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

Who else could it be but Zheng Ling?

“Even if you have the harp bestowed upon you by Grand Duchess Philna, you have no right to speak to me like this,” Bael’s face darkened, and a faint blood-red light covered his golden face, making him look sinister and terrifying. “I’ll give you two counts of time to release me.”

These two numbers were given to Grand Duke Philna of Flagesos and Belial as a gesture of respect.

"I'm sorry, I can't..." Before Zheng Ling's phantom could finish speaking, it was almost torn into countless pieces by the struggle of Bael's projection. But after a brief fluctuation, another voice rang out clearly through this phantom.

Even Bael had to temporarily halt his intention to resort to violence, and for Raslaufer, that voice was all too familiar.

"Don't be so irritable, General, it's not good for your health," the Grand Duchess's teasing voice didn't just echo here. In the Nine Hells, a square magic box was urgently summoned by Barbasabalon and delivered to Bael, uttering the exact same voice, "This person, you can't take away."

Bael narrowed his eyes, and the ever-present smile on his face vanished: "Grand Duchess Philna, what do you mean by this? Verogracs... if I remember correctly, that was supposed to be yours—"

“Some things, if not brought up, aren’t really that important, but if they are, I’m afraid even the entire Nine Hells will have a hard time suppressing them,” Philna’s tone was subtly suggestive. Even though Bael was almost impossible to control, he was inevitably affected. “You must agree with this statement, right?”

“His death will not be silenced,” Bael snorted, trying his best to remain clear-headed and not be swayed by Philna. But compared to his military talent, he was no match for these grand dukes in another aspect. “You can save him, but I will immediately report to Grand Duke Mammon, and you cannot stop me!”

Inside the theater, the Grand Duchess sat in the first row of the audience, crossing her legs over the other one: "Of course, of course... just like the throne of Malberg. After Countess Maragade was killed by Lord Asmodeus, the choice of ruler for that level remained unresolved for a long time. Among the candidates, the name of the Bronze Commander was often mentioned."

Bael's heart skipped a beat. The relationships between demons couldn't be measured by common sense, like Philna and Belial, Asmodeus and Gracia, and Gracia... and Mammon. "But so what?" he asked tentatively.

Philna shook her head. If the other party was experienced enough, they should be discussing the stakes with her. But this was certainly a good thing for her: "It's nothing serious. I would say that at that time, the changes in your company were completely reasonable and legal, without any selfish motives. You only wanted to protect the safety of the Nine Hells—including but not limited to the time when you crossed Stygia and marched towards the Bone Rift Palace, which was still under renovation at the time—right?"

"If Gracia knew of your dedication to duty, General, she would surely be so excited that she would immediately report this to Lord Asmodeus."

Chapter 655 Again and Again

"This kind of thing..."

Bael opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing—just as Philna had said, the same thing carries a completely different weight when kept inside versus when spoken.

At that time, Gracia was not yet in the sight of most demons. Although her Bone Shattering Palace was already in the planning stage, no one knew who its master was. Under these circumstances, although Bael did not give an explicit order, he did have a loyal force supporting him... But none of this really mattered.

As the lord of the Nine Hells, surely Asmodeus knew this?

Did Gracia, who was in the shadows at the time and not yet restrained by her "father," not know these things?

But they said nothing, and neither did Grand Duke Mammon, just as he hadn't punished his men for desertion that time—some things can be explained in a hundred thousand ways as long as they aren't publicized.

But once it's made public, not only will Bael's good reputation, which he has built up over the years in the Nine Hells, be ruined, but Grand Duke Mammon will also be implicated, and this anger will inevitably descend upon him.

More importantly, and more fatally, if this old grudge were to be brought up again, the one presiding over the trial would be either Belial or Philna, and the one presiding over the punishment would inevitably be Gracia! The predecessor of that princess still had a chance to transform into a little devil and continue to hide on the sixth floor waiting for his opportunity, but he dared not hope for such good fortune!

Golden eyes fixed on the person in charge of Philna in front of him from two dimensions. Now, his choices were very few. Having chosen to be a vassal under the Grand Duke, while enjoying less covetousness and more security, he inevitably faced this predicament.

“Fine, I can ignore this,” Bael said slowly, glancing at Reslaufer through the projection in the material plane. “Killing him wasn’t really necessary anyway.”

“But my loss must be compensated, Grand Duchess Philna. You should understand that even a horned demon who has long since left the front lines cannot die so easily.”

The magic box in Minauros shattered into pieces with a "bang," and at the same time, Zhengling spoke up: "Of course, you will receive compensation—for example, some new recruits. The mistress instructed me to ask you, what do you think of these snake people?"

Without discussion or prior notice, neither Philna nor Bael cared about the snake people's own thoughts. One side asked the question, and the other began to scrutinize them.

The bronze commander had no concern for what these snake-people thought. He would calm these mortals down before their next battle.

"can."

The wide mouth full of sharp teeth grinned into a smile again, as if he were quite satisfied with the result. A scorching, foul-smelling wind roared from the ground, sweeping up the snake-men all at once and sending them into a teleportation array.

These mortals will be sacrificed in his next scheme to help the devils win victory from the abyss. Perhaps some lucky ones will survive, and these mortals who have experienced extraordinary battles will receive promotions and glory commensurate with their achievements.

However, these snake-men alone seemed insufficient. As the projection was about to dissipate, Bael once again slashed at Reslaufer with a sharp, axe-like gaze.

“I’m taking this person with me too.”

“You dare!” Angelita screamed immediately. “If you do this—”

“You’ll be getting yourself into a lot of trouble for no reason,” Zheng Ling added, as if to make up for Angelita’s lack of deterrent measures. “General, you can go back and ask Grand Duke Mammon what he has to say.”

Seemingly without any expectation of success, Bael simply snorted and completely erased his existence from the mine of this material world, leaving not even a trace of scent or echo.

Only then did Zheng Ling turn to Raslaufer and bow to the man, Duple: "Lord Raslaufer, congratulations, you've taken another step closer to paying off your mistress's debt. Compared to me, perhaps you are more of a qualified devil."

“If I remember correctly, I should have already repaid the favor,” Raslaufer said, not flattered by Zhengling’s praise. He put away his weapon, and the power churning in his eyes dissipated. “When I killed Erich before, I actually killed an extra devil as well.”

“Of course, there’s no doubt about that,” Zheng Ling said, not intending to refute. “But you handled it all by yourself that time, while this time, look, I’m standing right here.”

The bard rolled his eyes: "If Old Lei could even kill such a big devil, you and your mistress would never say such things."

The death of a high-ranking demon is nothing to Bael. But if Bael dies, does that mean the Lord of the Nine Hells will be brought out again?

Zhengling spread her hands: "Indeed it wouldn't happen—but it didn't happen, did it? Please forgive me, Daisy, this matter requires Lord Raslaw to make a decision, which is also the mistress's wish."

"Simply put, you can consider this a repayment of all favors. Since there were no detailed terms and only a verbal agreement, there are no problems. However, in return, the mistress will probably no longer consider your affairs or provide any assistance." It's definitely a good thing that a mortal is no longer coveted by the devil, but Zhengling can make it sound like Leslaufer suffered a great loss.

“And if you think there’s still room for maneuver, this could perhaps be considered half,” the beggar, who was especially favored by Grand Duke Philna, seemed to be winking at Leslaufer, but unfortunately, Leslaufer couldn’t make out the specifics. “You are very useful, and the Grand Duke values ​​that highly.”

“This time it’s half, next time it’s a quarter, and the time after that it’s an eighth…” Daisy muttered in dissatisfaction, “So you’re trying to take advantage of Xixi, huh? Old Ray, you can’t agree to this. What’s the difference between this and Louis XVI? It’s endless!”

Who was Louis XVI?

Angelita was stunned for a long time, unable to recall which allusion the poet lady had quoted (she even automatically ignored the even more incomprehensible wording before), but her meaning was very clear: devils are a group of creatures who use the guise of lawfulness but actually live by deception, sophistry and trickery, and the only biggest beneficiary of their so-called "room for maneuver" can only be themselves.

Meanwhile, in Abrimok, located in the fiery hell of Flamehorth, Philna's figure had disappeared from the theater at some point, and was now standing inside a dungeon.

Here, there is only one cell, one prisoner, and the only "jailer" is the devil himself.

"Etu, do you think he will refuse?"

Chapter 656 The Devil Duke's Prisoner

This private prison of Grand Duchess Fernález has a completely different style of decoration from the outside world—that is, it is completely undecorated.

This space was constructed from obsidian cut so finely that not even a single gap remained, and the surrounding area was polished to a frosted surface. Even if one pressed their entire body against the wall, only a blurry reflection could be seen. As for drinking water, food, and beds, all the necessities of a prison were lacking here, but neither the Grand Duke himself nor the prisoners here had any objections.

Imprisoned here is a green humanoid creature, half a meter tall, with a barbed tail and a pair of long horns. Its hands and feet have long, sharp claws, and its huge eyes are so black that they are completely devoid of any other color, showing only utter confusion and emptiness.

Yes, this is a Quassa, a tiny, weak creature that proliferates in the Abyss. Barbasabalon might be able to fight it to a standstill, since both are often summoned as magical companions in the material world, and both perform menial tasks such as messengers or spies in Purgatory and the Abyss.

But before a demon lord, it was nothing. It's hard to imagine that such a Quassa demon would be kept under such strict guard by Philna. Not only Belial, but even her favorite courtier, Zhengling, was unaware of its existence.

If there is anything special about this little demon, it is only this: it wears a headband on its forehead, and a small gem in the very center of its forehead is deeply embedded under the scales and flesh, even penetrating the bone.

It was a messenger, but this Quassa demon could no longer think independently like its kind. Its brain had been completely transformed, turning it into a mouthpiece for some being far away.

“I’m sure he will,” Quassamon was still able to speak, only to prevent the entity behind him from being dug up and exposed to the light for no reason. “I know him very well, better than he knows himself. He will not only reject you, but he will also be hostile to you and plot revenge against you until you have to give up what is rightfully yours—he will definitely do that.”

“And he will definitely do it—I know him.”

“How pathetic, don’t you think?” Philna sneered. “He’s capable of far more than you are right now, Otu. Tell me, after that incident, did you ever regret it? Regret your impulsive and foolish act?”

"After I captured this little henchman of yours, I did a lot of research, even incurring debts to Mephisto, before I finally confirmed your existence—you were even enslaved and tortured by your own subordinates for so many years? That's ridiculous and laughable."

“It’s just a little mud on the way to the inevitable place,” Quassamon’s shrill voice said, but the words were completely at odds with its tone. “As for this Quassamon, do you really think you caught him by chance?”

Do you really think there are so many 'coincidences'?

Philna was silent for a moment: "It seems you did succeed. But as for coincidence, when emotions are out of control, a lot of coincidences do happen, don't you think?"

She was the most adept at controlling her emotions among the Grand Dukes. She didn't believe in this; she had witnessed too many things that couldn't be explained by reason—even including her own failure—when the fairy soul she was determined to possess finally broke away from her, and all she ended up with were some half-goat people corrupted by dark pleasures.

“That’s a matter of variables, Your Grace,” the being referred to as “Otto” by Philna responded through the Quassema. “In short, based on all the information available, I can be certain that the individual who calls himself Reslaufer will reject your offer.”

"Then you can consider joining forces with me. His refusal will allow your gift to come to me without any side effects, thereby transforming me. You help me to complete the final step of my blueprint; and I will help you, and soon there will be only one Grand Duke in Phrygsos."

Or at least, she will be more dominant.

Philna thought to herself, not holding much hope for the other party's promises. She knew Belial too well; if that guy could be easily overthrown by bringing in outside help, she would have been the sole ruler of this hell long ago—he was not someone to be trifled with.

Even the very step she was currently planning had already been noticed by Belial, and no matter how much she tried to distract him with various "trivial matters" and attract his attention with seemingly important matters, it was to no avail.

She and Belial knew each other even better than Otto claimed to know Reslaufer. The Devil Prince was willing to accept even the slightest advantage in this deal.

In any case, time is not a scarce resource. If advantages can be accumulated continuously, they can eventually be transformed into a winning advantage, so she is not in a hurry.

“If you can actually succeed, that in itself is a benefit to me,” Philna raised her hand and looked at her beautifully painted nails. “Not to mention the threat, instability, and encouragement your very presence creates. Zariel will not hesitate to launch another attack, and she will gain the upper hand.”

“Grand Duchess Zariel has always been like this. Even when she was still an angel, her fierce battles shocked Purgatory and the Abyss,” Otu agreed. “And generals like Bael will surely take this opportunity to continue their schemes, and the situation in Purgatory will change as a result—which is also the premise for your change of status.”

Bael, the Bronze Commander… Philna nodded. Yes, this is only one that poses a relatively minor threat; many more will be tempted to act because of this.

“Speaking of which,” she brought the topic back to the present, “have you decided what to do with Raslaufer? It’s obvious he has exceeded your original expectations, and I won’t believe you if you say your assessment of him hasn’t changed at all.”

Quasem did not answer immediately, which was unusual for this living "communication device" with no delay. Perhaps Otto on the other side really hadn't thought about this aspect.

But in the end, he spoke again: "It sounds like you already have an idea. You want his soul? That's probably not an easy thing, and I also have that need."

“Bael is interested in him,” Philna said without hiding anything. “After all, he helped me with a few small favors, and his very existence is… worth observing. I won’t hand him over easily—hmm.”

Otto heard a transitional particle, but not the questioning tone that should have accompanied it; or rather, the particle used for such a flat tone shouldn't have been in that voice. Before he could even ask, Philna had already looked at Quassma with a half-smile. Through those dark eyes, the Demon Grand Duke's vision seemed to pierce through the Nine Hells, landing in the depths of another dimension.

“Otu, he agreed—you guessed wrong.”

Chapter 657 The End of the Devil's Follower

Zheng Ling's figure transformed into illusory specks of light and slowly dissipated into the air. Although Leslaufer didn't truly grasp her implication, the final outcome did indeed meet her expectations.

This was also her advice to Grand Duchess Philna: just as a familiar devil is better than a strange one for mortals, a familiar trading partner is certainly better than a strange one for devils—especially when the difference in the help they can provide is not significant.

In fact, Zheng Ling deeply doubted whether the "alternative" who suddenly appeared and whose identity she could not even confirm truly existed. Grand Duchess Philna was adept at manipulating other people's emotions, and perhaps it was all just a lie used to test how reliable Reslaufer really was.

“You really shouldn’t have agreed to her,” Daisy shook her head. “Just wait, this is just the beginning, and it’s going to go on forever.”

However, when she spoke, Leslaufer merely glanced at her and said calmly, "Is there something wrong with that?"

"'Something's wrong?'" The poet lady jumped up. "That's the devil, Old Lei!"

"So, did I sign a contract with them?"

Daisy paused for a moment: "Uh, no, that's not true." It was all just a verbal agreement.

"So, will I lose my soul because of my subsequent refusal to comply?" "No...?"

Dubul spread his hands: "Then what is there to worry about? They always want to find something for me to kill, and I happen to need that too. Since there is no burden, why can't I agree?"

In this world, most forces no longer pose a threat to Raslaufer, and mercenaries would never be foolish enough to actively seek out and provoke beings they cannot handle. Under these circumstances, if one wants a sufficient challenge, having the devil guide the way is of course the best option—this in itself is already a reward, not to mention there's money to be made.

Raslaufer showed everyone the item in his hand, a heavy iron coin several sizes larger than a regular gold coin. Its weight made people wonder if something else was hidden inside.

It does indeed contain something—a soul coin, inside which is imprisoned a soul.

The witch Nightingale frantically collected souls to earn this, but this time, the one who got it was Raslaufer.

Daisy and Angelita both crowded around to examine the coin: its obverse and reverse sides were surrounded by the image of a giant serpent, which was the symbol of Mammon, the Duke of the Swamp of Decay.

“Those hellish things are really beautiful,” Raslaw exclaimed. Daisy was somewhat puzzled, while Angreta glanced at her uncle.

"Would you like to have your own portrait cast on this?"

Veruna walked over and tapped Angrita's head with the spiral side of her unicorn horn: "That's almost impossible. Mammon has never been deposed by the Lord of the Nine Hells. To take his place... would be extremely difficult."

A relatively simple way is to be promoted to a high demon by Asmodeus and thus to a grand duke; a more difficult way is to dethrone Asmodeus and appoint oneself. In the Nine Hells of Bathor, the strong may possess commensurate authority, but no authority surpasses that of the absolute monarch shrouded in the intrigues of the Eightfold Hell. Without His support, even if one's strength surpasses that of a grand duke, it is difficult to obtain true power.

Isn't that exactly what happened to Bael?

“Minting your own coins is fine,” Daisy said, pursing her lips, “but they’d definitely be the same as the Imperial Gold Coins and the gold coins of the Inasas nations, or even worse. But right now, Ray, shouldn’t you be thinking about what to do with these guys around you?”

"Don't forget, we came here for these people."

Daisy's words reminded Raslaufer, and the man looked up and around. With the snake people all taken away by the Bronze Commander, the remaining living people around were all cultists. At this moment, they were still crawling on the ground, neither daring to resist nor to escape.

They weren't fools. Raslaufer had killed two demons in succession, attracting the appearance of that terrifying being, yet he was unharmed. If they still didn't understand that this person also had ties to the Nine Hells, then they would have been "believers" for nothing.

They worship the devil, not the demon.

Faced with Raslaufer's scrutiny, the timid cultists trembled involuntarily, unsure of their fate. Among them, the most trembling were undoubtedly Griffin and the sorcerer who supported him—they had just dared to dream of defeating this man head-on, a feat that even their sect leader could not accomplish!

But now their leader is dead, while they are still alive...

In a daze, the two even felt that it might have been a better outcome if they had been hit by the aftershocks of the battle and died instantly.

"Hmm, what am I going to do with you?" Raslaufer scrutinized the men, but he didn't desperately crave their deaths. A horned demon and a beetle were already a delicious feast; splashing the blood of these powerless beings wouldn't enhance his satisfaction, but rather might spoil his enjoyment—Raslaufer didn't want to lose it; he had only recently regained it.

The sorcerer, who resembled a businessman, gave a bitter laugh, then suddenly stood up and looked at the Finance Minister, whose entire body was trembling with fat: "Griffin, stand up like a man! Are you planning to wait for him to figure out how to torture you?!"

His sect leader was dead. Although his own power wouldn't disappear due to the contract, this path was now utterly meaningless. His past, all his thoughts and plans, had vanished like a dream; they were now nothing. And now, would this bloodthirsty mercenary before him, with the past and future meaningless, bestow upon him a hollow "present"?

Rather than this, I'd rather die!

Thinking of this, the sorcerer roared at Leslaufer again in a mournful voice, and his little devil plunged its venomous stinger into its master's neck. In an instant, life ended.

The surrounding demon followers were agitated by this scene. Several sorcerers who shared the same sect leader as the merchant immediately stood up and ended their lives in their own ways. Faced with this, neither Raslaufer, Angelita, and Daisy, nor the unicorn, simply watched, neither urging nor stopping them.