The Paladin in the Abyss-Chapter 412 - 426: Wall of Thorns

Chapter 412: Chapter 426: Wall of Thorns

But the others on the city wall had no time to worry about enemies that would arrive later, for they were already occupied with the Demons at hand.

Above them, not far from the gap they had just leaped from, cold arrows whizzed out intermittently, felling the unsuspecting Demons one by one. Those were attacks from Acheron, who had not jumped down with the rest but had stayed behind to use his longbow to provide support for his comrades.

As one of the commanders of the Protector’s military force, Pascaler’s defensive troops were not under Acheron’s command, so the Elven General did not interfere with the fortress’s command and fought the Demons like an ordinary warrior—also the activity the Elf Prince loved the most.

He fought cleverly, ducking back into the shadows immediately after releasing each arrow, while the Demons embroiled in the melee below never noticed his sneaky attacks. This strategy achieved excellent results, and Acheron’s kill count was quickly catching up to Lancelot’s, while the Demons, even if they noticed the occasional flash of an arrow, assumed they were stray shots from the towers above.

Lancelot swung his sword yet again, knocking the battle axe from a Berserk Demon’s hands to the ground, closely followed by the Human Knight delivering a kick, his sturdy steel boots heavily striking the enemy’s belly. The toad-shaped Demon staggered backward, then stiffened and slowly collapsed to the ground, a feathered arrow quivering in its back.

This Berserk Demon, finished off by Acheron, had a Brezu Demon behind it, involved in fierce combat with Talasher. It wielded a pike that moved unpredictably like the flicking tongue of a viper.

...

As the Elf and his Brezu Demon adversary were facing off, the old Knight Emanu watched his back. As a Holy Warrior devoted to the god of knights, Hajonnis, Emanu was foremost a warrior of exquisite skill, using combat techniques like pushing, tripping, and disarming with divine finesse, allowing Talasher to always focus on the enemy before him.

From their reaction upon meeting earlier, Lancelot sensed that Emanu felt some guilt towards the Elves, and now it was even more evident—the Human Holy Warrior in his late seventies was shielding the Elf recklessly, casting various support spells on him whenever possible, which made Lancelot wonder if the two had some kind of ‘special’ relationship in the past.

Due to exhaustion, the Elven Ranger was struggling to maintain the elegance he had at the start, and while his several attempts to attack did not bear fruit, he also did not let his opponent gain any advantage.

Lancelot appeared to take down a Brezu Demon with just a couple of moves, but that was because his skill, strength, and reaction speed were all markedly superior to the opponent. In reality, Brezu Demons were among the few in the Demon ranks who possessed exquisite martial prowess, coupled with the strength and constitution of their Middle Rank Fiend status, only the most experienced veterans among humans could contend with them.

It is said that the first Brezu Demon in the Abyss was created by the hands of Baphoment, the Beast Roar Lord who wanted to establish a military force capable of opposing the god of gnolls, Yenogu. His attempt seemed successful at first, as this new breed of Demon displayed promising strength, but Baphoment soon realized their nature was too savage and combative, lacking the ‘obedience’ (or, to put it another way, the gullibility) of the Berserk Demons. Quelling their rebellion consumed more of his power and energy than dealing with Yenogu, making it somewhat counterproductive.

In the end, the Beast Roar Lord disbanded the entire organized army of Brezu Demons under his command, retaining only a small elite force, while the majority of Brezu Demons were banished to other planes. With their superior combat skills, these goat-headed, humanoid Demons quickly prospered in the Abyss and could be found in the ranks of any belligerent Demon Lord’s army.

Seeing that the duel between the Elves and the Demons was still some time away from a decisive outcome, Lancelot issued a command to Clone Well through their mind connection. The latter immediately landed on the ground without a sound, rolling toward the direction of the goat-headed Demon like an ordinary skull.

This content is taken from freёnovelkiss.com.

In the midst of the intense battle, the Demons were focused on their opponents before them and naturally failed to notice an extra, ill-intentioned skull behind them. After another clash between its pike and the dual swords of the Elf, the goat-headed Demon attempted to adjust its footing and accidentally stepped on a spherical object that wasn’t there before.

The Demon stumbled, revealing a significant opening in its defense, and its opponent was not going to miss such an opportunity. The Elven Ranger stepped forward swiftly, thrusting both longswords simultaneously and plunging them into the emaciated chest of the Brezu Demon.

The Demon shook its head in disbelief, seemingly unable to comprehend why death had come so abruptly. It bowed its head, wanting to see what it had stepped on, but saw nothing.

Talasher nodded to Lancelot and turned to face another enemy.

As a knight, Lancelot was not supposed to interfere in a one-on-one duel, but perhaps it was the influence of the Abyss or the experiences of the elders in his Spiritual Cultivation, he no longer held much zeal for such ‘honor’. At least when his enemy was Demons, the so-called knightly spirit was utterly meaningless.

It was then that he sensed a very strong magical disturbance with his Spirit Perception. Lancelot turned his head toward the outside of the city, seeing the ground piled with Demon corpses suddenly light up with a vast expanse of green glow. From within the soil emerged countless thick vines.

Unlike the vines he could create with True Yuan, these vines, born of magic, were covered with lance-like thorns, and the span was extensive, encircling the entire fortress and forming a horrifying Wall of Thorns.

The Spellcaster who summoned these thorns had timed it perfectly, appearing just in front of the charging Demon fodder. The Coward Devils, heads down and sprinting wildly, could hardly react; those who wished to stop were pushed by their comrades behind them to continue forward, resulting in large groups of Demons slamming directly into the spiky plant barrier.

The high-pitched screams that arose in unison caused both sides of the battle to pause as everyone turned to look outside the city. They saw that the Wall of Thorns was now adorned with Low Rank Demons, most of whom were not yet dead. They cried out loudly while struggling violently, but this only worsened their injuries.

In the rear of the fodder army, the Demon taskmasters were unaware of what exactly had happened up front, still driving the Low Rank Demons to continue their charge. These pitiful cannon fodders shoved each other, one after another, impaling themselves on that Wall of Death.

“By Moradin’s beard,” Bruto’s voice of astonishment reached Lancelot’s ears, “Big brother, did you create this as well?”