The Paladin in the Abyss

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Both parties were caught somewhat off guard by the encounter, but Lancelot's Spirit Perception still allowed him to grasp a slight advantage. Frostslash struck like lightning, and Lancelot, aiming for a quick victory, directly channeled Innate True Qi through the Qingyuan Sword Technique. A semi-transparent Sword Aura instantly pierced the heart of one of the enemies.

The attacks from the others concentrated on another enemy. The Dwarf threw his weapon immediately, and the Warhammer, spinning, struck the insect face of Kas Demon complete with a spiky beak, suppressing its warning shriek back into its stomach. Elothysia quickly followed up, a brief flash of golden light flaring as the Holy Warrior's exaggeratedly powerful Evilbane Slash slashed through this demon, then its body fell to the ground, emitting two dull sounds.

After dealing with the two enemies, everyone immediately ceased their actions, ears perked, listening carefully to the surroundings, fearing that other enemies might notice the anomaly here.

From Cromwell's high-altitude view, Lancelot confirmed that no nearby demons seemed inclined to approach. Just to be safe, he and his companions quickly dealt with the scene, tossing the two mangled bodies into an empty hut. The bodies would eventually be discovered, but this might buy them a little time.

Quickly leaving the scene of the incident, the group moved forward again. Tiny beads of sweat began to form on Lancelot's forehead. In his senses, the presence of demons around them was increasing, and there were squads patrolling the road. Under his guidance, the group moved quickly at times and paused momentarily at others, inching perilously through this nest-like structure.

But their luck finally ran out. While they were waiting for one patrol squad to pass by, another unexpectedly turned a corner and headed towards the alley where they were hiding.

"Boss! Be careful!" A voice like a skull's echoed in Lancelot's mind, but he had already foreseen the approaching enemies through a shared vision. There were a total of six enemies, and this time, hiding was no longer possible. He internally sighed in regret, for they were less than a hundred feet away from the steps leading to that great hall, and yet their efforts were thwarted.

The Human Knight drew his Hand Half Sword, Frostslash, from behind, ready to fight their way out.

"Boss, I'll draw these enemies away, and you all rush in during the confusion!"

The voice of the skull echoed again, causing Lancelot to hesitate momentarily before quickly asking:

"How will you attract their attention? Don't do anything reckless!"

"Remember Phil?" the skull started drifting towards a farther spot, "that Goblin who blasted a hole in the ice wall summoning the Bone Demon?" Experience more content on My Virtual Library Empire

"Uh... you wouldn't?"

"Yeah, after coming back from Oasis Fort, I specifically sought him out, and he really liked the gemstone I gave him…"

From Cromwell's view, Lancelot 'saw' the skull suddenly open its mouth with dimensional space capabilities, and a giant black bomb flew out, swiftly plummeting towards the ground.

"Oh no! Looks like it needs to be lit too!" the skull suddenly screamed, "Sorry, boss, looks like it's up to you…"

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A thunderous roar erupted, causing the entire cave to tremble due to the fierce explosion. A large cluster of Kas demons' round huts was leveled to the ground, along with any unfortunate souls still resting inside. It seemed that the Goddess of Luck was once again on their side; the bomb Phil provided the skull with clearly had quality issues, detonating from the impact of falling.

From a certain perspective, it was exceedingly bold of the skull to implant such a substandard product in its own head, although strictly speaking, its mouth was just an entrance to an extra-dimensional space. But who knew what else was inside? If the real brain was in there too, a blast would certainly spell trouble.

The patrol that had been approaching Lancelot quickly turned around and rushed towards the explosion, while the others seized the moment when the demons were distracted and dashed toward the stairs leading to the great hall.

The skull itself was also lifted high into the air by the shockwave of the explosion, realizing the 'impropriety' of these bombs, it quickly opened its mouth and spat out the remaining seven or eight similar bombs all at once.

At that moment, the duration of its Levitation Spell also ended, and the skull hurriedly flew towards the stairs where Lancelot was, luckily, the explosion had raised a large amount of dust, allowing it to camouflage its form in the air.

Another round of violent explosions occurred, blasting many demons who had rushed over to check the situation into the sky. The shockwave accelerated the skull in mid-air uncontrollably, sending it crashing like a meteor onto the steps ahead of the group.

"Aaaaahhhhh!!!"

This was the scream Lancelot heard through the psychic link. After a loud bang, a large hole appeared on the steps in front of the group, fortunately surrounded by falling debris from various buildings, so the landing of the skull wasn't particularly noticeable.

"Hey, still alive?" Bruto ran up, casually dug the skull out from a pile of rubble, and violently shook it in his hand.

"Alive, alive, I've got my helmet, don't I?" The skull regained consciousness and quickly wriggled out of the dwarf's hands. "How about that, boss? I did a great service, didn't I?"

"Well done," Lancelot said with a smile, "after all, it's not every day someone dares to install Goblin products in their own head."

"As long as it works, I'll definitely have to thank Phil later."

Behind the group, the series of explosions caused by the skull created massive chaos, and the rising smoke greatly reduced the visibility around, blocking the view of those who might look towards the great hall stairs. The group didn't waste any more time and quickly rushed up the stairs.

There were hundreds of steps to climb, and it was no easy task. Lancelot and Bruto, naturally fit, had no problems, and the petite Koula, thanks to her Boots of Escape, also walked quite briskly. Little Isha simply turned into a bat and flew up with the Succubus Paladin, alongside the skull floating in mid-air.

But for the Priest and Scholar, the experience was not so pleasant. Kalalin was already not much for exercise, and Alamir was wearing heavy armor. To keep pace with everyone, the entire team inevitably slowed down.

Another team of demons rushed out from the great hall, and Lancelot, upon closer inspection, realized they were a group of Margo demons. But these demons were different from the patrol they encountered on the Plains of the Abyss; their bodies also exhibited noticeable mutations: the wings on their backs had turned into arms ending in longsword-like claws; their previously smooth skin now bore crocodile-like scales, and their faces now sported four spider-like eyes.