The Paladin in the Abyss

"How can this work?"

"You're definitely not a match for them. If we leave, we leave together!"

"It's just a few Giant Claw Demons, let's fight them!"

"There's no time to discuss this, this is the only way," Lancelot insisted. "I definitely can't handle that group of enemies, but they won't catch me easily either."

"Brother, I'm not going!" Unexpectedly, Little Elothysia suddenly spoke up, "In an emergency, I can hide in the Dimensional Bag. Also, Kalalin, big brother, turn me into Lilu's form!"

As soon as Little Elothysia's words were out, everyone cast surprised glances at the young girl. They realized she had pointed out a key issue: the Demons were chasing Lilu, not Lancelot. Just by himself, a Human Knight could probably only hold off four or five Succubi at most, and once the enemies divided their forces, everyone would immediately find themselves in an awkward situation, fighting individually.

But if Little Elothysia could transform into Lilu's form, then he would have the bait for fishing. Lancelot wouldn't even need to actively engage the Demons in battle. Just by holding Little Elothysia and showing her off under the enemy's nose, the opponents would definitely rush at him with all their might, and that would provide the perfect cover for the others to retreat. Enjoy exclusive content from My Virtual Library Empire

"I haven't mastered the Transfiguration magic yet. It's a Fourth Circle spell, beyond my casting ability..." Kalalin said apologetically, deeply sorry for his inadequacy, "But with a simple Illusion Technique, I can change your hair to the same color as Lilu's, which should also deceive those Succubi... Lancelot, what do you think?"

"Good," Lancelot immediately nodded in agreement. Little Elothysia made a lot of sense, and there wasn't time to dawdle.

"Lilu, I need one of your hairs."

The Scholar spoke to the Succubus Paladin who was holding the young girl, who immediately pulled out one of her own hairs. Kalalin stopped walking, steadied himself, and unfolded a small scroll. The activated magic turned the strand of hair into a red halo. Then, Kalalin gently blew it onto Little Elothysia's hair, turning her light golden hair the exact same color as Lilu's.

Although Little Elothysia was still significantly taller than the two children of Aira, her petite figure and fairy-like appearance strongly resembled Aira, making it hard to tell them apart at first glance.

"Very good." Lancelot grabbed Little Elothysia into his arms, the girl's face looked flushed; it was hard to tell if it was because of the hair color, "You all hurry and go. If we don't catch up, don't stop, send the two kids back first, we'll come find you."

"You must come!" Dong Quan said with tearful eyes, "Go west after crossing the river. We'll be waiting for you in Melanthan's Grand Garden!"

"Don't worry, I am very capable," Lancelot smiled at him, then addressing the Succubus Paladin holding the two children, said, "Stay safe on the road, hurry up and get going!"

"Alright, you too take care." Elothysia nodded briskly, then turned and continued south without any hesitation.

"Boss, I believe in you!"

"Shuni will bless you!"

"You must come back alive, Boss. I'll cook something delicious for you!"

"Big brother, you mustn't die. My gemstones are still with you... maybe you could..."

"Hurry up, hurry up!" Lancelot waved impatiently, then his expression changed, and he urged again, "Quick! The enemy is already very close!"

Everyone was startled by his words and ran off in a flash without another word.

"Hehe, brother, you're really naughty," Emma chuckled after everyone had left. "To think you'd trick them away like that."

"Who said I tricked them? We are indeed quite close," Lancelot said earnestly, then laughed himself. "Alright, let's not expose our little secret. Besides, I must cover up their tracks."

As he finished speaking, Lancelot pinched a spell, and tiny vines burst through the soil, twisted and churned by wild boar, covering any traces of their passage. The concealment wasn't perfect, as a careful inspection would still reveal abnormalities.

"This extent should suffice," Lancelot nodded with satisfaction. "All we need is to buy some time for the others to evacuate; it doesn't have to be perfect."

"Brother, you're amazing," the little vampire sincerely admired. "So, what do we do next?"

"Emma, my movements might be a bit drastic, so you need to hold on tight, understand?" Lancelot said seriously. "If the situation becomes too dangerous, immediately dive into the Dimensional Bag. You must be quick. The enemy will arrive in about two minutes, so let's practice first."

"Okay!"

After several practices and adjustments to the position of the Dimensional Bag, Lancelot and Emma could now get her into the bag within one second, filling the Human Knight with confidence for the upcoming actions.

With the Demons yet to appear, Lancelot didn't stay put. He picked up Emma and turned back the way they had come. After running a distance, he suddenly stopped in front of a wall of vines he had summoned earlier.

From behind the vine wall, two distant sharp horns suddenly protruded and quickly snapped together, forming a pair of tightly clamping pincers. Then another set of pincers stretched out from the gap, pulling both left and right, tearing a huge hole in the seemingly tough vine wall.

Behind that hole, a giant demon head looked somewhat bewildered at the Human Knight in front of it, who looked equally startled, as if a tourist who had wandered into someone else's bathhouse by mistake and was praying for a miracle to vanish into thin air.

And in his arms, he was tightly holding a little girl with red hair.

A little girl with red hair?

The Human Knight let out a strange cry, turned, and ran in the other direction, while the demon immediately shouted to its companions:

"Hurry over! The child is here, don't let them escape!"

By virtue of his not-so-skillful acting, Lancelot's plan worked as anticipated. Sensing all of the enticing demons chasing after him, his comrades swiftly moved away in the opposite direction.

Lancelot fully utilized the movement technique he had cultivated from the small bamboo slips, darting through the dense forest like a nimble reindeer, unfazed by the muddy ground.

Strangely, however, the enemy's speed had significantly increased, rapidly closing in on Lancelot. The noise from behind startled him, and he turned his head to look back, nearly dropped his jaw in shock.

Those enormous demons, over twelve feet tall and weighing around two thousand pounds, were actually flying!