The Paladin in the Abyss

The troll burst into flames upon contact, as if its body were made of some highly flammable material. Lancelot was not surprised by this; the troll's essence pulsated with Wood System Spirit Power, which was the source of its supernatural healing abilities. According to the philosophy of Spiritual Cultivation, wood begets fire, so it was logical that trolls were flammable.

He swung Frostslash, decapitating the troll that he had ensnared with his vines, then flicked his sword blade, tossing the screaming head into the fire.

The beheaded troll continued to struggle violently. Such a wound, which would be fatal for most creatures with only one head, seemed to only inconvenience the troll by depriving it of its senses. Lancelot swung his weapon again, chopping the troll's limbs off piece by piece and throwing them all into the fire.

Even dismembered, the troll's arms, legs, and torso still struggled to roll out of the fire, as if each severed limb had its own consciousness; the scene was both horrifying and bizarre. But Lancelot pinched a formula, and several still-burning vines stretched out like tentacles, wrapping around the desperately rolling limbs and dragging them back into the flames.

This might have seemed cruel, but had these beasts considered such an end when they were beating a bound little girl?
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The Succubus Paladin had already rushed to Lilu's side, checking on the condition of the small Aira girl.

"No! Lilu, she..."

Dong Quan's choked voice arose behind her. The child before her was in a pitiful state, barely clinging to life.

Her distinctively large Aira eyes were swollen to thin slits, surrounded by dark bruises; her slender arms were tied behind her in an unnatural angle, clearly broken; and her body was a patchwork of blue and purple bruises, with some areas alarmingly swollen and others unsettlingly indented.

"Please, please, stop hitting me... Dong… Dong Quan? Is that you?" the little girl's voice was almost a whisper. Her eyes could no longer open, and she could only rely on the voice to barely recognize it was her friend, "Run... run away..."

"No, don't be afraid, we are here to rescue you!" Tears surged from Dong Quan's eyes, wetting Elothysia's shoulder. "You must hold on!"

"Lancelot! Quickly, release the Priest!" the pale-faced Succubus Paladin yelled back at those behind her, carefully cutting the ropes that bound the little girl. Lilu was so severely injured that even moving her felt risky, fearing that the broken bones might cause more pain.

Unlike Priests, who heal through channeling Divine Arts, Paladin's healing abilities worked like a reservoir of energy, which made her capable of rapid healing suitable for battle, but once depleted, she had to rest extensively before it could be reactivated. She had already used most of her healing power while treating Dong Quan, which severely limited what she could do for the little girl at death's door.

On the other hand, Priests performed healing through the release of Divine Arts, slower but with stronger effects, not to mention Alamir was also a Domain of Life Priest with the highest Fourth Circle Upcasting abilities among the Elves, which nearly matched her entire healing energy.

Before she could ask, Lancelot had already pulled Alamir from his Dimensional Bag at his waist. In three quick steps, the Priest ran to the small Aira girl's side. Seeing Lilu's miserable state, the Elf Priest took a sharp intake of breath, immediately closed his eyes in prayer, and called upon the holy presence for healing powers.

Priests needed to recite specific prayers, make designated hand gestures, and perform particular actions to release Divine Arts, as these were the standards set by the deities they worshiped. The rituals had to be completed meticulously; otherwise, the Divine Arts would fail. Unlike Mages and Magicians who completed spells by themselves, the actual spellcasters of Divine Arts were the deities that granted the priests their powers. Therefore, priests could not speed up their spellcasting through repeated practice.

After all, how would you practice? Would you repeatedly cast Blessing Art or Healing Spell on a puppy? The deities would not appreciate such a waste of their powers, and the priests themselves were very averse to this sacrilegious practice.

But today's situation was different. As soon as Kalalin recited the first segment of the prayer, he felt a tremendous life force converge into Shuni's emblem on the shield, as if the spellcasting preparations for the Divine Art were already complete. Perhaps the Goddess was paying special attention to him today and was pleased with his persistence in personal hygiene?

He gently placed his hand on Lilu's forehead and guided that life force into her body. The little girl's breathing immediately stabilized, and the bruises and swelling on her body quickly dissipated, bringing vitality back to her worn face.

"Lilu! Lilu!" Dong Quan called urgently from Elothysia's shoulder, "Do you feel better now?"

"Dong Quan, is it really you!" The little girl blinked her big eyes, her face full of disbelief. She turned her head to look around, and when she saw Elothysia, fear clearly appeared in her eyes.

"This is Sister Elothysia, a good demon!" Dong Quan quickly explained, "She saved my life too, don't misunderstand her!"

"I'm... I'm sorry!" The little girl struggled to sit up to apologize, but she let out a pained cry when she exerted her arm and lay back down again.

"Don't rush, your bones might not have fully healed yet." Elothysia bent down and carefully picked up the little girl, "I'll protect you, don't worry."

"Tha... thank you ..." The red-haired Aira child's voice was still very weak, while Dong Quan, on the shoulder of the Succubus Paladin, continually made faces at her little friend, trying to cheer her up.

Outside the stone house, a Troll finally realized that it wasn't their worshipped Evil God suddenly getting angry, but that someone had launched an attack on them.

A few Trolls ran back and charged at the attackers. The scene that unfolded next utterly crushed their courage—Lancelot manipulated the burning vines to grab them, a terrifying sight for the Trolls who feared flames. All the Trolls fled in terror, not one remained.

"Haha, these cowards, they got off easy." the Dwarf picked up his hammer and shield again, "Lancelot, shall we also retreat quickly?"

"Yeah." The Human Knight nodded, but at that moment, a sudden urgent call from Clone Well echoed in his mind:

"Be careful! Shadows are coming your way!"