Hell's official line had always been that Bel had never rebelled and had been Zariel's loyal subordinate from the very beginning.
Anbaixiu knew very little about Bel. Only after descending to Hell had he inquired about some infernal secrets from the God of Alchemy and the Goddess of Wealth, which was how he learned that the two had a rather unpleasant history.
As for the exact details, Anbaixiu was not entirely clear; perhaps only those two hell lords could explain it themselves.
Reason dictated that Anbaixiu should keep a low profile for now, and he preferred that Melina not provoke those veteran hell lords right from the start.
Especially a figure as particularly sensitive as Bel.
Bel was a hell lord who had once rebelled against Zariel, successfully claimed her throne, only to be struck back down by her and reduced to a subordinate once more, while retaining the title of Chief General of the Blood River.
Neither the intellect nor the personal strength of such a titan could be underestimated; for Melina, an opponent like that was far beyond her league.
Yet since the other party had come knocking on her door, Anbaixiu had no choice but to brace himself and deal with it.
Reading the invitation carefully, this hell lord—nicknamed the Forkhorn Butcher—was Melina's neighbor. Their territories were less than twenty kilometers apart, separated by wilderness and a small lava lake; a cambion could fly across in half an hour.
Melina's expansion and large-scale construction had caught this neighbor's attention.
True to devilish habit, the Forkhorn Butcher wanted to meet with Melina to determine whether they would mind their own business or start preparing for war sooner rather than later.
It sounded reasonable enough; compared to other hell lords, an upfront negotiation like this could almost be considered honorable and straightforward.
However, both the time and the place had been set by the Forkhorn Butcher.
He had invited Melina to a hell tavern named the Pig and Sluggard, scheduled for three days later.
Anbaixiu knew little about Hell, but inferring from the contents of the invitation, it had to be a very famous place. The letter listed only a name, without specific coordinates or any further description.
Evidently, the Pig and Sluggard was so renowned that everyone knew it, rendering further details unnecessary.
Fighting devils was one thing, but when one invited you to a scheduled brawl, you had to be careful. Once you arrived at the appointed location, an army of a hundred thousand might charge out to gang up on you.
With the moral standards of devils, there was nothing they wouldn't do.
Yet the Forkhorn Butcher was suspected of having deep ties to Bel, so Anbaixiu could not simply ignore the invitation; doing so would inevitably lead to war sooner or later.
After pondering for a moment, Anbaixiu drafted a reply to the Forkhorn Butcher in Melina's name.
The message was brief: the meeting place remained unchanged, but the time was postponed by a month, with a simple reason given: "Preparing for an audience with Archduke Zariel, currently unavailable to meet."
Melina had already obtained the authority of a hell lord. If Zariel cared to look, a casual check would reveal it.
Thus, it could not be hidden for long anyway. Now that the authority was secured and Anbaixiu had already negotiated future cooperation with Zariel, this was the perfect opportunity for Melina to make her formal debut.
He had even sent his daughter to Hell to work for Zariel; surely the devil archduke would be pleased with such a pledge of loyalty.
With the reply sent, Anbaixiu ordered his people to investigate where the Pig and Sluggard was located and what its background was. At the same time, they were to gather information on Bel's situation. The Forkhorn Butcher might very well have reached out to Melina under Archduke Bel's instructions, so Anbaixiu needed to be even better prepared.
Centuries of experience had taught Anbaixiu that negotiations were often decided long before the formal meeting; when the meeting actually occurred, it was merely going through the motions.
With that matter settled, Anbaixiu turned his attention back to the development of Melina's territory.
Because the lord permissions Melina had redeemed were all conducive to territorial development, inner and outer city walls had already been erected for the new fortress in a short time.
Drawing on the characteristics of the Underdark, Anbaixiu restructured the territory into aboveground and underground zones, then divided functions according to the layout of typical devil fortresses.
On the surface, Melina's territory merely looked somewhat larger and rather empty, but the truly crucial portion lay subterranean, where the labyrinthine tunnels and bends could only be navigated by races accustomed to living deep underground.
As the new territory rose, the bountiful harvest of soul fragments drew many devils seeking to pledge allegiance. Though most were weak creatures like lemures and dretches, Anbaixiu welcomed all comers—a stark departure from the habits of typical hell lords.
This was a world where the strong preyed on the weak, especially for territories guarding the edges of the Blood River, which also bore the duty of hunting stray demons.
Most of these weak devils were transformed from the souls of sinners, frail enough that any peasant with a pitchfork could kill them. Such puny devils ought to have become food for other devils; on the Blood River battlefield, they did not even qualify as cannon fodder and were only fit to be rations for demons.
With Melina possessing such a fertile territory, why would she take in a swarm of utterly powerless lesser devils?
Cambien had urged Melina more than once that with the territory just starting out, they could not take in so many useless mouths. Even if their output of soul fragments was high, it couldn't sustain such waste.
Yet Melina ignored Cambien's advice, answering coldly, "This is my father's arrangement."
Those words carried enough weight on their own, for Cambien already knew who the lord's father was.
In all of Hell, if any devil had not heard that name, they truly deserved to die.
The renowned Deceiver—a ruthless figure who had swindled even devil archdukes and left them forced to swallow their losses—was now reportedly an honored guest of Archduke Zariel.
Such a great figure undoubtedly had profound intentions, which a minor cambion like Cambien had no right to question. But Cambien was no fool; just because he didn't understand Anbaixiu's orders didn't mean he would remain idle. He began closely observing the dretches and lemures in the territory, trying to figure out what Lord Deceiver intended to do with these useless creatures.
Soon, Cambien noticed a pattern: every so often, a few dretches or lemures would be granted an audience with Melina, emerging afterward completely transformed.
Evidently, these lucky few had received substantial amounts of soul coins. Devils relied on souls to grow stronger, especially newly transformed sinners who were at their weakest; a tiny amount of resources was enough for them to advance rapidly.
Cambien had initially thought the Deceiver was selecting talented devils to groom into the territory's true backbone. In reality, that was not the case; once these lesser devils gained a certain level of strength, they would depart the territory.
Every devil that left carried one or more magic mirrors capable of instant communication, their faces beaming with high spirits as though departing to accomplish some great enterprise. Seeing this, Cambien knew better than to pry further.
A subordinate needed a sense of propriety. Information that could be gleaned with a casual glance was fair game, but digging deeper was not worth the risk. Knowing too much offered no guaranteed benefit and could easily incur the Deceiver's wrath.
Yet waking in the middle of the night, Cambien could never stop turning the question over in his mind: what on earth was that great lord doing?
Harboring his doubts, Cambien continued to serve as the territory's steward until Melina summoned him to accompany her to Zariel's manor.
Upon hearing the order, Cambien froze in place for several minutes. He had never imagined he would ever have the privilege of setting foot in Archduke Zariel's estate.
That was the most exalted place in all of Avernus! Not long ago, he had been nothing more than a cambion wandering the wilderness; how long had it been for him to reach such heights?
In that instant, Cambien became even firmer in his resolve to follow Melina.
This lord of his might not seem particularly sharp, but her father was simply too formidable—no, formidable did not begin to describe him.
Melina brought only two subordinates, Cambien and Monica, to Zariel's residence, and the visit proceeded without incident. Zariel greeted Melina with a broad smile and warmly offered to promote her to captain of her personal guard.
Melina agreed to hold a nominal position as a member of the guard, but requested to remain in her own territory to oversee its affairs, answering the archduke's summons only when called to serve.
This bargaining made both Cambien and Monica break out in a cold sweat. When Melina voiced her refusal, they had thought they were as good as dead. Yet Archduke Zariel proved unexpectedly accommodating, even granting Melina the freedom to choose.
In the end, Melina was granted nominal guard status while retaining her freedom of movement. Moreover, not only Melina, but even Cambien and Monica received rewards from Zariel.
Rewards that should have been bestowed upon those with distinguished military honors on the Blood River battlefield were laid out before these two minor figures, free for the picking.
Without hesitation, Cambien chose a drop of amnizu blood. Cambions were not weak by nature, but Cambien's devil bloodline was far too diluted and impure, the sort of worthless frame with no real future. A devil of his poor talent, even if given piles of soul coins, would advance far slower than others.
Amnizu blood could purify his physical bloodline, making future advancement much easier. In Hell, fists were always more useful than silver tongues.
Monica, on the other hand, already possessed a noble bloodline: a mix of erinyes and elf, both brimming with potent magical power that she normally struggled to fully unleash. Thus, she chose an exceptional staff that significantly amplified her spellcasting ability.
With even Melina's attendants receiving rewards, in the eyes of onlookers, Melina was undeniably Zariel's most favored rising star.
Yet in Anbaixiu's eyes, Zariel still did not trust him.
Without even needing to inspect them, he knew Zariel had tampered with Cambien's drop of amnizu blood, and with Monica's staff as well. Yet Anbaixiu had to accept it; such was the art of mutual compromise.
Unable to intervene in the bank's operations, Zariel had chosen another method to keep watch over Melina.
Anbaixiu took no issue with it. Zariel was a devil archduke, after all; he couldn't completely deny her face.
With this audience concluded, Melina's standing in Hell was thoroughly cemented, leaving no lingering vulnerabilities.
Therefore, once Melina returned to her territory, Anbaixiu openly informed Zariel of the Forkhorn Butcher's invitation.
"The Forkhorn Butcher?" Zariel frowned. "What is that thing?"
The disparity in status was immense; Zariel had likely never heard of a minor devil separated from Bel by dozens of tiers.
"He may be connected to Archduke Bel. Because I know little about Bel, I thought it polite to seek your counsel," Anbaixiu said, carefully choosing his words. "I am uncertain of Archduke Bel's situation, and what attitude I should adopt toward him."
At the mention of Bel's name, anger flitted across Zariel's expression, but she quickly composed herself. "Pay him no mind. Bel has only one duty now: to watch the Blood River Fortress for me. Slashing demons until the end of time—that is his task, and his only task."
"Just that simple? Then Melina's meeting with the Forkhorn Butcher..."
Zariel waved a hand impatiently. "Do not bother me with such trivialities. The bank is about to officially open, and Mammon has already secured our first batch of clients. Strictly speaking, your soul belongs to me; our side cannot be outdone by Mammon. Put more effort into the business side of things, and do not let Mammon monopolize it all."
Preparations for the Hell Bank were nearly complete, and the funds provided by Anbaixiu had been successfully deposited, making it time for the grand opening.
To build momentum, Mammon had pulled in deals worth over a hundred million in one stroke, with clients including devil archdukes from several other layers of Hell.
In the plan, Anbaixiu was merely a money-printing machine providing necessary guidance, without participating in the day-to-day work. Zariel had the standing to participate, but lacked both the ability and the personnel, leaving her looking like a passive shareholder collecting dividends. Furthermore, according to the development strategy Anbaixiu had designed, the bank's profitability in the early stages would be poor; only when harvest time arrived would they rake in immense profits.
Feeling shortchanged, Zariel could only press Anbaixiu for further ideas.
Anbaixiu chuckled. "I have already prepared for that."
His figure faded from the magic mirror, replaced by cascading streams of data. The complex, shifting numbers made Zariel dizzy, yet she still managed to discern what was being displayed.
"These are... scattered savings? Added up to this much?"
"Indeed," Anbaixiu replied. "Mammon's resources regarding high-end clientele are unmatched across Hell, but Hell is vast, and the hell lords are not the only ones with money.
"Thirty to fifty soul fragments can be compressed into a lower-quality soul coin, but the process is complex. Common devils lack the capability; only hell lords can collect and compress them into coins on a small scale. Soul fragments happen to be worthless, serving only as rations. But what if those soul fragments could be counted as wealth?"
Anbaixiu reappeared on the magic mirror. With a sweeping wave of his hand, he declared passionately, "Across the Nine Hells, there are billions upon billions of devils. If each one deposits just a single cent, how colossal will that fortune be?"
Chapter 546