The Paladin in the Abyss

"Has it gotten this bad already?" Koula sighed with a worried frown, "It must really be a critical moment if the Halfling needs to step in. Tell me, what do you want me to do?"

"Remember the battle we fought in the sewers and against that pile of corpses? I was impressed by your speed and agility." Lancelot gave her an encouraging smile, "You mentioned before that you have a bomb that creates a bright light, right?"

"Yes!" Koula nodded, "I've decided to call it... the Flash Bomb."

"How exactly does this flash... bomb work? What's its power like?" Lancelot asked seriously, "It shouldn't take as long to prepare as the Priest's Divine Arts, right...?"

"It's not very long." Alamir complained slightly, "Just enough to cover your retreat..."

"Of course not. You simply rotate the cap clockwise for half a turn, and three seconds later it will burst out a lightning-like bright light, so make sure to throw it where you want it to light up within those three seconds." Koula took out a small ceramic bottle from her bag, raising it to show everyone, "As for the power, I can assure you from personal experience that if it explodes within twenty feet in front of you, for the next ten seconds, the only color in your vision will be pure white."

"Sounds like the nemesis of creatures from the Shadow Realm." Lancelot nodded, "I need you to throw them about 10 feet away from the monsters, can you do that?"

"After drinking the Mutation Potion, I can do that," Koula replied, looking somewhat haunted at Lancelot, "but that means you'll have to..."

"Get almost up to the monster's face," Lancelot shrugged, "Who asked it to have such a big face? We should leave immediately, before the Mother of Demons' reinforcements arrive."

Koula sighed, pulling several colorful potions from her bag and drinking them one after the other like beverages. With each emptied bottle, her aura surged, and when the last bubbling, translucent potion was down, she was only a head shorter than Lancelot, with an aura even stronger than Bruto's normal state.

"Ah, I'm not used to seeing you guys from this angle." Koula had a confident smile on her face, her voice even hoarse, a far cry from the previous shrill and thin pitch, "I can't maintain this state for long, let's hurry."

"Okay."

Lancelot nodded and led the group out of the Troll's stone house, walking into the darkness beyond the range of the Priest's daylight spell.

They headed in the direction they came from, southward. According to the information they had gathered, the southern edge of the Miasma Swamp led to the Hoffenstan River, and across the river was an area controlled by the forces of good on this plane.

Once the group emerged from the swamp without the dense woods for cover, the Dark Weaver would not be able to hold them back any longer. Both Lancelot's group and the monster were well aware of this fact. Barely a hundred feet outside the effective range of the daylight spell, that eerie Shadow Web appeared again, stopping the group as if they had hit an invisible air wall, unable to take a step further.

But at the same time, everyone also realized the monster's location—it was right behind them to the right, the only direction without any resistance.

Lancelot's Spirit Perception instantly locked onto the enemy's location. As soon as the group realized the Shadow Web had appeared again, he had already charged in that direction, shouting the monster's distance to his companions:

"Koula! Fifty feet!" Stay tuned with My Virtual Library Empire

The Halfling, having drunk the Mutation Potion, reacted swiftly. She ran two steps in that direction and then fiercely hurled the ceramic bottle in her hand, shouting a warning as she released it:

"Flash!"

The ceramic flash bomb shot out rapidly, but it still couldn't catch up with the human knight who was sprinting at full speed. Lancelot, having prepared for a long time, dashed towards the monster like an arrow released from its bow, instantly closing the distance.

Although the lord of the Miasma Swamp had already recognized this tongue-cutting human knight as the biggest threat, it was still startled by the latter's superhuman speed. Instinctively, it swung its tentacles in an attempt to block the human knight, while simultaneously gathering dense shadows in front of itself, forming a shield-like wall of black smoke.

Just then, a dazzling flash of light exploded behind Lancelot. In the dark, sunless forest, it seemed as if a sun had suddenly risen, blinding the dwarf who was boastfully not shifting his gaze despite being dozens of feet away. The intense light also caused the armor-like shadows on the Dark Weaver to rapidly dissipate, revealing its gray, finely furred body.

"Slash!"

Lancelot shouted loudly, and his frostslash, gleaming with a cyan light, cleaved down like a whip. Against such a huge opponent, the Giant Sword Glacier would seem a more logical choice, but he chose the shorter, lighter Hand Half Sword Frostslash for a faster strike.

However, while the flash stripped the opponent of its frontal defenses, it also created even darker shadows behind it, and for creatures of the Shadow Realm, the darker the shadow, the stronger the magical power it could harness.

The monster initiated another Shadow Jump, vanishing from the spot in an instant. It seemed as though Lancelot had landed a hit on the Dark Weaver's body, but the sharp sword blade had only sliced through the residual phantom the enemy had left behind.

He inwardly sighed in disappointment, but his Divine Sense revealed the monster's new position, causing his expression to drastically change.

Perhaps thinking that his companions were not strong enough, the enemy didn't retreat but instead moved closer, teleporting right next to them and launching two tentacles as thick as water barrels at them!

"Be careful!"

Lancelot called out loudly to his companions, simultaneously rushing back with all his might. However, even with his fast movement technique, he clearly wouldn't make it in time to rescue them.

Bruto, who should have been protecting his teammates, was still in a state of blindness and dizziness, completely unaware of the incoming attack.

In that critical moment, Koula stepped forward.

Having drunk the mutation potion, she exhibited a courage seldom seen in halflings. She drew the two daggers at her waist and, like a barbarian, leapt fearlessly toward one of the tentacles.

The thick, black tentacle smashed into the halfling's crossed weapons, sending the two daggers and their owner flying. Koula's body slammed against a tree trunk, and she spat out a mouthful of blood, obviously severely injured.

But she successfully blocked one of the tentacles, protecting the more vulnerable spellcasters.

However, the monster's true target was still Elothysia, who was with her two children. Although it didn't understand why the succubus was present, in its mind, succubi were not demons skilled in combat. It planned to snatch the foolish female demon along with the two children she held, then use Shadow Jump to quickly exit the battlefield.