Hanalin departed, satisfied with her gains. Leylin looked instead at the Bronze Citadel, with its flames reaching high in the sky. He scratched his nose as several half-dragons appeared abruptly, as well as the visages of several jackals.
‘Has the transfer of authority already begun?’ Leylin thought as he directly arrived at the Dark Eight’s garrison. His identity was verified, and he was immediately lead to Baalzephon in his vile human form.
“My lord Baalzephon! I am immensely honoured by your invitation,” Leylin bowed in gratitude. He glanced at the dining hall’s preparations— the carpet was a deep red as if it had been stained with blood, the floor-length curtains embroidered with glistening golden motifs of Baator, and chandeliers hung from the ceiling. There was even a demon’s head hung on the wall, and it looked as if it was Baalzephon’s.
The tableware was all made of the finest gold, inlaid with all kinds of diamonds and pearls. The maids were all beautiful erinyes and pleasure devils.
Several petitioners, moulded into twisted forms, pushed a cart into the dining hall, one that was entirely on fire. They bowed in respect before taking their leave, allowing the erinyes and pleasure devils clad in black and white maid uniforms to place the dishes in front of The two.
Soup was first, a bubbling milky-white broth.
“Haha, no need to hold yourself back, my friend. The taste of cold soul worms is not as palatable…” Baalzephon smiled widely, scooping out a translucent soul worm. The thing was still wriggling.
Several struggling and miserable human visages could be seen on the worm, but Baalzephon just directly swallowed it down. An intoxicated expression appeared on his face.
Devils enjoyed enticing mortals to fall. Torturing the souls of petitioners and absorbing their immortal essence and soul force was their pleasure. After a petitioner had been sucked dry, they would be tossed into the hellforge and suffer torturous transformations. They would then become the lowest of the low— a lower devil.
Only a select few souls were able to survive the treatment, becoming lower demons. They would be a bit stronger than others of their kind, and were more likely to be promoted.
Devils used the absorbed soul force of petitioners to climb up the ranks and grow stronger. Naturally, there were those who directly swallowed them up like Baalzephon— rumour had it that he was supposedly searching for the most beautiful texture and taste in souls.
Although Leylin was not opposed to swallowing souls, his personal preferences were different from devils. He did not like this twisted torture. As a result, he glanced away and found another topic to change the subject to.
“Well, Lord Baalzephon, may I ask if you are ready to move?” Leylin gestured at the busy lower demons, imps and others of their kind. They were all toiling away, lifting several huge demon ribs with complex carvings upon them. It seemed as if it was a spoil of war that was used to commemorate some bloody battle.
“Mm. We’d signed an agreement to hand the Bronze Citadel back to Tiamat… Not even a devil would betray a binding oath to the Styx.” Baalzephon sniffed the dark red blood in the tall wine glass, elegantly swirling the liquid around in leisure.
“Please forgive me for being direct, but such a high price for the victory of a single battle— isn’t that a bit much…” Leylin had deliberated over his wording carefully.
“Haha, Leycian! You really are an interesting fellow. To be honest, many of our subordinates dare not say anything, but inwardly they must be ridiculing us eight ‘fools’…” Baalzephon’s eyes seemed to see through everything, the corners of his lips curving into a humorous smile.
“Of course not! Even if half of the Bronze Citadel was exchanged for the destruction of the demon army, and especially the four flame balors and a bunch of greater demons, it would be extremely worth it!” Leylin naturally chose to continue Baalzephon’s discourse.
“You’re right! What do those ignorant animals know?” Leylin’s words had evidently touched Baalzephon’s heart. He stood up suddenly, walking around the dining hall in excitement.
“What is the Bronze Citadel even worth to us? It’s just a dead piece of land. The only useful thing is souls. Only with more souls can we forge more devils to improve our power and kill those chaotic bastards.”
Two hellish streams of flame were shot out of Baalzephon’s nostril. He looked like he truly hated the crazy and chaotic demons.
“Are you willing to assist me, Leycian?” Baalzephon looked at Leylin, his eyes blazing with fervent emotion. It seemed as if this was the main reason he had invited Leylin here.
‘If I don’t agree, will he grow hostile immediately?’ Leylin seemed to go into shock, but in his heart he just laughed coldly. The solicitation of a devil was extremely unreliable. No matter how it looked, Baalzephon most likely just wanted to use him as cannon fodder.
“I am most grateful to my lord for valuing me. However, Lord Azlok is my direct superior.” Leylin’s expression was rather hesitant. After all, a loyal devil would find it difficult to change factions.
“Azlok? Hmph…” Baalzephon smiled disdainfully, but did not bring up the matter any further. It was clear that he was waiting for Leylin to make a decision. Besides, he’d completely exposed his true motives, and it was not possible to reveal anything more.
‘Mm, it looks as if my past in the second layer of hell has attracted his interest. So, the Supreme of Baator, that ruler only in name, has ambition towards Dis?’ An electric beat seemed to pulse in Leylin’s heart.
Chapter 1029 – Pledging Loyalty
Pledging Loyalty
Devils were usually excellent at persuasion. Their sharp tongues seemed to be coated with both honey and poison, even able to convince the purest of paladins.
Baalzephon was evidently even more brilliant than normal. Although he’d said nothing and merely snorted, it still told Leylin a great many thing.
‘Think about it! Azlok has been so greedy, envious and foolish to prevent all his underlings from advancing. In comparison, Lord Baalzephon is benevolent, generous and kind… Isn’t the answer obvious?’ Such were the thoughts Leylin was supposed to be tempted by.
Even worse, devils already held a deep-rooted hatred for their superiors. It would be strange if Leylin was completely unaffected.
“Does my lord mean… you want me to start a rebellion?” Leylin’s voice was as hoarse as a wanderer about to die of thirst in the desert. Truth be told, he’d planned to side with the Dark Eight anyway and see what the Supreme of the Nine Hells was up to. Unexpectedly, Baalzephon had come up to him on his own.
“No, no. This is only an uprising, a fight against injustice!” Baalzephon twirled his fingers. “Believe me. Once you join us, Lord Asmodeus will definitely give you a suitable position… Or he could personally oversee your promotion. Becoming a pit fiend definitely won’t be just a dream…”
While Asmodeus was only the Supreme of the Nine Hells in name, his title was still very useful. In addition, his power was still greater than that of the remaining eight Archdevils.
“Lord Asmodeus…” Leylin’s voice tremored, and his eyes lit up with fervour and a firm look, “In that case, I offer my loyalty to you, Lord Baalzephon!”
At the very moment that Leylin stated his allegiance, he suddenly felt the descent of Baator’s origin force. It turned into a powerful binding, prepared to imprint a means of communication between the two. It was extremely difficult for a devil to back out of a contract.
Of course, playing around with sly word games was a common tactic. Devils did not slander those who were successful at cheating others, instead mocking the losers for being stupid.
“Good! Sign this contract, and I’ll accept your loyalty.” Baalzephon was obviously prepared, and a contract that had been verified by the origin force appeared in front of Leylin.
Green phosphorescence blazed on yellowed parchment paper, forming a large number of conditions. Still, this was concise for a devil. From this aspect, Baalzephon seemed quite sincere and had not made any traps in the choice of words.
‘A devil can only be loyal to one superior. Once two oaths of loyalty are sworn, the next promotion will grow chaotic. A choice will need to be made between the two, and one needs to be eliminated…’
Leylin snickered inside. If he was really Leycian, he would have no way to choose right now. While Baalzephon made things sound pleasant, he could very well become hostile right away if Leylin had any thoughts of rejecting him.
Unfortunately, the person Baalzephon was facing now was Leylin. Leylin, who with his authority of an Archdevil surpassed him greatly!
“Such a lax contract! Lord Baalzephon, your leniency and benevolence is well known even on the prime material plane…” The horned devil now seemed so emotional that he could not control himself, trembling as he extended his right hand.
Warlock of the Magus World (Chapter 901-Chapter 1050)
Wen Chao Gong's books
- Warlock of the Magus World (Chapter 1-Chapter 150)
- Warlock of the Magus World (Chapter 151-Chapter 300)
- Warlock of the Magus World (Chapter 301-Chapter 450)
- Warlock of the Magus World (Chapter 451-Chapter 600)
- Warlock of the Magus World (Chapter 601-Chapter 750)
- Warlock of the Magus World (Chapter 751-Chapter 900)
- Warlock of the Magus World (Chapter 1051-Chapter 1200)