The Paladin in the Abyss

Chapter 336: Chapter 350: Can’t Wait Any Longer

A night had passed, and Lancelot and his companions were once again disappointed. Numerous uninvited guests had entered over the past eight hours, but not the Dark Elf they were waiting for. When sunlight also burst through the window, everyone knew they had waited in vain through the night.

“Something isn’t right,” Acheron paced back and forth anxiously in the room, “This has never happened before…”

“What’s the normal procedure?” the Elf Priest beside him attempted to soothe his anxious compatriot.

“He usually responds the same night, or at the latest, the following night.”

“Aside from you, how many others know of his existence?” Lancelot asked in a grave tone.

“Many are aware of his existence, what’s the matter?” Acheron asked in return, puzzled, “Are you suggesting…”@@novelbin@@

“Is there a possibility that there’s a traitor in the Melanton family who has betrayed this spy’s situation?”

Lancelot’s words were like a heavy bomb, leaving Acheron in shock, unable to utter a word for a long while. After some time, the Elf Prince finally murmured:

“No… that’s impossible… if that were the case…”

“The secret code you use to communicate with him, does anyone else know it?” Alamir pressed his Elf compatriot urgently, “If he has been captured, our location here may already be compromised.”

“No, only the two of us are privy to that code,” Acheron replied swiftly, “While many know that we have an excellent spy in Gaomendikolia, probably only four or five people grasp the way to contact him, and each person has a unique code to prevent leaks or the code being deciphered.”

“Maybe the worst hasn’t happened yet,” Kalalin breathed a sigh of relief, “But what about the mission? We’re practically blind, knowing nothing and with no idea where to start…”

“We can no longer count on that spy. Regardless of whether he has been delayed for some reason or has run into trouble, we can’t just keep waiting like this,” Lancelot announced to everyone, “We must rely on ourselves. Today, we’ll go out to gather intelligence, scout the terrain, and work out a plan to infiltrate that fortress.”

“Good! About time we did that!” Bruto was the first to leap up, loudly expressing his support. The Dwarf was a man of action; waiting in a room for news had been suffocating him.

“Don’t be hasty, listen to the task assignment,” Lancelot’s palm pressed gently in the air, signaling his companions to be patient, “Bruto, Acheron, you two will come with me later. We’ll take a look at the structure and terrain of the fortress, of course without getting too close; then we’ll look for a tavern or some such where mercenaries hang out to try to pick up on any recent rumors in town.”

“What about us?” Alamir asked, “I also want to go out to fight…”

“We’re only going out to gather information; we’re not at the point where fighting is necessary,” Lancelot assured him, “I need you to work with Koula, to set up enough traps in the room to turn this place into a slaughterhouse, making anyone who attempts to break in pay a steep price.”

“No problem!” Koula promised, patting her small chest, “I’ve got loads of creative ideas!”

“It sounds a bit gory, but I have no objections,” the Elf Priest shrugged his shoulders. “Can Holy Water be used as material for traps? There’s still a full tub of it in the bathroom.”

“I can help too!” The somewhat wilted little Isha perked up as she spoke, “I can hold on for a bit longer…”

“That’s fine, but don’t overexert yourself.” Lancelot took a Dimensional Bag from his waist and handed it to the young girl, inside were her ‘bed’ and the Demon Palace roses collected from the Succubus Cave. “Does anyone else have any questions?”

“Lancelot, take this.” Kalalin pulled out an item from his embrace and handed it to Lancelot. It was a device made of many sections of copper wire, small enough to fit in one’s palm, shaped like an ear.

“This is a magic device I created based on the Message Spell, just speak into it and I can hear you, and I can answer you directly as well,” the Scholar explained. “The original effective range of this technique is only 120 feet, but after Circle Upcasting to solidify it, it can reach a thousand times that, a bit farther than 2 miles, enough for us to keep in touch within the city.”

“Neat gadget,” Lancelot stuffed the copper wire ear into his chest, looking at Bruto and Acheron, “Are you two ready?”

“Give me 5 minutes, I need to change my look.” The Elf Prince ran towards a room, “It’s odd for a Dark Elf to be out and about in broad daylight…”

“Almost forgot this,” Lancelot shrugged his shoulders, sat down on a nearby chair, took out a whetstone, a cloth, and a bottle of oil, and began to maintain his Hand Half Sword Frostslash. With the stone grinding against the blade, a crisp buzzing sound arose, not a bit harsh on the ears but instead bringing an inexplicable calm to those who heard it.

His companions began to move, starting the tasks Lancelot had set. With specific work and a goal in mind, any unease in their hearts disappeared. This is precisely the role of a leader: to devise a plan, assign tasks, and lead everyone into action to solve the problem.

A moment later, a handsome Devilspawn emerged from the room Zoel had just entered. He struck a dashing pose and greeted everyone in a familiar, yet deep voice:

“Yo!”

“Not bad at all,” Bruto sized up the fellow with deep red skin, a tail at his back, and antlers the thickness of thumbs on his head, “How did you do it? Magic?”

“Not entirely.” Acheron fumbled to grab his own antlers, lifted them up, and took them off to show everyone they were actually a headband, “Some demons possess the True Sight ability, which sees through magical disguises, but it’s very difficult to notice if it’s just changing the color of skin and pupils.”

“Professional,” Bruto rarely acknowledged the Elf with approval. The Dwarf also changed his appearance: by altering the braiding of his beard, he appeared to be a completely different Dwarf, a truly magical effect.

“Lancelot, are you ready?” Bruto jumped up from his chair, turned his head to look at the Human Knight, but found the latter absent-mindedly staring at the sky outside the window.

The clouds of this realm might be the most special in the whole Multiverse due to some unknown principle; the conflict between good and evil on the ground affected the sky, causing the clouds to take on very specific shapes. For instance, at this moment, clouds shaped like a Meteor Hammer, a Wolf Fang Club, and a Coward Devil’s head were leisurely drifting in the same direction.

Lancelot slowly closed his eyes. At first, it seemed like nothing happened, but soon everyone noticed that the cloud shaped like a Meteor Hammer subtly altered its path, conveniently blocking the sun and casting a shadow.

COMMENT
0 comment

Vote
3 left

SEND GIFT