The Paladin in the Abyss

Lancelot raised the wooden longsword above his head and charged again at the young vampire.

He was still significantly holding back his strength, but the speed of his weapon swings increased, quickly covering the vampire girl in a myriad of sword shadows.

Yet, little Isha was still holding on with astonishing agility, trying to dodge with minimal movements and occasionally using her dagger to deflect Lancelot's attacks. Whenever it seemed she could barely keep up, Lancelort would thrust swiftly like lightning, aiming directly at her heart, prompting the girl to speed up even further.

Soon, Lancelot noticed something different. Isha's movements in both her hands were incredibly coordinated, and regardless of the angle from which he attacked, she managed to respond adeptly.

He intentionally altered his moves, swinging a diagonal slash from the left followed by an identical attack from the right, all the while maintaining a peculiar rhythm, making Isha's hands almost instinctively mimic the other's movements.

Before long, the audience also picked up on the vampire girl's remarkable ability, and Tijana flashed a proud smile.

"Ambidextrous," Alamir explained to Kalalin, "This kid has the makings of a warrior."

Gradually, Isha's stamina and speed truly reached their limits, and Lancelot gracefully ended the peculiar contest with a gentle retraction of his weapon.

The girl was as soaked as if she had just been pulled from water, the red light in her eyes brightly piercing. Although the battle seemed over, she still maintained a defensive stance, ready to react to any attack from any angle.

"You performed beyond my expectations," Lancelot nodded, "Well done, you passed."

The words of the Human Knight seemed to carry a certain magic power, the red light in Isha's eyes abruptly faded, and a smile appeared on her face. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly collapsed.

A pair of slender arms steadily caught her, and Tijana, with a flap of her wings, gently carried the exhausted little vampire to one side.

"Uh, seems like I went a bit too far," Lancelot scratched his head, "Should I not have continuously stimulated her instincts?"

"No, you did nothing wrong. This kind of mortal threat truly brings out her potential; this one fight is worth half a year of training," Tijana held Isha's hand, channeling a flow of negative energy that was harmful to mortals but healing for vampires into the girl's body, causing her to slowly open her eyes.

After ensuring the young girl was alright, the Succubus Lord pulled out a jewel-encrusted longsword from her Dimensional Bag, turned to face Lancelot, "Why don't you also experience the taste of being on the brink of death?"

"Uh, aren't we about to leave for Androlina?"

"No rush, Elothysia's new armor still needs a few days," Tijana walked towards Lancelot, her eyes brimming with laughter yet hiding flames of anger.

"We still have some wooden training weapons here…" Lancelot suggested, but still pulled out Frostslash from his Dimensional Bag.

"How could those possibly make you feel the threat of death?" the Succubus Lord's lip curled upwards, "Don't worry, I'll also keep my power within a level you can withstand…"

"Extent!"

As the last two words were spoken, Tijana had already charged. She displayed a speed utterly beyond human, and in the dim lighting, the audience couldn't keep up with her movements, only seeing countless beautiful afterimages as if dancing around Lancelot, while the sound of metal clashing was dense like a torrential downpour, letting the audience appreciate the intensity of their duel.

Less than a minute later, the fierce battle between the two separated. On closer inspection, everyone saw that although Lancelot was unharmed, his clothes were slashed into many rags, whereas Tijana appeared as if nothing had happened.

"Your performance also exceeded my expectations," the Succubus Lord said excitedly. "Let's go again!"

"Stop fighting!" The anxious voice of little Esha came from the side. "Sister Tijana, Brother Lancelot, please stop fighting..."

"Yeah, yeah." Bruto chimed in. "How can you fight in front of the kids?"

With a loud boom, the Berserk Demon was hammered into the ground by his own father, causing Barrend to look apologetically at Tijana:

"Sorry about that, my son is honest but has low emotional intelligence and never knows the right occasion to speak..."

"Foolish Dwarf!" the Succubus Lord shouted angrily. She felt her face heating up and didn't dare turn to see Lancelot's reaction; instead, she waved her hand and teleported away.

"You guys..." Lancelot looked helplessly at everyone, wanting to say something.

"You've been blessed by Lady Shuni," the Priest declared to him.

Lancelot shrugged his shoulders. The result of the recent duel made him realize the gap between him and the Succubus Lord, so he temporarily ignored the point the Elves had made.

"Brother Lancelot, I'm ready to take the next test!"

Little Esha's face still bore a strange flush, but her eyes shone with confidence.

"There was supposed to be a third test, but I think your performance has already qualified," Lancelot said, smiling as he patted the little girl's head. "From now on, we are adventure partners."

"Yay!" Little Esha hugged Lancelot's neck excitedly and gave him a big kiss.

This surprising action startled everyone, including Little Esha herself. She immediately shrank back shyly, but still said very seriously:

"I will perform well! Captain!"

"Haha, I have confidence in you," Lancelot said as he ruffled Little Esha's hair again. "From now on, you'll handle the night watches, okay?" Find more to read on My Virtual Library Empire

"Mm-hmm!" The young Vampire girl nodded vigorously, then her face showed curiosity, "So... what was the original third test?"

"Well..." Lancelot glanced at the Dwarf, who was struggling to climb out of a hole in the ground. "Many fellows don't want their dens disturbed, so they set up various kinds of traps, and disarming these traps requires keen observation and nimble hands..."

"No problem there!" Little Esha patted her flat chest. "I've been specially trained in that area! I know how to disarm common tripwires, pressure plates, and even magic traps!"

"Right, so the third test was actually having Bruto put on a full set of armor, blindfolded, and then entering a room full of traps," Lancelot explained, spreading his hands. "Your job was to ensure he didn't trigger any traps. Of course, those would have been simulated traps, not really injuring the guy..."

"Ooh, that sounds like fun," Bruto said, looking forward to Lancelot. "Where is that room?"

"Kalalin successfully convinced me to abandon that idea," Lancelot said, smiling at the Scholar. "He said, don't you know our Dwarf friend here? Even the God of Thieves couldn't manage that feat."