Chapter 484: Chapter 508: Return to the Great Abyss Chapter 484: Chapter 508: Return to the Great Abyss Three days later.

Lancelot and his companions arrived at the docks of Twin Bridges Town, ready to embark on their journey. As planned, they would first take a ship to Lake Meyne and then pass through the Skeleton Tower of Kai-Oine to enter the Great Abyss, in search of the portal to the Iron Ice Plains.

It was evident that the docks of Twin Bridges Town had once been a bustling place, with stone work areas piled with many large loading and unloading machines. The thick dust covering their surfaces indicated that they hadn’t been used for a long time.

The blood war was naturally the culprit for all this. After invading the Abyssal Plane, Archduke Zariel of Aphnas promptly ordered the blockade of the Stygian River. Since then, merchant caravans arriving by water had all but vanished. This was certainly a huge blow to Twin Bridges Town, but thankfully, the demand for weapons and armor had surged as the war approached, offsetting the loss of income due to the reduction in trade activities.

The only vessels able to break through the demons’ blockade were the small boats controlled by Ferryman Demons, but these lesser Yugros demons did not carry goods, only people. The last time they went to the Great Abyss, they had Elothysia in their group, and it wasn’t a good idea to cross Bartez’s blockade area in a boat with a Holy Warrior. However, this time they didn’t have such concerns.

Another common mode of travel was through teleportation magic, but using this method to reach the Great Abyss wasn’t very wise. Due to the peculiar characteristics of that specific plane, the destination of teleportation would be distorted, sending travelers to random locations on random levels of the Abyss, such as tens of thousands of feet underground, the center of an active volcano, or the dinner table of the current level’s Abyssal Lord… Aside from a handful of zealous fanatics in the Cult of Perception, no one wanted to experience such travel.

Moreover, Tijana was unable to open a portal that could transport everyone to ‘nearby’ the Great Abyss. Despite her great magical power, the Succubus Lord was only a Magician, not a Mage. Within her own dominion, this distinction wasn’t significant, but remote teleportation without a clear destination was beyond her capabilities.

Lancelot walked to the edge of the dock’s dike and carefully took out a brass bell from his chest, immersing it in the water of Styx and gently shaking it. The others stayed under an abandoned tent, avoiding the sun that wasn’t intensely scorching overhead.

The bell was another small tool provided by Tijana. Its use was just as Lancelot had demonstrated: the nearby Ferryman Demon could hear the summoning of the bell’s ring and would come to provide service. Not wishing to attract unnecessary attention, the Succubus Lord did not come to the docks to see them off, but she had just left Hagrid Manor half an hour earlier and wished everyone safe travels.

“Why hasn’t the boat arrived yet?” Bruto looked around impatiently, “Are you sure you’re doing it right? What if there aren’t any Ferryman Demons nearby?”

As displayed, Bruto was the most enthusiastic about this adventure. An evil Giant Kingdom, ancient relics of ancestors, coupled with a White Dragon, fulfilled all the fantasies of a Dwarf about an adventure. And by the standards of his race, Bruto was still very young and had not lost his longing for distant lands due to homesickness.

“Be patient, Dwarf,” Alamir lazily leaned against a pillar, holding a cup of pale green drink with ice cubes, “Ferryman Demons’ boats don’t move by teleportation, they need time to get here.”

In contrast to Bruto, Alamir was not particularly excited about the impending journey. As Shuni’s Priest, he did not expect any romantic encounters in that plane. Apart from wanting to help his friends, the main driving force for his continued advancement was the battle with the Giants. Though his hatred wasn’t as intense as that of the Dwarves, the Elf also agreed with the Dwarf’s point of view: the only good Giant was a dead Giant.

Another spellcaster in the team, Kalalin, was much more enthusiastic than Mage. As long as the risk was within a certain limit, Kalalin was very willing to venture into any layer of the Abyss, and the Iron Ice Plains were indeed among the most worthy Abyssal Planes to delve into for research. On one hand, it was because its Lord, Kostcheqi, was one of the few Abyssal Lords who frequently launched attacks on the Prime Material Plane. On the other hand, it was due to the condition of that layer–the Iron Ice Plains were one of the few planes in the Abyss completely controlled by non-demon entities, with far too many things worth observing and recording.

Of course, there was another factor that couldn’t be ignored–the rumors about the whereabouts of the Dark Scrolls. Originally persuaded by Lancelot, Kalalin had given up on the idea of retrieving the Cult’s Holy Relic, but with the mission from the Succubus Lord also requiring a journey to the Iron Ice Plains, the scholar couldn’t help but be tempted once more.

The night before setting out, Kalalin sought out Lancelot for another talk, and this time the human knight didn’t refuse him but agreed to pay extra attention to any clues regarding that Divine Artifact. Even though Lancelot didn’t actually promise anything, such a response was enough to satisfy Kalalin, because he knew it wasn’t just lip service; Lancelot had always been a man of his word.

The only one who seemed to have little interest in adventure was old Reap. In the battle against the incarnation of Olul, the werewolf had shown enough experience to indicate a rather impressive past. Nowadays, old Reap seemed to prefer whiling away his time in taverns, like an old dagger casually tossed in a pile of junk, its blade’s cold light only noticeable from a particular angle.

Another significant member of the adventure party was little Isha. Just as before, the small vampire had placed her ‘coffin’ inside Lancelot’s dimensional bag, and she was sound asleep at the moment, waiting for the sun to set before she became active again.

While everyone was waiting somewhat bored, a low hum sounded from the bell in Lancelot’s hand. The group looked at him inquisitively, only to find that a small greyish-white boat had appeared at the bank, seemingly out of nowhere. At the bow stood a skeleton wrapped in what looked like a cloak, watching them with its dark red eyes.

“Who called for the ferry?” The Ferryman Demon, noticing the bell in Lancelot’s hand, addressed him in a voice that resembled the dull sawing of ice, “Where do you wish to go?”

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“There are five of us in total, and we want to go to Lake Meyne, next to Kai-Oine,” Lancelot indicated the group members who had come closer behind him, “How much do I owe you for the fare?”

“That’s not close at all. Even at my speed, it’ll take a full day to arrive,” the ferryman’s eyes seemed to brighten with excitement, “Each passenger must pay five hundred gold coins before boarding, the price is non-negotiable.”

“Alright,” Lancelot agreed decisively, handing over three rubies worth a thousand gold coins each, marked with white star-shaped patterns, “The extra is an offering to Charon, in gratitude for the services provided by its servant.”

Tijana and Kalalin had both advised him not to try bargaining with the Ferryman Demon and it was best to pay a little extra tip–unless he wanted it to arrange an unexpected battle.

“The Lord of the Styx has received your tribute. Please, board the boat, hehehehe…” The Ferryman Demon let out a jeering cackle, accepting the fare paid by Lancelot, “By the way, we never take part in the passengers’ fights, you know that, right?”