The Paladin in the Abyss

Chapter 346: Chapter 360: Unfulfilled Revenge

“You mean, those pursuers have some kind of magical item that can pinpoint your location?” Lancelot’s face fell, recalling the pendant they had used during the rescue of Elothysia.

“I’m afraid so… Some things can’t be changed after birth, like the family you’re born into. By using Blood Magic, they can detect my approximate location. The closer they are, the more accurate it gets,” Kamoen said with a resigned smile. “That’s why I didn’t go to the surface world but ran to the Abyssal Demon Realm instead. Unfortunately, my blood relatives still refuse to let me go.”

“They didn’t use this magic in the beginning, did they?” Acheron asked skeptically. “These people… It seems they were the team of Zoel Elves we met when we found the marks you left. You said you were nearby at the time, but weren’t discovered.”

“Because at that time, they weren’t sure I was in the city, but the reputation of the Bald Lone Wolf was too prominent,” the Zoel Elf said helplessly, spreading his hands. “I know, as a spy, it was stupid of me to draw so much attention. I should have switched to the identity of Goblin Berg earlier, but now it’s too late. You better go. The followers of Rose might kill my body, but my soul will only travel to the Goddess’s realm.”

“Stop talking like that, I don’t have the habit of abandoning allies,” Lancelot glared at him. “They should take a while to realize we are lost again. Let’s hurry and think of a solution.”

“Didn’t we have Kalalin set traps in the room before we left today? Why not just lure the enemy there?” Bruto suggested hopefully. The Dwarf really didn’t want to run anymore; he just wanted to stand his ground and use his energy to wield his hammer against the enemy.

“I’ve been considering that too,” Lancelot nodded, then asked Kamoen, “How many of these persistent relatives who followed you to the abyss are there? Did we meet all of them under the Cang Ye statue?”

“Not all, but all the important figures were there,” Kamoen’s gaze involuntarily drifted to Frostslash on Lancelot’s back, the green-glowing sword of the Human Knight had made a deep impression on him. “There are no wizards in the family; all the men are warriors. The senior warrior had already died by my blade. He was never as good as my father, and now he wanted to prove himself by defeating me.”

“What about the women?” Lancelot asked sternly. From the recent battle, it was clear that the priests of the spider Demon Queen were the real threats, and he didn’t want to face another dire situation like the one they encountered battling the female demons.

“There were originally four high-ranking priests, thanks to you, now only three remain. The one who died was the second daughter, a priestess highly favored by Rose. I guess her sisters would be pleased with such an outcome,” the Zoel Elf sneered. “But the truly fearsome one is Matriarch Belmanis. She was once a dean at the Priestess Academy, producing many powerful yet cruel priestesses.”@@novelbin@@

“This Matriarch Belmanis, is she your… mother?” Bruto asked curiously, having noticed the significance of the word ‘matriarch’ and feeling somewhat uneasy about it.

“No, she isn’t, or else I would never have come to understand the worst aspects of Zoel society,” Kamoen explained with a self-deprecating tone. “My mother was a common civilian, but ever since my father became the senior warrior, the originally rather calm life was turned upside down.”

“What happened? Were your family ostracized by other nobles?” Lancelot guessed, but he quickly realized that in the evil society of the Zoel Elves, a newly risen noble would face more than just ostracism—schemes, entrapment, torment, and murder were commonplace activities, an aspect even demons somewhat respected the Zoel Elves for.

“Worse than that. Simply put, my father quickly ended up in Belmanis Matriarch’s bed and became a steward of the household; shortly after, I gained a nobly-born half-sister,” Kamoen paused. “From then on, my father never returned home until, decades later, my half-sister stormed into the house where my mother and I lived, with him following right behind her.”

Lancelot felt an uneasy premonition rising in his heart.

“That was my first time seeing this sister up close, she was beautiful, confident, powerful, and… fanatical.” Kamoen lowered his head, letting his expression completely hide in the shadow, “She came in, killed my mother, and then left. I…”

“No need to say more.” Lancelot patted his shoulder, “Do you want revenge?”

“Revenge?” Kamoen revealed a smile uglier than crying, “If you mean my half-sister, she was just killed by you.”

“Uh…” Lancelot was choked up, this turn of events he truly hadn’t anticipated, “I don’t know what to say…”

“It’s okay, I also don’t know what I should feel.” Kamoen smiled, “I should thank you, as I certainly couldn’t have done it myself, for she is my blood after all. Perhaps I should be glad that the murderer has finally died, but I know that the real murderer is Rose who shaped the Zoel society into what it is. My sister was just a normal character in this tragedy, while the Spider Goddess sat in the audience, watching the same drama unfold over and over, rewarding those actors who pleased her, and that is the true nature of that so-called Goddess.”

“Profound,” the Dwarf clapped his hands, “I think you’ve realized it.”

Lancelot shook his head, this story was worse than he had expected. This evil was entirely different from that of demons—demons always sought destruction and killing, deriving pleasure from others’ pain and torment, while hating all rules and order. But the Zoel Elves’ evil deeds seemed to be driven by the pursuit of benefits and power, while Rose cunningly established a causal relationship between pleasing herself and these two.

“So there are a total of three Zoel Priestesses, right?” the Human Knight gathered his scattered thoughts back together, “Any other particularly tricky fellows?”

“There shouldn’t be any more.” Kamoen shook his head, “Dark Elves occasionally make temporary alliances with some powerful demons at Rose’s instigation, but I doubt they could find suitable candidates in Cang Ye’s domain.”

“Assuming they can find one.” Lancelot stroked his chin, “What level of demon are we talking about?”

“A Seducer Demon,” Kamoen said confidently, “These greedy yet cunning demons are the favorite partners of the Zoel Matriarchs, they are powerful and not too mad. As long as there is mutual benefit, cooperation is always very smooth.”

“I see,” Lancelot nodded, paused for a moment in reflection, and finally made up his mind, “We have a fight ahead!”

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