Chapter 594: Chapter 594: The Dragon and Hell

Chapter 594: The Dragon and Hell

"Zariel? The forces of Hell are already meddling this early? It seems the butterfly effect I’ve triggered is far from small."

In the rocky palace at the peak of Dragonblood Mountain, Cassius held the sheepskin contracts submitted by the players, exhaling a breath of sulfur-laced heat.

In his previous life, Cassius had heard of this Zariel—a fallen Seraphim, a general of the Eternal Blood War, and the devil duke who ruled the first layer of the Nine Hells.

Hundreds of years ago, she dragged an entire city into Hell. Although that city was eventually liberated, the terrifying experience had a lasting impact, causing the Tieflings to be exiled to this day.

Langpu knelt beside Cassius, half-bowed, projecting the magical images collected by the players with his staff. For some reason, the scene of Charlotte seducing Count Donald also appeared among them.

Perhaps some players believed that this was also so-called "important intelligence."

The Ogre continued his report: "Master, according to the intelligence we’ve gathered, after the death of Aragorn I, devils began to operate actively in the Material Plane. Now, their traces have spread across Feanso, especially frequent within the borders of the Thrace Kingdom.

Although the Thrace Kingdom has been deliberately covering it up, they’ve left far too many traces. The merchant guilds belonging to the Clawburrow Military Industrial Group, stationed within Thrace territory and under the Empire’s control, have discovered countless clues among the hundreds of thousands of Starfallen there.

We have enough reason to suspect... Hell is standing behind the Thrace Kingdom, becoming the new patron of these humans."

Cassius grinned, revealing an intrigued smile, and flickers of flowing flame emerged from the corners of his mouth.

"Heh, once lofty beings who claimed to be god’s lineage, now consorting with the very epitome of cunning, filth, and evil—devils, and even relying on them as their patrons. How peculiar."

"But it’s not surprising. Humans are creatures who flock to power. Only humans like that can be fully utilized by the Empire."

Langpu lowered his head, respectfully agreeing: "Master, your insight is profound."

The Ogre hesitated for a moment before raising his staff again, projecting one image after another before Cassius. These were devils disguised as humans—cunning and deceptive.

"Additionally, Master, within the Empire, we have also discovered traces of some devils. We have been monitoring them closely, but we have not yet captured them, awaiting your decision.

Your Majesty, should we implement a policy similar to the one we had against the Abyss? Large-scale propaganda, shaping Hell as the Empire’s mortal enemy?

Simultaneously, we could mobilize the Empire’s internal forces to capture these devils in one fell swoop and completely eradicate them." Langpu’s tone carried a hint of ferocity.

To mortals, devils were terrifying nightmares, but to the Empire’s Ogre Prime Minister, they were nothing more than pests infiltrating the Empire.

Cassius pondered for a moment before shaking his head and speaking softly: "No need. Compared to those lunatics in the Abyss, these devils still have value. Perhaps we can cooperate with them. If Abyssal demons are like frenzied bandits who only plunder and destroy, then devils are more like..." The Red Dragon suddenly chuckled, his tone turning somewhat strange: "...the greedy factory owners and entrepreneurs within the Empire."

"They are like mad dogs. As long as you hold the burning iron chain firmly, you can still use them to hunt."

Langpu still seemed doubtful: "But Master, this may disrupt the Empire’s order, and those devils are secretly supporting the Thrace Kingdom, which would be detrimental to our southern campaigns."

Cassius, however, spoke indifferently: "Who said we need to cooperate with them within the Empire? Langpu, summon Medrolash and Lich Aurest."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Langpu did not question further, simply responding solemnly, then raised his staff and obediently executed Cassius’s command.

The Ember Emperor was always so decisive, often issuing orders as if he could foresee the future, yet never making an error in judgment—just as he was undefeated on the battlefield.

Not long after, a portal opened with Cassius’s permission. Accompanied by the scent of sulfur and smoke, Medrolash, the leader of the Tieflings, strode out steadily.

"Good day, Your Majesty."

Medrolash wore the formal attire of an Imperial noble, kneeling before Cassius, the Duke’s medal on his chest gleaming brightly.

Following that, dark green, necromantic mist emerged out of thin air, and Lich Aurest appeared atop Dragonblood Mountain. When he saw Cassius’s now even more colossal form, he stood there stunned for a moment.

A fifty-meter-long dragon.

For any spellcaster with sufficient knowledge, this was enough to cause massive shock, and Aurest was no exception.

Filled with reverence for power, Aurest trembled as he approached, bowing deeply, his voice low and hoarse.

"Master, your loyal servant answers your call, offering you my most sincere greetings."

The Lich, who once made people shudder in fear, now displayed a hint of fatigue. It seemed he had been tormented endlessly by the players.

After all, on the forums, this Lich had become a checkpoint for players, with many risking their lives just to interact with him.

Cassius nodded slightly, first glancing at the Tiefling, smiling as he spoke: "Medrolash, your relatives have appeared in the Material Plane. How do you feel about that?"

Medrolash frowned and quickly responded: "Your Majesty, the Tiefling race is absolutely loyal. We have always been devoted solely to bringing safety and stable order to the Ember Empire. As for those devils? Forgive my bluntness, Your Majesty, they have left us with hundreds of years of blood debt and sins that cannot be cleansed. At your command, we will not hesitate to consider them our enemies."

Medrolash’s voice was resolute and firm, brimming with undisguised killing intent.

His only concerns were his own kin and the future development of the Empire. As for those devils who had left him displaced and his family shattered, he held nothing but hatred.

"Very well."

Cassius nodded, refraining from further jesting, and simply commanded in a calm tone: "Mobilize your Imperial Guards. Take control of all devils within the Empire."

Medrolash was somewhat surprised: "Your Majesty, shouldn’t we kill them?"

Beside him, Lich Aurest let out a low sneer, the soul fire in his eyes flickering slightly: "Duke, as a descendant of devils, you truly don’t understand the basics of Hell? Outside of Hell, devils can never be killed. They are only stripped of all their possessions—usually souls, although for those miserly beings, that might be even more painful than death."

Medrolash merely bowed to the Red Dragon: "Your Majesty, I will use the power you granted me to subdue these devils one by one."

"Good, I look forward to your results, Medrolash. Since they are from Baator Hell, imprison your relatives—those uninvited guests—in the City of Baator."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Cassius turned his massive head, his pale-golden vertical pupils gazing at Aurest.

Though the Lich appeared quite exhausted, the soul fire within him had grown considerably stronger, having recovered to about sixty or seventy percent of its original strength.

Aurest often delighted in secret over his recovery of power.

However, the Lich had no idea that ninety percent of the peculiar energy he gained from transforming undead had ended up in the Red Dragon’s pocket. In fact, Cassius was even considering raising the share to ninety-five percent for better control over the Lich, squeezing out more experience.

The Red Dragon narrowed his eyes slightly and spoke to the Lich: "Aurest, I was right. You are indeed well-versed in the Nine Hells."

Aurest was overjoyed, the ghostly flames in his eye sockets burning three shades brighter. "Master, when I was still a mortal mage, I searched everywhere for the means to achieve immortality. I also learned a bit about devil contracts, but..."

The Lich’s tone paused, and the flickering flames clearly conveyed a sense of "disgust." "Those devils are utter bastards, shameless liars. Their contracts are full of traps. Three hundred years ago, I was nearly deceived by an Archdevil and almost gave up my own soul."

Cassius showed no interest in Aurest’s past. He merely took out the scroll and placed it before the Lich. "Aurest, take a look at this contract."

Aurest carefully examined the contract, his expression shifting dramatically. He murmured to himself: "Zariel? That mad woman is spying on the Material Plane again?"

"Master, she is the devil duke of Avernus—the first layer of the Nine Hells. A fallen Seraphim from a millennia ago, incredibly powerful, a war fanatic."

Cassius continued, "This was found by our spies in the south. According to our estimations, Hell is very likely backing the Thrace Kingdom, disrupting the Empire’s conquest plans."

The Red Dragon looked down at the Lich and spoke softly: "Aurest, tell me your thoughts."

Aurest opened his skeletal mouth, revealing a horrifying smile—though with hardly any flesh remaining, the Lich seemed only capable of such an expression. "Master, you must understand, although Hell is a lawful force, it is far from united."

The Lich extended his withered, skeletal arm, pointing with his bony finger. A projection of devil legions slaughtering each other in Hell appeared before them.

Listening to the devils’ uniform battle cries, Aurest continued, "Devils are inherently ambitious. Schemes, plots, and conflicts are their nature. The lords of Hell engage in endless strife for supreme dominion. And like Zariel, who is obsessed with blood wars and madness, there are countless Archdevils in Hell who despise her."

Cassius nodded thoughtfully: "You mean—we can find an ally within Hell itself to counter Zariel?"

The Lich bowed slightly, his tone particularly fawning: "Master, your wisdom is truly inspiring."

"Recommend a suitable candidate for me. I will negotiate with him personally."

Hearing Cassius’s command, the Lich seemed to recall something, hesitating, as if he wanted to speak but could not bring himself to do so.

That was because the first ’suitable ally’ that came to his mind was the Archdevil who had almost enslaved his soul.

Cassius watched him, his gaze somewhat puzzled.

"What’s wrong?" 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Aurest immediately responded, "Of course, no problem, my respected Master. Please look here—"

The Lich raised his bone staff, the necromantic mist swirling in the air, conjuring vivid magical projections.

Cassius focused his gaze, and a massive devil appeared in the magical vision:

The devil’s body was covered in deep crimson scales, with a pair of grotesque, bat-like wings extending from his back. Green venom continuously dripped from his mouth, causing thick smoke as it sizzled upon the ground.

But the most striking feature was his waist, which bore a belt adorned with twelve screaming angel heads, eternally wailing.

Without a doubt, these heads had been severed by the giant flaming sword clutched in his clawed hands, and his crimson face was twisted into a maniacal grin.

This was the very image of the ’Archdevil’ that mortals feared most.

Aurest introduced him: "This is Bael, the former ruler of Avernus. A ruthless warlord who betrayed Zariel hundreds of years ago and used the opportunity to ascend as a devil lord."

"Unfortunately, his performance on the battlefield of the Blood War was far inferior to that lunatic Zariel’s. He was demoted by the ruler of the Nine Hells, allowing Zariel to reclaim her position. To keep Bael occupied and out of her sight, Zariel tasked him with forging weapons, armor, and horrific killing machines."

The Lich shrugged nonchalantly. "But that’s irrelevant. What matters is that now he harbors an almost insane hatred for Zariel. And that...is our opportunity."

Cassius watched the projection of the Archdevil with interest, evaluating him. "Bael, huh? He seems promising."

Remembering his past experience, Aurest warned in a low voice: "Although I always acknowledge your wisdom, Master, these devils are incredibly cunning. You must be cautious."

"Heh, in the face of absolute power, all schemes and plots are meaningless.

A mere fallen lord of Hell. Even if we sign a contract, the dominance of this cooperation will be in my hands."

Cassius’s tone brimmed with confidence. He now had a clear understanding of his own strength—unless the gods themselves intervened, there were few in the Material Plane capable of stopping him.

His only shortcoming was his lack of heritage and means, which made him slightly weaker than those ancient beings who had lived for millennia.

Forming an alliance with devils, though risky, could fill that gap to some extent.

The Red Dragon slowly stood up, raising his head to gaze into the distance, spreading his wide wings. "Since the Thrace Kingdom has sought aid from Hell, we shall use the power of devils to fight devils. And along the way, it would be good to initiate some cooperation with Hell’s rulers."

Seeing Cassius rise, the three subordinates spoke in unison: "Your Majesty (Master), brilliant!"