The Paladin in the Abyss

Lancelot and his party left early in the morning with nearly no one paying any attention; therefore, when he returned through the main gate of the castle they had recaptured, leading a large group majestically, all the mercenaries scrutinized this now legendary Human Knight—and the young Succubi in his team with curious eyes. It must be admitted that some gazes were less than comfortable, but with a dozen fierce Berserk Demons accompanying them, these desperados could only look on.

In fact, Lancelot had also intended to bring the Lust Demon hidden in the underground palace, but when he returned, the place was already empty. He wasn’t particularly surprised by this; he would have escaped, too, if he were in the same situation, albeit he did regret that many questions would now remain unanswered.

"Lancelot…" Sir Sonam, the Serpent Demon, stood imposingly at the entrance of the Mercenary Camp, eyes narrowing unfriendly at the Human Knight, "The one you found is too young this time, isn’t it? That vampire was already the limit."

"These are all civilians, two of whom are already residents of Twin Bridges Town…" Lancelot took out a letter he had found on the body of a clerk from Tiflin, "It reads: Permission granted for Amnon Peck—he’s already dead, and his wife Anastasia Peck—she’s also dead, along with their three children—only two of whom are still alive, to settle in Twin Bridges Town, signed at the bottom by Radisha..."

The Serpent Demon reached out with its upper right arm and took the note from Lancelot, who continued:

"As for the others, there are no such documents. When the city fell, Madam Gayka, the owner of the tavern in the ruins of Barto, hid these children in a secret chamber within Lord Wu’an’s Temple, luckily dodging the massacre when the Demons breached the city. She provided very valuable information during the mission, and in return, I agreed she could bring the children to settle in Twin Bridges Town... Will I need to provide a guarantee or pay a fee?"

"…No need," Sonam nodded slowly, "They are civilians, as long as they can support themselves."

"Thank you, General," Gayka promptly bowed in gratitude, "I still have some savings, and should be able to set up a tavern; these children will make for very popular servers…"

"As you please," Sonam shook her hand dismissively and handed back the letter to Lancelot, "What’s with these warriors?"

"They came through the teleportation with Tijana, and now they are under your command."

"Is that so… Dylan, Bashir, Salron, have your men stand by in the camp, and bring these civilians too. Make sure they don’t wander off and that no one else bothers them." The Serpent Demon clearly knew these elite Berserk Demons, directly addressing them by name, and the big toads had no doubts about obeying the demon’s orders. Once the crowd dispersed, leaving only Lancelot and his companions within twenty feet, the Serpent Demon finally asked in a low voice, "Where is Tijana? Why didn’t she come? The moment the barrier disappeared, Visuvius immediately used a teleportation spell to leave; did they run into each other?"

"The former Lord of the Volcano Fortress is already dead," Lancelot said impassively.

"Oh, is that so?" Sonam narrowed her eyes, "That armor of yours…it’s made of Mithril, isn’t it?"

"Yes, it is."

"How did Visuvius die?"

"His body was intact."

"Is that so." Sonam nodded, "Where were you then? By the Lava Lake where the protective array was set up?"

"Yes, not long after Sonam died, General Babos and others also arrived," Lancelot hinted with a blink, "Of course, Tijana arrived a bit earlier. They pleasantly discussed potential collaborations between the Volcano Fortress and Twin Bridges Town for a while, but Tijana seemed to suddenly receive some kind of… message, and quickly left with Bessiah and Madam Viska."

"Some kind of message?" the six-armed Serpent Demon furrowed his brow, "Did she command you to convey anything?"

"She asked me to bring those elite warriors to you, and then to rest here until her further message."

"She didn’t even have time to bring the guards?" Sonam’s expression was filled with confusion, "So hastily..."

"Do you know what might have happened?"

"Hmph, I know only what you’ve told me," the six-armed Serpent Demon glared at him, "But there’s no need to worry too much, there’s hardly anything on this level that could truly stump her. Since she asked you to wait, then wait, my beloved. If there’s any new command, come tell me immediately!"

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"Sir Lancelot?!" the old Holy Warrior Ivendell was shocked as he looked him over, "Gods above, what have you been through?"

"A grueling battle..." Lancelot lowered his head, glancing at his tattered armor, "The enemy had an unexpected self-destruct when they died."

"As far as I know, only one type of Fiend explodes with that intensity upon death," Ivendell raised an eyebrow, "but logically, that kind of Fiend shouldn’t be your enemy, at least not today..."

"You really overestimate them," Bruto came up and clapped Lancelot on the back, "Come on, take it off. I’ll patch it up briefly for you. Isn’t it uncomfortable wearing it like that?"

"The battle at the Volcano Fortress is over, isn’t it?" Viska the Magician couldn’t hold her silence any longer and asked Lancelot, "I saw that the Demons have already taken control of the entire fortress... Why did the six-armed Serpent Demon just order us to stand by? What are the next arrangements?"

"What she meant to ask is, before we return to Twin Bridges Town to collect our weekly salary and killing bonuses, are there any activities that might lead us to our deaths?" Valen Belen, the elder brother among the Dwarf Tinkerers, pointed to a young Tiflin standing nearby, "That boy has been feeling unwell since this morning, and his sister is quite worried about him."

"Besides, who doesn’t want to live well?" Flint, formerly known as ’Goldbeard’, a Dwarf Miner, interjected gruffly, "If I can make it back alive, I could drink for free for a year just by talking about yesterday’s adventure..."

"There shouldn’t be any," Lancelot gently shook his head, "Perhaps we could soon..."

’Lancelot, can you hear me?’

The sudden telepathy echoed in his mind, Lancelot made an apologetic gesture to his companions, closed his eyes, and concentrated, the image of the Succubus Lord swiftly emerged in his consciousness.

’Please speak, my lady.’

’Order Solheim to set off back, remind her to stay alert on the road. Twin Bridges Town was attacked, but I have dealt with it.’ Tijana paused, ’Also, you and Bruto use the emblem I gave you to come back... and bring Alamir along.’