Baator Hell Promotion

The music stopped after a few notes. She looked up and saw Lil standing not far from her, holding the harp in her arms, motionless. Before Lati could complain, another yellow eye lit up, and she flapped her wings and leaped over the stiff Lil.

The ray exploded at their feet. Lati only heard a loud bang, and then the floor beneath her began to tilt. She and Lil, who had not yet recovered, fell from the collapsing floor.

Chapter 65: Combat

"Dear Lati, you really like to appear in ways that others don't expect." When Hopper saw Lati's rare silver-gray skin, he quickly reached out to stop the orc who was holding the hammer high, and laughed loudly.

While Cambions have wings, Lati only has two arms. In her haste, she struggled to hold onto the frozen Lil while dodging the falling masonry. As a result, she didn't even have time to fully unfold her wings before they both crashed into the cabinet. Lati's head hit the wall, and she's still dazed.

Hearing the familiar voice, she forced herself to open her blood-stained eyes. What appeared before her was Hopper's iconic veil and crown. She didn't have time to get up before she hurriedly shouted:

"Enemy attack, beholder-like creatures, at least seven types of rays."

Before he finished speaking, a fierce silver ray fell from the sky and headed straight for Ugo, the largest one.

The orc looked bulky, but he was actually quite fast. He quickly dodged the ray by moving sideways, leaving a smooth groove on the floor.

"Lord Hopper! What's going on?!" the dwarf screamed and hid behind a cupboard, while putting the box of seals into his pocket.

The demon ignored him. She was busy pushing Lati, who had hit her head, and Lil, who was stiff, behind a pillar. There was a big hole in the roof of the treasure room, and a ball about the size of a dwarf was floating down from it.

"Don't just stand there, meet the enemy!" Hopper turned and shouted, patting his quiver and catching the longbow arrow that automatically popped out. The blazing arrow flew towards a pupil suspended next to the sphere.

Hopper's arrow was accurate, but when it hit the eyeball, there was a sharp friction sound of metal intersecting, which made the eyeball tilt and the ray that was about to be shot out lost its aim. A flash of yellow light hit the corner of the ceiling with a huge explosion, and more bricks and stones fell down with a crackling sound.

"We have to get out!" Frodis shouted at the succubus from behind another cupboard. Seeing the golden box sticking out of Hopper's pocket, he froze for a second, then shouted, "It's too small here, and there are too many people. We will become sitting ducks."

Just as she was speaking, another red ray swept towards them. Hopper quickly ducked his head to avoid it. The ray hit a small box, and the box made a croaking sound and turned into a jumping toad.

"Carlo, help us block the view!" Lady Dragon Vein shouted to the other end, "I know you have a way!"

Hopper saw the orc scout behind the pillar waved to indicate that he heard him, but soon another ray forced him back.

"Someone needs to attract attention. I can't come out right now," Carlo shouted from a distance.

"Lil come!" The short Cambion helped Lati walk to the back of the cupboard. She had already come out of her stiffness, but her hands were still tightly holding her harp. Her face, which was usually expressionless, was tense, and she was angry with herself for her disappointing performance.

"Banupus," Lil called softly, placing her hand on the skull harp. Two sparks lit up in the eye sockets of the skull atop the harp. "Open the chapter of resonance."

She seized the moment when the eyeball's rays stopped and raised the harp high. The skeleton let out a barely audible shriek, and Hopper felt a sharp pain in his ears and eyes just listening. The effect was immediate. The sphere that had been continuously emitting rays, and all the eyeballs around it, began to tremble unconsciously, even unable to maintain their flight, and began to float up and down in the air.

Carlo was clearly focused the entire time. As soon as the anomaly occurred, he immediately threw a small ceramic ball at the monster in the air. The ball was shattered by a spinning eyeball, exploding into a thick, black cloud of smoke that hung below the roof, obscuring the upper half of the treasure room.

"Hurry up, the smoke bomb won't last long."

The dwarf was the first to rush out of the house, followed by Ugo and Frodis. Lati's head was still bleeding, but that didn't stop her from grabbing Lil and running after Lady Dragon Vein. Hopper and Carlo brought up the rear, glancing back as they ran to see if the enemy was catching up.

"What is that? It doesn't look like a beholder." Ugo asked immediately after seeing Lati and the others running out. "At least it doesn't look like an ordinary beholder."

"That must be a construct," Lil replied, completely taken aback by Lati. "I tried it upstairs, and it's not affected by Banupus' emotions. I just had Banupus use object resonance to disrupt its movements."

"My Soul Forger!" Hopper heard the dwarf's shrill and terrified voice just as he ran out of the door. He almost rolled and crawled away from Lil and her harp. "Echo of Banupus, are you a elegiac singer? Or do you have any connection with those dead heads in the Finale Orchestra?"

His words made Frodis turn around and take a closer look at Lil, and after seeing the color of her skin beneath the dust, Longmai's face turned ashen.

"you!"

Before she could even "you" come out, she was interrupted by an explosion. The smoke bomb didn't trap the enemy for long before it blew through the wall of the treasure room and flew out. However, it didn't rush to attack directly, but instead flew high in the air, making a flat and emotionless sound.

"Legendary artifact detected, unauthorized possession detected, creator's remains detected, commence the ritual of destruction!"

As soon as the voice stopped, the round iridescent main eye on the sphere turned to the people below who were scattering and looking for cover. All the eyeballs floating around the sphere lit up, and after a moment of silence, they sprayed rays like rain at Hopper and the others.

"Ah!" Perhaps because of the smoke bomb, the enemy had taken extra care of Carlo. The orc dodged two dangerous rays with his agility, but the third ray had already blocked his escape route, hitting him squarely in the back and causing him to stumble.

The orc screamed and hesitantly touched himself, feeling no pain at all. He almost thought it was an illusion. Then, before anyone had time to hesitate, his entire body became illusory and vague, disappearing like a block of salt dissolving in water.

"Carlo has been expelled," Frodis, who was following Carlo, shouted, "Be especially careful of the purple rays."

After the first burst, the large ball quieted down. Hopper had already figured out a preliminary battle plan behind the cover. She nodded at Latinu, who saw the orc holding a two-handed hammer not far away, nodded, and ran over.

The succubus knew that Lati must have understood what he meant, but she couldn't attack head-on with the beam. Even if Lil still had the energy to use the harp once more, she was too far away. Now he was the only one who could create a chance for Lati.

Constructs are one of the most hated enemies of the succubus. They are difficult to be affected by magic, and their armor is enough to block most arrows. Combat with a ball of steel in close combat is almost suicidal.

Hopper couldn't help but lament her good fortune. Her new quiver contained a bag of arrows. Perhaps it was the Queen's collecting habit, as the arrowheads were quite varied, including a few that could harm constructs. She reached into the quiver, pulled out an adamantine arrow, and sandwiched it between two ordinary arrows. She nimbly rolled out from behind the throne and simultaneously fired three arrows at the still-charging sphere.

As she expected, this construct's combat prowess must have been quite high. It immediately spotted the hidden arrow, stopped charging, and floated to the side to avoid danger. At that moment, a burst of purple light erupted above it, and two towering figures appeared, slamming down with the force of gravity.

Ugo swung his hammer with both hands, the hammerhead tracing a perfect arc through the air, striking the sphere's central eye. With a teeth-grinding metallic clang and a violent explosion, the eye completely shattered. A multicolored cone of light, accompanied by a shower of metal fragments, erupted from the shattered eye, striking the falling orc squarely.

The orc let out a half-yell of pain, and just as Hopper had time to fly up, he was teleported away like Carlo.

At the same time, Lati's rapier pierced into the seam of the ball at a very tricky angle. With a flick of Cambion's wrist, a large piece of armor was removed.

Without its primary eye, the sphere lost its area-of-effect attack capabilities, making it difficult to hit a flying target in the vast expanse of the hall. Beside it, Lati, like a nimble bee, repeatedly attempted to sting the beetle with her stinger. With Hopper's remote support, she even managed to pierce the secondary eye that fired the repelling ray.

The sphere is not a stupid machine that sits there and waits for death. It mobilizes all its usable eyeballs, and the six rays interweave into a colorful and deadly net.

Lati didn't dodge or evade, but grasped the pendant on her chest, purple light seeping out from between her fingers. The ray only had time to pass harmlessly through her afterimage.

"Thanks to Brother Lil's pendant," Lati, who had teleported away from the beam, patted her chest. The amethyst key bounced twice. "It's a shame it needs to slowly build up mana. We can't mount a second raid like this."

Chapter 66 Dispute

The ball seemed to have learned its lesson from the previous battle. As soon as it found that Lati had disappeared, it immediately increased its altitude and broke away from the contact.

Hopper stretched out her hand to measure the distance; it was simply too far. The silver-gray metal sphere, which should have been nearly as tall as her, was now a mere fingernail-sized dot in her field of vision. While demons could see in the dark, that didn't mean it wouldn't affect them at this distance. Hopper and the sphere exchanged several rounds of fire, each easily dodging the other's attacks.

The succubus searched his quiver again and again. Apparently, while the Queen's arrow collection boasted a dazzling array of materials, they were all ordinary arrows, not magical, tracking arrows. Hopper secretly resolved to find a way to acquire a pot of tracking arrows upon his return to Torchhold, just in case.

"It seems it's unwilling to come over," Brand came over and said, looking a little disheveled, with a section of his beard singed by the radiation. "What should we do now?"

"Is your mission to come to the City of Thousand Rocks to duel a mindless construct?" Hopper asked casually, finally giving up on finding magic arrows in his quiver. "Since it's not coming, why don't we just leave?"

"Through the main gate?" the dwarf asked. Everyone looked toward the throne room's doors. The invading enemy must have used some violent means to break through them, as the two oak doors now hung precariously on their hinges, as if they had been blasted open by a battering ram from the outside.

However, there was a problem: they were already in the last shelter, and from here to the door was a straight road with no cover. And looking out from the gap in the door, they could only see an equally empty balcony.

"I don't feel safe," Brand said hesitantly. He was a poet, and his role in the battle against the constructs was even smaller than that of a succubus. After all, his piano-playing fingers couldn't pull a composite longbow.

There was another unspoken reason. The dwarf stole a glance at the harp in Lil's hand. It was too dangerous to act with the owner of Banupus.

"I have a way." Frodis, who had been silent all this time, took the initiative to speak. When she spoke, she stared at Hopper - or rather, at the gold box in her pocket. "But I need to use the things in that box."

"Oh~" Hopper drawled out, relieved by Lady Dragon Vein's reaction. She was trying her best to appear nonchalant, but the succubus could hear the hint of anxiety hidden in her tone. "You're still not out of danger, and you want a share of the spoils?"

"Lord Hopper, I think we should let Frodis give it a try, just in case it works~" The dwarf was stunned for a moment and tried to mediate. He hadn't expected this to happen. With such a powerful enemy in the face, these two women (although neither of them were human) were fighting over Queen Shirley's dressing box?

"What if I say no?" The succubus's words choked the poor dwarf. He didn't expect her to refuse so bluntly.

"That's what I deserve," said Lady Longmai, unable to contain her anger. Even in the darkness, her pupils flashed a bright green, her beautiful face twisted and ferocious with anger. "One for each of us, as agreed!"

"What?" The Devil only responded with a sneer, "Is your name written on it?"

Brand didn't understand why she was so angry, and he didn't know why the usually calm succubus would want to provoke her. He could only try to persuade his teammates: "Flotis, we can..."

Before he could finish his words, Lati grew impatient. For a lowly creature to attempt to negotiate peace with the devil was more than an offense; it was a humiliation.

The dwarf's words were still in his throat when he felt his neck tighten. The tall Kambion grabbed his collar and threw him far away.

Hopper chuckled, ignoring the dwarf's screams. Turning around, he saw the orb high above him had already noticed them. It must have immediately sensed their attempt to leave through the gate. The orb didn't even bother with the dwarf, instead flying at top speed toward the gate and firing a blast beam at the lintel.

"There are too many intruders to intercept, increase power"

The sphere stopped in front of the gate. Its main eye began to spin rapidly, and its six smaller eyes lit up simultaneously. Instead of six rays, twelve beams flew towards everyone.

The dwarf closest to the sphere screamed and doubled over, and a green spherical shield immediately rose above him. The ray only caused harmless ripples on it.

As the tallest enemy present and the one that posed the greatest danger to the sphere, Lati received the most care, while Lil and Frodis faced much less pressure.

Yet, at that moment, Lady Dragon Vein faced the three incoming rays without dodging or evading them. Just before they struck her, she placed her right hand over her chest. The golden rune that had summoned the sunlight shone brightly once more, and a rainbow-like, four-sided crystal enveloped her. All the rays were deflected directly away from her, striking the three demons present.

"What?!" Hopper had just dodged two rays when she heard Lati's muffled groan. Turning around, she saw Frodis deflect all the rays, and before she could even dodge, she was hit in the thigh. Her legs went numb, and she collapsed to the ground, exhausted. The gold box in her pocket tumbled out.

The blinding light forced the succubus to raise its head. The sphere had spun into a white-hot afterimage, emitting a hissing, whistling sound. All its eyeballs flickered ominously with arcing electricity. Hopper didn't know what it intended, but she had to stop it. The spell had already weakened the Dragon Vein Lady to her knees. Lati and Lil collapsed unconscious, and the dwarf huddled motionless beneath his protective shield.

Hopper's stern face was filled with cruelty. Her arms were so weak due to magic that she couldn't even lift them, let alone draw the bow.

I can slip away from the Lantern Master and the Ice Demon, but a bunch of beholder machines can't possibly do anything to me.

The demon used up his last bit of strength to tear off the pendant on his chest, raised it high and shouted the key word: "Zetua"

The black pearl on the locket lit up, and the lid suddenly flipped open, releasing a powerful jet of emerald green light that shot out, piercing the trembling white ball of light. It propelled it through the door and onto the balcony, where it exploded in mid-air with a deafening roar. The fire made her squint, and the shockwave sent her veil and long hair flying.

The explosion lasted only a moment, but the afterimage left by the flames lingered in her eyes for a long time. It took Hopper a while to adapt to the darkness around her.

However, the moment her vision returned, she realized she was in a dire situation. Both Lati and Lil had been hit by the ray and were unconscious. But Frodis and Brand were unharmed. The former had drawn a dagger from his boot and was holding it to Lil's neck.

"Give me the box, or I'll kill her," Lady Dragon Vein's eyes were bloodshot as she fiercely directed at the succubus. But her hands were shaking unconsciously—the spell that had just deflected all the rays to others hadn't been without cost.

"Flora, we don't have to do this." The dwarf stayed in the protective shield, his voice trembling, and was still trying to mediate.

"You stupid dwarf, look at her skin, look at her harp!" Lady Dragon Vein's rage grew. She rubbed Lil's face vigorously, revealing his blue skin beneath the dust. "Have you forgotten the omen dream? She is the omen Lady Yongjin warned us about, the devil who will kill us!"

The dwarf's eyes widened as he glanced at the unconscious Lil with sudden realization, clearly believing Frodis's words completely. He pulled the golden box from his arms. While everyone else was focused on the enemy, he had secretly taken the box from under the protective shield.

"If I were you, I wouldn't be so sure that this was a sign from Ms. Yongjin." The succubus still couldn't feel her legs, but she didn't care. Her tone was sarcastic and arrogant. "Why don't you ask her how to use the box?"

Author's Note: Premonition Dream, Chapter 55

Chapter 67: Spiritual Contract

"It's truly magnificent," Danya exclaimed, looking up at the palace surrounded by towering columns. Walking within such a vast palace, she felt a sense of insignificance and inferiority.

The entire hall looked like it had been the site of a brutal battle, with corpses, burn marks, and huge knife wounds scattered everywhere. However, these marks made the succubus feel that it was even more beautiful - a tragic beauty of a perfect thing being torn apart, and the brokenness gave them room for fantasy of perfection.

As if a commentary on the tragedy of the Dwarven Hall, a giant beast clad in steel armor sat in the center of the hall, a massive gate made of bone rising from its embrace. As they approached, they discovered that a tusk had been lodged in the dragon's head, as big as a camel, nestled on the steps of the gate. Its dark black scales shone a psychedelic purple halo in the light ball held by Lexi, casting a particularly mysterious shimmer over the entire gate.

"Who would have thought there was a portal here?" Danya touched the bone gate. "Who built it? I'm afraid all this history has long been buried in the dust."

"The gate was built by the last ruler here. Her name was Shirley or something," Vera answered casually. She was more interested in the giant fang on the dragon's forehead. "She wanted to use the remains of a god-demon in exchange for summoning demons from the Ash Plains to serve her. But the one who answered the call and passed through the portal was a purple dragon called 'Dusk'. This dragon killed every living thing in the castle overnight."

"This must be Twilight, so why did she die here?"

"Because she overestimated her own abilities," Vera replied with little interest. "She devoured the remains of the evil god but couldn't digest them. The overwhelming power drove her mad, causing her to curse the five-colored dragon. The Dragon Queen dragged her and the entire castle into Avernus. Now she is both the jailer and the sole prisoner of this shabby place."

"You're amazing, Vera," the black-haired succubus exclaimed, "I didn't even know this castle existed, let alone its origins."

"It's nothing," Vera said, accepting the compliment calmly. With a casual wave of her hand, the bare frame of the Bone Gate shimmered like water, and the scenery within gradually became clear, revealing the Torchhold slowly circling the mountain. "When you reach my level one day, you'll also be exposed to knowledge beyond the reach of ordinary devils. Trials? To me, they're just tests filled in with answers."

"If this place was dragged down by the Five-Colored Dragon Queen, then why is there a portal to Torchhold here?" Lexi quickly discovered the mystery. "I think you have the answer, dear Vera."

"Oh, please, Lexi. Don't ask me that." But the silver-haired succubus's expression was full of 'good question.' "The location of the portal was decided by Professor Biguan, and the spell was cast by Qiannianchang. Do you think Old Biguan has a channel of communication with the Five-Colored Dragons? You don't think the nobles will let Lady Harsh have absolute control in Emberhold, do you?"

Vera was about to continue speaking excitedly when her long, elf-like ears twitched and she looked up at the balcony on the second floor of the hall. A moment later, a ball of white light was propelled out from there by a green beam of light, exploding into a brilliant flame above their heads.

"It seems our Miss Veil has run into some serious trouble." Vera's expression turned contemptuous. She snorted. Ever since the last conflict in the rain, she had grown disgusted with Hopper. "Let's go. I can go back and claim the crown I deserve."

"How do you know that's Hopper up there?" Lacy asked with interest, standing with her looking up at the sky.

The silver-haired demon pointed at his long ears and said, "My ears are very good. I just heard her voice."

"Hopper is quite strong," Lacy smiled sweetly at her. "Although first place is definitely yours, she probably won't be far behind us. She was punished with you during the last combat test, but she did well in the combat class as well."

More than good, Lacy thought, even two points higher than Vera.

The silver-haired succubus raised an eyebrow and smiled back at Lexi.

"Since Miss Hopper is very strong, then adding some difficulty to her will not affect her."

-

"Box? What does this have to do with the box? Why do you all care so much about this box?" asked the dwarf puzzledly.

"Brand! Don't listen to her!" Lady Dragon's nostrils opened and closed unnaturally. Hopper could almost taste her nervousness and panic. "She's a succubus. She'll use magic to mess with your mind!"

I tasted the tingling panic that felt like an electric shock.

"I believe you can feel whether I am controlling you with magic." The succubus sat on the ground, not nervous at all. Things were developing in the direction she liked best.

"Think about it. He attacked his allies during battle and then took innocent people hostage afterward." Hopper's voice was like the hissing of a snake. "Could Ms. Yongjin possibly have a dream for such a treacherous person?"

"No, Brand, don't let her poison you." Frodis didn't care about Lil in her hand and cried to the dwarf in tears, "We have been on this adventure together. I have never harmed you."

Oh, my little friend, lies are the forerunners of misunderstanding.

"Yes, I can't trust you, Miss Devil." Brand was silent for a moment, then said, "Flora and we have been on quite a long adventure and have always helped me selflessly. But you are a devil, and I will not choose to trust you."

"Of course I believe you have your own judgment in your heart, poet. Now that Longmai and I have lost our combat effectiveness, your judgment can decide life and death. But is it selfless~" Hopper said, then she turned to Frodis, who looked relieved, and threw out the bomb she had prepared long ago.

"Miss Frodis, can you please explain to me how you summoned the sunlight?"