System's POV

Chapter 1472: I Have One Condition

Just like most Fiends and Celestials, Mammon was supposed to take a long time to recover from his injuries.

However, he had a special power that allowed him to "pay" to heal his injuries instantly.

Unfortunately, the price tag to be as good as new was ten billion gold coins. The greedy Fiend felt his heart break as he let go of his money to recover from his injuries.

This amount of money was equivalent to a fifth of his overall wealth, making him feel very angry and frustrated.

After his recovery, the first thing he did was to attempt reclaiming the Divine Keys before rethinking his strategy.

But he made one mistake.

Once the keys were used, they couldn’t be retrieved unless all seven keys had unlocked all the gates protecting the castle.

This discovery made Mammon scratch his bald, golden head in frustration. He wanted to leave but couldn’t. If Zion arrived with the Key of Pride, wouldn’t that mean that all of his hard work would fall into the hands of someone else?

Mammon couldn’t accept it.

He couldn’t live with it.

He couldn’t allow others to profit from his hard work!

After cursing Thirteen and the thirteen generations of his family, Mammon took out a round mirror plated with gold.

He activated its effects, making the surface of the mirror ripple. A few seconds later, an Infernal with a single horn on his head appeared on the mirror’s surface.

"Ah... my favorite Fiend of Greed," the Infernal Warlord said. "What may I do for you today?"

This Warlord was a different Warlord from the one who helped Zaphiel gather the divine keys of the treasury.

The name of this Warlord was Heinz, and he was all smiles as soon as he saw Mammon’s scary expression.

"Something happened," Mammon reported. "I gathered all the keys, except one. I tried to break through by force, but it’s impossible."

"Is that so?" Heinz smirked.

The Supreme Commander of the Infernals had gathered all the Warlords into an important meeting.

They discussed their planned invasion of the World of Solterra, and they would be assisting the Main Army of the Infernals in this invasion.

An unprecedented army that numbered in the billions would mobilize. It would be led by hundreds of Demigods and dozens of Pseudo-Gods.

The Infernal Warlords were all Pseudo-Gods, having the power to lay waste on any worlds the moment they were able to cross over to it.

Their Supreme Commander was a God of War and Conquest, who manifested from the beliefs of the Infernals.

Since he would oversee this battle, the Fate of Solterra was sealed.

But in order for their great army to arrive in Solterra, they would first need to build a bridge.

And that bridge would be none other than Mammon, who was now talking to Heinz.

"I see. So that Zion kid had tricked you," Heinz said. "You know that kid is currently on our Kill List. Even the Supreme Commander wants his soul. As for your problem... I’m sure we can help you with it. However, it’s impossible for us to help you unless you open the portal to your world."

Mammon hesitated, having seen what had happened in the Fortunate Isles. Zaphiel had tried to summon the Infernal Army, but they were felled by Zion.

Truth be told, when the Infernal Army appeared, Mammon also had the strong urge to summon the Warlord secretly working with him.

He also guessed that the other Infernal Warlords might have also reached out to his peers.

They were the kind of race who wouldn’t put all their eggs in one basket. The more people they had under their thumb, the easier it was for them to conquer other worlds with their help.

"Of course, if you can handle this on your own, then much better," Heinz commented after seeing the hesitation on Mammon’s face. "But time waits for no one. I’m sure Zion is already on his way to your location, and he will not be alone."

This was the thing Mammon was most worried about. If Zion were to go to Godfall Cradle with Forneus, Wormwood, and Dantanian, he wouldn’t be able to fight against all three of them.

Mammon slowly clenched his fist as Heinz’s words sank in.

He hated admitting it, but the Infernal Warlord was right.

Zion would not come alone.

That cunning brat had already proven that he was capable of gathering allies wherever he went. The thought of facing Forneus, Wormwood, and Dantanian at once made even Mammon feel uneasy.

Individually, he could deal with them.

But together?

That was a different matter entirely. He had already spent a ridiculous amount of money healing himself once.

If he had to do it again... he might go crazy!

"No," Mammon muttered under his breath. "I refuse to waste any more of my wealth."

Heinz leaned his chin on his hand as he observed Mammon through the mirror.

"So?" Heinz asked. "Have you made up your mind?"

Mammon glared at the smiling Infernal. "You Infernals never do anything for free. What do you want in return?"

Heinz’s smile widened. "Straight to the point. I like that."

The Infernal Warlord raised one finger, telling Mammon his condition.

"The condition is this," Heinz said. "You will assist the Infernals in crossing over to Pangea. As long as you can do this, we will help you with anything you want to do in Solterra. In fact, we can even make you its King if you wish.

"But it won’t end there. You can also travel to different worlds with us, and you can even start your businesses there. If you gather enough followers, who knows? Maybe you can even ascend into Godhood."

All the Warlords were Pseudo-Gods. What they wanted most was to become true Gods, but the final step to reach it was enormous.

It was for this reason that they conquered one world after another, forcing the denizens of those worlds to worship them and generate power of Faith.

Once enough power of faith was gathered, they could finally become Gods, who could even challenge the position of their Supreme Commander.

Mammon hesitated a few times, opening and closing his fists while trying to make up his mind.

Heinz no longer made any promises, knowing Mammon was a businessman. If he tried to "hard sell" the help of the Infernals, it might just make Mammon do the opposite of what they wanted.

"Fine," Mammon said. "But I have one condition."

"And that is?" Heinz arched an eyebrow.

"Zion Leventis is mine," Mammon smiled evilly. "I will turn him into a golden statue and add him to my collection."

"Hmm..." Heinz hummed. The Supreme Commander wanted Zion Leventis as well, so he couldn’t make this promise.

Warlords were like Demonic Contractors. Their words held power, so he couldn’t blatantly lie to Mammon and agree to his request.

"My Supreme Commander wishes to take Zion, just like you," Heinz said after organizing his thoughts. "But I can try to negotiate with him."

"Very well, negotiate with him first," Mammon stated. "If my condition is not met, then the deal is off as well."

Heinz smiled calmly. "Very well. I’ll talk to him now."

The Warlord disappeared from the surface of the mirror.

A few minutes later, Heinz returned and told Mammon that he had managed to convince their Supreme Leader to accept his request.

Now that he got what he wanted, Mammon raised the mirror towards the sky and forcefully opened a red portal that would connect his homeworld, Solterra, to the Void where the Infernal Armies were waiting to cross over to their side.