Volume 1 Chapter 654

Chapter 654: Janine Irene Tangles with the Tree Trunk!

Witnessing Janine Irene’s charge, the leading Little Devil understood…

Retreat was no longer feasible.

"So I say… The Church of Light truly is insufferable!"

She sighed before producing a bone whistle.

"Screee—"

The shrill sound rippled with magical resonance, swiftly permeating the dense woods—a clear declaration that the Demon Army’s scouting unit had been ambushed.

The whistle’s piercing note carried its own offensive edge.

Even Janine Irene gritted her teeth against the discomfort.

The magnificent aura she’d conjured to feign parity with her opponent…

Was in truth a debilitating halo—no boon whatsoever.

Of course, the weakening effect remained secondary. Janine Irene’s true aim lay in that colossal luminous ring visible for hundreds of miles.

Hadn’t Lolth instructed her to create maximum commotion?

The spell’s ostentatious nature originally served battlefield coordination, allowing entire legions to identify and concentrate fire on debilitated targets.

Yet this comprehensive enfeeblement now rendered even the bone whistle’s assault tangible, momentarily hampering her movements.

However…

This fractional hesitation granted the Demon Army scouts little advantage.

The crucial factor lay underground—

All four Abyss Lizard Demons imploded under the sonic assault. Sightless by nature, their evolutionary compensation of hyper-acute hearing became their downfall.

While Janine Irene merely slowed, the subterranean creatures erupted from the earth in truth—eyes rolled back, collapsed unconscious, foaming at the mouth.

Within the carriage, Doyle Candice buried her face in her palms with a pained hiss.

"How many times have I told them, for the gods’ sake? Never deploy sonic attacks when coordinating with Abyss Lizard Demons…"

She burned with the urge to vault from the coach and slap some sense into her dimwitted kin.

What a spectacular humiliation before Lord Lolth!

Lolth bit back amusement, offering consolation.

"Scout units aren’t frontline fighters. Your Little Devil kin seldom engage directly… Likely just panicked. No lasting harm."

"Remember—we never intended actual capture anyway."

As Lolth spoke, Doyle Candice exhaled heavily.

"Mayhap… Yet I fear even this ruckus remains insufficient!"

Her words still hung in the air when a resonant boom shuddered through the conflict.

"Thump!"

Janine Irene, who was charging forward, tripped over the unconscious Abyss Lizard Demon sprawled on the ground…

The Little Devil hovering mid-air stared at the fallen Janine Irene, remained silent for an extended moment, then clapped her hands triumphantly.

"Hmph, everything’s unfolding exactly as I schemed!"

She proclaimed with pride. Doyle Candice, gripping the carriage window’s edge with excessive embarrassment, unconsciously pressed her fingers so hard that five distinct indentations appeared in the wood.

"That absolute buffoon… I’ll dock five months’ pay when we return!"

Doyle remarked languidly, prompting Lolth to hastily improvise a response.

"Now Doyle… Janine Irene’s stumble changes nothing! The situation remains under control."

As Lolth observed…

Knights inherently excel in defense and endurance.

Paladins resemble walking fortresses – whether engaged in solo combat, squad skirmishes, or full-scale warfare, they’re notoriously difficult to overcome.

Unlike traditional knights specialized in frontal assaults, Paladins amplify their defensive capabilities through synergistic partnerships with clerics and their Holy Light’s "Purification" and "Enhanced Regeneration" properties.

Though Janine Irene lay sprawled on the battlefield, this proved inconsequential!

Within two seconds, she executed a carp-leap maneuver combined with a dryland spring-up, propelling herself upright like a released coil!

"Demonic trickery!"

Janine Irene snarled through clenched teeth, the humiliating tumble having genuinely ignited her fury.

The embarrassment wasn’t limited to Doyle Candice in the carriage – the crimson-cheeked Paladin herself burned with chagrin.

While she’d intended to exercise restraint, never had she imagined being bested by a mere Elite Level Little Devil!

Thus upon rising, Janine Irene elevated her combat focus several notches.

"Holy Light’s Sanctuary!"

Bathed in radiant white luminescence after invoking this true enhancement aura, she stormed toward the bewildered Little Devil whose widened eyes mirrored pure astonishment.

"Wait, I beg—"

The plea dissolved into a shriek as Janine Irene’s full-force shoulder strike launched the creature airborne.

The Little Devil spun backward through the air, tracing the parabolic arc of a well-hit baseball.

Witnessing this, Lolth found herself unexpectedly recalling ancient memories…

Those children’s cartoons from her previous life often depicted similar exaggerated trajectories…

So reality could indeed mirror such theatrical physics.

The Little Devil collided with a tree trunk, cartoonish spiral eyes swirling as it dangled unconscious from the branches.

Though Janine Irene had moderated her strength to prevent serious injury, the creature wouldn’t awaken anytime soon.

Yet…

The Paladin immediately regretted her decisive strike.

This resolution proved too efficient – under sixty seconds had eradicated the Demon Army scouting party’s consciousness.

Precisely the outcome Janine Irene sought to avoid, her objective being to create prolonged commotion noticeable to Holy Alliance observers.

After brief contemplation, she strode purposefully toward an unsuspecting tree.

Lolth and Doyle Candice exchanged perplexed glances through the carriage window.

"What’s this oaf planning now?"

Then commenced…

Janine Irene commenced violently battering the trunk with her sword’s flat side.

Wooden THUDs reverberated rhythmically as she discharged Holy Light energies between mechanical battle cries:

"Vile demon spawn!"

"Perish!!"

"Holy Light Assault!!"

This spectacle plunged Lolth and Doyle Candice into profound silence.

Though tempted to intervene, Lolth recognized the intervention window had closed…

Having allowed the farce to commence unchallenged…

There remained nothing but to endure the cringeworthy theatrics until conclusion.