Chapter 671: Chapter 695: Inside the Volcano Fortress

(Updated first, revision to follow)

Lancelot took the envelope from the Dwarf’s hand, and his companions crowded around as well. The symbol was pressed onto the surface of the envelope as a steel seal and wasn’t particularly conspicuous, which was why no one had been able to spot it right away.

“Is this the emblem of Twin Bridges Town?” Jing asked curiously, “I think I’ve seen it on the flyers for recruiting mercenaries…”

“It should be authentic,” Lancelot said as he took out an emblem from his chest and compared it with the envelope, “See, it’s identical.”

“As expected of Prince Lancelot,” Tanya said with a hint of sarcasm, “carrying the official seal around with you.”

“I didn’t even know it could be used like this,” Lancelot scratched his head sheepishly, “Let’s see… The envelope has already been opened, so this shouldn’t count as an invasion of privacy, right?”

Inside the envelope was a thin piece of parchment, which Lancelot unfolded to read as Bruto read out the content from beside him.

“Settlement approval notice. Amnon Peck, your job application has been approved, citizenship granted concurrently, report with this document to the Mercenary Hall’s market management section in Twin Bridges Town. Issued by Letisha.”

“Special approval is needed to settle in Twin Bridges Town?” the Half-elf asked in surprise, “Is it really that popular a place?”

“For certain people, Twin Bridges Town is one of the few places in the Abyss where you can live a life with dignity,” Lancelot shrugged and turned the paper over, “Hmm… this is…”

“Approved list of settlers.” The Dwarf continued reading, “Amnon Peck, the applicant himself, a male Tiflin, note: disabled right calf; Anastasia Peck, the applicant’s wife, a female Succubus; Calista Peck, the applicant’s daughter, a female Succubus; Nimia Peck, the applicant’s daughter, a female Succubus; Miller Peck, the applicant’s son, a male Devilspawn… This Mr. Peck sure has a large family, planning to move with them all…”

“This is his hope for starting a new life, so it was treated as the most important thing,” Alamir said softly, shaking his head, “Perhaps his wife and children are still alive, we could try to look for them.”

Lancelot glanced at the Elf Priest and, without comment, carefully folded the parchment and put it back into the envelope.

“Let’s go,” he said briefly and walked towards the exit.

The group left the cramped room and stepped into the streets of the Volcano Fortress. Their nostrils were immediately filled with a distinct burnt odor; clearly, the place had just recently suffered a severe fire disaster. What had been burnt was not only various pieces of furniture but also the users of that furniture, the peculiar smell of roasted flesh turned everyone in the party pale, but luckily no one actually vomited.

This was a city carved out of the mountain’s interior, its primary building material being rock, but its style was completely different from Dwarf settlements–Dwarf architecture conveyed a sense of sturdiness, stability, full of blunt angles, flat walls, and symmetrical structures, while the Tanari Fortress was a typical example of Abyss style: rough, sharp, pointed, filled with aggression, one wrong approach and severe injuries would be suffered, no designs were made during construction, or the builders might have new ideas halfway through, firmly believing their new insights were better.

Lancelot looked up into the distance and easily spotted their destination–the immense palace in the city center. It was the Flame Palace of Visuvius, a circular structure with its foundation raised significantly above the surrounding buildings, atop which was the volcano’s crater. Scorching magma burst forth from deep within the palace like a fountain from time to time, but a magical field prevented the dangerous molten flow from descending into the city, allowing it instead to shoot upwards and out of the volcano.

Everyone was almost bewitched by the wondrous and magnificent sight, but a sudden scream reminded them of where they were.

“Over there.” Alamir’s ears twitched as he raised a hand, pointing to a secluded alley, “About two hundred feet from us.”

“Jing, go up high and watch the surroundings,” Lancelot drew his hand half sword, “Everyone else, follow me and stay alert!”

Hearing this, the demon monkey girl didn’t hesitate, with a few leaps she disappeared onto the roof eaves, while the rest followed Lancelot into the alley. The figure of the one being attacked appeared in everyone’s sight soon after; it was a Succubus with broken wings hanging behind her like a dislocated arm, dressed in a tattered and dirty robe, clutching a large pouch in her arms.

The fleeing Succubus kept looking back, unaware of the mercenaries in front of her. Lancelot gestured, and immediately the four of them hid in the shadows on both sides of the alley. The Succubus only realized their fully armed presence after running past them, freezing in place. This pause caused something to fall out of the bag–it was just an ordinary onion.

A struggle was evident on the Succubus’s face, but the Human Knight motioned to her with an indisputable look to keep running, which she did without hesitation.

The sound of their pursuers’ footsteps came to them, two in total, sounding very heavy. Even though no enemy was in sight yet, Lancelot had already sensed their strength through Spirit Perception–stronger than the enchanting fiend, a somewhat troublesome target.

He swiftly gestured several signs, issuing a simple combat plan–two enemies, one for him to handle, the others to take care of the second.

The footsteps grew nearer, but then abruptly stopped about ten feet away. One of the enemies said something; although Lancelot didn’t understand the language, he could feel a warning tone in it.

He knew their ambush plan was foiled; Demons seemed to have a special ability to smell living creatures from a certain distance away. Lancelot knew he couldn’t hesitate any longer; turning around, he vaulted out of the corner’s shadow, silently thrusting his sword as he charged at the enemy.

The two Demons in front, though on guard, were startled by the sudden emergence of the Human Knight, who also exuded a killing intent that even Fiends found chilling. In addition, his silent stance sparked an almost ludicrous fear in the hearts of the two Middle Rank fiends.

As Lancelot charged, he also took in his opponent. It was a massive demon creature standing over nine feet tall with a waist measurement to match its height, the most notable feature being a pair of large tusks protruding from its mouth, much like an elephant’s, covered in heavy metal armor. From the metal plating of the armor, many thin, long metal spikes protruded, but the tips of these spikes weren’t sharp but rounded, like the heads of nails.

There was no time for him to ponder the strange metal spikes’ purpose, as within moments he arrived in front of his foe, his hand half sword thrust forward like a long spear, aimed straight for one of the Demon’s face.