Chapter 485: Chapter 509: Journey to the Stygian River Chapter 485: Chapter 509: Journey to the Stygian River After everyone was seated on the boat, the Ferryman Demon boatman gently pushed the bony oar, and the small boat quickly moved away from the shore. A comfortable breeze met them head-on, and Twin Bridges Town rapidly receded behind them; although the sensation of speed wasn’t obvious sitting in the boat, by Lancelot’s estimation, they were traveling several times faster than he could have galloped at full speed on Nightmares.

“Wow, we’re actually moving upstream!” Bruto suddenly exclaimed, turning his head to look at the Ferryman Demon who was propelling the boat, “Your boat might look a bit shabby, but it sure is magical.”

“Of course, no one knows the Stygian River better than we do, nor is anyone more skilled at steering a boat.” This Ferryman Demon seemed to be more interactive than the one they had hired last time and didn’t ignore the Dwarf’s question, “Take a closer look. Are we really moving against the flow of the river?”

Provoked by his remark, everyone then noticed the unusual current. Before colliding with the bow, the waters of the Stygian River parted to the left and right, swirled around the small boat, and formed two small vortices at its rear, rapidly propelling the boat forward.

“This truly is a rare sight,” Alamir commented with interest, “But why does your boat have a certain… uncomfortable smell? What kind of wood is it made of?”

“What kind of wood, do you think, can be used to make a vessel that sails upon the Stygian River? Hehehehe…” The Ferryman Demon let out another unpleasant laugh, “Coffins, of course, foolish Elf…”
“I should have guessed it,” Alamir sighed, turning his gaze to the scenery rushing past on both sides, “Could you tell us about your deity? The Lord of the Styx?”

“The great Charon is no laughable deity. He is a Ferryman Demon, just like all the other Ferryman Demons,” the boatman said with a tone of disdain, “A long time ago, the Danden Demon Race surrounded our stronghold in Castery. It was Charon who stepped forward to repel the Danden Demons’ attack, and that’s how we acknowledged him as the leader of all Ferryman Demons.”

“The Danden Demons?” Kalalin was quite interested in this term, “I’ve only read about it in some obscure documents. Are they also native to the Castery plane?”

“They are monsters born from the corpses of Yugros Demons. Do you think that qualifies as native?” the boatman obviously didn’t have a good impression of those Fiends, “Those fat, ugly, foul-smelling fools thought of themselves as the jailors of the Red Prison (Note: another name for the Castery Plane) but they can’t manage the boats passing through the Stygian River to and from Castery anymore since we defeated them.”

“I’m quite sure this story is missing at least a hundred details,” Bruto whispered to Lancelot, “If Charon is that powerful, why was he surrounded in the first place?”

“…Now, every stretch of the Stygian River is Charon’s territory. Anyone who uses the river should pay, anyone!” Ignoring the Dwarf’s quiet speculation, the Ferryman Demon boatman declared loudly.

“But what about the Demons?” Lancelot couldn’t help asking, “I’ve heard that the second corps of the Nine Hells’s navy is a fleet, and it seems they have their own warships…”
“Pah! Those shameless thieves!” The Ferryman Demon boatman spat a wad of green saliva into the river, “They certainly will…”
He abruptly stopped speaking as a peculiar tower appeared on the riverbank. The double-story stone building looked very solid, serving as both an observation tower for the Stygian River and a small defensive fortification. Even without seeing the two purplish-skinned Thorn Demons perched on top, Lancelot could tell from the building’s perfect hexadecagonal structure that it was undoubtedly a construction of the Demons.

Without saying a word, the Ferryman Demon boatman maneuvered the boat away from the shore with the tower. His caution was immediately justified as a barrage of arrows shot out of the slim windows but all plunged into the river surface dozens of feet away from the group.

“Damn Demons!” Bruto angrily stared at the tower, “I bet there are no more than a dozen enemies inside. If we weren’t in a hurry, we could have wiped out the Demons inside completely!”

“How far have we gotten from Twin Bridges Town?” Although she knew they couldn’t be hit from this distance, Kalalin still crouched low in the boat, only sticking half her head out to observe the building, “Has the Demon’s army already advanced to here?”

“We’ve passed more than a hundred and twenty miles.” Lancelot immediately reported the figure, “This boat is much faster than what you perceive.”

“That must be a reconnaissance outpost.” Old Reap, who had been quiet, spoke up, “This is the borderland between Twin Bridges Town and Volcano Fortress, the defense is relatively weak. However, until Volcano Fortress falls, it’s unlikely that the main force of the Demons would bypass it to attack Twin Bridges Town.”

Just then, Lancelot’s ears twitched, and he turned to look back. He heard a very deep horn sound, and the source was that tower.

“Did you hear it too?”

Alamir immediately noticed Lancelot’s reaction. As an Elf, his long ears also allowed him to catch certain sounds that most people would miss.

“This is not a good sign.”

Lancelot answered with a grim expression, turning his head to search the river ahead. His concern was not unfounded, within minutes, a brig with twin masts appeared in the distance. The length of the ship exceeded a hundred feet, with some kind of massive beast’s bones serving as its keel, the deck seemed to be pressed together from countless corpses, while the prow featured a statue of a Lust Demon brandishing a Longsword, poised to strike.

“Is that a Demon Warship?” Bruto squinted, trying hard to make out the details of the approaching ship, “Boatman, what do you plan to do?”

The Ferryman Demon answered the Dwarf’s question with action. He pushed off hard with the boat pole, causing the small boat to turn sharply to one side, flipping the unsteady Dwarf onto the floor. Some kind of magical current propelled their small boat swiftly sideways, but the opposing Demon Warship also demonstrated remarkable agility, nimbly maneuvering to intercept their path.

“I will circle around, those Bartez won’t stop me!” The Ferryman Demon said angrily, “On the Stygian River, we are the best boatmen!”

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Lancelot didn’t bother to argue, instead, he reached into his Dimensional Bag at his waist. After rummaging around, Frostslash appeared in his hand. Seeing his action, everyone tacitly drew their own weapons, ready for battle.

“Bruto, when we start fighting, don’t just throw your hammer around willy-nilly,” as the two ships drew closer, Lancelot suddenly spoke to the Dwarf, “If it falls into the Stygian River, it might not fly back to you.”

“Mhm, I know,” the Dwarf’s face was slightly pale, “I’ll try to remember that.”

Lancelot glanced back at him, raised his hand, and formed a Dharma Decree. At once, a wooden spike on the deck began to grow, turning into a vine that wrapped tightly around the Dwarf’s forearm and his hammer.

“The hammer’s pretty expensive.” Lancelot shrugged his shoulders, “This should be more reliable than your memory.”