The Paladin in the Abyss

What appears before everyone is a scene that absolutely cannot exist in the Mortal Realm: imagine an endless desert, glaring under the sun, and with a little observation, you would immediately realize that every grain in the desert is a Gold Coin, this desert is actually an ocean made of gold.

On the surface of the ocean, there are some protrusions like icebergs, which are mountains of weapons and armor, some of them still glinting with the faint light of Magic. Lancelot even found the heap they grabbed after looting Kostcheqi's lair earlier, because there were many pieces of equipment among them with exceptionally large sizes, easily recognizable.

"By Father God..." Barrend gaped, his eyes widening like two walnuts, "How much could there be? Tens of billions?"

"Not that much." Lancelot showed a strange expression on his face, unlike the others' reaction, he seemed a bit disappointed, "The number of coins is roughly around six billion, each one re-forged by the craftsmen of Twin Bridges Town."

"That's beyond my comprehension." The old Dwarf marveled, shaking his head, "In our homeland, the king's finance minister would announce every month how many coins were left in the treasury, and the most I remember was just over ten million coins, while we are still known as a wealthy Dwarf Kingdom, exporting large quantities of weapons, armor, and crafts..."

"Obviously, doing arms business in the Abyss is more profitable, actually, you won't find a place more suitable for that trade in the Multiverse than here." Kalalin gently shook his head, "Considering Twin Bridges Town has been established for over two thousand years, I am not too surprised by that number. Demons themselves do not need gold, their main purpose when pillaging from the Prime Material Plane is just because it can inflict pain, in the Abyss and other lower planes, the true currency is actually Souls, the main use of gold is solely to attract merchants and mercenaries from the Prime Material Plane, it's difficult even to spend all these coins...

"Wait a minute…" Alamir cupped his chin, scrutinizing Lancelot, "How do you know the number of six billion?"

"At the moment of entering this half-plane." Lancelot shrugged, "Moreover, these are not Tijana's true wealth, watch closely..."

Lancelot extended his arm, waving it in the air, as if manipulating some invisible machine. Along with his action, the originally solid sea of coins started to stir, as if something was about to emerge from the ocean floor. The answer was revealed within a few breaths, amidst the golden waves appeared thousands of black cubes, lifted by some unseen force, resembling ghostly ships resurrected from the depths.

"What is that?" Bruto shaded his eyes, "I seem to see the refraction of Metal…"

"You didn't see wrong." Lancelot nodded, "Those cubes are stacks of Metal Ingots. Various types are present, Mithril, Mithril, Cold Iron, but the most common is Wrought Iron, totaling roughly forty thousand tons."

"Forty thousand tons?!" The Dwarf father and son simultaneously turned their heads towards Lancelot, "That equals half a century's output of a Dwarf Kingdom…"

"Incredible." Alamir raised an eyebrow, the Elves' reaction was not as pronounced as the Dwarves', "How do you know that number? And can even manipulate them to appear…"

"In the moment of entering this half-plane, I received a sort of… special revelation." Lancelot shrugged, "I can clearly know what is inside this half-plane and even 'manipulate' this world to a certain extent, like raising land, altering day and night in the sky... I reckon this must be Tijana's arrangement."

"Does that mean you've become the master of this half-plane?" Kalalin turned his head in surprise, "Although this half-plane is not large, as long as you are in here, you are like a deity…"

"Not quite." Lancelot shook his head, "I can't create anything out of thin air, my ability to alter the environment is limited. If I want to raise the land here, another place must lower; if I want it to rain lightly in the sky, the rainfall cannot exceed the stream flow. Tijana is still the master of this half-plane, I am more like… a warehouse manager?"

"A very valuable warehouse." Alamir commented, "And also an extremely heavy responsibility."

"By my knightly honor, I will guard it well." Lancelot solemnly nodded, "Until Tijana returns."

"I am sure you will." Bruto gave Lancelot a heavy pat on the back, "Alright, can we leave now? The couple of sweet potatoes buried under the fire should be cooked by now…"

"Um, is Tijana sister's Demon Amulet here?" Little Yisha still remembered their original purpose, "Or any clue on how to revive her?"

"No, completely nothing." Lancelot sighed heavily, "She left me two things, a handkerchief, and a verbal message. We already know what's in the handkerchief, as for the verbal message..."

"That's tomorrow's task. Did we mention the sweet potatoes earlier?"

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Midnight.

Kalalin, responsible for guarding the first night shift, was focused on studying a Spellbook, a trophy acquired from a witch. The rest of the companions slept in their own comfortable postures, while Lancelot, as usual, sat cross-legged on the ground, breathing rhythmically. His consciousness gradually ceased, entering a state of thoughtlessness, when suddenly, he awoke with a jolt, finding himself once again at the entrance of Hagrid Manor.

Lancelot immediately realized he was in a dream. Cultivators dream too, it's nothing unusual, except compared to ordinary people, they don't forget the details within dreams and can even achieve enlightenment, breaking through a bottleneck in Cultivation. However, sometimes dreams are very perilous because the defense of Divine Sense is most fragile during dreaming, making it susceptible to attacks by spiritual Cultivation Techniques; and Heart Demons, enemies every Cultivator must face, born from their own delusions, often extend their claws within dreams.

Have I developed Heart Demons too?

Lancelot was unsure. Yet, even if the answer is affirmative, he must confront it, which is the simplest and most effective method to defeat the Heart Demon.

Lancelot gently inhaled, pushed open the manor's door.

Under the soft moonlight, the flowers in the courtyard bloomed with abandon. Relying on a diluted mysterious green liquid, these plants exhibited supernatural Life Force, akin to what he remembered, when Hagrid Manor was undestroyed. However, all these flowers combined do not compare to the beauty of the figure waiting for him — Tijana, his Succubus lover, right here.

"You've come." Tijana gave him a smile, "It's been a while, have you thought of me?"

"Of course." Lancelot walked forward, embracing his lover, carefully inspecting her face, "Every moment."

"Me too." The Succubus lightly leaned her head on the Human Knight's chest, her horns gently scraping Lancelot's chin, "Sorry I couldn't even say goodbye to you…"

"It doesn't matter." Lancelot gently stroked his lover's silk-like hair, "When I revive you, I'll hear you apologize then."

"You don't need to do that." Tijana lifted her head, "I only request you go to the Dwarf Temple, after solving the problem there, you can leave with my treasure…"

"That's not something I would do." Lancelot smiled and shook his head, "Even if I know you're not real, I still want to say that."

"Hum, you sure know how to cheer people up, good thing I didn't leave you any clues." The Succubus' agile tail wrapped around the Human Knight's back, "Did you just say I'm fake?"