The Paladin in the Abyss

Chapter 107 High Altitude Bombing

A moment later.

Lancelot carefully flapped his wings and gradually rose in the air.

Kalalin's Invisibility Spell had taken effect on him, but if one looked closely, one would still notice a significant refraction of light as it passed through his body, as if his body had become a transparent fish tank.

However, if one didn't pay special attention, it was indeed difficult to notice the strange change in the light, and just as he had guessed, none of the Berserk Demons near the gate were paying attention to what was above their heads.

He was very sure of this, since demons without necks, if attempting to tilt their heads back over 60 degrees, would present a comically out-of-character temperament for their species, which would be very conspicuous from his vantage point.

Worried that moving too vigorously might disrupt the effect of the invisibility spell, Lancelot dared not fly too fast. However, the view from up high was very wide open, allowing him to see many things clearly.

Oasis Fort now resembled a burning doughnut, with the entire ring of walls set ablaze. This was a common trick used by Demons in battle against Demons—although the Tanari Demons had high resistance to flames, the Bartez Demons were completely immune to fire.

The siege was fiercely intense, and by his reckoning, only an hour had passed since the Demons launched the first boulder. Lancelot had experienced sieges before; the shortest one lasted nearly half a year, and from the posture of the Demons, seemed they planned to end this battle before sunrise.

Thanks to Molo's near-psychotic sixth sense, a tripled guard force kept the walls from falling at the first onslaught. Without the walls, the undisciplined Demons would have quickly fallen into a state of every demon for himself and then been systematically devoured by teams of Demon soldiers.

It looked like the Demons could hold out for a while longer, unless the Demons had some tricks up their sleeves.

And incongruously distant from this heated battle was the oasis in the eastern part of the town. This rare source of life in the Abyssal Plane remained indifferent to the slaughter unfolding next to it, with even the occasional fallen boulder seeming unable to stir the expected ripples.

He shifted his gaze downward, observing the target he was to disrupt shortly.

The slave pen looked like a large pit on the ground. It had a radius of about 1000 feet, and a depth of more than 500 feet. There was no light source at the bottom of the pit, and his unestablished eyes could not see clearly inside. Lancelot mobilized a bit of his True Qi to focus on his eyes, but he immediately regretted doing so.

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What met his eyes was a scene of shocking impact, billions of skeletons filled the bottom of the pit like the sand in an hourglass. Lancelot's enhanced vision allowed him to discern many details, such as nearly all the skulls lacking antlers, while some bodies not yet fully decomposed revealed how this horrifying pile of skeletons had formed.

Like the ironware produced by Twin Bridges Town, mortal slaves were a specialty of Oasis Fort. Demon Lords needed slaves for labor, while Demons coveted their souls.

Lancelot suddenly wished that the bomb Phil had given him had a bit more power, enough to send this accursed place and its wickedness sky-high.

But he was well aware that destroying Oasis Fort would not change anything; it was merely an insignificant reflection of the evil inherent in the lower planes. Destroying it would likely just lead to something even worse taking its place.

Moreover, according to Tijana, Oasis Fort was situated on a key trade route to Twin Bridges Town. The ability to transport goods via magic was limited and costly, and maintaining the flow on this trade route was crucial for supporting the large mortal population of Twin Bridges Town.

Thoughts flashed through his mind as Lancelot soared approximately 150 feet above the slave enclosure entrance. He had never reached this altitude before, and the succubus wings seemed ill-suited for flying this high. Now, he found each foot of ascent arduous, and the high winds made it challenging to maintain balance.

Looking down from this distance, the Berserk Demons had shrunk to the size of fingernails. He checked his position, confirming he was directly overhead the target, but without reference points, this was much more difficult than it seemed.

Fortunately, he didn't expect the device to cause much harm; the bomb was like a tiny spark thrown into a haystack, meant to ignite the Berserk Demons' fury. With just a whisper of a secretive incantation, he hoped to incite them to recklessly seek out the demons for a fierce battle.

Considering the wind's influence, Lancelot flew forward a few more feet. At that moment, a pattern of lights—long, short, and continuously repeating—flickered from a corner on the ground below. It was Phil signaling to him that it was time to drop the bomb.

Lancelot took a deep breath, reaching into the Dimensional Bag and felt for the smooth body of the bomb and the handle made for gripping. He then yanked the bomb out of the Dimensional Bag.

Space and matter around the opening of the bag were strangely distorted, returning any object passing through to its normal size. The bomb, weighing over two hundred pounds, made him plummet downward, far exceeding what his succubus wings were capable of carrying. Lancelot quickly let go, allowing the bomb to fall freely downwards.

Lancelot raised his hands, pleased to find himself still invisible. He flapped his wings to ascend, eager to witness the bomb's explosion. The goblins' over-the-top reactions piqued his curiosity.

Seconds later, the surface of the bomb began to emit a blaze, powered by a dwarven incendiary. Aside from being slightly small and too vertically aligned, it looked strikingly similar to the fireballs launched by demons using siege weapons.

Lancelot was satisfied with his accuracy; from his perspective, the bomb would land within twenty feet of the slave enclosure gate. This level of precision should suffice.

As the bomb's descent sped up, it emitted a sharp whistling noise. The big toads looked around uneasily, but for these neckless demons, spotting a threat coming directly from above was too difficult.

It was only when the bomb was less than fifty feet above their heads that some of the Berserk Demons noticed the incoming fireball. By then, its descent was too swift, and the toads on the ground had no time to dodge.

The fiercely burning bomb trailed a long tail of flames, allowing Phil, who was observing from a short distance, to clearly see its position. He needed to detonate it just before it hit the ground. If not, the triggering mechanism might get damaged by the impact. However, he could not do it too early; otherwise, the bomb would explode mid-air, greatly reducing its destructive power.