The knight in the abyss

Chapter 618 The work of mercenaries

Selling one's soul to the devil is an old, bad scam for those who've been around the Outer Planes long enough.Some fools might think that rebirth as a Baatezu after death seems not bad, at least you will have eternal life, plus a predictable promotion mechanism, a perfect salary system, and even paid vacation benefits...

But who says you can become a devil directly?

Those souls who go to hell will first be used as "fuel" and subjected to unimaginable torture and torture to squeeze out the energy used to maintain the operation of the nine hells until the last trace of humanity leaves the empty shell of the soul.This process can be quick, or it can last for years, and if you have a feud with a big devil, you can even be permanently forgotten on the grill until the end of time.

In either case, when a soul leaves the torture device, the memories, emotions, and knowledge of being a mortal have completely disappeared, and what is left is nothing but waste of no use value.Only then are they thrown into pools of blood or worm pits and reincarnated as the lowest baatezu: lemurs, wretched creatures that look like lumps of molten flesh with only vaguely human form.

Of course, in some rare cases, the devil will also add specific terms, agreeing to shorten or even skip the torture process, and directly transform you into a specific form of devil-this means that your memory and personality will be restored. A relatively complete reservation is very attractive to some villains, but this kind of contract is too expensive for ordinary people to imagine, and often requires you to play a key role in an extremely evil act.Basically, only those big figures who already had a certain status (such as kings, prime ministers, stewards, and generals) had the opportunity to commit such crimes, and ordinary mercenaries should not think about such good things.

For this reason, many people are very resistant to working for the devil. If you want to get a relatively safe job, you must study those complicated contract terms to ensure that there are no word games that may lead to your doom.This work must not be done by others, but by oneself—a friendship, no matter how strong, should not be tested to this degree.

In contrast, working for the devil is much simpler. In most cases, you don’t even need to write down your name, just draw a cross, and the loss is controllable-dead is dead, no What eternal torture and torture will be waiting for me.If you haven't committed any serious crimes and don't have a strong sense of identity with any god, you will probably be sentenced to reincarnation by the king of the dead, and for many mortals who live in the outer planes, it can even be regarded as quite a blessing. Attractive ending.

Of course, the devil's contract is non-binding, and its effect is equivalent to waste paper, and the devil's verbal promise is no different from farting, and even smells a little bit worse.The risk of dealing with the chaotic camp is so high, but correspondingly, due to their poor reputation, the demons have to offer ridiculously high prices in order to attract some crazy enough speculators.

But high risk means high reward. For experienced veterans, they can indeed find opportunities worth taking a chance from the countless jobs offered by different demon lords.Of course, don't expect the demons to post an honest job description, they're so obsessive about lying that you can even read the truth backwards.Demons are kind of cute in that regard.

For example, you might read a flyer in a tavern in Sigil: Very Easy Job!The powerful Tanari lord Urbas needs to hire four experienced guards to guard an ordinary mine in his own territory and drive away the wild low-level monsters around.The weekly salary is [-] gold coins. Those who are interested in applying, please go to Lazy Street in the lower area...

And the correct reading is this: very bad job!A puny Tanar'ri lord whose real name is definitely not Urbath needs to hire four or more hapless fools to guard a troubled mine that probably doesn't belong to him.There are many possible enemies, but wild low-level monsters are definitely the least of your worries.There is no compensation, because the original text did not mention how to settle at all, and the registration method later may be the only real information, because that paragraph was added by the mercenary broker himself.

Therefore, when a frank and urgent recruitment order was sent to Sigil, it naturally attracted the attention of all the mercenaries.The recruiting order is as follows:

Urgently recruit bloody mercenaries and go to the Wanyuan Plain to fight against Baatezu's regular army.Applicants need to bring their own weapons and equipment, and fight under the command of the Serpent General.The weekly salary of all qualified applicants is [-] gold coins, payable in cash, and the rest of the information is military secrets.Those who are interested, please go to the armory, explain your intention to the guards of the Doomguard and accept the basic combat test. Those who pass will be sent to the bottomless abyss immediately.

——The pearl on the banks of the Styx, the lord of Shuangqiao Town, Tijana.

Any mercenary who lived long enough would meet fellow mercenaries who had been to Shuangqiao Town sooner or later, and every time a mercenary came back alive with a bulging wallet, the credibility of Shuangqiao Town would increase by one point.The weekly salary of two hundred gold coins is not unusual, in fact, it is twice the normal price, and it is paid in advance, not to mention that the recruitment order was issued in the name of Tijana, the lord of Shuangqiao Town. In my mind, this name has a special weight.
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The entrance to the mercenary hall has not changed, but the person sitting behind the counter is not the scary lizard, but Vidya, one of Tijana's seven maids, and an acquaintance of Lancelot.

"Sir, you are here." The succubus smiled sweetly at the human knight, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Let's report to Ms. Solem, where is she?"

"Fourth floor, the innermost room." Vidya pointed to a spiral staircase on the right side of everyone, "She is interviewing the new mercenaries, but you can go to her directly, Lady Tijana has already ordered It's your business."

"Thank you, Vidya." Lancelot bowed politely, "I wish you a happy day."

Everyone then turned around and walked upstairs. They quickly saw what the extra structure of this building was for—the temporary barracks. At this moment, it was filled with solid three-story high beds, and it was easy to see that it was Dwarven craft.Most of these beds are currently empty, but Lancelot is sure that when night falls, the smell will be very bad.

When they climbed to the fourth floor, they found that the hall on this floor was quite empty, and there were weapons and protective gear for practice in the corner, which seemed to be a place for the mercenaries to exert their energy.There was a large circle of people in the center of the hall, and there were two people standing opposite each other in the circle, staring fiercely at each other, with the sharp blades in their hands unsheathed.

A duel seemed to be about to begin, and it was bound to end with the death of one side.

　Thanks to Xiaoyaoxi Yufeng, Bosse Universe, Yiyi Shengfeng, Smith John, Dao and Renyi, and haruki z for their monthly votes!Another buzzer update haha~ sorry

　　
　
(End of this chapter)