Night Ranger

Marvin was surprised about Blackhand appearing right after Saydis left.

Marvin didn’t have a good enough understanding of the Nine Hells. How exactly did Diross become the Lord of the Scorched Hell?

That was still a mystery to him.

But this didn’t stop him from accepting Blackhand’s help.

Marvin judged that if Diross wanted Sodom’s Blades, then few people in the Universe would be able to compete with him.

When Marvin summoned Blackhand before, he was still a middle ranked Devil Horseman, but now he was already a Greater Devil. This definitely was related to the Lord of the Scorched Hell supporting him.

It was a bit odd for Diross to dispatch Blackhand to help Marvin get Sodom’s Blades, and after all that happened, Marvin tended to see hints of conspiracy and weirdness everywhere. But he still accepted Blackhand’s aid.

That man was his grandfather, after all.

...

Walking through the bustling Devil Town was a different kind of experience.

Despite Marvin already knowing that these Devils in Devil Town were mirages from the past, he still felt curious about them.

It was said that Devil Town had been a stronghold of the Nine Hells in Feinan.

They used it as a springboard to attempt an invasion.

Of course, this was a few eras ago. Later on, the Devils were repelled, and this town became empty.

Even so, Devil Town was still full of the aura of Devils, as if they had never left.

Some from the core bloodlines of the Nine Hells still had a few special ways to circumvent the Universe Magic Pool and reach Devil Town through the "back door".

But the Devils who could reach Devil Town in these ways weren’t particularly strong.

The upper limit that could make it through would be a Greater Devil. Like Blackhand Bard was now.

But Saydis was different.

The Saydis in Devil Town was only an avatar!

That guy was actually the second heir of the Extreme Evil Lord.

His strength was unfathomable. Compared with other Devils who preferred to gain achievements in the Crimson Wasteland or the Bloody Battlefield, this 2nd heir was more fond of wandering the mortal realm.

His avatars were everywhere.

Blackhand acknowledged that he wasn’t a match for Saydis, but fortunately, Devil Town had a rule.

[Those with Devil bloodlines cannot harm each other in Devil Town].

The rule was similar to the firm laws of the God Realms. It was said that the nine Archdevils set down the rule when establishing Devil Town. After all, the Nine Hells had still been working together to face the God Realms.

Many years later, the rule still existed.

This was why a fight didn’t break out between the two sides when Marvin met Saydis and the Black Knight.

They knew that Marvin had the bloodline of a Devil, and that they wouldn’t be able to resist Devil Town’s will in order to make an aggressive move against him inside.

This town’s will was considered an iron law. Devils couldn’t overcome it and thus, they could only choose to rush ahead for the Bloody Emperor’s tomb.

But Blackhand didn’t seem to be worried about not being able to complete his mission. He walked steadily, without increasing his pace.

’Sodom’s Blades shouldn’t be that easy to take.’

’That posted guide had a lot of issues. That guy was probably just showing off his equipment and unwilling to write about the details,’ Marvin thought.

They walked through the seemingly limitless town.

Marvin slowly formulated a guess as to why Blackhand wasn’t in a hurry.

He needed to tell Marvin all of the relevant information before they got there.

Information that concerned not only Devil Town, but also Sodom’s Blades, the Bloody Emperor himself, and the Extreme Evil Lord’s second son, who had appeared next to the Black Knight.

Saydis.

This name had already been known in the 3rd era.

That time was the time of the almighty God Lance, but this second son of the Extreme Evil Lord relied on his wits to walk among the powerhouses of the 3rd Era.

It was said that even in the current God Realms, there were many people who had a decent relationship with Saydis.

Saydis had helped those Gods in the 3rd Era. As a Devil might have put it, it was an investment.

That guy was very crafty and very insightful. The people he chose to gain favor with were all full of potential.

But when investing in such things, there would be always times when it didn’t pay off, even for a powerful Devil.

In fact, this could be the most important reason that Saydis was in Devil Town today.

"No one knows the details of the deal between Saydis and the Bloody Emperor," Blackhand continued. "The only thing certain is that at the time of his greatest need, this violent ruler of the Underdark accepted Saydis’ help and they signed a contract. According to the contract’s terms, after the Bloody Emperor became the ruler of the Underdark, Saydis would receive the return on his investment."

"But in reality..." Blackhand stretched out this sentence, and his normally cold voice had some fluctuations. "When Saydis proudly visited to demand his due, he was almost killed by the Bloody Emperor!"

"News of this shocking event spread throughout the Nine Hells. Many people rejoiced. After all, everyone was jealous about Saydis’ insight and his ability to make decisive investments that worked out so often. But there were also many doubts. How did the Bloody Emperor go against a Devil’s contract?"

"To this day, there is no one that has found a clear answer. The Bloody Emperor successfully went against his words and made the second heir of an Archdevil suffer a loss. Afterwards, Saydis rarely appeared in Feinan."

"His movements became a lot more unobtrusive. Some people said that the contract between Saydis and the Bloody Emperor had a very big loophole, to the point that even after the sudden death of the Bloody Emperor, Saydis still didn’t dare to go and claim his payment."

Marvin silently analyzed everything that Blackhand told him.

These were lore secrets that he’d never heard about before.

He was already somewhat grateful to Diross for dispatching Blackhand to help him. If Marvin hadn’t learned of that information, he might have run into some trouble later on.

Regardless, any information about the possible loophole was very well-hidden.

Although he had no plans to fight Saydis, it was always good to know the details of such matters in advance.

Marvin was most concerned about the contract between the Bloody Emperor and Saydis.

It was nearly impossible to trick a Devil to such an extent!

Furthermore, that Devil wasn’t a minor one, but rather the second son of the Extreme Evil Lord!

If the Bloody Emperor forcefully breached the terms of the contract, then not just Saydis, but even Saydis’ father would have made a move to defend the image of the Extreme Evil Hell.

In spite of this, before the strange death of the Bloody Emperor, nobody saw any traces of action regarding this from the Devils of the Extreme Evil Hell.

After learning of all this, Marvin couldn’t help but feel more curious about that tyrant who died so many years ago.

He was a man who tricked a Devil...

He also narrowed his eyes as he considered a possibility:

’Saydis has been secretly helping Black Knight Sangore. His reappearance in Devil Town after so many years might not only be because of the deal with the Black Knight.’

’He came back to settle his accounts with the corpse of the Bloody Emperor!’

’This trip has higher stakes than I anticipated.’

...

After learning about Saydis’ past and Devil Town’s origins from Blackhand, Marvin had a lot of questions.

With the information he got, combined with some memories of his past life, he had some plans in mind.

As for the question he was the most curious about, Blackhand didn’t provide an answer.

What was the myth Saydis had talked about?

The Greater Devil sincerely said that this question involved a secret of the Nine Hells, and if Marvin agreed to become a member of the Nine Hells, then his grandfather Diross would naturally tell him his secret.

But if he declined, then it would be better for him not to know this secret.

Hearing Blackhand’s answer, Marvin looked at the Greater Devil with a hint of curiosity. "Could it be that you didn’t come to recruit me?

Blackhand shook his head and explained, "I’m only responsible for completing the task given by my Lord."

"My Lord believes that Sodom’s Blades are very suitable for you, so he sent me to help you, and that’s it."

"As for recruiting, I think my Lord has another candidate in mind. Of course, he surely hopes that you’ll join us."

"But he won’t force you."

"I’m not too clear about the rest."

After saying this, Blackhand suddenly pointed straight ahead. "The entrance to the Bloody Emperor’s Tomb is there."

Marvin followed the direction of his finger.

Unsurprisingly, a familiar silhouette was slowly pacing around outside the Tomb’s entrance.

Upon seeing the arrival of Marvin and Blackhand, the other party smiled genially. "Turns out you didn’t want to deal with me because you had another business associate."

"A mere lower-class Devil... How come you made such a wrong choice? I can guarantee that I am able to give you more than he can... A lot more."

Blackhand stiffened as he looked at Saydis, but he didn’t speak.

The relations between the Nine Hells were complicated. He was only a newly promoted Guardian of the Scorched Hell Lord, so he wouldn’t start a conflict with the second son of another Lord.

Saydis looked at Blackhand and then looked back at Marvin once again. Those green eyes seemed to see through everything. "Hold on, you are still not part of Hell... Seems like I evaluated you incorrectly before, you still aren’t a qualified heir of Hell... Fascinating. Your bloodline... Hehe."

Marvin listened calmly, as he wasn’t worried anyway. He wanted to hear a lot more useful things from Saydis’ mouth.

But the other side suddenly turned and asked, "Do you want to get involved in the grudges between me and that cheat?"

Blackhand calmly responded, "Sir Saydis, I’m only a guide. Mister Marvin here is very interested in Sodom’s Blades, so I am responsible for bringing him there."

"I don’t know about anything else."

Saydis let out a hollow laugh, apparently not believing this. He turned back to Marvin and asked, "What did you give him?"

Marvin spread out his empty hands, hinting that he didn’t pay anything.

Saydis seemed shocked for a moment before he smiled weirdly at Marvin. "Free service?"

"Mister Marvin, I don’t know how deep your understanding of the Devils’ world is..."

"But there is one thing I think you should be aware of. There is no such thing as free service in the word of the Devils."

"Everything has a price..."

Saydis smiled meaningfully as he warned, "You should be a bit careful."