The Paladin in the Abyss

Lancelot stood aside for a while and, seeing that the other party seemed to be immersed in research, completely ignoring him, he had to cough lightly a few times to signal his presence.

"Ah, sorry, Sir, for keeping you waiting," the robed figure came back to his senses, realizing his own lapse, and explained briefly, "The power of the Divine Artifact seems much weaker, but it can still barely perform its original functions..."

"Great Grandmaster, may I address you as such?" Lancelot spoke up, "It seems you're somewhat dissatisfied with the condition of the Divine Artifact. Perhaps the circumstances under which we found it could shed some light on your doubts?"

"Ah, of course," the robed figure led Lancelot to a bench nearby to sit down, "The loss of the Divine Artifact dealt a severe blow to the entire order. Tell me how you came upon it."

"Finding the Eye of Sarizdon was purely by chance. After coming out of the Skeleton Tower, we walked for an entire day, passing the entrances to the Kingdom of Thousand Eyes and the Well of Darkness, but to no avail. That night, we found a cave suitable for camping, but an assassin found us. After a fierce battle, I knocked him off the cliff..."

Thanks to his experience in storytelling for little Isha, Lancelot made their adventure sound quite vivid, though he made some minor alterations to the events: for instance, the trap set by the Giant Skull Demon didn't include a burial alive feature—their avoidance of a deathly fall was due to the Halfling's Potion; the tunnel they escaped through was solely dug by the enraged Dwarf after losing his beard—their vine summoning ability was merely a thin Elf bloodline talent that only served to wrap up the Divine Artifact through the whole affair.

"A Giant Skull Demon? We are certain, there wasn't a Giant Skull Demon in the entire Great Abyss before; that Giant Skull Demon must have been revived by the power of the Divine Artifact, so the artifact also has the effect of reviving ancient Lords of Obyrith!" The Great Grandmaster looked very excited; he rubbed his hands together eagerly, "No wonder the artifact's power seems to have been mostly consumed, we still know too little about it. But no matter, we will definitely find a way to restore it, and there are so many graves in the Great Abyss..."

"Is that so? When we fought that monster for the second time, its terrifying form could no longer affect us, and it hadn't anticipated our survival..."

Lancelot continued on, requiring more improvisation from this point; he silently circulated his Ice Heart Technique to ensure there were no abnormal breaths or heartbeats.

In his story, Satugura must have forcefully stormed the construction site outside the grand hall, where most of his subordinates perished in a battle with the mutated Demons. When they entered the grand hall, Lancelot and his companions were covered in the blood of the Giant Skull Demon, and the narrow tunnel dug by the Dwarf made them look utterly disheveled, which led the treacherous Lord of Withering to believe they were grievously injured and near death. Lancelot and his companions took advantage of his assumption, so as Satugura smugly laid out his motives and thought process to what he assumed were dying men, the Human Knight seized the opportunity to strike, killing him instantly without spouting another needless word.

Lancelot originally wanted to claim he had fought the treacherous Lord of Withering for over three hundred rounds, barely winning with his rich combat experience and superior skill, but having no knowledge of the enemy's weapons or combat style, he didn't want to risk being caught in a lie, so he fabricated a less credible story instead.

Fortunately, the bombshells he dropped were numerous enough—the betrayal of Satugura, and the hand Devils had in the whole affair—shocked the corrupt Cultivator speechless, temporarily overlooking the inconsistencies in his story.

"You're telling me that the mastermind behind all this was actually the former Demon Commander Sir Bayer, the Archduke? His objective was to disrupt the supply lines of the Great Abyss during the blood battle, preventing Demons from timely receiving reinforcements from various Abyss Kingdoms?" The Great Grandmaster of the corrupt Cultivator displayed an incredulous expression, "And Satugura's betrayal was because Bayer provided some method for transforming a Tanari into Bartez?"

"At least that's what he believed himself," Lancelot said, pulling out the red gemstone from within his chest, "This was discovered inside his skull. I reckon 'normal' Demons wouldn't have something like this in their heads."

"Found this inside his skull?" The robed Cultivator extended a withered, wrinkled hand that looked like dead branches. He took the gemstone Lancelot handed over, eyed it suspiciously, and then sniffed it under his hood, "It smells faintly of Flame."

"Indeed," Lancelot replied without changing his expression, "I've heard many Demons are actually composed of fire, which is why they are completely immune to Flame damage."

"That is not the whole truth," the hooded figure shook his head but did not explain further, "May I keep this gemstone? It's of no use to you, but we may discover many of the Demons' secrets from it. This would benefit Mogrondale City and, consequently, you, the Lord of Withering."

"Uh, hold on a second," Lancelot hurriedly interrupted, "Just because I killed Satugura, does that mean I have to step into the role of Lord of Withering? I have no desire to be a Governor of the spray origin..."

"How could you be disinterested?" The hooded man's voice sounded extremely surprised, "As the Governor of the spray origin, you would receive many privileges, including the freedom to..."

"I'm not interested in those," Lancelot cut him off, "And I already serve a Lady, namely Tijana from Twin Bridges Town. You've heard of her, haven't you?"

"Heh-heh-heh, of course, who doesn't know the Succubus Lord, famed for her ferocious combat, whose realm and person remain unconquered..." For once, the hooded man chuckled, "She is indeed a very charming lady, but you're just a human, your lifespan compared to hers is like a drop of water to the entire Stygian River. Have you ever considered that becoming the Lord of Withering might be more advantageous for obtaining what you desire...?"

"Oh?" Lancelot raised an eyebrow, "What specifically are you referring to?"

"I may not know Tijana, but I understand Succubi. They only yield to great power. Isn't the Queen of the Succubus, Mekanshut, the lover of the Demon Prince? However, without significant strength, you'll end up as nothing more than their plaything, to be discarded without hesitation after being drained dry, or even murdered, with your soul captured and sold to the night witches of the Grey Wastelands."

"So, how does becoming the Lord of Withering help with that?"