The Paladin in the Abyss-Chapter 456 - 480: Blockade

"Moradin!"

Accompanied by a roar, Bruto hurled his hammer like a storm straight at the Flomos charging at the forefront. The demon immediately tried to dodge by changing its trajectory, but the swiftly spinning warhammer traced a beautiful arc, hitting the vulture-like demon squarely. Accompanied by the sound of breaking bones, the demon’s heart was crushed into a mass of flesh within its ribcage, and the magic warhammer flew back to the dwarf.

The remaining demons became even more enraged. They swarmed up, hoping to take advantage of the momentary absence of weapons in the dwarf’s hands to launch a pincer attack, but then Lancelot made his move. He stomped heavily on the ground, and like a drum surface, the ground vibrated, instantly catapulting the unarmored human knight dozens of feet into the air.

The sudden approach of the human knight caught the Flomos off guard, but Lancelot had already locked onto his target. A crescent arc of silver light appeared in mid-air, and immediately one of the Flomos was cleaved in half, its lifeless body plummeting toward the ground.

After the sudden upper slash, Lancelot still had strength to spare. He slightly rotated his body and delivered a slash toward another Flomos at his side. The enemy tried to block the attack with its claws, but Frostslash, forged from cold iron and inherently repelling demons’ innate armor, coupled with Lancelot’s use of the Qingyun Sword Art, allowed the sharp sword blade to easily sever the Flomos’ bird-like talons, as if a sickle cutting through wheat.

Just as the weapon was about to make contact with the enemy’s body, Lancelot slightly twisted the sword blade, using the flat of the sword to harshly smash the demon’s face. The force of this blow was so strong that the Flomos’ head burst open like a shattered watermelon, while Lancelot, using the lift from the impact, performed a forward roll in the air and landed hard on the exploded corpse, using it to leap even higher.

Frostslash once again traced a cold, menacing arc, cutting a third Flomos cleanly in two. In just a few breaths’ time, he had killed so many enemies, and the horrifying efficiency of his slaughter had completely terrified and broken the spirit of his foes. The few remaining Flomos let out fearful cries and turned to try to fly away, but that’s when gravity caught up with the human knight, yanking him toward the ground.

Since the demons were fleeing, Lancelot had no intention of pursuing further, but Tijana seemed to have other ideas. The Succubus Lord had been preparing a powerful spell ever since the beginning, and as Lancelot began to fall, the spell was completed. In pursuit of power and range, she did not use her spell instant casting ability but instead focused her super-magic skills on spell amplification.

The human knight sensed an appalling force converging on Tijana through his spirit perception. Then the Succubus Lord threw a piece of iron emitting a chill, which was instantly disintegrated under the magic’s effect. Meanwhile, huge shackles of shadow appeared on the bodies of the fleeing Flomos in mid-air, then violently snapped shut around them.

The vulture-shaped demons stiffened up, their wings, which had been flapping rapidly, suddenly seeming frozen, and their powerless bodies traced arcs as they, following their original flight paths, crashed toward the ground.

"Finish them off," Tijana’s indifferent voice sounded in everyone’s ears. "You wouldn’t want these demons to take a particular interest in this mountain, would you?"

Lancelot understood this reasoning without Tijana’s explanation, but the three dwarves, who had spent years at the forge, were not so easily convinced. No matter, while they were still hesitating in place, Lancelot and Bruto had already taken care of all the helpless demons.

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"Impressive," Tijana said with some surprise, giving Lancelot a look. "It seems you were holding back during training."

"So were you," the human knight chuckled, pulling out a soft cloth to wipe the blood off his longsword, although his clothes were not so easily cleansed.

"Stand still." The Succubus Lord extended a finger and lightly touched Lancelot. Immediately, all the bloodstains on his clothes disappeared. "Perfect."

"Thank you, my lady," Lancelot replied with a knight’s salute, which, lacking armor, appeared quite graceful instead of the usual stiffness, and Tijana, who had just sported a frosty expression, now smiled as radiantly as a blooming flower, her gaze as tender as if it were dripping with water.

"Ahem!" Bruto made a noise, disrupting the two who seemed to be in their world, "Shouldn’t we be retrieving a Cross Pickaxe?"

"Of course, of course," Tijana snapped back to her senses immediately, reverting to the formidable Succubus Lord in an instant, yet a hint of bashful blush lingered on her face, "Lead the way, Councilor Adrick, let’s see what you’ve dug up in this mountain."

"Allow me to warn you in advance, the guards of the temple might not be pleased with your arrival," the elderly dwarf showed a conflicted expression again, "They are quite... zealous in their faith towards the Father God. Please, do forgive any rudeness on their part."

"We shall see," Tijana replied noncommittally, "How much longer must I stand here?"

"This way!" The dwarven artisan hastened forward, "We will have to descend to midway up the mountain first..."

The temple entrance was ingeniously concealed behind a series of gigantic stones, and if not for guidance, Lancelot would certainly have failed to locate it. After passing through a dark corridor, the passage suddenly opened up, and they were faced with a massive rock, carved into the shape of an Iron Anvil, and twenty feet in length and breadth, with a square hole in the middle leading into the interior of the temple.

At that moment, the temple doors were securely blocked by two smaller square rocks, while on the steps ahead stood seven fully armed dwarf warriors, who, nervous but resolute, blocked the way forward. The captain of the guards spoke with a voice that quivered slightly:

"Halt! Lady Tijana... Why have you come here?"

"I have come to take back what is mine," Tijana said, arms crossed over her chest, "Are you going to stop me?"

"What?" The dwarf guards looked at each other in confusion, "There’s nothing here..."

"Dain Frostbeard’s Cross Pickaxe," Councilor Adrick said weakly, "Lady Tijana wishes that the holy relic remain in the Craftsman Hall..."

"I have never agreed to give that item to you," the Succubus Lord strode forward once more, "Now, I want to retrieve what belongs to me."

"Wait!" The dwarf guards instinctively backed away but remained determined to block her path, "You can’t enter this sacred hall!"

"Oh, really?" Tijana raised an eyebrow, suddenly raising her voice, and called out loudly: "Forge Master Moradin! I am Tijana, the Demon Lord of Twin Bridges Town, the Avenger born in Shackles, the protector of the dwarf clan in the Abyss! Now I wish to take back something that is mine—are you going to turn me away from your temple?"