The Paladin in the Abyss-Chapter 528 - 552 Negotiations Fail

Chapter 528: Chapter 552: Negotiations Fail Chapter 528: Chapter 552: Negotiations Fail About forty feet from the group, three humanoid creatures stood guard in front of a stone gate. Their appearance was extremely ugly, their large and pointed noses nearly covered their entire faces, resembling huge rat heads; their lean bodies were wrapped in fur garments, with javelins on their backs and heavy weapons like double-edged axes and meteor hammers in their hands.

These were the Fencer Trolls that Old Reap had mentioned. They had been in the midst of a heated argument when they heard the group approaching. They all turned their heads towards them and shouted a strange word:

“kjott!”

“Hmm? This word sounds a bit familiar…” Bruto squinted his eyes doubtfully, “Isn’t it the Giant’s Tongue for ‘meat’?”

The actions of the Fencer Trolls confirmed the Dwarf’s guess. Two of them quickly took javelins from their backs and threw them at the group, while another pushed open the stone gate and ran inside.

“Negotiations failed.” Lancelot swiftly swung Frostslash, deflecting one of the javelins, “Let’s fight…”

“We had a plan to negotiate?” Bruto raised his shield to block another javelin, “Can I throw my hammer now?”

Lancelot ignored the Dwarf’s comment and had already charged forward with his hand half sword. However, halfway there, he suddenly felt the ground beneath his feet soften, nearly causing him to fall.

The ground, which had been paved with rocks, had become as loose as thin porridge, and the Human Knight was sinking fast. For a knight in heavy armor, sinking into a swamp was a terrifying scenario, but Lancelot did not panic, for he was no longer just a knight wielding a great sword, and he had many trustworthy companions behind him.

...

As he had anticipated, the Dwarf threw his warhammer immediately, providing him cover. Faced with the fearsome flying hammer, the two Fencer Trolls dodged to the side, and did not throw their javelins again, buying Alamir time to cast his spell.

The Elf Priest took a cork from a pouch on his belt, and after a few intricate gestures and a somewhat lengthy prayer, several pale blue lights flew from the priest’s hands into each of his companions. Lancelot immediately felt a strong buoyancy pushing him upward until he was completely out of the mud.

“Water walking,” Alamir explained to his friends. “This spell works on any liquid surface and lasts for an hour. Now, go finish the enemies!”

Lancelot tentatively stomped his foot, finding the mud as hard as rock under the magic’s influence. He boldly charged at the enemies again, even faster than before. The two Fencer Trolls looked very confused but still quickly dropped their javelins and drew their weapons to meet him.

Due to his opponents’ height, Lancelot couldn’t directly attack their trunks. His hand half sword, glowing with a blue light, clashed heavily with the blade of a double-edged axe and quickly separated again.

Compared to the other Frost Giant inhabitants of this level, the equipment of the two Fencer Trolls was significantly better. However, after clashing, the battle axe’s blade, forged from refined iron, developed a thumb-sized notch, and metal fragments burst out, embedding themselves in the arm of the other Fencer Troll, eliciting a loud cry of pain.

The creature that had just clashed with Lancelot fared no better; suddenly, flames sprouted from its body, igniting its leather clothes, which caused it considerable panic. Yet, its body did not burn like an ordinary troll would. This outcome somewhat disappointed Lancelot—it seemed Reap was right, these beings were not much related to ordinary trolls.

Seizing a small opening from his opponent, the Human Knight’s footsteps shifted eerily, instantly closing the gap within five feet of them. His longsword first flicked upwards, slicing open the skin near the opponent’s knee, which also disrupted their balance, causing them to topple to one side.

The sword blade, glowing faintly blue, hesitated briefly in mid-air. Once the opponent’s body tilted at an adequate angle, it chopped downward like a guillotine, decapitating the Fencer Troll’s head cleanly.

Lancelot’s series of movements were incredibly fast, so much so that only after the opponent’s head thumped to the ground did another Fencer Troll swing its nail-headed hammer at him. Lancelot dodged with a simple turn and immediately kicked out, hitting the hand gripping the nail-headed hammer accurately before the enemy could retract their weapon.

A crisp bone-snapping sound ensued, and the troll screamed, releasing its right hand. However, its left hand lightning-fast drew a dagger from its boot and stabbed at Lancelot. But by then, the Dwarf had already reached behind it, Bruto forcefully swinging the edge of his shield at the enemy’s knee pit while the Warhammer smashed down onto the opponent’s protruding rear.

The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.

Facing this deceitful dagger assault, Lancelot’s longsword seemed too slow to parry but showed no sign of panic. The dagger’s blade slid off the Mithril armor, attempting to slide into a crevice, but the armor’s surface suddenly glowed blue. Several sword auras thick as fingers and half a foot long exploded like water splashed, instantly punching seven or eight transparent holes in the Fencer Troll’s hand that held the weapon.

While Lancelot’s protective sword shield counterattacked automatically, the Dwarf’s strike also hit the enemy’s body. A gut-wrenchingly dull thud declared the Fencer Troll’s pelvis shattered, while Lancelot’s longsword, still glowing, had already struck from the front. The blade cut from the opponent’s left shoulder downwards, severing ribs, lung lobes, heart, spleen, and intestines in its path, finally exiting between the legs of the Fencer Troll’s body.

“Dun… kjott… val Rakka!”

The dying enemy rasped, then the corpse fell to either side. Blood and innards sprayed like from a shattered kettle, but Lancelot, foreseeing this, stepped back, avoiding it all.

“Hey, big brother, is it really necessary to be this brutal?” the Dwarf, fully splattered, lamented from behind the Fencer Troll, “When you hit the heart, it was already dead.”

“Sorry, I’ll be more careful next time!” Lancelot apologized, looking at the ray-red Dwarf in front of him, resembling a boiled lobster, “What was it saying just before it died?”

“Dun means ‘you’ in Giant’s Tongue, kjott means ‘flesh,’ val is a preposition, and Rakka must be a name, Rakka?” Bruto shrugged, “If I am not mistaken, that phrase means: ‘You all are Rakka’s food.’ As for who Rakka is, I have no idea, but it sounds far from Svafnir.”

“Well, wanting to kill me I understand, but wanting to eat me is going too far.” Lancelot curled his lip, laying a hand on the stone gate, “Are you ready to continue? We let one flee earlier, but it probably didn’t expect the fight to end this quickly. Let’s hurry and catch up, catching them completely off guard.”