The Paladin in the Abyss

"...I'm mainly concerned about their lives." Lancelot touched his nose awkwardly, "So, the stuff in the bag is what's worth taking as booty?"

"Yeah, it seems the Frost Giants plunderers aren't interested in gold; I didn't find any Gold Coins, but I did come across quite a few Spinels and tourmalines, worth about two thousand Gold Coins." Bruto opened the large sack behind him, revealing some dark red and deep purple irregular gemstones, "Don't be disappointed, these are still raw stones. After a jeweler's crafting, they will be very beautiful."

"I trust your judgment." Lancelot nodded, and with a curious tone, he asked, "Can you work on them?"

"By human standards, I should qualify as a competent jeweler..." Bruto scratched his reddish-brown curly hair and sighed helplessly, "but to my old man, my skill is no different from that of a kobold plumber."

"Then these raw stones are yours to work with." Lancelot clapped the Dwarf on the shoulder, "Processed ones definitely sell for more than raw stones, and only practice can improve skill, right? Just imagine, one day in the future, you walk up to Uncle Barrend and hand him a perfectly cut diamond, telling him it's your work..."

"Knowing the old man, he'd probably grunt reluctantly to show approval, ha!" Bruto's face lit up with a smile, "But I like this idea, thanks for the encouragement. I'll try some handicraft during breaks."

"No pressure, if it gets spoilt, count it on all of us..." Lancel sat, patting Bruto's shoulder again, "Looking forward to your work."

"Lancelot, should we also take this?" On the other side, Kalalin came over holding a huge semi-translucent snake molt, which looked like it was wrapped in a curtain, "Except for the wound in the middle of the chest, the rest is very intact. It's a rare item, I think it's worth collecting. Turning it into the Cult could also fetch a good amount of money..."

"Okay." The Human Knight nodded, pointing at the armor that the Serpent Demons had just taken off on the ground, "Pack those up as well."

"I checked them already, they're just common Abyssal Metal." Kalalin asked puzzledly, "This material is hard to work with and might be used in some evil rituals, but it seems of little value to us."

"There are still plenty of treasuries waiting for us to visit in the Abyss." Lancelot smacked his lips, "We need to leave a clue about our identity for the owners of the treasuries, or for the thieves who come in after us, don't you think?"

Kalalin stood stunned for a moment, didn't say a word, and decisively turned back to pick up the discarded equipment of the Serpent Demons.

"Guys, let me treat your wounds first." Alamir came over with ointment and bandages, "Bruto, starting with you. Your wound on the right elbow is almost scabbed, and frankly, I'm not used to your uneven eyes..."

"If it's already scabbing, that means the wound is almost healed. And if I just widen my left eye, both eyes will look the same size..." Although Bruto said this, he obediently let the Elf manipulate his body, "Hey, I've been meaning to ask, don't you have Healing Divine Art? Why use such 'traditional' methods?"

"As a Priest of the Domain of Life, don't doubt my Healing Divine Art, and I'm equally proficient with bandages and ointments. Close your eyes." Alamir tapped Bruto's forehead, who obediently closed his eyelids, letting the Priest gently rub around his eye sockets with a hand dipped in ointment, "Divine Arts, once used up, cannot be recovered without adequate rest, which directly concerns the life and death of buddies, so as long as the situation allows, we try not to rely on supernatural powers to treat injuries, saving the precious casting opportunities for truly urgent situations. All right, you can open your eyes now. How does it feel?"

"Not too good." Bruto made a face, "The first thing I see when I open my eyes is you, the beardless fellow. Do you need to borrow my precious belt for a night? Just one night, and you'll have a nice goatee..."

"You know, I'm the only one in this team who can use the Resurrection Technique..."

"Don't be so serious, man. I was just joking." Bruto shrank his neck a bit, feeling wronged, "If I died, you'd bring me back, right?"

"Of course, my dear Dwarf friend, you misunderstood me." Alamir shook his head, "What I mean is, have you ever thought about this situation: after a fierce battle, several comrades have fallen, and the only one who can bring them back is also among the dead..."

"I will make sure that never happens..."

"No no no, let's suppose it has already happened, don't worry, you just mentioned a solution!"

"What?" The Dwarf scratched his head, "What are you talking about?"

"I mean, even if I've already breathed my last, and no warmth of life can be felt in my cold corpse, even if no one would cast Resurrection on the dead, there would still be a way to bring me back to life—just put your belt on me." Alamir patted the Dwarf's belly, "Even if my soul were in Shuni's palace, discussing my adventures in the Abyss with seventy-two virgins, it would surely return to my body immediately to rip off that damned belt!!!"

"Hahahaha..."

The companions burst into laughter, even Bruto couldn't help but laugh. Amidst the cheerful laughter, the group cleaned up the battlefield and then resumed their journey on the sledge pulled by the giant wolf Reap, following the road out of the mountains.

By the way, the Abyssal Scroll was stowed away in the Dimensional Bag by Lancelot first. He didn't dare risk putting this artifact of the Dark Cult into a demi-plane, as there's a certain likelihood of summoning Demons, and a surprise attack during rest is minor in comparison to exposing the spatial coordinates of the demi-plane. Although the Succubus Lord surely has other means to keep unwelcome visitors out, the best strategy is still keeping that demi-plane a secret.

If no one knows a house exists, naturally, there's no need to worry about thieves.

In the following journey, the group encountered several more battles similar to that one, with portals suddenly appearing out of nowhere and Frost Giants' raiding parties emerging from them. However, they didn't encounter any troublesome enemies like the six-armed Serpent Demons anymore, instead gaining substantial experience fighting against Giants.

Three days later, the steep mountains finally began to flatten, and everyone in the group knew that they were about to enter the Frost Giants' Plains, one of the most barbaric and bloody giant battlegrounds in the Multiverse.