Chapter 438: Chapter 363: The Reason to Return Chapter 438: Chapter 363: The Reason to Return “Bayer? No, it couldn’t possibly be him,” Tijana shook her head, “Ever since Zariel became the new Archduke Aphnas, even though the Lord of Nine Hells requested she keep her predecessor as a senior advisor, Zariel merely tasked Bayer with supervising mundane weapon manufacturing duties, completely excluding him from the command system.”

“As for the situation at the front… thanks to our production of cold iron weapons, the Volcano Fortress not only stemmed the previous tide of defeat but even recaptured many fortresses we’d previously lost. Kailon sent several envoys to ask me to increase supply, but I have yet to agree to his requests.”

Tijana waved her hand casually, creating an illusionary map on the table before them that displayed the area around Twin Bridges Town. The map showed red and purple forces — Lancelot could easily recognize the semblance of Twin Bridges Town, Oasis Fort, and Volcano Fortress under red control, so purple naturally represented the domain controlled by the demons.

“What does the neutrality of Twin Bridges Town mean to the demons?” Lancelot pondered as he looked at the map, “It seems that once the Volcano Fortress falls, we’ll be directly facing the full brunt of Barto’s forces from Nine Hells…”

“If the demon’s commander were still Bayer, perhaps he would be willing to acknowledge our neutral stance as long as the artisans of Twin Bridges Town tirelessly produce weapons for the demon army, and I satisfy his every personal demand,” Tijana scoffed and shook her head, tossing another purple berry into her mouth, “But now that the commander is Zariel, things are actually a lot simpler. This fallen Celestial’s vessel harbors only an insatiable hunger for war, and to her, we are no different from any other demonic force — merely objects to be crushed.”

“So, the safety of Twin Bridges Town hinges on the person defending Volcano Fortress, the ‘Destruction Flame’?” Lancelot tapped the map lightly, “You mentioned earlier that you have not agreed to their requests to increase arms supply, why is that?”

“Aren’t you of noble birth? You should be very familiar with these age-old political maneuvers,” Tijana looked at the Human Knight, her smile tinged with sarcasm, “I’d rather they remain evenly matched with the demons, depleting each other’s strength. What good is a powerful neighbor? After the demons are driven off, Visuvius will be the next to deal with us if his strength permits.”

“So that’s why the demons overall seem weaker, yet are able to counterattack as far as the Bottomless Abyss?” Lancelot frowned, “Because demons internally are always suspicious of each other, unable to unite?”

“The suspicions among the Tanari are not paranoid delusions but are based on very real considerations,” Tijana’s smile grew even more ironic, though Lancelot realized it was not directed at him, “Any demon simply needs to ask themselves one question, what would they do if their roles were reversed? If the answer is immediate betrayal, then they will naturally assume their opponent would make the same decision.”

“Which means that demons only unite when apart from destruction, cooperation is the only option,” Lancelot replied thoughtfully.

“And such alliances are extremely fragile, unable to endure any improvement in the situation,” Tijana shrugged, draining her cup of mead once more, “Stealing Sareth’s Shield Eye, sending four ice demons to assassinate me, what exactly is Bayer plotting…”

“Are you sure all these minor actions are Bayer’s doing?” Lancelot refilled Tijana’s cup as the Succubus Lord appeared very relaxed, which pleased him.

“My instincts tell me, yes,” Tijana nodded, “Zariel wouldn’t just send four ice demons, she would send an entire legion, and wouldn’t stop until Twin Bridges Town is flattened.”

“Is that so?” Lancelot rested his chin on his fist, unobtrusively admiring the stunning beauty of the succubus before him, “In Androlina, there’s also been evidence of demon activities…”

“Oh?” Tijana immediately became intrigued, “What exactly did you guys do there? I’ve heard some unbelievable rumors…”

“You can’t imagine the efforts we had to make to get the Protectors to accept a Succubus Paladin,” Lancelot drank down a large gulp of mead to soothe his throat, “The realm was split by a river called Hofenstan, with the forces of good controlling the south, while the portal we entered from the Great Abyss was on the north side, in a place called the Miasma Swamp…”

He described to the Succubus Lord the process of rescuing two Aira children, the fight with the Dark Weaver, acquiring the ability of Shadow Jump, how he escaped from a dozen enticing demons; the pleasant night spent with Eidolon’s Gift, the astonishing Grand Garden at Melanthan, and the injustice Elothysia suffered.

“Those so-called Protectors really don’t know what’s good for them!” Tijana said indignantly, “Isn’t the rescue of two children proof enough of the Succubus Paladin’s goodwill?”

“If someone deliberately misleads us in the middle, anything we do is useless.”

Lancelot continued recounting his and his companions’ journey to the Demon Capital. He mentioned Pascaler’s enthusiastic guards, the magical invisible bridge, the sea of roses in the cave within the Demon Palace, the tough battle with the succubus, and the unexpected discovery of the Divine Artifact, Starlight Strike.

“Please tell me you didn’t really give that thing back to Aira?” the succubus asked curiously, her beautiful face full of wonder, “That’s a Divine Artifact, after all!”

“I did give it back to Aira, but in the end, they gave the treasured sword back to me,” Lancelot said as he pulled out the nearly transparent one-handed sword from his Dimensional Bag, “This is it…”

“Wow, it’s really as beautiful as you said,” Tijana reached out to touch the sword but retracted her hand halfway, “This object contains a powerful force of goodness, I better just look at it… Why would the Airas give this to you? Isn’t this sword extraordinarily significant to them?”

“Because I helped them solve a problem that had troubled them for centuries…”

Lancelot continued his story, which took place in a town filled with twisted spires: the male Zoel Elf being hunted by the Matriarch, the nearly successful infiltration into the Demon Fortress, the mirror behind the safe door…

“I guess there must have been a traitor in Melanthan, which is why you were caught red-handed by the Mother of Demons,” Tijana said confidently, “How long had it been when I freed you from that state after you were captured?”

“You’re absolutely right. It wasn’t even half a day later when Cang Ye’s legions had already set off, heading straight for Pascaler…”

Lancelot continued with his story of how he swept through Cang Ye’s treasured living gallery and how he found his way to the dungeon area; he focused particularly on the scenes in the interrogation room–the tortured succubus barely recognizable as human, Ulgog’s true demon form, and that mysterious array that could extract power from pure souls.

The Succubus Lord was completely captivated by Lancelot’s bizarre stories, even refraining from interrupting when hearing the explosive news that an Abyssal Lord had collaborated with a demon, eager for what was to come. Lancelot described the resurrection-like scene of heroes from ancient times, how they defended the walls of Pascaler against the tidal wave of demons, and how the reinforcements from the Court of Stars finally arrived, tipping the balance of the battle instantly.

When he finally told how the two queen consorts together severely wounded the Mother of Demons, and how Elothysia finished her off with a sword, sending her to the prison of the Court of Stars, Tijana’s face was utterly blank, as if her mind had lost the ability to think.

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“After everything settled down, Koula decided to leave this dangerous plane and start her own restaurant in Mark City; the skull-headed Cromwell left too, saying he could find his past in the Wild Fields,” Lancelot drained the last bit of golden liquid from his cup, “After that, we spent a somewhat peaceful period in Androlina, but as soon as the emblem you gave me regained its power, we activated the Teleportation Magic on it.”

“And then just happened to run into the scene of my assassination by the ice demon,” Tijana also downed the last of her mead, “So why did you all come back? Androlina sounds like a good place…”

“Everyone has their reasons,” Lancelot scratched his head, “Bruto because his dad is here, Kalalin wants to further study the Abyss, and Alamir… I guess he’s looking for his own Elothysia…”

“And you?” the succubus, seemingly a bit drunk, gazed intently at Lancelot with a faint blush on her cheeks, “What’s your reason for coming back?”

“Isn’t it obvious…” Lancelot sighed, “I’m talking to my reason right now.”