The Paladin in the Abyss-Chapter 781 - 793 Chapter Intelligence Analysis

After the dinner party had ended, everyone returned to the rooms they had rented. Bruto immediately wanted to discuss the intelligence they had just acquired, but Lancelot, always cautious, had Kalalin check the room once more—this time, the scholar made a discovery under a pillow on one of the beds: a comb that looked perfectly ordinary. Yet, under the effect of Detect Magic, the surface of the comb flickered with a pale green Spiritual Light, indicating that it was imbued with a Divination spell.

Kalalin took out a small lead-lined box from his magic backpack and tossed the comb inside, while Lancelot produced a strange talisman, moistened it with water, and affixed it to the outside of the lead box.

It was the simplest of Spirit Sealing Talismans from the Talismans Technique. Its original function was to isolate the flow of Spiritual Power and prevent Divine Sense from detecting it. However, after testing, Lancelot and Kalalin confirmed that this talisman could also block the effect of magic—not rendering the spell entirely ineffective like an Anti-Magic Stone would, but merely preventing the sealed object from becoming the target of any spell; an ideal solution for the current situation.

Only after confirming that nothing else had been overlooked did Lancelot finally relax into a chair, then turned to his companions and asked, freёweɓnovel.com

"What do you all think about what that baroness said?"

"Uh... I thought she was quite nice earlier, very enthusiastic towards us, and the meal was great too. It’s just that her bare chin was a bit unsettling as it wobbled," Bruto said, hugging his arms tightly across his chest. "But according to you, it seems there is something off about this baroness?"

"Of course, there’s a problem." Kalalin shook his head. "The hag, then? That baroness didn’t mention a single thing about the hag from beginning to end. With the intelligence-gathering capabilities she displayed, I don’t believe she’s unaware of the existence of the hag."

"Are you saying that she was actually acting with us today?" Bruto’s eyes widened with surprise. "I saw brother chatting quite happily with her..."

"Although it was a performance, it wasn’t devoid of useful information," Lancelot said with a smile, shrugging his shoulders. "The dinner was quite delicious, wasn’t it?"

"True," Bruto sighed. "The meat was tasty, the wine excellent; I might just forgive her chin... so what’s the useful information?"

"Alamir, what do you think?" Lancelot didn’t respond directly but instead turned to look at the elf. "You must have seen through it all, right?"

"Certainly, I am a priest, after all, discerning lies is my duty... especially from beautiful women," the elf chuckled. "From my observations, she only deliberately lied about one thing. I don’t know what she hopes to gain, but it’s definitely not her own freedom."

"Wait, is that all?" Bruto scratched his head in confusion. "Then why do you say..."

"A woman like Giselle Endyarui, who is not only smart and cunning but also exceptionally beautiful, knows very well how to gain the trust of others—sincerity. So indeed, everything she said was true, but the key lies in what she didn’t say; things like the hag, like what has been happening since the first time the Lich was defeated, like how she came to know about the ancient temple, and what lies there waiting for us..."

"...Women are truly terrifying."

"Hey?" The half-elf raised his voice in protest, "Isn’t this all pretty basic?"

"Alas, my brain will never understand all this crap..." Bruto muttered with his arms crossed, "So, what do we do next? Are we still going to that damned temple or what?"

"We still need to go..." Lancelot mused, "Don’t forget Tanya’s prophecy, ’The knowledge that will aid us against our foe lies in a place of abandoned prayer.’ I have a strong hunch that the location mentioned in the prophecy must be the ancient temple spoken of by the baroness. However, before heading there, I’d prefer to find the tavern with the many wolf heads first, rather than blindly stepping into unknown peril."

"Speaking of which, didn’t I also mention a powerful ally?" The half-elf spoke up again, "’A woman of legend, yet her mind has gone mad...’ Doesn’t it sound like the baroness could fit that description? I’d swear on the Raven Queen’s name that the baroness is not young, and who knows, she may have been standing by watching the last time the Lich King was defeated."

"I agree with your judgment regarding her age." Lancelot smiled and nodded, "But ’her mind has gone mad’ might not be accurate. The baroness may indeed be a legend, but I don’t believe she’s a lunatic, at least I saw no mad struggle... except for that sharp laughter when it came to talking about her repayment."

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As night fell, most of his companions had fallen asleep, while Lancelot sat meditating on the bed, slowing his breath and gradually entering a state of meditation. But just before starting his daily practice, he felt a sudden urge and switched to the state of Spiritual Sight.

After advancing to the high rank of the Foundation Establishment Stage, while the scenery of Spiritual Sight was still made up of countless silver threads, the details were now richer than before. If he was patient enough, he could even count how many whiskers Bruto had—though of course, he wasn’t that bored. Lancelot focused his attention, allowing his Divine Sense to extend bit by bit, searching for the innkeeper’s room. After a little effort, he finally found the target underground.

Giselle Endyarui emerged from a room with a massive bath, wrapped in a soft bathrobe. Incidentally, Lancelot was certain that the gentleman butler never mentioned such a facility in the inn.

The baroness walked into a luxuriously decorated bedroom and stood in front of a large full-length mirror, then removed her robe. Lancelot instinctively wanted to look away, but doing so was pointless in the state of Spiritual Sight, and the situation immediately captured his attention.

The upper half of the baroness’s body was as beautiful as any young girl’s, but the skin from the abdomen down was in a severe state of decay, covered in swollen pustules, open wounds, and holes resembling ant nests. Thankfully, the state of Spiritual Sight only allowed him to see contours made of silver threads, or the shock of such a sight might have made Lancelot vomit on the spot.

The baroness clearly wasn’t satisfied with her appearance, but her next move was even more bizarre—she retrieved a strange bone from a secret compartment behind the mirror that looked like a femur and began sucking on it vigorously, an expression on her face that made Lancelot doubt whether he had misunderstood something. More bizarrely, after smearing it with saliva thoroughly, the baroness inserted the bone into her hive-like lower body and masturbated with very violent motions.

And with her movements, the terrible decay began to heal gradually. When her waist arched high and she collapsed trembling onto the bed, the rot had completely disappeared, making the baroness look like an ordinary woman again.