LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 199: Bird
"May victory and glory be hers," Lancelot replied cautiously, before explaining, "We're on a commission that requires us to go to various lower-level maps, and now it seems we have no choice but to find the Eye of Sarezdon."
"Indeed, I'm glad we can share the same interests," Satugura said with an uncomfortable smile on his fox-like face, and he grabbed three magic wands from the table, "Here, take them. I believe in the abilities of the Twin Bridges Town mercenaries; you'll certainly bring me a pleasant surprise."
There's a saying in the bamboo slips about spiritual cultivation—the gratuitous offer of help is from none other than a plotter or a thief—which couldn't be more apt to describe how Lancelot felt right now. His spirit perception didn't notice anything amiss for the moment, so he cautiously took the magic wand. However, he still kept an eye out and decided to let the Scholar study them later for any possible trickery.
"Good luck to you."
Lancelot nodded his head and then, with everyone joining hands, they all stepped into the portal together.
This portal was clearly special; passing through it felt just like walking through an ordinary door, without the brief dizziness that usually accompanied teleportation.
Lancelot looked around and found himself standing in a spacious hall, akin in structure to the Hall of Conflict they'd been in before; the portal they had come through was in the same location and was now gradually fading away behind them.
The noise of their arrival had alerted the local guards, and two demons quickly flew over from a corner. Lancelot looked up to see muscular demons with humanoid forms, filthy and rotting wings sprouting from their backs, pallid skin like that of a corpse, arms ending in eagle-like claws, and a bald round head with not a single hair, but an extra red eye in the forehead.
These were Strapping Demons, said to be directly born from the bloodline of a Demon Monarch through a bloody ritual. Compared to ordinary demons, they had a certain level of obedience and were favored by many Demon Lords.
Of course, the only thing that could command their obedience was strength.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" one of the demons asked roughly and with hostility, though he did not attack immediately, obviously due to the way the group had appeared.
"We are a group of mercenaries. The Lord of Withering below has hired a bunch of folk just like us to help them find a black bead in the Great Abyss," Bruto said nonchalantly, "You wouldn't happen to know where that thing is, would you?"
"Satugura sent you to find the Eye of Sarezdon?" The demons looked at them with suspicion but stepped aside, "Get out through that door; without the protection of this tower, the Great Abyss will swallow you whole, and we'll enjoy watching that happen."
"Hey, how long have you been stuck in this godforsaken place? Can't you at least try to be a bit hospitable?" Bruto swaggered towards the exit the demons had pointed out.
As soon as he stepped out of the great door, a terrifying scream suddenly pierced the sky, and a Flomo that appeared from nowhere plunged down from high above, swiping its sharp claws at Bruto.
The Dwarf was slightly stunned by the scream and, by the time he reacted, the claws were almost scratching his face. Luckily, he raised his Shield almost instinctively, blocking the vicious strike, but the immense force of the impact sent the Dwarf tumbling backward, falling awkwardly back into the interior of Skeleton Tower.
The Flomo immediately rushed in. Lancelot was about to draw his sword to support the Dwarf, but two burly demons following the Dwarf to the exit moved faster. The moment the Flomo entered, they pounced fiercely, one on each side, pinning the intruder to the ground, and then, with their terrifying strength, they ripped the Flomo's wings right off.
The wingless demon also lost its only hope of escape. The burly demons swung their massive claws, tearing the luckless creature, maddened by bloodlust, into shreds.
"Who said there are no birds shitting here? There are lots of birds here," taunted the first burly demon who had spoken with the group, biting off a large chunk of flesh from the Flomo's thigh. "You did quite a job there, how about another go? We can split a couple of claws or half an arm with you."
"I was just ambushed!" the Dwarf argued, his face red.
"What's wrong with that? We ambushed it too," said another burly demon, its claws rummaging through the prey's belly, throwing dripping entrails into its mouth. "We can't leave this tower, at least not from here. You brought a little fun to our boring time, so we bless you, wishing your death in the Great Abyss to be swift and painless."
"Uh, should I say thank you?" Bruto was somewhat confused by these words that sounded like both a curse and a blessing. At that moment, Lancelot came over, patted the Dwarf on the shoulder, and said to the two burly demons indulging in their feast:
"Thank you for your assistance. If we want to get back to Mogrondale, how do we open that Portal?"
"We can help you open that Portal, and the price is 1000 Gold Coins, or any equivalent item," said one burly demon, wiping the blood from the corner of its mouth, showing Lancelot a nauseating smile. "But what use is money to us? If you can provide us with some entertainment, like luring a few Flomos or Kas demons here, opening that Portal for free would be fine."
"I understand," Lancelot nodded and then led the group to get their equipment in order, passing through the exit of Kai-Oine and stepping into the unique blood-red mist of the Great Abyss.
This time, without unexpected attackers, the party stood safely on a narrow mountain path, surrounded by an exceptionally perilous environment: on one side a nearly vertical cliff face, on the other an abyss whose bottom was out of sight. On the opposite side was another nearly vertical cliff, in places only tens of feet away from where the group stood and at others, thousands of feet wide.
The cliffs were dotted with horizontal paths, and some ancient arch bridges connected the sides, but there were no natural pathways in the vertical direction. For travelers without the power of flight, changing elevation required finding an area less steep to climb while also being vigilant for attacks from the indigenous residents.
The cliff was less than five feet away, and exploring this area, the greatest danger was the potential to slip and fall. With some luck, one might end up with a relatively nasty fall, but with bad luck, one might not even find the body. Of course, another concern was something falling from above, like another unfortunate soul who had slipped and plummeted.