The Paladin in the Abyss

It was a full quarter of an hour later that Lancelot's body moved slightly.

The mysterious Tiflin had left directly using teleportation magic, but the spirit perception of the human knight, akin to eyes that had stared directly into the harsh sun, did not return to normal until this moment.

The revelry at the camp continued, with the mercenaries eagerly fiddling with their new equipment, boasting to one another about how many battles they would win and how many heads they would sever with such weapons.

But Lancelot had long understood that nothing was free, and everything had its price, especially in the dreadful plane of the Abyss. These fellows were so content and justified in accepting these obviously ill-intentioned gifts, either out of extreme confidence or extreme stupidity, and Lancelot felt that the latter was more likely.

He took out the amulet that could sense the target, which was still ice-cold. He had been out for two hours that night, covering nearly 150 miles. If he explored for another two hours, it was time for him to head back.

Lancelot put the amulet around his neck, hesitated slightly, then decided to change direction and search towards the southwest as the mysterious individual had suggested. If he walked another 150 miles and there was still no response, either the target was still far from the fort, or he had completely mistaken the direction.

After confirming that he had left far enough that no one in the camp could spot him, Lancelot sped up once again.

The night in the Abyss was a bit quieter than the day, although nearly all demons possessed good vision in the dark, hunting at night was often more strenuous. Although demons didn't need sleep, they could still feel fatigue, and for those ever-fleeing Prime Demons and Coward Devils, the arrival of night meant these miserable creatures had survived another day.

As Lancelot raced through the night in the Plains of the Abyss, his spirit perception occasionally spotted groups of low rank demons huddling together.

For him, this was actually a sign of safety—it meant that there were likely no powerful monsters around, nor were there any recruiting and foraging teams sent by the Demon Lord, otherwise these weaklings, hardly different from goblins, would have been wiped out long ago.

After advancing another 100 miles, Lancelot finally felt the amulet on his chest react.

He immediately found an empty space and stopped, holding the amulet in his hand.

This magical item, adorned with a succubus portrait, radiated a heat slightly higher than body temperature, accurately indicating to Lancelot that Elothysia had entered his detection range.

He turned the amulet in his hand several times and found that the temperature of the amulet was a bit hotter when facing a specific direction.

Lancelot backtracked about a hundred feet in the opposite direction, and the temperature of the pendant rapidly dropped and eventually became unresponsive. When he advanced forward again, the temperature of the amulet quickly rose again.

"Found it," Lancelot muttered softly, looking in that direction.

He also noticed that this time, it took only about fifty feet for the temperature to appear again, meaning that the target was still moving rapidly.

Lancelot quickly sketched a rough bearing in his mind. That night, he had first traveled about 200 miles south, then about 100 miles west, while the amulet's strongest response pointed towards a south-westerly direction.

Ultimately, he concluded that the escort team with the succubus was at least 500 miles from the fort, which, for the demons who did not need to rest, meant they could cover the distance in about two days.

What made him even more uneasy was that the direction of the target was exactly in line with what the mysterious Tiflin merchant had said. Lancelot even had a suspicion that the trouble which had forced the convoy escorting Elothysia to change course was likely orchestrated by the forces behind the Tiflin.

If the opposition truly had such significant capabilities, why wouldn't they take action directly?

Lancelot certainly did not think that these were helpers called upon by Elothysia's Angel lover. Regardless of their motives, he was not about to hand over the Succubus Paladin to them. Moreover, given their intelligence gathering capabilities and the magnitude of their operations, this shadowy force was undoubtedly a formidable opponent.

At this moment, it was the deepest part of the night on the Plains of the Abyss, but this also meant that dawn was fast approaching. Lancelot began to walk back, moving towards his companions.

Two Earth Crystals appeared again in his hands, the nature's spiritual energy within the gemstones continuously flowed into his body. Time might be much tighter than he had anticipated, and given the problematic nature of the enemy, Lancelot had to recover to his optimal condition quickly.

------------------------------------------------------

"Lancelot hasn't come back yet?"

Sitting in the comfortable chair of the Royal Family suite, Bruto was eating a Petrified Lizard Grilled Sandwich with beer, and asked Eckmond.

"Not yet, but I'm sure the boss isn't dead," Eckmond replied.

"The grilled meat here is really good," said the Halfling gourmet, his cheeks bulging. "It's just a bit too salty. Next time I'll try to see if I can improve it. You occasionally see Petrified Lizards at the meat shop in Twin Bridges Town, and I heard they're quite manageable in front of experienced hunters."

"Having something to eat is already good enough." Kalalin had finished her breakfast and was standing by the window, watching the passersby below, many of whom were demons heading to the 'pilgrimage' at the Twelve Trees, "If not for being on a mission, I'd really like to walk into the fortress's Portal and take a look at that layer in the Twelve Trees.

It would be significant in understanding the culture of demons."

"That is, assuming the demons don't find your presence offensive," remarked Eckmond, "Of course, as long as your power is sufficient, you might as well stroll through Shendiravir as if it's a brothel."

"What are you chatting about? You seem happy." Lancelot's voice came from outside the window, and as everyone turned their heads, they saw his silhouette flash by, now standing by the window.

"Boss! You're back!" Eckmond floated over, excited, "Boss is awesome, strolling around the wilderness of the Abyss at night without any trouble!"

"Because the wilderness roams with only Low Level Demons, I hardly encountered any danger," Lancelot shook his head, "This trip was very worthwhile though, I gathered quite a bit of intelligence… Wait, where's Alamir?

"He's soaking in the bathtub," Bruto said with a scornful expression, "These Elves really have too many issues."

"He's conducting a ritual to pray to Lady Fire, which requires cleansing one's body, standing in water in a pond or bathtub, gazing at an illuminated mirror," Kalalin reminded kindly, "Don't forget where we crawled out from last night. It's normal for him to take a longer bath. Besides, without his Divine Arts, you would have become an ice sculpture by now."

"His Divine Arts are indeed useful," Bruto admitted reluctantly, "but I will never worship a deity that requires its followers to bathe every day!"

"If you don't bathe, love is less likely to favor you," Alamir's cheerful voice rang as the neatly dressed Elf walked out of the bathroom, "Ah! Lancelot, you're back already? Any good news?"