The Paladin in the Abyss

Lancelot, making use of his extraordinary vision, was sizing up the Enyeries when the Fallen Angel suddenly turned her head, locking eyes directly with him.

Lancelot's heart sank with a 'thud', and the next moment he saw the succubus's lips appear to move.

"Spread out!" he cried loudly, while lightning-fast, drew Frostslash from behind his back.

Bruto and Kalalin, who had long been in sync with him, almost instinctively retreated, while the others, startled, turned their heads towards Lancelot in confusion.

They just glimpsed a beautiful woman with wings on her back, clad in ornate plate armor, suddenly appear and, wielding a gemstone-studded longsword, fiercely slash down at Lancelot.

Lancelot barely blocked the succubus's attack, the tremendous force from the opponent's weapon making it difficult to parry, causing him to stagger back several steps.

A storm of shock and fear surged in the depths of his heart. He had only glanced at her from such a distance, yet she had immediately sensed it, and in the next second, she had precisely teleported to his side, launching a lightning-fast sword strike that almost knocked him to the ground—such was the strength of this Enreyes!

"Succubus!" As priests of the true deity, Alamir and Vito recognized this demonic being of legend first, their faces showing a look of horror. Despite their resemblance to celestial beings, the sinister color of their wings was the biggest distinguishing feature from angels, and those blood-red eyes, seemingly forever burning with rage, revealed the true identity of these creatures.

Hearing this, the others quickly pulled out their weapons, readying themselves for battle.

This Enreyes seemed surprised by everyone's reaction. Normally, mere mortals would be in awe of her beauty upon first sight, with the more fragile-minded perhaps even worshipping her, but these people, apart from the initial surprise, seemed completely immune to her charm.

She glanced at the succubus knight in front of her and suddenly raised her eyebrows, scoffing:

"I was wondering where this reasonably strong succubus came from, thinking it was that one. Turns out it's just a human disguised by transfiguration."

Lancelot's heart sank once again. He knew that high-level fiends possessed the ability of true sight, allowing them to see directly through invisibility, illusions, and magically altered appearances. His well-used succubus disguise had been seen through so quickly.

"Go! I'll cover the rear!" Lancelot shouted immediately. The enemy's strength far exceeded that of his companions; their staying behind would hardly help and would only hinder his escape.

Although reluctant, he had diligently cultivated several techniques recommended by Han Tianzun in the little bamboo slip for 'fast, long-distance travel', but he never thought he'd have to use them so soon. Enjoy exclusive chapters from empire

Everyone sprang into action, Vito and Alamir wanted to say something more, but Bruto and Kalalin promptly held them back. Both understood the numerous aces Lancelot had up his sleeve and had full trust in their companion's abilities, as well as a profound understanding of the meaning of 'burden'.

"Not bad, quite sentimental." The succubus's lips curled into a mocking smile, her wings unfurled, she bellowed, "But you should worry about yourself first!"

With a light leap, the succubus appeared more than ten feet in the air and then, like an eagle, swooped down on Lancelot with force, slashing out a series of sword strikes in rapid succession.

Lancelot's attention was highly focused, with True Qi filling every meridian in his body. He swung his sword with all his might, executing an Upper Slash to meet the oncoming enemy.

The unadorned Frostslash clashed heavily with the enemy's ornate longsword, and the tremendous force pushed Lancelot backward. He released True Qi from beneath his feet to prevent slipping, and as a result, two deep grooves appeared on the ground.

The Succubus was slightly knocked upward from the recoil, but her actions didn't stop for a moment as she charged at Lancelot once again.

Lancelot no longer dared to take the enemy's diving attacks head-on; he positioned himself for a parry, but at the instant when the Succubus's longsword was about to enter his attack range, he shifted his guard to a cleave, striking hard on the blade of his opponent, and his body leveraged the force to jump into mid-air.

The Succubus seemed not at all surprised by this change; she stomped on the ground heavily, then like a compressed spring, launched herself into the air even faster than Lancelot, raising her hand for another sword strike.

Lancelot, still in mid-air, struggled to adjust his posture, gripping the sword hilt with one hand and the blade with the other, blocking the incoming strike.

He barely blocked the Succubus's slash, but being completely inexperienced with winged combat, he couldn't leverage on anything mid-air and was sent tumbling away like a baseball hit by a bat, crashing heavily into the trunk of a jagged fir and barely coming to a stop.

He slowly slid down the tree trunk, a sweetness rising in his throat, and he violently spat out a large mouthful of fresh blood.

"Hehe, not bad," the Succubus said, twirling her longsword fancily as she slowly walked toward him, "Take off that foolish Transformation Ring. That body limits your performance. Let me see your true strength."

Lancelot quickly glanced at his companions; they had executed his plan well and were almost out of his line of sight. Considering the enemy's speed, he knew he had to hold out a little longer.

He took off the Transformation Ring, deliberately slowing down his movements to buy his friends more time and also to adjust his disordered breathing.

The Succubus was right, wearing the Transformation Ring he indeed couldn't utilize his full strength; the body couldn't achieve perfect coordination, and the wings on his back were somewhat of a hindrance. These subtle differences weren't obvious when facing enemies weaker than him, but against a powerful demon like Enreyes, any small error could lead to fatal consequences.

The Succubus didn't rush to attack but waited patiently for him to revert to his original form.

With a flash of magic light, Lancelot was once again the Human Knight, six and a half feet tall with slightly curly black hair and light blue eyes.

"Ha, you look much more pleasing to the eye now," the Succubus said, nodding her head with satisfaction, "Let's have a proper dance, Sir!"

Before her words fell, she beat her wings and dove once more.

But this time, Lancelot didn't stay in place; instead, he dashed forward like a specter, rolled over just before the Succubus landed, and got behind her.

Enyeries's diving attack was like the first wave of a knight's charge on the battlefield, where the best outcome of a head-on clash was mutual destruction. In both of his short exchanges with the Succubus, he had been suppressed from the first move, continuously being placed on the back foot; he couldn't afford to keep doing that.