The Paladin in the Abyss

(Swamp Forest)

Stepping through the flickering dark green light of the portal, Lancelot felt a very slight dizziness before realising he was now in a gloomy, dense forest.

Beneath his feet lay a rotting swamp, odorous vapours drifted in the air, and the portal through which he came was nestled inside the trunk of a long-dead tree, visible from the outside only at a particular angle through the emitted Magic Aura.

Lancelot closed his eyes to sense his surroundings and detected some powerful presences in the distance, but within a hundred feet there were no threatening creatures, so he stepped back through the portal behind him and returned to his companions.

"How is it?"

Sitting on a stone, Bruto immediately jumped up. The impatient Dwarf didn't like waiting, and the others also looked at Lancelot with expectant eyes.

"Over there..."

"Wait a minute!" the Dwarf interrupted him rudely, gripping his Warhammer tightly. "How do I know you're still the same Lancelot? How can you prove you're still you?"

"Huh?" Lancelot was somewhat puzzled by the interruption, but after a moment's thought, he nodded, "Well, such caution is necessary... How about you ask a question that only the two of us know the answer to?"

"Heh, I am an experienced Adventurer, after all." The Dwarf's face showed a mischievous grin, "In your eyes, who is the most beautiful woman in the world?"

"...If my answer isn't Tijana, are you going to throw your hammer at me?"

"Haha, it seems you really are the man!" The Dwarf laughed heartily as he stepped forward. "So, what is it like over there? Is it really like the legend says, with flowers blooming and green grass everywhere?"

"Unfortunately, it's a Swamp Forest on the other side, with poisonous vapors floating in the air. There's no danger nearby, but further away it's hard to say."

"Seems like our luck isn't great. The portal's exit is supposed to be on the North Shore of the Hoffenstan River, which is still under the control of the Mother of Demons' legions," Kalalin explained to everyone from the side.

"Here we go, Antitoxin Potion to sharpen the mind, one swig each." Koula took out a large flask from her backpack, filled with a light green potion. Because the demand for several basic potions was so great, using disposable glass bottles every time was too wasteful, so the Halfling got this container from the Dwarf, which could meet everyone's needs when filled at once.

The flask was passed around, and everyone took a small sip. Alamir cast Divine Arts to strengthen everyone's life force, and the rest prepared their equipment. Even though Lancelot said there were no enemies nearby, the portal's exit was in a demon-controlled area, so they had to be ready for battle.

Once prepared, the group formed a battle formation and stepped through the portal in turn, arriving in Androlina.

"I have to say, this place is even worse than I imagined," Bruto said as he stepped out and immediately sunk into what looked like a shallow pit, but the bottom was entirely soft mud. When he pulled his leg out, everything below the knee was filthy with muck.

"Which way should we go now?" Kalalin asked Lancelot, "We can't see the sun here; it's impossible to recognize any direction…"

"Ha ha, in the forest, we don't rely on the sun to determine direction." Elves laughed, pointing at a tree trunk, "See that moss? Moss thrives in damp and shady places. Although it's hard for sunlight to penetrate here, it's clear that the moss is denser on this side. The side facing north is away from the light, so the moss grows thicker."

"Wow! Does that really work?" Little Isha's eyes almost lit up as she ran over and circled the tree trunk several times, "It's true!"

Lancelot smiled. He understood the girl's excitement well. For a young girl who had grown up in the court, such knowledge was indeed very interesting. Still, he called Isha back. After all, this was an unfamiliar environment where enemies could appear at any moment—vigilance was essential.

The group began to move in the direction Alamir had indicated. The forest floor was difficult to traverse; beneath any patch covered by fallen leaves, there could be a swamp that one couldn't step into, which significantly slowed everyone's pace.

Suddenly, Lancelot's ears twitched; he heard some unusual noises.

"Did you hear that too?" Alamir said beside him. Elves also had excellent hearing, especially in the unique setting of a forest.

Lancelot closed his eyes and gathered True Yuan in his ears, which made every single movement around him extraordinarily clear. Whether it was the fine friction of Bruto's beard against his breastplate or the sound of wind passing through Elothysia's wings, he could hear it all distinctly.

He ignored these irrelevant noises, focusing his attention on the direction from which the unconventional sounds had come.

Lancelot heard faint crying, as if from a child even smaller than little Isha, accompanied by intermittent beating sounds. He also heard the crunching of footsteps on dry branches and the rustle of something heavy dragging on the ground and pushing through fallen leaves. Find your next adventure on My Virtual Library Empire

"The sounds are coming from that direction, about two hundred feet from us," Lancelot pointed to a direction on the right, "It seems like a child has been captured and is being dragged by several creatures."

"A child?" Bruto raised an eyebrow, "No matter what it is, we have to check it out."

"Shall I go scout ahead?" Isha spoke up, then with a 'thump', she turned into a small bat and perched on Lancelot's shoulder.

"Yes, we'll take a while to get there, go ahead and scout the enemy's situation," Lancelot nodded, "Stay concealed. Your mission is to bring back intelligence on the enemy, do not expose yourself."

"Squeak squeak!" The little bat called out twice in response, then flapped her wings and flew away from Lancelot's shoulder.

In her flying state, Isha moved much faster, and her unique ultrasonic sensory ability allowed her to easily navigate through the dense tree canopy. In less than two minutes, she located the target.

Following the technique she learned from her teacher, she hung upside down from a branch, camouflaged in the shadows among the leaves, and looked down.

She saw five green-skinned creatures, over nine feet tall, passing below. The creatures had a humanoid shape, with arms so long they surpassed their knees. They wore no clothing except for a loincloth, with ugly heads that had a large nose, protruding lips, and a pair of small, sharp ears, as well as dark green hair that made her think of a moldy mop.