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

The reason was obvious: she couldn't possibly fight against a gift of that level in the Mystic Treasure of Wine, and more importantly, even she couldn't understand why such a large number of spirits gathered around this mortal!

"Unless you are—" Intihi thought of a possibility, "but that's impossible!"

"But that doesn't matter!" Leslaufer closed his eyes briefly and understood what was happening. The spirits had now surrounded Wood's armor, tearing at his desperate soul like the jackal. Even though most of these spirits were no longer the same as before, they still followed the same instincts.

In the more "material" world, although the armor that lost its power was still functioning, its swinging was completely disorderly. Leslaufer seized an opportunity, raised his knee and flew forward, forcibly snatching the deadly sword into his hands.

"Since you like selling your soul to the devil, let's go to hell together!" The mercenary who regained his weapon almost forgot the burning pain in his limbs. He suddenly raised his sword and smashed the "immortal" construct into a pool of scrap metal with a few heavy blows.

But this is not the end.

Intis, who was about to escape through the portal, suddenly froze. The devil turned his head awkwardly and looked back at Raslaufer's ice-blue eyes.

The portal was right in front of her, but she didn't dare step into it - this man would definitely catch up with her, she was very sure of this because it had happened once just now.

"Friend...how about we go our separate ways?" Intissi pulled a smile that even she herself felt was forced. "This place is about to collapse. I will not die outside of Purgatory, and you—"

The sword made a harsh friction sound on the floor tiles. Leslough did not intend to waste his remaining strength on nonsense.

"...Foolish mortal, you don't really think you're that great in Purgatory, do you?" The blood vessels around the horns on Index's forehead burst out, and six flames formed a circle and burned on the palm of her hand with a "bang". "A mortal like you, in the Nine Hells--"

"I've killed dozens of devils like you today!"

Rays of scorching flames brushed past Reslaufer's ears, the nearest one melting off a horn on his helmet. A searing pain shot through his head, but Reslaufer no longer cared about it.

"Boom!" The mercenary's sword, filled with all his strength, burst out with hellfire like a living thing. Intiss hurriedly set up three barriers in succession. However, the weapons produced in Purgatory were not as ineffective as ordinary weapons when facing the devil.

As a scream caught in the explosion rang out, when the devil hurriedly retreated to the edge of purgatory, one of her arms had already fallen into Leslaufer's hands.

"Ah...!" The devil covered the wound with his other hand, and with a burst of fire, the bleeding finally stopped.

"Give it back to me, mortal. It's not yours!" The devil could no longer maintain his beautiful appearance. He stared at Raslaufer with a fierce and resentful look. "What do you want in exchange? Power? Wealth?"

"Let's make a contract. You defeated me and I just want my arm back!"

"Contract?" Reslaufer held the sword in one hand and the severed arm in the other. "The last person who signed a contract with you is dead. Not even his soul remains."

"Yes! But he's just a pet, a toy of mine, do you understand?" Intissi had already stepped half a foot back into Purgatory, and she was starting to fall. She didn't plan to stay here any longer. "I can offer you a better price..."

"I don't make deals with the devil, especially one whose arm I broke," Leslough sneered. He raised his arm, blood still dripping from the wound. "I'm more used to taking it myself."

"You don't know what you're doing!" After a brief pause, Intiss understood what Reslaufer meant. "Mortal, are you going to drink my blood? You'll kill yourself!"

Even the craziest magician wouldn't do that... No, of course there are people who have done that in the infinite world, so—

"If that's really what you said, why are you so excited?" A drop of blood from another world dripped onto Reslaufer's tongue and quickly slid down his throat. He smacked his lips and shook his head in disappointment. "It's nothing, nothing more than that."

"Just like you self-righteous devils yourself."

"Perhaps it's mortals like you who are so self-righteous." Intiss's one-armed figure completely disappeared beyond the portal. Although the passage closed instantly, the devil's resentful curse still echoed there. "Taste it well, you will pay the price for it. Lady Firna will not let you go, and neither will I!"

"Fierna?" Reslaufer curled his lips. He didn't care whose name it was. "Next time you come, remember to bring your two... uh!"

The entire Consul's Mansion suddenly sank, but this was far from what Reslaufer cared about. At that moment, the severed limb in his hand suddenly disappeared into thin air, and at the same time, his stomach swelled and began to burn!

Could the devil actually do such a thing?

The unprecedented thirst almost overwhelmed Reslaufer's sanity, but what was even more incredible to him was that the spirits around him began to dissipate at an unprecedented speed, one after another!

Although he knew little about the occult, a warning seemed to ring in the depths of Reslaufer's heart: if these spirits were completely consumed, the next to disappear might be his own soul!

At the same time, Daisy, who was far away at the other end of the upper town, took off the pendant from her chest with a sudden change of expression. At this moment, this magical prop that was originally transparent as if it did not exist turned into a blood-red color.

"What's wrong with this pendant...it belongs to Lao Lei...Oh no, something happened to him!"

Chapter 256 Change and Pain

At the same time, empty bottles were smashed all over the floor in the mysterious wine storage, but it did not reduce the burning heat in Reslaufer's body at all.

What is also unstoppable are the disappearing spirits.

Was this all part of the devil's plan? Reslaufer couldn't believe such a ridiculous thing could happen! If it was truly that powerful, how could he have broken its arm so easily?

Wait…arms?

Reslaufer's bloodshot eyes involuntarily darted to his own arm armor. The burning pain still enveloped him, flesh and metal fused together indistinguishably. This was certainly not a normal phenomenon, a demonic spell creating such a distorted result. Yet, a voice resonated in the mercenary's mind, reinforcing this impression over and over again.

This is an issue that has to be dealt with sooner or later, but we should not wait until "sooner or later", but make a decision now!

Either peel off these armor plates, or simply cut off your arms and survive! Just do this, and everything will be solved!

This is the path, and also the price! It is the price he, as a mortal, must pay to severely inflict a heavy blow on the devil!

What kind of bullshit is this?

Reslaufer thought it was absurd that he would have such a thought! How many demons had he killed today? If he was wounded or even died in battle, he would accept it! Why should he pay such a price now?

"Because generally speaking, few people would be as bold as you, taking one-fifth of a devil's power into their mouths."

Suddenly, Reslaufer felt his whole body lighten. In the blink of an eye, he was shocked to find that he had once again entered the strange space he had been to once before.

Huge rocks floated in the air, and the vast starry sky spread out beneath his feet. However, this time, the surroundings were almost devoid of the former spirits, but a handsome and energetic young man appeared in front of Reslaufer.

He had thick dark curly hair, entangled with a crown woven from grape vines, and similar decorations could be seen everywhere on his loose beige robe, but the most eye-catching thing was the gilded wine cup in his hand, the wine inside was shaking, creating ripples.

"You are—" Leslough was sure that this was not one of his dead men. But he did look familiar.

"I've looked at you many times during the banquet, but you've never looked me in the eye?" The young man pretended to be a little disappointed. "That's really rude."

"But I forgive you. After all, holding a banquet isn't about having people worship me; that would be too boring." The man smiled pleasantly and extended his hand toward Reslaufer. "Dionysus, but I'm usually called Delynissus in this world. The City of the Falling Bottle, where you stayed, is one of my favorite treasures."

"Whatever your motives, thank you for your efforts to protect it. However... fate is fate, and even the gods cannot easily escape it. The alcohol in this city will eventually ignite, turning into a blaze that engulfs Inassus."

"But at least gods can do more than ordinary people, like leaving some memories in Purgatory, or saving an ally... After all I've said, can't you just shake my hand?"

Leslaufer was so shocked that he couldn't even tell whether it was because a true God appeared before him, or because He spoke so casually, or because He actually asked to shake hands with him.

What should he do? Reach out? Or bow down in worship?

"The first one is enough," Delnissus yawned and took a sip of wine from his glass. "Honestly, you are a big trouble. Even if you really believe in me, I will find a way to kick you out."

"Aside from Eldas, I'm afraid few are willing to wade into this mess. If it weren't for various reasons, I wouldn't appear in 'your world'."

"Ultimately, this is partly your fault. How could you just give away the divine weapon the goddess gave you? Are we so bored that we would bless a mortal who isn't one of our followers?"

Watching the god of wine taking another swig from the holy grail whose wine never diminished, Reslaufer wanted to nod in agreement, but in the end he held back and obediently stretched out his hand, allowing the slender palm to hold his gauntlet.

In an instant, all the heat seemed to vanish, leaving only the joy and relief numbed by alcohol. The spirits around them, which had almost completely vanished, also stabilized again and stopped dispersing.

"Crack", suddenly, Leslaufer felt a strange sound coming from his shoulder, but by the time he reacted, it was too late, his entire arm was removed like this.

At the same time, the Broken Halberd that was burned together with the flesh also shattered, revealing large areas of white bare skin, as if they had never suffered any harm!

"You...what did you do?!"

"It's just about separating the change from the pain." Delnisos exerted a little force, and Reslaufer's arm turned into a dispersing cloud of dust. Immediately afterwards, Reslaufer felt a tingling sensation at the site of his severed limb. Surprisingly, a new arm, bright red as blood, had grown back within seconds!

The mercenary tried to use his unusual new right arm. It was completely different from his old one, but it was stronger and more powerful. A faint smell of sulfur interspersed with the aroma of wine and diffused. In a slight dizziness, Reslaufer even felt in a trance that this was his original limb!

"Snap!" A snap of the fingers brought the mercenary back to consciousness. The incarnation of the god of wine looked at Reslaufer with a hint of surprise, and once again brought the wine glass to his lips.

"It was certainly an accident... Anyway, don't be fooled by that illusion. You might be harder to corrupt than the average mortal, but if you indulge yourself, it's only a matter of time."

"Let me think... maybe this can help you, one lie to cover up another, like alcohol."

The god tilted his wine bottle and spilled some of the wine on the devil-like arm of Reslaufer. A moment later, it became the same arm as Reslaufer's arm. If this experience was not so real, he would almost think that all this was an illusion.

The god once again saw into his heart, and a hint of amusement immediately emerged. As Delnissus's figure shattered like foam, the surrounding scene returned to the blood-stained secret vault of the Dionysus. At the same time, a piercing pain that seemed to tear the soul apart completely overwhelmed Reslaufer's body. In a trance, he could only hear the vague echo of the Dionysus:

"Very good, the changing part is over. Now comes the pain."

Chapter 257 New Companion

"I... (Eastern Inassus swear word) Delnesos..."

"Uncle Rathlough, you are blaspheming."

A cup of tea was handed to the mercenary. Reslaufer was startled by the heat and then he readjusted his sight and once again examined the surroundings.

This place was obviously no longer that mysterious space, and it was not even within the scope of Qingzun City, because the mercenary saw a large crow with reddish-brown eyes flying up from the treetops in the wilderness, away from his body which was not yet completely dead.

"Are you recovering?" Angelita's voice sounded again, but this time Leslaufer saw another girl with thick braids beside her - her shadow seemed to be involved in this series of questions.

"I..." Reslaufer subconsciously raised his right arm. It was intact, as if it had never left, but the mercenary could sense an inexplicably powerful force lurking within it.

It is gentle and harmless to him, but it can obey his commands and help others return to its former master's homeland - Hell.

"Where's my armor?"

"The Broken Halberd was torn into pieces all over the ground. When we rescued you, we didn't have time to collect it." Fengdal's voice came from not far away.

"But at least you didn't lose everything this time. I found a sword forged from Hell Iron. All in all, you've made quite a bit of money."

The value of the Broken Halberd lies mainly in its forging craftsmanship. Although the heavy armor itself is also very expensive, it is still far inferior to the metal of Hell.

"Restlover, what on earth have you been through?" When Reslover drank the hot tea in the cup, Bella's worried face replaced the bottom of the cup. "We only saw corpses all over the ground there, some human, some demonic, all..."

"They died further ahead." Reslaufer could sense the atmosphere around him lighten as he spoke. Immediately, Daisy retrieved the pendant, now transparent again, and returned it to the mercenary. From the bard's embellished description, Reslaufer understood how they had found their location.

No wonder... But if that's the case, then everything about me has already been secretly planned?

No, that wasn't the case. If that were the case, perhaps the pendant would still be in his possession, helping him resolve this crisis. But that wasn't the case. And Reslaufer had another hunch: perhaps the pendant wasn't meant to be used here, but somewhere else.

"Keep it, or where are you going to put those goblins' gifts?" The mercenary raised his hand and pushed the pendant over. "This time it's over. Look, I'm still here, okay?"

"You were far from being 'fine' when we found you," the dwarf muttered. "Luckily, we have a follower of Eldath here, and a poet who can heal everything with music, or you would have died there."

"I won't allow this," Leslaufer looked at Angelita and found that the little girl turned her head away awkwardly. "I still have a big business to settle."

"Speaking of your business!" Angelita hurriedly changed the subject, pushing Margaret forward. "She also hopes to come along!"

"I'll pay," Margaret quickly raised her hand. She had only a modicum of respect for this warrior who had emerged alive from the clutches of the devil and the mysterious wine cellar of Qingzhu City. The rest was pure fear. "I have a few tricks I can't show you, but maybe they can help..."

She pulled out a strand of her hair, and Angelita told her how she used it to unlock the door to the rooftop.

"All of this can be put aside for later." Leslough discovered that they were now on a carriage whose coat of arms matched the pattern on Margaret's dusty dress. "My question is, since you played your part in that turmoil, you should have had a corresponding role after it was over, right?"

"You shouldn't be here."

"Especially after you saved so many people in the Lower City—oh, now they should change their name to 'Outer City,'" the druid also gave him a puzzled look. "You should be their benefactor."

"If all those nobles were dead," Margaret shook her head. "That was the way it was at the beginning, but now it's changed so much. If I continue to stay, I'll just become a rat crossing the street, wanted and liquidated by the other families."

"Perhaps I could find my place in the Lower Town, a place in the shadows of the Fallen. But what would that mean? The most important thing is: my father is dead."

"I saw his body in the wine secret vault. I don't know who did it, but no matter who it was, I have no reason to seek revenge, and no one to take revenge on. He died in the career he loved most, but it wasn't my career."

"So, maybe starting over is a better option?"

"It's impossible that the Lister family consists of only you and your daughter." Vondar Banqiu raised his eyelids and said.

"What do the lives of others have to do with me?" Margaret asked. "They rose to prominence because of my father's success, so let them pay the price after his death - I don't want to be one of them!"

"Mary has at least atoneed for what she did," Angelita said, speaking for her new friend. "Even if everyone in the banquet hall died, it wouldn't be as many as the number of people she saved, right?"

"Those are all nobles," the bard couldn't help but remind him, "I thought..."

"Miss Daisy, do you really think there's any difference between these so-called nobles and commoners?" Angelita smiled. "In the Empire, these people can be promoted from the common people. Even criminals used as slaves could wear the most fashionable Magparese clothing overnight if the Emperor so desires."

"A human life is a human life, and it's good that one number is greater than another, right?"

"Annie, I'm afraid there's something wrong with your idea," Bella couldn't help but remind her, but after hesitating, she sat down again, "But maybe there's nothing wrong with it... I can't think of it."

"Well, since my sponsor thinks it's okay, then it's fine," Leslough clapped his hands. "Your name is Mary, Mary Lister? As long as you don't have any more evil intentions, you can continue to take this ride."

"But it would be best if you had somewhere else to go, provided you can afford the travel expenses."

Chapter 258 Continuous Rain

The crest of the Lister family had long been blown away by the wind to who knows where, but the members of the Lister family were still sitting by the campfire near their carriage, enjoying their hard-earned freedom.

"These past few days, I sometimes wonder if my father had started this plan earlier, would things have been better?" Margaret pulled back the branch with the cooked meat, blew on it carefully, and took a bite, making a sizzling sound. "The experiences I've had these days are much richer than all the banquets I've attended in the past combined."

"You'd come to a similar conclusion the other way around."

Bella dug out a few roasted cracked nuts from the fire. The seeds of this plant, which is native to Inassas, are extremely hard and will only burst open automatically when the toxin inside the seeds reaches its peak - this unpleasant strategy is probably the reason why they cannot spread on a large scale.

But the squirrel Tiaotiao liked it very much and hurriedly snatched one from Bella. Before the toxins in the seeds began to brew, they were full of rare nutrients.

"But just as followers of Dionysus wouldn't envy the wilderness, followers of Eldath wouldn't indulge in a life of extravagance and decadence."

"Are you trying to persuade me to convert, Miss Bella?" Margaret smiled, raising the barbecue in her hand. "Then you'll be disappointed. I think Delnesos's liberal teachings are quite good, but I don't think I'm ready to delve into them."