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

The mercenary glanced at the building that had once been the governor's residence, now reduced to a sea of flames. "Follow the river to the lower city and meet up outside the city!"

"Of course we can...but are you sure?" Daisy glanced at Margaret, who seemed a little bewildered. "We can leave her here and we--"

"Just leave if I tell you to!" The sudden shout made the bard tremble all over, and she quickly told everyone to hide to the side. She took out some fairy dust and sprinkled it on everyone as the music played.

Elsewhere, Reslaufer's sword had already claimed two more lives. As the others fell to the ground as light as feathers, a stray hellhound happened to pounce on the mercenary. Before the monster could open its mouth to spew fire, Doppler's fist had already filled its fang-filled mouth, making it unable to even close it.

With a loud boom, unquenchable flames exploded within the hellhound's body. Although the creature was completely immune to flames, the impact still caused it to fall to the ground with a scream. As the vicious dog's skull shattered under the Breaker's iron boots, a bloated demon that had just emerged from the portal was smashed back into the portal by the flaming fist.

"Finally!" A long-lost, bloodthirsty, exaggerated smile spread across Reslaufer's face. He stepped forward and stood in front of the portal. "Angelita, you really bring me good luck!"

Amid the screams and wails of the nobles in the banquet hall behind him, Doppler thrust his giant sword into the body of a demon of unknown species, lifted it into the air, and smashed the spine of another Cambion like a war hammer.

"But you have to ask yourself, can you be so lucky?!"

Chapter 246: The Shock in Upper City

The fall under the effect of Feather Fall was even slower than expected.

Angelita and the others could even see an evil creature covered with spikes and barbs, with animal feet and an inhuman face, sliding past them. If they hadn't noticed that the machete in the devil's hand fell earlier than its owner, everyone would have thought it was a pursuer coming to kill them.

However, the sword that almost pierced through the devil's chest and torso exposed its true identity - this was not a devil, it was just a corpse.

"Is this... a hooked demon?" The bard was astonished as he identified the dead creature that was getting farther and farther away from the crowd and finally fell to the ground. "I'm sure this thing is a core soldier among the demons!"

"They are said to prefer to use the length of their weapons to engage the enemy..."

"Then it has met its match." Reslaufer's main job is to break through this. And it is obvious that although the demons that suddenly appeared above are much stronger than mortals, they are far from enough to form an army.

"This can't be true... Oh my God," Margaret fell to the ground, trembling as she watched the twisted demon's body transform into countless flying flame particles and dissipate into the air. "This isn't them, this isn't part of our original deal! Wood lied to me, and he lied to my father too!"

"He's playing you for fools, or maybe he's trying to restore your fragile self-esteem as a human noble. Or you could say the devil behind him is playing you for fools." Vondar Banqiu shook his head.

Even a truly wise person would find it difficult to resist the devil's schemes, let alone a mere merchant and his daughter. Those beings from Purgatory have countless ways to achieve their wishes.

But... the devils of purgatory and the demons of the abyss are completely different beings. Unlike the Lamia encountered in Xinmu City, devils are usually not committed to creating chaos in the material world.

But what is the purpose of all this happening before our eyes?

"Perhaps you can still make up for your mistake," Angelita patted Margaret's shoulder. "Look around you. The upper city is already on fire. We can at least save those people before they and the city are reduced to ashes."

Angelita was right. The demons' main attack wasn't targeting the banquet hall; killing the nobles attending the banquet was merely a side job. More demons emerged from the Archon's residence, setting everything around them ablaze with flames.

But soon, everyone noticed something amiss: the demons' arson was quite planned, and they showed little interest in mortals. Unlike the demon worshippers in Xinmu City, these creatures from Purgatory would not hurl powerful fireballs at a roadside toilet, nor would they slice any creature that passed by them in half vertically.

Everything seemed to be going according to their plan. They wouldn't do anything unnecessary unless... someone tried to interfere with their plan.

"Bold madman!" A roar disrupted the disaster under control. When a bloated demon dragged its fat body to attack the gate in front of it, a series of magic missiles flew up from the windows of the building, exploding into brilliant fireworks on the devil's body.

An angry middle-aged woman's face appeared behind the window: "This is a strategic area in the upper city! Stop right there!"

Seeing that the demons had no intention of retreating, the spellcaster became even more angry. A huge rune array appeared at the feet of the demon queue in front, and instantly exploded into a thunderstorm, bombing the demons in it one after another.

As a professionally trained spellcaster, the woman knew demons were naturally resistant to fire, so she deliberately avoided using fire magic. However, even so, some demons remained unaffected in the center of the explosion. When the thunderstorm subsided slightly, they immediately began to retaliate against the spellcasters in the building.

This was a demon shaped like a heavily armored human. Angelita felt that it resembled five or even six parts of Reslaufer, or vice versa—especially when it raised its heavy two-handed sword and began to charge.

"You want to fight me? Come on!" The woman immediately began preparing her next spell, but before she could finish her chant, the demon outside the building suddenly let out a terrifying, rhythmic scream and a sound like metal grinding against each other, completely dispersing the magic power she had just gathered.

Such a sudden impact is fatal to the caster. Dizziness and powerlessness immediately flooded the woman's brain, but even so, she could at least use the building itself to save her life.

But she made a mistake and exposed herself too early before she knew the enemy's strength.

In the double vision, a flash of cold light became the last thing the mage saw in her life. As she fell to the ground, clutching her torn throat, an invisible little devil appeared before the mortal with an exaggerated and comical shriek, retracting the end of its long tail, which was as sharp as a blade.

Angelita and others in the distance could not see the specific details, but as the magician in the building stopped casting spells abruptly and the devils began to use bloat demons to attack the door, even the dullest person could realize that the spellcaster's efforts had failed.

"Let's go! We can't stay here!"

Feng Daer called everyone back to their senses: "A whole devil team! There is no way we can defeat them! Unless Lao Lei——"

"But I'm afraid we're still hindering Uncle Reslaufer more!" Angelita looked up at the rooftop where blood was oozing down. "They don't seem very interested in 'refugees' like us. Let's go around them and see if there's anything else we can do to help..."

Before the girl finished her words, the upper city area floating in the air beneath her feet suddenly began to shake violently. The building that had just been captured collapsed at the same time. It was unknown whether there was an inevitable connection between the two.

"What's going on..."

"It's Wood," Margaret's expression suddenly turned extremely ugly. "It must be him! This is all his plan!"

"He wants to take down Upper Town! My father has always shrugged off the idea, but now it seems the shorty is serious!"

"Shorty? I don't remember him being called Big Guy—I don't have time for that!" Before Daisy finished her words, the entire Upper Town shook violently again. "This is different from what I thought. At first I thought he was on the side of those farmers and the citizens of the Lower Town!"

"He's on the side of his evil Dragon Finger Alliance and his devilish master!" Angelita suddenly remembered something. "We must go down first! Evacuate the people in the lower city! Otherwise, if this wine jar really falls, everyone will be doomed!"

Chapter 247 Killing Banquet

"We're all doomed!"

The banquet hall was now in chaos. Vicious dogs with hellfire burning all over their bodies jumped up and down, occasionally pouncing on a nobleman who was fleeing in panic, and tearing him to pieces.

The guards and attendants at the door were still fighting with the little devils and Cambions that had bypassed Reslaufer. They were really unable to take care of these creatures. The nobles in the banquet hall almost all did not carry any weapons, so naturally they did not have the ability to fight back.

But when I go out, I have to find my own weapons.

A hellhound put its front paws on the shoulders of its prey and buried its head in gnawing on the tenderest flesh and internal organs on the chest, so that when it noticed the whistling wind behind it, it was already too late.

"Go to hell, you beast!"

Accompanied by the sound of breaking wood and the whimpering of the hellhound, Philip stood behind the monster's original position, panting, still holding the two broken legs of the chair in his hands.

This level of attack was clearly not enough to inflict fatal damage to the hellhounds, but it did attract the attention of all the other monsters. With a single attacking bark, all four hellhounds immediately abandoned their prey and pounced on the ignorant mortal.

Philip's panic and his courage came just as suddenly.

"Philip!" Just as he was in a state of panic, Otto's shout beside him brought him back to reality, "Give me a leg—it's not human!"

"Oh, ah!" Philip hastily threw the remains of the corpse away, and using the momentary gap to block the enemy, he threw a chair leg to his elder brother. In that instant, the hellhound that had just been sent flying was already approaching the mortal again with the flames of revenge.

But this time, it's facing a different opponent.

At the critical moment, Otto slapped Philip away with a slap, and the short stick in his hand hit the center of the hellhound's skull accurately and powerfully, like hitting a piece of hard rubber.

Although this didn't cause enough effective damage, the counterattack of the two Fengquan brothers did give the other guests a rare courage. The panicked crowd began to quiet down, and at this time, Otto Fengquan's highly infectious voice resounded throughout the venue:

"If you dare challenge the Fengquan family, you will pay with your life," the man who would most likely be the true leader of the family in the future provocatively tapped the edge of the dining table with his stick before preparing for battle again. "And if you dare challenge Qingzun City, Inassus will have no place for you."

"Are you ready for hell, beast?"

"Go back to hell!" Philip bravely responded to his elder brother from behind, which undoubtedly set an example for others.

"Go back to hell!" Fighting alone was difficult to predict, but after discovering that they had so many companions, the powerful guests grabbed the chairs and frames around them, while the weaker ones smashed the wine bottles in their hands. Although this seemed to be uncultured, they no longer cared about aristocratic manners.

The hellhounds stared blankly at the fresh meat that suddenly began to fight back. Their limited intelligence made them sense resistance, but they didn't understand why. In this moment of ups and downs, the more numerous mortal nobles immediately gained the upper hand, while the vicious hounds, armed only with sharp teeth, were forced into a passive position. Even if they killed a few mortals, more opponents would fill the gap.

"It's really a ghost..." The Cambions who were stopped at the door looked at each other and immediately started a more fierce attack. After a few screams, several guards who had long been unable to hold on fell in a pool of blood. However, before they could step into the battlefield, a hand picked up the ownerless sword on the ground and cut the throat of the Cambion in front of them.

"Don't worry," Otto said, using the short stick in his left hand to push away the long-handled knife. "Your opponent is me."

"Aren't you afraid of death, mortal?" The Cambions roared in despair. "You will die here! I'll dip my bread in your blood!"

"If you can do it--" Otto's words were not finished yet, and the sword in his hand was knocked away. His strength was still far from those of these enemies, and courage was not enough to make up for the shortcoming.

However, even so, he still blocked the doorway, waving another stick that could not be called a weapon: "—Come on if you want!"

"You're courting death!" A Cambion sneered. Those fully armed followers were not enough to stop them, and a noble who didn't know the danger of his own life was just an insignificant little character. But just as he was about to swing the weapon in his hand, he heard a "clang". Otto Fengquan in front of him was safe and sound, but the long-handled knife in his hand fell to the ground along with his arm.

"This is..." He would not get an answer, because the next moment, the upper body of this Cambion followed suit and slid down from his waist.

The other Cambions were all startled and launched a counterattack behind them without even taking aim. However, the sparks from the collision between the metals were as fleeting as their lives. When Otto came to his senses because of the hot blood splashing on his lips, the body made almost entirely of metal and blood was slowly raising its head, stepping on the Cambion's body and breaking off a leather wing from it.

"Lei, Lord Leslaufer!" Philip, who had come from behind, was almost stunned by the scene. "You are..."

"I'm just a little injured, but I won't die." When the helmet inlaid with bull horns slowly turned to an angle, the horrible scar at the junction of the head and neck showed that what Leslaufer said might not be true.

"There are two big dogs left. Do you want help?"

"We can handle it. Just rest for a while!" Otto didn't dare let Reslaufer attack again in this state. He quickly stepped forward to help him, but when he touched the mercenary's chest, he only touched charred flesh instead of hard armor.

It goes without saying that this mercenary must be facing an enemy that is a million times more dangerous than them.

"What on earth is going on outside? Miss Barty and the others..."

"A portal was opened on the rooftop, and all these demons came out from there. I let Batty leave first. I don't know the other details, and I don't intend to know. Anyway, you should be safe." Leslough's voice quickly became dry and hoarse as he spoke, but he made almost no movements or expressions to show pain. Instead, he let out a terrifying laugh.

"I threw the strongest fighter back to the other side of the portal. If the guy behind this is smart, he'll wait for a stronger reinforcement before considering this."

Meanwhile, within the Distillery's Mystic Lair, a human devoted to the devil stared blankly at his master. At the entrance to the portal, a corpse, bound in a bundle by countless chains, with only fat, thin flesh, and broken bones inside, lay alone, a reminder for incoming devils to leave through the main gate rather than through the deadly teleportation array.

Chapter 248 Control of the Situation

"I think I know this guy," said Intis, the being worshipped by Wood, the devil, looking at the "package" on the ground with an unchanging expression. "It seems that a chain demon died doing what he did best - being an idiot."

"I don't think this is something to joke about, Index!" Wood covered his mouth, trying hard not to vomit at this disgusting scene. "Didn't you say that the Chain Demon, as a mid-level demon, can regenerate itself? But look at this, this—"

Wood pointed at the chains disappearing into the material world. Demons were nearly impossible to kill in the material plane, even those transformed into minced meat. But one thing was certain: this chain demon would have a very difficult time.

"I know I'm not blind, Wood," Index rolled her eyes in a humane way. "This isn't your fault. In fact, even I think it's an overreaction to use a chain demon to massacre a few mortal nobles with limited power. But it seems we both miscalculated."

"But this doesn't affect your original plan, does it? After all, dispersing your forces to kill them is just your way of venting your personal anger."

The devil raised her hands, and a red translucent image appeared in front of her. It was a detailed structural diagram of the upper city of Qingzun City. Apart from the families that had had members serving as archons in the past and the Church of Dionysus, it was almost impossible for anyone to get such a detailed arcane projection.

But don't reason with the devils—for reason is on their side.

"There are a total of forty-one nodes, and a small half have already been destroyed. When this large wine cup falls from the sky, who of those mortals who thought they had escaped death can truly escape?"

Suddenly, the two pinpricks of light in the devil's pitch-black eyes flickered, and the next second, he vanished from the scene. Just a fraction of a second later, an avalanche-like icy storm ripped apart half of the wine secret cache. The devils who had just joined the feast through the portal but hadn't had time to leave were immediately swept up in it, leaving even the weakest lesser devils unable to even utter a scream!

"Be careful, old man!" Intis reappeared at the other end of the secret space with a sullen look on her face. In her slender arms, she held Alfonso, who had fainted and half of his body was almost frozen. "You almost ruined everything!"

The devil's gaze didn't linger on the hostage at all, but was focused on the hem of her skirt that was shattered by the extreme cold: "Did you know this is my favorite skirt?!"

"This city is worth more than your skirt, and I love it more than you love your skirt."

A voice so old that it seemed to have spanned centuries echoed slowly at the entrance of the secret treasure. Wood cautiously retreated to the portal that had just been bombarded by a spell and was almost collapsed. He looked at the old man in a gray robe who was surrounded by many Dionysus priests and looked out of place in the center.

He definitely looked to be over a hundred years old, and in fact more than that, having just celebrated his birthday not too long ago.

"Charles..." When Wood uttered the name, his body felt as if it were crushed. The mere thought of resistance nearly exhausted him to death. "I thought... Rody had convinced you..."

"No one has been able to convince me of this for a long time. What I do or don't do is entirely determined by my heart," the elderly but undeniable mage said word by word. "That's why I ignored Rody's actions, and that's why I'm standing here."

"Now, close that door."

Schar paused for a moment at the staff in his hand. It looked like nothing more than a piece of dead wood, as old and decayed as its owner. But as a native of Qingzun City, even though he had been a farmer for half his life, Wood knew at least a hundred stories about this old wizard and his old staff.

"It's no use, Master Charles," Wood said with all his might. "You're too old, as old as this damn city! It's time for you to leave!"

He roared, and dozens of constructs, already deployed in the portal, burst forth, charging towards the unexpected yet predictable obstructionist. This batch of constructs was markedly different from those previously destroyed by Reslaufer and his companions. As several Dionysus priests stood before Ciel, dangerous sparks suddenly ignited beneath the tightly closed animated armor!

Just like when the Curry family patriarch was assassinated, these constructs were also filled with smoke powder, and were even more deadly!

"So what if you are so capable? You will still be blown to death!" Wood laughed as he felt the pressure on his body suddenly relieved, but soon, as the surrounding water vapor condensed like a mountain, the "big guy" was immediately knocked to the ground.

Opposite him, the constructs were still on the verge of exploding, but they were unable to take another step forward from that critical point.

They were "frozen". The extraordinary low temperature that could freeze flames enveloped all the constructs in an instant, but cleverly avoided the priests of the Church of Dionysus.

Ciel also didn't want to let Wood and his demon master go, but he was old after all. Wood was merely suppressed, while Intis was only covered with a layer of white frost. As the flames from hell warmed her whole body, the demon easily broke free.

"Excellent manipulation. I believe even the Ice Demon couldn't do better." The devil clapped his hands with a seductive smile on his face. "But in my opinion, you could have done better, couldn't you?"

"There's absolutely no need for you to look so old. Why not keep yourself in the best possible shape? You seem capable of doing it."

"You could even become the permanent ruler of Qingzun City. In that case, we wouldn't even consider the current plan."

"Dragons can live for ten centuries, and elves for six or seven hundred, but they must eventually hand over the world to humans," Ciel said slowly. "I believe that eternity is not truly eternal. Just like the ice I control."

"But just as ice needs spring to melt, whether the City of the Fallen will become a thing of the past depends on what the new era will be like—a boy playing with toys and his horned mommy? Forget it."

The devil was not at all angry at the old man's ridicule. In fact, Charles was fully qualified to speak like this as a mortal, but Intiss's point was not this.

"That's a very nice point, but..." The devil glanced towards the other side of the portal, "You just said 'Mommy', didn't you?"

The wrinkles on Charles' face almost doubled. On the other side of the portal, a being whose power could not be simply measured by the word "powerful" cast an interested look in their direction. Just this one look was enough to make the situation that Charles had controlled completely out of control!

Amidst the thunderous explosions of the constructs, the devil's triumphant laughter echoed: "Guess, mortal! In whose name was this rift opened?"

Chapter 249: The Influence of Racelover