Baator Hell Promotion

"Okay, just remember that Hopper helped you that night, and forget about me, right?" Lati, who was next to her, leaned over and pinched Lil's face after hearing this.

"I didn't forget," Lil giggled, almost hiding under the table to avoid Lati's clutches. "I prepared a necklace for Lati early in the morning, but it was taken away the night she arrived."

Only then did Lati let go of Lil, who was laughing so hard she couldn't breathe. Lil's words suddenly reminded Hopper of another question.

"How did this package get in?" she asked curiously, holding up the locket. "Doesn't Torchhold forbid us from bringing any magical items in?"

Hopper didn't know what magic was stored in the locket, but just holding it in his hand he could feel its surging magic, like a living heart.

"You were reading a letter and didn't pay attention to your surroundings just now," Lati nodded at the other end of the long table and answered Hopper's question.

The succubus looked over and saw that the housekeeper was leading the tieflings to distribute back the magic items that had been collected.

After everyone had retrieved their belongings, the housekeeper stepped aside, her back as straight as a board. Then, raising her arm, she shook the bell three times, and shouted, "Attention, attention, attention! Professor Bi Guan is here to speak!"

"I believe you've all seen the weather today," the emerald-scaled professor said, still standing on the balcony as before, his narrow mouth curved into a smug arc. "I noticed that Ms. Silver Eyes also returned your personal belongings."

"Torch Keep has a tradition that when the first snow falls, it means your practical classes are about to begin. I am very happy to announce to everyone that we will carry out a full-staff war practice activity during the two rest days. Our respected Professors Hu Siqi and Galafid have gladly agreed to serve as team leaders."

The taciturn Professor Hu Siqi just extended his hand behind it as a greeting, and the secret combat professor Galafyd next to it looked like a ball of mist similar to a centaur, and did not move at all.

Professor Bi Guan cleared his throat and continued

"Destination, Avernus."

Chapter 50: Battle

Run, run, and bring the message back quickly.

This was the only thought in the dark mind of the Chain Demon Scatter. He knew that the eight-legged monster following behind him would not let him go. Even if he could disperse all the hook demons in the team and run away separately, it would only be a delaying tactic. It would not take more than a quarter of an hour to kill those hook demons.

The Hooked Demons were not professional at all. Scat cursed in his heart. If his subordinates were all Legion Demons, they would definitely be able to protect him and escape. At least they would fearlessly use their armor and bodies to block the pursuing demons instead of running away with him.

As for resistance or even killing? Ever since the Chain Demon saw the spider, bigger than a hellish horse, leap out from behind the rock, knock the captain down, and chew his head into pieces in two bites, it had no intention of fighting such a terrifying monster.

It relied on its own agility and instincts, as well as the "voluntary assistance" of its many barbed devils, to finally gain some distance. As it ran, it counted the increasingly faint screams; they rang out a full eight times. Whether the last two barbed devils had already escaped or were simply too far away for it to hear, it no longer cared.

This is the daily life of Avernus. Devils and demons push each other like two slowly turning and never-ending flesh mills, crushing countless lives, wealth and souls. The minced meat they grind out nourishes the hands that push the mills, allowing generations of warriors to grow up in it.

But our chain demon had no time for such profound questions. It was nervously hiding in one of the common fissures that dot the cracked earth of Avernus. Skat had been hiding there for a long time. The eight-legged demon finally tracked it down, but Skat was clever enough to hide in the fissure before the eight-legged demon could spot it. Then, it watched as the monster slowly and leisurely strutted across the fissure on its slender limbs and walked off into the distance.

It curled up tightly, pretending to be a piece of unconscious stone in the crack of the earth. After an unknown amount of time, it raised its head. In the crack of the earth, it could only see the blood-red sky of Avernus. Apart from the rumbling explosions on the battlefield in the distance, there was no other sound around.

Skat carefully poked his head out from the crack in the ground and looked towards the place where the spider left, but found nothing.

Got you, little bug.

A sinister voice echoed in its heart. The chain demon turned its head stiffly and saw the spider almost sticking to its face. Its eight compound eyes flashed with malice and stared at it mockingly. Its chelicerae, longer than daggers, squirmed silently, as if it was thinking about where to bite it.

"Ark!"

A short command echoed from high in the sky, followed by the sound of a vibrating bowstring. Skat looked up and saw, beneath the blood-red sky, a dozen bright streaks of fire streaking gracefully through the air, their reflections growing larger and larger in the spider's compound eyes.

The spider let out a scream that nearly shattered Skat's eardrums. Its massive body made it particularly difficult to dodge the rain of arrows. But that wasn't the end. With the fluttering of wings and the clatter of measured footsteps, dozens of Cambions with varying skin types descended in droves, surrounding the giant spider and slashing at its long legs with their sharp blades.

The spider dove left and right amidst the Cambion's encirclement, but without wings, and like all arthropods, unable to turn, it was powerless to catch the slippery Cambion. The monster's carapace was imbued with the unholy power of the abyss; a mortal sword would scarcely have been able to inflict more than a scratch. But the blades of the Cambions besieging it gleamed with magic, and their attacks, imbued with the might of Hell, were spawned from Hell.

Therefore, the monster soon felt the threat to its life. It endured the pain of being stabbed deeply in the abdomen by three long spears, raised its tail high, and a huge net spewed out from the end of its tail. Seven or eight Cambions who were too close were all wrapped in the sticky net and struggled hard but could not get free.

But the spider did not pursue the victory. It jumped high and ran out of Cambion's encirclement. A deep purple light shone on its body, and its huge body began to become transparent, and it was about to dissipate in the air.

However, another wave of flaming arrows descended from the sky, piercing the spider like a hedgehog, with several even piercing its abdomen. The spider continued to scream and scurried off into the distance; the previous rain of arrows had failed to interrupt the spell.

Its figure became more and more illusory, and just when it was about to completely disappear into the air, there was a long-lasting string sound, and a red light accompanied by a beam of dark blue rays directly penetrated the spider's two fist-sized compound eyes. The spider finally roared in pain, collapsed to the ground, and its limbs piled up in a mess.

Skat crawled out of the crack in the ground like a sleepwalker, barely surviving three rounds of arrow rain from the spider's appearance to its death. Its nightmare was almost crushed by the powerful force.

The sound of wings flapping behind him made him turn around and see the most beautiful scenery he had ever seen in his life.

Dozens of beautiful, graceful succubi flapped their black wings and landed near it, like a grand performance. The silver-haired succubus in the center was the most revealingly dressed, the most beautiful, and her expression the coldest and most arrogant.

"It's a demon-hunting spider, and you didn't deal with it in the first place. It even created a risk of escape." The one who was giving the lecture was a falling bone demon. Scat had just been completely absorbed by the beauty of the succubus and didn't even notice when it came.

The tall bone demon silently hovered a few inches above the ground, looking down at Skat. Then, he shook out a scroll in his hand and asked, "Are you Captain Tirad or Vice Captain Skat?"

"Vice Captain, Your Excellency," Skat quickly stood up and bowed to the Bone Demon. "Captain Tirad and the rest of the team have been killed by that monster."

"I hid here to preserve my last bit of strength and bring back news of the invasion."

"Hunting, not invasion," the Bone Demon interrupted him, not hiding its malice. "You should know the consequences of being a deserter."

Scart fell to his knees in terror, and the chains that covered his body jingled as he trembled, and he could think of no words to reply.

A silver rope was wrapped around his neck, armpits, and legs, binding him tightly and pulling him back, folding his limbs over and binding them together. The other end of the rope was in the hand of the silver-haired succubus. She walked forward, the hem of her black skirt covering the chain demon's head.

Scat only felt a bare foot kicking his nose hard, and then stomped his head hard into the mud.

"Professor, I think whether it is a deserter should be decided by the centurion. It is not appropriate for us to deal with it privately." The speaker should be the silver-haired succubus. Her voice was like sand in a wooden barrel, emitting a wonderful granular feeling between the friction.

"If you're willing to carry him back to camp, I have no objection, Miss Vera," the Bone Demon's cold voice rang out. "This is the last team on the list. All freshmen! Prepare to take off and return!"

Chapter 51 Return to Camp

Hopper stretched out her fingers. The recoil of the arrow that had just shot the demon spider had made her fingers numb, and now they still felt a little painful during the flight.

The camp was still some distance from the front lines, and the succubi flew in an arrow formation, keeping a vigilant eye on the sky. Kambion, flying even lower beneath them, watched the ground for them.

Practice is the best way to teach people how to grow. During this period of time on the Avernus front, after the initial panic, several ambushes and sleepless battles, both the rebellious Vera and the taciturn Lil learned to play their role in the team.

For example, just as Lei Xi, at the tip of the triangle formation, folded her wings to slow down, Dan Ya, behind her, immediately accelerated to take her place. Lei Xi flattened her wings, using the oncoming airflow to quickly and accurately land at the end of the formation, next to Hopper.

"Hopper, you shot the arrow so accurately just now," she praised sincerely. Although the devils did not advocate the use of force, their excellent shooting skills were still worthy of respect and applause.

"You're not bad either. I didn't know that mana explosion could do so much damage."

"Thanks to Professor Millennium Intestine's harsh words," Lei Xi smiled faintly, her carrot-colored curls dancing like flames in the high-altitude air currents. "Have you heard? Hu Siqi thinks our training intensity is a bit too low and wants to increase it."

"I've heard that. Nora told me not long ago that she got some information from a former succubus. The practical course will be divided into three parts: legionary combat, team cooperation, and personal adventure." Hopper leaned sideways, avoiding a burst of turbulence, and flapped his wings to catch up with the blood-red succubus in front of him. "I heard the danger level will gradually increase."

"I think it's to scare the new students," Lexi analyzed. "The entire Hell of Baator has spent a lot of money to train us. The Grand Dukes will not let their wealth be consumed before they earn enough profit."

Before Hopper could reply, Danya, the leader, had already begun to dive, and all the succubi followed her, retracting their wings and descending faster. They had arrived at the camp.

True to its name, Steel Spear Camp was deeply embedded in the front lines, a sharp nail lodged in the throat of the surging demonic army. Steel Spear Camp was built in a patchwork pattern along the river valley, with countless sharp towers and outposts dotting the cliff faces and clifftops like hedgehog spines, firmly protecting the Blood River Port behind it.

The landing at Torchhold followed a fairly standard process. First, Professor Huschi landed on the platform to the chorus of horns. A fawning imp quickly approached, taking the scroll from his hand and offering a welcome. Then, the succubi followed behind the professor, gracefully and silently like a flock of black cranes. As soon as they landed, they flung open their cloaks, obscuring the view from the camp. Finally, the numerous and diversely colored Cambions arrived.

"Although it's not perfect, at least all the objectives on the scrolls have been completed." Professor Hu Siqi turned around and addressed the freshmen. "I'll give you a day to rest. When the next march horn sounds, I'll see you at the foot of the second tower."

The second tower Hu Siqi mentioned was actually the dormitory the camp centurion had allocated to the Torch Keep group. He left immediately after saying this. Before the succubi could take off again, they heard another long horn blast from the distant sky. An exceptionally plump little devil leaped up, took a deep breath, puffed himself up into a ball, and approached the horn on the platform, blowing hard in response.

The succubi made way, and when the first visitor landed, they recognized him as Professor of Secret Combat, Galafid. Galafid was a hybrid creature. Hopper deduced from his pure white fur and lion-like lower body that he was part Hellcat and part Sphinx. Following him were a dozen other students from Embergard.

Following Galafid was Lati, who had obviously seen Hopper as well and waved happily.

"Why do you look so thoughtful?" Hopper asked.

Hopper, having already showered, sat on the cliffside, chatting casually with Lati and Lil. Her men, meanwhile, kept tending to their longbows, which stood taller than themselves. Most succubi, like Danya or Vera, preferred to cleave their enemies in half with their swords rather than shoot, savoring the thrill of fresh blood splattering all over them. Therefore, they opted for lighter-weight composite longbows to reduce the burden. Warlocks like Lacy were more extreme, generally carrying a shortbow for emergencies.

"I'm still thinking about that intruder," Lati said distressedly, subconsciously playing with the amethyst key pendant on her chest. "Every time I think about the possibility that someone whose identity is unknown might be hiding among us, I feel a chill."

"You worry too much," Hopper said as he vigorously rubbed rosin onto the bowstring. "I don't understand why you're so concerned about this issue. Look, Lil and I don't worry about it. Professor Biguan has already said it's okay, and we've been out for so long that even if there is a problem, we can't do anything about it."

"Lil agrees with Hopper." The childlike Cambion played a cheerful tune and said cheerfully in the music, "What we need to worry about is graduating as soon as possible. Lil hasn't seen her brother for a long time and misses him very much."

"I also want to meet your brother." Lati glanced at the pendant on her chest. "I want to thank him in person. The teleportation necklace you gave me on his behalf has helped me many times."

"Latti has thanked me many times," Lil pouted. "My brother also has a lot of fun things he made himself. They're not very expensive. He said my father wasn't nice to me when I was a kid and never bought me any toys, so I can use these as I please."

"I should have asked you to write to your brother and ask him about the intruders," Lati said with a sigh. "It's a pity that we have to move away at any time and can't communicate. There's no crystal ball for you to talk to."

"Speaking of this, Lati, is the camp far from your home? If you are interested, you can ask your family directly." Hopper suddenly remembered that Lati was born in Avernus, and judging from her combat training and literary level, Lati probably has a very prominent family background.

"Ah? Didn't I tell you?" Lati seemed to have just realized what was happening. She said with a hint of surprise, "My grandmother serves Lord Bayer in the Bronze Fortress. The whole family lives in the city, which is quite far from here."

"After all, we are still on the same floor. Why doesn't Lati ask for leave and go back to the Bronze Fortress?" Lil's words left Hopper speechless. She glanced at Lil, who realized belatedly that her question was to pry into Lati's privacy, which was too far beyond the line for a devil.

Fortunately, Lati didn't care at all. She was obviously used to Lil's words being treated as innocent, and patiently answered the question that seemed a bit offensive to Hopper.

"My family has very strict rules. When I left, my grandmother told me that if I didn't graduate successfully, I wouldn't have to go back."

"Oh, no wonder Lati studies so hard every day," Lil suddenly realized. "So she's afraid she won't be able to go home."

Hopper simply took out a ball of sugared vagina-dried goo from the drawstring bag around his neck and put it in her mouth to prevent her from saying anything that would hurt Lati.

"You'd better not worry about Lati. We'll be setting off when the next horn sounds. You need to prepare your things."

Author's words: The first book is finally on the shelves. Thank you for your support, readers and editors.

I have exhausted all my saved drafts today, so I can’t update on the weekend. Sorry

Chapter 52 Warning

Hopper carried his longbow and said goodbye to the two Cambions. Although they all lived in the Second Tower, the dormitories still adhered to the Torchhold's rules, with housing divided by race. The Second Tower was built on a small platform jutting out from the cliff, making it impossible for wingless creatures to reach it. The succubi lived at the top of the tower, nicknamed "The Hollow Nest," accessible only through an opening in the sky. The Cambions, on the other hand, had to use a tunnel carved into the cliff face to reach the tower's base.

"Are you out with those Cambions again?" Hopper had just walked into the tower's top entrance when Lexi's voice came from behind him. She turned her head and saw the transparent monster skeleton floating in the air, and then the red-haired devil walked out from the corner.

"Is there a problem?" Hopper felt puzzled. He and Lacy didn't seem to be close friends. Why would she care about who he went out with and what he did?

"Let me be frank. They are not of the same kind as us. Their blood is inferior and mixed." Lei Xi was very unlike her. She was always smiling, but now she was serious, almost terrifying. "From now on, you will be loyal to the Grand Duke with us. Their loyalty may not be certain."

"Thanks for the reminder," Hopper said coldly. "I haven't decided yet which Grand Duke I'll pledge allegiance to. I believe time will tell."

"As you wish," Lei Xi said, shaking her shiny hair and turning away. "Anyway, this is my only kindness. Just think of it as me trying to sow discord between you two."

Hopper watched her disappear into the distant darkness, a sense of foreboding rising within him. The unexpected intruder, the serendipitous discovery of the blueprint, Lexi's inexplicable warning—were they all independent? Or were they interconnected, and had he simply missed a crucial piece of information? These threads, like drifting spider silk, caressed her face, yet she had no way of weaving them into a cohesive web.

However, Hopper didn't want to pay attention to these things, she was more concerned about something else.

The succubus looked at the torch in her hand. It remained as cold and silent as it had been on the first day it came into her hands. During the battle, Hopper had felt it warm or tremble faintly several times, but it eventually died down. Hopper guessed that perhaps she would need to find an opportunity to conduct a separate experiment.

The tide of bloody battles defied the whims of either side. So, when the call-to-arms horn sounded much earlier than expected, Hopper wasn't surprised at all, and even secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She truly didn't want to hear the chain demon next door screaming, "Please, my two honorable queens, please let me go," in a voice mingled with pleasure and pain.

Vera and Danya were in high spirits when they arrived downstairs to gather. Even Vera, who was usually arrogant and indifferent, had a smile on her lips.

Professor Hu Siqi was obviously in a good mood. He didn't say much to the two of them for coming over. He just nodded and let them return to the team.

"Very good, everyone's here," the Bone Demon said solemnly, clearing his throat. Hopper felt a certain schadenfreude in his smile. "Dear Professor Galafid just reminded me that we've overprotected you all. The fact that there haven't been any deaths during this practical course goes against the very customs of Torchhold and the very purpose of training you."

"After verification, we believe your training is nearly complete. Both group combat and team coordination have shown significant progress. I can even say that you have no problem joining your seniors in the military and participating in bloody battles."

Hopper's heart was filled with alarm. Professor Hu Siqi was not a gentle and kind devil. He spoke so nicely at this moment, but no one knew what he was thinking.

"Therefore, Professor Galafid and I have decided that we can move on to the final part of the practical course." The Bone Demon's smile became more pronounced. "This course will be very simple. You only need to return to the Torchhold."

"However, we believe that you will need to demonstrate your wisdom, courage, and luck. There are three portals in Avernus. You can only return to the Torchhold through them. We will be waiting for your return there."

"Professor, where are the three portals located?" Danya asked, raising her hand, and this question made Professor Hu Siqi's mouth grin as wide as possible.

"This is the fun of this trial," it announced loudly. "There is no map for this trial. You have to find the portal yourself."

After saying this, it nodded to the students who were silent due to shock, opened a scroll, and decisively disappeared in the pillar of light that shot up into the sky with Professor Galafyde who had remained silent until then.

Outside the square, there were more than a dozen flying vehicles from the Steel Spear Camp parked. The Hooked Demon Charioteer, who looked like a bearded lizard man, was driving a group of black giant vultures and waiting for them silently.

Hopper was pulled into the same cart as Lil, where Lati was already waiting. Fortunately, she did so, because within twenty miles of the camp, the driver let Lati off. After they were out of Lati's sight, the driver turned and flew another few dozen miles before letting Lil off. Finally, he let the succubus off outside a forest, uttering only a few words when asked to get off.

The succubus unhooked the longbow from his sling and carefully surveyed the forest before him, or rather the Deadwood Forest. The land of Avernus was dry and barren, with virtually no other water sources outside the bloody river's reach. If the bloody river were to change course, the forests that grew alongside it would quickly die, leaving only the pale carcasses of the trees reaching out hopelessly to the sky.

This test wasn't that difficult, there just wasn't a map. Hopper didn't know if the other demons had any clues, but she had spent more time as a minor demon than as a succubus, so of course she knew how to find the portal.

The imp's spell allowed her to interrogate Hell itself. She had used it to serve others when she was still Harp. Naturally, the spell wasn't always effective, nor was it completely accurate. But now, she simply needed to follow the instructions and search for clues, not requiring precise descriptions. The only problem was that the imp's power was too meager, its authority too limited. Casting the spell once required a considerable amount of time to build up before recasting. Therefore, it was likely that the imp she found wouldn't be able to perform the spell.

However, these are not a problem in Avernus. There are as many little devils in the First Hell as rats or bats in the main material plane. As long as you don't go deep into the wilderness, you can always find them.

Now, all I need to do is collect fuel as quickly as possible, since it's rare for me to act independently. Hopper said to himself, and pulled the bow sharply.

A flash of red light ignited a patch of grass ten paces away. Hopper walked over to it and saw a hellhound lying there with her long arrow stuck between its eyes.

The succubus then used his foot to push aside the still burning grass, pulled out the dagger from his boot, plunged it into the hellhound's chest, and pulled out its smoldering heart.

After the heart leaves the body, it quickly cools and shrinks, eventually becoming a small heart-shaped piece of coal.

We still need to find some gifts for the little devils. Hopper stuffed the heart into the bag. A formal contract and a little threat would ensure the authenticity of the information.

Chapter 53 Orcs

Scarcity often means costliness.

And if something is both rare and necessary, it is often ten times more expensive.