Solam had always believed that Redemption was a highly useful trump card against Bel. Should he ever need it, Solam could use it to blackmail Bel. Given Bel's desire for the position of Archduke of Avernus, as long as Solam's price was not his life, Bel would likely pay it without hesitation!
Therefore, unless necessary, Solam did not want to use up this trump card too early. After all, the above was merely Solam's own speculation. What if Bel found another way? Wouldn't it be better to save this leverage for later? Given Bel's authority in the hells of Baator, the reward he could offer would undoubtedly be exceedingly generous. Of course, getting Bel to cooperate with Solam in sabotaging the army under his command was probably out of the question, because that would be betraying Baator. Under the laws of Hell, if such a thing truly happened, then even if Bel got his wish and obtained the title of Archduke of Avernus, he would still die without a burial place.
However, that was merely Solam's own wishful thinking. Could Bel fail to think of what Solam had thought of? Thus, the day after those words were spoken, Bel's army began marching toward Malcanthet's territory.
Upon receiving this news, Solam knew that he had to use this leverage ahead of time.
Who knew exactly how Mystra had gone about it, but the process was rather slow. It was not until Bel's army was two days away from Malcanthet's sphere of influence that the Archduke of Hell halted his march. When Bel's army abruptly stopped without any warning, Solam knew that the matter he had entrusted to Mystra had produced the intended effect.
Then, while everyone watched to see what Bel intended to do, Bel's army suddenly turned around and charged