Though housing his believers within the divine kingdom offered temporary benefits, what followed was nothing but downsides—equivalent to a slow suicide. But
Because what he lacked most right now was time!
The longer things dragged on, the better it would be for him.
As long as he condensed the divine domain of
At that point, mighty gods like
"However… comprehending the Law of Death seems to require certain external conditions…"
A deep, calculating glint flickered through Leylin's eyes. "If there were more souls to serve as experimental specimens for the Chip, the progress of decoding the Laws could accelerate further…"
But the number of souls needed as raw material for the Chip's research was not so easily gathered.
According to Leylin's rough estimate, at least ten thousand ordinary souls would probably suffice for a single observation by the Chip. And to fully deduce the Law of Death, the quantity of souls required—and the death energy produced during their annihilation—reached a truly terrifying figure. Only by fanatically throwing every last one of his own believers into the equation would it come close to being enough. Of course, he had absolutely no intention of doing that.
"In that case, the only paths to obtaining a massive number of souls appear to be the Material Plane… and Hell and the Abyss…"
Devils and demons had originally been transformed from soul worms, so they could serve as specimens as well.
Leylin had no plans to visit the Material Plane, nor did he wish to help the devils and demons kick off the Blood War. Though it would have been a literal meat grinder—an inexhaustible source of death energy—it simply didn't align with his interests.
After all, he was a true god, not one of those Hell Lords.
Defeating demons would bring him no benefit whatsoever. The first three layers of Hell had already been converted into his private domain, their prime energy directly under his control—channeled into sustaining his entire divine kingdom. There was no longer any need to curry favor with anyone.
"So then… that leaves me with only one option, doesn't it?"
Leylin's gaze passed over the Holy Mountain, seemingly arriving straight at the very bottom of the divine kingdom—at the boundary with the fourth layer of Hell.
There, a densely packed army of devils clad in steel armor stood in formation, ready for battle.
"It seems they're having the same idea…"
Leylin had shouted the Overlord of Hell's own slogan outright in his prayers—he had long harbored designs on the complete control of
And those Hell Lords would obviously not be without their precautions.
Even though they were wary of each other and had lost
By now, ever larger devil legions were massing at the borders, and they were no longer in a defensive posture—they were preparing to launch a counterattack, or rather, an invasion!
"How interesting… Frost Devil legions, and Succubus legions too?"
Leylin's divine sense swept across those devil armies, instantly discerning their composition. The traces of aid from other Hells were strikingly obvious.
"So they've finally united. Preparing to resist me, are they?"
A cold smirk hung at the corner of Leylin's lips. "Even if Asmodeus had fully recovered, it would never have possessed such powerful means to unite the other Hell Lords, even with constant prodding about the threat I pose…"
"And besides… wounded by the Primordial Force, how could it recover so easily? Unless some True God of immense power lent a hand…"
In almost an instant, Leylin had seen through the essence of this danger.
Asmodeus must have received the aid of some immensely powerful god—someone who had even managed to get it to unite the other Hell Lords in a joint campaign against Leylin.
When it came to the art of manipulation and conspiracy, those powerful gods probably still needed another few tens of thousands of years of study compared to Leylin.
"So then… is it
With a slight stir in his heart, Leylin had already listed the two prime suspects, and he personally leaned toward the latter.
"The probability of Mystra is very high… This Goddess of the
A faint spark of anger kindled in Leylin's heart. "First, colluding with Kelemvor to cut off the supply of souls from worshippers to my divine kingdom. Then secretly funding the devils to begin their counterattack against my divine kingdom… planning to slowly drain my strength, or perhaps even force my true body to descend into the Netherworld so you can ambush me?"
With his piercing gaze, Leylin instantly saw through the enemy's scheme. "Unfortunately… the one thing you miscalculated is my true strength…"
After a cold chuckle, Leylin's divine sense spread across his entire divine kingdom and instantly drew two people to him.
"My Lord! The Devil Hunter legions are fully prepared and await your command at any moment…"
More importantly, her aura had grown ever more profound, carrying a terrifying aura reminiscent of a prehistoric beast. Under the nourishment of Leylin's divine grace, the red dragon bloodline within her had been continuously refined, and she had now reached the peak of the Legendary rank.
Standing beside her was Lavinia, the former paladin, who had now become Phoenix — a Legendary succubus.
The holier a paladin was, the greater the power they would receive. Given Phoenix's original level of devotion, she had now directly advanced to the rank of High Legendary.
Although she could have chosen forms such as the Pit Fiend, Leylin, for various considerations, opted to do something similar to what Asmodeus had done to the Succubus Queen
If someday in the future Phoenix were to reach the realm of the Succubus Queen, Glasya's expression would surely be quite the sight.
"Good! Remember, your mission is defense — do not cross the boundaries of the divine realm... When necessary, my avatar will join the battle directly..."
After handing command of the Devil Hunter legions to the two of them, Leylin sent them off, though he was silently calculating in his mind.
The advantage of Devil Hunters was that they could seal devils to gain power.
Fighting within Hell against the devil armies would be enormously beneficial for the advancement of the Devil Hunters under his command.
Moreover, as long as they remained within the divine realm, protected by its rules, it should be sufficient to hold off the invading devil armies — fighting to grow stronger through battle.
After all... if Devil Hunters ever ran short, he could simply recruit from the faithful.
Long ago, when designing this class, Leylin had specifically considered this issue. As a result, the requirements for natural talent among Devil Hunters were the lowest — their strength depended entirely on the power of the devils they sealed.
Therefore, for those Devil Hunters who wanted to advance and grow, battling devil armies was practically heaven!
Meanwhile, beyond the endless void, the figure of the Succubus Queen — now the ruler of the Sixth Layer of Hell, the devil lord Glasya — materialized, her sultry form bowing respectfully to an aged devil.
"Father! Our legions are fully prepared!"
"Ahem... good, my daughter..."
This decrepit old devil, who appeared frail and burdened by grave illness, had black eyes and a goatee, with devil horns protruding from his head — none other than the King of the Nine Hells, the nominal lord of all devils: Asmodeus!
"Samael...
Asmodeus gazed upon the several evil phantoms arrayed around him and slowly began calling their names.
With these lords of Hell assembled so completely, even the surrounding void seemed unable to bear their presence, letting out agonized wails.
"Among us, I regret to see a few faces are missing — Belzebub of the Second Layer, and
Asmodeus spoke in a rather muddled tone.
"Enough... Isn't the sole purpose of our gathering here for that
Samael roared, flames of fury blazing around its body.
The other lords of Hell might have come by invitation, or perhaps purely for the spectacle — but it was in no such comfortable position!
After all, its Phlegethos lay directly beneath Rayling's divine domain, perpetually facing the most terrifying pressure. Ever since Rayling had beheaded Mammon, poor Samael had practically wished to burrow into the deepest recesses of Phlegethos, shielding itself within a steel fortress bristling with curses and traps, just to feel even a shred of security.
"Of course... Destroying that God of Slaughter and restoring Hell to its true face is also the fundamental reason we have gathered here!"
The expression on Asmodeus's face stiffened.
Though it did not have to face Rayling's pressure head-on, the other's covetous designs on Hell filled it with a profound sense of crisis — to say nothing of how Rayling's faithful prayed day and night that their deity was the arbiter of order, the manipulator of evil, the commander of devils, slapping Asmodeus across the face over and over again until it rang.
"Heh heh heh..."
Strange, cackling laughter echoed from all around, making Glasya's expression turn utterly ugly.
"To ensure unified command of our coalition, I propose we sign pacts immediately and assign our respective tasks. I give you my word... after the war, I will not take a single layer of Hell for myself... I only wish to restore Hell to its original state and bring that God of Slaughter crashing down into the dust..."
Asmodeus opened the black contract book in his hands and made his solemn vow — yet none of the other elated lords of Hell noticed the infinite, bone-chilling cold hidden in the depths of his eyes… (