The Paladin in the Abyss

"I said, don't bare your claws."

Lancelot shook the Frostslash in his hand, flicking the fresh blood off the sword blade until it was clean, then he slung it over his back again, as if he was not worried at all about anyone daring to attack him.

This was not a blind confidence, although the Human Knight himself did not like it, killing was indeed a very effective language against Demons, any 'living' creature has a fear of death that stems from instinct, and Demons were no different.

"It's... It's the 'Horn Breaker'! The Horn Breaker who killed Dom!"

"But doesn't the 'Horn Breaker' use a Great Sword?"

"Who said he only has one weapon? Does he need such a big thing to deal with us?"

These physically strong but simple-minded Magos finally made the connection between this Human Knight and the rumors they had heard. Fear was the only expression on their faces at this moment, but restrained by Lancelot's reputation, they did not dare to turn tail and run. Faced with this situation, Lancelot shook his head with some helplessness and said:

"You can go now."

Within a few seconds, these Magos, who were just harboring ill intentions, ran off as if their behinds were on fire, leaving not a trace behind.

The Elf Priest stepped forward and cast a simple Healing Spell on Bruto, making the bruise on his face quickly fade away. Kalalin also came over, holding a discarded piece of parchment, and asked Lancelot:

"Need a wipe?"

The Human Knight looked down at his armor, which was a mess with fresh blood, and helplessly shook his head. He pinched a spell, and a cyan light flashed over his body, turning the bloodstains into fine weeds that scattered into the air.

"You're impressive."

Scholar rolled his eyes and walked away.

"Ha! Did you all see that just now?" Bruto excitedly shouted, "Do they need to give me the title 'Knee Smasher' or what?"

"Isn't your title 'Toad Slayer'?" Alamir teased, "Are you already looking for a new one so soon?"

"True," the Dwarf touched the helmet adorned with a toad figure, "but that right hook just now was really great, did you see how it went flying when..."

'Clang,' a sound rang out as the Dwarf accidentally smashed his own hammer onto his helmet. A displeased voice came from above:

"Damned earth, hold it yourself! I'm a Mimir, a vault of knowledge, history, and wisdom, not your weapon rack!"

"Hehe, just for a little while, thanks a lot!" the Dwarf said with a chuckle. Although it was Lancelot who ultimately dealt with the Maggo demon, the Dwarf had no doubt achieved victory in the earlier hand-to-hand combat phase, which greatly improved his mood.

"Praise the great Soul Forger for creating Dwarves' sturdy heads! Any fool daring to knock it will surely regret it!"

Bruto sang a Dwarven ballad, but with his poor musical talent, it sounded almost like a loud roar.

Alamir resignedly covered his ears, while little Isabella and Koula couldn't stop giggling. Lancelot was about to stop the Dwarf from making such noise, but then sensed that all the nearby Demons were keeping their distance because of his singing, so he shrugged his shoulders and let the Dwarf continue, treating it as a way to drive away mosquitos.

Their destination was the edge of this district, and then to leave the city for the deeper parts of the Great Abyss. Since Mogrondale lacked a 'city wall', the boundaries of the city were not clear. As the group descended, the caves inhabited by Demons became sparser and the environment more primal. Unknowingly, they had left the dirty, bustling, and chaotic Abyss City behind.

Last night, Lancelot spent a long time studying the map provided by the corrupt Cultivators. Using the 'Essence' left on him by the Eye of Sarezdon, he plotted a route to the Androlina Portal. According to the little black dot on his wrist acting as a real-time map, the Androlina Portal was about ten miles deep beneath Mogrondale.

Climbing such a long vertical distance was bound to be a dreadful experience, but luckily with the real-time map on his wrist, Lancelot managed to find a relatively easier path. The route was a bit roundabout since they had to avoid some dangerous areas.

For instance, the portal to the 422nd level of Yenogu's Domain was surrounded by numerous Gnoll creatures, and a minor misstep could provoke an endless swarm of enemies. Although the team wasn't afraid of these savage beasts, there was no reason to intentionally seek out trouble with them.

Another area to avoid was the portal to the 570th level, Shendilawei. On the surface, this realm of the Queen of the Succubus boasted beautiful natural scenery and abundant resources, even housing a large population of mortals and notorious 'special services,' drawing tourists from across the entire universe.

Therefore, this portal within the Great Abyss was just one of many entrances to the Queen of the Succubus's realm and was seldom used. Still, the group needed to stay as far away as possible to avoid the seemingly nonchalant guards near the portal.

Elothysia and the Queen of the Succubus had no direct conflict. In fact, most of the Succubi's actions were considered by Mekanshut as forgivable mischief. Her favorite pastime was secretly watching those who tried to overthrow her, sometimes even subtly fueling the attempts, like enjoying her children's cute but immature endeavours. Stay tuned with My Virtual Library Empire

However, for those who truly 'betrayed' the nature of Demons and ventured down the 'wrong' path, like the well-known disgraced ladies, Mekanshut had a genuine sense of sorrow and believed it was her duty to 'convert' them back to their original state. For this reason, Elothysia certainly did not wish to draw any attention from the Queen of the Succubus or her radiant nuns.

Unlike their previous search for the Eye of Sarezdon, this time the group's journey involved more vertical climbing. Thanks to the route Lancelot had planned in advance, each descent they needed to make was between twenty to thirty feet, which even the physically weakest Scholar could barely manage, not to mention the help of the Succubus Paladin and the (pseudo) Succubus Knight constantly flying alongside.

The quickest climber was Alamir, who, despite being clad in heavy armor, moved across the rock face as smoothly as a gecko, thanks to the agility of Elves. The youngest of the group, Isabella, took this climbing activity as a rare training opportunity, enduring the hardship without ever wishing to simply transform into a bat and fly down.

Lancelot was naturally very proud of her for showing such a quality, even having the strange thought, 'Truly worthy of being my sister.'