Chapter 280 - 225: Wiring Up Hell

Chapter 280: Chapter 225: Wiring Up Hell

’Who knows how you interpreted that?’

But Zog couldn’t be bothered to explain further and simply replied, "Yes, that’s right. That’s exactly what I meant."

"Alright!" Asmodis put away his little notebook and enthusiastically threw an arm around Zog’s shoulder. "Let’s not waste any more time in this wasteland. This is a combat zone with the Demons. It’s not particularly dangerous, but drawing the attention of their armies would be a hassle."

"Devils are at war with Demons?"

’Then seeing a Demon in Hell is somewhat reasonable, I guess.’

"Yes. The Church sealed the passages to Hell, and they also sealed the passages to the Abyss. But they didn’t seal the passages *between* the Abyss and Hell, so a war naturally broke out. Resources are always tight, aren’t they?"

Zog followed Asmodis through the portal, ignoring the Demon squad he had spotted.

’If he could spot them, then the Lord of Hell surely could too. Since the local boss wasn’t planning on dealing with it, there was no need for him to meddle.’

The other side of the portal opened up outside a tall city wall. They were in an open-topped carriage pulled by Hellhounds, which offered a direct view of the landscape.

The smooth, cold, sturdy walls were probably over forty meters high—a height difficult to achieve even on the Feilin Continent. They stretched out to either side, disappearing into the horizon.

The Ninth Layer of Hell was a great plain, and such a massive city standing upon it was a truly striking sight.

Zog was certain the city had expanded quite a bit since his last visit.

’It seems the Devils haven’t stopped developing over the past century.’

Asmodis stood up, spread his arms, and announced with great pride, "Welcome to the greatest city in the Nine Layers of Hell, the dark and noble Hell Fortress, Malshem!"

As he spoke, the fortress’s heavy gates slowly swung open.

A long red carpet was laid out on the wide main road, lined on both sides by countless Devils waiting to welcome them.

The Hellhounds strode forward, pulling the magnificent carriage into the city as the welcoming Devils erupted in cheers.

"Zog! Zog! Zog..."

The roar of the crowd echoed through the city.

As the wheels rolled over the red carpet, huge magical fireworks were set off on both sides of the road every hundred meters. Dragon Beasts even flew overhead, their claws holding a banner.

"Welcome, great Red Dragon Zog, to Malshem!"

The Dragon in question struggled to keep a straight face.

’Times have changed. Even Devils are getting into formalism.’

’The experience was pretty great, though.’

’A more introverted person subjected to this might die of embarrassment.’

But one of Zog’s greatest talents was his shamelessness.

He even shot a couple of fireballs into the sky to add to the festivities.

’A notoriously infamous Dragon would rarely receive such treatment elsewhere.’

’It felt like the super pro plus max version of a welcome ceremony at a bathhouse.’

"Where did you learn all this?"

Once the novelty wore off, Zog asked curiously.

The Hell Fortress in his memory was nothing like this; it had been synonymous with chaos, violence, filth, and blood.

But now it was clean, tidy, and odor-free.

"The internet."

"Huh?" Zog was genuinely surprised by Asmodis’s answer.

’Logically, the Divine Remains Network should be the only network in the world right now. Had his own business expanded to Hell without his knowledge?’

"The internet is a wonderful thing. You can learn all sorts of knowledge on it," Asmodis said with a sigh of admiration.

"Hell can connect to the internet?"

"Of course." Asmodis casually activated Illusion Mimicry and opened a forum.

Zog then watched with wide eyes as the loading circle spun for nearly two minutes before the interface finally appeared.

’Uh...’

’A part of the interface, anyway.’

About a third of it loaded. The other two-thirds were still stuck.

"It’s very convenient, isn’t it? Just wait a few minutes, and you can find whatever you’re looking for."

"Is it really that convenient?"

Watching something struggle to load always made Zog extremely anxious.

"Of course. Finding the right knowledge in a library takes much longer than a few minutes. Besides, Hell’s libraries have been severely damaged in the endless wars. Hell is starved for knowledge."

Asmodis said this with a hint of sorrow.

’He seemed like a Lord of Hell who genuinely wanted to build a better Hell.’

’Not like the war-crazed maniacs before him, whose minds were filled with nothing but conquering this and that.’

’Of course, the more likely reason was that he’d lost a contest of strength and had no choice but to trade the sword for the pen.’

Zog could deeply empathize with that.

’He was willing to bet that the one Asmodis had lost to was the same one he had.’

"In that case, you’re a really dedicated student." Zog gave him a thumbs-up.

’Learning anything with an internet speed like that couldn’t be easy.’

"Ha, it can’t be helped. However, I’ve heard there’s a way to make the network run more smoothly." Asmodis changed the subject, getting to the main point.

"I can’t make any guarantees," Zog replied. The fact that Divine Remains were used as network base stations was a trade secret.

"It’s the Divine Remains, isn’t it?" Asmodis said, cutting right through the trade secret. "We can provide them."

Zog tensed up for a moment, then immediately understood.

"The Church told you?"

’The Magic Goddess is still alive, so the moment a Church member connected to the network, She would have figured out what it was made of. After all, it’s a network built on principles of Magic; no Magic could be hidden from Her.’

’What Zog never understood, however, was why the Church, after learning the principles, didn’t develop a competing product and instead joined the Zog Group’s network.’

’A lack of Illusionists?’

’Or were they just too lazy to build their own when one was already available?’

"Yes," Asmodis nodded.

"What did you promise the Church? You two are practically sharing the same pair of pants now."

"Ha, your metaphors are quite interesting," Asmodis said, seeming to have a keen interest in language. "Hell has also begun to believe in the Magic Goddess."

He calmly dropped a bombshell.

"Wow."

For a moment, Zog didn’t know what to say.

"Continuing to think about conquering other planes like in the old days is no longer viable."

Asmodis might have a decadent appearance, but when it came to serious business, he still carried himself like a leader.

"We tried cooperating with the Demons. The circumstances of our two races seem quite similar, don’t they?"

"And failed."

Asmodis shrugged, implying that Zog knew exactly what kind of creatures Demons were.

"So the war began, and it’s been going on for so long I can barely remember how long it’s been. I hope to end this war with your help."

"No, no, no," Zog refused outright. "I’m not in the mercenary business anymore."

’When he was a young Dragon, he often worked as a mercenary. He’d get paid by the client and could also plunder his targets. It was a perfect business model, though other Dragons sometimes looked down on him for it.’

’Other Dragons felt that providing services for others was a disgrace to dragonkind. How was that any different from the Dragon Beasts that were used as mounts?’

’Zog didn’t care. As long as there was money to be made, it was fine by him.’

"I don’t need you on the battlefield as a combatant. That would be a waste of your talents. I’ve heard about the Zog Group on the Continent; what you’ve done is far more impressive than conquering a few cities."

Asmodis straightened his posture and said very seriously, "War is fought with money, and Hell has always been a poor place. There’s only so much land that can grow food, and we can’t even find buyers if we wanted to sell our labor.

"Besides, there are some benefits to the war continuing. Devils have a system of merits and titles based on military service, and Devils are a warlike race. Those who have earned merits are eager to return to the battlefield. If they die, I don’t have to pay for their retirement, and it makes room for the younger Devils."

’Zog scratched his chin. A Devil is a Devil, after all. He’d just casually admitted to something so outrageous.’

"So what do you need? Money? The Zog Group never gives out money for free."

’Whatever we give, we have to earn back double. Anything less is a loss.’

"We can discuss these complex matters in detail once we reach the palace."

The Dragon and the Devil were still in the carriage. Who knew how long the red carpet was; they still hadn’t reached the end.

"For now, I’m more interested in a solution to make the network smoother."

"And the Divine Remains you’re offering?"

Zog spread his claws, indicating that he couldn’t do anything without the Divine Remains.

"Uh, do you know about the first Asmodis?"