"Found a Bank of Hell? Like that lending and borrowing game the goblins play?"
Zariel was initially dismissive. Such mortal tricks rarely worked in Hell.
Sensing her attitude, Anbaixiu explained, "There are many reasons why banks have never existed in Hell, but one of the main ones is that your universal equivalents are too scarce. Soul coins are consumable goods in Hell, not merely currency. That is the biggest problem."
In truth, Anbaixiu didn't actually care about establishing a bank in Hell; he was merely testing the waters.
He proposed this seemingly sound idea for the revival of the Goddess of Wealth, and to ensure that the tens of millions of soul coins he had to spend yielded greater value.
The emergence of a bank required foundational economic conditions. Hell was a slave society where archdevils controlled lesser devils, and lesser devils oversaw the evil spirit laborers below them. In theory, no basis for banking existed at all.
Yet precisely because the archdevils held total dominion over Hell, a primitive institution for taking deposits and issuing loans could still be established—it merely required a massive amount of capital.
As long as the credibility of this soul bank was built up over time, Anbaixiu could coax Zariel into issuing genuine Hell currency.
Scraps of paper that cost a few pennies to produce, yet represented thousands of soul coins.
Only on such a foundation would it be possible to transform Hell's economic landscape.
If that level were ever achieved, Zariel would surely earn the favor of the Lord of Hell himself. She wouldn't just be the ruler of the mere first layer; becoming his direct deputy would be well within reach.
Of course, that lay far in the future and had to be taken one step at a time.
This was nothing more than an experiment. If it succeeded, he would make an enormous profit; if it failed, it didn't matter in the least—it was Zariel's money on the line anyway.
Seeing Zariel still hesitating, Anbaixiu casually added, "When has a business venture of mine ever lost money?"
Those words acted like a shot of adrenaline, causing Zariel to let down her guard.
This was the reputation Anbaixiu had earned through a string of incredible victories—so formidable that even a devil like Zariel was at a loss for how to refute him.
Well, she could still push back a little. Looking sternly at Anbaixiu, Zariel said, "You certainly know how to do business, but that assumes you genuinely view me as a partner and aren't intentionally digging a pit for me."
"How could I? What reason would I have to swindle you? A successful Bank of Hell only benefits me. Otherwise, who would help me circulate the soul coins I forge in the future?"
Anbaixiu once again dispelled her misgivings. From any angle, he and Zariel were natural collaborators. If she truly allied herself with this lich, this Bank of Hell might actually work.
"So how do you plan to run it?" Zariel asked.
"Don't rush. My knowledge of Hell is far too limited. I will provide your startup capital first. To prevent Tiamat from getting suspicious, we'll proceed as you suggested: ten million soul coins each for you and Tiamat. Then, you can use the concept of this bank to tempt Tiamat into investing.
"Keep initial operations simple. Offer loans to devils you have absolute leverage over. The interest rate doesn't need to be high—make sure they clearly feel the benefits of our bank. Get the first batch of borrowers hooked and see how it works. Since these soul coins cost you nothing to acquire, this small expenditure is negligible. Devils prize contracts above all else. As long as you maintain low margins, more devils across Hell will come to trust our bank.
"That is the first step. As for subsequent details... I imagine quite a few goblins have fallen into Hell over time. Seek out the capitalists from those goblin banks; I'm sure they will offer excellent advice."
Anbaixiu intended only to chart the broad direction. The specific details had to be handled by someone native to Hell; he lacked the time and energy to hold anyone's hand through the process.
"Those goblins... they don't come cheap."
Greed, malice, cruelty—to a hell lord, these traits were virtues, and such souls were prime specimens. Zariel typically favored valiant warriors and rarely collected souls of this sort; now she would have to buy them from other lords.
Anbaixiu countered, "No need to worry. Right now, you possess immense capital. Shower those devils with money and let them know you've struck it rich; think of it as advertising. I'll deliver the first batch of soul coins in a couple of days. Test them out first, and once you've completed this first step, we'll discuss what comes next."
Zariel severed the magic mirror's connection and began pondering which devil she should buy those goblin souls from.
"Looks like I'll have to find Mammon. He's the greediest devil in all of Hell."
***
Once Zariel was gone, Anbaixiu let out a quiet breath of relief. Without realizing it, the archdevil had agreed to Anbaixiu's "installment plan." Otherwise, if he had to forge tens of millions of soul coins all at once, the cost would have been outrageous.
After all, using Simulated Soul required physical materials. High-grade soul coins required intense emotions to drive them, which made them even costlier. Anbaixiu estimated that forging ten million high-grade soul coins would consume over a million gold coins in raw materials.
Having just spent the bulk of his reserves from the Golden Throne, he truly couldn't bear to part with that much gold right now.
Installment payments suited him perfectly, providing a buffer until his funds recouped before worrying about anything else.
With that business handled, Anbaixiu contacted his teacher to share the news of the hell lord's agreement to cooperate.
The God of Alchemy pondered for a long while before letting out a soft sigh.
"You actually managed to drag them onto your chariot. It's true that with Zariel and Tiamat, taking on the Kuo-toa Goddess would normally be well within reason. But even with the three of us deities combined, it won't be enough to breach her divine realm. You understand what a divine realm means by now, don't you?"
Anbaixiu nodded and said, "I hear that an eternal domain of chaos exists within her divine realm. Zariel mentioned that even she would turn into a mindless lunatic if she entered."
The God of Alchemy nodded. That was the most troublesome aspect of dealing with deities.
"So what do you intend to do? Even if I pinpoint her divine realm for you, how do you plan to overcome that problem?"
Anbaixiu gave him an odd look. "Isn't that your job?"
"What nonsense are you spouting? Do you really think I can craft anything? A deity's power within their own divine realm is absolute. One can only endure it through sheer personal might. Unless I were Talos, there would be no resisting that brand of mental domination."
"Is there no artifact that can preserve one's sanity?" Anbaixiu asked.
"There are, but none I can lay my hands on, and certainly none I can forge in my current state. You still underestimate the might of a deity. Anything possessing self-awareness—even an earth elemental—will go mad the moment it steps into that domain of chaos."
His teacher's words plunged Anbaixiu into deep thought. After a moment, he looked up. "What if I threw a stone inside?"
"A stone?" The God of Alchemy blinked, then explained, "It would just be a stone. An unthinking object naturally wouldn't change, though the goddess could easily crush it to dust if she wished."
"Meaning that so long as an inanimate object possesses no mind of its own, tossing it into her divine realm leaves it unaffected. What about the undead?"
"The undead are affected as well. Don't confuse 'inanimate' with undead. Even skeletons and zombies that operate purely on instinct would instantly become violently erratic and uncontrollable once inside."
"What about golem puppets?"
"That..."
The God of Alchemy fell silent. No one in the world understood golem puppets better than he did. Any blueprint drafted by any alchemist was instantly understood and mastered by the God of Alchemy; such was the authority of a conceptual deity. Strictly speaking, golem puppets were not living beings; they were merely assemblies of steel parts operating according to programmed routines.
Mental domination was indeed entirely useless against a golem puppet.
No matter how hysterically the Kuo-toa Goddess raved, she couldn't make a lump of iron lose its mind.
"Yet it remains pointless, my student," the God of Alchemy said. "A deity's control over their divine realm is absolute. No golem puppet could pose a threat to Blibdoolpoolp within her domain. With a single thought, she could command water elementals to rip those golems to shreds. Nor should you dream of overwhelming her with sheer numbers. Within Blibdoolpoolp's divine realm, countless kuo-toa and sea beasts dwell. Those are 'heroic spirits,' far more formidable than any kuo-toa you've encountered in the mortal world."
Another purpose of a divine realm was to grant faithful followers liberation from the cycle of reincarnation, allowing them to enjoy eternal paradise within its borders. The Kuo-toa Goddess naturally commanded a vast legion of heroic spirits. Even if Anbaixiu managed to manufacture legions of golem puppets to throw inside, it would likely amount to nothing more than a waste of materials.
Anbaixiu sighed. "No wonder Talos was so thrilled—it truly sounded like an impossible task. Perhaps Corellon would be willing to help pin Blibdoolpoolp to the ground with an arrow?"
"Don't even dream of it," the God of Alchemy cut in without hesitation. "Corellon possesses immense pride. He would never participate in abducting a bride for Talos. In fact, if he learned of this, he might sever all ties with you on the spot."
"Then our only option is finding a way to lure this shrimp-headed goddess out of her divine realm."
It was the sole approach Anbaixiu could devise. If victory was impossible inside the divine realm, the only choice was to draw her out.
Yet Blibdoolpoolp was already aware of his intentions against her. The shrimp-headed goddess was surely no fool; she would never leave her divine realm at a time like this. Most deities operated the same way: refusing to leave their divine realm under pain of death was standard procedure.
No matter how great the temptation outside, projecting an avatar was hardly difficult.
"So how do I lure the true body of this shrimp-headed goddess out?"
Anbaixiu felt he needed far more intelligence—at the very least, to discover what this shrimp-headed goddess loved, feared, or despised.
Chapter 454