Baator Hell.
If there was one word to describe this place, ‘hell’ would be the most suitable and appropriate because this place was indeed hellish. This was the battlefield between demons and devils, where the chaos of war broke out in every inch of the land. Peace in this place was as precious as oases in deserts. If one were just a fool who accidentally entered hell and stumbled onto the bloody field, then congratulations; one had already entered the worst and most unimaginable part of the nightmare.
“Actually, I kinda like bloodbaths. At least I get to kill to my heart’s content…”
Mini Bubble Gum gazed at the maroon sky and landed below it. If it weren’t for the black line separating the sky and land, perhaps one would think that this place was filled with postmodern art graffiti—something that was simply smeared by red paint.
“Yeah, to our hearts’ content.”
Upon hearing Mini Bubble Gum’s words, Rhode nodded in agreement. Indeed, apart from getting extremely rare magical equipment and items on the main plane, bloodbaths were also what got players in full swing. If one were fortunate, one could purchase creatures or items at considerable prices that one couldn’t buy on the main plane. There was once a player who bought a ‘loli’ angel, which made many players green with envy because not anyone could purchase one. But despite that, it wasn’t easy to survive in hell and abyss due to the unique laws of Baator Hell towards the ‘contract’ that was previously mentioned. Many players were tricked by demons and of course, they wouldn’t turn into food for the demons’ soul larva in the game. But after their death, their souls would only remain in hell and they couldn’t return to the main plane. Just this point alone was enough to devastate many players.
Unless they were fortunate enough to meet angels who upheld ‘justice’ or ‘Astral Apostles’ who came to hell and could carry out a transcendence ceremony for their souls, they could only cry for the rest of their lives in hell. What was that saying again? ‘One chose to visit hell instead of heaven with its doors open’. Since one was that foolish to choose to go to hell, it would go without saying that one would suffer the consequences of the naive and stupid decision.
Of course, this ‘cruel’ setting of the game caused extreme dissatisfaction in a lot of players. But despite that, the gaming company remains unmoved. In the past, Rhode felt strange as to why the gaming company created that many strange settings in the Dragon Soul Continent that were enough to make players ‘rage-quit’. But he finally understood the reason now. It was simple; the ones who created the game made it solely to simulate the Dragon Soul Continent and hoped to find solutions to the problems they faced. That was why they naturally had to set the background of the game harsher and mote realistic. And no matter the amount of complaints from players, they couldn’t possibly modify them. After all, their original intention of creating this game was to test and not serve the players.
“Now, let’s confirm our destination,” Rhode said, shifting his gaze away from the dry plain to behind him where Celestina, Celia, Gracier, Madaras, Shira, and Karin stood in silence. Apart from his holy sword spirits, there were four others following the team: Canary, Mini Bubble Gum, Lesa, and… Cassidy.
This time, Rhode didn’t bring Anne along, which was rare. No matter how Anne threw a tantrum, Rhode remained unmoved. Besides, for safety, he had gotten Marlene to keep a close eye on Anne and stop her from slipping away. If they were heading to other places, Rhode wouldn’t mind letting Anne explore them. But in hell, the place of eternal evil and deprivation, didn’t suit an innocent and naive young lady like Anne at all. Rhode also wasn’t sure if Anne’s personality would turn dark after getting involved in a bloody war here, so he wasn’t willing to risk it. Apart from this reason, Anne’s passionate personality was also a fuse for trouble in hell too. She might even be kidnapped and sold by some demons without knowing it.
Knowing the dangers of hell, Rhode was well prepared this time and brought along everyone who had the ability to resist the power of hell. Canary and Mini Bubble Gum had been involved in bloody wars with him here, so they understood the various situations perfectly. According to Celestina, the holy sword spirits had also contributed in these battles in order to resist devils a with chaotic nature. Before they ‘grew up’, they had spent some time training in hell, so it also wasn’t a problem for them to be here. As for Lesa, the strength of Order she gained from Rhode was sufficient to defend against the contamination of hell. On the other hand, it would be a joke if the Contrast Deity Warden, Cassidy, couldn’t handle the power of hell.
Most importantly, all of them were actually beings ‘derived’ from Rhode’s system. Judging from this aspect, their spirits ‘belonged’ to Rhode. And as a Creator Dragon, of course he was able to break through the limit of Order in hell. Therefore, if the demons were to set traps for them, he could still unleash his power, break through the Order of hell, and bring the rest back to the main plane safely. This was the other reason why he didn’t bring Anne and others. He didn’t want to see any of his subordinates’ spirits still wailing in hell after the others had successfully returned to the main plane… After all, he had spent more than a day or two in hell in the past to know its dangers.
“Our goal is simple: we’ll rest in the Steel Fortress, find the River Styx, and get to Casselly through it. Then, we will enter the Rift Plain, exterminate those damn devils in Desolate Town and retreat just like what we did in the past. Do you understand? Don’t act on your own or care about any unimportant matter.”
In the end, Rhode and Asmodeus came to an agreement. Rhode would assist the demons in attacking Desolate Town from the back, eliminating the devils, and returning its jurisdiction to the demons. This way, the demons would own the topmost station above the Bottomless Abyss. But Rhode was also smart and cunning as he didn’t promise Asmodeus to help them occupy Desolate Town. Instead, he clearly indicated that he only had to eliminate the devils in Desolate Town and his job would be done as per the agreement. If Rhode killed all the devils and Asmodeus didn’t have enough forces to reoccupy the place, it wouldn’t be Rhode’s problem at all. This was also an insurance that Rhode came up with. After all, if he agreed to assist Asmodeus in occupying Desolate Town and the ‘process’ required centuries, wouldn’t he be spending centuries in that damn place? Rhode wasn’t that foolish.
The most important thing in negotiating with demons was to confirm what he could offer and not what he could help with.
The reason was simple as to why Rhode chose the Rift Plain as his destination. After defeating Grazite, Grazite’s subordinates sunk into complete chaos. Devils were born to adore chaos. Previously, with Grazite around, they didn’t dare to wreak havoc. But now that Grazite was eliminated, the unrestrained devils suddenly broke loose and slaughtered one another for more power. As the most important town in the Rift Plain, Desolate Town was of utmost importance. In Asmodeus’s eyes, as soon as he occupied the town, he could cut off one of the routes the abyss used to attack demons from. Then, as soon as he built another fortress there, he could retaliate against the abyss real soon. Rhode understood why Asmodeus needed his help. That was because from a certain degree, the abyss was somewhat similar to a land of Chaos. Only Creator Dragons could use dragon soul powers to turn Chaos into Order and apparently, it was impossible that the Creator Dragons were too idle to join the bloody war in hell at any time. This was why even though Asmodeus couldn’t make bricks without straws with this decision, it was an entirely different matter now that Rhode was here.
“Got it, Leader. It will be enough as long as there’s a war for me to fight in.”
After hearing Rhode’s words, Mini Bubble Gum raised her arms in excitement. On the other hand, Celestina heard their conversation and gazed at Mini Bubble Gum and Rhode in astonishment.
“Master, have you guys been in a bloody battle before?”
“Of course.” Perhaps dissatisfied with Celestina’s dubious tone, Mini Bubble Gum curled her lips and said. “Back then, we cleared over 800 floors in the abyss with Leader… Tsk, Grazite was nothing and even Mecanthus scrambled away from us. As a matter of fact, the devils seemed powerful, but they weren’t worthy of a mention at all!”
“…”
After hearing Mini Bubble Gum’s words, Celestina exchanged doubtful glances with Celia standing beside her. Even though they didn’t feel like Mini Bubble Gum was saying the truth, it didn’t seem like there was a need for her to lie either. What exactly… was going on? Rhode observed their interactions and didn’t seem to intend to explain to them. Instead, he turned and gazed at the looming, massive fortress.
“Alright, let’s move out.”
