Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 289 Nine Hells Demon
How to choose a suitable object of depravity?

For the demons living in the nine levels of purgatory (Bartholomew's Nine Hells), this is a subject that emphasizes experience and is worth studying in depth.

Souls, as the most common currency in Hell, the fuel for driving machines and magic circles, the basic building material, and even the ladder for demons to ascend, have extremely high value in the Nine Hells, almost a strategic resource.

But just as currency in the material world is divided into "gold, silver, and copper," there are also clear differences in value and rarity between souls.

A lowly adventurer who spends his days in taverns and with goblins by his side, and a legendary figure who has reached the pinnacle and ascended to the top of the professional pyramid;

A disheveled homeless man who could be found anywhere on the street and who might die in some dark corner at any time, versus a supreme emperor who rules over a vast kingdom with hundreds of millions of people.

The value of their souls is incomparable.

Even if it's just a difference in race, elves, dwarves, and humans each have their own unique "flavor" to the demons, and each has their own preferences based on their own tastes.

Among these, the most precious, rare, and valuable are those originally pure, kind, and steadfast souls.

When a devout priest/noble paladin voluntarily falls into depravity and signs his name on the contract, the long-awaited, almost heaven-reaching, indescribable pleasure is so intense that even the most experienced devil cannot help but tremble.

Before all that, what is rightfully and most important is this.

How to make the target willingly sign their real name on a purgatory contract marked with "soul ownership" while keeping them subjectively conscious.

Of course, this has never been a problem for Saloyan.

As a purgatory nobleman from the second level of the Ninth Hell, "Dis", who holds the title of "Baron".

His ability to rise to this position may be partly due to the noble blood flowing through his veins, but the most important factor (in my opinion) is also the outstanding achievements he has made over the years.

For him, it would be incredibly easy to lure a material being into depravity and willingly offer up their soul.

Ambition and ambition, despair and trauma, pride and arrogance, greed and boredom...

With a natural talent for understanding people's hearts, he can keenly find the cracks in the depths of a target's mind after only a brief contact. With just a little verbal guidance and a touch of magic, he can pry open that originally faint crack and turn it into a stairway to hell for the target.

Using ambiguous and vague terms to hide the true costs, presenting huge benefits in front of the eyes, while concealing the heavy costs in inconspicuous corners or in the distant future, and using grammar and punctuation to create logical traps...

These techniques have been mastered through countless attempts, and even the smartest and most composed lawyers would find it difficult to detect their hidden secrets.

For Saloyan himself, choosing a suitable target is actually more difficult than any of the above.

He utterly despises uncontrollable risks.

No matter how delicious the soul itself may be, if it is marked by those demon lords in the abyss, it is like rat droppings in meat soup, making people frown and stay away.

Those favored and appointed by the gods are the first taboos that need to be distinguished.

Intercepting those devout people who should be sent to the Kingdom of God is like stealing from your neighbor's warehouse; it easily provokes the anger and retaliation of the relevant deities.

Although I have full confidence in the strength of the lord of the second level of Purgatory, the esteemed "Iron Grand Duke" Dispat, it is clearly not something a small person like myself should do to make enemies for him without cause.

Furthermore, if the target soul contains divinity, it can easily affect the stability of the contract, and in that case, one might suffer a backlash.

Secondly, some souls that suffered greatly in life, became numb due to extreme despair, and are empty, broken, and worthless; souls with powerful curses; and souls that are too powerful to be controlled and are prone to "taking over" are also targets that Saloyan needs to be careful to avoid.

The black-haired youth whom Saloyan briefly encountered during the day was, in a sense, not worthy of his attention.

His strength is average; he must have only recently embarked on the path of a professional adventurer. He might be a figure among the lower-level adventurers in River Valley Town, but he is clearly no match for someone like "Baron of Purgatory."

It did not exhibit any particularly kind or noble qualities; it belonged to the most common type of soul in the material world and was not enough to tempt one into depravity.

Yet it was precisely this seemingly ordinary soul that caused Saloyan, who was powerful enough to look down on most high-ranking demons even in the second level of Purgatory, "Dis," to subconsciously fall silent and stop making a sound when he approached.

He... sensed danger.

If we were to say that the soul of a normal human being is like a bottle of clear water...

The soul of this man named "Xia Nan" is like a strange creation occasionally born from a clumsy pharmacist trying to invent a new product.

On the surface, it looks ordinary, but if you look closely, you can sense the strange, climbing and entwining aura.

Gods? Extraterrestrial demons? Or perhaps some higher being?

Out of caution, Saloyan didn't even dare to observe closely, but subconsciously pretended not to see and instinctively moved away.

He didn't want to add to the problem.

"Six o'clock."

Even professionals couldn't detect the faint magical fluctuations that swept across the card table, making the dice inside the cups appear as if they were X-rayed.

As Saloyan had done countless times in the previous three days, he reported the dice roll to the naive young man he was attached to.

Then, watching the other person pretend to hesitate and think, they pushed half of their chips onto the table. After the result was revealed, they pretended to be calm but were actually overjoyed and grabbed the chips that had doubled in size.

A "pitiful" soul who had hope for the future but gradually succumbed to the influence of his environment.

Judging solely from the intrinsic value of the soul, there are souls in the Valley Town that are far more delicious than anything else.

Saloyan didn't care.

His projection of his consciousness into the material world this time was not for the purpose of collecting souls.

All he needed was an obedient and inconspicuous vessel to help him complete his plan. Of course, once the goal was successfully achieved, the Baron of Purgatory wouldn't mind taking another soul.

Saloyan's purpose in coming to this remote town was not related to any adventurers.

His target was a goblin's lair located deep in the Misty Forest.

The lord of the second level of the Nine Hells of Barto, "Dis," is a well-known arms supplier in many planes.

This Grand Duke of Purgatory possesses numerous weapon manufacturing workshops that operate day and night, providing countless pieces of equipment and weapons for the demons in the bloody battle.

His severe paranoia not only led him to create a vast and sophisticated intelligence network, but also to forge himself a set of metal armor as solid as an iron wall, enchanted with many powerful effects.

Saloyan was of lowly status, and only very occasionally, during celebrations, could he catch a glimpse of the enigmatic figure seated firmly on the crimson throne in the metal palace located in the heart of the "Iron City."

Trying to establish a relationship with the boss's boss is undoubtedly a pipe dream.

But he did not give up hope; instead, he did everything he could to gather information about this devilish grand duke.

Including but not limited to daily habits, preferred types of personalities, unique hobbies...

It wasn't until a break at a ball, while chatting with a nobleman who was the commander of a company under the Grand Duke's confidant "Bilut," that Saloyan obtained a sufficiently credible piece of information.

Grand Duke Dispart has recently taken an interest in the spiritual realm (in the devil's time concept) – seemingly because of a few small items that were accidentally discovered by cultists in the material world and sacrificed to purgatory.

It appears to be some kind of weapon made of metal, with a high level of craftsmanship.

Saloyan wondered how the Greenskins, with their chaotic and desire-filled minds, could possibly create something that would interest even Lord Dispat.

But without a doubt, he seized the opportunity. Through the intelligence network he had built up over the years in the material world, he learned that a massive goblin tribe located deep in the Misty Forest had recently been wiped out by a group of reckless professionals.

There are also cases of similar craftsmanship that have been passed down from this goblin tribe.

—It is said that the gift was obtained from the gods through sacrifices made on the local "hunting day".

Previously, even knowing that with his strength as the Infernal Baron, even just a projection would be enough to easily wipe out these green-skinned goblins.

He certainly wouldn't dare do that, fearing he'd be noticed by the goblin god Magrubie.

But now that the goblin tribe has been wiped out, he has no more scruples.

If the young man currently sitting at the card table were to take the object of his consciousness to the former goblin's lair, he believed that with his magical skills and perception, he should be able to gain something.

If, by following the clues, you actually find some interesting trinkets and send them back to the lord, he might be so pleased that he might promote you to a higher position or bestow upon you some treasures that you could never have obtained before.

Saloyan wasn't in a hurry at first.

After all, "patience" is a rare virtue among devils.

But after encountering the "Gray Sword" during the day, he suddenly felt an inexplicable urgency, and a premonition that his plans would be disrupted surfaced in his mind.

"Perhaps... we need to speed things up a bit."

The Devil Baron thought to himself.

On the surface, there was no obvious movement, but the faint magical fluctuations covering the card table quietly extended outwards, searching for a suitable target.

……

……

200 gold!
In just one night, Abby earned a full two hundred gold coins!

With his right hand, he gently stroked the anonymous crystal card stored inside the waist bag through the fabric, feeling its pleasantly hard texture.

Standing in front of the casino, Abby took a deep breath.

At this moment, the cold air of the dead of night seems even fresher and cleaner than that of the early morning.

The male voice in his head reminded him clearly that he knew the result of every dice cup and every card on the card table.

If he weren't worried about winning too much and attracting unnecessary attention, he could have added another zero to the 200 gold in his pocket in one night.

The intense stimulation, bright lights, and warm environment inside the casino kept him awake for almost three days.

Even though his physical condition has improved a lot since he first started last year, he can no longer keep going, and drowsiness is overwhelming him.

"Go back to the hotel, book the most expensive and luxurious room, and get a good night's sleep."

"After I wake up tomorrow, I'll buy the earliest train ticket to Newme."

He imagined the bustling city he had never been to, a city he only heard about from other adventurers.

A sleepy-looking young man walked alone on the street late at night, a somewhat sickly smile creeping onto his face.

Perhaps due to exhaustion, they lost the vigilance they should have maintained at all times, or perhaps their listless spirit caused their senses to deteriorate and become less sharp.

Unbeknownst to Abby, shortly after he left the tavern, several burly figures followed closely behind, pushing open the casino's doors.

Looking around, after seeing his back, I called out in a low voice and quickly followed.

Follow...

Finally, at a secluded street corner, they quickly approached and surrounded the group.

A sharp pain shot through the back of my head.

With each breath, the thick, filthy odor of the orcs filled my nostrils.

In a daze, her hands, which were instinctively protecting her fanny pack, were violently pulled away, and the fanny pack was ripped off completely.

The robust physique afforded by their race, coupled with their numerical advantage, left the exhausted Abby utterly defenseless against the attack.

He didn't even last five seconds before collapsing to the ground, unconscious.

Under normal circumstances, tonight would obviously be the last night of his life.

At that moment, the hard surface beneath his shirt began to shimmer with a magical glow.

The surrounding orcs were completely unaware, just as they had done when they accidentally discovered this lucky young man in the casino. They didn't search him or kill him; they only took the crystal card from him and left in a hurry.

The effects of the magical particles and the shielded perceptions made Abby wonder why, in an environment like River Valley, she had never encountered any trouble or been questioned despite winning so much money in the casino over three days.

Now, having woken up in pain on the cold ground by the street, he didn't have any doubts in his mind, only feeling that he hadn't been careful enough.

His waist was empty; the gold coins he had "hard-earned" through gambling had vanished into thin air.

Abby seemed a little lost for a moment, just sitting there blankly.

A deep, magnetic male voice, with an almost imperceptible seductive tone, quietly echoed in the skull:
"All the gold coins have been looted? No problem, I'll make them back quickly."

"Besides, don't you still have some principal on you...?"

Saloyan's deliberate guidance and precise control over Abbi's emotions.

Suddenly, he shuddered, as if he had remembered something.

"Yep!"

"I still have money...I still have money!"

He forcefully ripped open the collar and reached inside with his right hand.

He pulled a bulging envelope from his pocket.

This was the subsidy he originally planned to send home to his parents.

But now, it has become the capital for their comeback.

He haphazardly poured out the gold coins from the envelope, crumpled the letter into a ball, and tossed it aside.

He struggled to his feet, his pale face still covered in dust, and his steps were hurried and unsteady as he rushed toward the nearest casino.

His thin, disheveled figure was swallowed by the night, much like his mind gradually losing itself amidst the seductive whispers.

(End of this chapter)