The Paladin in the Abyss

In fact, although Mekanshut held the title of Queen of the Succubus, the succubi were more like her subjects, or as the Queen herself would say, "children." The true enforcers of her brutal rule over Shendiravir were her band of professional, ruthless, and highly efficient enforcers, the succubi.

The thirteen succubi at the top tier were known as the "Glorious Sisters," publicly acknowledged as the Queen's royal choir but in reality were the most cold-hearted special agents and assassins under her command. After all, many tasks were unsuitable for the "playful" succubi, while the succubi required much more patience when orchestrating various cunning schemes.

In their true form, the succubi no longer possessed the astonishing beauty typical of succubi. They still had bodies similar to human females and appeared reasonably attractive at first glance, but a closer look would reveal abnormalities.

Their faces resembled those of streetwalkers who had been in the business for over fifty years. What was once graceful wings were now no more than charred remains, replaced by several thick, slippery, nauseating tentacles protruding from their backs, with scorpion-like stingers at the ends.

Unlike most succubi, the succubi were very competent warriors, and if forced into close combat, their claws and spikes were as sharp as swords.

But their greatest pleasure still came from using their Quasi-Divine Art abilities to disguise themselves as divine office members, infiltrate a true god's church, patiently accumulate reverence and power, and covertly convert real priests into devotees of some Demon Lord, a process that brought them immense fun.

This disguise could deceive most detection and protective magics, but could not evade direct scrutiny by Divine Sense. As Lance swept his Divine Sense over the elf's body, Alamir's true condition clearly emerged in his mind, confirming that he indeed was an elf, with the only exception being an extraordinary talent in some aspect.

Lancelot turned and nodded at Kalalin and Bruto, and the three of them simultaneously removed their Transforming Rings.

"Wow," Alamir uttered, not particularly surprised.

"My name is Lancelot, and I'm a knight. This is Scholar Kalalin and Dwarf Warrior Bruto, son of Barrend," Lancelot introduced, "We can help you get out, but you'll have to assist us in retrieving something we desire."

"What are you looking for?" The elf priest looked at Lancelot with skepticism, his gaze shifting to Bruto, "Let me guess, it wouldn't be that Dwarf Cross Pickaxe, would it?"

"Where is that pickaxe?" Bruto asked impatiently, leading to a helpless exchange of glances between Lancelot and Kalalin.

"Right beneath our feet, in the slaves' resting chamber," sighed Alamir, "I'm probably the person who's touched that pickaxe the most, I knew from early on it was no ordinary item."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Lancelot placed his hand on the collar around Alamir's neck, preparing to unleash the Sword Aura of the Qingyun Sword Art to free the elf priest from his shackles.

"Don't move, I'll help you take this collar off."

"Not yet," unexpectedly, Alamir turned his head slightly away, declining Lancelot's offer, "First, tell me your original plan. Perhaps keeping this symbol of shame would be more helpful to your scheme."

"Makes sense," Lancelot nodded, "Our original plan was to confirm the pickaxe's location from a senior slave and then utilize the Succubus' illusion technique to obtain the item. Our companions outside would then create some chaos, allowing us to take our leave amidst the confusion."

"So the next step is to fetch that pickaxe." Alamir nodded, "Across from this suite in the corridor is a secret door. Opening it reveals a stairway leading down to the slaves' resting room, where the pickaxe you seek is kept. I can pretend to show you that item, but there are always at least four toad-like demons guarding it. How do you plan to walk away with the pickaxe?"

"Ha! Berserk Demons!" Bruto drew his new hammer, "I am an expert at dealing with these stinky brutes!"

"Fighting there is a very bad idea," Alamir's words coincided with Lancelot's thoughts, "The area below is filled with traps and secret doors. The slightest delay, and you will be surrounded by enemy reinforcements, making escape impossible."

"What state is the Cross Pickaxe in?" Kalalin asked, "I mean, is it locked up or tied down?"

"No, it's placed in a transparent box made of crystal, right on the pedestal in the center of the rest area. Any slave can pick it up when needed to continue serving the insatiable succubi, but taking it away would be quite tricky as several eyes would immediately notice something missing from the box."

"This might not be so complicated," Kalalin thought aloud, "I can create an illusion, a simple trick, but it's hard to detect anything amiss through a layer of transparent crystal. The illusion can last for 1 minute, which should be enough for us to slip out."

"We can signal Phil to act at that moment," proposed Kalalin, "That should briefly distract the guards."

"Then I'll just stash the Cross Pickaxe in this Dimensional Bag," Lancelot slapped the small pouch on his belt.

"Great," Bruto clapped his hands, "this plan sounds solid!"

Lancelot nodded, pondering if there were any slips in the plan.

The worst case would be that they had to fight their way out, but from the auras he had sensed along the way, if he really wanted to leave, he doubted anyone here could stop him.

However, going out would surely mean facing swarms of guards, and if it did come to that, he could only hope Reap hadn't exaggerated about the destructive powers of the goblins.

"Let's wait for now," said Lancelot, "It might not be reasonable if the time is too short."

"Indeed, you are my first guests today," the Elf Priest said with a wry face, "Normally, I wouldn't need the Cross Pickaxe's help until the third guest arrived. But today, there are three of you, so maybe waiting an hour will be sufficient." Continue your adventure at empire

"Ha, Elves' stamina doesn't seem very good," Bruto said with a mischievous grin, "The third one already needs the help of a magical item?"

"The doctrine of the Goddess requires I perform an act of love every day, and try to awaken love in someone's heart with each new day. At least once a day, I must respond to love," Alamir explained with some embarrassment, "I always do my best to fulfill those succubi's desires. It's not easy, as it always takes a full three hours to barely satisfy a customer."

It was then that Bruto realized Alamir was catering to succubi. It was astonishing that he, with his mortal body, could satisfy a succubus and, after dealing with one, could continue to satisfy a second, fighting for six consecutive hours.

"Uh, sorry, I almost forgot where we are," Bruto scratched his head, the Dwarves always quick to acknowledge their mistakes, "So, do you have any tips? Don't get me wrong, I'm just asking for a friend."