The Paladin in the Abyss

"This is indeed a rare sight," Tigana cocked her head in the direction of Lancelot, who shrugged at her. "In that case, I shall grant you some power."

A red glow gathered in Tigana's hands and then submerged into Dingke's body.

The Quasimodo Demon collapsed to the ground with a scream of agony. Its muscles trembled violently as if they were cramping, but it did not experience the skin-tearing, bone-piercing pain it had when Lancelot had 'bestowed' his 'gift'.

Lancelot felt intense pain through the mental link, but it was within a tolerable range.

After a few moments, Dingke stood up again. From a distance, it still looked like a Quasimodo Demon, but up close one could see it now stood over six feet tall, twice the height of a normal Quasimodo Demon. Its bulging muscles and the pair of majestic horns on its head set it apart as something extraordinary.

It knelt respectfully before Tigana, demonstrating its subservience.

"I bestow upon you the title of 'Warrior'," Tigana announced loudly, "Every resident of this town must show you respect."

"Dingke! Dingke! Dingke!"

The crowd cheered loudly, applauding the daring, greedy, and cunning Quasimodo Demon; of course, those traits were considered commendable for Demons. Furthermore, the town's Demons held feelings for their Lord that extended beyond fear; they were quite pleased to see the male Succubus humiliated.

"Alright, lads, you've had your fun, now scram," Tigana waved her hand, signaling the end of the contest.

At this point, Tigana gestured directly at Lancelot, beckoning him with a clear implication to come to her.

Lancelot stood up reluctantly and, after giving a few instructions to Bruto and Kalalin, made his way alone towards the high platform.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Juggling swords before a group of High Rank Demons? He did not like this idea one bit. But Tigana was right; sending Barrend or any other Dwarven Artisan would be even less appropriate. And with her there, he shouldn't encounter too much danger.

The most crucial thing was that he found it incredibly difficult to say 'no' to Tigana's requests. The fact that he could restrain himself from actively courting her favor was already quite an accomplishment.

Still lacking in mental discipline, Lancelot lamented internally. He had a feeling that sooner or later, he would fall into major trouble because of Tigana.

There was a solution—to leave Twin Bridges Town and never return—but he knew that was not feasible. It wasn't a matter of surviving alone in the Abyss; as a cultivator at the Qi Cultivation Stage, he could fast for long periods, the Abyss could not kill him.

But he needed his companions to help him stay sane, otherwise, even if the Abyss didn't claim his life, it would slowly corrupt his spirit, driving him to madness.

Had Tigana used Charm on him? No, she didn't need to. Lancelot was well aware that the primal desire clawing at him was what the Succubi were born from. Just seeing Tigana's figure, that desire wouldn't stay put.

Fortunately, he wasn't short of experience in struggling with desire. When tired, one longs to rest; in the face of danger, one wishes to flee. It was natural to harbor any thoughts in front of a creature as tempting as Tigana. What he needed to do was to stay clear-headed and not let emotions cloud his judgment.

With those thoughts, he silently began the Ice Heart Technique. The effect was immediate; his mind and body calmed at once, feeling as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head.

Next, Lancelot simultaneously activated the Qi Concealing Technique, Turtle Breathing Technique, and Hidden Dragon Technique. He had one purpose: to conceal his true strength.

Han Tianshen had discussed a question in his "Insights into Spiritual Cultivation": when facing an enemy stronger than yourself, how should you respond?

The answer was simple: do not provoke such enemies, or if possible, avoid them. One could cultivate anywhere, and there was no ground that couldn't be reclaimed with a breakthrough—if that's not enough, then just break through again.

But if it's truly impossible to evade, making your enemies underestimate your strength is also a good strategy.

His aura rapidly weakened, until he seemed no more noteworthy than a knight who had only seen battle once or twice.

Dingke took advantage of the moment when everyone's attention was diverted to use his ability to turn invisible again. He slipped to a corner no one noticed, transformed into a bat, and then flew high into the sky to circle and keep watch, observing the surroundings closely.

The Quasimodo Demon knew that its master could share its vision through a mental link, and in this way, it showed Lancelot that it was still his humble servant.

-------------------------------------------

Atop the high platform.

"So what kind of weapon is that, exactly?"

As soon as Tijana landed back on the ground, the impatient Arachne Elf Kavalan closed in to ask.

"It's Cold Iron, a type of metal particularly effective against Elven kind," Kailon, who had been rather quiet before, answered for Tijana with great certainty. "Even the treasury of my father has weapons made from this metal. 'King of the Frost Giants,' Kostcheqi's famous warhammer, is also made of Cold Iron."

"Hmph, even if that's true, they are surely rare and exorbitantly priced," the Demonic male Molo said disdainfully. "I've heard about Wisk, how could he possibly die at the hands of that dumb ox and spider? The treasures from his vault must have gone into the pockets of those filthy assassins by now."

"You?!" The spider shouted in anger, raising its sharp front claws threateningly, yet it dared not take any further action, while the Bull Demon Pami kept silent, pretending as if it didn't exist.

Tijana didn't even glance at them. All Neutral Towns were hubs of information; if those two managed to remember the route this time, that was already an achievement. There would be plenty of opportunities for business in the future.

"What do you mean 'you'! Don't think I can't see that you intended to deliberately lose to me," Molo sneered. "But Tijana, since these guys are broke anyway, why not give them all to me? I do know some real big shots, you know."

"Twin Bridges Town can manufacture 300 such weapons every month," Tijana said nonchalantly, showing Molo a mocking smile.

Having recognized the immense power of Cold Iron Weapons, Tijana naturally prioritized rearming her own forces first. Succubi aren't like Dragons; they don't enjoy sleeping on piles of gold. What they need is the power to achieve their goals, and wealth is just one of the means to garner that power.

"This... this is impossible!" Molo went pale at the number, then as if something occurred to him, he blurted out, "I get it, they must all be shoddily made imitations, you can't fool me!"

"They might probably look a bit shabby compared to your group of Gold Toad Fighters," Tijana scoffed. She saw that her Berserk Demons had gathered the weapons in the arena, piling them up together. With a wave of her hand, the large mass of metal was instantly teleported in front of everyone.

"If you're interested, have a look for yourself."