The Paladin in the Abyss-Chapter 720 - 741 Leaving

Lancelot watched silently from the side, aware that Babos was considering taking over as Lord of the Volcano Fortress and seeking Tijana’s support. Although her Twin Bridges Town was not under Lord Wu’an’s influence, it had always essentially provided logistical support for the Volcano Fortress. Gaining the Succubus Lord’s endorsement would give Babos a certain advantage among the many candidates.

Theoretically, the other two Flame Demon Generals were also possible candidates, but they seemed merely pleased by the fact of Visuvius’s death—genuinely so, almost without attempt to hide it. Given the humiliation the former Lord of the Volcano Fortress had inflicted on them the previous night, such feelings were understandable, not to mention that they were Demons, creatures who rarely grieve for the death of their own kind, especially now that the Volcano Fortress had been reclaimed and the allied forces no longer needed Visuvius’s formidable combat power.

Babos continued to talk endlessly about future cooperation between the Volcano Fortress and Twin Bridges Town, the performance of the mercenary legion in this joint combat, yet Lancelot suddenly felt a strong sense of unease. This unease did not stem from his Spirit Perception but from Tijana, with whom he had reestablished a mental connection.

Lancelot subtly turned his head, keenly observing the Succubus Lord’s expression becoming rigid. After Barlow Flame Demon finished yet another round of pleasantries, she bluntly interrupted,

"Enough, esteemed General Babos, and Generals Taran and Tu’a, since the battle here has ended, we should also depart. Sir Lancelot, the soldiers left in the Throne Hall will listen to you; take them to find Sonam."

"As you command, my lady," Lancelot replied in a calm tone, but also asked mentally, ’What went wrong?’

’Let Sonam hold position for now, wait for further news from me,’ Tijana briefly replied, waving her hand to create a floating Portal behind her, "So, farewell, Generals, and feel welcome to visit Twin Bridges Town... remember to bring enough coins."

The Succubus Lord’s figure vanished into the Portal, along with two six-armed Serpent Demons. The three Flame Demon Generals looked at each other, seemingly puzzled by Tijana’s hasty departure.

"Generals, please allow us also to take our leave," Lancelot said with respectful demeanor as he bowed towards the Barlow Flame Demons. Now that Tijana was gone, being alone with the three Flame Demon Generals was somewhat pressuring.

"Of course, Sir Lancelot," Babos responded quite politely, "Sonam has kept the mercenary legion out of the siege; you will find her outside the city."

"Thank you for the information," Lancelot bowed again, gave his increasingly nervous companions a look, and led them hurriedly out of the increasingly hot cave.

"Babos, is there anything special about that human knight? Why be so... friendly towards him?"

Despite having walked a distance, Lancelot’s sharp hearing still caught the conversation of the Flame Demon Generals behind him. It was probably Taran, the weakest among the three, who had asked.

"He is Tijana’s openly acknowledged lover, being friendly towards him is being friendly to the Succubus Lord," Babos sounded as calm as a Flame Demon could be, "As for the consequences of not being friendly, we have a ready example right under our feet..."

"Big brother," Bruto’s voice came from behind Lancelot, "What was up with the sister-in-law? Why did she leave in such a hurry?"

"She didn’t explain, just told me to wait for her news," Lancelot paused, "I have a rather bad feeling about this..."

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Perhaps due to the absence of the tension they had on the way there, the journey back seemed much quicker than the descent had been, and within less than a quarter of an hour, everyone had once again arrived at the Throne Hall of the Flame Palace. At this moment, the hall was already crowded with many Demons; Lancelot could easily distinguish those from Twin Bridges Town from those under Lord Wu’an—Tijana had brought only the elite of the elite, whose equipment and demeanors radiated a distinctly different aura compared to the other Demons.

In addition, most Demons at this moment were starting to provoke each other out of boredom, and a brawl of an entertaining nature seemed about to unfold. However, the soldiers from Twin Bridges Town merely watched with cold eyes, not because they had better discipline, but because they deemed there were no opponents worth fighting.

As soon as Lancelot and his companions appeared, they immediately attracted everyone’s attention. Although the Human Knight had been very active on yesterday’s battlefield, most middle rank Demons hadn’t cared about other corners of the battlefield during the fight and barely remembered Lancelot. The Demons from Twin Bridges Town were different—this was their boss’s man, the kind who had kissed him publicly.

Three Berserk Demon captains approached, their eyes filled with surprise as they examined the Human Knight’s mithril armor, riddled with holes from explosions, seemingly puzzled as to why the creature underneath was still breathing.

"Lancelot... Sir," one of the Berserk Demons began with an unusually hoarse voice, "Where is Lady Tijana? And General Bessiah and Madam Viska, where have they gone?" fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

"They have other matters to attend to and have already returned to Twin Bridges Town," Lancelot explained calmly, "She instructed me to join you with General Sonam, then head back to Twin Bridges Town together."

"So..." another Berserk Demon captain interjected in a deep voice, "does that mean you are our leader now?"

"Until I hand you over to General Sonam, yes," Lancelot nodded, "Any problems?"

"None. Shall we depart now?"

"Isn’t that a problem... General Sonam should be just outside the city, but let’s take a small detour first..."

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Naturally, Lancelot was headed to the Temple of Grazzt’s underground sanctuary. When he led a large group of people and reappeared in that ornately decorated underground chamber, it truly startled everyone present; the survivors there were still unaware of the situation outside.

"The alliance has retaken the Volcano Fortress!" Lancelot jumped onto a table and announced to the audience, "All the Bartez have been... wiped clean, and you are safe now. But there is some bad news... Visuvius is dead."

Cheers erupted intermittently.

"...Well, a new Lord will soon take over, I guess it might be ’Bartez Slayer’ General Babos," Lancelot jumped down from the table and looked toward a familiar face struggling to make her way forward, "Madam Gayka, have you found the children of Amnon Peck and Anastasia?"

"Only Calista and Nimia," Gayka turned her head and gestured with her chin towards two Succubus girls who were not even four feet tall, "As for Miller, that fool is dead. Said he was going to avenge his father, a total fool."

"I’m sorry to hear that," Lancelot sighed, "Our group will soon be returning to Twin Bridges Town, and if you wish, you may take them with you to settle there."

"May I bring a few more children?"

"Of course," Lancelot answered softly, "Bring all the children with you."