"What a headache," groaned Azazel, eyeing Valis with irritation. "Stop standing there. Since you've already given Archangel Alice a taste of the Stygian waters, get on with it. It's time to 'educate' her, that poor child who likely can't even remember how to hold a sword now. Robin, quickly conquer your Genoa. We need strength. Falling Star, as a mage, you must have some materials on you. You've got a whole tower to yourself now, what more could you want? Get on with your research. Craft some powerful new spells."
"And me? What about me? Great master, do I have a task?" Ganzaleth hopped around excitedly.
Azazel regarded Ganzaleth in silence.
As the silence lingered, the excitement gradually drained from Ganzaleth's face. "What, do I not have any work? Is there nothing for little devil Ganzaleth to do?"
"No, uh, of course not. There's a big task waiting for you, Ganzaleth," Azazel finally said.
"Really? Really?! I knew it. Tell me, great master, what task? I'm so eager to do something for you, I'd even steal the hammer of the fire god Lodin if you wished."
"Oh? Would you now?"
"Wait, wait, my merciful master, that was just a figure of speech. You wouldn't really send me to steal Lodin's hammer, would you? Lodin would flatten your little Ganzaleth."
Azazel couldn't help but chuckle at Ganzaleth's antics. "Of course not. Go make sense of the things in the interrogation room. I'm talking about those fresh torture devices you still don't know how to use. But since we're short on people and prisoners for you to experiment on, you'll have to figure out their uses on your own."
"You are too kind, the kindest, no, the most evil and magnificent devil in the world. I hate you more than I hate my mother!"
"Enough, enough, off you go," Azazel rubbed his temples, pained. He still had much to consider and learn. As a new lord of the castle, he was green, naive, and ignorant. Though he didn't know much about devils or Hell, he had a powerful book at his disposal. Azazel pulled out the Book of Demons and began to leaf through it. Only after gaining sufficient knowledge could he decide on his next steps. "If there's nothing else, disperse. I need quiet to think and read. Oh, Valis."
"What is it, my master?"
"Don't bother hunting down those lost humans in the castle anymore. Just make sure they don't escape."
"Why?"
"It's just a game. They might pop up in front of you one day, give you a little surprise. Don't you think that could be interesting?"
Valis tilted his head, pondering. "I don't find that very interesting."
"Good, I understand. Do as I say, then. You may all leave now."
"If you need me, just ring this bell," Robin placed a golden bell on a small table beside the throne before she too withdrew with the others.
The vast hall was left with only the sound of Azazel flipping through the pages.
The first of Hell's Eleven Iron Rules states that strength lies in unity.
This wasn't just a rule; it was a small truth. The strength of one person is limited, but the collective power of many is infinite.
A fist must be clenched tight if it's to strike.
Azazel understood this deeply. Reflecting on the recent battle, where he faced a hundred alone, he realized that while he had performed a remarkable feat, it didn't mean he could truly defeat a hundred alone.
If time were reversed, and both sides fought again under fair conditions, Azazel would be trampled by the hundred without a chance to strike back.
But time doesn't reverse, and Azazel wouldn't give his enemies a fair fight. He had triumphed through trickery, but that victory was too difficult, too mired in luck. If the enemy was careless this time, would they be the next? And what if the next time, there were a thousand instead of a hundred?
All schemes and tricks crumble before overwhelming power.
Azazel continued to leaf through the Book of Demons, pondering how to establish his own power base. He was never a man content with mediocrity. The sight of those pitiable corpses had only solidified his resolve. What is life for? To live and die unremarkably, to have a wife and children or multiple wives and children—what meaning does it hold? Who remembers you once you become a handful of dust? Even if the corpses could climb from their coffins, they couldn't change the fact that they were forgotten.
Paul Korchagin at least had a goal, an ideal, a cause for which he fought. What do modern people have? Spiritual emptiness, moral decay. Sex and consumerism can never satisfy the void in the soul.
Even in this world, it's the same.
But here, things have changed.
Azazel is no longer human but a devil. His surroundings are not office workers or a peaceful world. He is in the midst of the Blood War.
Azazel yearns for the greatest battlefield in this world, hoping to etch his name in the history of the Blood War with blood. This near-mad desire must be fulfilled one small step at a time. The first step is to establish his own power base. The idea of "establishing his own power" had emerged when he guided Archangel Valis to fall, and it solidified the moment Azazel laid eyes on the Bloody Fortress.
To live in Hell, relying solely on one's own strength, is unlikely, even in the martial arts novels Azazel used to read. Whether it was the Eastern Heretic or Western Poison, the Southern Emperor or Northern Beggar, even the unparalleled Wang Chongyang, they all had their own forces behind them. If these supreme beings needed support, Azazel needed it even more. To live freely, to leave a significant mark in the Blood War, one must first have the ability to protect oneself. Otherwise, it's all empty talk.
If he faced a hundred enemies next time and still used tricks to defeat them, that wouldn't be success, but failure.
Yes, a grand failure. He should be able to wave a hand and have legions of lackeys trample those hundred enemies.
Victory by wit is inferior to victory by might.
As Azazel fantasized about that beautiful scene, his fingers rested on the Book of Demons. The book hovered before him, open to a page depicting a small room with a peculiar device at its center. Beside the device lay tetrahedral purple crystals, beautiful and tempting.
Everything needed to start here, in this very room.
The echoing sound of a bell filled the empty Hall of Blood.
"Are you asking about the Soul Stone Fabrication Room?" Robin asked in surprise, not understanding how Azazel could know about this small chamber. In fact, the Soul Stone Fabrication Room was the core room of all fortresses, and without it, the fortress would almost lose its reason for existence. The existence of the room was a well-kept secret, generally known only to upper-tier devils.
But Robin knew her question would go unanswered, so she didn't bother to ask how Azazel had come to know this secret. She simply answered Azazel's question honestly: "Of course, the castle has a Soul Stone Fabrication Room. The room and the device are just behind your throne." There was no need for Robin to lie; if Azazel wanted to experiment, she would let him. Even if he entered the Fabrication Room, it would be of no use.
Azazel immediately inspected the wall behind the throne, but all he found was a thick wall with no doors.
"The switch for the secret door is above your throne, but my lord, please heed my advice. Instead of pinning your hopes on the Fabrication Room, you should first order the construction of a 'Nursery.' That would be far more beneficial to us."
"A Nursery!" Azazel had done his homework. The so-called Nursery was essentially the dining hall for devils. Technically, devils don't need to eat; they can go years without food and suffer no ill effects. But devils enjoy fine dining, and their favorite delicacy is soul larvae.
In Hell, lost travelers and souls that fall into Hell are eventually infected and controlled by Hell's powers, turning into wriggling worms, retaining their faces from life. The faces of these larvae are frozen in fear, their eyes filled with nothing but despair.
The so-called Nursery is simply a dark, damp room dedicated to cultivating these worms. Of course, some are tasked with capturing these worms from all over. Almost all mid-tier and high-tier devils enjoy this delicacy, including the succubus Robin (lesser devils also enjoy it, but they lack the privilege to dine in the Nursery). Therefore, if one wishes to attract more devils to serve them, a Nursery is essential.