The Paladin in the Abyss

"Taifu told me, he's one of my... my debtors," Akmenon stuttered, the sharp gaze of the other person piercing his mind like a hole, uncontrollable truths spilling from his mouth, "This establishment offers loan services, with interest merely doubling each month..."

"This Taifu, who is he?" Bruto slammed an empty glass onto the bar counter, "And how can you be sure his information is accurate?"

"It's just Taifu, I was stuttering earlier." The tavern owner corrected helplessly, "He handles armament procurement for Yiltu, the former master of that Succubus Paladin. When my... collector brought him to me, he said the only valuable thing he had was this information."

"Is that so..." Lancelot stroked his chin, "So what exactly did he say?"

"Elothysia will arrive at this fortress in two days, escorted by Ashap, a Six-Armed Serpent Demon who has long played a game of cat and mouse with the Succubus Paladin in the Prime Material Plane. They will emerge from the Great Abyss in the south, traveling northward along a tributary of the Stygian River."

"The Great Abyss?" Lancelot looked towards Kalalin.

"It's a place," the Scholar explained softly, "located on the first layer of the Abyss, appearing on the surface like a giant fissure, housing many portals leading to other planes, making it the densest area of portals in the entire Abyss."

"Understood." Lancelot nodded, "How many subordinates does this Ashap have?"

"Her retinue includes at least two Succubi, twelve Berserk Demons, and more cannon fodder." The expression in the Tiflin owner's eyes mocks, "Thank me, you simply couldn't handle this escort group, and any action towards that Succubus would only lead to your own destruction."

"Perhaps we were indeed reckless." Lancelot said nonchalantly, "How many others have you told this information to?"

"I think I've probably saved the lives of four or five groups of Adventurers," Akmenon shrugged, "Just for five hundred Gold Coins, those fools could avoid a near-certain death, what a profitable deal, I'm just too kind-hearted, where else could you find a tavern owner as benevolent as me…"

"What about those Adventurers you sent into the sewers?" Lancelot raised an eyebrow, "And, during the battle with that Ogre Wizard, my armor was shattered. Had my skills not been sufficient, I doubt I'd be having this pleasant conversation with you. How will you address the loss of my equipment?"

The Human Knight lifted his hand that was resting on the bar, a palm-shaped indentation clearly visible where it had pressed.

"Uh..." The tavern owner clearly understood the threat in Lancelot's demeanor, "Some patrons leave their equipment behind, never to return. Rather than having those armors gather dust in my storage, they'd better serve a great knight like yourself."

"Very well." Lancelot nodded, then took out a few gemstones from his breast pocket, "Your remaining two Royal Family suites are still available, right? We'll be staying for three nights, these should suffice."

"Alrighty!" Seeing the gemstones, Akmenon's face immediately filled with smiles, handing over two keys to Lancelot from beneath the counter, "The entire fourth floor is yours, please take care to safeguard your belongings during your stay, as the establishment assumes no responsibility for any loss! Just a reminder, our security record has always been excellent!"

"You wretched thief! How dare you even touch Maeven the Grey Robe's belongings! Stop right there!"

The timely outburst left the Tiflin owner's face extremely awkward, but the chant of a spell that immediately followed turned his face deathly pale as he cried out in panic:

"No! Do not cast that spell!"

His words were futile. A thick bolt of lightning shot out from the loser's hand, effortlessly creating a basin-sized hole in a thief's back, instantly vaporizing his blood, viscera, and bones. Your next journey awaits at empire

But it wasn't over yet. The lightning bolt continued forward, crashed into the wooden wall of the tavern with a bang, then rebounded at another angle, incidentally turning all the flesh in its path into charred remnants.

Screams began to rise from the crowd, but it only made the scene even more chaotic. The lightning bounced several times off the surrounding walls, finally ending in a dramatic fashion.

The spell had killed at least half a dozen innocent patrons, and its last victim was the grey-robed wizard himself.

"Brilliant," Eckmond commented dryly. "The multiverse always has a way of making people pay dearly for their foolishness in the fastest possible time."

"Why must fools always release bolts of lightning in enclosed spaces? How much do these arrogant spellcasters fear their peers that they cannot even share such basic knowledge?" Tiflin, the owner, painfully covered his eyes, "Two of the dead guys still owed money!"

"I will remember this incident," Kalalin assured Lancelot, who was half shocked, half helpless as he watched the guards drag away the bodies on the ground, while the living had already sat down to continue their drinking and merrymaking, as if this was all too familiar.

"What a shitty world," Lancelot muttered under his breath, reminding himself never to surrender to this world.

"I don't want to stay a moment longer." Koula jumped down from the chair. "Let's go back and rest, shall we?"

Everyone nodded in agreement, even Bruto, who was reluctant to part with the wine, stood up, as they were all somewhat uncomfortable with the atmosphere where people could die at any moment.

"Don't forget to check out the meal menu, it's on the stand to the left of the entrance!" Agamemnon called out from behind them.

Lancelot entered the royal suite on the fourth floor a few minutes later than the others; he had raided the tavern owner's collection of 'lost items' in the storage, thus he sported a new chainmail—naturally, one couldn't find plate armor there, nor did anything else fit him well.

While chainmail was far inferior to plate armor in terms of protection, it was much lighter, allowing him to fully utilize his agility advantage.

In fact, Lancelot rarely relied on the protective capabilities of the armor itself anymore; his movement technique was his greatest guarantee. The flesh, strengthened by True Qi, meant the weight of plate armor was no bother to him, but wearing plate armor in battle had become a habit, providing him with a psychological sense of security.

Most importantly, human knights steadfastly believed that plate armor was the most handsome attire for a man, bar none.

After everyone had freshened up and was ready to rest, Lancelot suddenly asked Eckmond to gather everyone.

"Can't we discuss this tomorrow? The succubus won't arrive for another two days…" Bruto yawned as he came in from the next room, but his expression changed when he saw the human knight. "Lancelot, why are you still in your armor? Is the bathroom broken?"