Chapter 518 - 325: Deepwater City—The Most Dangerous City on the Continent (Part 2)

She tossed the newsboy a copper coin.

The newsboy caught the copper coin, gleefully polished it, and tucked it into an inner pocket. He then launched into his spiel, "I hear Deepwater City has been carved up into territories by a few Great Devils. Things were fine at first, but once the Demon Shadow Festival kicked off, they realized some territories were making way more money than others. The ones who got stuck with the boonies are pretty steamed about it, and word is, a fight's about to break out."

He then pulled out a newspaper. "For the full breakdown of the city's power dynamics, our reporters at the Sunlight Newspaper risked life and limb to get the scoop! It's all printed in this special Deepwater City Devil edition. We just want to help you tourists stay away from any potential battlegrounds."

"And," the newsboy added in a conspiratorial whisper, "I heard the boss of this very district, Balzeb, just stole a shipment from Dispart, the boss of the Factory district. Now Dispart's threatening to go to war. This area could become unsafe at any moment."

Balzeb and Dispart were both renowned Devil Dukes from Hell.

The newsboy sounded so convincing, it was as if two Dukes were truly about to throw down right outside the hotel.

Galina, of course, didn't believe a word of it. "If Devils actually start a brawl in the city, I'll buy out your entire stock of papers..."

Before she could finish her sentence, a thunderous roar echoed from outside the hotel. "Balzeb, you shameless Inferior Demon! You dare rob this Duke's shipment! Are you asking to be beaten back to Hell?!"

Galina stared outside in astonishment.

There, outside the hotel, loomed a Devil. It stood several meters tall, wreathed in raging flames and a sinister mist that radiated an aura of pure danger to all who beheld it.

Galina froze for a second before instinctively conjuring a large fireball, though she didn't throw it.

She quickly realized that her Fireball Technique was probably useless against a Devil of this caliber.

It would do nothing but provoke him, without causing any real harm.

'I need to grab this kid and run.'

Out of the goodness of her heart, Galina prepared to teleport away with this talkative newsboy.

The next moment, however, she discovered her Teleportation Scroll wouldn't work.

'Is there some kind of magical restriction on this area?'

At the same time, the entire hotel lobby erupted into chaos, with panicked screams echoing from all directions.

'The newsboy was right, this place really is dangerous!'

Just as the self-proclaimed Duke raised his weapon to smash the hotel, a slightly contemptuous voice drifted over.

"I stole it. So what?"

Another towering Devil appeared at the hotel's entrance.

"Only an incompetent Devil would turn his weapon on weak, defenseless creatures. Isn't that right, you incompetent Dispart?"

'I'm a weak creature?'

Galina was reluctant to admit it, but she pulled the newsboy behind her and wracked her brain for an escape plan.

'Do I have to pin my hopes on this newcomer Devil?'

Still, she had to admit, the new Devil had a point. At the very least, he seemed more reasonable than the hot-headed one.

"Balzeb!" Dispart snarled, his voice thick with hatred. "Today, you'll regret ever stepping through the Gate of Hell!"

But Balzeb didn't even deign to look at his opponent. "O, weak creatures, prepare to witness another of this Duke's glorious victories."

"Balzeb, you fallen mongrel!" Dispart's voice was like a thousand cawing ravens. "Today is your last!"

His heavy footfalls shook the ground, the vibrations traveling all the way into the hotel and making Galina's heart race in fear.

She found herself starting to root for Balzeb.

They were both Devils, but it seemed like a victory for this one would be the better outcome.

As Dispart charged, Balzeb stood his ground. A warhammer materialized in his right hand, the air around it crackling with lightning.

Just as their weapons were about to collide, Balzeb suddenly vanished.

Dispart's attack hit nothing but air.

He roared in impotent rage, "You despicable Inferior Demon! All you know are your pathetic invisibility tricks! Come out! Face me! FACE ME!"

Balzeb's mocking voice echoed through the air. "No, my dear brother Devil. This is wisdom. The wisdom of combat."

With each taunt, the warhammer would materialize from a different angle, striking Dispart with heavy blows.

Every strike was accompanied by a deafening thunderclap and a blinding flash of lightning, kicking up shockwaves so powerful Galina could barely keep her eyes open.

Dispart's initial arrogance vanished, replaced by pained roars. The flames engulfing his body dwindled, and cracks spiderwebbed across his carapace.

"I surrender! I surrender."

He could only beg for mercy.

Dispart fell to his knees, removed the crown that signified his rank as a Duke, and offered it to Balzeb.

"A wise choice."

Balzeb was about to accept his surrender and reached for the crown.

Suddenly, Dispart lunged, a greatsword of flame and magma forming in his hand and thrusting toward Balzeb's gut.

Unable to dodge, Balzeb was impaled by the burning greatsword.

Galina gasped, covering her mouth in shock.

'That Devil is so shameless!'

'Wait, aren't Devils supposed to be shameless?'

"Hahaha! Now *this* is the wisdom of combat," Dispart gloated, his arrogance returning.

Unfortunately for him, the arrogance didn't last. To his horror, Balzeb struggled back to his feet.

"A despicable trick like that could never defeat the great me!"

He raised his warhammer high, and a bolt of lightning as thick as a giant tree descended from the heavens, striking Dispart directly.

The blinding light left Galina temporarily sightless. More than ten seconds passed before her vision returned.

In the plaza outside the hotel, only the heavily wounded Balzeb and the shattered pieces of Dispart's carapace remained.

"Damn it, he got away."

Though the result wasn't ideal, Balzeb had still won the battle. He didn't seem too discouraged.

"The battle is not over! O, weak creatures, prepare to witness the great Balzeb's next, even more magnificent victory!"

With that, he turned invisible once more and vanished into thin air.

The dozens of people in the hotel lobby fell silent, still reeling from the shock of what they had just witnessed.

It wasn't just the people in the lobby who saw the "intense" battle; it would have been hard for any tourist in the hotel or the surrounding buildings to miss it.

Besides, there were actually eight hidden camera angles filming the scene.

Soon, footage from various perspectives—"candid" shots, head-on angles, "dangerously close" up-shots, and more—would be all over the internet.

Galina was the first to snap out of it.

'Something's not right.'

'The whole fight felt off, full of inconsistencies.'

'For a fight that spectacular, the only damage was a few broken paving stones and a ruined flower bed.'

'The Magic Power fluctuations were wrong, too. They didn't feel like offensive Magic, but more like... an Illusion Technique?'

Galina was starting to understand what was going on.

And right after the fight ended, her Teleportation Scroll started working again. It was as if someone had deliberately trapped everyone here to watch the entire performance.

Besides, Deepwater City belonged to the Zog Group. For such a huge commotion to break out, it was strange that there wasn't a single sign of them.

'Where were all the Legendaries?'

The more she analyzed it, the more it all made sense. 'I'm a genius,' Galina thought.

Even Balzeb's final words had sounded like a teaser for the next episode.

'This was a show put on by the Zog Group!'

'Even though it was all just an act.'

'It was a good show, though. She'd watch more.'

Watching a good fight was, after all, a time-honored pastime beloved by the masses.

She was already looking forward to the next one.

'Wait, where will the next fight be?'

That's when she remembered the newsboy and his Sunlight Newspaper, which supposedly contained all the secret intel.

She turned and saw the little newsboy, who didn't look the least bit frightened. On the contrary, he was opening his satchel and laying out all his newspapers.

"Like I said... I'll buy them all."

—————————

Meanwhile, Zog the producer, Asmodis the director, Furin from special effects, and the two actors were debriefing the performance.

"The line delivery was off. Your Common Tongue is too fluent. You need a heavier Devil accent—it plays better into the stereotype."

"And your movements are still too stiff. Just fight for real. It's not like you can die in Feilin. What? You're afraid of causing real damage? Don't worry, you couldn't break the surrounding Protective Magic if you tried..."

After the brief debriefing, Zog delivered his final summary: overall, it had been a great success.

This was probably the first "live-Devil sitcom" in the history of Feilin.

"So, who's supposed to win the next round?" Asmodis asked. They still didn't have a script for the next show.

"Who wins?" Zog said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "We wait for the online feedback, of course. Whoever's more popular wins."