The Paladin in the Abyss

The remaining part of the night passed peacefully. The next morning, fully rested, they set off again, still traveling on two demons steeds, carrying all five of them.

The team did not rush as they had the day before, but instead proceeded at a relatively stable pace. They wanted to remain as inconspicuous as possible to avoid encountering others who had designs on the Succubus Paladin prematurely.

The low-level demons roaming around caused no hindrance; the very presence of the Nightmares was enough to make them keep their distance. In fact, these demon steeds were mounts for many High Rank Demons—while a newly born Prime Demon might not understand what such a fiery-hoofed beast signified, a Coward Devil carried memories of being chased by such creatures in its mind.
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Lancelot handed the reins over to Bruto and closed his eyes, using Spirit Perception to sense the creatures nearby. The practice from their journey to Oasis Fort proved useful, allowing him to sense and avoid stronger life forms within a mile radius in advance. Guided by a Magic Pendant, they could maneuver extensively across the barren plains without worrying about losing their way.

By the afternoon, the group had covered a distance of about a hundred miles; by then, the pendant had grown very hot against Lancelot's chest, feeling like a warm water bottle, signifying that their target was very close now.

As they passed a low hill, Lancelot called a halt to the group.

"Let's rest here," the Human Knight suggested as he rode to the top of the small hill and looked towards the south, "It won't be long before the team escorting Elothysia passes by here; we can take the opportunity to observe the situation of our target."

Everyone quickly dismounted and set up a makeshift camp in the shadow of the hill. They did not light a fire, as that could draw unwanted attention; they simply rested on the spot to recover the energy expended from their travels.

After waiting for about half an hour, Lancelot, who had been meditating, suddenly changed his expression and stood up.

"What's happened?" Bruto, who was somewhat bored, was the first to notice Lancelot's change and immediately grabbed his hammer.

"The target is nearing," Lancelot nodded, "Let's go up and have a look, and be careful to stay hidden."

The group cautiously climbed to the top of the hill, scanning the southern horizon.

They did not have to wait long; about 5 minutes later, a troop of about twenty to thirty demons appeared in their sight. Lancelot immediately concentrated his True Qi in his eyes to carefully observe the troop.

A six-armed Serpent Demon walked at the forefront, identified as Ashap by the tavern owner, who was bent on making Elothysia pay for her "betrayal". Two Succubus stood at the very back of the troop; it was unclear if they were assigned to cover the rear or if they simply preferred not to stay too close to the Serpent Demon.

In between them was a dozen Berserk Demon infantry surrounding a prison cart, being pulled by an Abyssal beast and several Coward Devils. Inside the metallic cage of the cart was a Succubus, undoubtedly their mission's rescue target—Succubus Paladin Elothysia.

On closer inspection, Lancelot noted more details. The troop appeared to have been through several battles; the armor of the six-armed Serpent Demon was shattered, with the lower-left arm limply hanging by her side. Every one of the Berserk Demons bore wounds, but the worst off was one of the Succubus, whose right upper claw had vanished completely.

"Lancelot, what's the verdict?" Bruto spoke with a tremble in his voice, "The enemy seems injured, do we move in?"

"Let them pass for now," Lancelot said softly, squinting his eyes, "We need to launch a surprise attack from behind, aiming to take out those two Succubus first. That's our only chance to deal with the Serpent Demon."

Kalalin and Alamir both retreated behind the small mound, following the plan previously established, and began casting enhancement-type magic and divine arts for everyone.

The Scholar cast a spell called Owl's Wisdom for Lancelot and Bruto. This second-tier magic could enhance the recipients' perception, allowing them to better understand their surroundings during combat and timely provide support to teammates in trouble; it also increased resistance against various mental manipulations, which was precisely the specialty of the Succubus in casting abilities.

Alamir directly used his once-a-day fourth-tier spell slot to cast an Anti-Death Barrier for Bruto. This spell could block a fatal injury once, leaving the recipient with a breath of life, to avoid instant death. With Alamir's powerful Healing Divine Art, as long as the person was not dead, he could bring them back.

In addition, he also cast Aid for everyone, the first divine art used by the Elves after they were rescued in the Succubus Palace, which strengthened the recipients' life force and was also a very practical divine art.

These enhancement spells all had a duration of eight hours. Before initiating combat, Kalalin still had a third-tier Haste Spell available, which lasted one minute and significantly increased the recipient's speed and agility, proving very effective in the previous battle with the Succubus.

Just as the enemy was about to pass in front of the hill where everyone was hiding, Lancelot's Spirit Perception stirred again, and he turned his head toward the north, where several familiar symbols appeared within his perception.

Everyone looked in the direction he was facing, but could see nothing, thus they looked at Lancelot with questioning eyes.

"Hold off for now," the Human Knight's voice arose directly at everyone's ear. "Someone is coming."

The dull sound of hooves gradually came from afar, causing the demons responsible for the transport to panic. However, following several fierce shouts from the leading Serpent Demon, the demons rearranged their formation, preparing for battle.

The one coming fiercely from the north was none other than the mercenary group led by Guarado. This giant-like Barbarian was riding a huge Winter Wolf, strutting at the forefront of the troop.

The mercenaries quickly intercepted in front of the demon's troop, and Guarado stepped forward and said loudly:

"Although it's hardly necessary, I still have to say, if you'd willingly hand over that cage to us, I might just let you live," the Barbarian chuckled at his own words, "I mean, it's possible."

"Foolish mortals," the six-armed Serpent Demon's weapons scraped against each other as it responded coldly. "With just you?"

"True, you have more arms than I do, but how many can you handle at once?" the Mercenary Leader said with a brutal smile. "Listen up, brothers! A bounty of five thousand for slicing off an arm of this Serpent Demon, and thirty thousand for the one who beheads her! Charge!"

"Ullah!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

"Charge!"

"Magrubiyeh! Witness my glory!"