Chapter 727: Bael

Amidst the fierce chaotic storm, the devils trembled and dared not even breathe too loudly. They all knew Bael’s temper had been volatile recently.

Cassius, however, remained calm and composed, speaking nonchalantly: "What’s the matter, Lord Bael? Is this how you welcome your allies?

Is this Avernus’ famed hospitality?"

"Of course, Your Majesty Cassius. Your power has grown even stronger."

Bael was so enraged that his body trembled, yet he forcefully suppressed his fury and reluctantly nodded, spouting insincere flattery.

At that moment, Bael felt like he had swallowed a thousand flies.

This Hell Lord knew that although this shameless red dragon had seized his authority, he still had to rely on him for help in this Blood War—which was exactly why the red dragon acted so brazenly.

Cassius was well aware of this. He held Bael’s weakness and had him bound by contract. No matter how furious Bael was, he couldn’t openly turn hostile.

Bael darkened his face and extended a massive, terrifying claw in a "please" gesture. "This way, Your Majesty Cassius.

We are still within the Blood War combat zone. It’s far too noisy here, and there’s a risk of our intel being overheard. Let’s talk in the palace."

"Very well."

A soft glow flickered over Cassius’ body. Moments later, he had transformed into a towering, armored half-dragon and followed Bael toward the Bronze Fortress’s inner ring.

Inside the palace, magma flowed freely and acrid white smoke filled the air. At its center stood a throne built of demon skulls and swords.

The palace had originally been constructed by Bael, taken by Zariel during the last Avernus coup, and now—after centuries—it had come back to him.

Bael sat atop the Hell throne, fingers interlocked, eyes dark as he gazed at the humanoid red dragon.

Cassius remained nonchalant. With a raise of his hand, a molten rock seat rose up to match Bael’s height. He sat down without ceremony and met Bael’s eyes.

Smoke thickened. The air turned tense again.

Bael was the first to break the silence, speaking in a low tone: "Your Majesty Cassius, with all due respect, you’ve broken our contract."

Cassius pointed to the floor. "That contract was signed under the witness of the River Styx. If I had truly violated its terms, the Will of the Styx would’ve long since torn out my soul.

But why... hasn’t it reacted?" He smiled and continued, "Besides, Lord Bael, I don’t quite understand what you’re trying to say."

"Don’t play dumb with me, Cassius!" Hellfire flared in Bael’s eyes as he slammed his throne’s armrest, growling angrily: "The authority of Avernus! What of the power Zariel left behind? I can feel it—it’s with you!!"

Cassius clapped his hands and feigned realization. "Ah, so that’s what you meant."

Bael’s tone turned icy: "Cassius, return the remaining Avernus authority to me and we can continue our cooperation."

"Of course I’m willing to cooperate with you, but..." Cassius shook his head, watching Bael with a cold smile. "That was my spoils of war. Why should I give it up?"

Bael’s voice was hoarse with rage. "Because of the contract! You promised me—you’d help me become Lord of Avernus with all your might!

But now, I don’t even have full authority! How can I be the true ruler here?"

Lava surged and ground fire erupted as Bael’s wrath spread. The entire Bronze Fortress trembled under his pressure.

"That wasn’t part of our contract," Cassius replied indifferently. "I agreed to help you kill Zariel. I never said I’d hand you full Avernus authority."

"You’re more of a devil than I am." Bael gritted his teeth, practically spitting the words out.

"Why, thank you."

Bael’s gaze turned sinister as he glared at Cassius. His mind raced with fury, but he had no means to deal with him.

Cassius hadn’t breached the contract, and he might not even be able to beat him in a fight. How could he reclaim what was rightfully his?

At the time, Cassius had already contacted several Hell Lords. Bael had been just a duke tucked away in a corner of Avernus. He hadn’t the leverage to negotiate and could only accept the Empire’s terms.

Bael had believed that once Zariel died, his power and foundation would make him the uncontested ruler of Avernus.

But he never imagined that Zariel had a final move—leaving 30% of Avernus authority to the Ember Emperor.

Wait—there might be another way. There was still one being in Hell more greedy, more miserly, and more powerful than this red dragon.

The Lord of the Nine Hells, Asmodeus.

Bael harbored resentment toward the being who had dethroned him, but that hatred was smothered by even greater fear.

Asmodeus was simply too ancient, too mysterious. Even as ages changed and gods fell, he remained unshaken as the Lord of the Nine Hells.

Even Mephistopheles, the strongest of the seven lords, dared not challenge him directly—only covet the supreme seat in secret.

At this thought, Bael grinned grimly and spoke in a low voice: "All of Hell belongs to the Lord of the Nine Hells. Cassius, surely you understand this.

As a creature of the Material Plane, seizing Hell’s authority... aren’t you afraid of divine punishment? Return what isn’t yours—it was never meant to be."

Cassius, having long anticipated this, chuckled with amusement. "Yes, all of Hell does belong to the great Lord of the Nine Hells. I almost forgot to mention—just recently, Lord Asmodeus came to the Material Plane to meet me.

We had a delightful conversation and reached a rather... unexpected deal."

He deliberately emphasized the word "deal," as if daring Bael to catch the implication.

"What?!"

Bael’s expression changed drastically. He leaned forward, brow furrowed.

In an instant, Bael understood—Asmodeus didn’t trust him. He questioned Bael’s loyalty and used Cassius as a counterbalance!

The stone he lifted had ended up crushing his own foot!

Cassius looked at the devil and continued, "Lord Bael, as your ally, I’d be delighted to govern Hell with you. Lord Asmodeus is also pleased with this arrangement.

Don’t worry—as long as I’m here, you’ll be able to use full Hell authority, no different from being the true Lord of Avernus."

Bael clenched his fists, veins bulging, and forced a laugh from his rage. "Fine, fine... Thank you, Cassius. Truly worthy of an ’ally’—you’ve even schemed against me."

Cassius rose from his molten throne and calmly said, "Bael, instead of obsessing over something that was never yours, you’d do better to focus on winning this Blood War.

You were deposed last time because of your failure in the Blood War. If demons conquer Avernus... even the title of Lord of Hell will be beyond your reach."

"You—"

Bael seethed with rage but knew Cassius wasn’t wrong. If Avernus fell, not even he could withstand Asmodeus’ punishment.

And so, Bael could only swallow his anger like broken teeth.

Cassius, however, laughed and said, "Bael, can’t you see? As your ally, I’m shouldering the burden for you!

I may temporarily hold Avernus’ authority, but I’m not a creature of Hell. I can’t threaten your position, yet I can help boost your power. This is a win-win."

The charm of a silver-tongued devil paired with his absurd 40 Charisma began to sway even Bael.

Indeed, although this greedy red dragon had seized Avernus’ authority, he could never become a true Lord of Hell—because he was an outsider.

Unlike the chaotic Abyss, overflowing with evil gods, Hell was ruled under Asmodeus’ order. Even Tiamat, who dwelled in Baator, had no authority over Hell and couldn’t become Lord of the Nine Hells.

Yet hatred still roiled in Bael’s heart. After scheming for centuries, he still couldn’t obtain full authority. His fury was understandable.

Shouldering the burden?

Don’t be ridiculous. This was pure, unbridled greed!

"Boom!"

"Hold the line!"

"Kill them all! For the Great Abyssal Mother!"

Outside the Bronze Fortress, demon shrieks and devil war cries blended into a deafening roar. The war was escalating rapidly.

With advanced siege defenses, tight organization, and home field advantage, the devils had built over a dozen defensive lines. Under skilled officer command, they shifted forces expertly and almost slaughtered the disorganized demons.

Countless arrows and fireballs rained down in volleys. Devils wielding infernal iron spears stood in tight ranks like walls, slaughtering the chaotic demons until corpses piled like mountains.

In just minutes, tens of thousands of demons died. Even their corpses were set ablaze, spewing noxious black smoke.

Compared to the demons, the devil legions were true armies—natural masters of warfare. The demons were no more than savage beasts.

Sadly, when faced with numbers dozens or even hundreds of times greater, even the best devil legions couldn’t hold forever. They were soon drowned in a tide of demons.

Once dragged into close combat, the devils lost their edge, becoming prey to a demonic swarm. Cassius even saw a Pit Fiend torn apart by over a thousand demons.

Soon, the outermost defense line had been breached. The devils launched an all-out defense, throwing everything they had into protecting the Bronze Fortress.

It wasn’t loyalty to Bael that drove them to fight to the death—it was the knowledge that if demons took Avernus, they would all die.

"The situation on the battlefield is worsening. Avernus is on the brink."

Cassius turned around and looked into the distance, calmly saying, "Bael, update me on the situation.

We are still firm allies, and the Abyss remains our common enemy. At this point, we must put aside our differences and stand together."

Bael scoffed at the notion of "firm allies," but he knew the importance of resisting the Abyssal invasion. He said gravely: "This Blood War offensive was launched by three ambitious Abyssal Lords: Kostchtchie the Wrathful, Mastiphal the Huntmaster, and Ixinix the Lord of Blackwater.

From what I know, these three Abyssal Lords gathered nearly twenty million demons, storming into Hell to raze ’my’ Avernus to the ground." Bael emphasized the word "my."

But Cassius focused on something else. He frowned. "Twenty million?"

As of now, including its newly conquered territories, the Ember Empire barely had thirty million citizens. Yet these Abyssal Lords could field a twenty-million-strong army!

Bael sneered, "Thanks to you, I couldn’t shut the Abyssal portal in time. Of course there’s a massive demon force.

But over the endless years of the Blood War, such large-scale invasions have happened hundreds, even thousands of times. It’s nothing new. Abyssal demons are like sand in the desert—endless.

If it didn’t cost so much chaotic energy to send demons to Hell, those Abyssal Lords might’ve brought billions, drowning all of Avernus."

Cassius thought of the three million demons that had invaded the Ember Empire and understood. He asked, "What’s the background on these three Abyssal Lords?"

Bael answered, "Kostchtchie the Wrathful, Lord of the 23rd Layer: the Iron Glacier. He’s the strongest of the three, known as the Frost Giant King, possessing the legacy of the giant god pantheon—a quasi-divine being.

As for Mastiphal and Ixinix, I’m not sure where their realms are. The Abyss is endless—even the Lord of the Nine Hells doesn’t know it all."

Hell had only nine Lords—each a powerhouse who rose through savage competition and countless schemes.

The Abyss had hundreds, even thousands of Lords. Though they too ascended through slaughter, their strength varied wildly.

Powerful Abyssal Lords like Demogorgon and Orcus rivaled gods. The weakest ones could be slain by mortals.

"Frost Giants have long been my enemies."

Cassius looked at Bael and said, "I’ll take care of Kostchtchie. The other two unknown Abyssal Lords are yours.

Also, I’ll bring at least three million Starfall warriors to aid Hell—most of them Professionals. But I have one condition."

Bael glared coldly at Cassius but replied, "Heh. A dragon’s greed is limitless. Speak. What’s your condition?"

Cassius pointed at the map of Hell on the wall with a smile. "A colony—or more precisely, a leased territory.

The Empire needs a zone in Avernus with administrative autonomy, extraterritorial rights, and unrestricted teleportation. Otherwise, we can’t deploy that many troops to Hell."

"Fine. Just make sure you keep your word this time."

Looking at the sea of incoming demons, Bael clenched his teeth harder.