The Paladin in the Abyss-Chapter 782 - 793: Raven and the Wolf Pack

If the Baroness considered that femur some kind of healing tool, her satisfaction clearly went beyond a single treatment session. She exhausted herself on that bone until she nearly passed out on the bed; the scene resembled less a peculiar fetish and more a sacrificial rite from some dark cult ritual.

Lancelot could confirm that the femur held some special significance, perhaps even a holy relic of the noblewoman’s secretly worshipped deity. He considered stealing the bone to examine it but quickly laughed off the idea. The revulsion wasn’t the only reason; both the Scholar and the Priest had mentioned that objects related to the Evil God were extremely dangerous, with non-believers’ merely touching them likely inviting powerful curses—even someone of his Foundation Establishment Stage might accidentally fall victim.

For now, knowing of the bone’s existence was enough to dispel Lancelot’s last doubts about the Baroness.

The next day, after everyone had breakfast, they settled their bill and left. The Baroness was nowhere to be seen; only the butler, Coke, politely bid them farewell. Lancelot thanked him for his considerate service and asked him to convey his regards to the Baroness and to inform her that his group would proceed to explore the ancient temple at an appropriate time.

However, when they went to the stables to retrieve their mounts, an awkward situation arose: Lancelot’s mount was missing, and the Night’s Watch swore he had locked the paddock the night before. Lancelot didn’t pursue the matter, as from the evidence it seemed the great black stallion had escaped the stable on its own. Considering it was a beast from Scorched Flame Hell, expecting it to meekly stay in a small ten-foot square room was perhaps unwise.

Lancelot performed another summoning of his mount; amidst a red curtain of light, the massive Nightmare appeared again, a large wolf carcass still clutched in its jaws.

Lancelot also shelled out an extra five hundred Gold Coins to buy Barrend a sturdy dwarf horse as a replacement ride. Unlike Bruto, the old Dwarf knew how to handle a mount, although in a fight, he still preferred to stand on solid ground.

The streets of Chadegory Town were a bit more populated than when they arrived, but everyone still looked somber and hurried. Lancelot realized that the peculiar atmosphere from the day before was not the norm; the townspeople were likely aware of the impending conflict. Yesterday, every breathing being on the streets had been a spy, and his group had blithely walked straight into the storm’s eye, likely causing quite a few leaders of spy organizations to lose some hair.

Some looked at them warily, yet none interfered. Although except for those prisoners rescued by the ravens, no one knew what had transpired in the dungeon, many were convinced that the Nightmare Knight and his companions had been crucial to the ravens’ victory. Thus, as long as Lancelot and his companions quietly stayed on the road, no one would bother them.

Soon, they left the town smoothly and entered the mist-enshrouded wilderness again. The group headed towards Raventown to the east, and the road quickly changed from gravel to muddy paths, with the surrounding scenery shifting from overgrown fields to a threatening forest. Tall, ancient iron fir trees with gnarled roots embedded in the earth like claws grew here. Their interlocking branches resembled a gang of thugs huddling together, while the whispering winds through the leaves plotted how to punish those foolish enough to trespass on their territory.

The ancient trees soon dispatched their emissaries: a pack of wolves with glowing green eyes. These predators initially trailed from a distance but soon gathered in greater numbers, while ravens began to circle overhead, their harsh caws sounding like a warning or urging the chef to hurry up with their lunch.

"Lancelot, there seem to be quite a lot of wolves around..." Tanya, who was riding second in the line, said anxiously. "Those ravens are warning us that more wolves are approaching. I guess once there’s enough of them, the pack will launch an attack."

"Are the ravens really warning us?" Lancelot frowned slightly, "Can you ask those ravens to tell the wolves that we’re not easy targets?"

"...I can’t."

"Then if I start acting troublesome now, would it backfire and make the wolves even more aggressively retaliate?"

"These aren’t ordinary beasts, they actually have considerable intelligence. If you can truly put on a shocking display, I think they will back down," said Lancelot.

"Then I’ll just warm up a bit, everyone else take a rest," Lancelot tightened the reins and patted the neck of Nightmare, "You too."

Nightmare snorted disdainfully.

Lancelot dismounted and walked toward the wolf pack. The beasts instinctively backed away, but when the human knight got far enough from his companions, the wolves instantly attacked.

However, Lancelot’s figure flashed, and he disappeared from the spot in an instant. The wolves crashed into each other fiercely, teeth and claws inflicted severe damage on their own kind, and it took them a while to realize they were attacking each other.

A fearful whimper came from not far away, and the wolves turned back in shock to find their strongest member was already under the foot of the human knight. Its limbs were immobile as if pinned down by a fallen trunk, with only its throat barely able to emit pleading whimpers.

Lancelot drew Frostslash from behind, placed it against the captive’s nape, looked over the immobilized wolf pack, and uttered calmly:

"Scram."

A putrid gust struck from behind, Lancelot pointed his longsword backwards without looking, and the blade skewered through a wolf corpse. Lancelot shook his head, flicked his longsword lightly, then drove it forcefully into the captive below, the sword qi directly severed the entire wolf’s head.

To deal with beasts, one must use a method they can understand.

The human knight repeated the same action three times, and the wolf pack finally understood this was an enemy they could not possibly defeat, and in an instant, they fled with their tails between their legs.

"Done," Lancelot held up five wolf corpses single-handedly, hanging them on Nightmare’s saddle, "You like eating these, right?"

Nightmare snorted again; it preferred eating what it killed itself.

"Being picky, eh? I’d advise you to behave," Lancelot slapped heavily on Nightmare’s neck, "Don’t go running out tonight, who knows what you might encounter. If those witches catch you, they’ll surely blindfold you, strap you up, and make you grind like a mule every day!"