The Paladin in the Abyss

"That doesn't sound very reliable." Kalalin stroked his chin, "What does that symbol made up of three lines represent then?"

"Northwest, mountain range, stillness, extinction, grave." Lancelot shrugged his shoulders, "I guess it should mean the mountain range here, right? The thing we're looking for has obviously fallen into the valley."

"The vaguer the meaning, the easier it is to find a corresponding interpretation afterwards." Alamir was not very convinced by this, "If it were about praying to the gods, one would either get no response at all or receive clear instructions. Lady Firehair would not provide an ambiguous answer."

"Agreed. In theory, this method is of directly inquiring of heaven and earth, who knows how the world itself views the issue." Lancelot spread his hands, offering no rebuttal to the elf's comment, "So shall we head towards the north to try our luck?"

"Why not? Your intuition is always accurate." The impatient Bruto was the first to step out, heading in the direction Lancelot had calculated.

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The winding mountain path was narrow in some places and wide in others, but for the most part, only allowed two people to walk side by side. The dwarf with a shield went first, followed by the human knight and succubus paladin. The scholar and the cook walked alongside each other, the latter's magic boots making her stride as effortlessly as if she were walking on flat ground. Bringing up the rear was Alamir, with a skeleton head beside him, and thanks to a mental connection with the human knight, Lancelot could be kept informed about the situation at the back of the group at all times.

As they moved, everyone was alert to any abnormalities in the surrounding environment. Lancelot also tried to focus his attention, but the omnipresent red fog seemed to have a suppressive effect on spirit perception, making it completely impossible to sense anything beyond a hundred feet.

But a hundred feet was not a short distance. Lancelot suddenly patted the dwarf on the shoulder and then raised a fist, signaling a warning to his companions.

It was not the first time this had happened today, and the group immediately drew weapons and went on alert, scanning in every direction for signs of the enemy.

From ahead came the buzzing sound of insect wings beating at high speed, indicating the type of enemy. In the next second, eight humanoid flies appeared in everyone's view—Kas demons, one of the most common types of demons in the Great Abyss.

These demons immediately spotted the group on the mountain path below, and their thirst for blood prompted them to dive towards the travelers. Although there was a succubus among these mortals, implying that these humans might be the plaything of said succubus, when had demons ever cared about the opinions of their kind? After tasting fresh flesh, they would be more than happy to use their long, slender proboscises to punch a few holes in the succubus's body.

The only thing that could make demons obey was the threat of death, and clearly most succubi could not impose such a threat. In their eyes, mortals were nothing more than creatures they could slaughter and toy with at will.

At least, until they encountered a group of truly powerful adventurers, these wild demons would continue to think so.

Bruto patiently waited for the enemy to get close enough before swinging his hammer. The demon, diving at high speed, couldn't dodge in time, and the cold iron hammer's head smashed viciously onto the face of the Kas demon with the pointed mouth, spraying a mixture of red and white flesh and blood, instantly killing the demon that was at the forefront of the attack.

This was the Dwarf's experience from the previous few battles. Those flying fellows were incredibly agile, so if he threw his Magic Warhammer from too far away, it was likely to be dodged by the enemy. That meant before the hammer could fly back to him, he would have to endure hits with only his Shield raised.

And considering the combat capability of his elder brother, by the time the Warhammer flew back, the battle would mostly have ended.

Lancelot had also mastered the knack of fighting flying Demons in this kind of environment. The area was too confined to maneuver freely, so he simply leaped into midair to fight. With his impressive physical prowess and a bit of assistance from his True Qi, he could leap dozens of feet, moving through the air like an ape. Between the cliffs of the Great Abyss, no matter whether they were enemies that dared to attack him or those he was pursuing, they would all be bisected after a flash of cold light, plummeting straight down.

Elothysia dutifully played the role of Protector. She stood with her Shield raised in front of the Halfling and the Scholar, with her radiant cold iron Broad Sword in hand, ready to give any enemy who got too close a taste of pain. Some Demons might find her appearance curious—Succubi typically wore as little as possible and even wished to strip everything off once a battle started. Who would have thought to see one like her bundled up in an "iron can"?

A Kas Demon apparently thought the plump Halfling looked particularly delicious. The Succubus holding the Shield suddenly became an extreme nuisance. It charged towards the rear of this mortal team, imagining how it would use the spikes on its face to pierce the graceful body of the Succubus, oblivious to the fact that it was about to face the greatest shock of its 'demonic' life.

The cold iron Broad Sword in Elothysia's hand was already as bright as a torch, but as she swung it towards the Demon, the light on the blade surged suddenly, shining as brightly as a sun appearing in the valley.

"No!!!!"

The intense light made the Kas Demon with its huge compound eyes dizzy, but what truly shocked it was how a Succubus could unleash such an attack.

"Evilbane Slash!!!!!!"

The Succubus Paladin let out a crisp and firm battle cry as her Longsword, gleaming with golden light, slashed through the Demon like a sickle through wheat, cutting the Kas Demon clean in half. The searing light on the blade instantly vaporized the Demon's blood, leaving the corpse charred when it hit the ground, as if burned by fire.
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All the Kas Demons were attracted by the attention. Either the destructive power contained in the Succubus's sword or the fact that this Demon was actually a Holy Warrior placed a tremendous strain on their already limited wits, causing a brief vacancy in their minds.

But for Lancelot, this brief moment was enough for him to accomplish a great deal.

The sword in the Human Knight's hand, Frostslash, emitted a green Sword Aura, as the four-foot Sword Blade suddenly grew more than double in length. He moved with a trail of afterimages, hopping vertically across the cliff face, the greenish sword light sweeping over the still-stunned enemies.

When Lancelot landed again, the Kas Demons in the sky began to split open one after another, their broken bodies falling into the endless abyss below, eventually becoming food for some lucky Demon or hitting the head of some unlucky creature.

"Couldn't you have left me a couple?" Bruto complained. He had just finished dealing with his second opponent and was looking for another target when he found there were none left in the sky.