understand one thing: the grand dukes of each level of the Nine Hells have all faced dethronement and power shifts at various times, but Mammon's position has never wavered. And Verogracs was once a member of this legendary great demon's ranks.

“But if what you claim is true, you wouldn’t be hiding here,” Raslaufer scoffed, turning to Angelita. “Annie, did you bring my sword and armor? I think I’ll have to give it my all to defeat him, unless… he doesn’t deserve the honors he speaks of.”

"You!" Velogracs narrowed his eyes dangerously, but he did not immediately attack Leslaufer. On the contrary, he even temporarily abandoned the fighting stance, waiting for Leslaufer to be ready. "Very well, you cunning mortal! Lord Velogracs has seen through your trick, but I am happy to prove that even if you use all your strength, you are no match for me!"

The horned demon also needed time. Although in Daisy's hometown, these demons also had the imposing nickname "Dominator Demon," they were actually quite lazy most of the time. For the past few centuries, Velogracs had been hiding underground here, slumbering under the guise of collecting wealth for Mammon, and was unusually oblivious to the changes in the outside world. At this moment, he needed time to sort out the information from Minauros, to understand why these humans were standing here, and why this human who had just clearly used demonic power also had an aura from hell on him.

Obtaining the information wasn't particularly difficult, but because it had to stand there, it wasn't until Raslaufer had put on his armor again and picked up the Black Flame Greatsword that Velograc finally figured out what had happened—in short, while it itself was slacking off, the recently deceased daemon under its command was eager to be promoted.

Unfortunately, it never came.

“You know what? I thought you were going to take the opportunity to ambush me,” Raslaufer casually swung his sword. The heavy greatsword felt as light as a feather in his hand. If this wasn’t just a temporary advantage, he would have to ask the old dwarf to add more weight to it the next time he saw Von Dahl. “You didn’t do that, which is good. I’ll give you a quick death.”

The horned demon coldly exhaled a breath that burned with flames: "Mortal, arrogant! These two words can always be put together. Come, let me destroy you now!"

Almost simultaneously, the two warriors vanished from their spots. Had the flaming greatsword not clashed violently with the steel fork, no one else would have been able to pinpoint their location in time. The weapons from purgatory and the dwarves' exquisite craftsmanship produced a deafening explosion, scattering scorching sparks mixed with hellfire and the dark gleam of the black flame greatsword. The shockwave overturned the prostrate cultists around them, forcing even Sabelmon's snake-men to lower themselves and retreat once more. Veruna erected a barrier, positioning Annie and Daisy on the front lines to provide support at any moment.

“Arrogant insect!” Velograc roared, slamming his steel fork down. He sensed that Reslaufer’s strength far exceeded the limits of mortals—the greatsword, which should have been heavy, was as light as a swift blade in the human’s hands. It not only precisely parried every thunderous thrust of his, but also grazed his wrists and ankles. The pain in his joints slowed his pace, but the magma gushing from his blood also restricted Reslaufer’s space to dodge and maneuver.

With another close-range attack from Reslaufer, the horned demon swung its trident outwards, attempting to throw Reslaufer off balance while simultaneously swinging the trident to pierce his lower body. However, Reslaufer used the momentum to spin, his greatsword slicing a deadly arc straight at the horned demon's shoulder. Velogracs hastily retreated half a step, forced to parry the blow with his steel fork once more. A series of sparks flew amidst the scraping of metal. "Where does your power come from?!" the horned demon demanded sharply, its vertical pupils fixed on the dark purple energy fluctuations—neither human nor demonic—that faintly seeped from the gaps in Reslaufer's armor. "Despicable thief!"

Leslaufer didn't answer, but instead grinned and flicked away the fork tip aimed at his throat. The sword then slashed towards the horned demon's waist and abdomen. With another clash, a gray light flashed in Dobul's eyes again. His power suddenly surged, forcing Velogracs to retreat three to five meters. The fork tip plowed three deep furrows into the hard rock ground.

Stealing, yes, stealing! Only after creating distance did the horned demon finally have a chance to catch his breath and examine himself. In just a few exchanges, more than five percent of his power had been stolen! This mortal was practically like a Nabasoal demon, but the difference was that even if that demon stole more than half of his power, Verogracx was still confident he could kill it, but this man… one-twentieth was already more than enough!

"Die!" The horned demon's roar shook the rock walls. Hellfire surged around it, and the flames on its trident transformed into a torrent capable of incinerating a city, piercing towards Reslaufer's heart. Reslaufer immediately went to defend and counterattack. However, just when he thought the battle would take at least half a day to resolve, as his greatsword slashed down, the blade seemed to sense his surging emotions and unleashed them, transforming into a tangible gray-green light that struck the unsuspecting Velograc's right shoulder from afar, severing his arm at the root!

“You’re the one who should go to hell,” even Leslaufer himself was taken aback by this sword strike, but it didn’t stop him from pressing forward. At the same time, a look of drooling and greed finally appeared on his face. “I almost forgot, you’re not going down there!”

Chapter 653 The Death of Verograc

He'll eat his own!

The horned demon was horrified. Only now did it realize that Raslaufer's goal was not merely to defeat it! He wanted to devour it as nourishment, just as he had devoured its minions!

This monster!

From believing he would win the battle to realizing he might be devoured and even resurrection would require the power of the most powerful magic, the earth-shattering transformation from Aphonas to Ness caused the horned demon to unleash all its power in fear. The arm severed by Raslaufer's terrifying slash quickly regenerated from the blood and fire of the wound. While the horned demon clashed head-on with Raslaufer again, it secretly accumulated magic power, attempting to open a gap leading to purgatory.

Velogracs had no intention of running away. After all, the Horned Demon was one of the elite soldiers of the Nine Hells. To be cowardly was to underestimate it. What it really wanted was to summon another Horned Demon and defeat Raslaufer by relying on its numerical advantage!

It was only slightly at a disadvantage on its own, and if Leslaufer didn't continue to steal its power, the battle could even be considered evenly matched. Therefore, with just one more teammate to cooperate with it, it could easily defeat this mortal!

With these thoughts in mind, Velograc's trident techniques became unusually conservative. Even if Raslaufer intentionally or unintentionally revealed a weakness, it would absolutely not consider taking advantage of it, for fear of falling into Dople's trap. However, even it was well aware that surrendering the initiative in such a battle was almost no different from surrendering and being defeated. All it could hope for was that its reinforcements would arrive as soon as possible.

It's best not to have just one; the more the better.

As for the consequences of multiple horned demons gathering in one location in the material world if things really turned out that way, that wasn't something he needed to consider at the moment. Because in those few minutes, he was already risking his own life!

"Roar!" As the horned demon leaped from between the rock walls and soared to the side, the black flame greatsword blasted a large hole, three to five meters in diameter and almost the same depth, into the rock. Raslaufer was engulfed in infernal flames, and further out, a black ripple emanating an ominous aura appeared. He roared and turned, seemingly displeased with the horned demon's evasion, and immediately pounced with even greater ferocity.

The pupils deep within the demon's eye sockets suddenly contracted. It could see that the black ripples were clearly a manifestation of the ability to absorb the power of others, and in order to maintain its existence, the number of spirits around Raslaufer was rapidly decreasing—and this was only the good news.

The bad news is that no matter how much it tries to stall for time, if it cannot turn the tide of the battle, it will inevitably be devoured alive before those essences are exhausted!

Vilograx steeled his resolve, gripping the fork handle with one hand while conjuring a fireball the size of a washbasin in the other, and hurled it at Leslaufer, hoping to prolong his life through ranged attrition. Meanwhile, behind him, in a blind spot unseen by Leslaufer, a fiery red rift quietly unfolded, sending its own distress signal to the third level of the Nine Hells, the Rotten Swamp Hell, Minauros.

It shouldn't be too long... I think.

While horned demons are not as powerful as succubi or ice demons in this regard, they can still summon a familiar demon of equal rank to aid them, or command large groups of lower-ranking demons in battle. However, Verogracs understood this perfectly well: it was better for two horned demons to fight together than to summon a bunch of cannon fodder.

But... why isn't its target showing up yet?! It has already sent messages to all the demons it knows!

Velogracs would never know that his message had indeed reached his acquaintances, but in the time before and after that, almost everyone who was supposed to rescue him ran into trouble. These demons were either held up by other acquaintances or superiors, or simply unable to extricate themselves from the never-ending bloodbath, and none of them had the time to save him. However, there was one very close friend, a horned demon, who relayed Velogracs's plea for help to his superiors. This being had recently retired from Avernus to recuperate, and almost no one would "inexplicably" stop him.

Even though the Nine Hells and the material plane have different timelines, he still arrived too late.

"Ugh—" A spray of scorching lava erupted from Velograc's mouth, splattering onto Raslaufer's face, a face a hundred times more resolute than steel. The devil's trident had blocked Dobulle's right upper arm, deflecting the deadly black flame greatsword as well. However, as the horned demon's gaze fell downwards, he finally noticed that another dark red battle blade had pierced through his abdomen. Even with his imposing physique, he couldn't prevent the sharp tip from penetrating his internal organs and back, breaking through two layers of scales and emerging from his body.

Verograc raised his arm in fury, attempting to take the despicable mortal down with him—that way, if Raslauver couldn't devour his soul in time, he could still return to the Nine Hells. Unfortunately, this thought remained a pipe dream. Just as the horned demon's claws were centimeters from Raslauver's head, its last ounce of strength ultimately went to the man before it.

With a "smack," the devil's claws landed limply on the horned helmet of the fallen Raslaufer. This blow, devoid of its own will, only caused Raslaufer's vision to go black for a moment. As the helmet fell to the ground, Raslaufer covered his face and took two steps back, ultimately emerging unharmed.

Although it takes time to completely absorb the power of a high-level demon like the Horned Demon, it is more than enough to heal injuries.

"It seems I'll have to report to the Queen and explain things to the other beings as well..." Veruna didn't speak, but her thoughts reached Angelita's mind. Unfortunately, the girl, who usually got along very well with unicorns, didn't care about her mount's feelings this time.

“This is all your own work,” she chuckled, covering her mouth, and turned to dismount. “Never mind all that, Uncle Raslaw won!”

She was ready to go down and celebrate, after all, the demon's appearance was incredibly powerful, but Veruna had her own ideas. She raised her two front hooves to stop Angrita from leaving her: "Wait, Miss Anne, now is not the time to go down!"

"Look, that might be the reason why the devil has been able to fight the demons to this day..." "What nonsense are you talking about, Verunara? I don't understand!"

"...The horned demon's superior has arrived."

Chapter 654 Bronze Commander

Leslaufer stood before the slowly decaying demon corpse, his eyes fixed on the slowly opening gates of purgatory behind it.

The first thing he saw was a head of brilliant red hair, followed by huge pointed ears emerging from the strands, then a golden forehead and small bull horns near the eyebrows. As golden, moist eyes appeared before Duple, a wide mouth full of sharp teeth below an upturned nose also revealed its presence. Like its towering owner, it faced him directly, flashing a piercing smile at the mercenary.

Even without looking at the mace in the hand of this body that emits a faint golden light, its eerie appearance alone is enough to dispel any benevolent speculation about this being.

Because he could not possibly have any goodwill toward a mortal who had killed his former subordinates.

As the projection appeared, the surrounding cultists prostrated themselves even deeper, their weight crushing deep dents into the rocks and soil beneath them. Even Veruna could barely protect herself and Angrita. A layer of silver sweat appeared on the unicorn's body, its radiance almost solidified, unable to escape in the slightest.

The bard, now deprived of the protection of celestial beings, was starting to feel cramps in his legs.

Elite generals and soldiers who have risked their lives can bring an extraordinary sense of pressure to ordinary people. Although these two feelings are not exactly the same, they lead to the same goal. What if there was an entity that could give people both of these feelings at the same time?

Even the cold-blooded snake people felt their bodies stiffening and straightening as if they were about to enter hibernation.

Only Raslaufer stood closest, yet it was as if there was no one in front of him at all.

"Kneeling and bowing before this general is the most basic requirement for you," the golden devil's face looked coldly at Dople, but the smile grew even brighter. "You actually killed Verogracs in the material world?"

It even devoured his soul.

In the lower planes beyond the reach of distance, in the Nine Hells of Bato, amidst the rotting swamps and silt, Bael examined the comings and goings of souls. Through this examination, he became certain that the horned demon's soul had indeed been stripped away by Raslaufer—using the methods of the Nabaso demon.

Unless he's willing to regurgitate it, the only way to resurrect him is with a top-tier spell like Prayer. However, this would force him to seek the help of Grand Duke Mammon, which would be handing him a weapon. Although Bael has been content as Grand Duke Mammon's vassal for a long time, it doesn't mean he can comfortably owe his favor to his lord, who is known for his greed.

That human deserves to die.

Seeing that Raslaufer did not react to his threats, neither kneeling nor arguing back, Bael's dissatisfaction grew. He was unwilling to say anything more, and immediately raised the mace in the projection's hand, ready to smash a mortal's skull.

No matter how many secrets or methods he has, he is still just a mortal. As a powerful demon, who is no weaker than any of the eight demon dukes when it comes to authority, even if Bael is just a projection, he has strength far surpassing that of the Horned Demon or even the Abyss Demon. Even if Leslaufer is strong, he cannot gain any advantage over him.

As a meticulous commander, Bael noticed that Raslaufer possessed at least one item that resembled a divine artifact. This might help the mortal withstand his attack, but he would make him understand that a divine artifact is ultimately just a tool.

Even gods themselves are not without their worries, let alone a mere inanimate object.

The mace fell mercilessly, but it dispersed its force to affect the entire surrounding environment rather than just Leslaufer alone. Even with the protection spell, this mortal could not escape death.

However, when he saw that the man not only did not intend to activate the protective spell to survive, but instead prepared to fight him head-on with his sword, Bael couldn't help but show a hint of appreciation. And when he found that his hammer had actually been barely blocked, his appreciation was even mixed with a hint of surprise.

But that was all—perhaps this mortal's soul could be used as a servant, but he himself had to die. Bael thought this as the second hammer fell without giving him a moment's respite.

But at that moment, a melody, like sticky spider silk, emerged from the void and instantly wrapped around the projection's wrist, preventing it from striking down. In fact, Leslaufer seized the opportunity to leap up and swung his greatsword horizontally, delivering a solid slap to the flat, golden face!

"Bronze Marshal, please be patient." Only then did everyone turn around, only to see a red, illusory figure seemingly superimposed on the bard's body. As the music began, she slowly stepped forward, separating herself from Daisy's original presence. The lyre in her hand also changed to another form—it was her own instrument.