The Paladin in the Abyss

The Berserk Demon discarded the whip in its hand.

To them, whips were too soft, and their own claws were far more useful.

The young Dwarf clutched his Cross Pickaxe tightly in both hands. He knew he might not see tomorrow's sun, but he would rather die than continue living such a humiliating life.

The Demon and the Dwarf merely confronted each other briefly before the Demon impatiently launched its attack. Using its powerful legs, like a real toad, it leaped fiercely, slashing downward at its target with both claws.

The Dwarf tried to defend himself, but the Cross Pickaxe was not a very good substitute for a shield. He barely managed to deflect the first strike, but he was powerless against the second one that immediately followed. He only had time to protect his vitals as he was struck squarely by the claw and sent flying.

The watching Berserk Demons let out a cheer, and even the overseer forgot his duties, issuing a shrill shout of encouragement.

The young Dwarf struggled to his feet, his arms and shoulders bearing horrific wounds, but only a little blood flowed out.

Dwarves had rock-like bodies and were naturally resistant to bleeding. Although the young Dwarf looked quite disheveled, he had successfully avoided a fatal hit and had not lost his combat ability.

Seeing him stand again, the toad Demon roared angrily. This time, it charged on all fours like a wild boar, opening its gaping maw to bite ferociously.

The young Dwarf hugged his head and rolled on the ground, narrowly dodging the attack.

The audience let out a huge boo, disliking this kind of evasive combat.

As the dominant Duelist, the Berserk Demon, spurred on by the booing of its peers, became somewhat frantic. It turned around impatiently and lunged at its opponent, intending to use its previously successful double claw strike again.

This time, the young Dwarf did not try to parry with the Cross Pickaxe; he continued to roll on the ground, keeping low and dodging the attack.

But this time there was something different.

The upper limbs of the Berserk Demon were extremely thick, and its head was directly atop its shoulders with almost no neck, which made it unable to see clearly the actions of the Dwarf beneath it while in midair.

As he rolled underneath, the Dwarf maliciously extended the Cross Pickaxe.

A relatively small body had many clever uses, such as quickly adjusting one's posture and exerting force for an attack while rolling and dodging.

A sound of bones shattering was heard. The young Dwarf drove the sharp end of the Cross Pickaxe into the Berserk Demon's knee, shattering the bone inside.

The Berserk Demon let out an earth-shattering scream. Its landing aggravated the knee injury, rendering it completely unable to stand, only able to prop itself up with its claws, sprawled on the ground.

"Haha, who said three-legged toads are hard to find? Here's one right here!"

All of the Dwarves burst into mad laughter, and not even the fiercely falling whips could stop them.

The pain completely enraged the Berserk Demon. Madness and the desire for slaughter completely took over its mind, and it wanted nothing more than to tear the detestable little Dwarf to pieces.

It charged at the Dwarf again, using its one good leg and two arms, while the young Dwarf turned and ran, circling around the bottom of the mine.

The three-legged toad Demon couldn't catch up with the nimble Dwarf, its dragging, injured leg and crawling with claws on the ground appearing quite comical, eliciting laughter from everyone, including the other Berserk Demons.

Perhaps it was the laughter that irritated it, or perhaps the young Dwarf grew tired from running, but the gap between them gradually closed.

Finally, the three-legged toad seized an opportunity, pushed off the ground with its single leg, and sprang forward ferociously, while the Dwarf ahead seemed to have carelessly run into a dead end, facing a rock wall with no space to dodge.

"No, no, no, no!"

"Tear it to pieces!"

"Son!"

"Kill, kill, kill!"

"Be careful!"

"Croak!"

The audience emitted various cries of alarm. In the eyes of the Demons, the outcome was already sealed. The little Dwarf might be agile and strong, but it was only by luck that he managed to land a hit earlier; a direct confrontation would leave him with no chance of victory. They could almost see the little Dwarf being torn to shreds by those sharp claws. The Dwarves, on the other hand, revealed looks of despair. The flicker of hope that had briefly ignited in their eyes was quickly extinguished in their pupils, and the more timid among them even covered their eyes.

The young Dwarf did not look back but continued running forward.

Just as the claws were less than ten centimeters from his back, an astonishing scene occurred.

The young Dwarf stepped on the rock wall, ran up it vertically for a step, then leaped backward. His body soared over the Berserk Demon, landing behind his opponent and perfectly dodging its determined strike.

With a thunderous crash, the huge toad slammed into the rock wall, the impact nearly knocking itself unconscious.

And behind it, the Dwarf's Cross Pickaxe was raised high.

Another cringe-worthy sound was heard, and the knee of the other leg was also smashed.

The Cross Pickaxe was indeed highly effective against hard objects.

The noise from the stands abruptly ceased, and everyone watched the scene in disbelief. A Dwarf slave, armed with just a Cross Pickaxe, had defeated a Berserk Demon?

The dim-witted toads were still struggling to comprehend what was happening before them, while the dwarves with normal intelligence gripped their cross pickaxes even tighter. Those with empty hands looked around to pinpoint the nearest cross pickaxe.

This mining pit was akin to an arena, and at this moment, the battle within had yet to conclude.

Even with both knees broken, the massive toad displayed the terrifying physical prowess of demons. Using its forelimbs and thighs, it crawled on the ground, lunging once again at the young dwarf.

Fear is one of the demons' weapons, but at this point, its opponent had already fought with confidence. The young dwarf dodged all the attacks and, seizing the opportunity, shattered both elbows of the Berserk Demon.

Yet the demon hadn't lost its combat strength. In a last ditch of ferocity, it opened its bloody maw wide, attempting to bite the young dwarf.

This time, his opponent didn't dodge but instead thrust the cross pickaxe in his hand forward.

With a "puh" sound, like a fish biting the hook, each end of the cross pickaxe pierced through the nostrils and chin of the dying Berserk Demon.

The pain caused it to struggle violently, showcasing to everyone just how formidable a demon's life force could be.

At that moment, a foot stepped onto its back.

The young dwarf, holding the wooden handle of the cross pickaxe, used the demon's pierced upper jaw as a fulcrum and forcefully bent the pickaxe backward.

His shoulder and arm muscles bulged, making him look like a track switcher working in the royal dwarf subway, about to save a train from derailing.

"Aaaaargh!!!"

The dwarf let out a roar that used all his strength, and the head of the Berserk Demon underfoot was hooked ever higher.

A breaking point was finally reached: first, the lower jaw of the Berserk Demon tore completely off, and its lengthy tongue, no longer supported by the chin, dropped right out of its throat; next, the steel helmet-like skull was utterly flipped open, revealing an inside covered with numerous revolting tumors and a brain slightly bigger than an apple.

Following a brief silence, the entire mining pit erupted.

The dwarves cheered wildly, despite themselves, the Berserk Demons roared in anger, but the most piercing was the demon overseer's scream:

"Berserk Demons! Kill him for me! I want to skin him alive!"

In reality, some Berserk Demons had already leaped down before the overseer's words even finished, and the young dwarf stood no chance. He could only rely on his small stature to dodge back and forth. However, overwhelmed and outnumbered, he was tripped and fell to the ground, struggling to get up, and the situation was extremely dire.

The dwarf slaves sprang into action. They grabbed cross pickaxes and swung them wildly, delaying the steps of several Berserk Demons, but more leaped down from the spectator seats, ready to join the onslaught against that gladiator.

A shadow moved faster than them; it was Lancelot, who had been watching from the sidelines for a while.

The young dwarf's battle had made his blood boil, but he had restrained himself from taking action immediately, as interrupting an honorable duel was not the conduct of a knight.

However, he had also taken the opportunity to clearly observe the enemy's situation. The Berserk Demons were strong and heavily relied on their sharp claws and fangs in combat, but they were irritable and foolish, with brute strength but no more skill in battle than wild beasts. The overseer didn't appear to be skilled in close combat, but its fly-like body and stiletto-like mouth suggested its combat style might favor stabbing, and its shrill voice indicated it could also have some kind of sonic attack.

Energy surged from his Dantian, True Qi rushing through each meridian.

This was Lancelot's first battle since becoming a Spiritual Cultivator, and he felt his great sword was so light, as if he had boundless vigor throughout his body.

The moment he landed, he skewered an enemy to the ground. Twisting the hilt of his sword, a bloody hole appeared at the back of his foe's head.

On human battlefields, wielding a two-handed great sword, he would be at the very front of the line, shattering the enemy's dense spear formations. In the Abyss, against enemies like the Berserk Demons, who stood a head taller than humans, the great sword was even more outstanding. The long sword blade ensured Lancelot could stay as far as possible from the dangerous claws of the Berserk Demons while the destructive power of the great sword allowed him to critically injure every enemy he struck.

After chopping off several claws and cleaving several toad heads, the assault against him ceased. The Berserk Demons surrounded Lancelot but refrained from approaching out of fear.

Only then did Lancelot reach out to pull up that brave young dwarf, laughing as he said,

"You fought very well, little brother."

"Who you calling 'little'? You're the one without even a beard," replied the dwarf.

The two of them burst into hearty laughter before Lancelot introduced himself:

"My name is Lancelot Durek, a knight who has fallen to this place, no, a Paladin. What's your name?"

The young dwarf bowed:

"Thank you. I'm Bruto Frostforge, a blacksmith. It seems you won't be needing that shield on your back for the time being, may I borrow it for a while?"

"You haven't formally completed your apprenticeship!" It seemed that the elder dwarf wouldn't be dying anytime soon.

"That's because of these damned demons!" Bruto, realizing his father was awake, yelled back excitedly yet somewhat embarrassed.

Lancelot unhesitatingly removed the shield. It was a cavalry shield, used to fend off enemy knights' long spear charges, very thick and durable but too heavy for dismounted use. However, it was quite suitable for Bruto—dwarves, while only two-thirds the height of humans, weighed about the same, with very sturdy builds and strength surpassing that of humans; and the shield was large enough to protect their entire body.

Lancelot nodded in satisfaction, seeing Bruto looking like a fully-equipped infantryman:

"Ready to handle the rest of these toads?"

"Let's go, pal. I'm positively starving for action!"