287: Chapter 287 The Sealed Artifact Deep Within the Mace Mountains! Remain Silent!

"The Eighth Layer of the Nine Hells of Baator?"

"The Gluttonous Devil Monarch?"

Rowan repeated these two words, his brows furrowing slightly as he looked at Grace and asked,

"What is this?"

Hearing this, Grace opened her mouth, but for a moment she didn't know where to begin.

After all, for an existence at her level, these belonged to common knowledge.

But she also understood that although the young count before her possessed astonishing strength, he was practically a blank slate when it came to planar studies and the history of the Lower Planes.

She thought for a moment, then said,

"This might take a bit long to explain, does My Lord have time?"

Hearing this, Rowan's gaze turned a bit more serious:

"Please, enlighten me."

"Mm." Grace nodded, picked up her teacup and took a sip, then began to recount:

"Among the many planes affiliated with the Prime Material Plane, two Lower Planes are quite special. They are the Nine Hells of Baator and the Abyss."

"They are the habitats of devils and demons respectively, belonging to the completely evil alignment."

"However, there is also a fundamental difference between the two: devils belong to lawful evil, while demons belong to chaotic evil."

Seeing that Rowan was indeed listening attentively, Grace continued to explain:

"Lawful evil devils believe in hierarchy, contracts, and order, even if that order is built upon oppression and exploitation."

"They will keep promises, fulfill contracts, and cooperate with you for the sake of interests, but you must always guard against the traps they bury in the contract terms."

"As for chaotic evil demons, they purely pursue destruction and devastation."

"They have no reason to speak of and are naturally able to ignore various powers of contracts. Today you might reach an agreement with a certain demon lord, and tomorrow it might tear you into pieces just because it's in a bad mood."

"Therefore, although devils and demons both belong to the evil alignment, they are natural mortal enemies, engaging in endless blood wars on the borders of hell year after year."

"And this time, the eighth layer of the Nine Hells of Baator that will overlap with the Northern Territory is Cania, and its ruler is the Gluttonous Devil Monarch Mephisto."

"This monarch is an existence equivalent to the god-level beings of the Upper Planes."

"God-level existence?" Hearing this, Rowan's expression changed slightly as he looked at Grace.

"Of course!" Grace first nodded, then waved her hand and said,

"However, you don't need to worry too much; His true body cannot directly descend into the Prime Material Plane."

"The true body of the Gluttonous Monarch stays year-round only in His ice fortress, Mephistalta, located in the deepest part of Cania. That is where His throne is located and the source of His power."

"What outsiders can see are mostly His avatars or descent manifestations, a portion of power projected into the Prime Material Plane through a certain medium or ritual."

Saying this, her tone slightly deepened:

"Even so, we cannot lower our guard."

"If there is a very suitable descent vessel, the power He can wield in the Prime Material Plane will also reach the demigod level, which is extremely terrifying."

She looked at Rowan, her vertical golden pupils filled with seriousness:

"This is also the reason why Lord Erenville hopes to form an alliance with you."

"Deep within the Mess Mountains, something that the Gluttonous Devil Monarch desires has always been sealed."

"Once that thing is obtained by Him, it won't be a good thing for the entire Northern Territory."

Hearing this, Rowan was silent for a moment, then directly asked:

"What is it?"

Grace shook her head and said,

"As for what it specifically is, I'm not too clear either."

"Lord Erenville is hurrying back from a different plane. Once he arrives, he will personally communicate the details of this matter with you."

She paused, then added,

"I only came ahead to resolve some previously left-over misunderstandings, and then roughly communicate the intentions in this regard to prepare for the subsequent formal talks."

Speaking of this, Grace thought for a moment, reached out and took a book from her storage magical artifact.

The cover of that book was made of dark black leather, cool and smooth to the touch, and a line of title was engraved in hot-gold ancient characters on the cover——

"The Book of Nessus: Authority of the Nine Hells of Baator and the Disordered Abyss"

Embedded at the spine was a dark red gemstone, faintly exuding a weak wave of magic power.

She handed the book to Rowan with a sincere tone:

"If My Lord wants to understand more similar knowledge, you can take a look at this book."

"It records detailed information about the Nine Hells of Baator and the Abyss."

"This includes the rulers of each layer, planar characteristics, and some known contract rules and taboos."

"Although it cannot be said to encompass everything, for readers who are coming into contact with this kind of knowledge for the first time, it should be a pretty good introductory reading."

Seeing this, Rowan reached out and took the book.

The moment his fingertips touched the cover, he felt an illusory wave of magic power seeping out from the book.

He lowered his head to glance at the line of hot-gold ancient characters on the cover, then raised his head and said softly:

"Then many thanks, Ms. Grace."

Grace smiled and waved her hand:

"You're welcome..."

The main content of the two's meeting came to an end here, and the hall quieted down for a moment.

Natalie looked at Rowan several times, her lips moving slightly as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she still said nothing.

Her original intention for coming this time was just to see how her daughter was doing in Gino City, and by the way help her good friend Grace bridge the gap and facilitate a meeting with Count Golden Flame.

But she never expected to accidentally discover the news that her daughter was already pregnant!

And she was pregnant with three at once!

This made her mood extremely complicated.

But as her gaze swept back and forth between Rowan and her daughter, she had to admit that the state of the two getting along had a natural tacit understanding and intimacy.

Under the current situation in the Northern Territory, being able to establish such a relationship with an Red Moon Proxy might not necessarily be a bad thing for her daughter.

After all, the upcoming turmoil was both a danger and an opportunity.

At this moment, seeing that the meeting was almost over, Aurora stood up to take her leave, taking the three of them away...

Rowan stood at the entrance of the reception hall, watching the group gradually walking away.

His gaze lingered on Natalie's back for a split second, pondering slightly.

Of course he had noticed the other party's anomaly earlier, but it seemed he didn't have much to say about it either.

He had already decided that maintaining a state within the castle where there was no mistress for a long time was pretty good.

Therefore, he could only keep silence just now.

After pondering for a moment, he stopped thinking about this matter, turned around, and walked along the stairs towards the direction of the study.