The Paladin in the Abyss-Chapter 675 - 699: There’s a Battle Ahead

Chapter 675 -699: There’s a Battle Ahead

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Lancelot could only resort to Tijana, as although they still couldn’t communicate directly through a mental link, the Succubus Lord was wearing an earring that synced with the rotation of a Human Knight’s bracer. After last night’s practice, the two had become adept at transmitting messages through rotation and pauses. Moments later, Lancelot returned to his comrades and said,

“Visuvius indeed had such a lover, but there have always been numerous rumors about her race, saying she’s either a bird demon, a Fallen Aira, or a daughter of Mekanshut—of course, there are also claims she’s from Enreyes. If such a person truly exists, she should be able to help us. Please lead the way, Miss Gayka, it seems we must make a trip to Lord Wu’an’s Temple, and we will ensure your safety.”

“Let me make myself clear first…” the expression of the Succubus returned to one of distrust, “if we encounter enemies, I will hide far away. Fighting is your business.”

“No problem,” Lancelot nodded, “but you must also follow my orders and not hinder us.”

“Understood, my Lord,” the Succubus tugged at her robe, covering her exposed body again, “Follow me, this way…”

They soon left the alley and were back on the stone streets of the Volcano Fortress. The repugnant smell in the air was still strong, and the group had just made a fresh contribution to it. Their surroundings were far from quiet; the magma fountain in the city center was constantly active, each eruption creating a loud sonic boom. Around them, buildings that had just suffered a great fire occasionally partially collapsed as if the appearance of Demons had corroded this city of Demons; shouts of battle echoed from behind, a noise made by the cannon fodder troops sent by the allied forces. Because they were quite far, it wasn’t very clear, but these noises were enough to cover their hurried footsteps.

The Succubus clearly knew the terrain very well, leading them on routes that were both hidden and had wide views, potentially giving them the upper hand if they encountered a Demon again. However, before that, the group saw many traces left by Demons: bodies without heads, heads without bodies, limbs mangled by sharp blades, corpses charred by fierce flames—Bruto even accidentally shattered one, mistaking it for burnt wood, and no one thought to remind the companion whose legs weren’t particularly long.

Lancelot noticed that the dead were mostly Devilspawn and Tiflin, with true Demons being scarce. In people’s minds, Demons rarely massacred a settlement after conquering it; these interest-first Fiends weren’t like the Tanari with their uncontrollable lust for slaughter. They coveted mortal Souls. Once in power, they had countless ways to coax mortals into signing contracts to sell their Souls, and killing them outright meant gaining nothing at all. Some Demon Archdukes even explicitly prohibited their subordinates from killing any mortals whose Souls weren’t clearly owned, with violators considered violators of public property, subject to the famously rigorous trials of the Nine Hells.

Of course, completely different rules applied in war, even for the strongly lawful Demon. Lancelot was very clear that the reason the Demons who had taken over the Volcano Fortress committed such atrocities was because they were short on troops and unable to spare forces to maintain order in the short term. Compared to collecting Souls, capturing the Volcano Fortress was a higher priority, so they chose the simplest and most brutal method to ensure internal security: kill all potential resistors, which allowed the Demons to commit all their forces to defense before the fighting resumed.

In this respect, Lancelot also bore indirect responsibility for the massacre—he could be considered the prime orchestrator behind the near-annihilation of the lower ranks of the Demon Legion. Had he allowed an additional three hundred Beard Demons into the Volcano Fortress, the massacre might not have occurred, but of course, he felt no sense of guilt about this.

If he did nothing and let the Demons establish a foothold in the Volcano Fortress, the mortal residents of the city would die anyway, and after death, their souls would still be enslaved by the Demons. The Flame Demon Lord was responsible for losing the city, and the Demon Legion was responsible for the killings, but whether it was the stupidity of the Flame Demon Lord or the brutality of the Demon Legion, it had nothing to do with him; he naturally wasn’t responsible for the sins committed.

Lancelot had been fighting battles for half of his life, and he had already thought through these principles.

After walking a bit further, the Human Knight’s expression changed, and he swiftly gestured to his companions. Everyone immediately drew their weapons, while the simian girl quickly disappeared onto the rooftop again, and the others formed a battle line.

“What’s wrong?” asked the Succubus guide, the only one confused, with a face full of bewilderment, “What are you doing?”

“There’s a battle ahead,” Lancelot answered briefly, “and there are quite a few people involved.”

After his companions were ready, the Human Knight quickened his pace. After running through two blocks, the sounds of battle became clearly audible. At the next street corner, outside a partially collapsed large house, they saw a small-scale battle.

Six Beard Demons and two Hellhounds were attempting to breach the building, while four devilspawn with dark skin and wielding short spears were using the remnants of broken walls to resist the Demons’ attack. Behind the devilspawn, there were several Tiflin civilians, surrounded by one wearing tight black leather—a Succubus. Outside the building, in the open space, stood a Knight in full plate armor, enveloped by an unsettling black aura, seemingly the commander of this small Demon squad.

When Lancelot and his companions arrived, the defenders were on the verge of collapse. The devilspawn could barely handle the Beard Demons, but they couldn’t react to the Hellhounds attacking from below. One devilspawn was bitten fiercely on the leg by a Hellhound, shrieking as he staggered back, revealing a huge gap in the already faltering defensive line.

Just then, Lancelot noticed the Succubus making a motion, and immediately a frenzied Tiflin charged forward, attacking the Hellhound with a short-handled dagger in his hand. His courage was drained the moment the beast’s fangs sank into his flesh— the over five-foot-long beast nearly tore off his forearm with the first bite, and buried its second bite into his neck.

The previously retreating devilspawn managed to steady himself, using a spear tip to jab and hoist the Hellhound, throwing it far away. The beast fell heavily to the ground, but immediately got up again, ready to continue fighting, but the Tiflin who had just held it back couldn’t get up—their neck now bore a string of blood holes as thick as thumbs, clearly beyond saving.