The Paladin in the Abyss-Chapter 791 - 802 Ferryman of Cranvo

Most torture devices were not designed to kill a person, so when one is reduced to nothing but a skeleton, escaping the bindings of the torture devices became much less difficult.

The skeletons hopped down from their respective devices, looking akin to a group of elders rising from their rocking chairs. A sinister black mist enveloped the bones of the skeletons, rendering their presence quite dangerous, but of course, it couldn’t scare Lancelot and his battle-hardened companions. Striding with confidence, the Human Knight drew his sword and entered into the midst of his enemies. A skeleton wielding a Bone Saw swung at him, but was easily blocked—the force was not bad, somewhat close to Bruto’s level, but still far from enough to deal with Lancelot.

Without retracting his weapon, the Human Knight kicked out, his Mithril-forged War Boots striking like an Ogre’s massive club, shattering the skeleton’s frame with a single blow. At the same time, Lancelot released one hand from his sword and beckoned lightly in mid-air, causing the skull of the skeleton to fly over to him, which he casually hung on a hook dangling at his side.

A whooshing sound came from behind, but Lancelot paid it no heed and directly slashed at another foe. A thud followed, along with the sound of something fragile hitting the ground—it was Bruto’s Shield Charge, one of his signature Combat Techniques. After felling his enemy, the young Dwarf pounced like a ravenous tiger, his Shield blocking the arm that could still swing, while his Warhammer fell like a Blacksmith at work, shattering bone with every strike until his opponent lay motionless.

"Mo! La! Din!"

The characteristic battle cry of the Dwarves rang out, but it didn’t come from Bruto, who was seeking his next target. The old Dwarf Barrend was holding his heavy Tower Shield, fending off a skeleton wielding a twin-bladed Battle Axe. This skeleton was taller than Lancelot, possibly a mighty Bear Goblin in life, wearing decayed chain mail and draped with a long-faded red cape over its shoulders.

The twin-bladed Battle Axe made a loud clashing noise against the shield, but the old Dwarf stood firm like a rock on the shore, enduring the supernatural strength pouring into him from his adversary. But when the frequency of the attacks slowed slightly, Barrend swung his shield out like a door, pushing the weapon to the outer side of his body, and his Hand Axe flashed out with lightning speed, executing a perfect Crescent Slash at the knee of his foe, severing thigh from shin bones completely.

After striking successfully, Barrend didn’t overreach, swiftly retracting his weapon and readjusting to a defensive stance—this also perfectly blocked an unexpected slash from the skeleton as it stumbled and fell. The old Dwarf stood with his shield raised, patiently waiting for the body of his opponent to fully collapse to the ground before swinging his axe again, this time severing the enemy’s skull from its spine.

"See that, lad?" Barrend shouted loudly, "That’s how a Dwarf fights!"

Bruto couldn’t answer because he was using his own head—of course, wearing a Helmet—as a hammer to ram into the chest of his foe. The effect was immediate; his helmet had been specially modified to prevent any slipping while headbutting, ensuring the force was completely transferred to his adversary.

"Hahahahaha! Try this on for size!"

Bruto roared as he leaped out, knocking a skeleton holding up a sword to cleave him to the ground, and then, as if playfully, rolled around on the ground with his opponent, using his sharp-edged armor and his own weight to inflict damage. When he could no longer roll, he directly inserted his hand into the skeleton’s body, forcibly broke off two ribs, and used his new weapon to repeatedly beat his foe, completely ignoring the skeleton’s flailing arms.

The young Dwarf had already entered a frenzied state, not stopping until all enemies in sight were eradicated.

Barrend watched all this with his mouth agape, but the other companions had long been accustomed to Bruto’s wild style of combat, and they made sure that such a state was not prematurely interrupted. Lancelot swung Frostslash like a metal storm in front of Bruto, two azure Sword Shadows dancing with his movements, exponentially magnifying the damage inflicted; the Elf Priest clad in plate armor guarded the other side, Alamir always fought with extra zeal against undead creatures, his attacks imbued with divine power, especially effective against such beings. At the same time, he also kept a close eye on Bruto and the other companions, ready to use the Healing Divine Art to reverse any unfavorable situation at any moment.

Tanya played the role of a skirmisher, trailing behind the main battle group, ensuring that those that slipped through or did not die completely were made thoroughly dead—confirming this was sometimes not so simple, especially when your opponents were already deceased. Kalalin cast his self-developed Stone Fist Technique again (based on Mage Hand), controlling a magical fist wreaking havoc in every direction, effective albeit begrudgingly so.

The last companion, a Vampire girl who was also a Wanderer, seemed to have vanished; even Lancelot would fail to notice the presence of his own sister if he didn’t deliberately pay attention. However, every time she appeared, it was to deliver a lethal blow, softly whispering,

"Rest in peace, tormented ones."

All the undead slain by her sword let out oddly loud howls, and through a strange intuition, Lancelot believed those sounds contained a mix of ecstatic emotion.

Moments later, there were no standing enemies left in the interrogation room, and from the ceiling hung a plethora of heads impaled by Lancelot on hooks. Some of the heads weren’t quite dead yet, emitting terrifying screams, writhing in an attempt to bite, but all it took was a gentle tap on their foreheads with the back of Isa’s sword for them to immediately quiet down, becoming like truly inanimate objects, while whispers of gratitude could faintly be heard by everyone.

"The dead should not suffer in such a way," Isa explained softly, "Even those burdened with astonishing sins deserve a just trial."

"Then how would Cranvo judge those sinners despised by the gods?" Bruto asked with some curiosity, "Would He also inflict torture?"

"No." Isa shook her head firmly, "The Lord of the Dead judges the sinners based on their actions and sends them to a specific plane, where souls similar to the sinners themselves reside. To different people, it can be heaven or hell, and definitely the place most fitting for them to stay."