"So... your idea is to establish an order dominated by money and wealth?"
After listening to Zuo Si's detailed introduction, Asmodeus touched his chin with a thoughtful expression.
Obviously, this set of rules is very different from the existing strict hierarchy in hell, especially the absolute dominance of superiors over subordinates.
Because the former emphasizes the flow of wealth and the control of capital.
In particular, the electoral system, propaganda system, gangs that specialize in doing dirty work, and the almost semi-public transactions of money and power, as well as the corresponding classes and devil forms, all seem so novel and fascinating.
This is also undoubtedly a very strong Lawful Evil tendency.
It's just that the way it operates is more sophisticated and complex, hiding the naked oppression and slavery in an invisible place, and making everyone in the system believe that they have the opportunity to change their destiny through hard work.
But in reality? Maybe at the beginning there are indeed many opportunities to climb to the top of society.
However, as wealth continues to concentrate in the hands of a few people, several huge monopoly groups will eventually emerge, controlling more than 70 to 80 percent of the power and resources at the entire level.
Among them, Zuo Si and Mekanxutte, who are lords, will undoubtedly be the biggest beneficiaries, without a doubt.
After all, Zuo Si himself is the maker of the law and the person who best understands how this rule system works. Naturally, he can crush other forces in all aspects from the very beginning.
As for the rest, it will be divided up by capable and ambitious demons or intelligent creatures from other dimensions.
Eventually, this gigantic megacity will become a terrifying den, constantly devouring the conscience of visitors and making them indulge in various desires until their spirit and soul are completely corrupted.
Their final outcome is either to simply choose to become a devil, or to sign an agreement to sell their souls under the guidance of a devil.
What’s even more interesting is that this set of laws and systems actually appears to be very fair on the surface.
It even gives lawful good creatures the illusion that they can change the evil tendencies of the entire level by actively participating in it.
But when those angels and servants of the gods join in with hope, they gradually discover how pale and powerless their own persistence in kindness and justice is in the face of people's endless desires.
Not only are they unable to change the status quo, they are often forced to make difficult and cruel decisions.
Over time, these lawful good creatures will slowly become corrupted and degraded by anger and helplessness, just like Zariel, the lord of the first layer of Hell.
The latter was originally a powerful angel sent by the upper plane to observe the bloody battle, but was inevitably influenced by the two powerful evil planes during the observation process.
However, her lawful nature made her very disgusted with the chaos of the abyss and demons. Coupled with Asmodeus' personal invitation, it was no surprise that she became a lord of hell.
Every successful corruption of a powerful angel or divine servant means that the forces of hell will gain a great devil of the same level, and the will of the plane will be strengthened accordingly.
The reason why the plane will of the Abyss is so terrifying is that under the continuous attacks of the demon lords from all sides, those material planes that lack protective power are corrupted, and then forcibly pulled in to become new levels, slowly growing to its current level.
Asmodeus just wants more of this kind of thing that can both weaken potential enemies and strengthen himself.
What's more, he himself was very interested in the election, propaganda and money-power trading system designed by Zuo Si.
Because under this system, any devil who wants to climb up to gain powerful strength, power, status and a new form must find ways to win over the residents who have voting rights at that level.
And it requires a lot of financial support to win over these residents.
This includes paying for media advertising, creating rumors and fake news to discredit competitors, working with gangs to give small amounts of benefits to residents with voting rights within their control, and then forcing them to vote for themselves through threats and intimidation.
However, the only ones who are truly capable of providing such massive financial support are those business conglomerates that occupy a monopoly position in certain fields.
This means that these devils who want to climb up the ladder must cooperate deeply with them, and even share power to a certain extent.
In other words, Hell's originally highly concentrated power has been greatly dispersed and weakened under this new model.
What the devil needs is no longer simply to exploit subordinates, please superiors, and suppress colleagues, but also to maintain good relations with various business consortiums, media, and gangs, do his job well and achieve performance targets during his term of office, and do enough superficial work to make the lower-level residents believe that he is more fair and just than other competitors.
Otherwise, he would either not be elected at all, or be dismissed by Zuo Si and Mekanxiut as lords due to unsatisfactory performance, or fail to be re-elected.
There is no doubt that this is absolutely unacceptable to the Devils, who regard relegation as the greatest humiliation.
Asmodeus dared to guarantee that the devil trained in such a complex environment could definitely become the top talent in hell.
Besides, this system of conferring strength, power, status and new forms through elections will break down the rigid and stingy way of promotion.
Even a low-level little devil can climb to a high position through his own wisdom and means, and instantly become a big devil like the horned devil or the hell devil.
Although there are still the same number of positions, it gives those at the bottom a chance to soar to the top.
This will definitely attract a large number of talented and ambitious devils to join and greatly increase their enthusiasm for work.
Zuo Si maintained his devil form and explained with a smile: "No, honorable Lord of Hell.
This set of laws and rules is not driven by money and wealth.
It's just an illusion, a smokescreen to confuse everyone.
Its true essence is to prevent all the great demons in high positions from truly threatening my absolute dominance.
Because this system puts all high-level officials except the lord in an unstable state and they may be demoted at any time.
They have to rack their brains just to keep everything they have, so how can they have the extra time and energy to challenge me who holds the power of life and death?
If anyone dares to do something secretly, I don't even need to get involved myself. I can just manipulate the election a little to bring them back to their original form.
As for the defective oil, I have no plans to promote and use it on a large scale for the time being.
In addition, a system dominated by wealth is actually intended to better stimulate people's subconscious desires for money, power, beauty, etc., thereby forming a social atmosphere that tends to be lawful evil.
I will not eliminate kindness from the root like other lords of other levels. Instead, I will always retain some spark of hope.
Only in this way can we continuously attract more mortals, angels and gods who admire kindness and want to change this place to join this game.
And in my opinion, there is often only a fine line between extreme kindness and extreme evil.
With just a little guidance and the string of persistence in their minds broken, they will join hell and become one of the devils.
So I suggest you view kind people not as enemies, but as potential peers.”
"Hahahaha! Wonderful! It's really wonderful! You really didn't disappoint me, nor did you disappoint the entire Hell Plane.
Well, it seems I have no reason to object.
Starting today, you can implement this set of laws and rules at the level you rule.”
Asmodeus laughed and answered in the affirmative.
He couldn't wait to see this city rise from the ground and then have a profound impact on the entire multiverse.
“Thank you so much for your support.
In return, I allow lords from other levels to send their men here to develop business and sign various contracts with mortals.
But the prerequisite is that I will take 50% of each contract as compensation.
After all, I provided the perfect environment for corrupting souls faster and better, so I should benefit from it, right? "
While saying this, Zuo Si raised the corner of his mouth with a meaningful expression.
Asmodeus nodded slightly and sighed, "Yes. It is much easier to do business here than to go to the material plane to seduce those vigilant mortals. Maybe after they become addicted to it, they will rush to sell their souls."
“This is exactly the result I expected to see.
Coercion can easily make people develop a rebellious mentality.
But if it is out of so-called free will, then people will gladly accept even the worst situation, and even those guys in the upper planes won't be able to say much.
What's more, desire is something that is rooted deep in the soul of every living thing, and everyone from gods to ants will be affected to varying degrees.
As long as it is infinitely magnified through some special means, it will devour human nature and make it selfish.
After all, the set of rules I am implementing now is both democratic and free, and fully respects and protects the legitimate rights and interests of everyone.
Therefore, the residents living here tend to be evil not because of coercion, but because of their own choice.
You can even use this as an example to prove to the entire universe that selfishness and evil are the essence of all life, and encourage them to accept and embrace it."
Zuo Si explained his ideas to the Lord of Hell with a smile on his face.
He could even feel that as these ideas came out of his mouth, the will of the plane was cheering and rejoicing, and at the same time it was constantly feeding him more and stronger divine-like powers.
Asmodeus undoubtedly noticed this, and he stood up and said in an impassioned tone: "In the name of kindness, you do the most evil things, and turn the words that were originally used to describe beauty into words that describe evil...
My young friend, you are simply the natural king of corruption, the lord of depravity, and the greatest gift the universe has ever bestowed on hell.
Not only that!
You also set an example and took the lead for lords at other levels.
I believe that it won't be long before they begin to follow your example and launch a vigorous reform.
At that time, the entire plane will become more active and full of positive spirit.
Damn it!
If you didn't have so little time in Hell, I'd start to worry about whether you'd take my place one day."
Hearing the Lord of Hell's half-joking remarks, Zuo Si quickly said modestly: "You are too kind. I just expressed some insignificant insights and fantasies, which are far from your profound and dark thoughts."
"You are really good at talking. If Gracia were one tenth as good as you, I wouldn't have to worry about this now."
When his daughter was mentioned, Asmodeus immediately held his forehead with his hand and showed a painful expression.
According to his idea, he originally planned to support the Princess of Hell to become the lord of the sixth level in order to maintain the balance of political struggles among the lords of various levels and prevent large-scale civil unrest and wars from occurring again.
But now it's different.
Instead of fulfilling her duties to stabilize the political situation, Gracia continued to engage in conspiracy and intrigue in secret, making many lords resentful of her.
This strong hostility successfully diverted the original contradictions among the latter.
Of course, from another perspective, she did complete her mission, but not in the way the Lord of Hell wanted.
“Please don’t ever say that.
Lord Gracia is very good, but she has not yet discovered what she is really good at.
Maybe……
You should give her more opportunities to express herself."
Zuo Si suggested calmly.
But Asmodeus shook his head in disappointment: "Forget it, I have given her enough opportunities, the rest is up to her. Compared to this useless daughter, I am more concerned about when you will come to sign the contract."
"Right now."
Zuo Si gave an affirmative answer without hesitation.
"Oh? That's great!"
Asmodeus was delighted and immediately waved his hand to teleport himself and Zuo Si to the bottom tenth level. Then he took out the parchment scroll that had been prepared for a long time, which was different from the cumbersome and complicated contract signed by Mecanthus before.
The content of this document is very simple. It simply guarantees that if Zuo Si accidentally kills himself one day, his soul, no matter where in distant time and space or even the universe, will be pulled back by the power of the hell plane and resurrected as a unique form of the great devil, and inherit everything he has now.
After all, he is already half devil and lord of hell, and is part of the existing organization of hell.
All the contract requires is to complete the final formalities and insurance.
After carefully reading all the terms and conditions and confirming that there were no loopholes or problems, Zuo Si cut his finger and dripped some blood on it.
moment!
Suddenly, a bright flame burst out from the contract and burned it to ashes.
Immediately afterwards, a deafening roar resounded throughout the entire hell plane.
The entire new ninth level is expanding wildly at an unimaginable speed!
After reaching the limit, it actually began to curl with this layer as the center, forming four subsidiary layers.
In other words, the ninth layer ruled by Zuo Si, in addition to the main body, also has five huge spaces that are only slightly smaller than the former.
One of them was Shendiravel that was pulled down from the abyss plane, and the other four were just formed.
"Aha! See what I said before? The Will of Hell likes you, loves you, and desires you more than any other lord.
This extremely huge ninth level is the best proof!
Now in addition to the Succubus Queen Mecanthust, you can also appoint four additional level lords.
This is truly the treatment of the crown prince of hell.
The only downside is that it looks a little empty and needs a few more souls and demons to fully function.”
Asmodeus opened his arms excitedly, his face full of excitement and joy.
More levels mean more resources, and more evil and corrupted souls can be absorbed from the material plane. They can be used to squeeze out huge energy and create an astonishing number of low-level and high-level demons.
However, just when the Lord of Hell was hesitating whether to allocate some resources to fill these empty levels as soon as possible, he suddenly saw the spark of the planeswalker on Zuo Si's chest begin to shine with dazzling light.
Just a dozen seconds later, countless souls emitting an evil and lawless aura gushed out from a huge crack in the sky like raindrops.
The number was so large that even Asmodeus was shocked and unbelievable.
Although he knew the identity and abilities of Master Zuo Si, he never expected that he could get so many "high-quality" souls that met the requirements in such a short period of time.
Countless demons rushed forward excitedly, captured these souls and brought them back for unified distribution and management.
Most of them will be squeezed into energy, leaving only the body transformed into the lowest level of ugly demon.
And those extremely evil souls that exude the fragrance of darkness will be transformed into high-level devils while retaining their memories, and instantly become the ruling class in hell.
As long as the management framework is established first, the ninth level will quickly get on track.
"Did you slaughter mortals from several material planes?" The Lord of Hell couldn't help but ask.
Zuo Si replied meaningfully: "No. I just found a world with a very large population, no gods yet, and a large area affected by the evil lawful environment.
Most importantly, after a mortal in this world dies, his soul will wander in the world of the dead for a hundred years.
It will not completely dissolve into pure energy until all memories are completely forgotten.
The souls you see are the ones I carefully selected.
Not one of them died by my hand.”
"You already control that world?"
There was a glimmer of greed in Asmodeus' eyes.
For the devil, this kind of place is simply the most ideal place to produce souls.
“That’s right.
But don't think about it, because this world belongs to me alone.
Oh, by the way, can I ask you a question?
Do you have any special arrangements for Zariel, the incoming first-level lord?
If you don’t have it, why not give it to me?”
Zuo Si made no secret of his interest in the "Daughter of War".
Although Zariel has many flaws in his character, such as being a typical "war maniac" who is only thinking about how to start a war and win, he doesn't care about his own losses at all, let alone the lives of his subordinates.
It is precisely because of this that she is hated and resented by the devils under her.
Almost all high-ranking Pit Hell commanders were secretly plotting to overthrow her rule, and Bayer was the only one who took actual action and succeeded.
For example, Zariel is very arrogant and looks down on others.
It was precisely because she suddenly turned the troops that were originally prepared for a bloody battle and attacked the territory of the second-level lord, Grand Duke Disbat, that she eventually intensified the internal fighting among the forces of Hell, causing almost all the lords to be involved.
Asmodeus was even forced to launch a "liquidation operation" and finally managed to suppress the large-scale civil war.
Therefore, it was not unfair for Zariel to lose power and be locked up in a small dark room. He definitely deserved it.
All the military operations she participated in planning, without exception, caused unimaginable damage to the abyss demons.
Zuo Si just needed a commander like this right now to take charge of the army and ensure that he could still deal with various complex situations when he was away.
Especially be prepared to intervene in the war between the Eldrazi and the demons at any time.
因为他知道，阿斯摩蒂尔斯正在命令原本指挥血战的八魔将与第一层面领主拜耳积极进攻占领深渊的前几个层面。
用不了多久，说不定就会与三个奥札奇泰坦派出的奴兽碰上。
这也就意味着血战不会终结，只是从一个对手换成了另外一个对手，搞不好还会出现三方混战的局面。
如果能得到扎瑞尔，那么左思就可以让她主持对外战争，而美坎修特负责内部管理，哪怕自己长期不在也出不了什么大乱子。
“你确定自己驾驭的了扎瑞尔这匹烈马？”
阿斯摩蒂尔斯语气中带着一丝戏谑与玩味。
左思则不以为意的反问道：“难道您忘记了，我手里还有烁油这种十分好用的道具么？ 无论我们的扎瑞尔大公有多么的高傲、冷酷、桀骜不驯。
只要把她扔进烁油中浸泡一段时间，都会成为对我忠心耿耿的得力干将。
事实上，您可以考虑把那些以前遭到放逐的魔鬼公爵招募回来，然后送到我这里浸泡烁油进行改造。
如此一来，他们就会重新变成对地狱有用的高端人才。”
“嗯，这倒是一个不错的主意。我可以把扎瑞尔送给你，但作为交换你要保证在未来爆发战争的时候，提供几支数量足够庞大的军团。”
阿斯摩蒂尔斯低着头考虑了片刻很快提出一个交换条件。
“没问题。
事实上在申迪拉维尔那些经过改造的恶魔，就是用来对付奥札奇奴兽最理想的军队。
因为有烁油的保护，普通奥札奇奴兽很难扭曲他们的精神、意志和灵魂。
而且这些家伙也非常难以被杀死，还能利用敌人死去的尸骸制造更多没有灵魂的傀儡与自动化战争机器。
如果您愿意信任我，可以考虑把最靠近三重领域的几个层面交给我来统治。
我保证，没有任何一个奥札奇奴兽能过穿过防线。”
左思连想都没想便十分痛快的给出肯定答复。
或许对于其他势力而言，奥札奇是一个既危险又恐怖的毁灭者。
可对于拥有完整封印方法的他来说根本没什么大不了的。
更何况要是真出大问题还能找索林、乌金和娜希丽这些上古旅法师帮忙。
“连敌人的尸体都能利用？！”阿斯摩蒂尔斯惊讶的挑起了眉毛。
左思笑着解释道：“不仅仅是尸体。
而是几乎所有的物质都会被烁油分解、消化、吸收，最终根据需要进行重组。
有了它，就等同于拥有了近乎无限的军队。
我记得第一层面有很多由魔鬼与恶魔尸体堆砌起来的骸骨山、发臭腐烂的血池、废弃的武器和铠甲。
您可以考虑将其搬到我这里来作为制作战争机器的原料。
毕竟浪费是可耻的，我们应该充分利用一切可以利用的资源。”
“呵呵，关于这一点我完全赞同。好了，这次的谈话就先到此为止吧。稍后我会让人把扎瑞尔，连带那些尸骸、废弃武器与盔甲一起给你送过去。”
说罢，阿斯摩蒂尔斯站起身摆出了送客的姿态。
左思也跟着起身鞠躬致意，随后便转身离开了这个始终位于地狱最深层的堡垒。
他前脚刚离开不久，身为总管的马蒂诺特就从外面走了进来，抬起头小心翼翼的询问道：“主人，您确定这么肆无忌惮的给索斯大人放权真的没关系吗？ 要知道他麾下的那些经过烁油改造的军团和领主，可是只对其一个人效忠。
这也就意味着，想要在其中安插间谍不被发现几乎是不可能做到的事情。
如果有一天他突然产生想要取而代之的念头，那将会是一场可怕的灾难。
我建议您最好提前将这种可能性压制到最低点，就如同以前对其他公爵和层面领主做的那样。”
阿斯摩蒂尔斯笑着摆了摆手：“不，我的总管，你太多虑了。
取代我成为地狱之主，意味着要跟整个位面进行绑定。
这种事情是索斯永远也不会去做的。
因为他需要的是自由，保证自己可以无拘无束在不同的位面和宇宙中穿梭。
地狱储君对于他而言并不是全部，仅仅只是诸多身份的一个，其本人甚至不会长期在地狱中逗留。
而且你也看到了，索斯一直都对我表达出足够的尊重和敬意，并且带来了许多有趣的思想、理念。
这些东西将极大强化魔鬼们的力量。
所以我没有理由、也没有必要去限制他，反而应该给与其更多的支持。
如此一来，其他层面领主也会因为忌惮其强大的实力跟势力变得稍微老实一点。”
“原来如此！好吧，也许是我多虑了。”
马蒂诺特赶忙单手抚胸深深的鞠了一躬。
“不必自责，你也只是在忠实履行自己的责任而已。现在告诉我，其他领主在得知申迪拉维尔和魅魔女王加入索斯麾下，以及地狱第九层面的扩张，他们都有些什么反应？”
阿斯摩蒂尔斯似笑非笑的问。
“与上一次不同，这次领主们的反应都很平静，并没有做出任何明显的举动。
但有趣的地方在于，他们都不约而同加大了派出军队的数量，开始争先恐后对深渊前几个层面发起猛攻。
不出意外的话，背后的动机应该是想在分配新领地时争取到尽量靠近上层的地方。
这样一来就能尽量避免与奥札奇和恶魔大军正面碰撞，从而更好的保存自身实力。”
马蒂诺特一股脑把打听到的情报与自己分析得出的结论说了出来。
跟恶魔领主们那种赤裸裸的威胁、恐吓和相互残杀不同，魔鬼们的争斗永远都是以更加隐晦的方式进行。
尤其是一个比一个阴险狡诈的层面领主，没有谁会想要被分配到战场前线去。
哪怕是第一层领主拜尔，如果可以的话，他也希望能够待在相对安全的后方，享受权力带来的乐趣跟满足。
“哼！一群短视的家伙。
看来索斯是对的，现在的地狱需要一场改革，否则他们永远也跳不出原本的固有思维。
无所谓，随那几个层面领主去抢吧。
反正我也没打算把那么重要的前线交给他们。
现在拿着我的命令，去第一层阿弗纳斯的青铜堡垒，将关押在那里最底层的扎瑞尔放出来给索斯送过去。
你的任务是观察并记录她被烁油侵染改造的全过程。”
说罢，阿斯摩蒂尔斯直接拿出了一份盖有自己印章的文书。
“如您所愿，至高无上的地狱之主。”
马蒂诺特双手接过文书，恭恭敬敬的再次行礼并倒退着离开房间。
要知道在象征极致守序的地狱位面，这份文书可不仅仅像物质世界，只代表了一种“证明”，而是具有强大且不容违背的契约效力。
除非有魔鬼取代阿斯摩蒂尔斯成为地狱之主，否则不管是谁见到这份命令都要无条件的执行。
这一点在格莱西雅空降成为第六层面领主的时候就被体现得淋漓尽致。
当初前任领主的财政大臣，一名叫做安纳克罗西亚的强大蛇蝎魔大声质疑她的统治合法性，这位地狱公主就出示了其父亲给与的委任状，然后直接下令让对方亲手挖出自己的内脏。
蛇蝎魔根本无法反抗，只能强忍着剧烈的疼痛完成了这一血腥残忍的过程，最后眼睁睁看着听命于格莱西雅的小魔鬼和信徒把内脏全部吃光。
没错！
一份地狱之主签发的文书对于魔鬼而言就是拥有如此恐怖的威慑力！ 所以当马蒂诺特抵达青铜堡垒地下监牢的时候，包括想要前来阻止的深狱炼魔和拜尔大公本人，都在一时间跪在地上满怀不甘的低下了头。
这就是阿斯摩蒂尔斯所拥有的权势。
“总管阁下，我能冒昧的问一句，伟大的地狱之主为何要释放扎瑞尔？难道他想要……”
拜尔一脸紧张的试探道。
“请不必担心，尊贵的拜尔大公，您的地位稳固且无可动摇，至少暂时是如此。扎瑞尔大公并不会取代您的位置。恰其相反，主人对她另有安排，过些日子您就知道了。”
马蒂诺特面带微笑的安慰着这个严重缺乏安全感的第一层面领主。
听到自己的位置不会被取代，拜尔明显稍微松了一口气，以及其隐晦的动作将一个装满高品质灵魂的棱柱塞进对方手中，随后贴在耳边低语道：“亲爱的总管，能麻烦您给我透露一些更多的信息吗？”
Martinot weighed the value of the Soul Prism, and soon revealed a satisfied smile. He explained in a low voice without thinking, "It's not a secret actually. You should know about the changes in the ninth level of Hell, and the merger of the Succubus Queen Mecanthut and the Shendi Lavel level into Hell, right?"
"Of course! How could I not know about such a shocking thing?" Bayer nodded quickly.
"Due to the huge area of the ninth floor, the master intends to send Grand Duke Zariel there as Lord Soth's deputy to provide some military assistance. After all, there are still four vacant subsidiary levels there, which is very suitable for an experienced lord like her to display her talents."
After saying this, Martinot no longer paid attention to Bayer's reaction and walked straight into the heavy metal door that had just opened.
moment!
A female devil bound to a steel frame by countless magic chains appeared in everyone's sight.
She has two pairs of black wings (suspected to be a four-winged alien god before her fall), wears a solid black metal armor on her upper body, and a knee-length skirt armor of the same material on her lower body and a pair of high boots emitting a dark glow.
However, these are all hidden under a piece of black cloth that obviously has magical effects, so they are not very clear.
Contrary to the rumors that she has stunning beauty, Zariel's face does not look pretty. Instead, it looks fierce and ferocious.
Her originally flowing beautiful long hair and the halo that symbolized holiness have been completely replaced by the iconic red flames of hell. The skin around her eyes has taken on a strange black and purple color, as if she had applied thick eye shadow, and there are two tear marks below. Her lips are thin and always kept tightly closed, and her slightly upturned chin shows her unruly character.
arrogant!
cruel!
Violence!
Bloodthirsty!
An insatiable thirst for killing! This is the first impression of Zariel, the former Lord of the First Layer of Hell.
Even though they had been imprisoned for so long, when the dungeon door was opened, all the devils present still smelled the pungent smell of blood.
Martinot took two steps forward, bowed to the notorious "Daughter of War", and announced bluntly: "Respected Grand Duke Zariel, the Lord of Hell believes that you have learned enough lessons and can now be free."
"Oh? Did Asmodeus finally remember me? Or did one of his successors do such a bad job that he had to re-employ me to save the situation."
As he spoke, Zariel looked at his former deputy, Bayer, with great contempt and disdain.
The latter immediately revealed an angry and resentful look, and responded coldly: "Thank you for your concern, but I'm not as bad as you think.
What's more, hell now is completely different from before.
The great Asmodeus appointed Lord Thoth, the heir apparent to the throne of Hell.
He personally dealt a heavy blow to the demons and the will of the abyss. Now, those enemies he had fought bloody battles with in the past are consuming each other with a kind of world-destroying monster called Odrachi.
We demons are actively attacking and occupying the top few planes of the abyss.
It won't be long before these chaos-prone planes are turned toward order and become new layers of Hell.
In other words, you are not as important as you think you are.”
"Soth? The Crown Prince of Hell?"
A look of surprise came over Zariel's face.
Because ever since she was deposed, she has been imprisoned in this dark dungeon, with no way of contacting the outside world and no idea what was going on.
"I think I can explain this matter to you slowly on the way. Grand Duke Bayer, please open these chains. I am anxious to send Grand Duke Zariel to Lord Soth." Martinot urged calmly.
"certainly!"
Although Bayer was extremely reluctant to release Zariel, he did not dare to disobey the order given by the Lord of Hell. He raised his hand and released an unknown trigger magic.
The next second...
The thick chains flashing with vicious runes broke with a snap and fell to the ground with a rustling sound.
Zariel, who regained his freedom, moved his arms slightly and asked directly: "Where is my weapon?"
"Give it to her!"
Bayer winked at his men.
A Pit Hell Fel immediately walked forward, dragging two weapons that were obviously very heavy, and gently placed them in front of the former lord.
One side is shaped like a longsword, but its length and weight are obviously designed for a two-handed greatsword, and it will cause additional fire, force field and holy damage when attacking.
Needless to say, this sword is the weapon used by Zariel when he was still an angel.
The other item is an extremely heavy flail. The terrifying chain head is definitely enough to easily crush the iron golem when swung, and it also causes fire and force field damage.
It is not difficult to see from these two weapons alone that this guy's posture in battle is definitely very close to that of a violent barbarian or berserker, the type who completely abandons defense and only pursues ultimate lethality.
Picking up the weapon he was very familiar with, Zariel waved it twice in his hand, then suddenly raised his head and said with a ferocious smile: "Dear Bayer, now please give me a reason not to kill you."
“Kill me? Hahahaha! You seem to have misunderstood something. The order only said to release you, but did not say that you can replace me. If you dare to do it now, then I will naturally not be polite.”
Bayer sneered without showing any weakness, and slowly stepped back to stand with the men he brought with him.
He is not Zariel, who would often rush to the front and enjoy the pleasure of killing enemies. He prefers to hide in a safe place in the back to command and plan.
"Grand Duke Bayer is right. The master's order requires you to report to Lord Soth, and he will give you a new position." Martinot also echoed.
"You mean... I was demoted?"
There was an angry and dangerous light in Zariel's eyes.
Because demotion is an absolute humiliation for a devil, especially a big devil like her who used to be a level lord.
Martinot hurriedly explained with a wry smile: “No, it’s not a relegation.
Look at yourself, aren't you still a big devil in your unique form?
This is just a horizontal job transfer.
The newly born ninth level has five subsidiary levels, four of which are still empty.
If nothing unexpected happens, your new position should be to become the lord of one of the levels.
The only thing that has changed is that I have changed from being a subordinate to Master Soth, that's all."
"Tell me about this Soth. Who is he? Why did Asmodeus fancy him so much?"
Realizing that the situation was not what he had imagined, Zariel finally gave up his attitude of wanting to fight at any time.
"Yes. But before that, Grand Duke Bayer and I have some things to deal with. Please wait here for a moment."
After saying this, Martinot placed one hand on his chest and bowed slightly, then he and Bayer turned around and disappeared into the tunnel leading to the upper level.
After watching the two men leave, Zariel sat on the floor of the cell in a very lazy posture, squinting his eyes, and it was unknown what he was thinking about.
Whenever she clenched her weapon, the hell demons guarding the door would become extremely nervous, with fear on their faces.
(End of this chapter)