Baator Hell Promotion

The deer eagle's screams were deafening. The flat-haired beast was stiff all over, with its feet facing the sky, and was trembling in pain.

"The Great Chief wants you to explain last night's actions, and he heard that a warrior defeated the human paladin, and he wants to meet him as soon as possible." The demon-born orc spoke quickly, fearing that the deer eagle would die before he finished speaking.

"It seems that the old fox, Daluk, had already guessed that this so-called Great Chief would want to see me," Hopper thought. "No wonder he asked me to follow him alone."

Daluk nodded, and the stag-eagle stopped screaming at his tiny gesture. The old orc said briefly, "I understand. I'll go see Kolog. You can go now."

The demonic orcs seemed to have been pardoned, and their arrogance immediately disappeared. They quickly mounted their deer eagles, which had not yet fully recovered, and disappeared on the mountain road.

Daruk did not go to see Kolog immediately. He returned to his room, arranged work for the guards, had lunch, and even took a short nap before having Captain Grayskin bring two hippogriffs, who took off carrying a special wicker basket.

The orcs' craftsmanship in making their vehicles was crude, and the two hippogriffs showed no regard for the feelings of the passengers in the basket. As they climbed higher, the mountain wind grew stronger, and the entire basket swayed like a pendulum in the whistling sound.

"Cook, cook!" Hopper clutched the basket tightly, afraid that he would fall, and almost missed Daluk's whisper, "You behaved very well. The one-eyed god must have been watching your actions last night."

The old orc wrapped his cloak tightly around himself, shielding himself from the plummeting temperature. He gazed at a place higher than the mountaintops, the clouds, and the sky itself, practically muttering to himself, "You must respect Kolog. To prevent you from offending our warchief, I will answer his questions on your behalf later."

Hopper looked at him, unsure if the old orc's words had any deeper meaning, but she knew that speaking less would always reduce the risk of being exposed. She lowered her voice and muttered, "As you command, Daluk."

A real eagle's nest is actually very small.

This was Hopper's first impression upon landing. She had heard of this renowned orc fortress more than once in Emerald Harbor. But upon arriving in person, she discovered that Eagle's Nest was little more than a substantial, semi-subterranean stone fortress. Attached to the mountain, it overlooked the valley below, dotted with orc tribes.

Daluk and his party landed on a platform carved out from the base of the Eagle's Nest. All visitors to the Eagle's Nest had to be inspected by the guards on the platform, and there were only two ways to reach the platform: either fly up like Daluk did, or climb a cliff at least three hundred feet high.

Hopper secretly estimated that if there was no entire air force passing from above, just placing ten orcs on the platform would be enough to make the thousands of troops return empty-handed.

Seeing them land, the orc guards on the platform moved in an orderly manner. Whether they were leading the hippogriffs, guiding the way, or the guards who came forward to inspect, they were all tall orcs wearing the same fine steel armor and had dark yellow skin.

As they approached, Hopper's pendant responded to each guard, and the sound of frogs croaking in her ears continued. Hopper looked at the yellow-skinned orcs calmly, and noticed with her sharp eyes that the hatchets at their waists were reflecting a faint light in the sunlight - all of them were magical weapons.

"Even the guards of House Westerling can't each have a magic weapon. Where does the chief of Eagle's Nest get so much money to equip all his guards with magic weapons?" Hopper pondered this question all the way, trying to figure out how the frog calls were connected to the orcs. Could it be that the chief, whom he had never met, was selling tickets to the Bloated Demon Exhibition?

It wasn't until the light faded that she realized she had followed Daluk into the fortress. Once inside, the cold wind that had been raging off the cliffs instantly subsided, replaced by a sweltering, stagnant air and the stench of orcs. They followed the guards leading the way for a short distance before turning into a circular hall.

The hall retained the style of the orc nomadic era, with almost no decoration. In the center of the hall burned a large bonfire, the flames almost licking the stone roof, making the whole room even more stuffy.

In the farthest part of the room from the campfire, on a platform made of stones and skulls, stood a throne covered with animal skin. Judging from the reflection of the scales on the skin, Hopper guessed that it should be the skin of an adult dragon beast or a young dragon.

An orc, almost as tall as an ogre, sat lazily on the throne. A horrible scar ran across his left eye, nose and mouth, making him look even more ferocious.

"Daluk, you're late." The orc's voice sounded much younger than his appearance. He casually tossed the half-eaten black arm in his hand, sat up straight, and stared at the old orc.

Daluk didn't use the same force he had used on Orhan. He saluted by lightly pounding his chest with his fist before slowly speaking, "Great Chief Kolog, I'm already too old and will soon have to meet the Flesh Pot Witch Mother. There's really no need to rush to see me."

Chapter 135 The Power of the Chief

Korog rose from his throne, stepped down from the dais, and stood firmly before Daluk. His massive frame cast a shadow that completely enveloped Daluk. Compared to the old orc, Korog seemed even taller and more imposing.

The chief's one-eyed gaze fixed on Daluk, his hands pressing heavily on his shoulders. He spoke solemnly, "Respected Daluk, I mean no disrespect to our Witch Mother. But I hope you will remember that the strength of the Eagle's Nest stems from my rule. And my orders should be obeyed by all One-Eyed Sons. Your acts of plundering humans not only undermine my plans, but also test my patience."

By orc standards, Kolog's tone and wording were extremely gentle, and it couldn't even be called a rebuke.

Daluk was unconvinced by his attitude. The old orc sighed helplessly and said, "Fearless Korog, I understand your belief in the power of obedience under the new order. But I also hope you understand that tradition cannot be abolished. The majesty of the One-Eyed Father can only be demonstrated through the blood of the Unfanged. No matter how many weapons and treasures there are, they are merely means of sacrifice, and are far less pleasing to the One-Eyed God than rivers of blood."

Hopper listened with her head lowered, sensing something unusual. Korog was restricting the orcs' raiding? This completely contradicted everything she had heard and experienced since arriving in Emerald Harbor. If what Korog said was true, then were all those human refugees who had appeared in the past few months fake? Not to mention the halflings who had already left their homeland.

"Moreover," Daluk's tone became increasingly firm, "you have been too deeply influenced by the weak Orcs. Listen, you are even using the Orcs' name for yourself—human. I am very worried whether you will call yourself an Orc in the future!"

The expression on Korog's face was unfathomable. Hopper had never imagined seeing such a shadow of scheming in the face of an orc known for his foolishness and recklessness. The chieftain released Daluk and turned abruptly, clearly unwilling to continue the conversation. Instead, he issued a direct order: "Dalluk of the Evil Eye Clan, you must not leave the mountain until the first snow falls. This is your punishment for disobeying the chieftain's orders."

"And," the chieftain imitated Daluk's tone, "the world is changing, Daluk. Use your eyes to see and your ears to hear, instead of staying locked up in the auditorium every day and indulging in illusions of the future. Look, even you have learned the language of the Wu Liao people. I have the honor of hearing that your human language is more standard than that of all the One-Eyed Sons."

Daluk's body shook, as if what came out of the chief's mouth was not words, but a heavy punch coming towards him.

"The business is done." Seeing that Daluk was speechless, Kolog decided to stop and decisively ended the topic.

The massive chief's expression instantly softened. He sat back on his throne and roared. A small group of burly female human slaves, carrying food and drinks, hurried over from the back of the hall.

"Eat, Daluk, drink, my friend." Kolog lazily leaned on the throne and raised his glass to Daluk, who was still immersed in his own thoughts. His tone was much warmer. "Consider it a tribute to the hardships we have experienced together in the past."

Daluk casually sat down on the chair, took the animal horn cup from the slave, raised it perfunctorily to Kolog, and then gestured for his personal guards and Hopper to sit down as well.

"You captured a golden-armored paladin yesterday." The chief used a declarative sentence, his only remaining eye staring at the old orc over the top of his wine glass.

The old orc still looked disheartened. He did not respond to Kolog's words. Instead, he slapped the slave girl next to him, knocking her to the ground.

"The wine is cold," he said, but his voice was colder than the wine, and the slave girl shivered on the floor. Daluk wiped his wine-soaked feet on her face and used her as a footstool.

Hopper discovered that Daruk liked to humiliate his master by getting angry at his possessions, which was indeed quite similar to the behavior of some nobles in the southern continent.

"I thought you would be more concerned about whether I was injured, my friend." The old orc looked at Kolog coldly. "Yes, a servant of the golden-armored man was indeed captured. It was this warrior beside me who personally defeated the paladin you mentioned."

Kolog finally took his eyes off Daruk. He stood up again from the throne, walked up to Hopper, and looked at him inquiringly.

"Your title, warrior"

"Captain Kolog, I'm Centurion Cook Cook." Hopper quickly stood up and saluted by beating his chest, imitating the orcs he had seen before.

"Excellent!" Krog grinned, his scarred face distorted even further. "I never thought a centurion could defeat a paladin of the Golden Armored Man alone."

Daluk also stood up and said dryly, "Great Chief, this is the favor of the One-Eyed God. When Kuk Kuk defeated the paladin, he didn't use any magical weapons. If it weren't for the Father God's watchful eye, how could he have captured the enemy alive and unharmed?"

The chieftain didn't get angry at the old orc's casual interruption. He held out the remaining arm he had just eaten to Hopper and said, "In that case, according to tradition, I will buy this slave from you."

Hopper stared blankly at the dark arm. At first, she thought it was burnt, but when she looked closer, she found that the arm was raw and the black color came from its natural skin - it was actually a dark elf's arm.

What was going on? Aren't the orcs of Aerie all mountain orcs? Why would they attack the dark elves of the Underdark? Hopper's mind was filled with questions. But then she remembered that the orcs' magic weapons and the dark elves' shackles could trigger the pendant's reaction. What was the relationship between the orcs, the dark elves, and the bloat demons?

"Take it, Kuk-Kuk," Daluk said sarcastically. "Even if you don't want to sell it, our chief will still 'order' you to sell it."

Hopper grabbed his arm, bared his fangs, and spit out a mix of orcish and spit: "Kukukuk, thank you for the reward, Chief!"

"Indeed. If you refuse, I have other options." The Great Chief turned and walked towards the throne, openly acknowledging Daluk's suspicions. "According to the traditions Daluk most fervently upholds, the Chief has the right to choose the spoils first. If you were the Chief, you would be able to do the same."

"I will send the paladin to the Eagle's Nest as soon as possible." The old orc smiled slyly, as if he had anticipated Korog's reaction. "Since our warchief has exercised his right and selected the spoils, I will dedicate the remaining unforged people to the gods."

Wait! Hopper almost jumped up, fully expecting the chief to stop this out of greed or some other reason. What a joke! If Judith was sacrificed, her soul would belong to the orc god, and her investment would be wasted!

Fortunately, the chieftain didn't disappoint Hopper. Kolog looked back at the old orc with a cold expression and warned, "Impossible! You know my rules. I won't allow you to destroy the bridge I worked so hard to build..."

These words touched a sore spot for Daluk, and the old orc suddenly stood up and confronted the chief head-on for the first time.

"You didn't have to preside over the ceremony, but that doesn't stop you from licking the soles of your new allies' shoes," he growled, a cold, bloody power emanating from him. The chieftain took a step back, his expression solemn. Even the bonfire in the hall was affected, shrinking from a blazing flame to a dark red ember.

"You have gone too far, Kolog. The Unfanged are our blood and sacrifice, and this will not change now or in the future. I will not allow you to stop the warriors of the entire Eagle's Nest from pledging their loyalty to the One-Eyed Father. When the Black Moon rises, I will offer the hearts and eyes of the Unfanged as a sacrifice to the One-Eyed Father and each of his servants. You can try to stop me."

After that, he threw his cloak and left the hall with Hopper and Captain Grayskin in a menacing manner.

Chapter 136 A Corner of the Mist

The nights in Eagle's Nest were dark yet restful. For the orcs with night vision, being free from the glaring sunlight actually made them more energetic.

Hopper waited quietly in the pitch-black tent. Her thoughts raced through the day's events. Only when she returned to the tent and reflected on them did she realize that even the elite soldiers of the Eagle's Nest could trigger the pendant's warning, yet when the Great Chieftain himself stood before her, the pendant showed no sign of responding.

Could it be that the orcs themselves are not related to the bloat demons, but something else?

The succubus turned over and tried hard to ignore the noise coming from the valley. The lively roars kept disturbing her thoughts.

As a centurion, Kukkuk had his own small tent. The camp where the tent was located was not far from the first outpost. In the afternoon, after Daluk angrily led them away, he returned to his own residence without assigning any work to Kukkuk.

Fortunately, Hopper was a succubus, and with a charm spell and some simple guidance, a passing female orc took the initiative to lead her to Kuk Kuk's camp. In fact, she was so proactive that she took off the hide faster than Hopper could remove the spell.

Hopper had to work hard to persuade the female orc who was hugging him to leave. However, as night fell, the orcs, lacking entertainment, began to collectively engage in endless "sowing and farming". The roars that came one after another penetrated the tent, making it difficult for Hopper to calm down and think.

Hopper sat up suddenly, pulled out her own shadow cloak from her drawstring pocket and put it on. The orcs' collective amusement gave her an idea. Since they were all busy, she might as well take the opportunity to look for clues.

Lady Red Moon was on duty again tonight. Hopper stood in the cool night air, surveying the valley. While searching for her tent that afternoon, she had already extracted information from the orc woman, revealing the approximate location of the buildings in the valley.

Overall, the valley below the Eagle's Nest formed an irregular funnel shape, with winding paths winding down the walls, connecting the various clan settlements. The weaker the clan, the closer its settlement was to the bottom of the funnel. At the deepest point of the funnel lay what Captain Grayskin called the "deep pit"—a garbage dump, a prison, and a burial ground.

However, Hopper had no immediate interest in the pit. The next Black Moon night was still quite a while away, so Edim and Judith could wait. She was more interested in another place the orc had mentioned.

"You mean my spear? Of course it's sharp. It's a weapon recently produced by the Black Forge, and it hasn't seen blood yet." The female orc stroked the spear shaft as if it were her lover, then turned her gaze back to Hopper. "Kukukuk, I've heard that you defeated the Paladin of the Unfanged People. I'm sure your spear must be even sharper. I really want to see it for myself."

The Black Furnace is also located in the low-lying part of the valley, or rather, it is itself a huge cave. A turbid stream flows into the cave and then disappears into the mountain.

Obviously, as an arsenal, the Black Forge was the most heavily guarded location in the entire valley. Groups of orcs patrolled along fixed routes, constantly preventing any outsiders from entering.

The pungent smell of sulfur filled the cave entrance, and the orc patrolmen's nostrils twitched constantly—they relied on their sense of smell to compensate for their night vision blind spots. Hopper held his breath, pressing himself against the rock face. While his shadowy cloak distorted light, it wasn't completely invisible. Fortunately, the orcs hadn't expected any outsiders to spy on the Black Forge. Hopper successfully used shadows and corners to avoid danger from all the guards.

After flowing into the cave entrance, the stream quickly fell, forming a stepped waterfall that crashed against the stone walls, creating a deafening roar. Even louder than the sound of the water was the sound of hammers striking metal. The deafening sound of hammering echoed throughout the cave, completely drowning out the sound of the iron-soled boots of the orc patrolmen marching in formation.

The path to the furnace's base was a narrow staircase, lit by the fire, casting no shadows. Hopper didn't want to risk his cloak concealing him on the brightly lit steps, so he went around the side of the rock face and peered down.

dwarf.

Despite being dozens of feet away, Hopper recognized the dwarves instantly, their nearly equal length and width, and their striking long beards. Nearly twenty dwarves, their faces covered in soot and nearly naked, were sweating profusely as they hammered at the red-hot metal. Their necks and ankles were shackled with heavy black shackles. Working alongside the dwarves were twice as many green-skinned goblins. Above these artisans, orc overseers, whips and blades in hand, watched closely, ready to offer some "persuasion" to any lazy slaves.

"Oh wow, it seems I found the missing masters of Fort Galena."

The sudden croaking of frogs scared the succubus so much that she almost jumped up. She looked around hurriedly, looking for the source that triggered the pendant's alarm.

Two orcs were outside the cave, pushing a straw-covered cart in. Hopper quickly crouched in a hollow in the rock wall to avoid being hit. As the cart approached, the croaking of frogs grew louder.

Hopper stared at the two orcs as they pushed a cart to the stairs and carried a straw-covered barrel onto a crude, simple lift. As the lift slowly descended, the croaking of frogs gradually subsided—apparently, something in the box had triggered the pendant.

The orcs transporting the goods opened the lid of the barrel, revealing half a box of black metal ingots. Even under the red firelight, they still emitted a faint green light. The orcs exchanged a few words with the largest overseer and then left. Unfortunately, the surroundings were too noisy, and Hopper couldn't hear anything clearly.

After finally finding a clue, Hopper didn't care about being exposed and quickly followed the two orcs pushing the cart away. However, to her disappointment, as soon as she left the cave, she saw a hippogriff grab the orcs and their cart and fly away.

The succubus bit her lip, her expression changing several times before she finally gave up on the idea of ​​returning to her original form and chasing after him. The sky was cloudless tonight, and there were no trees nearby to offer cover. Orcs had excellent night vision, so her cloak couldn't conceal her form in the empty air.

Hopper didn't return to the Black Forge. While the glowing metal ingots were certainly important clues, she had already identified her goal. She only needed to return before leaving; there was no need to retrieve the ingots now. After all, there were so many guards inside that missing the ingots would surely lead to discovery.

The orcs' physical strength was truly astonishing. They roared almost until the red moon set in the west, and then gradually quieted down.

Hopper went around several camps and verified his hypothesis. All the orcs who could cause frog croaking had one thing in common—they all possessed magical weapons.

Although it was a pity that he failed to track down the trail, the information obtained tonight was enough to tie a few key knots in the web of clues in Hopper's mind.

Hopper didn't know how the bloat demons imbued metal with magical powers, but since these weapons were related to the lower planes, this also explained the many doubts that arose after Aaron was injured. The power from the lower planes not only made the weapons sharper, but also made the knight's wounds difficult to heal.

Such evil magic would naturally be purified by divine power such as holy water. As for why his pendant did not react to the wound, Hopper guessed that it was probably because the residual power in the wound was too weak, making it impossible for the pendant to detect it.

But how did the bloat demon get here? How did the orcs know how to use it? How did a low-level devil enchant so many weapons? It seems that the dark elves' iron shackles are also forged here. Could it be that the nobles of Emerald Harbor have also made peace with their great enemy?

As the mystery unfolded, more questions arose. Like a fog blown away by the wind, the looming behemoth within became even more daunting. Hopper began to feel as if his mission was drifting further and further from his vacation.

She returned to her tent while thinking about these questions, only to see an orc who shouldn't be there.

Daluk heard him pull open the curtain and turned. A bloodshot eye sprouted from the hollow left eye socket of the rune skull in his hand. Now, all three eyes were fixed on Kuk Kuk.

Oh, crap, Hopper thought to himself.

Chapter 137 Conspiracy

Hopper placed his hand on his chest, seemingly saluting, but in fact he was using the cover of his cloak to touch the drawstring pocket on his chest.

"Daluk, I greet you. What can I do for you at this late hour?"

"I won't beat around the bush," the old orc said, sitting on the ground, his eyes gleaming in the darkness. "You are not Kuk Kuk."

Hopper raised an eyebrow and asked, "I'm not really. Why? Do you want revenge?"

Daluk laughed, tapped the skull in his hand, and said, "The all-knowing Leyashal revealed your true form to me last night. If I had intended to harm you, I would not have come alone."

The succubus remembered the name of the Daluk clan - the Evil Eye, and suddenly realized: "You are a shaman of the Hollow Witch. No wonder you can see through my disguise."

"I prefer to call my Lord the Daughter of Foresight," the old orc corrected. "My Lord is the one who sees the farthest among the true gods. She has given me the power to see through all illusions."

"Then I'm a little confused." Hopper didn't let down his guard because of his words. "Since you already know I'm an imposter, why did you allow me to sneak into the team?"

"It's simple," Daluk's eyes were as sharp as a knife. "I also want to know, why would a powerful creature like you sneak in?"

"What's your answer?"

"Isn't that where you're going tonight your purpose?"

The lust demon stared at the old orc for a long time, and after a long time, both of them smiled knowingly.

"Let's talk business," Hopper said, relaxing his body and sitting down opposite the old orc. "I think we both have something we need from each other."

Daluk nodded in satisfaction. He raised his palm and snapped his fingers, and the copper basin in the corner flew over. Clear water gushed out of the basin continuously until it reached the critical point of overflowing.

The shaman thrust his filthy fingers into the skull's eye sockets, picking and prodding. The skull screamed and clattered its teeth, like a living creature stabbed in the eye. Finally, with a sickening sound of a cork being pulled out, the shaman forcibly yanked the skull's eyeballs out.

"Let me talk about the reward and requirements first?" The old orc pinched his eyeballs and hung above the basin, asking Hopper politely.

After receiving a positive response, he immediately spoke: "In return, I can tell you everything about Hell Iron. And all I ask is that you take those humans away."

"Take those humans away?" Hopper asked in surprise. "I thought you would ask me to protect you while you perform the ceremony. When did the people of the One-Eyed God ever feel compassion for humans?"