Chapter 719: The Pitiful Baltazu

As the Gods of Justice attacked the Abyss, the bloody battle with Hell was immediately disrupted. Pazuonia fell almost instantly, cutting off the Abyss’s reinforcements. The demons left on the battlefield panicked—now with no way to retreat, they had nowhere to go but to fight forward. If they backed down, the celestial beings who saw demons as mortal enemies would show no mercy.

But ahead lay the enemy’s stronghold. Once inside, survival seemed impossible.

Thus, some clever demons chose to betray the Abyss at this critical moment and turn to Hell. They were instantly transformed into demons by Hell’s will and turned to attack their former comrades.

With such an example, many more demons chose to betray. Demons have no sense of integrity. Even demons of the lawful faction are evil, though they pretend to be honorable while exploiting the loopholes in order. Clearly, they have some integrity, but only to a limited extent.

Unlike the panicked demons beneath him, Baltazu, the strongest among them, remained calm.

After all, he was a demon lord—even if just a slightly more powerful secondary lord who didn’t rule an entire plane but only a region. Yet, he had stood out among many semi-gods and newly risen gods, reaching the strength of a lower god. His wisdom far surpassed that of ordinary demon lords.

The Gods of Justice’s attack on the Endless Abyss had indeed disrupted all his plans. Baltazu’s already terrifying face stretched even longer, looking even more grotesque against his dark green skin.

His mind raced as he let out continuous hissing sounds like a snake. His mocking expression vanished, and he ceased attacking the still-fighting Carlisle.

After weighing the pros and cons, Baltazu made his final decision.

Suddenly, this extremely obese demon lord unleashed his Greed Domain, driving back the human semi-gods and flying swiftly toward Hell. Along the way, his aura began to change.

By the time he reached the Gates of Hell, Baltazu had completely shed his Abyssian aura. The excess fat caused by his Greed power also disappeared, restoring him to his former appearance—a tall, handsome human officer in a crisp military uniform.

“Haha…”

Baltazu, now in a transformed appearance, laughed heartily. He no longer felt any resentment about having chosen to betray the Abyssal Prisoners—none of the forced dissatisfaction he once had. After all, the ambitious and greedy Baltazu used to be an excellent human noble officer, but due to his arrogance and greed, he fell into the bottomless abyss. To gain powerful strength, he sacrificed his appearance, which he valued most. This had always been the biggest thorn in Baltazu’s heart, and now that his long-held desire was fulfilled, he was overjoyed. Even though he was freed from the shackles of abyssal power and his status dropped from a lower god to a demigod, his once fat and ugly body disappeared, replaced by a strong and handsome form resembling a human—a Deep Prison Demon. For Baltazu, who placed great importance on appearance, this was even more pleasing than an increase in power! Of course, given his unchanging greed, he would have been even more satisfied if his power hadn’t declined at all. The original Baltazu was vain and proud, twisted by the Will of Chaos. To gain power, he became extremely ugly. In fact, he was also an Abyssal Demon; after embracing hellish power, he naturally transformed into a Deep Prison Demon. After Baltazu transformed into a Deep Prison Demon and joined the forces of hell, the eight Dark Demons, who had been guarding the Hell Gate Fortress with vigilance, relaxed their stance. At that moment, Astimos, the King of Hell, who had been hiding in the shadows, appeared on the walls of the Hell Gate Fortress. This made Baltazu sweat nervously. The most dissatisfied was Carlisle. He had made continuous progress but was forced to stop before reaching his limits. However, he wasn’t the type to go berserk in battle. Realizing that the war raging in the abyss was beyond his involvement, he also retreated to the Hell Gate Fortress with the main forces of demons. Although most of those celestial armies were attacking the Abyssal Plane, no one knew which righteous god might take a dislike to hell and strike here by chance—things would be terrible then. After all, hellish demons were also lower-tier creatures of the evil realm. In the eyes of righteous gods, they were only slightly stronger than abyssal demons. “Your Majesty, the Great King of Hell, Baltazu offers you his highest respects!” Knowing when to act wisely, Baltazu, having lost the Abyss’s favor after betraying it, was now just an ordinary demigod in hell without any official status. Naturally, he had to show humility.

Astymos watched with interest this former demon lord, who was cunning and slick at heart but put on a serious facade on the surface. He spoke softly, “Abandoning that foolish and inferior abyss to join the great underworld was your wisest choice. With your power as a semi-divine demon, you’re capable of becoming a ruler of a region in the underworld. Once this war is over, I’ll arrange something suitable for you!”
Baltazu immediately knelt down to express his gratitude. But before he could get up, a slightly hoarse yet charming voice spoke from afar, “Great Lord Astymos, Baltazu and I are old friends.”
It was Zareel, the ruler of the First Layer of the Nine Hells, the Blood Hell, Avonar.
This female underworld ruler respectfully made her proposal to the King of the Underworld, then glanced at Baltazu with a smirk. Hearing this, Baltazu felt like giving up entirely—he wanted to spit venom in her face. In places like the Bottomless Abyss, what friends could there be? Not stabbing you in the back was already considered friendly treatment.
Originally, their relationship was one of both cooperation and competition; there was hardly any friendliness, only a bare minimum of tolerance. Moreover, he had once tricked Zareel on the battlefield, allowing himself to escape while she became a prisoner of the underworld.
Now that Zareel had become the ruler of the First Layer, her strength had reached the top tier among the lower gods. By trying to recruit him as her subordinate, she clearly intended to use her power for personal gain and torment him.
Though unwilling, Baltazu still maintained a smile and composure, hiding his true emotions.
Astymos glanced at these two old rivals, then nodded in acknowledgment, thereby recognizing Baltazu’s status in the First Layer of the underworld.
Zareel, equally cunning beneath the surface, also wore a friendly expression. Those who didn’t know her might think this female ruler was infatuated with the handsome and outstanding new underworld ruler, Baltazu!