Chapter 283: Exchange

Some lives are inherently evil.

At least, devils are.

It is said that, partly due to planar factors and partly because most devils are reincarnated souls of "evil men," in any case, Slashing Evil deals not only no need for evil detection but essentially starts at maximum damage—triply effective in physical terms.

"I'm leaving, so I'll leave you a grand gift to remember me by."

The devil who smiled happily set up this scheme.

He might not even gain anything; in fact, he never intended to profit at all. The demon lords he dealt with directly had abysmal reputations.

The ritual materials and offerings were all prepared by himself—from the start, he was operating at a loss.

"But I'm willing!"

His true goal might simply be, upon returning to the Infernal, to reply to other devils mocking him, "You worked for over thirty years? Are you insane?" with, "I destroyed that kingdom," "I am the one who toppled a nation."

"Which title suits me better—'Nation Destroyer' or 'Nation-Destroying Conspirator'?"

Julian, lost in his dream, smiled triumphantly—he had waited too long for this day.

The large-scale blood sacrifices had long since been completed. Even with insufficient offerings, members of the Beast Sect made excellent blood sacrifices.

The simpler and more direct the plan, the more likely it is to succeed—he merely set a trap and waited for the unlucky to fall into it.

Everyone who stepped into this "cage" would become an Offering in the plan.

Far more effective than summoning a horde of demons on the ground only to be wiped out by the Shanshen Sect.

All that was needed was to let these demons pour endlessly into the labyrinth, utterly destroying the kingdom's chances of self-rescue—this city and this kingdom were doomed to end.

The chain devil, posing as Julian, smiled with restraint, recalling the great devils and devil nobles he had once seen—how joyfully they had toppled this small kingdom. Perhaps he was not far from earning a devilish title himself; at the very least, let him become a true great devil.

"You may call me Jurg Risan, a mere four-hundred-year-old little devil." The stage was ending—how could there be no audience?

He felt a pang of regret—there were too few "audience members" before him.

The long brewing finally reached its end; when the first thunderbolt exploded, the city stood on the brink of annihilation.

As foreseen in the destined trajectory, this kingdom and this city held too many possibilities of destruction—efforts at self-rescue had merely activated one prematurely.

"Aaaoooh!"

"Flesh! The taste of the Prime Material Plane!"

"So many delicious little creatures."

One by one, the planar gates to the lower planes opened, and the demon legions surged forth, beginning their usual hunt.

Julian did not link to his home Infernal. For demons, that would also be a trap—if given a choice, who would willingly fight endless demons and mortals in an underground ruin?

Julian never expected the demon lord to fulfill his promise and provide the agreed-upon "soul coins"; in fact, he had swindled that demon lord as well.

"A small parting conspiracy, swindling demons, the kingdom, and the Beast Sect alike. That's how I'll write my next job's application for knowledge."

The devil may not have gained anything, but others' misfortune, ensnared in his scheme, could serve as his "work record."

The chain devil, wrapped in chains, laughed joyfully—thinking of his impending "promotion and raise," his former noble restraint vanished entirely.

"Julian!"

A furious pair of wings descended from the sky; the black-armored paladin advanced with holy sword in hand.

"Clang!"

The metallic clash lasted only a moment—even the famed unbreakable Infernal chains shattered outright beneath the holy blade's strike.

"My chains!!"

Finally, Julian screamed in agony.

For chain devils like him, the bonded chains were part of their flesh—even usable as tentacles—and now they were severed—how could he survive? And this, for the first time, was what Li En felt he could not fully sever.

Li En's blade trembled continuously; he felt nauseated—the discomfort of cutting into something "soft and squishy," a soul.

This monster… made chains out of souls?!

And as Julian looked toward Li En, the presence in the shadows had descended to its designated coordinate.

"Clang!" The flying sword struck from a blind spot—yet still, only metallic collision echoed.

Hela delivered another backstab—but this time, the chains blocked it.

"Good, good idea—but I'm a devil, and my chains are my eyes."