Baator Hell Promotion

"Do you know them?" The harsh lady changed the subject and pointed her thumb over her shoulder at the statue behind her.

Hopper nodded and thanked his furry friend Lightning in his heart. Fortunately, she had read the "Theogony" in the Kitea Library for so long that she knew these three lesser-known gods.

"The inevitable, the divine punishment, and the unshakable judge," Hopper replied, causing the harsh lady to look up. Although he couldn't see her expression, he felt that she was obviously a little surprised.

"Compared to the average freshman, at least your knowledge of religion is quite good," the strict lady commented, then moved on to her next question. "Do you know the origins of Enreyes?"

All the devils knew that the earliest batch of succubi came from fallen angels. This was even an honor that some succubi boasted about, but was this the answer the principal needed?

"Enriyes, the original name was 'Angel of Vengeance.'" The harsh lady didn't expect her to answer and continued, "Angel of Vengeance. It's not a compliment or a metaphor."

Hopper looked at the statues of the three gods, thinking about the headmistress's words, and it was as if a lightning bolt flashed through her mind.

"Was Enriyes's original duty to carry out revenge?" she asked in a low voice.

Chapter 40 Revenge

"Almost, at least that was the case in the early days of the Nameless King," nodded the Harsh Lady.

"Under the guidance of the inescapable Daughter of Vengeance, the Enreyes endlessly pursue those who deserve punishment and drag them into hell."

"As for how things turned out the way they are now, you can research it yourself in the library. I won't go into detail."

Hopper nodded, knowing that since it was the first day that the Strict Lady met him, there was no need for her to explain many things in detail.

"I know some Enreyes will go on revenge missions, so this duty is still retained?" Hopper recalled the succubi she had heard of and seen before, and there were indeed some who were engaged in revenge-related work.

Ms. Harsh nodded, then shook her head.

"Yes and no," she explained. "Enreyes is limited by his duty and cannot completely stop carrying out the revenge business. But few people really do this work."

"Especially those born in Hell, Enriyes. They have been spoiled by their mothers since childhood, and all they want is to become spies, clan leaders, or even..." She snorted "Pampered Concubine"

Being a concubine wasn't bad, Hopper thought. Although the succubi were considered the darlings of Hell, in front of the true high-level devils, they were just a group of beautiful birds with wings. Being a concubine was good enough.

But she wasn't stupid enough to say it out loud.

"If you don't want to get too involved with other Grand Dukes," the principal sat up straight, folded his hands, and looked at the freshman seriously, "You have three choices."

She bent down, took out a small box from the bottom of the stone table and opened it. It was divided into three compartments, each containing a different emblem.

"After you graduate, I can recommend you to the Firewalking Legion, which symbolizes the wrath and punishment of Hell itself." The woman held out the first crest, engraved with a pair of slender hands blazing with flames. "The Firewalking Legion is led by Pierza, one of the Eight Dark Lords, and is solely responsible to Grand Duke Bayer and the King of Hell. The Legion's sole function is to bring down flames upon the demons."

"If you specialize in history and contract studies, I can also recommend you to the Tribunal of the Demons in Abrimok." The woman placed the crest of the Firewalkers on the table and pushed it toward Hopper, then held out a second one. The second crest depicted a scale weighing a heart and a feather. "The Tribunal of the Demons represents judgment and judgment. You could start as a clerk. The Tribunal of the Demons is led by Shamana, who reports directly to all the Grand Dukes of the first four levels."

"Finally, you can become a Nemaed—a handmaiden of Nemesis." The woman held up the third crest, a black iron torch burning with blue flame. "Vengeance itself, hearing the prayers of the Prime, and hunting down those who attempt to escape justice."

Hopper looked quietly at the three crests laid out before him. They each had their merits and demerits, but Hopper knew what the Lady was guiding him to, and what she would choose.

She knew that once she chose one of them, she would actually be giving up the protection of a certain Grand Duke, or at least rejecting the protection of Lilith.

Do I really need to do this? She asked herself. After being a little devil for so many years, what's wrong with serving a lady after ascending?

Her hand made the decision faster than her heart, and when she reacted, her hand had already reached for the last black iron torch.

The principal stopped her.

The freshman looked up in confusion, and the strict lady put all the crests back into the box.

"You still have a lot to learn, and you won't get any certificates until you graduate," said the strict lady. "I understand your thoughts. As I said before, I will tailor your course accordingly."

She knocked on the scroll box and a roll of parchment flew into her hand. She lifted her mask slightly, imprinted a black lipstick mark on the lower right corner of the paper, and handed it to Hopper.

Hopper looked closely and saw that words began to appear on the originally blank paper, as if an invisible hand was writing on it with ochre-green ink.

"Compulsory courses for freshmen include History of Hell, Combat, Arcane and Extension, and Social Studies." Ms. Strict pointed at the courses in the first column on the paper with her finger.

"There are seven elective courses in total. Based on your goals, you need to study Religious Studies and Monsters and Enemies." Before she finished her words, the two courses appeared on the paper. Each course was marked with the name of the instructor and the required preparations.

"Why does combat science have three teachers?" Hopper pointed to the course with the most teachers and the most complicated preparations.

"There are three branches of combat: weapons combat, aerial combat, and stealth combat."

"Which one should I choose, Professor?"

"all."

Hopper looked through the curriculum and found that the combat class was tomorrow afternoon. Just as she rolled up the parchment and was about to leave, the Strict Lady called her.

"This is for you. It is both a gift and a test. If you can ignite it, you will have begun your journey on the Nemaede path."

The torch handed to Hopper was a genuine black iron torch, like an enlarged crest, but it was cold and silent, without any flame, and the tray on top was spotless, without even fuel.

Before Hopper could say anything else, Ms. Strict waved her hand to indicate that she could leave.

Hopper looked down at the torch in her hand. It was more like a mace in size and weight. She tried swinging it, and, well, it looked like one.

"Miss Hopper," a tiefling with straight horns called out as she walked out of the confessional. "You should move to the Great Hall for dinner now."

"Dine? But I don't need to eat," Hopper asked confusedly.

"By order of Lady Strict, in order to allow you to understand the prey as well as possible, all activities and routines in Emberhold will be based on the Prime Material Plane." The tiefling knelt to her and explained in a low voice.

"Um, alright then, lead the way."

Hopper hurried to the auditorium (the same room where the principal had given his speech last night) and found that she was not particularly late. A large group of Cambions followed her into the auditorium.

When everyone was seated, the Silver-Eyed Lady standing on the balcony shook the bell in her hand three times and shouted, "Praise the Nine Hells!"

The freshmen offered sparse responses.

The skinny housekeeper shook the bell three times again with an expressionless face and shouted: "Praise to the Nine Hells!"

"Praise to the Nine Hells!" This time the shout contained anger, but it was indeed much louder.

"Enjoy your meal. Please don't waste any food."

The same food appeared before everyone: beans and meat sauce on the same wooden plate, boiled parsnips, a piece of sizzling roast meat, long loaves of bread in a basket, and jugs of bloody river water.

"I feel like a nun," Hopper heard a succubus sitting nearby mutter, and resignedly scooped up a spoonful of beans and stuffed it into his mouth.

"How was your morning?" Lati and Lil squeezed over and sat on both sides of Hopper.

"We've been talking about the history of Hell for the whole morning. That Anzumo has been rambling since the fall of Asmodeus. I doubt he will be able to finish telling the whole history even after the bloody battle." The tall Cambion cut the barbecue on the plate with force, as if he was cutting off Anzumo's head.

"You started with the fall of Asmodeus?" Hopper asked.

"I think I'm remembering correctly, right, Lil?"

Lil nodded. She didn't look like she wanted to eat much and only drank some water.

Hopper nodded thoughtfully and said nothing more.

Chapter 41 Course

As the Harsh Lady had said, she did not show up for the morning service the next day, so the succubus knelt and recited the poem himself.

Hopper was very skeptical about the significance of doing this. Like most places in hell, few demons would recite seriously after being out of supervision.

And since there were no one-on-one interviews, the morning class ended quickly. They were like a group of ducks released from a pens, followed by the tiefling maids guarding outside the door to go to the auditorium for breakfast in the dim morning light.

Hopper really hoped that Torchhold wouldn't adopt the rules of the Prime Material Plane, because just dealing with the homework was already exhausting enough.

After morning classes, all freshmen took a course on Hell History, taught by the elegantly dressed Professor Anzumowilao. Hopper quickly discovered that Hell History covered more than just historical events; it encompassed analysis of Hell's situation, the prevailing laws and unwritten rules of Barto, document writing, literary phrasing and embellishment, the drafting of common contracts and their loopholes, and much more.

She had some understanding of contracts as a little devil, so learning them wasn't that difficult. Some new students, especially those who had been trained as warriors for many years, were overwhelmed by writing.

But what Hopper hadn't expected was that, of all the freshmen, Lati was the one who stood out the most in the Hell History class. Hopper had assumed that the tall warrior would have some difficulty with literature and history, but in fact, she wrote cursive better than anyone else, and her voice was as loud and melodious as a bell when she recited poetry.

"Welala, welala!" Professor Wei Lao applauded and shouted loudly after Lati fluently recited the wise long poem praising the King of the Nine Hells, revealing a mouthful of uneven teeth. "Excellent, absolutely perfect, Miss Lati. I daresay you must have received an excellent education, no less than any noble."

Several other freshmen from aristocratic families in the classroom turned to look at her with interest. Vera and Danya were whispering to each other again.

"Okay, okay, everyone, you should learn from Miss Lati," Anzumo said as he packed his bag as the lunch bell rang in the clock tower.

"Homework: Choose a noble from Operation Pay the Bill. Analyze their motivations, obstacles, efforts, and results from their perspective, and infer how to revise the plan based on the results. I expect your essay to be no less than two feet long and to use standard cursive throughout. Submit it before class the day after tomorrow."

After lunch comes the class that freshmen look forward to the most - fighting class.

Professor Bi Guan was already waiting for them on the platform extending outwards at the bottom of the castle.

In the pale sunlight, he looked even larger than he had at night, like a fir tree growing on the platform. At his feet lay a large wooden box filled with various weapons.

"What are you waiting for?" he shouted after seeing everyone gathered. "Everyone has a weapon. Quick, move!"

The freshmen rushed forward, fearing they would miss out on their desired weapons. Hopper finally settled on an ordinary longsword, which was both basic and powerful enough.

After all the freshmen stood up again, the emerald dragonborn put on a small round shield and waved to the freshmen.

"Come on, everyone."

All the freshmen present felt a surge of anger at being looked down upon. Before he could speak a second time, nearly fifty apprentices rushed forward.

In less than a quarter of an hour, all the freshmen were scattered all over the training ground, with him as the center, lying on the ground and groaning.

The Dragonborn straightened up, barely breathing, let alone being injured. No freshman, including Lati, who had participated in the Avernus Legion's activities, could withstand his punch.

Hopper tried to attack his waist like he did to old Reuben, but he grabbed his cloak with one hand and threw it directly at Lacy. The two succubi were unable to get up for a long time.

"Tsk, tsk, much worse than the last class," the professor commented, "but not as hopeless as the class before that."

"The first lesson in combat is to discard all unnecessary things." Professor Bi Guan motioned for them to stand up. Hopper pulled Lacy and limped into the team.

"Now take off your robes and change into lighter clothes." He pointed to another box.

After changing his clothes, he demonstrated all the weapons in front of the freshmen. No matter how rare the weapon was, he could use it as easily as his own arm.

Hopper had thought he would ask all freshmen to follow his demonstration, but Professor Bi Guan clearly had no intention of lowering the difficulty of learning.

He numbered all the freshmen according to their performance in the siege, and then asked them to come up one by one in order from strong to weak to challenge them. During the challenge, he beat them up and pointed out their shortcomings.

By the time he called for a stop, most of the freshmen were staggering and had bruises all over their bodies.

"It's a mess, but at least there's still time to adjust." Hopper was so tired after hearing this comment that he couldn't even muster the heart to hate him.

"It's getting dark. All Enreyes, stay here for the shooting course. Everyone else, disband!"

The succubi wailed in unison.

It was almost midnight when Hopper and the other succubi dragged their exhausted bodies out of the training ground. Thinking of climbing back to the dormitories at the top of the tower, she wanted to collapse directly in the auditorium.

Hopper had initially thought there was a huge gap between him and the original succubi, but in reality, they were all pretty much the same. The difficulty of the course was beyond imagination, and even a succubus like Vera, who came from a higher class, had to study hard to keep up.

The Arcane Comprehensive Course was taught by the teacher, Millennium Intestine, who had slain the Assassin Simulacrum. She didn't offer a first-class showdown like Professor Biguan did, but her words were much harsher. She primarily taught the new students how to develop their innate powers and resonate with Hell to cast spells and influence others.

Lacy was already a sorcerer before she entered the school, which Professor Millennium Gut was very dissatisfied with, believing that her learning was not standardized and comprehensive enough, and was simply tarnishing the arcane arts. As a result, Lacy was kept in class almost every day for practice, and every time Hopper saw her, she seemed more haggard than the last time.

Under the circumstances, Hopper was glad to have finally made it to his first day off.

Even on a day off, the housekeeper would still wake them up on time for morning classes. However, considering that there were no other classes that day, early classes were not that unacceptable.

"What is Hopper going to do today?" At the breakfast table, Danya and Lexi rarely stayed with Vera, but asked Hopper.

"Nothing. First, I'm finishing the two contract vulnerability checks assigned by Professor Wei Lao, and then practicing the four hours of daily meditation required by Professor Qiannianchang." Hopper shrugged, suddenly noticing that there were very few freshmen, especially succubi, at dinner today. Turning around, he saw mysterious smiles on Danya and Leixi's faces.

"what happened?"

"Well, Nara is organizing a social gathering tonight. Are you interested?" Danya winked at her. "And it's not just us. I heard Nara will also summon creatures from other planes."

"Ah? Will the professors agree?"

"According to Nora, the worst that could happen is she buys the castle," Lexi said with a smile, then quickly added, "Of course, I was joking, but I guess the professors are always willing to turn a blind eye to a descendant of aristocracy like Nora's."

"But..."

"No buts," Danya said, holding her arm. "You have less homework than Lacy. Professor Millennium Intestine made her meditate for eight hours. Nara likes to be lively, so just think of it as joining the crowds. There's no harm in getting to know the nobles."

Chapter 42 Dance

Hopper was not really willing to join the social gathering, but her reason told her that not coming would be a stupid decision and would probably offend Nora.

As she was still struggling, she found herself near the venue.

Hopper didn't know how powerful Nora was, but in a very short time, she did convince the strict lady and the housekeeper to lend her a small classroom for the social gathering. She even hired a number of tiefling employees from the school to provide services.

Hopper's eyes widened in surprise as he turned the corner of the hallway.

She had originally thought that Nora could only arrange the borrowed furniture and prepare some refreshments in such a short time, but she began to show her extraordinary abilities from the corridor onwards.

The entire corridor was lined with fragrant, dewy flowers, and bottles of fireflies hung here and there for illumination. Hopper couldn't even find the entrance to the classroom for a moment.

"You've kept me waiting, Miss Hopper," Nora said in a crisp, clear voice as she hurried out of the classroom. She was wearing a long brown dress with dozens of jewels, almost like a potted plant covered with jewels.