The Lord of the Nine Hells' Deal

"As expected, it was still too late."

Standing atop the towering spire of human bones, a succubus gazed at the chaotic demon army below. She frowned, slightly curving her beautiful lips, and licked them with her bright red tongue. Then, she forcefully lashed her leather whip, the crisp cracking sound masking her inner rage. In truth, although Li Lin hadn't told her, as the sole and absolute ruler of all Hell, the Lord of the Nine Hells had sensed the problem the moment he opened the dimensional portal. He was also somewhat aware of the recent events on the Prime Material Plane. While he didn't know Li Lin's intentions, since he had come to his territory without informing him, it was highly likely that he was after the angels left behind in the Lower Planes.

Therefore, the Master of the Nine Hells made a decisive decision. He directly ordered the mobilization of the demon legion closest to Glory Fort in order to temporarily detain these angels. Although bringing them into his hands would certainly be a great temptation for the demons, the Lord of the Nine Hells was still very cautious about Li Lin. He did not want to strain relations with him under these circumstances. In fact, the Lord of the Nine Hells only intended to do Li Lin a favor.

Of course, this is not his final plan.

The Lord of the Nine Hells no longer cared about the life or death of these useless people. Although being blocked by three people was a great humiliation for the demons, he still had to assess their strength before making a decision. He did not vent his anger on these good-for-nothings because someone else would handle the matter for him, and it seemed that they would be arriving soon.

The atmosphere on the horizon suddenly tightened, then spread out again. As the figure of the Lord of the Nine Hells disappeared, several enormous monsters engulfed in scorching flames appeared, their voices echoing through the sky.

"Damn bedbugs!!"

With the roar of the Balor, a suffocating cloud of fire descended, rushing straight towards the demon army that had no time to react.

"What a hassle."

After unleashing an ice spike that pierced the demon before him, Li Lin frowned. He had no interest in being drawn into a chaotic battle between demons and monsters. Those idiots couldn't distinguish friend from foe, killing anything in sight. In fact, in many Blood War, many demons had died at the hands of their own people, not the enemy—whether because they were too weak, too slow, or too stupid. In any case, Li Lin didn't want to continue entangled with these guys here. Blood War belonged to demons and monsters, not humans, so continuing the fight would bring him no benefit.

"Angela, stop playing around, let's go."

As Li Lin spoke, a glimmer of magic condensed, forming a phantom doorway, from which Li Lin swiftly vanished. Sensing Li Lin departure, Angela and Anna immediately ceased their attack. Some soared into the sky, while others disappeared into the shadows, retreating from the chaotic battlefield and leaving the remaining fighting to those equally enraged, and perhaps even more aggressive, individuals.

Gabriel opened her eyes, calmly gazing at the angels surrounding her, and slowly withdrew the particles of light emanating from her body.

Those weren't actual particles of light. Angels are different from humans; they don't need to use language, a relatively time-consuming method. For angels, they have more direct, simple, and convenient techniques to view others' memories and experiences. Of course, humans might see this as a malicious act of "invading others' privacy," but for angels, it's a matter of "if you haven't done anything wrong, you have nothing to fear." If they haven't done anything to be ashamed of, then naturally they have nothing to fear from the angels' inquiries.

Gabriel is now using this method, opening all her memories to the minds of all the angels. They can sense everything Gabriel has experienced, including her receiving the divine command to enter the Prime Material Plane, her alliance with the Godspawn, and her subsequent failures and turning points. Gabriel hasn't hidden those shameful memories either. After all, angels' moral values differ from humans'. Although lust is considered a sin, they don't oppose genuine union.

Soon, everything Gabriel had experienced spread through the unique mental networks of the angels throughout the depths of the hearts of all the angels in Glory Fort. They looked at each other, at a loss for what to do. Although they found Gabriel's final conclusion completely unacceptable, after personally experiencing what the Archangel had gone through, these angels could not judge whether the conclusion itself was correct.

After all, no one could do this better than Gabriel.

"We have not abandoned light, kindness, and justice, my sisters."

Gabriel, noticing the hesitation in the angels' eyes, spoke.

"You are merely blinded. Though that great being created us, he cannot turn us into his puppets. Now, I have come here, hoping that you, my sisters, can open your eyes and see clearly what is happening before you. Make a rational decision. I need your help, and so does the Magic Empire. I admit they are indeed waging a cruel war, but we have also seen that it is not driven by greed and sinful desires, but by a symbol of striving for justice. As long as we are together, we can awaken more sisters, preventing them from being deceived by evil gods! We have dedicated our souls and lives to goodness, light, and justice—isn't this what we are doing now?"

Silence.

The angels hesitated. Indeed, they had dedicated their lives and souls entirely to kindness and justice, but...

"I am justice!"

The voice of the God of Justice echoed once again in the minds of the angels.

"To believe in me is to believe in justice! Do not hesitate, do not be deceived, my angels, those are the devil's lies, tricks to tempt you into depravity! Close your eyes, banish them!! Destroy the evil before your eyes! Restore the power of justice!!"

The longsword, wreathed in burning silver flames, was raised, pointing at Gabriel's face, before slowly falling.

"I believe in you, Archangel."

She sheathed her longsword at her waist, and one of the angels walked up to her.

"The justice and kindness flowing in my blood tell me that it wasn't a lie. Everything you've experienced is real. I can't answer your questions on behalf of my sisters. But I believe in you."

The other angels didn't say anything either; they all laid down their weapons to show their stance.

However, not everyone hopes to see such an ending.

"Foolish! Naive!"

Gabriel felt a tremendous force slam into her chest, and she was thrown backward. Meanwhile, the angels stared in astonishment at the sky above, where the once clear sky was now overcast. The God of Justice's resounding voice echoed again, making everyone feel slightly dizzy. At that moment, a divine wind began to swirl, forming a massive whirlwind that enveloped Glory Fort. With this wind, the faint light that had shone on the angels dimmed completely; they felt their divine power draining away. Simultaneously, a massive divine magic circle appeared on the ground of Glory Fort, and the thick clouds began to shift, spinning with the whirlwind, their contained lightning striking down heavily on Gabriel.

"Archangel!"

The wrath of the gods is terrifying, and the action of the God of Justice left all the angels stunned. Fortunately, Gabriel had long since lost her former naivety. Having dared to come alone, she had naturally prepared herself for the attack of the God of Justice. Her pure white wings folded together, forming a strong shield that withstood the divine lightning strike. Although many angels intended to rush to their aid, the lightning raging around them forced them to remain rooted to the spot.

It is foolish to be deceived by the devil's lies!

The voice of the God of Justice rang out once more.

"But, great Goddess, she still retains her kind nature! You should not make such a cruel decision!"

Another angel cried out in supplication, but the God of Justice clearly did not see it that way.

"Nonsense! I alone am justice! Those who disobey me are evil! You don't need to judge that; you just need to obey my orders!"

The gap in the sky created by the whirlwind began to change, and then the image of Mount Celestia appeared at the center of the vortex. At this moment, the angels also felt an immense pressure pulling at their bodies.

He opened a dimensional portal!

Gabriel gritted his teeth, struggling against the thunder that was descending from the sky, while inwardly terrified.

Although she had considered many scenarios, she never imagined that the God of Justice would actually intend to take all these angels back to Mount Celestia? What a joke! This spatial passage cannot accommodate so many people at once! If so many angels were forcibly withdrawn, a large number of them would inevitably be lost in the spatial turbulence!

"I will absolutely not allow you to do that!"

Gabriel's rage reached its peak at the God of Justice's disregard for her sisters' lives. She slowly spread her wings, radiating divine light, and then soared into the air, flying towards the entrance of the dimensional portal against the lightning. She unfurled her pure white wings, forcefully resisting the powerful pull emanating from the portal. This action immediately relieved some of the pressure on the other angels, but even so, they were unable to rise and help Gabriel, for the God of Justice had withdrawn and stripped them of their power; now, these angels were completely powerless to resist.

Just then, the sky suddenly trembled.

The dimensional portal, which was gradually expanding, suddenly stopped moving as if someone were choking it. Then, the whirlwind that was enveloped in divine aura weakened, and the aura of Hell was felt extending. The flowers, plants and trees that originally relied on the air of the heavens to grow began to wither rapidly, and the dimensional portal gradually narrowed as it moved further.

"I appreciate your help in planting flowers, trees, and shrubs in my backyard to make it greener."

A succubus swayed as she appeared atop Glory Fort. Her appearance astonished all the angels. How had she penetrated the holy defenses to get here? Moreover, the angels could sense an incredibly powerful evil aura emanating from her, a feeling completely different from the demons they had fought before. If those powerful and terrifying demons were rivers, then the power emanating from this succubus was like an immeasurable ocean. Deprived of the protection of holy power, the angels could only tuck their wings, trembling beneath the evil waves, utterly powerless to offer any resistance.

"However, I actually really dislike it when people clear land in my yard."

As he spoke, the lustful demon reached out and clenched his fist tightly.

The power of Hell immediately gathered under the control of the Lord of the Nine Hells. It easily severed the power of the dimensional portal and forcefully sealed it off. This was not the home ground of beings from the Upper Planes, so the power used by the God of Justice was naturally extremely limited. Moreover, he had exhausted too much power in his previous battle with Li Lin and had not yet been replenished. Facing the Lord of the Nine Hells, who was clearly "prepared," the God of Justice, thousands of miles away, was completely powerless to resist.

The power of Hell quickly seized control of the dimensional portal, then completely sealed it. Only then did the Lord of the Nine Hells withdraw his hand. He gazed with satisfaction at the angels before him, now stripped of their holy power, pondering how to entice their souls to the greatest extent possible. After all, a group of angels without the protection of holy power were extremely rare in Hell. If they were simply taken away by Arcane Mage, wouldn't all his centuries of planning have been in vain?

However, just as the Lord of the Nine Hells was about to say something, a cold voice came from behind him.

"If you dare utter another word, I'll throw you straight back to the ninth floor, Asmodeus."

"... I thought you would thank me for my help."

The lustful demon turned around, looked at Li Lin had appeared behind him at some point, and gave him a warm smile.

"You see, as the host, it's only right that I help my guests with some things, isn't it?"

"As the host, you should learn to respect your guests' privacy to a certain extent."

Li Lin snapped his fingers lightly.

"So, are you leaving, or should I see you off?"

"... That's not fair, Arcane Mage."

The Lord of the Nine Hells narrowed his eyes; clearly, he could not accept such an ending.

"At least I contributed."

"I will repay you."

Li Lin raised his hand and slid it downwards, making a "I'm sorry, I won't see you off" gesture.

Having said all that, the Lord of the Nine Hells couldn't say anything more. He could only shrug his shoulders and then turn around—everyone felt their eyes blink involuntarily, and then he disappeared without a trace.

"This is really troublesome."

Gazing in the direction where the Lord of the Nine Hells had disappeared, Li Lin frowned. He had always believed the Lord of the Nine Hells wouldn't give up on his goal so easily, but now that he was here, any tricks he wanted to pull wouldn't work for the time being. However, this wasn't Li Lin's focus. He shifted his gaze to Gabriel. At this moment, the Archangel was kneeling on the ground, panting heavily. Although the God of Justice's plan hadn't succeeded, he had concentrated all his power to attack Gabriel before the dimensional portal closed. No matter how powerful Gabriel was, she was, after all, just an angel, not a god. Therefore, under the full force of the God of Justice's attack, even she couldn't withstand it and fell heavily to the ground. If Li Lin hadn't arrived in time at the crucial moment and cast a Feather Fall, the Archangel would probably be half-crippled by now.

Although the Lord of the Nine Hells clearly sensed the danger Gabriel was in, he had no intention of helping her. After all, from the Lord of the Nine Hells' perspective, the death of this angel with true holy power was actually a good thing, as it would make things easier for him. He could even use her death to persuade the other angels to abandon their faith. In that case, since they had lost the favor of the gods, he could easily obtain a large order without lifting a finger.

However, from Li Lin's perspective, Gabriel absolutely could not die. After all, she was his most powerful ally in winning over these angels, and she was also a very rule-abiding person. But aside from all that... she was at least a woman who had a relationship with Li Lin. Letting a woman who had once slept in his bed seek her own death was never Li Lin's style, especially under the current circumstances.

However, the crisis has only just begun.

Glory Fort has now lost the protection of the gods, and the aura of Hell has invaded once again. The angels, having lost the protection of divine power, are naturally unable to resist such corruption. Their bodies are inherently purer than those of humans, making them more susceptible to contamination. Especially now, without stronger protection, they will soon be tainted by evil. Even if they do not fall, they will lose their pure and powerful divine power. Fortunately, however, Li Lin was not unprepared for this.

Thinking of this, Li Lin reached into his robes, pulled out a rhombus-shaped crystal, and tossed it into the air.

Then, a warm light descended from the sky, enveloping the entire Glory Fortress.