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

Although demons are adept at exploiting loopholes in laws and regulations, in terms of the rigor and perfection of the law, it's hard to find a place in the entire multiverse that surpasses the Nine Hells. Even a great demon would have a hard time finding loopholes, let alone a mortal soldier like Leslaufer.

After listening to Barbasabalon's words, Reslaufer clicked his tongue and, after asking for the location of the portal, headed in that direction. Whether he could get through was another matter; his priority was to see the portal first. As for what would happen next, Reslaufer hadn't thought about it further yet.

According to Barbasabalon, it should be a fortified city, and to get there one must cross a vast wilderness that is a battlefield of past, present and future bloodshed. However, even Barbasabalon couldn't quite say how far that was—in the Nine Hells, the concepts of time and space are very different from those in the material world.

Raslaufer had no choice but to believe him, but the boundless wilderness was really wearing down his will. Fortunately, just when Raslaufer's patience was about to run out, at the edge of his field of vision, dozens of figures of different sizes appeared in front of the man and the devil.

There, most of them were molten flesh and blood, with only the outlines of human heads and torsos vaguely discernible. These freaks were unarmed and extremely weak. Around them, however, were three to five monsters that combined features of vultures and humanoid creatures, who were currently attacking them.

Among those attacked, Reslaufer only spotted one man who looked somewhat human; judging from his attire, he might be an officer or captain. Although this devil or Cambion wielded his battle axe with impressive force, he was outnumbered. Reslaufer quickly found himself in grave danger beneath the broad wings of the "vultures." Just then, the other vulture spotted Reslaufer standing by, and immediately shouted in his direction:

"What are you doing here, Bronze Legion... What are you still looking at? Come and help! As the captain, I command you!"

Chapter 689 Mortals in Hell

Upon hearing this, Raslaufer unconsciously frowned. Although the military system was different, as a duple, he was at least a corps commander in the ranks, and he did not accept being ordered around like this.

But the little devil persuaded him to help.

“They are being attacked by vulture demons, Master,” Barbasabalon whispered, pointing his tail at the half-bird, half-human creatures. “These are demons, and those being attacked are ‘our’ own people—it looks like they are escorting lesser demons to their camp.”

As the lowest type of demons, they are transformed when mortal souls are twisted by evil and banished to the Nine Hells forever. Although of inferior quality, they are still considered fresh blood in the Nine Hells, and many miscellaneous tasks need to be completed by them.

"If I can help them, I might as well go that way..."

Leslaufer wasn't really keen on helping that guy, but if the other side was a demon, then that was a different story.

"Humans?"

In the open wilderness, Raslaufer had few places to hide, so when the demon found Raslaufer and asked for his help, the vultures also saw Raslaufer's presence. The only thing that puzzled them was probably Raslaufer's human identity.

But isn't that just right?

These telepathic demons exchanged glances, and then one of the eagle demons broke away from the group, charging towards Leslaufer half-running and half-gliding, ready to deal with this creature that had appeared out of nowhere. Upon seeing this, the demons, who had temporarily felt less pressured, became even more tense instead of relaxed.

The already distorted faces of those evil demons displayed all sorts of bizarre expressions.

However, just as they were all holding their breath for Raslaufer, the vulture that had been tearing at Dobulle with its beak and claws seemed to have lost its sense of distance and direction. In the blink of an eye, it brushed past Raslaufer and pounced into empty space.

Was it...an accident?

As Captain Lius forced the eagle demon back, he paused slightly. He hadn't seen the mortal who had fallen into Aphrodite make any move, not even swinging his weapon. It all seemed like the eagle demon's own mistake. But having fought countless battles on the battlefield, Lius refused to accept such an explanation—eagle demons were lowly but vicious flying soldiers from the abyss; they would never make such a basic, foolish error.

As if in response to his judgment, in the next second he saw the eagle demon, which had missed its target, fall to the ground in a comical manner, carving a deep trench in the ground as it continued to slide due to inertia.

The demon's blood is gradually filling this trench.

The sword twirled in Raslaufer's hand as if it had just been drawn, but the next second, the man leaped up, stomped on the back of another eagle demon, and slashed off its wings.

The two eagle demons beside him let out a terrifying shriek, and swung their front claws toward Raslaufer's chest, but Raslaufer leaped up again, casting a deadly shadow over the demons' heads.

Compared to these winged, bird-like monsters, he seemed to be the one who ruled the sky!

"Die!" With a sharp shout, Raslaufer and his blade swept through the air in an arc of light. The two eagle demons paused for a moment, and it wasn't until Raslaufer landed on the ground that the two bird heads belatedly slid off the smooth cut surface and fell to the ground with two "thuds".

In the blink of an eye, four vultures perished under Raslaufer's blade!

The remaining eagle demon was utterly terrified at the sight. It turned and struggled to take flight, fleeing into the distance. Just as Raslaufer was about to grab his sword and throw it at its back, he saw the demon centurion pull out a crossbow from his back. The mechanism clicked, and a crossbow bolt that Raslaufer had never seen before flashed a cold light and disappeared into the scorching air around him.

But the vulture seemed to have flown further and further away.

"Missed it?" Leslaufer frowned. If he had known this would happen, he should have attacked directly. The demon was flying extremely fast and was now out of his range.

Before he could finish speaking, the screams of the eagle demon echoed from the horizon. Raslaufer narrowed his eyes and saw that the crossbow bolt had accurately struck the demon's vital spot in the back of the head, bringing it down with a single blow.

“It needs to fly for a while.” The devil beside him smiled. Although his face was ferocious, Leslaufer could tell that he meant no harm. Instead, he seemed more puzzled.

“These are all your military merits, I won’t take them from you,” Liuers said, knowing that this person in front of him was not someone he could mess with. “As for the one that was shot down, you can have it too, consider it a life-saving favor.”

“However, what about your troops, sir? The Bronze Legion should have withdrawn from the battlefield a long time ago, and it's not time for them to return yet. Besides…” The devil glanced at Leslaufer's sword, having noticed its material earlier, “This sword is probably standard issue for our legion, isn't it?”

He could identify the legion to which the man belonged, information imprinted on his soul through a contract, but apart from that, Luis could find no other markings on Raslaufer—not even the weapon, which belonged to his own legion.

An ominous premonition welled up in the devil's heart: Could this be another trick played by those maggots in the abyss?

Raslaw's swift and decisive killing of a few demons doesn't prove anything. For demons, killing each other is commonplace. Sacrificing a few demons' lives for the sake of disguise and infiltration is nothing remarkable.

But if that's the case... then why choose him?

Lius couldn't understand it. Although he was skilled with a crossbow, he had recently made a mistake and was punished by being sent to transport these inferior demons. Even if a breakthrough was made through him, it would be meaningless.

But upon closer reflection, how many of the devil's actions were truly "meaningful"?

"Oh, isn't there me here?" Barbasabalun couldn't help but jump out and introduce himself to Lulls. "Barbasabalun was one of Avernas's messengers. After being captured by a witch and losing contact, he was rescued and transferred to Grand Duchess Philna. His direct superior is the newly promoted devil Zhengling. You can easily find out by checking!"

"As for this one, it's even easier to explain. He's a favorite of several high-ranking officials. He's come down here to fulfill his military service obligations under the contract—any questions?"

Chapter 690 The Bone Demon of the Past, the Thorn Demon of the Present

"Military service? I've never even considered that!"

Walking at the very end of the lesser demons' procession, Leslaufer whispered fiercely to Barbasabalon, "If anything goes wrong, I guarantee you'll suffer a fate far worse than becoming a lesser demon!"

"A temporary measure, a temporary measure, Master!" The little devil wiped non-existent cold sweat from his forehead. "Otherwise, you won't even be able to get past this hurdle. I don't deny that you can kill them all, but if that happens, it will be very difficult for you to go back."

"This is all your fault!" Leslaufer slapped Barbasaballon, nearly knocking the wretched little thing to the ground. "In short, remember what I said!"

Lulls glanced back furtively but remained silent. He still harbored doubts about Raslaufer's identity, but all the evidence matched what the little devil had said, leaving him no reason not to believe him.

In short, once we get into the city, someone will naturally help us verify whether it's true or not.

The distance to Hearthlight Fortress wasn't far. After traveling for about two hours with Lulls's group, a sturdy fortress made entirely of metal appeared before him.

This is a standard military fortress, and it has been in use ever since. As Raslaufer approached to examine the walls, the mottled marks and remnants of blood and flesh on the walls testified to the horrific extent of the wars it had endured.

“About two thousand demons have been plastered onto this wall,” Lulls slowed his pace and explained to Leslaufer. “At the same time, about three times that number of demons have been fused into the wall. Before long, another layer will be laid on the outside of this wall.”

“This doesn’t look like a dangerous place,” Raslaufer said, looking around at the fortress standing alone in the treacherous wasteland of Avernas, which seemed particularly out of place. “Why are there so many battles here?”

The number of dead and wounded alone reached nearly 10,000, which means that either the site had been under construction for a considerable period of time, or it had been the site of a large-scale battle.

“To fight demons, you must discard the experiences of the material plane, my friend,” Lius shook the horn on his head. “They’re like flies—there are even beings with fly heads among them—there’s no crevice they won’t squeeze into. You must hold every inch of land firmly in your own hands, otherwise…”

"Other demons will emerge from all the places we can and cannot imagine, just like those vultures."

"Hey! Have you two finished talking yet?"

As the demon horde drew near the city gate, two shadowy figures descended from the city walls. These were also demons, not much larger than lesser demons, but the tridents in their hands and the spikes covering their bodies made them appear ten times more ferocious. At that moment, these two demons folded their wings and landed in front of Lulls and Raslaufer, looking up at them while extending one of their claws.

"Hey, hand over your pass! Otherwise, you're not allowed in!"

Lius seemed used to this kind of scene, so he immediately pulled a black metal card from a gap in his armor and handed it over. The demon in front of him took it, glanced at it, muttered something, and made way. However, the other demon took a half-step closer to Leslaufer:

"Where's your pass? No pass, no entry... ga!"

The demon's sudden scream triggered a chain reaction. Not only its companion, but also the demons on the city walls and behind the city gates reacted, with crossbow bolts and spearheads flashing and aimed directly at Leslaufer.

However, Duple remained standing there, doing nothing—though this included displaying his non-existent pass.

"I protest!" Barbasabalon cried out immediately. "This is the front line! What are you trying to do, making such a fuss? My master hasn't done anything!"

As a lower-ranking lesser demon, his words carried little authority, but his appearance caused the thorn demon to instinctively step back and re-examine Leslaufer, this mortal it had never met before.

Why? It was certain that it had never left the Nine Hells, but why did this mortal seem so familiar? And why did seeing it always bring waves of nausea and...fear?

Is it afraid of a mortal?

Thorn Demon couldn't help but scrutinize Leslaufer again with its monochrome yellow eyes, but it still couldn't recall the source of its apprehension.

But if that's the case...

“Look at his soul, he’s a soldier of the Bronze Legion,” Liuers chimed in, trying to persuade the other side to let him pass, but it seemed to have the opposite effect.

"A mortal without a pass! He might be a spy sent by the Abyss!" The Thorn Demon's two small eyes widened immediately, and it raised its steel fork at Leslaufer with its neck stiffened. At the same time, the thorns on its body and tail stood up, as if they were about to be launched at any moment.

These thorns are the primary attack method of this type of demon. When struck by a powerful impact, the thorns can even burst into flames. When large numbers of thorn demons gather in the air, these physically weak demons become a terrifying bombardment force. Furthermore, as relatively common low-ranking demons in Hell, demon commanders are adept at using these small creatures in warfare. Both Bael and Philna have a proven track record of victories achieved using thorn demon legions.

But now, standing before Raslaufer is only a mere Thorn Demon, whose threat is hardly even that great to ordinary mortal soldiers.

“I don’t want to say it a second time,” although the Thorn Demon found Raslaufer quite familiar, Dople couldn’t see through the essence of the soul and therefore couldn’t recognize it, only regarding it as a fool who didn’t know what was good for him. “Get out of the way, or you’ll know just how many ways there are to spell the word ‘regret’.”

The Thorn Demon shuddered. Leslaufer's threats were always simple and effective, even against demons. But the loathing that welled up from the depths of its soul lingered, leading the Thorn Demon to ultimately attribute it to a deep-seated hatred for demons.

"Impossible! Retreat immediately, or I'll report an enemy attack! I'll only give you three counts, three!"

"Enough, Osses!" A voice suddenly rang out from behind the city gate, and with that, the heavy metal gate swung open with the clanging of a winch. "Stop your speculations immediately!"

"Damn it!" the Thorn Demon was truly about to explode. It shrieked and turned around, "This guy doesn't have a pass! I'd like to see who dares to talk to me like that! I'm the commander of the guards here—"

"Slap!" A crisp slap rang out, landing precisely on the Thorn Demon's cheek, sending the guy flying through the air.

Raslaufer recognized the newcomer: it was a horned demon, clad in heavy bronze armor. Its mere presence was enough to make the surrounding lower-ranking demons gasp for breath.

“That’s no longer the case,” the Horned Demon glared at the Thorn Demon on the ground with a look of utter disappointment. “You’ve made too many mistakes. This is your last warning. If you do it again, you can become a little devil!”

“As for you,” it turned to look at Leslaufer, “the general sensed your arrival, quick indeed, soldier. Come with me.”

Please take one day off.

Chapter 691 Forced Enlistment

Who are you?

Although the door was already open, Leslaufer did not immediately follow, but instead asked a question.

The appearance of this devil... could it be Bael's doing?

“Now that you’re here, you should begin your service,” the Horned Demon said succinctly. “I am Carion, a centurion in the 367th Legion under the Bronze Commander, and I have been ordered to come and fetch you.”

He paused, then tossed a black metal card, like any of the others, to Reislaufer: "The same level as the one you killed—this is your pass."

Raslaufer took the card; it was slightly heavier than he had expected. If he were a spellcaster, he would have realized that this pass was the embodiment of some kind of contract, which could be used to confirm his identity in front of the demons. Besides that, it also had other uses.

“Once you officially join, you can activate it with the power of Purgatory to check your military merits and remaining service time,” the Horned Demon snorted, unsurprised by Raslaufer’s curiosity. “However, if I were you, I wouldn’t worry about these things. Even if you have great abilities, you can only use one of these two things at most, and more likely, you won’t be able to use either of them.”

The devil has little power of choice, so there is no such thing as "remaining time". For his agents who are mortals, promotion is just a gimmick, and the so-called service time is a joke.

Raslaufer was somewhat prepared for this, but when he actually saw the two numbers the horned demon had mentioned some time later, he was still greatly shocked.

"The military merit is twenty-four..." Leslaufer guessed that Lulls was just being polite and wouldn't actually give him the credit for nothing, but the following number...

Three thousand years?! You must be joking!

"A joke?" Carrion sneered. "Here, you're not an ordinary mercenary. Watch your tone! There's no such thing as a 'joke' in the military!"

"Do you think anyone can live for three thousand years on a whim? Here, even Death can't take you away, so you should be grateful!"

The horned demon laughed, but there was absolutely no goodwill in it: "However, you'd better pray you don't die too quickly. Although your soul can be reused, this body of yours is not worth much."

In fact, this wasn't just about Raslaufer. In the bloody battles of the Nine Hells and the Abyss, very few managed to preserve their physical bodies; even Grand Duke Zariel couldn't—of course, this was also largely due to her fighting style as an angel at the time. But whatever the reason, if Raslaufer had truly lost her physical body, upon resurrection, she would likely have had to start from the lowest level of demon.

"Go ahead. Your pass should show your assigned legion's base. Go there and report for duty. I think it won't be long before you're ready to fight your first battle in Avernus. Don't worry, I've heard of you. The commander will make sure you're not bored, so you shouldn't have to hang out with those greenhorns."

The "new recruits" the devil refers to are not the temporary conscripts or inexperienced greenhorns of the material world. Most of them are veterans who have been through many battles, but they just lack some experience in facing devils and demons. However, Raslaufer does not need to go through this adaptation period. There have been enough lower-dimensional inhabitants who have died at the hands of Dople.

As the horned demon vanished in a whirlwind reeking of sulfur amidst a malicious laugh, Raslaufer flipped the pass over and finally found his destination: the 971st Plane Recruiting Corps, Assault Force, currently stationed at Hill 1026.

"...It seems General Bael is not exactly friendly to you, Master." With Barbasabalon by his side, Leslaufer was not bothered by getting lost or not knowing how to get to his destination, but at the same time, the little devil brought him bad news.

"Once you see the location of your destination on the map, you'll understand what's going on."

Sitting atop a transport vehicle called the "Hellfire Locomotive," used for transporting troops to the front lines, Barbasabalon showed Reslaufer a map: a massive chasm, like a gruesome scar, cleaved the earth and even the sky in two, with only a few scattered pontoon bridges connecting the two ends. The armies of demons and devils largely faced each other along the fissure, and the so-called "Hill 1026" was located not far from the head of one of these pontoon bridges.

It's just that they're not on the devil's side.

“The 971st Legion is a mixed conscription legion. Besides the main body of mortal soldiers recruited from various planes, there are also Yoggros mercenaries from planes like the Asura Field and the Scorching Hell, as well as devils of various ranks serving as officers,” Barbasabalon explained, looking at Reslaufer with some pity. “According to the intelligence we’ve gathered here, they seem to have recently seized complete control of a pontoon bridge and temporarily converted it into a defensive force. The reason is…”

“The losses are too great, that’s obvious,” Leslaufer sighed. He looked around. Although the faces around him were all unfamiliar and even strange, since they were all on the same machine, their destinations were probably similar. “They just happen to be short-handed, so it’s reasonable for a ‘newcomer’ like me to be kicked over. Nobody can say anything about it.”

"So, all those things you said back then were just empty promises, huh?" Suddenly, Leslaufer reached out and grabbed the little devil who couldn't dodge in time. His iron-like fingers slowly tightened, adding a suffocating gray-black layer to Barbasabalon's already deep red skin.

"Master, spare me, spare me!" the little devil pleaded. "I have already explained your situation to Grand Duchess Philna, it is truly, truly true!"

"What did she say?" Leslaufer's fingers loosened slightly.

"This……"

Barbasabalon looked troubled, which made Raslaufer's heart sink even further. Just as he was about to decide to take down this unreliable little devil, a low chuckle came from the seat next to him on the motorcycle.

"You can't blame it, my friend. You mean Grand Duchess Philna? The great devils are very wary of overstepping their authority."