Anbaixiu tried comparing notes with Melina syllable by syllable, but before he could piece together a single coherent sentence, the Infernal words ended up summoning several lemures instead.
The language of devils was steeped in the power of Hell; whether spoken or written, it had the potential to commune with the infernal plane. Many cultists loved dabbling in this sort of thing, summoning infernal monsters only to try to control them—though most ended up failing and getting devoured themselves.
Such was the consequence of blindly blabbering in Infernal without understanding it.
After summoning lemures for the third time, Anbaixiu abandoned the approach.
"That Archduchess of Hell really handed me quite the conundrum."
Anbaixiu knocked on his own skull, but the hollow sound failed to spark any inspiration within his soul.
The Dice of Fate could not divine matters concerning deities, and an Archduke of Hell was a deity in her own right—far beyond Anbaixiu's current capabilities.
Perhaps he could team up with Mister Misfortune to try again, but the moment the thought surfaced, an ominous premonition struck him.
This was simply a different facet of the same moment in time he had divined earlier. Trying it again would just invite a slap across the face from the Goddess of Fate.
The problem now was that Melina didn't know Infernal. Teaching her now was out of the question, and he couldn't very well peel open her soul to rifle through her memories either.
Things one didn't understand remained utterly vague in one's memory, just like Domino Lawley's dream—because Domino didn't know Infernal, she hadn't been able to reproduce the contents of the contract.
Therefore, seeking an answer through Melina was impossible, and going through Zariel was out of the question as well.
Yet aside from Melina and Zariel, who else could possibly possess the secret?
Anbaixiu stood rooted to the spot, lost in thought. He had no idea how much time had passed, but even after the Rose of Decay finished her discussion with the Mistress of Mists and returned, he still hadn't come up with a solution.
Seeing Anbaixiu standing there in a daze, the Rose of Decay asked Melina, "What is your father doing? Did the sacrificial summoning go poorly?"
Melina had no choice but to recount everything that had transpired.
"You actually managed to forget something so important?" The Rose of Decay was thoroughly displeased. This daughter of hers was entirely too foolish. Anyone with an ounce of sense would have recorded something of such vital importance with a memory crystal.
Seeing Anbaixiu so distressed, the Rose of Decay softened and comforted him. "If worse comes to worst, let's just leave the tieflings to their fate. Even if Ryan wins, it will take them years to stabilize the territory. The Holy Light of the Lord of the Dawn needs time to spread here anyway."
Anbaixiu, who had still been mulling over the problem, suddenly felt a jolt of inspiration upon hearing her words. He asked, "What did you just say?"
The Rose of Decay repeated herself in confusion. "I said to leave those tieflings alone."
Anbaixiu quickly cut her off. "No, not that—the last sentence!"
"The last sentence... The Holy Light takes time to spread?"
Anbaixiu felt as though a bolt of lightning had struck his soul. Elated, he exclaimed, "I've got it! Thanks to your reminder, I know how to recover that lost voice!"
The Rose of Decay was utterly bewildered. Had she just cast a Wish spell or something? How had he suddenly figured it out?
Without taking the time to explain, Anbaixiu opened his personal space and invited Naomi out.
Yet another beautiful girl. The Rose of Decay was practically used to it by now, but when she got a clear look at Naomi's face, she said in surprise, "This girl... have I seen her before?"
Having no time to introduce them, Anbaixiu said to Naomi, "Try rewinding time in this spot. You don't need to rewind everything—all I want is the sound that once resonated here!"
Anbaixiu's power was ineffective against Zariel, nor could he extract the answer from Melina's soul, but there was still a transmission medium in between!
Zariel had spoken with her mouth, vibrating the air, and those vibrations were perceived by Melina.
So long as they could recreate the vibration of the air, wouldn't they be able to learn what Zariel had said back then?
Naomi asked no questions, loyally carrying out Anbaixiu's command.
The power of time flowed past her fingertips, and the air began to reverse its flow. Soon, faint, indistinct sounds began to emerge.
The power of time could be wielded with extraordinary precision, much like the Time Stop effect within Anbaixiu's personal space, which affected only designated targets without hindering Anbaixiu from patting his own face.
By rewinding time solely for the air, Naomi wouldn't recreate the two individuals present at the time, nor would she restore Zariel's shielding barrier.
Now, anyone could hear what the Archduchess of Hell had spoken.
Anbaixiu expanded his senses, meticulously capturing every sound while continually instructing Naomi to replay it. Although the Rose of Decay was astonished that Naomi wielded the power of time, she dared not interrupt Anbaixiu, waiting patiently until he finally finished his recording.
"Did it work?" the Rose of Decay asked.
Anbaixiu nodded. "Though the sound was heavily distorted without Zariel's magical presence, I basically understood everything she said."
The Rose of Decay remarked curiously, "Yet you don't look very pleased."
Anbaixiu gave a helpless sigh. "Indeed, because this is hardly good news. Devils truly never lose on a deal. My senior brother is in massive trouble this time, and I don't even know how to break it to him."
"Will it affect you?" the Rose of Decay inquired.
"Me? Not particularly. If I want to walk away, I can leave at any time."
"Then that's fine. Do as you see fit. If you need any help, just let me know."
Receiving the Rose of Decay's steadfast support as always brought Anbaixiu a measure of relief, though this was truly a matter where she could be of no assistance.
"I need to return to the Kingdom of the Unholy Hymn. Lady Rose, just proceed with the plan to turn those Ryan generals into undead. I can handle the rest."
The Rose of Decay could see that Anbaixiu was determined to make another effort. There was no talking this man out of it. She could only tell him, "Be careful! My teleportation array will always be open to you."
"Thank you."
Anbaixiu bid farewell to the Rose of Decay and hurried back to the Kingdom of the Unholy Hymn.
Tiamat's plan had to be relayed to Mister Misfortune immediately, or there would be severe trouble down the line.
Tracking someone down was trivial for a divination wizard. After passing through two teleportation arrays in the Kingdom of the Unholy Hymn, Anbaixiu arrived at the place he once knew best—Red River Town.
Here, Anbaixiu had swindled the young Elven King; here, he had dispatched a chosen of Lolth the Spider Queen; and here, he had worked as an adventurer for many years.
Yet Anbaixiu had no time to reminisce over the changes in Red River Town, locating Mister Misfortune as swiftly as possible, who was currently drinking tea and chatting with someone.
Sitting before him was a rather youthful-looking tiefling clad in full military regalia, seemingly a high-ranking general of the Kingdom of the Unholy Hymn.
Seeing Anbaixiu appear, Mister Misfortune asked curiously, "What is it?"
"An urgent matter," Anbaixiu replied.
"However urgent it is, it can wait a moment." Mister Misfortune turned back to the young tiefling and said, "I have already told you what lies ahead. I trust you will make the right choice. What becomes of the kingdom's future rests upon you young people."
The young tiefling said nothing, merely bowing to Mister Misfortune before turning to leave.
Anbaixiu asked, "Is that a general you're inciting to defect?"
Mister Misfortune shook his head. "Hardly inciting a defection. I merely informed them in advance that the defensive line at the Gates of Hell will collapse so they can prepare themselves. Enough of that—what brought you to me in such a rush?"
Anbaixiu sighed. "Regarding the contract signed by the Unholy Ones, I uncovered new details. Please brace yourself mentally."
Mister Misfortune's hands trembled slightly. He took several deep breaths before saying, "Go ahead. I shouldn't drop dead from fright."
"Very well. Our previous deduction was correct. These Gates of Hell were indeed a deal between Zariel and the tieflings. If the Gates of Hell can hold off Ryan's invasion, the entire Kingdom of the Unholy Hymn will plunge into Hell on the appointed day to become Zariel's territory. But besides Zariel, there is another hell lord involved in this contract—the Dragon Goddess Tiamat."
Mister Misfortune's complexion turned dreadful.
"Tiamat? She's sticking her hand into this as well? No wonder you're so unnerved. She is truly not an evil deity one can easily handle."
Tiamat's infamy was renowned across the planes. She was notorious for founding cults, and anything associated with her was bound to be foul business.
"Don't jump ahead just yet; there is something even more critical. The contract is divided into two parts: Zariel wants the entire kingdom, while Tiamat wants every tiefling carrying the bloodline of the Unholy Ones. The terms stipulate that if the Unholy Ones fail to protect these Gates of Hell and allow them to be destroyed, every tiefling tied by blood to the Unholy Ones will be dragged down to Hell. The Unholy Ones have ruled the kingdom for over a thousand years. How many descendants of their bloodline are there?"
In a voice trembling with dread, Mister Misfortune replied, "At least two to three million. And all of them are key figures—every general and official in the kingdom is a blood descendant of the Unholy Ones."
Anbaixiu let out a mocking chuckle. "If only they hadn't been so greedy and had left some crumbs for other families, it wouldn't have come to this. Once those millions plunge into Hell, the entire Kingdom of the Unholy Hymn will disintegrate in an instant. How the hell could they fight a war after that?!"
Chapter 320