The Paladin in the Abyss

The rest of them stood far off in a corner, not daring to step forward to help. The movements of the two were simply too fast; neither Bruto's hammer nor Kalalin's spells could ensure they wouldn't accidentally harm their own comrades.

Moreover, they had a strange feeling that Lancelot actually didn't want them to intervene. This was an opponent his equal in strength, also a knight; Lancelot seemed to wish to win this battle using his own power.

"Enough! Enrique! Stop!" Elothysia unexpectedly spoke up, "Have you forgotten the glory and trust you once held? You have indeed suffered unjust treatment, and justice never forbids revenge, but that is no excuse for the indiscriminate killing of innocents!"

"Shut up, Tanari!" To everyone's surprise, the typically silent and uncommunicative Dark Guardian suddenly spoke up with anger that was hard to suppress, "Don't think you have any right to judge me! You too betrayed your own lord, your former way of life, how are you any different from me?"

"What? Did a Succubus Paladin strike a nerve?" Elothysia seemed to be angered as well, showing her succubus talent for sharp wit, "Evil is our demonic nature, but I chose to fight against it; whereas you, when faced with the darkness within, chose to submit. Even if your eyes clouded by pride fail to see the difference, how do you explain your decline in your fall from grace?"

"Shut up shut up shut up!!! You don't understand anything!!!"

The knight in black armor shouted hysterically, raising his sword and charging at the Succubus Paladin, and Lancelot naturally wouldn't turn a blind eye to this.

"Hey! Have you even lost the decency to treat a lady with respect?" Frostslash forcefully intercepted Enrique, "Don't get it wrong; your enemy is right here!"

The Sword Aura on the Dark Guardian's blade surged dramatically, like his raging fury. The surrounding light seemed to be sucked into the pitch-black sword blade, as if even the air touching it was annihilated in an instant.

"Meddlesome knight, go to hell!!"

Lancelot knew his opponent was desperate, and he held back no longer. The Qingyuan Sword Technique operated at full capacity, and Innate True Qi surged from his Dantian, but it didn't form a long Sword Aura. Instead, it all gathered upon the blade of Frostslash. As more True Qi was output, his treasured sword, forged from cold iron, became brighter and brighter until it shone a dazzling aqua blue, its aura in no way inferior to that of the Dark Guardian.

"Ting, ting, ting!"

Lancelot slashed out lightning-fast with three consecutive cuts, and his opponent countered without hesitation. The two blades, each exuding a different luminescence, clashed repeatedly, producing a collision sound much higher in frequency than usual.

"Wow, what's with the black light on that guy's sword? This is the first time I've seen someone able to contend with the power that Lancelot wields..." The sharp sword wind made even Bruto struggle to breathe, but he still held his shield, standing at the front of his companions. The proud Dwarf wouldn't allow himself to be under anyone's protection, his big brother notwithstanding.

"That's similar to our Holy Warriors and Priests channeling Divine Power, only we summon Positive Energy, while Dark Guardians summon Negative Energy," Elothysia said, equally tense as she watched the two combatants, "Enrique must have combined the channeled Negative Energy with his own Evil Force to obtain that terrifying power capable of crushing all that is good in the world."

Under the stimulus of anger, the Dark Knight's eyes flickered with dazzling red glows, his power and speed increasing by a third more than before. The pitch-black Great Sword whooshed around him, and whenever Lancelot gained a slight advantage, Bruto would immediately resort to vicious moves that cost both sides dearly, much to Lancelot's frustration.

The fight was a deadlock with each side exchanging blows, but gradually, Lancelot fell into a disadvantage again. Of course, this was not because he was outmatched in skill, but because the Dark Guardian often adopted an attitude ready for mutual destruction, to such an extent that Lancelot even suspected that this was precisely what Enrique wanted.

That's how combat works; when the martial skills of both sides are roughly equal, the one who is more fearless and daring to face death often gains the upper hand. Lancelot had encountered many such people in the past, both as enemies and as comrades. When completely indifferent to life and death, anyone can be extremely powerful.

But these respectable individuals were either dead or had only experienced a few battles. The issue before him was, faced with this style of combat from his opponent, was he the terminator, or the victim?

Lancelot's mind worked furiously, considering possible strategies. Their strengths were evenly matched, so should he just keep wearing down the opponent and wait for an opportunity? That was too unpredictable, and since the opponent harbored various peculiar abilities, who knew what kind of tricks he might pull next; what about making use of the surrounding environment? He still remembered the position of a few rocks in the soil layers of the walls and ceiling—using those hard surfaces, he could make some unexpected leaps...

Or perhaps, the endless void just outside the camp?

A plan quickly formed in his mind, but it wasn't easy to get the opponent to follow his script. The first step of the plan was to make the opponent believe that Lancelot was on the verge of defeat, and for that, he had to tell a good story.

In the eyes of the onlookers, Lancelot's movements seemed to slow down gradually. His breathing became heavy, no longer able to suppress the opponent with speed, and his parrying didn't seem as effortless anymore. Bruto was the first to notice the anomaly and couldn't help but anxiously speak out:

"Is Lancelot running out of stamina?" The Dwarf stared intently at the battle, his body involuntarily shifting left and right, "We should go help him!"
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"Something's not quite right," Alamir also felt uneasy, "We should get ready..."

"Brother Lancelot will definitely not lose!" Little Isha stated with conviction, though her body was so tense it began to tremble slightly, and a faint red glow started to emerge in her eyes.

Everyone began to take action. Glows of Divine Arts appeared on the Elves and Succubus as they enhanced their various abilities; Koula mixed several potions together, creating a solution with violently bubbling bubbles, but instead of covering it, she clenched it tightly in her hand; Kalalin was frantically rummaging through her backpack, drawing out various scrolls, preparing to cast strengthening spells on her companions.

The only ones who didn't move were the little Vampire and Clone Well; the former really had nothing she could do and thus gripped her Cold Iron Shortsword tightly, ready to join the battle at any moment.