The Paladin in the Abyss
Chapter 815 - 826

The old witch’s hut was definitely one of the strangest ’things’ Lancelot had ever seen. Even if you ignored the ’legs’ that resembled giant spider limbs, the hut itself looked very odd—it had long, broomstick-like eaves leaning forward, adorned with dried goblin (or similarly sized humanoid creatures) corpses, a giant beast skull, cages filled with ravens, and a set of dirty leather underwear.

The two treehouses, which were hundreds of feet away just moments ago, suddenly charged to within thirty feet of them, hurling boulders with their octopus-like limbs as they advanced. Fortunately, these powerful attacks were not as difficult to dodge as arrows, but when they raised their more than fifteen-foot-long tentacles to strike, Lancelot knew he had to give his all.

Next to him, Bruto had already transformed into a solid giant. With a swing of his warhammer, he shattered a giant boulder that had been flying at them.

"You are the thieves!" roared the dwarf like a lion, "How dare you steal my father’s soul? You shall all die!!"

Bruto activated the Titan’s Blood through unrestrained rage, whereas Lancelot used a more precise method. Closing his eyes, he focused his divine sense on a specific vein lurking in his spine and gently pricked it with True Yuan.

A non-human energy erupted within him, awakening a power that had always slumbered in his flesh and blood. In the blink of an eye, the human knight transformed, growing as tall as a Frost Giant. Due to Tijana’s magical modification, his full body armor also expanded, making him look like a giant statue forged of metal.

As this metal giant charged forward at over thirty feet per second, even the bravest (and most foolish) adult white dragons would retreat in fear. The ground groaned under the immense pressure. However, the witch’s treehouse lacked consciousness and thus didn’t comprehend fear. Before the witch could command the tentacle-like roots to strike, the transformed Lancelot collided with it head-on.

Boom!!!

A massive crashing sound echoed, accompanied by the creaking of breaking wood. Lancelot’s impact didn’t topple the treehouse immediately due to its spider-leg-like base, but it did cause the hut to lurch violently backward. The witch standing on the roof was flung into the air, only saved from falling by several intestines tied around her waist as a belt.

Seizing the initiative, Lancelot twisted his body, raising the Giant Sword Glacier with both hands and striking at the hut. His sword strike was both fierce and fast, and the witches, who relied on the treehouse’s bulk, had no idea how to fight like real warriors.

The great sword smashed onto the hut, which collapsed like it was made of paper. However, just as Lancelot thought he could cleave the monstrous hut in two, his sword was deflected by an extremely hard object, sending him stumbling back several steps and causing the ground to rumble under his feet.

Focusing his gaze, the human knight saw that the hut, now split like a cleaved skull, had a giant gemstone positioned near what would be its throat. The gemstone emitted a destructive green-blue light. Just by glancing at it from afar, Lancelot knew it housed immense wood attribute energy and must be responsible for animating the hut into a moving monster.

"Ahhhhh!!!" The witch who had been thrown into the air had escaped harm, hanging upside down on the other side of the treehouse, cursing, "Damn man, you’re dead! Your skull will become a mushroom pot, your corpse will be fed to maggots, and your soul will forever be trapped in my chamber pot!"

The witch’s curses didn’t injure Lancelot, but inside the hut, besides the gemstone and the witch’s furniture, something else was hidden: a group of purple humanoid beetles. They had chitinous exoskeletons and four arms, two of which wielded tridents. They leapt out from the broken gaps in the hut like a swarm of cockroaches exposed to light.

Ordinary people might be frightened by such ugly, weird, and disgusting creatures, but Lancelot and his companions were familiar with them: they were Maizeros Demons, a type of Yugros Demon. These fiends had been employed by the Lords of Withering in Mogrondale, in the Great Abyss, serving as city guards.

It was well-known that Yugros Demons maintained a neutral stance in the Blood War (or rather, their loyalty was for sale), and legend had it that the first Yugros Demon was created by a witch in the Scorched Flame Hell. So, encountering them here, while surprising, didn’t fluster the group.

Five humanoid beetles leapt out of the hut, reaching only up to Lancelot’s waist in height, but they could be troublesome if they surrounded him. Fortunately, the human knight was not fighting alone: the Raven Queen’s Cursed Swordmaster, Shuni’s Elf Priest, the Midnight Devotee, the Blacksmith Master from Twin Bridges Town, and even the Zombie Princess were all joining the fray.

"Lancelot, leave these to us!" Kalalin, standing behind Barrend, shouted as he pulled out a scroll, "You focus on those big ones!"

Not far away, the giant Bruto was battling another treehouse. Unlike Lancelot, the dwarf was seemingly on the defensive, having been struck several times by the treehouse’s tentacles, even losing his helmet. However, he was effectively holding off another foe and seemed capable of struggling on for a while.

Seeing his companions faring well, Lancelot felt somewhat reassured but knew he had to finish the fight quickly—this was, after all, the witch’s domain, and while the situation at the perimeter was unclear, the enemy could receive reinforcements at any moment.

With this in mind, Lancelot charged again with the Glacier, his massive sword casting waterfall-like slashes, severing three tentacle roots on the treehouse’s right side, causing it to lose balance and topple to the ground.

Just as he was about to completely destroy the animated wooden hut, a surge of powerful energy suddenly exploded in his mental world. It felt like someone had struck a giant clock tower bell right beside his ear, causing a terrifying volume that left him dizzy and vertiginous. His muscles instantly tensed as if frozen. If not for a small bamboo scroll emitting a green light to protect his divine sense, Lancelot might have fainted on the spot.

Magic, the true power of the witches. Realizing how terrifying the human knight was in close combat, these evil spellcasters from the Grey Wastelands had finally made the right choice.