The Paladin in the Abyss

The two enemies who had fallen to the ground got up, one of them, a Steel Demon, severely injured by his strike, had a huge gash at the waist, from which a large amount of blood was flowing. He barely stood up with the support of another Steel Demon.

This showed that the Qingyun Sword Art was not lacking in power. Heavy armor was almost impossible to be breached by slashing weapons, yet his strike had torn through the Steel Demon's armor, dealing a severe injury directly.

To take down an enemy in full heavy armor on the battlefield, one either relied on the terrifying impact of a lance thrust to penetrate, or used a warhammer to literally shake the enemy to death. In knight duels, swords were more like tools for wrestling; you only had a chance to deal a fatal blow through the gaps in the armor after making the enemy fall.

Of course, in most cases, knights who had fallen decisively surrendered. The knightly code required them to treat surrendering captives well; killing an enemy who had surrendered was considered a highly dishonorable act.

Moreover, a living knight could be exchanged for a large sum of money, enough to buy at least two sets of armor.

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"Damn! Boss is awesome!" Eckmond exclaimed excitedly, cursing outright, "That strike was really powerful!"

The Steel Demons were surprised by Lancelot's formidable combat ability. In their view, these Blood War Mercenaries were merely guards for a Succubus, who had accidentally run into them while fleeing, and had come on a secret mission. They thought if they killed the Succubus, the morale of those mortals would quickly collapse.

But clearly, that was not the case.

After completing a formation rotation, Lancelot was once again facing two unharmed enemies. These demons no longer rushed forward but adopted a defensive posture, planning to hold him there.

Lancelot had no time to waste with them. He needed to quickly take out these enemies to assist his companions surrounded by the Skeleton Sea.

He charged once again, wielding his great sword, while Eckmond, even faster, shot forth like a cannonball, a floating skull agilely passing through the clumsy blades of the Steel Demons, making intimate contact with a Steel Demon's faceplate.

With a clanging sound, the skull flew back flipping through the air. The Steel Demon it had hit merely shook its head, appearing completely undamaged.

But it did indeed serve to tie down one of the enemies. Lancelot seized the chance for a one-on-one duel, delivering a heavy over-the-shoulder slash.

The prepared Steel Demon raised its great sword to parry the slash, but the immense force stirred made him unstable, forcing him to kneel on one knee.

Lancelot's terrible physical prowess was fully displayed at this moment. His rebounding great sword slashed down again like lightning, the enemy still reeling from the previous attack, could only struggle to raise his sword to block.

The Succubus Knight's second strike knocked the weapon from the Steel Demon's hand, and with the rebound force, his raised great sword slashed down again, aiming directly for the head of the kneeling demon.

If the Heavy Sword Slash had hit, even if the helmet had been made of diamond, the tremendous force would have been enough to break the Steel Demon's neck.

But two protruding sword blades thwarted his intent to kill with one blow. Two Steel Demons standing in the back timely stretched out helping hands, blocking this fatal strike for their comrade.

Lancelot's sword blade skewed off course and landed on the enemy's shoulder armor. The Glacier failed to pierce the Steel Demon's body again but created a wound deeper than 5 inches on its shoulder.

The usually silent Demon let out a muffled groan of pain for the first time as the right arm of the Steel Demon dropped powerlessly; evidently, the entire arm was now useless.

Another Steel Demon from the back quickly took the place of its companion, showcasing the renowned iron discipline of the Demons. Most Demons wouldn't bother to cover for a comrade, much less execute such tight coordination.

Seeing that Lancelot had succeeded, Eckmond, who had been entangled with another Steel Demon, also flew back in a clumsy manner. The skeleton appeared exceedingly disheveled, with a deep sword mark on his forehead, and it seemed a few teeth had been knocked out as well.

And there were bite marks on the steel throat guard of the Steel Demon, clearly showing this creature's considerable combat strength. However, the bite marks on the armor couldn't cause any damage. Eckmond's major contribution was buying Lancelot a chance to severely damage the enemy.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"I feel like my brain's caught the wind," the skeleton lamented as he looked at the tooth marks on the enemy. "Truly not worth it."

"Are you alright?" Lancelot asked as he examined the deep wound on the skeleton's head, noting that the skull was unusually thick. The wound was nearly an inch deep, yet it still showed the metallic gleam of its bone quality.

"Don't worry, boss, I'm not dead yet," the skeleton swayed in the air, "It will heal slowly. In a few days, my forehead will be as smooth and shiny as ever."

Lancelot turned his attention back to the enemy, feeling a bit anxious. He had to deal with the enemy quickly, or his companions might truly be in danger.

He still didn't understand his new teammates well enough. In his world, priests were more like a part of the ruling class, providing spiritual guidance and comfort to people. Deep down, Lancelot always thought those priests were just tricksters exploiting faith for their own gain.

But in this world, the gods intervened directly in worldly affairs, and their agents in the Mortal Realm were the priests. These priests underwent extensive combat training, convincing enemies and conveying truths more with a Nail-headed Hammer than with words, not to mention they were also endowed with powerful Holy Magic to execute the will of the gods on earth.

Seizing a fleeting opportunity, Alamir raised his shield bearing the Holy Emblem of Shuni and exclaimed:

"Without the capacity to love and be loved, there is no meaning to existence, in the name of Lady Shuni, I command you, Undead, to back down!"

This was one of the priests' most potent abilities, channeling Divine Power. It was as if a Portal had opened inside the Elves, and a vast surge of Holy Power poured out from his body into Shuni's Holy Emblem.

The dazzling radiance burst from the Holy Emblem, sweeping around like a tsunami over the skeletons encircling them. The holy energy directly destroyed the Magic Power sustaining the skeletons' movement; the clatter of bones hitting the ground echoed all around.

However, something strange occurred. The Holy Nova rolled over all the skeletons in the cave, but apart from those closest to them, those in the distance pushing and shoving in eagerness to join the assault were seemingly unaffected. Moreover, though there was clearly space before them, they continued to make pushing motions in mid-air.

Alamir paused momentarily, but after a short observation, he understood the reason and shouted:

"Those are illusions!"