Baator Hell Promotion

As she expected, Vera enjoyed their service and her anger disappeared in an instant.

"Is your guidance reliable? Why are there so many damn enemies?" the silver-haired demon muttered as he took Danya's handkerchief, removed the small pendant from his waist chain, and carefully wiped the insect juice off it. Fortunately, it was all pure gold and was not corroded by the acidic body fluids.

"Since the Sect Master successfully guided me to reunite with you, he can naturally guide us to find the portal back." Lei Xi added a brown cloak over the cloth armor, which set off her carrot-colored hair that flowed like flames along her shoulders.

She pulled her strange crystal skull from the inside pocket of her cloak and whispered a prayer. The skull's eyes lit up with two yellow lights, which flickered and changed shape, finally forming a bony hand on the ground, pointing in the direction of the insects.

The three succubi looked up in the direction indicated by the bony hand. Having been attacked by the enemy and unable to observe the terrain, they now found themselves at the top of a deep, fissured canyon.

Beneath a crimson sky, jagged layers of gray rock stretched into the distance, nearly obscuring the entire canyon sky. The canyon floor sloped downward until it vanished into the indistinct darkness. A strange thought struck Lexi, as if she had seen some immensely powerful god thrust its enormous finger into the dry earth and then forcefully pulled it out, leaving behind a hollow, unfilled hole that became the canyon we see today.

They flapped their wings and flew down. Although the darkness didn't blind them, it greatly reduced their vision. It wasn't until they got close that the succubus realized the canyon ended in a castle, its walls and towers crumbled, sunken into the rock face. It looked like a wooden castle that had been hurled into the mud by an angry child.

Danya fanned the dust from her nose with her hand, then took out two handkerchiefs and gave them to her companions. She covered her face with them and said in a muffled voice, "It seems we are the first visitors in a long time."

She lifted one foot back with some disgust, looked carefully at her black leather boots covered in dust, and then pointed at the almost two inches thick dust on the broken stone floor.

"Yes, this is it. I guess the portal should be deep in the castle." Lei Xi asked the skeleton again, and the bony finger pointed into the lightless doorway.

-

“It seems someone arrived earlier than us.”

Lati straightened up. She was already tall, and now fully armored, she looked even taller. Standing next to her, Lil, wearing only a short gray robe and cloak, was almost half her height.

However, even the tall Lati looked ordinary in front of the giant insect corpse in front of her. The dead giant insect's head alone was almost taller than her standing up.

The giant insect's corpse remained half-excavated from the earth, its mandibles reflecting the sunlight and drenched in foul-smelling saliva. It looked like a dangerous weapon. But now, this insect, powerful enough to swallow Lil in one gulp, was missing half its head. It lay lifeless at the canyon entrance, its wounds bleeding and staining a large area of ​​the ground black.

"It must be one of our classmates. Lil guessed that the monster's head must have been blown open by Lexi, but Lexi doesn't like close combat," Lil said, pointing to the several deep cuts on the insect corpse. "So there must be other classmates fighting with her."

"I wonder what progress Hopper is making. I've been looking for her all the way here and haven't found any trace of her," Lati said worriedly. "I just saw a pillar of skulls on the horizon, which means we're not far from where that ill-tempered Dragon Queen lives. Her patrols are not to be trifled with."

"Don't worry too much. The treasure that Lil gave Hopper is very powerful." Lil followed Lati across the bugs. Her expression was much more relaxed than Lati's. "And Lil was able to successfully find Lati and reunite. Hopper is much more powerful than Lil, so there will definitely be no problem. Maybe Hopper is already waiting for us in the castle."

Lati nodded sympathetically and took the lead to fly into the darkness.

-

Hopper, who was mentioned by his companions, was crawling through a cave with four mercenaries, suffering from back pain.

The cave was obviously built for some race that was shorter than humans, so except for Brand who could hold his head high, the others had to bend their backs to prevent themselves from hitting their heads on the sloping ceiling and getting bloodied.

"Brand, are you sure you can find the way?" Carlo was much thinner than the burly Ugo, but he was also very uncomfortable in the cramped tunnel.

"Be quiet! Are you going to attract all the enemies in the castle?" the dwarf growled.

Relying on augury and Brand's familiarity with dwarven architecture, they found this stone-paved tunnel within a cave. The tunnel was originally smooth, likely intended as a maintenance passage or a sewer, hence its sturdiness. While there were some large cracks in the floor and walls, they didn't affect navigation at all.

As they advanced, they encountered more and more completely blocked and collapsed side passages and branches, and the tunnel ceiling tilted further and further. Brand relied solely on his familiarity with dwarven architecture to orient himself and find his way forward. The tunnels were utterly silent, built in the straight and dreary style of the dwarves. Only the occasional appearance of withered bones and armor nearly corroded to ash punctured the dull continuation, telling of the catastrophe of the long past. Ultimately, the bones, the dreariness, the darkness, and the subtle, infernal aura of evil permeating the tunnels, long imbued with the infernal environment, became interlocking chains, entwining the hearts of everyone except Hopper. This only deepened their silence and irritability, their anger rolling through the group like the faint rumble of thunder behind a summer cloud.

"I suspect you didn't escape from the demon's slave camp at all, but were kicked out because your scout skills were so poor that even the demons couldn't stand it." After Brand finished yelling, he muttered in a low voice in dissatisfaction.

"My scout skills can't be worse than your singing skills," the orc said without turning his head as he walked in front. He wasn't bragging, at least when it came to silent movement, the orc was very qualified, and his footsteps made almost no sound.

Hopper saw Frodis curl her lips next to him. Even without the ability to read minds, the succubus could still discern her mood from her subtle expressions. The dragon vein lady seemed to view the noise within the group as a sign of some kind of harmonious relationship.

Two roads forked before them, and Hopper could only see that one led up and the other went straight ahead.

"Well, sir scout, it's time for you to show your skills again." The dwarf patted Carlo's waist (because he couldn't reach his back) and said, "Thank you for helping us explore the way."

The orc said nothing, moved his wrist, stepped onto the upward stairs, and gradually disappeared into the darkness.

Chapter 57: Enemy Attack

Most humans, or rather, most mortals, have a similar habit: when multiple mortals are together and they have nothing to do, they will feel a kind of social pressure to find something to talk about.

As a poet, Brand was clearly under the most pressure. After Carlo left, they stopped at a fork in the road to rest. Within a quarter of an hour, the silence grew unbearable. He glanced around, first ruling out the veiled succubus, who seemed reluctant to speak. Ugo, displaying the usual habit of a traditional orc warrior—always ready for battle, sat down to maintain his hatchet and shield after Carlo's departure. This left only one person to break the silence.

He approached Lady Dragon Vein, who was kneeling beside her preparing for the ceremony, and asked curiously, "Dear Frodis, which god are you praying to?"

The Dragon Vein Lady was untying a small, carved green wooden box strapped to her arm. She didn't rush to answer Brand's question. She simply demurely opened the lid of the wooden box, revealing a roll of blood-red silk. Unfolding the silk, she revealed a finger-length ivory knife, a bone bowl barely thicker than a thumb, and three crystal balls.

"I am praying to Lady Fireborn, the Mother of Civilization," she replied, placing the crystal ball at the apex of a triangle and the bone bowl at its center. Then, she slashed her middle finger with a knife and dripped a small amount of blood into it. "The City of Thousand Rocks has been lost for so long. Restoring its civilization to the world will surely bring a smile to Lady Fireborn's face."

The demon watched her lie with great interest.

As the patron saint of civilization, Lady Fireborn is actually not very picky about the form of dedication. Blood sacrifice is also a part of civilization, and she does accept this method. Some barbaric tribes even hold grand sacrificial ceremonies regularly, killing hundreds of human sacrifices to pray to her.

However, a hidden characteristic of civilization is that it requires at least a plurality of intelligent creatures to coexist. The Fireborn Lady also accepted the religious and educational attributes brought by the blood sacrifice, rather than the flesh and soul offered.

If the civilization of the City of Thousand Rocks could be restored to the world, even if Brand and his companions only brought back a stone tablet engraved with poems and spread them around, Lady Fireborn would still favor them.

The blood sacrifice that Frodis performed alone was more like the demand of some harsh evil god or demon for believers.

However, the dwarf clearly had little experience in religious studies and showed no interest in the Dragon Vein Lady's rituals. He turned to look at the silent succubus. After spending some time with him, he had come to realize that while this succubus was more powerful than any of them, it didn't make any particularly excessive demands, and certainly didn't, as the legend said, suck him dry in the middle of the night.

So, after considering it for a moment, he took the risk and said, "Master Hopper, may I ask a question?"

The demon's noncommittal emboldened him, and he uttered the question that had been lingering in his mind and on the tip of his tongue for a long time: "Why on earth do you insist on taking this risk with us?"

The air was filled with silence. Frodisi stopped praying and Ugo put down his weapon. They both looked at the succubus curiously, waiting for her answer.

"Of course it's to gain the affection of one or more of you," the demon answered without hesitation.

After hearing this answer, the three of them turned their heads back at the same time, convinced that she was making fun of them. This answer was too perfunctory.

"Quiet!"

The succubus suddenly ordered. The dwarf looked over hesitantly. She had already stood up and was facing the fork in the road where Carlo had left. The dwarf swallowed and tightened the string of his crossbow.

After a while, he also heard the sound of running footsteps coming from the dark corridor. The dwarf raised his crossbow, ready to pull the trigger the moment he saw the enemy.

Carlo almost rolled down the last few steps. Before he could say anything, three fiery red rays pierced through the darkness and rushed towards him.

However, standing in the front was a demon. Hopper spread her wings and blocked all the rays without suffering any damage. A crossbow arrow brushed her wings and shot into the passage, making a clang sound on the wall.

As if realizing the flame ray had no effect, three purple starlights lit up in the darkness, and then three beams of purple-white rays burst out. Hopper dodged sideways and glanced at the ground. The ground was deeply scratched by the purple ray.

Is force energy behind the flames? I need some ranged capabilities, but a longbow won't work here.

"Blast the enemies inside out," Hopper ordered Brand as he dodged another round of ray shooting.

The dwarf was stunned for a moment, then reacted, dropped his crossbow, picked up the lute behind him, and took out a white feather from the bag around his waist.

He wrapped the strings with feathers, pulled them higher like a bow, and then suddenly let go.

A huge explosion sounded from deep within the tunnel, sending dust and gravel flying down. Carlo, who was lying on the ground, jumped up in shock.

At this time, the enemy also appeared staggeringly.

The first thing to appear was an eyeball, larger than Hopper's head, staring blankly at all the enemies present. Connected to the back of the eyeball were bundles of colorful nerves, each branching into five at the end, each connected by a soft, brown membrane. It resembled a slippery, floating octopus, propelled by the constant opening and closing of its membranes.

There were three such "octopuses". The explosion from Brand's voice just now made them roll and twist in the air as if they were drunk.

"What the hell did you bring here?" the dwarf poet screamed and kicked Carlo in the butt.

With a "swish", Hopper's sword pierced through the nearest octopus. The eyeball was not as fragile as it looked. The feeling of it piercing into it was more like some tough plant.

The demon swung his sword, and the broken corpse flew out, splashing pus all over Brand's face, and his screams became louder.

Hopper didn't need to attack the remaining two. Ugo, already prepared, slashed at the monster the moment he saw it. What surprised Hopper was the Dragon Vein Lady. When the demon drew his sword, she passed by Hopper like a butterfly, her dagger circling the eyeball and fluttering back before it fell out, without getting any pus on her body.

Carlo pulled the dwarf's beard in revenge, stopping him from shouting.

"What's going on ahead? How did you get involved with these things?" The lust demon kicked the corpse on the ground and asked.

The orc touched his waist with lingering fear. A large part of his cloak was burned, and the waist of his leather armor was also burned black.

"There was a straight road ahead, and there was a small room. I just walked in and was ambushed by this thing," Carlo replied. "I have never seen a monster like this before."

"I haven't seen that either." Frodis squatted down and looked over the body. The remaining nerve bundle was thicker than her neck, requiring both hands to hold it, hanging limply. "Maybe it's some kind of hell specialty."

"It's a Focusing Eye, some kind of beholder-like creature," Brand said, stroking his beard as he came closer. "It's a very rare thing. I've seen some powerful wizards use them as messengers and familiars."

"Are you saying there is another powerful wizard here?" Frodis asked nervously.

"They don't look like monsters controlled by a wizard," Hopper answered. She swung her sword to get rid of the last few drops of ichor. "The Focusing Eye is the sentry and pet of the Eye Demon. I think your concern about a powerful Eye Demon ahead is more practical."

Chapter 58: Cave Entrance

Although Brand prides himself on being a rugged, down-to-earth creature, he is more tolerant and refined than his fellow dwarves who spend their days drinking, mining, and fighting orcs. When most dwarves talk about beauty, they often refer to carvings, architecture, or gleaming weapons.

As a poet, Brand could appreciate the beauty in many things his people didn't understand. Human poetry, dwarf illusions, the majesty of dragons all held their own beauty. But he never imagined he'd find beauty in the bloody chaos of battle, especially when his enemies were a swarm of large-eyed flying polyps.

After killing the three Focusing Eyes that were chasing Carlo, their team traced back to the source. According to Carlo, the upward fork in the road ended in a small hall filled with these things.

Ugo, walking in front, was the first to notice. Almost instinctively, he reached out to stop the dwarf behind him, simultaneously raising his shield in front of him. Bland bent over, peering from under his shield, and saw countless focused pupils hanging upside down from the ceiling, like bunches of ripe grapes about to burst, twitching despite the lack of wind.

Ugo waved back, signaling everyone to retreat the way they came. The ceiling wasn't high, but their squad's main combat force wasn't particularly adept at ranged attacks, let alone facing so many enemies at once. The best strategy was to plan ahead. Caution and cunning were key factors in their ability to survive this bloody battle for so long.

However, it was obvious that Ugo's orc brain had not yet adapted to the fact that there was a new master in the team, and the succubus had no intention of paying attention to his commands.

A soft, cold hand patted Ugo's shoulder, then pushed him forcefully. Facing a succubus that was a head shorter than him and only half his width, he was completely defenseless, and his entire armor was pushed away.

Brand opened his mouth and watched Hopper untie the longbow, draw the long sword from his waist, walk out of the corridor leisurely, and spread his wings easily and comfortably.

Next, the dwarves enjoyed a feast of flesh and blood.

The moment Hopper emerged from the tunnel, nearly all of the focused pupils spotted her, their lenses illuminating with red and purple light. Facing the oncoming barrage, Hopper chose the simplest approach—ramming right into it.

The succubus was extremely resistant to spells, and most of its rays hit Hopper like feathers brushing past. Even if some of them did succeed, the slight pain they caused only made Hopper more excited.

The first round of rays rained down, but they didn't have the chance to fire a second. Facing an enemy dozens to one times their size, the black-winged devil was like a hawk darting into a flock of sparrows. A silvery semicircle swung out from the darkness, scattering the remains of the Focusing Eye and its pus everywhere.

"Don't just stand there, do something!" Hopper even had time to yell at the stunned crowd below.

Brand quickly took out his crossbow, took careful aim, and shot an arrow. However, while the arrow was in flight, his target was cut in half by Hopper's sword.

"Hey!" the dwarf muttered in exasperation. This was the bard's weakness. He had many spells at his disposal, including those that boosted his teammates' morale, confused his enemies' vision, and even sang a healing song to aid injured teammates. But there was no spell that would allow him to effectively kill a group of small monsters from 60 feet away.

"Don't let that female devil look down on you." Another hand patted Ugo's shoulder, and Ms. Frodis came forward. She wanted to push the orc away like Hopper did, but she obviously overestimated her own strength. After pushing twice, she failed to move him, so she had to pat his shoulder to signal him to move aside.

The dwarf looked up at Frodis and felt that Miss Dragon Vein was very different from her usual self. Her face and eyes were full of eager ambition and unwillingness to accept defeat.

The Dragon Vein Lady raised one hand, pointed at the succubus in the center of the enemy, and a powerful dragon language rolled out of her throat.

Her fingertips lit up, and a single spark streaked through the darkness, soaring into the sky like a firefly. Then, it was as if a giant flaming flower suddenly blossomed from bud in the sky. A tremendous roar and scorching air currents became its fragrance. The sudden rise in temperature even singed a few strands of Brand's beard.

A long sword, like a silver pistil, pierced through a sea of ​​orange and yellow. Then, a pair of black wings suddenly spread out, scattering all the flames. Like a goddess born from the flames, Hopper slowly descended, a backdrop of scattered sparks and falling charred bodies.

"Nice fireball," the demon nodded to Lady Dragon Vein. Her voice was cold and calm, as if she had just drunk a sip of tea instead of chopping a group of monsters in two.

Ms. Longmai nodded slightly and accepted the compliment with peace of mind.

"It's so powerful, so dramatic, so expressive," Brand jumped up. "Lady Inspiration is kicking my ass, urging me to write a poem praising today's battle."

"Then you might want to pay close attention to this room. I think Lady Fireborn would prefer you write a travelogue rather than a war song," the succubus pointed at the wall. The dwarf turned to look, initially thinking the succubus was referring to the dwarven-style rune decorations in the room, but then he realized something was wrong.

There were many large holes on the wall. Brand originally thought that they were caused by wall damage or an earthquake, but when he got closer, he completely overturned his conclusion.

"This isn't dwarven craftsmanship!" He walked over and touched the hole. The entire hole was smooth and flat, a perfect circle. It wasn't that Brand thought dwarven craftsmanship couldn't reach this level, but these holes rudely destroyed the orderly and beautiful runes on the wall. No dwarf would allow such blatant destruction of a building.

"It's probably caused by a spell," said Ms. Frodis, who also came over and poked her head in to take a look. "It could be stone shaping or disintegration."

"Disintegration is more likely," the succubus said, looking up at the cave entrance. The hole was large enough for Ugo to walk in with his head held high, without worrying about hitting his head. "Look at this one, it turns vertically upwards. I guess it's a beholder. They can both levitate and use disintegration rays, so they can create a passage of this shape."

"I agree with you, ma'am," Carlo said, leaning forward, though he'd never seen a Beholder before. "Especially considering you just slew so many of its minions, it makes sense that a real Beholder would be here. The battle just now might have alerted more monsters. We'd better leave quickly."

"Now it's up to our dwarf gentleman." The demon turned to Brand, reached out to help him remove a few burnt beards, and scratched his chin with one finger. "I don't understand Dwarven language or runes. Can you show us the way?"

Even though most poets give people the impression of being romantic and suave, it's clear that dwarf girls can't make intimate gestures as freely as the succubus. Hopper's simple touch of his beard made the dwarf feel uncomfortable. He tried his best to break free from the succubus's hand and turned to look at the runes on the wall.

But he soon stopped caring about the grip on his beard. The inscriptions on the walls were mostly decorative reliefs, praising the dwarven gods and offering good wishes, most of which were marred by the abrupt entrance. But right above the doorway they entered, a line of words was spelled out in white marble on the lintel.

"Lower Passage" the dwarf read the words on the door lintel, and then showed an expression of sudden enlightenment. "I know where we are."

"Although each dwarven city has its own unique characteristics, the overall structure is similar," he explained. "I've read records from the time, and in the City of Thousand Rocks, only the main castle has disappeared, but the surrounding buildings are still there. I can't remember exactly which buildings are still there, but the sunken passages often lead outward to the mining area or the outer city. It makes sense for us to come up through this passage."

"The purpose of the sunken passage is to provide quick passage for servants and guards. So the room we are in now should be the guard room." The dwarf explained the structure of dwarven architecture eloquently, while gesturing at the inscriptions on the wall with his hands, looking for relevant evidence to confirm his inference.

Finally, he stopped in front of a collapsed wooden door, its lintel also had a sign inscribed in white marble. The dwarf proudly pointed to the line of text that was obviously much longer than the sign for the sunken passage and said:

"See, I was right. The passage leading to the foyer."

Chapter 59 Fire

As its name suggests, the Thousand Rocks was indeed built among a pile of stalagmites and stalactites. Or more precisely, the dwarven craftsmen connected the stalagmites and stalactites with bricks and rocks, splicing them into a magnificent castle.

"I used to think the Stout Folk, compared to the Dancers Under the Stars, were more interested in the art of processing and addition than in the beauty of nature," Hopper observed, surveying the staircase leading to the foyer. "Do the Longbeards also enjoy becoming one with nature?"

The corridor behind the door spiraled upwards, but it wasn't built of bricks. Instead, it was hollowed out from the inside of a thick stalagmite, allowing the staircase to merge with the stone. This kind of design is common throughout the City of Thousand Rocks. From the straight corridors to the majestic statues, even the intricate railings, they were all directly carved out. The entire castle was a natural creation, as if it had grown from a blueprint rather than being constructed by human hands.