Chapter 288 - 229: The Fishing Plan Against Mammon

Chapter 288: Chapter 229: The Fishing Plan Against Mammon

"Surprise!"

Zog sauntered out of the Gate of Hell, looking like he had just returned from a relaxing vacation at a tourist resort.

He even brought back a souvenir: the model of the Devil’s Battlefront he’d specifically asked for.

The Church staff stared at each other, finding it hard to believe this was a Dragon who had just come back from Hell.

"Welcome back." The Bishop from Twin Tower City stepped forward to greet him.

"Oh? What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in a church in Twin Tower City?"

It was nice to see a familiar face, especially one who had given him a million Gold Coins.

Zog greeted him cheerfully.

"I was promoted. As of last week, I’m now in charge of the entire Hell District," the Hell Bishop explained.

"Whoa," Zog pursed his lips in surprise. "Hell... District. I never thought those two words could be used together."

"The Magic Goddess is fair. Every land deserves to be bathed in the Goddess’s glorious light."

The Bishop gave a rather standard answer, ignoring Zog’s teasing.

Afterward, the man and the Dragon went to a room to discuss the trip to Hell.

Zog only mentioned the networking and using literary and artistic works to improve the Devils’ image in the eyes of other races. He didn’t disclose what he’d received as payment.

The Church wasn’t too concerned about that, though. Making money was a personal endeavor for Church members. Unlike organizations that raked in wealth under the name of a nonexistent god, they had a real one.

A god above the mortal world naturally wouldn’t care about worldly possessions of value.

She only needed faith.

As for how he reached an agreement with the Devils, Zog engaged in a bit of creative storytelling.

Chapter One: A faulty Gate of Hell drops an innocent Zog into a den of Demons.

Chapter Two: The heroic Red Dragon single-handedly battles the Demons.

Chapter Three: The hero is overwhelmed by the demonic horde, only to be rescued in his moment of peril.

...

The short, fast-paced storytelling was full of ups and downs, a truly soul-stirring tale.

The Zog Group’s very first batch of sample audiobooks had been recorded by him personally.

He painted his encounters before meeting Asmodis as incredibly perilous.

You couldn’t even say he was lying. At least eighty percent of it was true, because Zog really did encounter Demons before he met Asmodis, and the Devils and Demons really were at war.

As for the other ninety-two percent falsehood... that was a necessary means of increasing the value of his work.

It couldn’t be helped. People who knew how to talk a big game simply earned more than those who just diligently did their jobs.

Unless you made your work so indispensable that you couldn’t be replaced.

Even that wasn’t entirely safe. It’s not like companies hadn’t laid off their most vital employees before.

Zog had fulfilled his part of the deal, so naturally, the other party had to fulfill theirs.

"So, about that Mammon, and how they’re hijacking the Magic Vision Devices’ signals and Casting through the screen... the Church must have it all figured out by now, right?"

Faced with the question, the Bishop looked completely confident. "Of course we’ve figured it out. The Church never goes back on its word."

Zog chuckled.

The Bishop continued, "However, this matter can’t be resolved in the short term."

Zog stopped chuckling.

"Why not?" he asked, confused. "It’s not that I want to question the Church’s capabilities, but a heretical sect—a heretical sect that needs believers—should be a bigger problem for the Church than it is for the Zog Group."

Zog said with some agitation, "To be honest, if it weren’t for the fact that I respect and support the Church."

He spun this completely insincere lie without a hint of hesitation.

"I’d even open a Magic Vision Station for that so-called Mammon Sect. As long as they’re willing to pay, they can preach their doctrines all they want."

This was also insincere. Zog would never let them preach freely. If they turned all his viewers into lunatics, who would he make money from in the future?

"Calm down, please," the Bishop said, trying to soothe Zog, who looked like he was fuming.

"How can I not be upset? I risked so much to enter Hell, my sincere and loyal heart laid bare for the Church to see, and this is the perfunctory treatment I get in return?" Zog even squeezed out a couple of an Evil Dragon’s tears.

"We’ve already investigated most of it. We just need more time—and your cooperation—to catch them," the Bishop explained.

"And the part you’ve investigated is?"

The Bishop first introduced the origins of the Mammon Sect. "Their predecessor was a group called the Soul Ascenders."

"Soul Ascenders?"

"They’re a group of people who believe the soul should be freed from the shackles of the body and ascend to a higher realm. They were once very powerful, but with the help of the Goddess’s Holy Light, the Church easily eliminated them."

Speaking of the Magic Goddess’s glorious achievements, any Bishop from the Church would puff out their chest with pride.

"But you didn’t eliminate them completely," Zog seized on the key point.

"Correct. Some remnants may have survived. Now they’ve changed their organization’s name and are starting over."

"Then can’t the Goddess just use her Holy Light again?"

"Er, Her attention is reserved for the countless beings still suffering. She has no time to spare for a group of remnants. It is the duty of us believers to solve these simple problems for the Goddess."

This explanation was quite intriguing. Zog’s claw tip drew circles on the tabletop.

’Is it that She has no time, or that She can’t?’

That was the question.

Zog had pondered this question while recovering after being hit by that Scroll back then.

He had witnessed the Goddess’s power. During the divine wars, She could cast Magic wherever She wished, without even needing to be physically present. She could just rain down Magic from afar.

In other words, if She wanted to smite Zog with an Eleven Ring Spell, She could have just done it directly. There was no need to find a Warrior and use a Scroll.

’Why go to all that trouble?’

All this time, Zog had never been able to figure it out.