The Paladin in the Abyss

Sagla's heart steadied, convinced that such an attack would certainly force the Human Knight to retreat. The opponent was merely a human with no wings on his back, so a miss would inevitably lead to a fall, and that was when he could seize the opportunity to strike while the Human Knight was unable to leverage on anything mid-air, definitely gaining the upper hand in the duel. Continue reading stories on My Virtual Library Empire

Unfortunately, all these assumptions were based on the condition that Lancelot would retreat. The illusion created by the opponent using the Mirror Image Technique was indeed very realistic, indistinguishable to the naked eye. If he hadn't reached the Foundation Establishment phase, he might have had no choice but to retreat.

But Lancelot wouldn't be fooled by such Illusion Techniques anymore. After Foundation Establishment, nature's spiritual energy felt like streams of water, and even without Meditation Qi Cultivation, it would gently be absorbed into his body through the apertures all over him. This enabled Spiritual Cultivators to directly sense the flow of nature's spiritual energy nearby. Although the sensing range was not too large, it was sufficient for close combat.

Among the opponent's four figures, three had no impact on the flow of nature's spiritual energy, while the remaining one was like a large rock standing in a creek, with all the water flowing around him—undoubtedly the enemy's real body.

Lancelot swung his Great Sword, hitting precisely the only solid one among the four incoming Great Axes. His strike, packed with strong leaping force, left Necaross Demon in the air with no leverage, his weapon forcefully raised, and the other three axe illusions also seemed to be hit by an invisible Great Sword.

"Damn, how did he do that? It must have been a fluke, right?"

"Luck is also a form of strength."

"Lord Lancelot is truly strong. I have always been his unwavering supporter..."

"Yay!!! Brother is so awesome!"

The spectators outside discussed fervently as the battle inside didn't stop for a moment. After knocking the opponent's weapon away, Lancelot reached the point where old strength faded and new strength hadn't yet emerged, beginning to fall downwards, while his opponent, using the force from blocking, soared upward trying to increase the distance between them.

If he allowed his opponent to escape, the series of motions he just performed would be in vain, and he would also need to be cautious not to let the opponent seize the moment during his fall to instantly overturn the situation.

Many spectators began to shake their heads, convinced that this new Lord of Withering lacked any means. But at that moment, the Human Knight in mid-air made a move that surprised everyone: he forcefully threw his heavy Great Sword towards the ground, propelling his body two more feet into the air, and grabbed hold of Necaross Demon's ankle.

"Got you!"

Lancelot bellowed, and Sagla felt as though his feet were clamped by a seductive demon's pincers, causing him excruciating pain that made his throat itch uncontrollably. As a mercenary who had served on both sides of a bloody battle, he was resolved never to scream in agony, even in face of death.

That was not the end—suddenly, a terrifying pulling force came from that iron-clamp-like hand, so fierce that it blacked out his vision momentarily. Although it lasted only an instant, when he regained his senses, he saw the ground rushing towards him at a great speed.

Naturally, this was Lancelot's doing—he had no intention of hanging in mid-air. He grabbed his opponent's ankle with his right hand while his left hand executed a spell. He connected with the ground below that he had charged with the Earthquake Technique. Instantly, his body's weight multiplied by tens, and like a rubber band stretched to its limit and then released, he plummeted towards the ground at a speed equal to his leap.

With a loud 'boom,' a man and a fiend smashed into the ground like two meteors. Some perceptive spectators noticed that at the moment of impact, the Human Knight landed on his feet, while Necaross was viciously smashed into the ground by his ankle.

The physical resilience of lower-plane fiends was not trivial; the fall only dazed Sagla slightly, not enough to cause serious injury. However, the detestable mithril gauntlet of the Human Knight was still clamped around his ankle like a vice, preventing him from standing.

Lancelot too was momentarily dazed by the massive impact, but having prepared in advance, he regained control of his body faster than his opponent, though barely a second quicker. Yet, in a close combat brawl, that fractional second could determine the victor.

He did not hesitate, mobilized all the True Yuan in his body, grabbed Necaross's ankle, swung him over his head, and then smashed him back down to the ground. Sagla's Illusion Technique was still active, and since Lancelot held the real body, the other three illusions remained unharmed. This made the scene look even more exaggerated and comical, as if four Necarosses were being spun around simultaneously by him.

One smash was not enough, Lancelot, with the vigor of when he was at Bruto's forge, treated the giant Necaross as a hammer for iron forging, repeatedly slamming him into the ground. The arena stirred up clouds of dust, prompting spectators to switch to infrared mode to continue enjoying the sight of the Human Knight, hurling his opponent, who was several times his size, in a display of brutal aesthetics beloved by demons.

Initially, Necaross attempted to swing his battle axe at Lancelot, but his movements, caught in the repetitive piston-like motion, were completely deformed, missing anything but air. Gradually, his grip loosened, abandoning the weapon beside him, and his previously tense muscles used to withstand the impact, relaxed.

At a terrifying frequency of once per breath, Lancelot continued for about twenty more times. His opponent initially felt like a hard, long loaf of bread in his hand, but now felt like a sack of limp flour. Knowing that even if he was not yet dead, he had totally lost the capability to resist, Lancelot then stopped his motions.

Sagla lay on the ground for a full minute before his consciousness returned from some corner of the Stellar Realm. He blinked and saw the Human Knight standing right beside his head, looking down at him.

Realizing his hands were empty, he hastily turned to look for his battle axe, but this motion nearly caused him to accidentally decapitate himself—Lancelot's Giant Sword Glacier was positioned next to his neck, the blade's edge less than the width of a pinky finger from his skin.

"You've already lost," Lancelot stated the obvious fact in a declarative tone, "If you're not in a hurry to return to Scorched Flame Hell, you'd best not make any rash moves like the last fool. Do you understand what I mean?"