The Paladin in the Abyss

Lancelot no longer had the time to create the kind of vines that paved the way, allowing everyone to walk 'more dignified' across the muddy swamp. In fact, he was exerting all his strength to stimulate the True Yuan within his body, summoning huge vine walls behind him, attempting to create some obstacles for the pursuing demons.

In his Spirit Perception, the succubi were less than three hundred feet away from them. Had it not been for the dense forests blocking the demons' line of sight, they would have surely been discovered by now.

Lancelot realized that he had made a mistake earlier. When he killed the Dark Weaver, he should have cast a Soundproof Barrier first. The spider-octopus's scream before its death was too loud and had definitely been heard by the succubi.

On the other side of the dense forest, the situation was just as he had predicted.

The demons did not like staying close to their peers of similar strength. They despised one another and were always ready to fight to prove who was the boss. The twelve succubi were full of complaints before coming, each as an arrogant and conceited squad leader within the Demon Legion, looking down on everything.

In their view, Miasma Swamp was just a remote corner of the demon-controlled areas. To escort a prisoner back from there, a few toads would have been more than enough. A whole dozen succubi? That was certainly making a mountain out of a molehill. Enjoy new chapters from My Virtual Library Empire

But they dared not question the decision of the Mother of Demons. So despite being filled with provocation, insults, and malicious curses along the way, they still followed orders to Valasti's territory, ready to confront the disgusting big spider that always looked at them with strange eyes.

However, since entering this swamp forest, the environment hinted at something eerie. For example, they had not encountered the long-awaited troll patrol. When venting their killing desire, other creatures were 'disposable,' dying completely after being torn apart. In the search for the next venting target, demons had to endure a long period of boredom, but a troll with its rapid regeneration ability... having its head chopped off and then growing it back...

The demons absolutely adored this race.

With a belly full of desires not vented, the succubi were very upset and decided that once they met Valasti, they must make it compensate them, preferably by summoning a few hundred trolls to allow them to kill to their heart's content.

But when they reached Valasti's nest, the Dark Weaver was still nowhere in sight, which finally made the succubi realize something was wrong.

The orders of the Mother of Demons were clear: go to Miasma Swamp and bring back a red-haired Aira child. Was it the big spider that lost the child? It better not expect the Mother of Demons to accept such an explanation, as the Abyssal Lord only cared about results and certainly would not miss any excuse or opportunity to punish a subordinate.

The scent of flesh being cooked wafted through the air, pointing them to the location of the battle. The succubi quickly found the troll camp destroyed by Lancelot and his companions, with the seductively scented corpses indicating the battle had just ended.

The situation was now quite clear. Protectors from Melanthan had raided this place, and had likely already rescued the prisoner belonging to the Mother of Demons. Valasti must be in pursuit of those bold enough to venture this deep into enemy territory.

Succubi were well aware of the Dark Weaver's abilities; the shadow-enshrouded thicket was the domain of that great spider. The good Protectors might succeed in ambushing the camp of those troll dolts, but escape from the Dark Weaver's pursuit would be impossible.

Just as they entertained this thought, a terrifying scream pierced the air, unmistakably belonging to Valasti. Moreover, nothing less than lethal pain could have elicited such a scream of agony from the Lord of the Miasma Swamp.

The succubi's spirits were lifted as they quickly raced toward the source of the sound. They soon came upon the shattered corpse of the Dark Weaver and the hasty traces left by the murderers as they fled.

"Pursue!"

The leader bellowed the order, and this time no one voiced dissent. When faced with a common enemy, demons could unite and cooperate. At least for those not so bright, they would temporarily shift their focus from the burdensome issue of 'who is the boss' to concentrate on the immediate foes.

It didn't take long for the succubi to find their path blocked by obstacles, as enormous walls of vines materialized out of thin air, as if they were the unwelcome guests.

If it had been any other demon in pursuit, Lancelot's magic might well have worked. However, succubi happened to have two huge, sharp pincers—pincers that could easily snip flesh, so handling plants was naturally not a problem.

Some powerful (and also wickedly playful) wizards indeed summon these demons to tend their botanical gardens. According to these wizards, the succubi's work efficiency was quite high—only their brains were a bit slow, and they never learned to distinguish weeds from valuable plants.

The demons were certainly not stupid; in fact, they were very clever and had learned the benefits of feigning foolishness early on. Thus, while some wizards might feel their succubi's horticultural work was poorly done, others who were careless and negligent ended up as fertilizer in the gardens.

These succubi brandished their pincers, a slight swipe sufficient to sever a multitude of vines, easily destroying the obstacles Lancelot had heavily relied upon, merely causing a slight delay to the pursuit.

The demons did not know the actual situation of the team that killed Valasti, but since the enemy was evidently fleeing, this provided the demons with sufficient confidence. According to demon logic, the enemy's strength must be inferior to theirs; otherwise, why would they run?

Lancelot was well aware of all this, and what was worse, although everyone was speeding up as much as possible, the enemy was nearly a third faster. Although in another ten minutes maximum, they would leave this dense forest swamp, they would undoubtedly be caught before then.

"Lancelot, something's not right?" Kalalin had been watching Lancelot's expression closely. The Human Knight was undoubtedly the linchpin of the team, his myriad of miraculous abilities key to their repeated escapes from desperate situations.

"We have at most three minutes before the enemy catches up to us," said Lancelot grimly. He glanced at the two children on the Succubus Paladin and, gritting his teeth, continued, "This won't do. I'll stay behind to cover our retreat while you all escape."