Chapter 282: The Devil's Plan

Devils are a major trouble.

This is the consensus among many races of the Prime Material Plane.

Demons only need slaughter and flesh; even when they come to the surface, they basically just kill wildly and chaotically, but despite how much they kill, they rarely do things like utterly annihilating a city (people will run).

In most cases, they fight and fight, then at some unknown point turn on each other, happily beating each other into a mess.

Even if there are outstanding Demon Lords or Greater Demons capable of commanding the demon armies, they will become public enemies of the Prime Material Plane.

Every race, nation, and deity will actively intervene; even a Duke of Hell is basically just coming up for a meal, changing the flavor.

As long as there is a fight, they don't care who they are fighting; in fact, compared to fragile surface dwellers, they prefer other demons, devils, and powerful beings from the Upper Planes.

And while the total population and high-tier combat power of devils might not even reach one percent of the endless demons, most races regard them as equivalent evils.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, you came too fast, too fast, yet there are too few of you; it is truly a pity."

Zhu Lian, revealing his Chain Devil true form, smiled very happily.

He had waited for this day for far too long.

He was tired of it, tired of playing the role of a Grand Mage in this countryside place, tired of teaching the mysteries of magic to those stupid and filthy "animals."

Many lifeforms have some misunderstandings about devils and demons, thinking they are a certain kind of Infernal creature that is merely good at something, evaluating the opponent's abilities with data and lists.

The most common prejudice is that magic-attribute demons are good at magic, melee units of devils only swing beheading swords, and succubi only charm.

In reality, as long-lived races, they can self-teach various professions and abilities, and can even make their professional abilities surpass their innate abilities; many devils and demons do not do this because their own innate abilities are already strong enough.

The base is too high; too much effort must be expended to feel positive returns.

With this energy, advancing further in one's bloodline or Hellish rank might yield more.

And the "Zhu Lian" before them was obviously an outlier.

As a Chain Devil specializing in close combat, it had been lying in wait in this kingdom for at least thirty years, even becoming the kingdom's famous Grand Mage.

"I originally thought those coming to find me would be Dai Niya and the Royal Knights; I had prepared a speech, originally planning to stir up trouble between the mages and the royal family, I was even prepared to 'die' under the title of 'Traitor Grand Mage'."

Even facing the siege of the Radiant Guards, "Zhu Lian" still appeared completely at ease.

He even had time to, like a traditional villain, recount his schemes and inner journey, but the Radiant Guards did not respond to him.

Devils are top-tier masters of manipulating contracts and language; too many supernatural abilities take effect through speech, and the most rational choice when fighting them is to shut up.

"Hehe, you must already be shaken; just the fact that Principal Zhu Lian is a cultist is enough to shake you, right? Guess, among my disciples and followers, how many are devil worshippers, and how many are of the Beast Cult?"

In Zhu Lian's words, there was an uncontainable joy.

To be honest, if it weren't for the orders from "superiors," he would have long left this boring and tedious kingdom; back when Griffin the King ascended and the entire nation rose strangely, he was one of them.

Back then, he thought he could pull off something big, but the entire kingdom collapsed from the turmoil, and the most disappointed were actually them, these "conspirators."

"By the way, even if you luckily survive and return to the surface, claiming I am a traitor or a devil, how many people will believe it? I have already prepared a backup plan; your 'lies' will only anger my disciples and followers."

Chain Devil Zhu Lian seemed to have been holding it in for too long, happily recounting his story.

When he was sent over back then, he thought it was a lucrative post where he could scoop up a lot.

But the kingdom grew weaker day by day, and he, this "spy," lost his value.

Later, he actually kept getting "trust" and "promotions" because he worked diligently and conscientiously.

And the devil race actually has a weakness.

"Fortunately, I have risen to the point where there is nowhere left to rise."

Devils are a symbol of Lawful Evil; they share too many essential similarities with the "bureaucratic system," and their evolution even requires approval from superiors.

The quotas and positions for promotion are directly linked to rank; they even call "bloodline evolution" "promotion," and their various workplace intrigues can be called the masters of palace intrigue.

In reality, Zhu Lian's behavior is not an isolated case; many devils have "office addiction" and "promotion addiction"; they value promotion above all else, especially following order and profit guidance; before exposure, they can be the best lawyers, officials, and accountants; being good at manipulating rules, if they really do something, normal people absolutely cannot discover it.

For Zhu Lian, the officialdom of the Griffin era was a bit hard to navigate; too many messy things had mixed into the kingdom, various external organizations and forces were fighting internally within the kingdom, and one slip could lead to exposure.