Chapter 691: The Soulless One Heading to Hell
The first layer of Bator Hell, Avernus.
This was a scorched wasteland strewn with rubble. Mountains and sloping hill ridges broke the monotonous landscape.
In the distance stood a towering pillar over two kilometers high, constructed from twisted demon skulls—a symbol of evil spoils claimed in the Blood War.
The air was suffused with a blood-red glow, fireballs danced across the sky, and deep chasms riddled the ground. From within echoed pained cries—wails of petitioners wandering this realm.
Two rough-looking devils with thorn-like beards stood guard before a gate made of spinal bones.
They held rusted machetes and wore damaged armor, chatting idly as if nothing was amiss.
"Sigh, this guard duty is boring as hell. Not even a shadow of an intruder. I envy those guys sent to the Material Plane."
"Yeah, I heard they easily harvest hundreds of mortal souls in that Sunrise City. That place is a dream."
"Heh, dream on. Devils like us are lucky not to be sent to the Abyssal Plain to fight lunatics. The Blood War always needs cannon fodder."
"True. Sunrise City, once favored by the Sun God—tsk, only Lord Zariel's confidants are qualified for that pasture."
"Better hope for some lost mortals to wander in here than wish for a reassignment to August."
Interplanar portals are common in Hell. Mortals call them "Gates of Curse," usually guarded by devils to prevent intrusions—like these two bearded devils.
Just as they discussed how to torture any mortals who stumbled in, ripples formed at the center of the skeletal gate, and a human stumbled through.
"Wh-where am I?"
The human wore ragged clothes and looked weak and pale, seemingly harmless—a sight that made the soul-starved bearded devils brighten.
"According to Lord Zariel's rules, we should report intruders immediately."
"Report? You're too green! A mortal soul like this is a delicacy. The greater devils will fight over it. But if we keep quiet, we get to enjoy it fresh."
"Right. This weakling won't escape from us anyway."
With that, the two bearded devils didn't activate the communication array. Instead, they approached the mortal step by step, surrounding him with grinning, twisted faces, already imagining the torture.
One bearded devil sneered: "Ignorant mortal, do you know where you are?"
"Devils! You're devils! Then this... this must be Hell? I've actually barged into Hell?!"
The human's legs gave out, collapsing in fright. His face turned pale, and he stammered incoherently, looking half-mad with fear.
The other bearded devil, placing his machete in front of the mortal, said excitedly, "Correct, mortal. Welcome to Hell, paradise for us devils!"
"Hahaha, who'd think a mortal would appear in this wasteland? What a surprise!"
They laughed without restraint, their thorny beards trembling and writhing, grotesque and horrifying.
They thought the mortal would completely lose his mind or faint, radiating the fear they so relished.
But instead, the mortal widened his eyes, grinned cheekily, and said, "A surprise? Translate that for me—what the hell is a surprise?"
"..."
Both devils froze, machetes in hand, stunned.
What's going on?
Did this mortal go mad?
One devil scratched his head and awkwardly replied, "No need to translate. You're the surprise."
The other added, "Stupid mortal. What's to translate? We already said it."
That "mortal" suddenly leapt up with impossible speed, carried by a bloody gust of wind.
Veins bulged on his forehead, sharp fangs glinted from his mouth, and he roared with fury, "I told you to translate it—what the hell is a fucking surprise?!"
"Shit, we're under attack!"
"Damn! He's no mortal! We've been tricked!"
The two devils panicked, turning to flee, shouting for help from higher-ranking devils.
But it was too late—the roles of hunter and prey had reversed in an instant.
"Translate it for me—what the fuck is a fucking surprise?!"
The "mortal" floated in the air, hands with sharp claws outstretched, and black misty whirlpools swirled from his palms.
[Bloodfiend Black Hole]
With immense suction force, rubble flew into the air. The two devils were yanked backward, howling in agony as they struggled.
"No—"
"A vampire! Damn it, whose underling is this?!"
"Kill him!"
But they were drawn into the "mortal's" palms. They slashed backward with their machetes, blades howling through the air.
A tearing sound followed—the two burly devils shriveled like punctured balloons, their blood drained completely, leaving filthy, hideous husks. The tendrils on their jaws still twitched.
Plop.
The shriveled husks were tossed aside like rags.
The "mortal" floated midair, face still pale, blood mist swirling around him. His eyes glinted crimson, a scarlet cloak fluttering behind him.
"Tsk. That's what I call a surprise."
The vampire—better known as Langli Baitiao—looked down mockingly, speaking with lazy, aristocratic disdain.
But then, someone yanked his cloak hard, almost toppling him—his vampire air instantly shattered.
"Cut the crap! Took you long enough to kill two mobs. Stop milking the drama," cursed Luck King.
Tian Born Battle Maniac said calmly, "Careful. This is a high-difficulty dungeon—plenty of monsters. If we alert a greater devil, it's a wipe."
Darknight Wolf added quietly, "Yeah, boss, we're in Hell. Don't get cocky."
"Boring. No flair at all," Langli Baitiao grumbled, dropping a few potion drops onto the devil husks.
Instantly, the shriveled remains turned to fine powder, blowing away with the bloody wind.
Gazing at the blood-red sky and the distant bone pillar that pierced the heavens, he breathed in the sulfurous, iron-scented air and sighed, "So this is Hell. A rare gem of a place."
The other three looked at him strangely. "What's good about this place?"
Langli Baitiao smacked Darknight Wolf on the head. "They don't get it, fine—but you're a vampire! Don't you understand?
No sunlight here. Evil and corruption everywhere. Endless enemies. This is prime grinding territory for us vampire players!"
Luck King snorted, "You should be grateful you're not someone else's XP fodder."
Langli Baitiao turned, fuming. His pale face flushed red. "Who asked you?! A damned crossdresser dares yap here?!"
"Who are you calling a crossdresser?!"
"You, obviously—"
Suddenly, the crest on Langli Baitiao's right arm lit up, fire flaring. An angry voice rang in all their minds.
"Enough, Contracted One! I spent great power to send you here, not to hear you bicker!"
Langli Baitiao instantly smiled fawningly. "Of course, Lord Bael.
We won't disappoint. We'll work hard to complete the mission—efficiently, precisely, and with full quality—to aid your cause in reclaiming Avernus."
"..."
He kept chattering until the flaming crest faded. Only then did he stop, reluctant.
Tian Born Battle Maniac rubbed his shiny bald head and sighed, "Enough talk. Let's get the mission done."
The four were all players contracted with devils. Each had unique strengths and formidable power—Cassius's promised "reinforcements."
Over a hundred such elite teams roamed Avernus, all deployed to assist Zariel.
But Langli Baitiao and Tian Born Battle Maniac's squad was the strongest, averaging level twelve. Naturally, Bael paid them extra attention.
Whoosh—
Suddenly, a howling wind blew from above, accompanied by a powerful wave of evil aura.
A powerful devil holding a steel trident flew by, slowly flapping massive bat-like wings over ten meters long.
Clad in iron-like scales, bearing huge horns and a whip-like tail, the terrifying figure was a high-level devil—an Erinyes.
The Erinyes glared down with clouded eyes. Sensing something wrong near the cursed gate, he roared, "Where are those two lazy bastards?
Worthless scum worse than lemures! Defying Lord Zariel's orders—abandoning post! I'll send them to die in the Abyss!"
He circled above the gate but found no trace of the bearded devils, then flew off in fury.
"Whew, that was close."
Darknight Wolf finally relaxed. If he wasn't a vampire, he'd be drenched in sweat and trembling.
"No wonder this place is a high-risk dungeon. Even the area supervisor is that strong," muttered Luck King.
Tian Born Battle Maniac clenched his fist, eyes locked on where the Erinyes vanished. "A level-fifteen challenge devil... how strong will it be?"
Langli Baitiao packed away the cloaking fabric draped over them. "If not for my stealth cloak, we'd have wiped. Call me Daddy, all of you."
Luck King snapped, "If you hadn't wasted time, we'd have slipped away ages ago!"
The mission hadn't even begun, and tensions were already high. Darknight Wolf anxiously stomped his foot, unable to get a word in.
Finally, Tian Born Battle Maniac stepped forward and pulled both men into a shoulder hug. His arms were thicker than a man's waist. "Teammates must abandon grudges and work together to complete the mission.
Don't you agree?"
Under his gentle gaze and overwhelming strength, Langli Baitiao and Luck King awkwardly shook hands.
Darknight Wolf pulled out a map and pointed to a colossal structure in the distance. "Look, that should be our target."
At Avernus's center stood a rough, imposing city—the Bronze Fortress.
Known for its twelve concentric ring walls, each bristling with war machines. Inside, thousands of low-ranking devils prepared for the Blood War—enough to form multiple legions.
At its heart was the private stronghold of Avernus's ruler—Zariel.
"Intruders..."
"They're here..."
"I smell mortals. Don't let them escape."
Tian Born Battle Maniac sensed the chaotic air currents and faint noises, saying gravely, "If we stay here, we risk being killed by that Erinyes.
Devils nearby already noticed the anomaly. They're slowly surrounding us."
"Lang-brat, where's your cloak? Bring it out!"
"It can only be used once per day, and only for three minutes. I already used it to block the Erinyes's gaze... so..."
"Useless!"
Luck King pulled out a prophecy scroll. His eyes glowed blue as he said, "The southwest is weakest—just some imps and a Spined Devil."
"Then..."
"We charge straight through!" said Tian Born Battle Maniac confidently.
Roar—
He transformed into a muscle-bound giant wrapped in hellish chains, bellowing.
Boom!
In berserk mode, he was like a moving mountain, smashing through walls and turning over a dozen imps into meat paste.
Langli Baitiao hovered overhead, unleashing hundreds of vampire bats from his cloak. The nearby devils were drained into husks.
"Intruders!"
"Don't let them escape!"
"Kill them!"
The devils roared, but Tian Born Battle Maniac's might held them at bay. In the fortress, the Erinyes took flight.
"Fuck! We really drew the area boss!"
Luck King pulled another scroll from his pack, chanting. A rotating magical array formed beneath them.
"Time to scram!"
The space around them warped and twisted, their figures flickering like mirages—a sign of teleportation.
Crack—
In a crisp snap, the four vanished from sight.
The Erinyes arrived too late, watching them disappear.
He roared in anguish, steel trident flailing. "No—!"