Chapter 311 After Control Comes the Harvest

Saloyan had weathered situations far worse than this countless times before.

Hailing from Dis, the second layer of the Baator Nine Hells, and serving as a devil Baron of noble bloodline, his nature was nowhere near as bloodthirsty or radical as the madmen who earned their promotions through the Blood War. His actual combat abilities were also slightly inferior.

However, the long lifespan and soul-chasing instincts of his race still allowed him to accumulate a staggering amount of experience over countless years.

Beguiling hearts, memorizing spell lists, and even the local customs of the various continents across the Material Plane...

Before him, even the most knowledgeable mortal scholars and professors would hang their heads in shame at their own ignorance.

It was impossible for a minor, unexpected situation to make him as panicked and flustered as this rookie adventurer he currently possessed.

In fact, when they first ran into Xia Nan and the trailing adventurer squad had yet to appear, he was already formulating a backup plan.

The current situation merely pushed him a step further, forcing him to employ more aggressive methods to solve the problem at hand.

He only needed to clarify the objectives of the three parties present and combine them with his own circumstances to find the crux of the problem and a solution.

For Saloyan, the goal was simple: remotely control Abi to reach the giant Goblin lair mentioned in his intelligence—which had already been cleared—and search it for traces of bizarre technological constructs.

The plan was already ninety percent complete. They had reached the destination; all he needed was a relatively stable environment and a period of uninterrupted time to spread his mental strength and inspect the area.

And that was exactly where the problem lay.

Though he didn't know where he had leaked his tracks, the Rivervale Town Adventurer Association had clearly sensed his presence and dispatched an adventurer squad to investigate.

Now, they had even caught up from behind.

With them pestering him, he would absolutely never get the time and environment needed for a careful search.

Therefore, his most urgent task was to deal with these annoying adventurers cleanly so they wouldn't get in the way.

As for Xia Nan...

Based solely on his recent performance, Saloyan could roughly determine that the man wasn't sent by another faction to stop him. It was probably just a coincidence.

Before the adventurer squad appeared, he had the patience to wait for the man to finish processing his loot and leave before taking action.

But now, although he felt repulsed by the mixed aura emanating from the man's soul, once the battle truly began... he obviously couldn't care about that.

At worst, after killing him, he would just leave his soul alone. Whether it ascended to some divine kingdom later or was taken away by something else, it would have nothing to do with him.

Even if some big shot wanted revenge later, they couldn't possibly break into Purgatory to find his true body. The esteemed [Iron Duke], Dispater, would not allow such an entity to run wild before the Iron Throne.

After a brief moment of thought, considering all these factors—

Saloyan decided to clear the field.

However, being merely a consciousness projection right now—one that had even expended some energy during the battle with the Armored Lurker—his current power was no longer sufficient to crush these adventurers.

He needed more.

He had to draw more power from his main body in Purgatory.

And that required a channel.

Coming from outside the Material Plane, Saloyan could not—and dared not—simply transmit his fel energy out of thin air.

It was like trying to send freshwater from a lake to an ocean thousands of miles away.

He didn't need to painstakingly dig a river channel and alter the terrain in between.

To deal with the few adventurers present, simply scooping a bucket from the lake and manually transporting it to the distant ocean was enough.

And Abi... was the best candidate for this "water transport."

Saloyan needed the boy's native Material Plane body and soul to act as the vessel for his power.

The prerequisite for such an operation was that he held the ownership rights to Abi's body and soul under the rules of the world.

He needed... to sign a contract.

For a devil from the depths of Purgatory, this was no difficult task.

The time was ripe. The foolish young man, who had already taken him as a spiritual pillar of faith after days of bewitchment, would take that final step into the abyss with just a little emotional prodding.

'Lord Saloyan, they seem to be coming for me.'

'What should I do... what should I do?'

The nearly tangible gazes converging on him from the veteran Class Holders left Abi at a complete loss.

He didn't even hear Xia Nan's inquiring voice from the other side.

Pale-faced, he merely pleaded frantically in his heart to the "Angel Saint" who had become his sole reliance over the past few days.

"Don't be afraid. I am here."

Offering unprecedented security and reliability, a hoarse yet magnetic male voice rang out quietly in his mind with warm intimacy.

Under the effect of this voice, Abi's panicked and fearful heart was gradually soothed, and even his body stopped trembling.

'Lord Saloyan, I am all alone, and I haven't even obtained a Class Level. I'm definitely no match for these people.'

'Can you... can you help me escape?'

Soothed by the male voice, Abi regained a little bit of his ability to think, wanting to leave this dangerous place as soon as possible.

But as soon as his voice faded, the male voice seemed to sense his inner thoughts. It exploded in his cranial cavity at a noticeably louder volume, forcing him to concentrate and listen carefully:

"Escape?"

"Has it come to this, Abi... do you still want to run away?"

"I am very disappointed."

Lord Saloyan, who had always encouraged and comforted him, suddenly using such a tone caused Abi to panic instantly. He hurriedly explained in his mind:

'I didn't...'

'That's not it, Lord Saloyan.'

'I just wanted to...'

Before he could finish, the devil cut him off.

"Run? Abi, where exactly do you want to run to?"

"You felt there was nothing to look forward to in village life, and you despised the hard work in the fields with your parents every day, so you fled to Rivervale Town, fantasizing that becoming a so-called 'adventurer' would change your life."

"You were lucky enough to meet a good captain, but then you felt that killing Goblins all day earned too little and had too many restrictions. So you ran away from the squad, wanting to strike out on your own and make big money."

"Having lost the protection of your guide, and with only mediocre abilities, you ended up earning even less than before and working even harder. In the end, you could still only go kill Goblins... and you still ran away, fleeing to the wine tables and the casinos, wasting your precious time and energy on those pointless things."

"Abi, you should have a brighter, more wonderful future."

"But whenever hardship arrived alongside opportunity, you always chose to run, missing out time and time again."

"Now that things have reached this point, are you still going to run?"

Through days of bewitchment, he had long since figured out this young man's past.

Showing no mercy, Saloyan tore away the last fig leaf in the boy's heart, laying bare the regret and unwillingness Abi had never revealed to anyone.

Struck right in his sore spot, the youthful-looking adventurer froze in place. His face displayed a complex mix of regret, anger, hatred, and various other intertwined emotions.

"No..." A hoarse voice squeezed out from the depths of his throat. His hand gripping the sword hilt turned white from exertion, and his arm trembled uncontrollably.

"I won't run anymore, Mr. Saloyan. I won't run."

"Very good." The originally disappointed tone shifted, taking on a trace of deliberate gratification as the male voice grew gentle and warm once more. "Abi, I really didn't misjudge you."

"Look at them."

Guided by Saloyan, Abi's gaze shifted forward toward the Blackwood Squad.

"Tsk tsk, Class Holders, huh... So bright and glamorous. If you bumped into them head-on on the street, you'd probably still have to make way for them."

"You're all commoners, so why is it that they can earn more gold coins in a single mission than you can in a year? Why is it that they can sit in the tavern with no regard for anyone else, laughing loudly and casually ordering a whole table of dishes you only get to enjoy on holidays?"

"Why... why can't it be them making way for you?"

"Is it really because their talent is higher and they work harder? Or is it simply because they are willing to make dirty deals, willing to wear the cloak of so-called 'justice' while engaging in the shadiest deeds behind the scenes?"

"Abi, let me speak frankly."

"If you were to die right now, no one would remember you."

"Your corpse will become a breeding ground for maggots, your name will be unknown, and your existence will ultimately have been utterly worthless."

Every word was like a poisoned blade accurately piercing the most painful part of Abi's heart. Flashing before his eyes was his impoverished and insignificant life: his parents' disappointed gazes, the bartender's expulsions, the eye-rolls of fellow adventurers, the curses and disdain of the big-shot Class Holders...

He had had enough!

"Do you want power?"

Right at this most opportune moment, the incredibly gentle yet fatally attractive male voice echoed quietly in his mind.

"Not the kind that requires relying on schemes and the charity of others, but true... power. Power enough to reverse your fate and make everyone who looked down on you and hurt you pay the price."

"Right here, right now."

In this instant, his survival instincts under extreme pressure, his accumulated humiliation as a bottom-tier adventurer, and his resentment toward all past injustices—stoked by the devil's bewitchment—transformed into a raging flood of emotion that washed away the last line of defense in the young man's heart.

"I accept!"

Almost roaring, Abi shouted out loud with all his might.

"Take whatever you want... power, give me power!"

"..."

"Deal."

And so, surging, dark-red flames of fel energy erupted.

The surging negative energy from Purgatory transformed into invisible waves carrying the stench of sulfur, suddenly exploding across the open clearing.

Wummmm—

Amidst a blood-red haze, patterns exuding an ominous and evil aura spread across the ground like blood. Reflecting the surrounding flames, they flowed and wove together into an incredibly complex, deep-red magic circle that subconsciously filled onlookers with unease.

The magical brilliance flashed briefly, and the air warped for a split second.

The next second, a lump of "flesh and blood" landed in the center of the magic circle.

It should have been a humanoid creature, but there were no identifying features left on its body to distinguish its race. Its hair and skin had long been stripped away, revealing only hideous, blood-red flesh. Its eyes and mouth were sewn shut, and its limbs, bound by chains, were twisted and deformed.

A poor wretch who had violated a contract had now become the contract itself.

It was kneeling on the ground, almost lying flat, revealing the dense contract clauses on its back—carved into flesh and blood in the Infernal language.

"Stop him! They're signing a contract!"

The dark-red flames reflected in Margaret's crystal-clear eyes as her pupils abruptly shrank.

Without even waiting for the shield-bearing dwarf at the front of the formation, she gripped her sword with both hands and charged forward, her shout and her footsteps ringing out at almost the exact same time.

Margaret didn't know what this devil was trying to do.

But obviously, in the current situation, letting the devil complete the contract signing was definitely not a good thing for her group.

Unfortunately, no matter how fast she reacted, moving to respond the moment the dark flames swirled and the magic circle was drawn...

She was still a step too late.

Coming from Hell, with more experience than everyone on the field combined, how could Saloyan possibly expose such an opening?

"Hum..."

Magic particles surged wildly, and invisible ripples instantly spread outward with Abi's body at the center.

3rd-Circle · Illusion · Fear.

—Projects a phantom of the target's deepest fear into their mind (Perception save). If the check is failed, the target enters the fear state.

The first to be affected was Xia Nan, who had the fastest reaction and was the closest.

He only felt a cold, clammy breeze brush past his cheeks and seep into the back of his head, causing his dark eyes to glaze over.

In his mind, a blurry scene took shape.

A bustling tavern. He was sitting in a corner of the hall, and a nearby waiter was hurriedly approaching with a bowl of thick soup. He could vaguely smell the sweet aroma wafting from it.

Suddenly, the waiter's foot slipped, his balance shifted, and the bowl slipped from his hands.

Mixed with mushroom bits, the thick, white cream soup splashed out, falling toward the floor under the pull of gravity.

Just as the thick soup was about to touch the filthy floorboards...

Xia Nan snapped back to reality, passing the Perception check.

His Perception attribute, reaching as high as 11 points, combined with the resistance bonus from [Gaze into the Abyss], gave him a very high probability of saving even against this 3rd Circle Spell released by a devil's consciousness projection.

At the same time, the counter-effect of [Gaze into the Abyss] triggered, acting on Saloyan, the devil casting the spell.

He also saved against it.

Sensing that strand of countering mental strength coming from his side, the devil Baron possessing Abi cast a somewhat surprised glance toward Xia Nan's location. However, he didn't pay it too much mind and instead focused his attention on maintaining the operation of the magic circle.

In contrast, the members of the Oathkeeper Blackwood Squad didn't have it so easy.

Under the effect of [Fear], three of them failed the check and instantly fell into boundless terror.

The most affected among them, the mage Joshua, simply dropped the staff in his hands, screamed, and turned around, looking as though he wanted to flee outright.

Only Margaret, acting as the captain, barely managed to resist with her tenacious will and maintain her sanity.

Having already made the decision to clear the field, and needing to buy enough time for Abi to sign the contract...

Naturally, Saloyan wouldn't just cast [Fear] and call it a day.

After "control," naturally came the "harvest."

Sizzle—

An incredibly dense mass of yellowish-green smoke carrying the signature sulfurous stench of Hell drifted rapidly toward Xia Nan, Margaret, and the three adventurers who had failed to resist and were now trapped in a state of fear. It moved amidst a corrosive hiss that made one's hair stand on end and teeth ache.

—3rd-Circle · Conjuration · Stinking Cloud.