The Paladin in the Abyss-Chapter 669 - 693 Climbing
Chapter 669 -693 Climbing
While the other companions had already entered their dreams, Lancelot had not yet begun his daily cultivation—communication through rotating bracelets and earrings wasn’t very efficient, but there was so much he and Tijana wanted to say to each other. If it wasn’t for the important matters awaiting them the next day, they would surely have talked all night long.
Before dawn the next day, two figures slipped out of the mercenary camp. One of them was the human knight who had shone in yesterday’s battle, while the other was the demonic monkey girl, Jing. As a true master of climbing, she would find a less difficult route for Lancelot, and she herself was also interested in challenging the high walls of that huge fortress.
Besides saying goodbye to their comrades, the two did not alarm anyone else. Taking cover behind the rocks at the foot of the mountain, they stealthily made their way to the other side of the Volcano Fortress and lurked behind a large boulder close to the bottom of the city wall.
As the setting sun over the Plains of the Abyss climbed above the horizon, the allied forces’ attack began. All four Flame Demon Generals were present, though it was easy to see that the former Lord of the Volcano Fortress did not get along well with his three colleagues. Fortunately, the plan didn’t require their unity; it was enough for the four highest powers of the demon’s side to be there, ready to join the battle at any moment.
The allied forces’ action looked less like a siege and more like lining up to be slaughtered—a horde of Coward Devils, driven by Babu Demons, charged up those steps like a slaughterhouse, only to soon turn into a mass of minced meat ‘flowing’ back down. However, the four Flame Demon Generals would also occasionally join the charge, killing a few unlucky defenders before retreating to their original positions before any opponent powerful enough to match them appeared. While inefficient, this strategy did seem viable because the defenders were indeed few. If the demons kept this up, after two or three days, those noble Demon Refinement Generals would have to come out to guard the gate themselves.
Moreover, all low-rank demons have one characteristic in common: as long as there is a high-rank demon present, they will not flee. It was also something Lancelot had only recently learned: Whether inside or outside the Abyss, when a low-rank demon is killed, it will be reborn somewhere in the Abyss after one day (Note 1). However, there is an exception to this way of dying, which is being eaten by a higher-rank demon—demons who die in this manner are completely obliterated, with not even the Ninth Circle’s prayer techniques being able to bring them back.
In addition, demons may advance in rank for a variety of odd and unpredictable reasons, but one thing is certain—when most of your kind think you are the strongest, the most cunning, and the most vicious one, you will have the chance to advance. If some of the believers are higher rank than you, then the likelihood increases. Clearly, the battlefield is the place where this happens most frequently. Despite the extreme pain of being killed, Coward Devils hate their weak bodies and low status even more.
Although the battle on the other side was fierce, Lancelot needed to wait a bit more patiently, letting the fight attract as many demons as possible near the entrance of the castle to decrease his own chances of encountering enemies during his move. However, for a monkey, boredom is the least tolerable thing. While Lancelot was meditating and cultivating Qi behind the boulder, Jing had already gone up and down that eighty-foot high city wall several times.
She also found several cracks that could be squeezed through. But Jing remembered Lancelot’s instructions and did not rashly enter, instead marking the locations of these cracks and considering which one would be easier to take the human knight through.
About two hours after the battle started, Lancelot caught up on the cultivation he had missed the night before due to passing notes and emerged from his meditation state. He looked up to find Jing watching him from above, upside down—she had inserted her iron staff vertically into one of the cracks in the obsidian and hung below it with her tail wrapped around the staff, as if it was just a branch sticking out from a tree trunk.
Lancelot was just about to wave to her when his expression suddenly changed, and his body swiftly rushed towards the area directly beneath the demonic monkey. Jing hadn’t figured out what was happening when the pulling force on her tail suddenly vanished. A sharp cracking sound reached her ears, and she began plummeting downwards.
However, the monkey demon immediately proved that Lancelot’s worries were unnecessary. She swung through the air with the iron staff curled in her tail, her body quickly reattached to the city wall. With a few taps of her hands and feet on the black surface, she descended rapidly like on a slide, and landed steadily in front of Lancelot.
“That’s impressive,” he sincerely exclaimed, “I really thought you were going to fall just now.”
“Heh heh, I’m not one of those silly koalas, I won’t get hurt by something like this.” Jing playfully winked at Lancelot, “I’ve already found several entrances, just waiting for you to come.”
After saying this, the monkey demon turned to climb upwards, her movements smooth as if there were an invisible ladder placed on the shiny and even wall. A human knight naturally didn’t possess such techniques, and obsidian, being resistant to magic power, also didn’t allow True Yuan to ‘stick’ to it. However, since he couldn’t affect that kind of stone, Lancelot could still affect himself, making his fingers as hard as iron hooks. If the monkey demon could climb it, so could he, albeit a bit more slowly.
The height of eighty feet might not seem distant on the ground, but it is definitely dizzying when measured vertically. Although Lancelot’s physical strength meant that he probably wouldn’t be hurt even if he did fall, that innate sense of fear wasn’t so easy to overcome. As he moved upwards, the sound of the wind high above whispered in his ears, as if inviting him to look back and enjoy the view behind him. Lancelot resisted the temptation, his gaze remained upward, and his focus stayed on the next rock point that needed to be hooked by his fingers.
“This is the place,” said the monkey demon girl, who had been waiting for him, pointing at an inconspicuous crack on the city wall, “There’s hot air blowing out from the inside; it must connect to the interior of the castle.”
“Hmm… Let me check…” Lancelot said he would check, but instead, he closed his eyes. After a few breaths, he reopened them and nodded at his companion, “It’s good. It seems like a guardroom inside. Let’s go in through here.”
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“How exactly should we do it?” Jing scratched her head (she was just that relaxed), “Dig through this crack?”
“Of course not,” Lancelot chuckled, wedged one hand into the crack, and extended the other toward the monkey demon girl, “Hold on to me. Make sure to keep your mouth shut, don’t make a noise later, lest the enemy hears us…”
(Note 1: According to the 5th edition Monster Manual, only Prime Demons have this characteristic; this is the author’s own setting.)
