Pit Fiend

Souls are the primary currency in Baator, and the souls of mortals dragged into Hell are called Petitioners, or soul shells.

When a ship full of Petitioners is transported to the Land of Torment, Amnizu, the devil bureaucrat, reads the mark of each soul and then records the name of the devil responsible for harvesting it in a thick ledger.

According to the terms of the "Pact Primeval" signed between Asmodeus and the gods, as each remaining fragment of the Petitioners's personality is slowly stripped away, magical energy will be released and flow to the lord of this level.

The tormentor in charge of interrogation will mercilessly intimidate and damage fallen souls, subjecting them to a series of terrible tortures until every ounce of magic that can be extracted from their bodies is ripped out.

After the last remnants of humanity are violently torn from the body of a soul's shell, this trembling, empty shell is thrown into a deep pit—such as the terrifying Pit of Maggots within the territory of Avernus.

There, they will quickly die, decay, and then be reborn as mindless Lemure.

Hell Lord like Zariel and Mephistopheles occupy the pinnacle of soul harvesting in each level of Hell, enjoying the soul supply provided by the entire Hell.

As the Lord of the Nine Hells, Asmodeus stands at the top of the Baator, to whom all the souls of the Hell ultimately flow.

But as cunning, treacherous, and selfish creatures, demons are naturally unwilling to hand over all souls. So they often walk on the edge of the rules and exploit loopholes to profit for themselves—for example, by smuggling souls.

Uriel's Modin Casino served the high-ranking devil Valerius, smuggling many souls for him over the decades, and thus gained many advantages, becoming the most prosperous casino in the Twelfth Circle East District.

In the basement of the Modin Casino lies a hidden lava river, known as the River of Sin, which leads to the inner ring of the Bronze Fortress — Valerius's mansion.

At this moment, in the underground chamber of the Modin Casino, accompanied by chaotic footsteps, the old torches on the walls were lit one after another. The flickering lights illuminated the broken skeletons in the corner, making them appear particularly sinister and terrifying.

"Crunch, crunch"

The sound of bones grinding together could be heard.

From the shifting shadows, several hideous faces emerged, their faces displaying fawning smiles, their withered skin almost melting together.

The entrance to the River of Sin is guarded by four Bone Devil Gou Lian Soldier, who, when not on a smuggling mission, will mercilessly kill any trespasser—except their master, Uriel.

At this moment, Uriel was wearing a cloak, and behind him was a group of humanoid creatures wearing cloaks that concealed their aura, exuding an alluring soul aura. Their identities were obvious— the Petitioners.

In the eyes of the Bone Devil, Uriel was about to smuggle fresh Petitioners into the Inner Ring to smuggle goods for that mysterious and unpredictable big shot.

But if they could get even half Petitioners from it, that would be even better.

The Bone Devil at the front licked its lips, lowered its head, and asked cautiously, "Master, you've finally arrived. Is there some kind of mission over there?"

Uriel's face beneath his black hood was exceptionally grim, and his tone was impatient. "Get out of the way! If you delay that high-ranking demon's important business, you'll all be executed!"

"Yes, Master, we understand."

Uriel snapped, "If you know, then get out of here! Do you want me to kick you out?"

The Bone Devil trembled, retreating with a series of cracking sounds as they went, gradually disappearing into the shadows, awaiting the arrival of the intruders.

Uriel led the humanoid creatures through the stone gate, boarded a bronze boat, and sailed on the scalding lava river.

"How much longer until we reach the inner ring road?"

A voice came from behind the bronze ship.

Uriel changed his attitude from before and said with a hint of fear, "It will only take one day to get there."

"One day?"

Lang Li Bai Tiao Stripe ripped off his cloak, stepped forward, and placed his hand on Uriel's shoulder, his tone full of skepticism. "From the twelfth ring to the center of the Bronze Fortress, it's at most ten miles. How could it have taken so long? Are you calling your friends and gathering your subordinates, trying to wipe us all out?"

After being pinned down, Uriel seemed to remember something, and his whole body trembled violently. He said in a trembling voice, "Lord Lang Li Bai Tiao, you've misunderstood! Just as you said, since we signed that contract, we've been ants in the same boat. As long as that Zariel, no, that madwoman's subordinates discover my mark, they will definitely throw me into the Torture Land to suffer for a thousand years!"

After saying this, the devil untied his robe, revealing his tormented and scarred upper body—and the Bael emblem on his chest that flickered with fire.

Lang Li Bai Tiao glanced at the emblem on Uriel's chest, rubbed his chin, and was still somewhat suspicious. "Then why did it take so long?"

Uriel said in a low voice, "There are twelve isolation arrays running through the ground inside the Bronze Fortress. Anyone who tries to sneak in may trigger the arrays and attract the attention of the guards."

Therefore, the River of Sin can only meander, passing through the weakest points of each layer of the magic array, in order to successfully sneak into the inner ring.

The little devil, locked in the cage, muttered to himself, "Why do I have to go too?"

A kind smile appeared on the face of the Lang Li Bai Tiao: "You can also choose to be thrown into the lava river by us."

"Is that the isolation array?" The Dark Night Wolf standing behind suddenly stretched out his hand and pointed to the thin membrane flashing red light in the distance.

Uriel nodded quickly. "Yes, that's it. Everyone, quickly put on the Weave resonance cloaks, otherwise even if you pass through the weak points of the magic circle, you will be discovered."

"Good."

And so, the bronze ship traversed the River of Lava underground, passing through several Protection Array, and finally arrived at the fourth ring of the Bronze Fortress.

Along the way, they encountered many monsters such as Hell Bat and Lava Monster, but they were all dealt with by the Born Battle Maniac with a single punch.

A level 12 Dragon Vein Fighter would be considered strong even in the Baator, and would be more than capable of leading a small demon legion.

"My lords, we have arrived."

Uriel pointed to the simple stone gate in the distance and said softly, "This leads directly to Lord Valerius's mansion. He has a special secret room where he enjoys the smuggled Petitioners."

Why aren't you leaving?

"Everyone, you go and complete the tasks assigned by Bael Bayer. I'll wait here to provide backup. No, no, I'll go instead, okay?"

The devil, who had run the casino for many years, was on the verge of tears. He turned to look at the little devil, his eyes filled with deep resentment, wishing he could devour it alive.

From a high-ranking casino owner to someone else's prisoner, there is no greater disparity in the world.

The Born Battle Maniac's expression was serious, but his golden eyes, like those of a dragon, shone with excitement. "Everyone, I sensed many unprecedentedly powerful auras! Our opponents this time are definitely above Challenge Rating fifteen! They might even be legendary beings!"

A legend, placed in any plane of the multiverse, would be considered a truly powerful being—even in the Baator.

A being with such power is capable of leading a large demon legion, manipulating the outcome of a small-scale Blood War, and even becoming a favorite general of the Hell Lord.

Even now, with the level cap raised to twelve, no player has yet managed to solo a legendary-level boss.

Seeing the increasingly excited Born Battle Maniac, Lucky Emperor was a little scared. "War Maniac Bro, don't rush in recklessly. We have no chance of winning if we Contend Against a great demon of that level head-on. We finally made it into the inner ring, we can't just throw our lives away like this."

The man standing next to him Lang Li Bai Tiao, revealed a strange smile and reached into his cloak, "Not bad, not bad. To encounter a boss of this level so soon after arriving, it was worth spending all my money and pulling all sorts of strings to get this thing."

As he spoke, he pulled a round metal ball out of his cloak.

What is this?

Uriel and Dick, the two devils from Hell, stared at the unremarkable metal sphere, feeling both awe and confusion.

Is this what gives them the confidence to Contend Against the Great Demon? The remaining three players, however, were filled with horror, their faces showing as if they had seen a ghost.

"Holy crap, you can even get your hands on this?"

"Isn't this the Miniature Space Collapse Bomb mentioned at the last Imperial military equipment seminar? This is the lifeblood of the Church of the Machine God. Did you sell them a hook?"

"Lang Li Bai Tiao" chuckled, "What do you know? This is the face of the Nocturne's chief! Even a high-ranking devil couldn't withstand this attack from me at close range, right?"

"So, are we going to be buried there too? There are still a lot of missions to come," Dark Night Wolf asked in a low voice.

Upon hearing this, the Lucky Emperor seemed to have made up his mind. He gritted his teeth and pulled out a piece of parchment sewn with the imperial emblem from his robes. "Even Lang Chu has brought out such a good thing, so I won't keep anything to myself either."

This is a family heirloom of our Magic Coin Guild —a Flame Teleportation Scroll personally crafted by Ke Emperor —no, by his own claws.

It can ignore Anti-Magic Field below the ninth ring and instantly jump to any place within a five-kilometer radius, making it an unparalleled escape tool. "The Lucky Emperor's hand holding the scroll trembled slightly.

This scroll is worth thousands of Gold Coin, comparable to rare equipment. If he uses the scroll this time and still fails the mission, Charlotte will beat him half to death when they get back.

"Since that's the case, then let's..."

The four looked at each other, finally made up their minds, and said in unison, "Let's take a gamble!"

In the eastern part of the Bronze Fortress, there stands a tall, majestic, and rugged castle.

This is the residence of Valerius, the Earl Hell and commander of the Thirteenth Legion under Zariel. The entire castle is carved from cooled and solidified lava, and its surface is covered with spikes, demon reliefs, and burning runes. A mournful wail can be heard from underground.

Deep within the castle's main hall, a hideous demon bathes in scalding lava, holding a silver cup and savoring fine wine made from the souls of mortals.

Those enormous, fiery red wings and eyes burning like embers gave this colossal demon a terrifying aura—this was the Pit Fiend, a high-ranking demon born in the deepest part of the Nine Hells, from Nessus.

Powerful, resilient, and with terrifying intelligence.

Whether they serve the dukes, enforce their own laws in the Nine Hells, or tyrannize the mortal world, the ruling classes of these Hell are granted a considerable degree of self-determination.

A Cornugon flapped its wings and knelt respectfully by the lava pool, whispering, "Commander, your servant—that frail smuggler—has arrived."

Valerius swirled his wine glass, savoring the aura of fear and listening to the wails of the souls within, and said nonchalantly, "Hmm, it's that Uriel, isn't it? He's done a pretty good job these past few decades, bringing in seven or eight Petitioners every year."

However, Lord Zariel is currently planning something big and is cracking down on smuggling very hard. Uriel knows too much, and his casino has too many connections with us. It's time to get rid of him.

"Once he hands over the items, you eliminate him completely, and while you're at it, clean up that casino as well. Make sure the other legions don't find any trace of us; they're all eyeing us covetously."

"Yes, Commander."

"By the way, how many Petitioners did he bring this time?"

"About twenty, and according to him, he also brought a precious treasure, the value of which is equivalent to the souls of thousands of mortals."

"What? Bring them in right now!"

The Abyss demon suddenly sat up, causing lava to splash and create shallow pits on the ground.

"Yes, Commander."

The Cornugon responded in a deep voice, then flapped its wings and flew out of the hall.

Valerius raised his head, drank the wine in one gulp amidst the cries of his soul, and laughed loudly, "Hahahaha, I never thought that a pawn about to be discarded could bring me such a surprise!"

Before long, led by the Cornugon, Uriel led a group of humanoid creatures dressed in black robes into the hall.

"Big, my lord.

Here are the goods you requested; I have brought them to you.

"Uriel, you did a good job."

Under the powerful pressure of the Pit Fiend, Uriel's legs swayed, his whole body went limp, and even his voice became stuttering.

When he was within a hundred meters of the Abyss Demon, Uriel could no longer bear it and knelt down, burying his head deep in the ground.

Despite having met with the demons dozens of times, he could still feel an instinctive, soul-deep fear—this was the hierarchical oppression of the higher-ranking demons, a manifestation of the order of Hell that had existed for millennia.

Uriel barely managed to raise his head, looking at the Pit Fiend bathing in the lava pool with a fawning yet fearful gaze.

"In addition, I have found an exceptionally precious treasure, which I hope you will be satisfied with."

As the voice fell, a golem following behind, upon hearing the command, carried an ancient pottery jar and strode towards the Pit Fiend with mechanized steps.

"Bring it up quickly."

Gazing at the earthenware jar filled with a rich spiritual aura, Valerius's face revealed undisguised greed and eagerness, his eyes seeing nothing but the jar.

The golem is getting closer and closer to the Pit Fiend.

One hundred meters, fifty meters.

Twenty meters.

When they were less than ten meters away, the golem suddenly sprang up, pulled a metal ball from the pottery jar, and threw it toward the Pit Fiend.

"You didn't expect that, did you! Surprise, motherfucker!"

"I want you all dead!!"

"Enemy attack!"

"Quick, everyone come here, I'm going to tear the scroll!"

"Boom--"

The explosion Earth-Shattering, mixed with shouts of shock and anger.

The entire Bronze Fortress seemed to tremble, and a terrible explosion occurred in the lava castle, distorting and folding the entire space around it, turning it into a void.

Space collapsed!