The Paladin in the Abyss

Lancelot was woken up by the sound of Alamir washing his face, Shuni required their followers to clean their bodies every day, keeping their appearance neat and charming, but Lancelot only cared about one thing: he had really slept last night.

Last night...

Recalling the content of the dream, Lancelot couldn't help but feel a little hot on his face. The Tijana in the dream might be fake, but the pleasure felt as good as the real thing, and the perceptive Alamir immediately noticed the commotion on his side.

"You're awake..." The elf turned his head to look at him, suddenly showing a somewhat strange smile, "Looks like Shuni blessed you."

"Uh...what?"

"The Lady of Love sometimes bestows blessings, allowing the lonely to meet their lovers in dreams." Alamir winked at him, "Dreamt of Tijana last night, didn't you?"

"You can tell even that..."

"After all, I'm a priest of the Lady of Love, I can see things that ordinary people hardly notice." Alamir shrugged, "Actually, it's not just me, Lady Elizabeth can certainly spot undead creatures at a glance now, and Kalalin shouldn't need to use spells to recognize magical items anymore. It's a gift from the gods to their followers, sometimes quite handy..."

"You mean being able to tell what others dreamed about last night?" Lancelot stood up, raised his arm and stretched his body, "I don't see what use that has..."

"Oh, it's not that simple, I can also tell if someone is happy, if they are interested in me, sometimes even if I should go faster or slower, harder or lighter..." The elf winked at the human knight, "You know."

"Ah, of course, I still remember what happened in Volcano Fortress. What was that lust demon called?"

"Irina, my little dolphin... such a pity, she just disappeared like that."

"I'm sure she will definitely remember you."

"Of course...they all will."

While Lancelot and Alamir were chatting, the others also got up one by one, and everyone started to get busy—while taking care of the porridge pot, young Elizabeth inserted many daggers into the hidden pockets of the leather armor; Kalalin first counted the various scrolls in the backpack, then opened the spellbook from last night and memorized the contents on the first few pages. Bruto was doing push-ups on the ground, a unique ritual for the young dwarf to start the day, while his father checked everyone's weapons, armor, and shield, ensuring there wasn't any unnoticed damage in the metal and leather.

Before embarking on an adventure, you always want to be fully prepared, whether you're going to clear a dragon's lair or deal with kobolds in the sewers.

About an hour later, the companions emerged from their hideout cave. Everyone immediately sensed something was amiss: the mountain peak where the Dwarf Temple was shrunk a bit, as if it grew legs and moved deeper into the mountain range while they were asleep. Fortunately, it didn't move far, according to Lancelot's estimation, it was at most a two-hour walk for the group.

Despite this, the companions still felt a sudden sense of urgency, everyone quickened their pace, afraid their destination would run farther away.

Lancelot and Bruto were quite familiar with the Shattered Mountain Range, there was a period when the two often hunted sandworms there, these beasts that feed on soil often have undigestible gemstones in their bellies, for humans and dwarves, this is like a fishing-like amusement.

Due to the existence of Twin Bridges Town, there were only some Low Rank demons in the Shattered Mountain Range at that time, but the situation is clearly different now—Lancelot has found Bagula Demon, Berserk Demon, Brezu Demon several times, and even a few Temptress Demon lurking behind the rock piles observing secretly. But unlike those Low Rank demons, these Middle Rank Tanari demons have a reasonably high intelligence, capable of assessing their opponent's strength, and they cherish their little lives dearly. Hence, when they saw how Lancelot wielded his hand half sword, chopping some brainless Low Rank demons into pieces, they all returned to minding their own business.

It's said in heaven, virtues can make angels pave the way for you, then in the Abyss, violence is the most effective pass.

The frequent skirmishes with Low Rank demons still slowed the group's speed, until an hour before sunset, they finally arrived at their destination. This secretive Dwarf Temple is hidden within a deep cavern, and was concealed with divine arts, if not having visited before, Lancelot would find it difficult to locate the spot among those maze-like Megalithic Formations.

Turning past the last megalith, the temple's majestic entrance, shaped like an Iron Anvil twenty feet high, finally appeared before them, yet instead of a warm welcome, they were greeted by several whistling throwing axes.

Frostslash unsheathed like lightning, the sword's light forming a waterfall-like shield in front of the human knight. A total of five throwing axes flew toward them, Lancelot deflected three with his longsword, Bruto caught another with his shield, while one missed all targets, crashing loudly into the megalith behind them, with most of the axe blade embedded into the rock.

"Hey!!!" Lancelot shouted angrily, "Is this how you welcome friends!"

About ten dwarf guards stood on the steps in front of the temple, all fully armored, with several sawtooth-tied barricades in front of them, adorned with some scattered limbs. Some dwarf throwers intended to launch a second attack, but Lancelot's dazzling blocking techniques left them awed, instinctively slowing their movements, doubting their own eyes.

"Sir Lancelot?" Someone among the guards recognized the visitor, "And...Barrend? Hell, your corpse is supposed to be lying in the guild's basement..."

"Because I have a good son, he pulled me back from the Shadowland...damn, Ugat? Is that you? Get your people to lower their weapons, those little tricks don't work on Sir Lancelot, don't go angering the sir..."

The dwarves on the steps exchanged glances, all visibly anxious, then the green-bearded dwarf who had shouted lifted his face guard, shouting toward Lancelot's group:

"In the name of the Soulforge, what are you doing here?"

"We were previously in a place cut off from news, only recently learned of Twin Bridges Town's plight." Lancelot lowered the sword tip, "I thought there must be survivors here, wanted to see if there's any way we can help, along with understanding what exactly happened back then."

The dwarf guards exchanged glances again, then gathered together, whispering quietly.

"Sorry, Sir Lancelot, we dwarves are always very cautious..." Barrend sidled up to Lancelot, whispering an explanation, then craned his neck, yelling toward beyond the barricades, "You blockheads, have your brains turned to stone? The Holy Relic in this temple was pulled out by me and Sir Lancelot! If you think we're here with ill intent, then you're just as foolish as those green-skinned orcs..."

"Stop shouting, Barrend, after all, it's a special period now." The guards seemed to have reached a consensus, the green-bearded dwarf named Ugat walked down the steps, starting to move the barricades blocking the path, "By the way, do you still have any food?"