The Paladin in the Abyss-Chapter 302 - 306: Child of the Night

Chapter 302: Chapter 306: Child of the Night

The party advanced through the darkness cautiously, doing their utmost to avoid making too much noise. Many among them had the innate ability of night vision typical of their races, and those who didn’t could solve the problem by drinking a Night Vision Potion mixed by Koula.

Androlina was like a cage of a realm, surrounded by steep mountains, with open fields and gentle hills in the center. This meant that if they moved during the day, the Demon patrols could spot them from far away. Although Demons had night vision far superior to most mortal races, the night also restricted their field of vision, giving the party a chance to slip through the Demon Legion’s controlled area.

The darkness did not interfere with Lance’s Spirit Perception, but he did not get the chance to use his ability because Acheron demonstrated the powerful skills of a Ranger.

The Spirit Perception of a Spiritual Cultivator was real-time, and he could sense if there were any creatures with powerful auras nearby, but a Ranger could glean more information from tracks on the ground. A set of disordered footprints, a few broken twigs, and the Ranger could deduce the time, number, and species of the enemy’s last pass. Combined with the intelligence previously obtained from Hobinson, he could even predict when the next patrol team would appear.

Listening to Acheron’s analysis, Lance couldn’t help but feel secretly alarmed. He had always believed that the abilities of Spiritual Cultivators far exceeded those of various mortal professionals, but the Elven Ranger made him realize his folly. Destructive power did not equate to combat ability, something the Human Knight was very clear about, but the rapid increase in his strength over the last few months had subtly shifted his mentality.

Among all the failings of mortals, pride ranked first for a reason. Lance felt both relief and apprehension. Fortunately, he had recognized this in time, before anything regrettable had happened.

The group walked continuously for five hours in the night, covering roughly thirty miles. Despite dawn being a long way off and the group not nearly exhausted, they still stopped.

After all, this was territory controlled by Demons, and they needed to find a place to hide before the sun rose again. Such places were not scarce; compared to the south, the ground here was dotted with many dark caves, some of which were very deep and suitable for evading patrols sent out by the Demon Legion.

The only problem was that on the North Shore of the Hoffenstan River, almost all creatures were hiding from those patrols. Be it wild Demons, intelligent beasts, or deserters from the Demon Legion, they occupied these caves, turned them into their lairs, and were very unfriendly to any visitors.

So, the remaining energy had to be reserved for dealing with these ‘owners’ of the caves. The next question was, which cave should they choose to enter?

“Both the Holy Warrior and I have the ability to detect evil, but creatures hiding deep inside may be beyond our range,” Alamir whispered to the group. “Lance, can you sense which cave has enemies that might be easier to handle?”

“Rock and soil interfere with my abilities, and my range of perception isn’t much larger than yours,” Lance shook his head and admitted his inadequacy frankly, “Acheron, can you glean any useful information from the traces at the entrance of the caves?”

“I can tell what kind of creatures have entered a cave and how many there were during the last three times, but I can’t ascertain if there is a powerful beast residing inside permanently,” the Elf Prince, disguised as Zoel, shook his head, “If we encounter enemies too strong to handle halfway through our exploration, we’ll just have to retreat and choose another cave to enter.”

“Alright, I understand why we’re stopping this early now,” Bruto tightened his Helmet, which had a Berserk Demon figure with a sharp spike added on top— the Dwarf had not yet adjusted to its new center of gravity, “Are you planning to pick another or should we just start with the nearest cave entrance?”

“May I try?” Little Issa suddenly spoke, and all eyes promptly focused on her. The girl appeared very nervous, but still continued, “I can communicate with bats, perhaps they can provide some useful information…”

“Children of the Night.” Kalalin murmured softly, then explained to the others, “This is a talent of the Blood Race. Besides bats, they should also be able to communicate with other nocturnal creatures like rats and wolves. How did you awaken this ability?”

“When you all went to Oasis Fort.” Little Issa stuck out her tongue, “One night, I found a small mouse nibbling on my ‘coffin’. I wanted to chase it away, but I discovered I could understand their squeaks. When you guys were out adventuring, all I could do was chat with them. But I promise, I never let them into any rooms outside of the tomb…”

“Not bad, you’re even better than a cat, being able to command them…” Lancelot smiled, “But are you sure the bats here will listen to you?”

“It’s worth a try. Animals always know more, and they’re usually very friendly to those who can communicate with them.” The Elven Ranger seemed quite fond of the idea. “Let’s get started. I’ve never tried communicating with bats before. Their pitch is too high for me.”

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Hearing this, Little Issa no longer hesitated. She lifted her head and opened her mouth, but everyone except Lancelot heard nothing coming from her.

After Foundation Establishment, the physical body of a Spiritual Cultivator is no longer within the realm of mortals. He vaguely heard a very sharp sound and, focusing slightly more, the sound immediately became clear. Shortly afterward, everyone else also heard flapping wings, and dozens of bats flew in from different directions. They circled over the heads of the group but refused to land.

“I think we might need to step back a little,” the Elven Ranger suggested.

The group spread out to a distance of about a dozen yards, and the bats indeed began to land one by one, perching on Little Issa’s shoulders and arms.

Then, the little Vampire communicated with the bats in sounds beyond the range of human hearing. After a moment, the bats flew off one by one, with Little Issa waving goodbye to them.

“So, what did you learn from these little guys?” Bruto asked eagerly, “Any suitable recommendations?”

“The closest cave to us is inhabited by a group of Trolls, about twenty in number,” Little Issa began, “The cave is deep enough, and the Trolls have driven away other creatures.”

“Trolls are no good,” Acheron shook his head, “Fighting them would require fire, producing light that can be seen from afar, attracting unnecessary attention. And I would prefer not to rest in a place where Trolls have stayed; they are simply too smelly.”

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