Hell Contract

"The demons subordinate to the Bael forces should force specific Imperial Citizen to sign contracts, granting the contracted individuals the power of Hell."

It was this clause in the "Alliance Treaty between the Empire and the Devil Bael Force" that allowed the Devil to keenly spot the loophole.

This clause seems to require Bael to sacrifice his Hell Power to empower the Imperial Citizen, but in reality, there is a great deal of room for maneuver.

Whether it was an oversight by mortals or not, the "contract" written here did not make any special requirements or annotations, leaving the devils free to do as they pleased.

According to the usual devil's pact, the price that the party who obtains the power of Hell must pay is their soul.

The souls of the elite Fighter of the Embers of the Burned Empire were a precious treasure to Bael. Dragons, on the other hand, typically valued material possessions and the physical body more than the soul, and few dragons cared about the fate of their followers' souls.

The more Imperial Citizen who make pacts with the devil, the more souls Bael earns.

Thinking of this, Bael's lips curled up slightly, and a barely perceptible smile appeared on his fair and deceptively handsome face.

They were still just country bumpkins from the Prime Material Plane, unlike the devils who understood the essence of the contract. When Bael took the souls of the Imperial Citizen, the Empire, which had already signed the contract, couldn't back down.

But agreeing too readily might arouse suspicion, so Bael carefully reviewed the document several times before speaking again.

Bael pointed to the papers covered in writing, then casually pulled out a pair of glasses and pushed up the crossbar.

"Your Majesty Keosius, based on my thousands of years of experience, some conditions in the contract still need to be discussed. Look at these seventy-six, one hundred and twenty-one, and one hundred and thirty-four articles."

However, the Red Dragon did not respond, but simply nodded at Lang Pu, while the Ogre quickly pulled out his communicator.

Suddenly, dozens of players in suits and carrying briefcases appeared neatly in the palace, coming in a menacing manner, clearly having prepared for this for a long time.

The player at the front, with thinning hair and dark circles under his eyes, stepped forward, gave a polite smile, and extended his right hand to this devil whom most people would avoid.

"Hello, Mr. Bael, I am Yun Danfengqing, the legal counsel specially appointed by the Embers of the Burned Empire. It is an honor to discuss this with you."

"This"

Even the devil, who had lived for thousands of years and was very knowledgeable, was stunned, and the expression on his face became somewhat stiff.

After rounds of discussion, the palace remained extremely noisy. Players pulled out various documents and materials, arguing their points, while Keosius finally began to feel a bit irritated.

That's enough.

Keosius said impatiently, "I've said it before, the Empire is the one in charge of this cooperation until you become the Lord of Avernus. Let's skip these pointless arguments."

"Bael Excellency, you have only two choices: agree or refuse. Any attempt to distort or twist the contract is pointless."

Bael sighed and said in a deliberately dejected tone, "Alright, Your Majesty, since this is your request, I can only agree. After all, I am just a down-and-out from Hell right now, and I am not qualified to negotiate with you."

"Then let's sign the contract."

Keosius looked down at the former Hell Lord with a scrutinizing gaze and spoke in a deep voice.

"Yes, Master."

Lang Pu waved his staff, and the hundreds of pages of contracts were neatly stacked together, with the last page placed on top, bearing the signature of "Keosius Klauberwu Norikesius".

Bael took the contract and pulled a black quill pen that exuded Hell Aura from his splendid robe.

"So."

The exquisitely crafted word "Bael" appeared in the blank space of the contract; it was a purgatory script that shone with firelight.

Suddenly, an essential, invisible force came from the River Styx underground, connecting the two parties to the contract— Keosius and Bael— binding their souls and forming an unshakable bond between them, like a natural law.

This is the covenant of Hell. If either party breaks the covenant, they will pay an incredibly heavy price, one that even the greatest devil cannot afford.

Bael raised his head, met the Red Dragon's gaze across the distance with his deep, dark eyes, and then bowed politely.

"It's a pleasure doing business with you, Your Majesty Keosius."

"It's a pleasure to work with you."

Keosius nodded again, his golden vertical pupils fixed on the eyes of the great devil.

Under the Red Dragon's gaze, Bael conjured Hellfire into a cloak, and amidst the intense flashing of the Six-Pointed Star Array, Mars and ashes surrounded his body—this was merely an incarnation of that great demon.

The devil Albert, trapped inside the goat's head, couldn't help but cry out, "Bael Bayer, you haven't taken me away yet!"

However, Bael ignored him completely and simply let him gradually disappear from the Prime Material Plane.

Lang Pu added casually from the side, "Albert, Bael Bayer probably won't do anything for you, and he's even less willing to interfere with his cooperation with his master for this."

So, be content to be the head of the Chimera King; hopefully, you'll make him a little smarter.

Chimera a soft roar and left the palace with its newly acquired "wisdom," while the demon trapped in the goat's head hung its head in dejection, its heart filled with immense pain.

Does this mean we'll be forever controlled by this beast?

Keosius ignored the little incident beside him, and simply lowered his head to quietly watch the gradually dimming Six-Pointed Star Array.

As a former Hell Lord, even though his status has plummeted, he is still quite troublesome. The avatar he has appeared in the Prime Material Plane alone has a legendary status.

If he were on the opponent's home turf— Avernus — Keosius might not be able to defeat this great devil, at least not kill him.

However, as he gazed at the magic circle that had completely lost its light, Keosius's lips curled up into a smile of triumph.

As a great devil, Bael's understanding of contracts far surpasses that of Keosius, and even surpasses that of many lawyer players who have studied contract law in real life.

—But Bael was unaware of the players, a special group that had just begun to emerge in Erezege.

Players have no soul.

More accurately, the players did not possess souls that could be recognized by the world rules of Erezege, and therefore they were referred to as "Soulless One" by the demons in later generations.

To use a phrase from Earth, these players are "outside the three realms and outside the five elements".

After years of research, the Imperial scholars were surprised to discover that the players' bodies were merely vessels to carry their consciousness, which was itself a projection from another world.

Even the contract with Lord of the Nine Hells Asmodeus, could not bind the souls of these beings who exist outside the rules.

Therefore, the seemingly flawed clauses in the contract are actually traps that Keosius deliberately prepared for the devil, with the aim of getting something for nothing and obtaining the power of Hell for free.

The great demon Bael, who had never understood the player community, fell into the trap. He would soon discover that these magical contracts, apart from consuming his power, could not provide him with even a single soul.

Bound by the contract, Bael has no way to get rid of these annoying "leeches" and can only let them draw on the Hell Power.

By then, even if Bael regains his position Lord of Avernus, he will not be able to win the Blood War on his own and resist the demons' attack on Hell.

At that time, Keosius will be able to regain the upper hand, use his players to negotiate with Bael, seize profits, and even gain a foothold in Avernus, standing up to the Five-Colored Dragon Queen queen who is also trapped there.

"It doesn't sound too far off, does it? Bael, the future Lord of Avernus, get ready to enjoy our cooperation."

By the way, how many players should we send to farm Hell Power? How about 50,000?

Keosius rubbed his chin with his claws, his ferocious mouth continuing to turn upwards, his smile becoming increasingly sinister.

Thus, amidst the clash between the two sides, the Red Dragon and the great demon, each harboring their own ulterior motives, began their cooperation, taking the current Lord of Avernus, Zariel, as their common enemy.

This "Alliance Treaty between the Empire and the Devil Bael Force" became infamous in the records of the good faction in later generations, and was known as the "Evil Alliance".

Gedani Island is Demiplane created by spellcasters of the Embers of the Burned Empire over several years, specifically for imprisoning and exiling powerful beings from other dimensions.

Because the Empire's technology was not yet mature, the environment here was extremely harsh, with reddish-brown scorched earth, flowing lava, and unpredictable scorching winds.

However, for the devil, this harsh environment felt like coming home.

The only peaceful and tranquil place in this Demiplane is the Gedani Island Office, officially established by the Empire, which maintains order thanks to the support of the Empire Domain.

Inside the spacious office, the arrested demons sat upright in their respective positions, looking tense. Some of the weaker demons were even trapped in narrow cages.

"This is a terrifying place; they're actually capturing demons!"

"Yeah, I thought I had successfully seduced that damned mortal, but he actually turned around and reported me?"

"Once I get out, I'll make these mortals taste the bitterness of suffering!"

"Keep your voice down, do you want to be whipped? The Half-Dragon jailers here are no joke."

The surroundings were filled with a cacophony of noise as the demons captured there whispered among themselves, complaining to each other.

In this massive "Demon-Extermination Storm," more than 500 demons were captured by the Special Operations Team led by Mezhuolash and imprisoned on Gedani Island.

"Quiet!"

The Ogre Lang Pu stood in the center, holding the imperial scepter in his hand and tapping the ground lightly, his deep voice echoing in the hall.

"Devils, now that you are Gedani Island Prison, I just want to ask you—do you know what you have done wrong?"

"If you can answer this question, I will grant you your freedom, in the name of the Imperial Prime Minister."

Immediately, the demons imprisoned there erupted in chaos, rushing to speak and answer, some even trying to curry favor with the Ogre.

"Luring mortals toward evil and depravity?"

"Attempting to deceive the souls of mortals?"

"Lord Ogre"

However, Lang Pu shook his head, tapped the ground with his scepter again, and said in a sharp voice, "Your biggest problem is that you have offended His Your Majesty Keosius! You have trespassed into the territory of the Embers of the Burned Empire without permission, disrupted social order, and engaged in these illegal transactions!"

Suddenly, one of the demons realized a flaw in Lang Pu's words and cautiously inquired, "So, does that mean soul trafficking and Hell Contract are permitted within the Empire?"

The Ogre's expression softened slightly, and he nodded meaningfully, replying:

"We are a nation ruled by the Great Red Dragon, with dozens of races within our borders, unlike those outdated human nations."

As long as you pay the full amount of taxes to the Empire, abide by all laws, and obey the Empire's unified arrangements, nothing is off-limits, not even—

Lang Pu paused slightly, then continued, emphasizing each word. "Soul and life."

Indeed, the current Embers of the Burned Empire is just like that. To put it bluntly, the empire's prosperity is built on the ruins of the people of Fadlan. The endless war destroyed their homes, but also brought the empire a continuous stream of wealth.

The steel behemoths in the city constantly spewed thick smoke, producing weapons day and night and selling them all over the world. Some imperial arms dealers even deliberately provoked wars in the south, escalating conflicts to make their products sell even better.

The empire's light industrial products were equally impressive, with cheap textiles and handicrafts flooding southwards like a tidal wave, causing many small merchants and workshops to go bankrupt.

Beneath the glamorous surface, in the colossal shadow of the Dragon Wing, tens of thousands of imperial workers became cogs in the massive machine that is the empire.

They lived in cramped pigeon coops, ate tasteless organic sauce, endured harsh conditions, and worked day and night for over ten hours a day. Lang Pu once privately told his confidants, "Only by exploiting the whole world, including the people of the Empire themselves, can the Empire continue to prosper."

In Lang Pu's view, everything is fuel for the empire to realize its Great Blueprint.

Even the devil who is considered utterly wicked by ordinary people is nothing more than a vicious dog that can be used in the eyes of Lang Pu, the Imperial Prime Minister.

Soon, the devils imprisoned in their cages reached out, their faces full of obsequiousness, and began to pledge their loyalty to Lang Pu.

After all, for these Lawful Evil devils, so-called face and dignity are just things that can be discarded at will, and the imperial order does not seem to do them much harm.

"Lord Lang Pu, we are willing to submit to the rule of the Empire!"

"We will even pay taxes."

"Yes, you are very knowledgeable. You should know that we demons have always been a refined and orderly race. We accept the unified arrangements of the Empire!"

"Very good."

Lang Pu looked around, nodded slightly, and a satisfied smile appeared on his ugly face.

In this way, even the demons of Hell were incorporated into the Embers of the Burned Empire's system, becoming part of this behemoth.