Lord: Starting from a Goblin Nest

“You imbecile! Even the maggots of the Abyss have more brains than you!”

Kao Jia’s expression didn’t change in the slightest, but her words were venomous. “The Lord of the Delusional Land is a long-term partner of ours. How could Duke Dispart not know this?!”

“Wh…” “Patrick’s” face changed drastically. No one had ever told him this!

“But, please believe me, I never received any such intelligence… Neither the Religious Order nor Dis ever told me any of this!”

If he had really known, why would he have induced the Religious Order to use such methods?

“Patrick—and I have no interest in knowing your real name—do you have any idea what changes a confession like yours will bring to the Nine Prisons?” the Desire Demon’s tone was chilling, her Magic Sword already at the devil’s throat. “The Master of Dis from the second layer, plotting to sabotage the plans of the master of Marborg, the sixth layer? Who are you planning to have deliver that confession to the other lords?”

“Me? Or will you do it yourself?”

“No! Have mercy!” The devil knelt on the steps in terror. He had always enjoyed such emotions from mortals and their souls, but now he too had been reduced to such sustenance. “I’ll be killed for good!”

“Or worse. You should know what Her Grace presides over, shouldn’t you?” Kao Jia snorted. “You’ll be found guilty on Flegos, the fourth layer, then escorted to a prison in Marborg to be incarcerated by Her Grace! Unless…”

Kao Jia fell silent, but she didn’t strike. She was giving him a chance—a chance to absolve the others.

Gracia clearly had no intention of making an enemy of a paranoid conspirator; on the contrary, she needed his power. However, this current conflict was precisely what the supreme being in Purgatory enjoyed seeing.

Her underlings were in a constant state of panic, every Duke wary of their colleagues. The fear of being replaced suppressed the ambition to replace others. This turmoil forced them to gather beneath the throne of the Lord of Nine Hells, which was undoubtedly what Asmodis wanted to see most.

And now, this idiotic devil was actually trying to flee back to the Hells through that being’s shrine?

“If that’s the case, wouldn’t we also have…” The devil had clearly thought of this as well, but his line of reasoning differed from Kao Jia’s. He looked up and asked, “When power shifts, we could also have more opportunities—”

“Tell me, Patrick,” Kao Jia interrupted him impatiently, “have you spent time in the Abyss?”

“Yes, I once fought demons in the Abyss for three years,” Patrick replied, not understanding the point.

“And how long have you lived?”

“Uh, eight hundred years, or maybe eight hundred fifty.”

“Then you can go join the scum of the Abyss. It’s not too late to defect to them now,” Kao Jia sneered. “A thing like you is only fit for the most menial work in Purgatory, because your abilities can’t support your ambition.”

“Do you think there are few devils in the Nine Prisons with ideas similar to yours? Why do most of them fail to even leave a name behind, while only that great lord can sit on his throne, commanding eight layers of conspiracy, and will one day rule all worlds!”

Desire Demons are not patient creatures. The flat of her Magic Sword repeatedly slapped the devil’s shoulder and cheek as a threat. “If you insist on being stubborn, I could just erase you completely to prevent any future trouble. But if I do that, the higher-ups might be displeased, and that would affect my performance evaluation. Understand?”

“Wise up, and don’t try to piss me off.”

Patrick gritted his teeth, his fists clenched. “Fine. What do you want me to do?”

“I want you to be the one to say it,” Kao Jia stared intently at him. “Don’t even think about pulling any tricks. It won’t work.”

“Alright, this was all my conspiracy,” Patrick finally conceded after a struggle. “The Duke was completely unaware. It was all a manifestation of my own ambition!”

“I acted in the Duke’s name, intending to corrupt and subvert the entire Molten Iron Barrier Religious Order. In the process, due to an oversight in information, the interests of Her Grace Gracia were harmed… This is all my responsibility. I am willing to bear all consequences and compensate for all losses—is that good enough?!”

“Mm, it’s so-so. The details still need polishing,” Kao Jia said, satisfied, retracting her Magic Sword and wings. Under the sunlight, the Night Howling Hounds vanished from the Material Plane, and the Shadow Spirit Shadow Dancer, having lost its shadows, landed lightly on the ground. “Now get lost. Go home, write a full report, and then pray that the two Dukes let you off the hook.”

“By the way, for the same reason, your plan that seemed to fail due to various accidents was actually doomed from the start. This Contractor and I have been monitoring everything and hiding here since the beginning. That Half-Elf never had a chance of winning.”

The Desire Demon turned to leave. After Yelena, at Ron’s behest, had communicated the relevant intelligence to Gracia, Kao Jia had been urgently dispatched here. Now it was time to return.

“Kao Jia, allow me to remind you,” Yelena suddenly spoke up, “as Ron’s advisor, I have a duty to report everything I’ve seen and heard to him. If he finds out that you let this devil go for various reasons…”

“Who said I was letting him go?” The Desire Demon shrugged. “I’m merely letting this criminal fall into the hands of those who most deserve to punish him. Those two Half-Elves should have the pleasure of taking his first life, shouldn’t they?”

“As for what happens after he returns to Purgatory, the laws of the Hells will naturally punish him there.”

The doors to the building were pushed open. The Desire Demon sensed this and her figure vanished in an instant. By the time Ron and the others arrived, only a lone devil, who had shouldered all the blame, was left on the stairs.

“A devil, just as I thought!” Ron narrowed his eyes slightly. The Weaving Introduction materialized behind him, weaving several complex Arrays. “Are you the mastermind behind all this? Or is Dispart plotting something against the Delusional Land?!”

“Country bumpkin, shut your mouth!” Knowing there was no turning back, the devil roared at Ron. “How could that foolish shut-in be worthy of participating in my grand conspiracy! This was all my masterpiece! Mine!”

“You foolish ants dared to ruin my flawless plan and obstruct my path! Every single one of you deserves to die!”

“Come on! If you have the guts to challenge the future Master of Dis, then come on! Let me correct all of this and return things to their proper order!”

Flames manipulated by the devil instantly swept through the entire staircase and hallway. Even the ice wall Ron erected couldn’t stop the might of the Purgatory Fire. However, amid the raging inferno, a Longsword, also wreathed in flames, split the sea of fire around its wielder in two. Before the devil’s astonished eyes, a Half-Elf in heavy armor brought her sword down between his horns. At almost the same instant, under the protection of a tower shield, another black-haired Half-Elf circled around behind the devil like a shadow, their sharp Swift Sword plunging mercilessly into his back, right through the heart!

“Since you’re the main culprit…” The furious Aive stared into the eyes of the devil, whose breathing was growing labored, and slowly, firmly, pressed her Longsword ever deeper. “Then go to hell!”