The Lord of Hell would never permit anyone to challenge his authority, even if only in matters of wealth.
If it were purely counterfeit currency, Asmodeus would undoubtedly swat Anbaixiu, the counterfeiter, to death with a single slap, and Ao wouldn't even lift a finger to stop him.
Yet the problem was that Anbaixiu was minting "debased coins"—and these things actually burned.
All the various contraptions widely used throughout Hell could run on these debased coins, and their performance was barely any worse. So would the hell lords use them or not?
Besides, if Anbaixiu was willing to stomach the production costs, he was fully capable of minting genuine coins as well.
Was there anything truly special about standard soul coins? Weren't they simply dissectible into intact souls? Anbaixiu was perfectly capable of creating complete souls too; it was just that the unscrupulous profiteer cut costs down to extreme emotions, omitting any other capacity for movement or thought.
Thus, the soul bank's true operational strategy was exploiting a time lag.
As long as the soul bank continued to operate, over time, all the "genuine coins" in Hell would become the bank's "reserves," serving as a gold-like standard to form the foundation of the economy, while the currency circulating on the open market would consist entirely of Anbaixiu's debased coins.
By then, Asmodeus wouldn't dare swat Anbaixiu to death on a whim. If Hell's economy collapsed, the fallout would shake the multiverse, and then Ao would truly be displeased.
To Ao, if Asmodeus couldn't manage Hell and caused upheaval across the planes, replacing him was hardly out of the question.
Who cared if you were the oldest devil or the father of all devils? If the Overgod decided to deal with you, Asmodeus would just have to take it.
The three hell lords understood this quite well. That was why they wanted to gamble—and gamble big. If they succeeded, they would become another king of Hell; if they failed, the worst outcome was merely maintaining the status quo.
As Mammon had put it, what devil didn't stir up trouble? As long as they didn't flip the table with sheer violence, it was fine.
Toying with contracts was a devil's bread and butter. Win or lose, Asmodeus generally wouldn't impose any severe punishment.
In that case, why not take the gamble?
With a bit more luck, after a few millennia or tens of thousands of years, the soul bank might even begin truly printing banknotes—a single slip of paper redeemable for soul coins at any time, turning into true fiat currency.
However, the likelihood of that was exceedingly slim, because Hell was far too unstable.
The ruler of each layer of Hell had changed countless times over the ages. With the Blood War, grand battles, abyssal invasions, and endless strife, warfare never ceased. The limitations of fiat currency under such conditions were simply too severe.
After one major war, several owners of the soul bank might be replaced—or wiped out entirely.
After a turnover in leadership, the debased coins made by the lich would still be usable, but what about a flimsy paper fiat currency? How much would it depreciate?
Devils were no fools; why would they hold onto "fiat currency" that could turn into scrap paper at any second?
At best, fiat currency might be used in small amounts, while the debased coins minted by Anbaixiu remained the mainstream.
Capitalism was not invincible; it needed to be adapted to different environments. Neither Anbaixiu nor the Goddess of Wealth would make the mistake of rigidly applying dogmas.
Still, as long as they could control this soul bank, these lords would accumulate immense wealth, and wealth equaled power. One day, relying on that power to challenge the ranks of greater deities wouldn't be impossible either.
No matter what, a splendid future lay right before their eyes, and none of them would refuse.
The Goddess of Wealth needed only a moment of thought to see through the future the three hell lords dreamed of, but She also knew full well that this future would never come to pass.
The reason was simple: the Goddess of Wealth would never permit Hell to stride boldly into the age of capitalism.
It was a matter of alignment.
The Goddess of Wealth loathed demons, and She despised devils just as much.
Cooperating on the soul bank was merely a front. She was leveraging Anbaixiu's plan to assimilate Hell's economy into Her own divine concept of wealth.
And in Her eyes, this bank would serve as a nail driven deep into Hell.
Sooner or later, the Goddess of Wealth would use the power of the soul bank to teach these devils an unforgettable lesson.
Yet that too belonged to the distant future. For now, their goals were aligned: get the bank up and running first.
With the price settled, the next step was setting off to kidnap the Kuo-toa Goddess.
"Everyone, assemble your armies. We are going to war with the Kuo-toa Goddess. Kidnapping a goddess for a mere mortal is destined to be recorded in the history of the pantheon, and it serves as the most splendid advertisement for the soul bank. I ask the three of you not to make an unsightly mess of it, or it will hurt our future profits."
Hearing this, the expressions of all three hell lords grew solemn.
It was indeed the truth. Three hell lords mobilizing—including the rulers of the First and Third Layers of Hell—would inevitably shake the multiverse with any move they made. If this grand expedition ended in failure, the reputation of the hell lords would suffer dearly.
Caressing her longsword, Zariel said with confidence, "As long as you keep your word and lure the Kuo-toa Goddess out of Her divine realm, I can handle Her even if She hasn't weakened."
"Then we shall await your fine performance."
The magic mirror communication closed, and the Goddess of Wealth dropped Her transformation, Her face still flushed with excitement.
Watching Her, the God of Alchemy said cheerfully, "It seems things went very smoothly."
"Of course. Negotiating business is what I do best. I saved your student quite a fortune."
"Then by all means, do not tell him," the God of Alchemy warned.
"Ah?" the Goddess of Wealth asked, puzzled. "Why?"
"If that brat finds out, he'll throw himself at your feet without hesitation, begging you to grant him boons. And that will become his finest excuse. He'll claim he wants to repay the goddess for Her help and work for you, but in truth, he'll just cling to you like a leech, and you won't be able to shake him off."
The Goddess of Wealth covered Her mouth and laughed. This master and disciple pair was truly hilarious.
Then She asked the God of Alchemy, "So what do you plan to do next? Are you truly confident you can lure the Kuo-toa Goddess out? The infernal legions are already gathering. If you fail, I'm afraid those devils won't be polite about it."
A devil's contract could not be violated. Ao would not intervene when devils collected their debts; from the moment a contract was signed, all parties had to abide by its terms—a fundamental law endorsed by the entirety of Hell.
The God of Alchemy said with self-assurance, "Negotiating business is your forte, but forging artifacts is mine. I guarantee this gadget will work like a charm. It's just that we need to travel to the Elemental Plane of Water first, and that won't be easy."
The Elemental Plane of Water was an extraordinary space—a boundless ocean with neither a seafloor nor a surface.
Whether you traveled up or down, you would never reach the boundary of the waters.
Aquatic creatures from across every plane could be found here; from the tiniest seaweed to colossal island whales, all could thrive and multiply in this realm. Because the Elemental Plane of Water was theoretically infinite in space, that naturally meant infinite resources.
Although the divine realm of the Kuo-toa Goddess was an independent pocket dimension, the divine realms of all sea deities theoretically connected to the Elemental Plane of Water.
Therefore, anyone seeking the divine realm of the Kuo-toa Goddess had to journey to this plane. Yet the Elemental Plane of Water was extremely hostile to other magical elements. Deities of other pantheons would find it agonizingly uncomfortable to enter, having to overcome layer upon layer of hardship just to move within it.
The God of Alchemy, however, had long prepared for this.
Alchemy encompassed all things and was never bound to any single element. As long as the God of Alchemy refrained from hurling fireballs within the Elemental Plane of Water, his other abilities remained largely unaffected.
Down a Water Affinity Potion, and the God of Alchemy could even pass himself off as a member of the ocean pantheon. Such was the marvel of alchemy.
Moving freely was not an issue, and his status as a deity was more than enough to let him disregard the vast majority of dangers.
The only real concern was the attitude of the sea deities.
Eadro, Sekolah, Demogorgon, and the like—these deities possessed an acute awareness of the Elemental Plane of Water. The God of Alchemy would certainly be detected upon entering.
If those deities objected, the God of Alchemy would be in tremendous trouble.
Fortunately, Anbaixiu had done excellent groundwork.
The God of Alchemy took out an object resembling a scale and handed it to the Goddess of Wealth.
"Disguise yourself as my subordinate deity when the time comes. With this fish scale, you can travel freely across the Elemental Plane of Water without interference from the sea deities."
The Goddess of Wealth gasped in surprise. "This is... the aura of merfolk. A scale of Eadro, the Merfolk Deity?"
"Indeed. My student drove Blibdoolpoolp completely mad. Refusing to accept Her own decline, She has been plundering all manner of living creatures across the Elemental Plane of Water, forcing them to become Her worshippers. Eadro could not abide such disruption of balance, so He has already conferred with the sea deities. Blibdoolpoolp is ours to deal with as we see fit."
The Goddess of Wealth sighed with emotion. "Can your student even be considered a mortal anymore? Gods are caught in endless turmoil under his stirring. Ao should have granted him a divine portfolio long ago."
Although Ao usually acted purely on whim—giving divine portfolios to whomever He pleased without anyone having the right to question Him—Ao cared deeply about all matters concerning divinity.
This lich was a mere mortal, yet in such a short span of meddling, Shar had been punished, Lolth had been punished and was now on the verge of being struck down by Her ex-husband Corellon, and the hell lords had come to blows over a single idea of his, nearly blowing up the First Layer of Hell. Now a goddess of the ocean pantheon was about to be driven out and dragged off as a captive for Talos... It was downright absurd.
For a mortal to accomplish all this, there was no way Ao hadn't noticed.
With such magnificent feats, not granting him the portfolio of the God of Deception was practically unjustified.
The God of Alchemy echoed the sentiment with a sigh. "Indeed. I've actually wanted to elevate the kid for a long time. Wouldn't it be nice for him to loaf around with me in my divine realm? But no, he insists on mingling with a bunch of mortals. Only, someone stopped me—a deity I could not refuse. He asked me to wait a little longer."
"Wait a little? Are you saying that because of this deity, Ao hasn't granted your student a divine portfolio?"
The Goddess of Wealth frowned. Very few deities commanded such immense respect. She quickly thought of that ancient figure who had been forgotten by most gods.
"The Mourner, the Elegy Poetry Society... I know who it is. But what on earth is He trying to do?"
The Goddess of Wealth was thoroughly bewildered. That figure certainly possessed the stature to make even Ao grant Him face, but what did He want this lich to do?
The God of Alchemy let out a helpless sigh. "What else could it be? What has that old man spent his whole life doing? Ushering qualified candidates up, and pulling down those who fall short.
"Though I don't know what the reason is this time, I suppose it's once again time for a replacement in the seat of the God of Death."
Chapter 488