Master of Spells from Faerun

Chapter 186 (two in one, more to come later) Bronze Fortress
The Bronze Fortress, an immortal fortress that is always under expansion, has always served as Baator's main barrier against demonic invasion.A large number of low-level devil laborers toiled continuously on this building, building new walls and war equipment around the original fortress.

The fortress is surrounded by fourteen concentric walls, each with a gate guarded by a terrifying demon.Formidable rows of trebuchets, slingshots, and magical weapons protrude from every high wall.

Its rear building stretches all the way through the steep foothills of the neighboring Stigmatis Mountains. In the inner courtyard of the fortress, it is the secret base where Bayer and the Dark Eight Devils discuss and plan for the upcoming battle.In Bair's fortress, each unique pit fiend has his own mansion.

"Mortal! If you want to enter the city, you must hand over your wealth!" A red Abishalom demon shouted at Imric.

The chain demon on the side smiled flatteringly: "Yes, yes, you need to hand over wealth worth one soul."

Imric raised his eyebrows. As soon as they were brought to the gate of the Bronze Fortress by the Chain Demon, the devil in front of them forced them to pay the entry fee. What's even more frightening is that the entry fee actually requires a soul or wealth worth a soul. , if a poor ghost comes here, I am afraid that if he wants to enter the city, he must sign a contract with these devils.

He took out a handful of rings from his dimensional bag, each of which was inlaid with at least one five-ring spell and could be used three times a day. These magic equipment cost him at least 1000 gold coins each before they were enchanted.

The most expensive among them is a ring of thunder with the seventh-level conjuration spell [Lightning Storm] attached to it. The holder of it can use his own will to create three times a day with a power and range far beyond [Call Thunder Storm]. ] lightning storm.

Such a ring is worth at least 13 gold coins. It must be known that the consumption of enchanting a ring that can use the seven-ring spell three times a day is enough for a 5th-level mage to meditate for [-] years to recover the dissipated spiritual power.

The red Abisha dragon demon greedily looked at the magic ring in the mage's hand, and all kinds of shining powerful magic aura told him that these were valuable magic storage equipment.

The Red Abishalom took the magic ring, looked through it one by one, and finally reluctantly returned the Ring of Thunder to Imric and said: "Let's go, these are enough to pay for the two of you." Travel expenses."

Imric smiled and threw the Ring of Thunder to the Red Abishalom Demon and said: "Take it, I want to inquire about some information, this can be considered as reward."

The Chain Demon on the side looked at it in disbelief. Such a precious and powerful magic ring was actually used as a reward. This mage was too rich. The Red Abisalom Demon was even more ecstatic. You must know that the entrance fee for him was only a dime. He couldn't even get the money, but this most valuable ring belonged to him alone!
"Hey! If you want to chat, go somewhere else, don't block the team here!" A devil shouted from behind.

The red Abisalom demon glanced at his fellow man impatiently. He raised the fork in his hand, pierced the opponent with one fork and said, "It is forbidden to cause disturbances during the queue. You really don't understand the rules, huh."

Then, he smiled flatteringly and said to Imric: "Sir, what do you want to know? I am the most famous inquisitor in the entire Bronze Fortress!"

The mage replied: "I want to find a person, a dragonborn paladin, his name is Jerome."

The red Abisha dragon demon frowned, thought for a while and said, "There are too many people coming and going here, and I won't know for a while, but I suggest that you can go to the conscription office to see if there is anything that looks like Adventurers with huge wealth like you, in order to escape from here, will all go to the recruitment office by different means, become a mercenary, and join the bloody battle to obtain the qualifications to escape."

"Of course, if your friend is rich and has wealth like you, then he has probably already crossed the portal and returned to the main material plane."

Imrik shook his head after hearing this. How could Jerome be rich? As God's chosen one, he was even less likely to sell his soul. It seemed that he would most likely become a mercenary.

Drizzt said at this time: "Mercenary, this is a very dangerous thing. We must find him as soon as possible, otherwise he is likely to die in a bloody battle."

Imrik and Drizzt walked into the Bronze Fortress. This evil city was full of devils. They looked at Imrik with greed and covetous eyes.

"This is really uncomfortable," Drizzt said with a wary look.

Imrik chuckled and said: "Don't worry, devils are lawful creatures and will not mess around. They want our souls, but only if they are obtained through a contract. We paid the entrance fee and are legal visitors. , no devil will attack us."

Devils are such strange creatures. They are evil and greedy, but they can control themselves. Devils must seduce and fall through contracts in order to harvest souls. Compared with devils' wanton behavior, devils appear to be more "observant of the rules".

In fact, the immediate bosses of the devils are the gods in the sky. The gods sent the ancestors of the devils to hell and signed the famous multiverse agreement with the leader of the devils, Asmodeus - the original agreement.

This agreement, which represents the gods, ghosts and humans, stipulates the strategic alliance between the devil and the gods. The devil will serve as the watchdog of the gods, keeping the devil out of the main material plane, and bringing with it, It is the devil who has the power to torment the souls of sinners and gain power through these sinful souls.

From then on, the bloody battle was born, and the devil, the pawn representing order, had an endless war with the devil. In the multiverse, legends about the devil's temptation and depravity began to spread.

"Look, the recruiting office!" Drizzt shouted, pointing to the distance. It was a place like a military camp. At the door were eight statues of pit fiends of different shapes, which were written in the universal language of the multiverse: " A sign with the words "Recruiting Office" is posted at the entrance of the military camp.

Imrik and the two walked over. The little devil at the door didn't look surprised when he saw it. He just took out a huge roster from under the table and said, "If you want to join the mercenaries, just sign your name on it. The roster is valid, and once signed, it cannot be reversed."

Imrik casually opened the roster and found that it was densely recorded with various names. Imrik turned the page to the latest part and looked through it carefully.

"Found it!" Imrik shouted in a low voice.

What was signed in scarlet font on the white parchment was Jerome's name. Just as he thought, Jerome joined the mercenaries in exchange for the right to return to Faerun.

"Hey! Human! Don't waste time here if you don't want to participate! Don't toss and turn." The little devil said impatiently.

Imrik thought for a moment and said, "What are the minimum requirements for a mercenary? I want to join." To find Jerome, joining the mercenaries is the best way. If possible, Imrik would choose to sign a contract the most lenient agreement.

The little devil took out a piece of parchment again and said, "See for yourself, it's all on it."

Imric took out the parchment and looked at it carefully.

There are three types of mercenaries. The first one is the most free. After signing, you can freely join and leave the bloody battle army, and exchange the heads of the demons you killed for rewards.

The second type is more stringent. After signing, the mercenaries will be assigned to the squad, and there will be an initial service period, or the number of demons killed according to the strength, for example, with Imric With the strength of a level 14 mage, if you join, you need to kill at least fifty assassin demons with a challenge level of 11, or other similar demons.

After completing the contract, mercenaries with this kind of contract can not only get rewards for killing demons, but also gain the right to use the portal. Most adventurers who do not have the huge wealth to purchase the portal have signed this treaty.

As for the third type, those who devote themselves wholeheartedly to the bloody battle troops can get a lot of benefits and rewards, as well as an additional promotion system to officers. Of course, once this kind of contract is signed, it is lifelong.

"I want to sign the second option." Imrik said with a smile. To find Jerome, neither the first nor the third option is suitable. The third option is too harsh. He doesn't want to spend the rest of his life killing demons. Among the time, the first type is too dissociated, basically performing single-person missions, and not coming into contact with too many other mercenaries at all.

The second type will be assigned to teams, the amount of information will be greatly increased, and the conditions for finding Jerome will be more relaxed. The standards for completing the contract are also quite simple for Imrik. For him now, Not to mention killing 50 level 11 demons, even if there were 50 Balor Balrogs, he could easily finish it if given time.

"However, according to Jerome's strength, the task he is assigned will probably require at least 50 six-armed snake demons, or even 50 Balor Balrogs."

随后，伊姆瑞克二人在雇佣兵的名册上签署了自己的姓名，伊姆瑞克被分配到的是50只11级恶魔或者10年服役时间，崔斯特则被分配到50只14级恶魔或者10年服役时间。

"I have a question. If I can kill higher-level demons, can it serve as more mission requirements?" Imrik asked.

The little devil looked him up and down impatiently and said: "What a delusional mortal, if you can kill Balor, one can meet your task requirements of 10, but can you, a little 14 super mage."

Drizzt on the side complained in his heart, the person in front of you can not only kill the Balor Balrog, but he can also kill the Balor Balrog and become a secondary demon lord, even though it is just a projection.

Imric nodded with satisfaction. He didn't want to waste too much time in hell. If he hadn't seen that Jerome had signed the contract, he would have even wanted to directly activate [Plane Travel] to take him away. There were only about fifty people left. It's just the Balor Fire Demon, and it's easy for him now.

The two walked into the military camp. They were assigned to the 137th Squadron of the 69th Squadron. There were tents everywhere in the military camp, as well as a wide open-air training ground, where mercenaries of various races practiced martial arts and magic. .

"This is a military camp exclusively for mercenaries. The devil's military camp is in the inner city and is personally managed by the Eight Demon Generals." introduced the devil who brought Imrik and the two in.

"Eight Demon Generals?" Imrik asked curiously.

The devil listened with longing and said: "Of course, the Eight Demon Generals are the highest-level devils in Avernus except Archduke Bayer. Each of them is a hell fiend. From the beginning of the ancient bloody battle, It exists, and has been leading us to slay demons."

Imric nodded thoughtfully after hearing this. He once read in the "Guide to the Plane of Bator" that Archduke Bair had eight extremely loyal dukes and generals. Now it seems that these eight demons They are the ones he is referring to.

The Pit Fiend is the most advanced demon form in the entire Baator Hell. Like the Balor Balrog, the two are the top combat powers in hell and the abyss respectively. The challenge levels of the Pit Fiend and the Balor Balrog are exactly the same. All are level 20.

Such a powerful demon, after becoming a Duke and receiving the blessing of the entire hell plane, can be said to be extremely powerful. Even if Ertu's true form comes, he probably can't defeat them.

As the ruler of the first level of hell, Bayer's strength is matched by the demon kings who rule the abyss. With such a combat power comparable to that of a god sitting in Avernus, plus the eight demonic Dukes of the abyss, No wonder the devil has never penetrated the sphere of influence of the first level of hell.

In fact, most of the bloody battles took place in Avernus, but that was just because the demons couldn't help their restless hearts and liked to go to hell one after another to die. Compared to the demons, the overall strength of the hell army was There are great advantages.

First of all, the devil army of Avernus is supported by the entire nine levels of Baator Hell. Under the decree issued by Asmodeus, the Lord of Hell, the lords of each level are obliged to send their own troops, weapons , supplies were sent to the first level of hell to support Bayer, coupled with a large number of mercenaries from various main material planes, and the angel legions from the outer planes that suddenly appeared from time to time to carry out extremely tragic large-scale massacres against demons, the demon legion's The advantages are extremely obvious.

Of course, the abyss is not easy to mess with. The characteristic of the abyss is the endless chaos demons. They are inexhaustible to kill and replenish. Like weeds, they grow again with the spring breeze. Even though millions have been lost in hell this year, Even an army of tens of millions of demons.

Wait until the next year, and the same number of demons will gather and rush to hell. For demons, the souls of countless people who die every day in the endless main material plane will be intercepted by them as raw materials for hatching demons.

The abyss tries to use its cheap troops to break through the shackles imposed on it by the gods and devils day after day, year after year, and enjoy the wonderful flesh and blood of the main material plane.

And this is also a clever move by the gods. Using the entire hell as the battle front, with the entire main material plane and the outer planes of the gods as supplies, this machine also has the qualifications to engage in an eternal struggle with the abyss.

This war is like a meat grinder, constantly consuming a large number of souls in the main material plane, preventing the new souls produced day after day from exploding the entire plane.

　There are still [-] words to be issued, sorry for the writing
　　
　
(End of this chapter)