The Paladin in the Abyss

Chapter 665: Chapter 689 Military Advice

“First, Tijana is not my master, which is precisely why I’m willing to serve her,” Sonam said coldly. “Second, I have no association with this man…”

That wasn’t exactly true, for he still hadn’t paid off the Cold Iron Longsword. Lancelot thought to himself, but of course, he wouldn’t voice that thought.

“You might not have an association with him, but things are not that simple.” Another irritating voice rang out, like a crone feigning a little girl’s voice, “I’ve heard that this Knight is the openly declared lover of the pearl of the Stygian River…”

Lancelot lifted his head to look at the source of the voice. The stunning creature hanging upside down from the cobweb-laden ceiling had the lower body of a giant spider and the upper body of a beautiful humanoid female. Thick, elastic strands of silver-white spider silk continuously emerged from the swollen end of her abdomen, slowly bringing her terrifying form closer to the ground.

“Ogore also heard they kissed in full view, right after they chased away the attacking Bazu Demons,” another robust voice spoke up, coming from a Giant Bull Demon sitting directly on the floor across the hall, “They say you tied yourself to the prow of a ship and chopped down all of the Bazu Demon’s pontoon bridges with your sword. A lot of Bazu Demons fell into the Stygian River, is that true?”

“It’s mainly thanks to the skill of the Ferryman Demon who steered the warship. I paid a hefty price for its service,” Lancelot bowed to the Demon Lords, “It’s an honor to meet you both.”

“Poor Tijana to fall in love with a mortal,” the Spider Demon gently helped the unconscious Tu’a to her feet, “and of all mortals, one that’s short-lived, weak, foolish, arrogant, and fickle….”

“Mind your tongue, Ilmaris,” In Sonam’s hands appeared six longswords shimmering with cold light in an instant, “If you wish, I’m quite willing to cut out your tongue and present it to Tijana, to see if it can still repeat what you just said.”

“How many do you want?”

The Spider Lady opened her mouth, ejecting a pearly white, slimy, and wrinkled tongue, followed by a second and third… until it resembled a soggy mop. Those tongues were extremely flexible, capable of undulating like waves and performing various surprising movements. After showing off this bizarre skill, the humanoid spider quickly retracted her tongues and flashed an evil smile at the Human Knight:

“How about it, Sir Lancelot? I wonder if your Treasured Sword is sharp enough to cut a piece of tongue from my mouth?”

“That appears to be Lord Tu’a’s scabbard, and I cannot do the disreputable act of stealing beauty,” Lancelot smiled coldly, “Besides, the sole purpose of my visit is to help deal with the Demon Legion threatening the Volcano Fortress, I have neither the responsibility nor the obligation to prove to you whether Madam Tijana’s judgment is correct.”

“Of course it’s correct, perhaps too correct,” the Serpent Demon chimed in, his face wrinkling like a dried apple, “How many Demons did the mercenaries kill with your help? Three thousand? Or four thousand? Damn it, we didn’t budget for that much in enemy kill bonuses… While some eight-legged creatures, do you have to eat one opponent before going after another? Can’t you just fight them all and eat together afterward?”

“Children are always hungry,” the female Demon shrugged indifferently.

“So you really are Tijana’s lover, huh?” Visuvius finally couldn’t hold back, its bell-like eyes glaring at Lancelot, “Human, take off your helmet so I can have a look at your face!”

Lancelot shrugged but complied, revealing the resolute countenance beneath his Helmet.

“How odd, your face doesn’t look like gold coins, so how come Tijana fancies you?” the neighbor from Twin Bridges Town scrutinized Lancelot suspiciously, “Could it be that you possess some special skill, like excreting gold?”

“I think you have quite a few misunderstandings about Lady Tijana,” Lancelot struggled to suppress the urge to roll his eyes, “Isn’t being handsome reason enough?”

A brief silence fell in the hall.

“…I’ve been her neighbor for hundreds of years, and I’m pretty sure she has no interest in men,” the former Lord of the Volcano Fortress broke the silence, “Otherwise, she would have given me a discount at some point.”

An uncomfortable silence descended in the hall once again.

“…Anyway, that aside, who is stronger, you or Sonam?” Visuvius changed the topic as if nothing had happened, “Who do the mercenaries actually listen to?”

“General Sonam is far stronger than I am,” Lancelot immediately responded, “She is also the undisputed commander of the mercenary corps.”

“But you’re more powerful than you look,” another unscathed Flame Demon General commented, “so you can do some things your commander can’t.”

“Indeed,” Sonam nodded in agreement, “but gentlemen, Lancelot also has a particularly keen eye for tactics, allowing him to contribute to the discussion by offering… some different perspectives.”

“Oh, military advice from a human, what could possibly go wrong? Go on, speak your mind,” Visuvius shrugged and turned to shout to the center of the room, “Tu’a, Taran, how long do you plan to play dead? I won the battle, so I am the boss, it’s over, now get off your asses and onto your own chairs, stop lying there like slobs!”

The two Flame Demon Generals made no attempt to hide their resentment; their looks seemed to say that at the first chance, they would gladly stab the former Lord of the Volcano Fortress in the back. Lancelot couldn’t help feeling speechless. Was Lord Wu’an doing this on purpose for some reason? Or was this simply normal behavior among the Barlow Flame Demons? Regardless, as the only non-demon present, he had to bring the conversation back on track for the safety of Twin Bridges Town.

“Ahem, Generals, before we discuss what tactics to use, I’d like to clarify some basics…” Lancelot cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s attention, “Firstly, how many troops do we still have? And how many does the enemy have?”

The High Rank Demons couldn’t help but look at each other, until Sonam spoke up:

“After today’s battle, all the mercenaries who might have been affected in combat due to injuries have been taken care of by me. What’s left is about a thousand men, but they are all mortals; they would do best with a full day’s rest to be able to perform at their best in battle.”

Lancelot silently nodded to himself. What Sonam referred to as taking care, actually meant sending back to Twin Bridges Town, totaling about six hundred people. Although the absolute number was not as high as the previous encounter, the proportion was actually larger, considering this was a head-on battle with the enemy that lasted much longer. Correspondingly, the outcome they achieved was much more substantial, with a total enemy kill count exceeding two thousand, almost half the size of the entire Demon Legion, and this didn’t even include the Spellcasters taken down by Lancelot.