The Paladin in the Abyss
Chapter 808 - 819: Change of Plan

An hour later, everyone left the secret temple, bringing with them the secrets of the past, the blessing of the Lord of the Dead, and a genuine zombie princess.

"That was the strangest nap I’ve ever taken in my life. One moment I just closed my eyes, and the next I woke up without any process of falling asleep or waking up..." Bruto muttered as he walked out, hands on his head, "So, where are we going next? Back to Raventown first, or straight to Chadegory to find that baroness?"

"Let’s head back to Raventown first." Lancelot walked towards the distant light, "To complete our mission, Soveris and his bird-transforming friends will be very helpful..."

"My mother’s demands before she left…" The new member of the team, the zombie Fran Derrick, suddenly spoke with a ghostly voice, "You didn’t take them seriously, did you?"

"Why not?" Lancelot shrugged, "Since the Lord of the Dead agreed, we obviously have no objections."

"But my mother’s wishes are just wishful thinking. The murderer had over a hundred years to repent, but didn’t…"

"I can’t refuse such a sincere request from a mother, and it’s not troublesome, just asking a question." Lancelot turned to look at the zombie princess, "Every soul should be given a chance to atone for their sins before facing the ultimate judgment... That’s Cranvo, the current Lord of the Dead’s view. I personally don’t quite agree, but I believe He will make a fair judgment."

The exit was finally reached. The overcast sky cast a dim light, but the zombie princess still let out a painful scream, covering her eyes in agony. Not long ago, she had even pulled off her own head without such a reaction. A look of sympathy was directed towards Fran; it was clear that this gaunt zombie had once been a great beauty, but had suffered betrayal by her own family and was imprisoned in a dark stone coffin for over a century in her prime years.

As the female zombie finally adjusted to the surrounding light, several unfamiliar figures appeared before her, staring at her in surprise.

"Sir Lancelot, Soveris asked us to wait for you here." One of the male Elves clad in a green cloak spoke, "We also brought feathers imbued with the power of the holy icon, allowing you to transform again. But as I recall, there were originally five of you when you set out..."

"Let me introduce her. This is Miss Elizabeth. She was injured before, so she has been resting in my magic pocket. As for this one, she is..."

"Fran." The zombie woman’s pale face showed a somewhat terrifying smile, "Just call me Fran."

"Miss Fran was one of Peyton Derrick’s earliest victims centuries ago. The pain and suffering she endured made her one of the key sacrifices in Peyton’s transformation into a Lich." Lancelot glanced unemotionally at the zombie princess, "She will be of invaluable help in defeating the Lord of the Demon’s Domain."

"Alright, I’m sure Soveris will want to talk to you as well." The green cloak Elf’s face showed difficulty, "But there’s a problem right now. We can only transform five of you into birds..."

"It’s alright, I can transform myself." Little Elizabeth immediately spoke, "As for Miss Fran, she can fit in my..."

"Are we traveling as birds? That I can do too." The female zombie turned to look at the scholar, "Isn’t it just a Transmutation Spell… I only need… need…"

"Are you a wizard?" Kalalin asked in surprise, "Can’t remember the spell?"

"Ah, of course. In fact, I was more magically gifted than Peyton back then…" The zombie woman glanced sidelong at Kalalin, "Do you have a spellbook by any chance? Is there a Transmutation Spell in it?"

"I… didn’t prepare that sort of thing for myself." Kalalin shrugged, taking out a scroll from his backpack, "This is a Transmutation Scroll. I use these to cast spells… see if you can use it?"

"Of course." The zombie woman took the scroll and quickly scanned it from head to tail, then returned it to Kalalin, "So, what did you plan to transform into originally?"

"Ravens."

"Ah, I thought I’d hear something a bit more challenging."

Once a princess, she smiled confidently, quickly uttered a spell, made two simple but enigmatic gestures with her hands. In the next second, a silver mist enveloped her, and before it dissipated, the hoarse and rough cry of a raven echoed from where she stood.

The only problem was that the black bird had feathers sticking up all over and horrifying wounds on its body, clearly showing it had been dead for a long time.

"You like that…" Lancelot looked doubtfully at the zombie princess turned raven, "…can you still fly?"

The zombie raven uttered an unpleasant cry, ran a couple of steps, then flapped its wings and ascended to the sky, circling overhead as its response.

"Problem solved." Lancelot turned his head, "Please take us back to Raventown. Soveris should be quite happy to see us again..."

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The human knight once again experienced the joy of flying. However, this time he didn’t manage to enter a state of enlightenment, but he wasn’t at all regretting it. A spiritual cultivator should always utilize diligent cultivation as the foundation of their progress, and should never harbor any illusion or mindset of taking shortcuts.

Due to the wind direction, their flying speed was considerably slower than when they came, and as they passed the area recently attacked by vultures, Lancelot noticed something unusual on the distant horizon: a large amount of black smoke was rising from a forest, and with the wind, the faint sounds of battle gradually reached their ears, as if a great battle was raging.

’What’s that place?’ Even in the shape of a raven, Lancelot managed to use a spell to communicate privately with the leading raven, ’What’s going on?’

The leading raven croaked loudly, and Lancelot regrettably realized he still couldn’t understand the raven language.

’Sorry, I don’t understand, but I only care about one thing, is that the forest where the witches are camped? If so, flip to your left...’

He received a positive response.

’Alright, ladies and gentlemen, we need to make some adjustments to our plan.’ The human knight’s voice reached each companion’s ears, ’That’s the witches’ camp over there, and if I’m not mistaken, the restored Lich King has launched a counterattack. Our sponsors and protectors entrusted us with one task: to find out what plans the witches are conducting in this Demon’s Domain, and now is the perfect opportunity…’