The Paladin in the Abyss-Chapter 323 - 337 The Bizarre Demons
Chapter 323 -337 The Bizarre Demons
Lancelot ignored the dull thud of a bludgeon against flesh and the scraping of claws on armor behind him. He wrapped his palm with True Yuan and focused on searching the bloody, mangled corpse of the Demon.
Soon, he found what he was looking for. From the Demon’s digestive tract, filled with corrosive mucus, Lancelot extracted several fragments of parchment, their contents barely legible.
With a rhythmic clanging, reminiscent of forging iron, accompanied by the Dwarf’s exertion grunts: clang, clang, clang, splash. Then the noise stopped. Lancelot turned to see another Berserk Demon lying quietly on the ground, its head shattered like a watermelon dropped from a height, while Bruto contentedly put away his hammer.
The two exchanged glances and then burst into hysterical laughter, for their appearances were simply too comical. Whether Dwarf or Human Knight, their extravagant armors were soaked through with Demon blood. Bruto’s armor was additionally adorned with some skin and flesh, making him look more Demon than the actual Demons. Had a Holy Warrior passed by, he likely would have attacked Bruto without hesitation.
“Oh, my God,” Bruto shrugged, “what in the Abyss has happened to us…”
“You two, stand together, don’t move.”
Alamir looked at them resignedly. It was well-known that Shuni’s Priest had very little tolerance for filth. He poured a small drop of Holy Water onto his palm from the Holy Water Bottle he carried, and then, while making mysterious gestures, began to chant a prayer. Soon, it was as if an invisible bucket had opened above the heads of Lancelot and Bruto, and a large amount of water materialized out of thin air, washing over their bodies.
This water seemed to contain special components that dissolved bloodstains, even cleaning out the crevices in their armor. Before long, the two were sparkling clean, as if someone had scrubbed them down with a brush.
“How many times is this now? I’ve used up all my First Circle Spell slots just for this,” complained the Elf, arms crossed. “You’re both seasoned Adventurers; can’t you be more careful in battle?”
“Not my fault the Demons have an unhealthy diet and particularly high blood pressure,” the Dwarf dismissively flicked water droplets from his hair. “A somersault with an overhead chop? Lancelot, were you serious?”
Foll𝑜w current novels on fɾēewebnσveℓ.com.
“I saw it take something from Kas’s Demon and stuff it into its own mouth,” Lancelot lifted his arm to show his companions the fragments of parchment he’d grasped. “Don’t you think these two Berserk Demons acted unusually? They not only failed to join the fight promptly but, realizing our strength, their response wasn’t to try and escape but for one to cover the other as it destroyed information. Does that sound like something a Demon would do?”
“Unlikely, but there are no absolutes,” mused Kalalin, taking the parchment fragments from Lancelot’s hands. With a simple spell, she made the pieces float in the air, attempting to decipher the symbols on them.
The group gathered curiously, only to find that the letters were written in Abyssal, but in such a nonsensical combination that it left them utterly clueless.
“Elothysia, do you understand what this says?” The Scholar scowled as he skimmed the text, admitting his own incomprehension, and turned to seek help from the Succubus, for whom Abyssal was her mother tongue.
“I can’t decipher it either, this must be some kind of cipher,” the Holy Warrior shook his head, “And there’s too little content, it’s impossible to crack.”
Lancelot couldn’t help feeling disappointed, but he knew the Succubus spoke the truth. The sharp teeth of the Berserk Demon and their highly corrosive Digestive Juice were the best shredders, with recognizable parts making up less than one-tenth of the whole. In such a case, decryption was indeed not feasible.
“But we’re not entirely without gains,” Kalalin chimed in, “At least we now know that the Demon Legion uses ciphers to transmit intelligence. I’ve never heard of such a thing before. Prince, is this phenomenon unique to the demons of Androlina?”
“Just call me Acheron,” the Elven Ranger was somewhat out of his element with the Scholar’s formal address, “This is the first time I’ve encountered this as well. Maybe they’ve been doing it for a long time, and we just didn’t know.”
“Whether it’s the two Berserk Demons or what they were protecting, everything reeks of strangeness,” Lancelot secured Frostslash on his back again, “It seems the enemy is indeed brewing something significant. Let’s hope we find the answer at the end of our adventure.”
The others nodded in agreement and quickly began to clear the battlefield. They found some gold and green copper coins on the bodies of their enemies; the former was collected by Lancelot, while the latter was abandoned because of its low value. The secretions and sweat of the demons had a slight corrosive quality, which would cause the copper coins to develop green rust spots rather swiftly.
Incidentally, although silver coins were in circulation in the lower realms, their material caused Fiends pain, so offering silver coins to one of them, for any reason, was considered a grave insult. Most Demons would let the person who gave them the coins know this immediately, and a Demon might temporarily tolerate it due to the strength disparity, but the ensuing retribution would be no less than that meted out to their worst enemy.
Considering this was a team with a special mission, and the fact that the master of this team would most likely send someone to investigate their fate, it was necessary to destroy all traces of their corpses. This might have been difficult in other wilderness areas, but the way the toad had destroyed the evidence gave Lancelot an idea.
The Human Knight summoned many vines, which swiftly gathered up the myriad corpses on the ground and carried them to a snake tree grove nearby. The carnivorous plants initially hesitated over this ‘feeding,’ but the lure of the flesh was too strong. They quickly swarmed and devoured the dozen or so Demon bodies, leaving not even a fragment of bone behind.
After their meal, the snake trees turned and hissed at Lancelot, though whether they were expressing gratitude or contemplating whether to eat the Human Knight next remained unclear.
Lancelot had no interest in understanding what these malevolent trees wanted to convey. He might be skilled at summoning and controlling vines, but he was no Druid, nor did he understand the language of snakes.
About ten minutes had passed since the battle began, but none wanted to delay even a moment longer. After clearing the site, they set off at once.
They continued to advance at a cautious pace, diligently searching for any clues that might reveal the presence of the enemy. Fortunately, they did not encounter another unnecessary battle and, after two more hours of travel, the horizon ahead began to brighten, as if the pitch-black night sky was being wrapped in a layer of fluorescent-light-diffusing gauze.
Lancelot knew that it was the reflection from Lamborado Lake, signaling the end of their night’s journey.
COMMENT
0 comment
Vote
3 left
SEND GIFT
