The Paladin in the Abyss

The excruciating pain in his back told him just how costly the price really was. The third Coward Devil, wielding a spear also made of cold iron, pierced it through the Eviscerator Demon's back as easily as sticking it into a sack filled with grain, almost penetrating him completely.

Blood continued to pour out of the gruesome wound, and the Eviscerator Demon was now gravely injured. But the demon's ferocity erupted within it, turning its eyes blood red, as pain was momentarily blocked out, and a violent desire took control of its body.

Dragging its injured leg, it lunged fiercely at the Coward Devil with the spear. The Coward Devil almost closed his eyes as he thrust the spear in his hand, which the Eviscerator Demon easily dodged, then raised its battle axe, cleaving the Coward Devil in two with one strike.

Once more, a sharp pain came from its back as a longsword enlarged the hole in its flesh. Enraged, it swung its axe, turning around but hitting nothing.

The last enemy was that cunning devil that had sliced off its palm. This sly Coward Devil did not choose to engage in melee combat but instead picked up a weapon from the ground and threw it.

Its self-perceived cunning had cost it the best chance for a turnaround.

"Charge! Kill it!"

Atop the high platform, Molo shouted excitedly. Even though there had been some unexpected turns, it seemed that his warrior was about to claim the final victory.

At that moment, the others were behaving differently: Kailon was whispering with a Fireburn Demon advisor by his side, discussing something in hushed tones; Pami and Kavalan seemed to relax a bit but then tensed up again immediately.

Tigana noted everyone's reactions.

The Eviscerator Demon in the arena also knew that victory was within its grasp, but it had to deal with the last enemy before its wounds brought it down.

The Eviscerator Demon let out a thunderous roar and charged forward as if it was unhurt.

The Coward Devil's sword stabbed into the Eviscerator Demon's abdomen, creating another terrible wound, but it did not slow the Eviscerator Demon's momentum, not in the slightest.

It watched helplessly as the Eviscerator Demon's axe grew closer, and then it was suddenly flying, below was a headless body with a gaping hole where the shoulder should be.

Finally, it was over, the Eviscerator Demon thought. It lifted its head, the audience cheering for it, but all it wanted was to find its master on the high platform. Ah, there he was, his face full of smiles, surely it had pleased its master!

The rage subsided, and the unbearable sharp pain returned, which almost kept it from noticing the sudden piercing pain in its chest.

The cheering crowd seemed as if strangled, the roar of applause vanished in an instant.

The Eviscerator Demon noticed something extra in its field of vision, it looked down and saw a sword blade, shimmering with cold light, protruding from its chest, right at the heart.

"Who..."

Its body collapsed powerlessly, and in the last remaining peripheral vision, it saw a grey Quasimodo Demon eyeing it warily, as if to confirm whether it was truly dead.

Darkness engulfed it, and as its consciousness completely faded, the roars of the victorious bellowed in its ears.

"I! AM! DINGKE!!!!"

The audience erupted, what bloody carnage, what thrilling conspiracy! There couldn't be a better ending than this!

The most excited in the crowd were a group of Quasimodo Demons, jumping up and down like mad, celebrating their boss's victory.

"The boss is incredible! How did he sign up so quietly and also win!"

"I wonder what kind of Demon the boss will advance to? At least it has to be something like a giant toad, right?"

"But... if the boss turns into a giant toad, will he turn around and bully us..."

"Uh, I've never messed with the boss, I've always been his most loyal lackey..."

…

Lancelot reopened his eyes. Listening to the cheers around him and looking at that imposing guy in the arena, he couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head.

"Is that... Dingke?" Bruto couldn't believe his eyes as he looked at the Quasimodo Demon in the arena; he had some recollection of this fellow and knew it was Lancelot's subordinate. This made the young Dwarf quite certain that there must be Lancelot's handiwork behind the shocking turnaround below, otherwise, he would be a gnome without a beard!

He guessed it spot on. As soon as Lancelot realized something was wrong, he had ordered Dingke to infiltrate the arena invisibly.

The Quasimodo Demon was reluctant, but firstly, its Demon Essence was in Lancelot's hands—defiance had no good outcome; and secondly, after receiving its master's 'reward' last time, its strength was much greater than that of a common Quasimodo Demon, so fighting against a bunch of stupid Coward Devils might not necessarily mean a loss, and it obediently entered the arena.

The attention of the audience was focused on the fight, and those with strong perception abilities didn't notice a little one sneaking into the arena. What was even more unexpected was that the master didn't urge it to fight at once but just let it remain invisible and move a few weapons, or throw something out with a harmless force.

As long as it didn't launch an attack or use a spell, the Quasimodo Demon's invisibility wouldn't be dispelled, allowing it to remain undetected. An important reason it could execute Lancelot's orders well was that after being promoted to Elite Level, Dingke's confidence greatly increased along with its strength, completely shedding the usual panic-prone personality of ordinary Quasimodo Demons.

The reason Lancelot sent Dingke into the arena was simple.

Seeing the weapons the craftsmen threw into the arena, it wasn't hard for Lancelot to guess that Tijana wanted to showcase the power of the Cold Iron Weapons, but these foolish Low Rank Demons were instinctively avoiding the real protagonist of this gladiator fight, and he could not sit idly by, especially since Cold Iron Weapons were also something they had been pushing for.

Another reason was, he found the male Succubus particularly annoying. Lancelot knew that with his current strength, he wouldn't stand a chance in a head-on confrontation, so he couldn't pass up an opportunity to outsmart him.

Dingke, from the nearest position, had watched the public debut of the Cold Iron Weapon and immediately realized the magic of this discomforting weapon. So when Lancelot finally issued the command to attack, the hand holding the sword had only a slight tremble from excitement, as he thrust it precisely and fiercely through the Fireburn Demon's heart.

Tijana laughed lightly and flew up into the air, pressing down with both hands, and the scene immediately quieted down.

"Quasimodo Demon Dingke!" the Succubus Lord's clear and authoritative voice rang out, "As the final victor, what reward do you desire?"

"I do not need the reward for advancement; the glory of victory belongs to you!" Dingke shouted the words it had thought through beforehand.

It always remembered the aura Lancelot had shown when it was threatened at the beginning, and the energy when it was empowered later confirmed even more that Lancelot was some kind of formidable being. Therefore, it had long decided to cling tightly to the coattails of its master, Lancelot, as perhaps advancing to another form wouldn't be as useful to the master as a Quasimodo Demon.