The Paladin in the Abyss

The Berserk Demon that used its claws was much faster than when it wielded a weapon, and Lancelot was unable to dodge in time, only able to swing his sword toward the demon's claws.

At the moment of collision, Lancelot's wrist twisted slightly, rotating the longsword in his hand half a turn, so that what met the toad-like claws was the sword blade instead of the back.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

There was a squelch as all four fingers of the Berserk Demon's right claw were severed. But Lancelot didn't pause, his longsword drawing a half-circle in the air, cleanly severing the wrist of the other claw that the demon swung at him.

However, the Berserk Demon had already entered a Berserk State; its limbs didn't stop for a second despite the horrendous injury and struck Lancelot solidly, sending the Human Knight flying.

Lancelot rolled to his feet from the ground. Although he looked quite disheveled, the claw-less Berserk Demon was clearly more wounded than he was.

"Tijana will need to expand her treasury," Kailon whispered to a Fireburn Demon beside him, whose eyes were fixed on the weapon in Lancelot's hand and silently nodded in agreement.

"Quick! Kill him for me!" Molo shouted from the side. Hatred and humiliation had completely taken over his reason, and although Lancelot had demonstrated the effectiveness of the Cold Iron Weapon in a very persuasive way, the male Succubus now equated killing Lancelot with preserving his own dignity.

Lancelot performed a flourish with his sword, regaining his stance. However, when the weapon cut through the air, the wind resistance made him sense something wrong. He looked down to see that his longsword had started to roll at the edge, which likely meant a reduced effectiveness.

This quality is truly a shoddy product, Lancelot thought to himself. No wonder Barrend was so resistant to the idea of mass production. If he were in his place, he certainly wouldn't want anything to do with something that rolls its edge after two uses.

The Berserk Demon's eyes, once golden, were now completely overtaken by blood red. In its Berserk State, all it wanted was to rip its enemy to shreds. Claws unusable? No problem, as long as it could grapple the guy, its mouth full of sharp teeth could bite off his head in one gulp!

The giant toad leaped at Lancelot again, its clawless arms wide open, set on enclosing Lancelot in a tight embrace.

Lancelot once again used a half-turn maneuver. However, without the threat of sharp claws, he started his move later and got even closer to his enemy.

The Berserk Demon's bare wrists swung just above his head while Lancelot's sword blade solidly chopped into the demon's thigh.

With a dull thud, Lancelot's sword became stuck in the Berserk Demon's thigh bone. Because he had controlled his strength, the blow didn't sever the strong leg of the demon.

Lancelot immediately changed from slicing to slashing, the blade circling the leg bone of the Berserk Demon, severing the surrounding muscles.

Hopping to the side of the Berserk Demon, he promptly raised his own leg and kicked hard into the large gash he had just made. With a crunch, the Berserk Demon fell, its left leg coming off like a wheel that had come loose from a wagon.

The demon showed frightening Life Force, seemingly unfazed by the pain as it hit the ground and immediately started crawling towards Lancelot on its remaining limbs, mouth agape like a bloodthirsty piranha.

Lancelot nimbly leaped up, executing a beautiful forward somersault in mid-air, landing behind the lunging Berserk Demon. The toad-like demon, with almost no neck, couldn't look up and had to twist its body in an attempt to turn around as fast as it could.

But Lancelot was faster. His longsword swung out, accurately chopping into the other healthy thigh of the Berserk Demon. He also carefully used the other side of the blade that he had used to chop the left leg before.

The blade wedged again into the thigh bone of the Berserk Demon, and the edge was severely bent. Lancelot directly chopped his foot down onto the curled blade.

With a crisp snap, the right leg of the Berserk Demon was severed cleanly at the root.

The terrible pain finally reached an extent not even the frenzy of the Demons could suppress. The Berserk Demon opened its mouth wide and let out an earth-shaking scream.

But Lancelot thrust his sword again, forcing the mouth that emitted the grating scream to shut firmly. The tip penetrated just above the nostrils of the Berserk Demon, through the mouth and tongue, and out the bottom of the jaw, pinning the mutilated toad that had lost both legs and claws firmly to the ground.

The Berserk Demon struggled violently, but that only made the wound grow larger; without claws, its arms couldn't grasp the blade, flailing in vain instead.

Great amounts of blood and pus flowed across the ground, followed by a wave of intense stench. Lancelot stood to the side with his arms crossed, watching as the body that was once the Berserk Demon slowly ceased its thrashing, and the surroundings grew silent.

"Clap, clap, clap, clap."

Timely applause broke the silence in the air. The one clapping was Kailon, the six-fingered prince. Raised in the famous Silver Palace of Zerata, he had witnessed all manner of battles and slaughter, but the one he just saw could rank in the top ten for its splendidness.

The skill displayed by this Human was unmatched in brilliance, lacking only in strength, but no matter, the Demons had ways to grant mortals power.

However, he glanced at the beautiful figure on the throne, realizing the likelihood of taking this male under his wing was slim; after all, he didn't have a face that turned all heads, or 36F pectoral muscles, nor would he likely strut about in a thong daily.

"What a splendid battle. This Warrior, I wonder now..." Kailon still spoke up. Tijana had said this man was a mercenary, meaning that as long as the price was right, it wasn't impossible to employ him.

"Cough, cough!"

Lancelot suddenly let out a violent cough, quickly covering his mouth with his hand. Under the astonished gazes of others, he slowly removed his hand, and everyone could see a deep red in his palm, as if he had suffered a severe internal injury.

"Ahahaha!"

Inappropriate laughter echoed; Lancelot turned his head in dissatisfaction to look at Tijana—what are you doing, laughing at this juncture!

Tijana returned his gaze expressionlessly; the laughter had arisen inside his own head.

"I'm fine!" Lancelot quickly wiped his hand on the front of his breastplate, leaving a conspicuous red stain. "I can still fight! Lord Molo, do you have any more mountain crystals?"

"Yes! Loads of them!" Molo laughed angrily, tossing out three Upper Grade Spirit Stones worth of mountain crystals while bellowing arrogantly, "How about bringing several at a time, would that work?"