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

“A deserter, huh…” Zariel’s lips curled up slightly, then he snorted, “No wonder he’s a chaotic brat. Getting him to obey completely is almost impossible. Pushing him too hard will only backfire.”

“But no matter what, Purgatory has its rules, the army has its discipline, and I naturally have my own laws. We must bring him back no matter what,” Zariel tapped his knuckles on the armrest of his chair a few times. “How about this, Museco, he’s your soldier, so you can bring him back.”

"How about this? Bayer, you can put down the impeachment document now."

A crimson-skinned demon raised his head at a desk beneath the Grand Duke's throne. Two horns, like ears, grew from the sides of his head, and his mouthful of fangs made him look exceptionally ferocious and terrifying.

“I have no right to impeach you beyond my jurisdiction, sir,” he waved his hand, seemingly casually but actually blatantly burning a parchment scroll in front of him to ashes, “but if I may be so bold, sending Muse to hunt him down… you don’t intend to bring him back?”

The bond of camaraderie forged through life-or-death battles is quite unpredictable, and that's only one aspect. As a sinful demon, Museco's power makes it difficult to subdue Raslaufer by force and bring him back, especially since the latter has just killed a sinful demon.

“It’s just following the rules,” the fallen angel chuckled. “If the Muse reacts to his resistance to arrest, there will naturally be further actions.”

Bayer didn't believe a word Zariel said, but since she was now the ruler of Afonas, he couldn't say anything more no matter how dissatisfied he was.

“However, there’s still something I don’t quite understand,” the great demon, who was more of a seasoned abyssal demon refiner than a former demon lord, spoke again after a moment of silence, but with a hint of doubt in his tone. “I witnessed everything that happened during the trial just now. In the final scene, when that mortal left, the two horned demons didn’t react in time. And when he was about to kill the Sin Demon, the Sin Demon actually began to beg for mercy. I believe these anomalies all come from the Nightmare Knight Demon’s unique power, which we often call the ‘Terror Command.’ But he clearly hasn’t completed his transformation yet, so why does he possess this power?”

“You’ve spent far more time in hell than I have,” Zariel said, giving him a half-smile.

“But I am not a fallen angel.” Byr’s terrifying face revealed little emotion.

The Demon Prince snorted, not answering him directly, but instead began reciting a passage of scripture:

“When I saw the Lamb open the first of the seven seals, I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, ‘Come!’ And I looked and saw a white horse with a bow in its rider, and a crown was given to him. He went out and won and wanted to win again.”

When the second seal was opened, I heard a second living creature say, “Come!” Then another horse, red in color, came out. And authority was given to the rider to snatch peace from the earth and to put people to death one another. And a large sword was also given to him.

When the third seal was opened, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked and saw a black horse, and its rider held scales in his hand. Then I heard what seemed to be a voice among the four living creatures saying, “A denarius buys a shovel of wheat, and a denarius buys three shovels of barley; and do not waste oil or wine.”

When the fourth seal was opened, I heard the fourth living creature say, 'Come!' And I looked, and there before me was a grey horse, and riding it was named Death, and Hades was with him. And they were given power to kill a quarter of the earth by sword, by famine, by plague, and by wild beasts.”

“Four people went to participate in the trial. Byr, one of the Sin Demons died,” Zariel said calmly, looking at his colleague. “Besides the Grey Nightmare, there were also four Nightmares, a quarter of which died. The one who created them created four special Nightmares as mounts for Nightmare Riders, but in the end, he found that most demons were not capable of riding them. So, there were hybrids with ordinary Nightmares, such as the red one.”

"But the mortal was not riding a red one."

“Indeed,” the Grand Duke nodded. “The gray-white one is a purebred ‘Death.’ No complicated transformation ritual is needed; when the conditions are met, it will naturally become the rider’s strongest asset.”

"You still sent the whistleblower out, didn't you?" Zariel waited a moment, then deliberately slowed his speech before suddenly asking, "Let me guess, you're not planning to have that Bael use his position for personal revenge and secretly arrest him, are you? That's not good, not good at all."

"Tell me, if I rescue him from Bael's clutches a second time, what will he offer in return?"

Chapter 711 Rematch with Bael

Did Zariel intentionally let him go?

Raslaufer was unaware that the winds of the ethereal plane and purgatory were whistling past his ears in turn, while Dopler's eyes were fixed on the map from the nightmare in his mind.

As the first level of purgatory, Avernus contains numerous spatial rifts, through which one can quickly travel to completely different planes. Most of the large and stable ones have been forged into portals, guarded by demons and other creatures living in purgatory, making it extremely difficult to break through.

However, there are also some wild, unclaimed rifts through which creatures like nightmares often travel.

These are the places that Leslaufer is targeting.

He had to get back as soon as possible; there were things in the material world he couldn't let go of, and it was too early to throw himself into the bloody battle.

I don't know... how much time has passed over there...

Suddenly, Raslaufer's pupils contracted sharply, and an alarm bell rang in his head, tearing apart the illusory map. He instinctively spurred his horse and pulled the reins to steer the nightmare to the side. Grayish-white flames enveloped him, and he briefly leaped back into the ethereal plane.

But this time, the jump was too short. In the blink of an eye, some force rudely pulled Leslaufer back, and as he saw the wasteland of Avernus again, a mace, carrying the scent of decay, came crashing down on his head!

"Bael!" Raslaufer immediately roared the attacker's name. A battle blade formed from grayish-white flames fell into his hand, slashing upwards in a deadly curtain of light. But this only allowed Raslaufer to parry the Great Demon's attack. Using the momentum from the blade, Raslaufer spurred his horse into the distance, dodging the spiked mace and launching another attack.

His red, unruly hair danced wildly in the wind, making the huge, smiling face on the devil's head appear sinister and terrifying. Bael brandished the spiked mace in his hand, stood in a sinister stance, and stared at this mortal who had repeatedly displeased him.

Meanwhile, Raslaufer stretched his slightly sore arms. Perhaps due to the previous bloody battle, the difference in strength between him and this great devil seemed less pronounced now than the first time.

Beneath and beside him, two Nightmare horses, one red and one gray, spewed white mist from their nostrils and pawed at the ground with their front hooves crossed, looking eager to try.

They were born to be warhorses, and even when facing such adversaries, they showed no fear or hesitation—they were the ones who often instilled fear in their enemies.

“Mortal,” Bael said coldly, though a sinister smile clung to his face, his tone devoid of any genuine mirth. “Are you planning to desert? Do you know what the punishment is?”

“I am now under the command of Grand Duke Zariel, and it is not your business what I do,” Raslaufer narrowed his eyes. “Besides, I have just passed the Nightmare Knight Trial, and you have even less right to ask me what I do!”

"Now, get out of the way!"

"The Nightmare Rider's Trial?" Bael sneered. "Is that so! Yes, yes, you are indeed riding a Nightmare, and you have a saddle, but where is your Hellfire Lance? Show it to me!"

"As long as I see a lance, I will absolutely not stop you anymore!"

Raslaufer's heart sank. He knew about the lance, of course. Theoretically, after taming the Nightmare, he should wait for Zariel to grant him the weapon that was unique to each Nightmare Rider. But if he did that, he would inevitably be transformed and become a demon, and from then on, he would never be able to leave Zariel's control.

He couldn't wait until then.

Raslaufer crouched down, and a massive, dark shadow, like a cloud of black mist, slowly took shape behind him—a trick Raslaufer had learned after connecting with the Nightmare. The terrifying aura could make those around him instinctively flinch; not long ago, he hadn't even needed to use his full strength to unsettle the two horned demons.

But when facing Bael, even if Leslaufer used all his strength, he couldn't shake the mind of this demon general at all.

"Terror orders? Child's play!" Bael sneered, his body suddenly becoming ferocious and cruel. The heavy plate armor on his massive body seemed to grow endless fangs and claws, ready to devour the mortal in front of him along with his two mounts, gnawing them to pieces, skin and bones. "You think this is terror? You've never seen what true terror is!"

"You dared to try and escape in this bloody battle? You have committed such a heinous crime! Surrender now! If you dare to resist, you will be crushed to dust!"

"He's just looking to settle a personal score!" Facing the demon's menacing, fanged appearance, Leslaufer burst into maniacal laughter. He abandoned all other attempts and launched a direct attack on Bael. "Come on, if you dare!"

The greyish-white flames engulfed the mount and rider, as if burning away their flesh and blood, leaving only a set of painless, relentless skeletons that charged towards the seemingly invincible great demon.

Bael swung his mace, imbued with the aura of corruption and immense power, and smashed it fiercely into the oncoming flaming skeleton!

"Clang—!!!"

A piercing clang of metal clashing echoed across the wasteland, making the surrounding scorching air seem to tremble. Raslaufer, his sword shrouded in grey-white flames, precisely parried the fatal blow. The immense impact traveled through the blade to his arms, almost causing his bones to groan under the strain. The Nightmare beneath him simultaneously let out a painful howl, its forehooves lurching violently from the impact, sparks flying as its horseshoes scraped against the charred rocks of Purgatory.

But this devastating blow was ultimately blocked!

A barely perceptible flicker of astonishment crossed Bael's eyes, which burned with malevolent flames. This mortal's power… was indeed far greater than when they first met! Was it the baptism of blood, or that damned nightmare?

If it weren't for Zariel's interference, he should have died on that high ground!

Before Bael could change his tactics or intensify his attack, Raslaufer and his Nightmare, who were working in perfect unison, had already reacted!

"Leap!" Raslaufer roared the command in his mind. Almost simultaneously, the gray-white flames enveloping them suddenly erupted and collapsed! Before Bael could make another move, Raslaufer had already seen through his every move. The two previous defeats were enough for him to learn a lesson, and the difficulty of the battle would only bring him closer to victory!

As Bael swung his mace down again, Raslaufer tensed up to the extreme. He dismounted and stood up, landing on the backs of the two nightmares. As the nightmares simultaneously launched an ethereal warp toward two different landing points, the burst of magic created a small-scale spatial distortion in place!

Bael felt as if the mace in his hand had been smashed into a pool of boiling, thick oil, its power greatly dispersed and swallowed up. The two nightmares, especially the gray one, shot out blinding pale light from their eyes. Taking advantage of the momentary weightlessness and disorientation caused by the spatial distortion, they suddenly leaped to the side, managing to "slide" away from the edge of the mace's immense force.

At the same time, the red nightmare reacted even faster! It was not the main target of the hammer blows. As Bael's attack faltered, it was like a flaming arrow released from a bow. Its head was lowered, and its body, burning with scarlet hellfire, carried an aura of destruction that could penetrate everything. It slammed into Bael's weak ribs from below!

Chapter 712 Unexpected Help

"Foolish steed!" Bael roared, a rune suddenly illuminating his plate armor, bursting forth with a withered, decaying green light that instantly stunned the Red Nightmare. At the same time, chains materialized from the void, binding Leslaufer, who was riding the Red Nightmare!

But Raslaufer can never be controlled, let alone so brutally immobilized!

"Pfft!"

It wasn't the sound of armor being struck; it was more like the sound of tough leather being pierced and torn! Raslaufer's flaming sword pierced deep into Bael's swollen demonic aura defense layer, and even the incredibly sturdy heavy armor below couldn't stop it. The extreme killing intent penetrated the steel and slammed solidly into Bael's side!

Even a demon general like Bael couldn't help but let out a low growl mixed with pain and anger, his massive body involuntarily staggering back two steps. The terrifying illusions surging across his body—fangs and claws—froze for a moment.

You will pay the price for this!

Enraged, the great demon's body surged with magical power, casting spells upon himself and causing his true form to vanish into thin air, leaving only an illusion that was difficult to discern as real.

That was Bael's specialty, and neither Leslaufer nor the two Nightmares could see through it. However, just as he was about to circle around behind Leslaufer and deliver a fatal blow to this mortal, Leslaufer suddenly disappeared along with his horse, teleported hundreds of meters away by a hidden, invisible force!

The change came too suddenly, and even Leslaufer himself couldn't react, let alone Bael—he had no way to counteract or neutralize the teleportation spell and could only watch helplessly as Leslaufer got halfway closer to the spatial rift of the target!

But no matter who is secretly hindering him, can this mortal really escape right under his nose? Impossible!

Bael immediately leaped forward, but to his surprise and anger, after understanding the situation, Leslaufer had no intention of exposing his back to him. Instead, he leaped back onto the gray nightmare and charged towards the great devil!

Did he think—

Suddenly, Bael's expression changed—why would the sound of a zither suddenly rise in this desolate wasteland?

The hesitation slowed his pace and momentum, but on Raslaw's side, the speed increased by three points. The gray and red flames seemed to transform into two shooting stars, and beside them, two other streaks of light appeared as if they were.

Leading the charge was a silver-white steed with a single horn, while charging in third place was a black, nightmarish phantom! The four colors intertwined to form a curtain of fire, yet even Bael, who was not afraid of flames, felt a threat as if the end of the world was approaching!

This is absolutely not his power! Regardless of the true nature of this mortal, he could not possibly unleash it at this moment!

The unknown, hidden enemy made Bael hesitate again and again, but no matter how long he waited, he couldn't find the guy who had secretly reached out to help Leslaufer. Just as Bael decided to stop backing down, a noisy buzzing sound appeared in his mind without warning.

"Yo, yo, isn't this our General Bael?" A cacophony of voices seemed to blend together, and with the sound came a figure shrouded in black mist, a malice and chaos, which looked at the great demon with a mocking gaze. "It's been centuries, how come you've become so weak?"

“Talzax!” Perhaps ordinary beings would find it difficult to recognize the suddenly appearing figure, but Bael, who had dealt with the Abyss for many years, was clearly not among them. He recognized the other party almost immediately, and his heart sank. “You’re not staying in your hive, but dare to come to Avernas to seek death?!”

The entity that spoke, resembling an aggregate of countless reptiles, was Talzax, the lord of the second layer of the abyss, known as the Noisy Prince, whose domain was called the Perforated Hive. But what puzzled Bael was that this fellow was always a treacherous and cunning villain; in the Blood War, he would only send out his endless minions. Why this time…?

"Roar," Talzax made an annoying noise, "I didn't want to come, but someone paid me, 'money makes the world go round,' right? Besides, what makes you, you smiling tiger, so sure that I'm the one who's going to die this time?"

"Look around you!" In an instant, the black mist enveloped an area within a radius of several hundred meters in chaos and darkness. Whispers that could drive one mad rose and fell, and countless beings seemed to appear out of thin air, crawling out from the bottomless abyss and proclaiming their presence in the mist with their voices.

"You deliberately separated yourself from the main force and exposed yourself to chase after a mere mortal. Just watch, Bael, this time you'll be the one surrounded!"

Within the black mist, Bael's furious shouts were quickly drowned out by the cacophony of the demons. On the other side, Leslaufer, who was originally charging forward, had to stop due to the appearance of the black mist and be on high alert for any possible demon attacks.

Compared to the conflict with the Abyss, the conflict with Bael is just a trivial disagreement.

To Raslaufer's surprise, not a single demon appeared beside him. Instead, just as he was considering whether to take the initiative, a deep red female hand emerged from the black mist and grabbed his wrist.

"Who is it—" Leslaufer was startled and instinctively wanted to retaliate, but as he turned his head, Zheng Ling's face appeared in front of him, her index finger raised and placed to her lips.

"Hush, it's me, Lord Raslaufer," the devil from Flagusos appeared here for some unknown reason, but her purpose was obvious. "Don't go this way, come with me, and I'll send you back to the material world."

"How come you..." Leslaufer was quite surprised by this unexpected help. He had thought about going to find Zhengling after he fell into Purgatory, but Afonas was on the first level and Fragusos was on the fourth level. He had to give up the idea because he had difficulty even getting past the checkpoint.

But why would Zhengling appear here at this moment? And why would she provide him with help at such a convenient time? Leslaufer recalled the music from earlier and the illusion of the two horses that had just appeared out of nowhere; it must have been the work of this devil.

Zheng Ling seemed to read Leslaufer's mind, and smiled gently, as if she were not a demon from purgatory, a close confidante of Grand Duke Philna, but rather a mortal songstress and beauty. However, this tenderness was not directed at Leslaufer.

“I am Daisy’s patriarch, and you are her friend. A little help is nothing,” Zheng Ling released Leslaufer’s wrist and waved to him as she walked away. “Come on, I won’t hurt you. They are all waiting for you to come back.”

Chapter 713 The Farewell

Zheng Ling did not harm Raslaufer. As Dubler followed her through the chaos of the abyss, everything seemed to fall into place. Even the black mist surged and dispersed to both sides, making way for him to pass safely.

Meanwhile, Bael was still entangled with the suddenly appearing Abyss Lord. He couldn't stop Leslaufer, and more likely, he wouldn't even know that Leslaufer had secretly left. After all, according to the usual logic of demons, when they intervene in a conflict, they would never refrain from attacking the other side just because they attacked one side.

Therefore, in Reslaufer's view, there are probably only a few explanations for this situation.

"Was all of this planned by you?"

Raslaufer looked at Zhengling ahead, while the devil simply shook his head slightly.

"If you intend to use this to accuse me and my mistress of colluding with the Abyss, you will not succeed. In fact, quite the opposite, today's situation can also be a strategy to deal with demons."

"Strategy?" Leslaufer turned to look at the swirling black mist that was gradually receding behind him. What kind of strategy was this?

“General Bael’s usual tactic,” Zheng Ling plucked the strings of the violin in front of her. The violin floated in front of her, and the air rippled with the movement of the music, as if conveying some kind of message. “He likes to use bait and cannon fodder, and he always calls it ‘necessary sacrifice.’ I think he wouldn’t be dissatisfied just because he himself is the bait this time.”

This time, Reslaufer understood. It seemed that some important figure harbored resentment towards Bael and was using this opportunity to vent their anger. Previously, Reslaufer would have had no doubt that it was Grand Duchess Philna's idea, but now he was less certain—perhaps it could also be Grand Duchess Zariel?

“In fact, every Grand Duke has this motivation,” Zheng Ling smiled at Leslaufer. “Bael’s seniority will always become a bargaining chip for him to try to compete for a higher position. No Grand Duke likes it this way.”

"You've ridden a train before, right? To give you an analogy, imagine a murder happening in one of the carriages, and every passenger in the same carriage has a motive and has made some attempt—so who the murderer is really not that important, is it?"

The demon floated in the air, only a few centimeters above the ground, yet it moved with extraordinary speed. Even when Reslaufer unleashed the full speed of Nightmare, he could never overtake Zhengling and could only follow her as she swiftly swept down the wilderness of Avernas.

But when he looked at the map of the nightmare in his mind, Leslaufer found that there was no spatial rift or portal in front of him.

"Where are we going?" Dobler couldn't help but ask. He looked around and there was no living creature in sight. Even the little devil scouts that usually flew overhead were nowhere to be seen. If someone were a little timid, the place would be eerily quiet and illogical.

But if Zhengling or her mistress intended to harm him, there was absolutely no need for such a fuss.

“Of course, I’ll send you out. Oh, I see,” Zheng Ling paused, a hint of amusement suddenly creeping into her voice. “You know about the Nightmare’s markings of Avernus’s teleportation locations, right? But I must tell you, that’s not all, far from it.”

There has always been a rumor in the Nine Hells that Philna has stolen the secret of freely traveling between the Nine Hells and the material plane from the great lich Vic. No one can confirm this, but everyone, especially those who have interacted with Philna, takes this "rumor" very seriously.

And Raslaufer, soon to become a "mortal" who can glimpse its essence, is unfortunately unaware of this as he knows nothing about magic.

"Alright, we've arrived." After traveling for about two more hours, Zheng Ling finally stopped at the foot of an unremarkable cliff. As the sound of the zither began, the stone wall in front of her rippled like water, eventually settling into a spindle-shaped gate emitting a red glow, which seemed to allow only one person and one horse to pass through at a time.

“Go out from here and you will enter your world. This portal will take you to the person you most want to see, ensuring stability and without any oversights,” Zheng Ling bowed to Leslaufer, but her expression suddenly shifted slightly. “Oh, but it seems that someone else wants to see you off. In that case, my mission will be temporarily suspended, since being discovered might cause some inconvenience.”

Having said that, Zheng Ling disappeared without waiting for Leslaufer to ask any further questions. Leslaufer quickly turned around and looked back. Soon, as a streak of red flame streaked across the sky and crashed down, Leslaufer finally understood who Zheng Ling's so-called "farewell person" was.

A sinner, or more precisely, a muse—Leslaufer was certain that after those days of bloody battle, he wouldn't mistake this centurion for any other sinner.

"Reslaufer!" When Reslaufer saw Muse, Muse also noticed Reslaufer. She quickly folded her wings and landed, approaching Reslaufer rapidly. "What are you doing? This is desertion! Are you that kind of person? If you're discovered, you'll be court-martialed!"