The Paladin in the Abyss

Chapter 52 Decapitation

An invisible Sword Aura extended from the blade made of Cold Iron Ore, and if one observed closely enough, they could see a slight refraction of light in the air.

To Bruto and Barrend, the sword Lancelot slashed in the air felt light and airy, as if a snowflake was gently falling from the sky and daintily landing on the shark lizard beast's smooth Back Armor.

Then it continued forward without hindrance.

The demonic spirit found itself suddenly unable to control the shark lizard beast's body, while the ground rapidly approached him.

Lancelot was like an old farmer selling winter melons at the market, cleanly and neatly chopping off the shark lizard beast's turtle-like head in one stroke—so smooth and complete that it was even pleasing to the eye.

The monster had already died just moments before; it was the power of the Demons that sustained its life. Thus, from the wound, only a small amount of fresh blood surged out, with more of it being a kind of hazy smoke, quickly reforming into the shape of a jellyfish in the air.

Lancelot knew that the enemy would immediately try to use the same portal Technique to escape, and he could no longer tolerate letting this Demon slip away from his grasp again.

Many years of warrior training had equipped him with a skill akin to a Barbarians' rage, only it was more proactive and controllable, and now was the time to use it.

His adrenaline surged wildly, and strength flowed out from within his body like the tide, making everything around him seem to slow down.

Innate True Qi gathered again on his sword, and in the blink of an eye, Lancelot swung three consecutive times, slicing at the head of that jellyfish-shaped demonic spirit in the air.

The Sword Blade, imbued with Innate Power, carved the body of the demonic spirit into several pieces. The Demon had not even had the time to scream telepathically with its Sensory Ability before being killed by Lancelot, dissipating into the air.

As Lancelot killed the demonic spirit, he vaguely sensed a weak force, similar to nature's spiritual energy, being absorbed by him.

He immediately thought of the cruel survival games between Demons but upon slight introspection, he found that apart from a strong scent of the Abyss, the force would soon be integrated by his Cauldron Immortal Technique and was nothing inappropriate.

As the demonic spirit was slain by him, the surroundings became completely silent.

From the moment the shark lizard beast was resurrected to Lancelot's amazing strike that decapitated it, to the three strikes that shredded the demonic spirit, the entire sequence took less than twenty seconds.

Everyone was stunned by Lancelot's astonishing performance, and the scene fell silent for a moment.

"Ahem... well, this time it should really be dead," Lancelot couldn't help but break the silence.

"Big bro, when we were dealing with that big beast..." Bruto was the first to recover from his shock, finding the scene before him very familiar.

"Correct, it's that move," Lancelot said with a smile and nodded.

"Stones above, your Magician bloodline is a bit exaggerated, isn't it?" Bruto looked in awe at the cleanly polished cut on the body of the shark lizard beast, "When do you plan to make a move on Tijana, big bro?"

Lancelot burst into an intense coughing fit, and everyone burst into loud laughter.

"Speaking of which, this might be the most intact shark lizard beast corpse in history." Kalalin walked around the massive body on the ground; the demonic spirit's power had restored the body of the shark lizard beast to its prime condition before Lancelot chopped it off in one stroke.

Barrend also approached, pulling out a very tiny little hammer and tapping and feeling here and there on the body of the shark lizard beast, finally announcing:

"The hardness of the Carapace that looks like a shark fin on its back is outstanding, and it contains some Magical Power; it can be used to make a Shield. The skin on the buttocks and hind legs is also very good. The other parts are average in value. Maybe someone would like to eat its meat, but I think that person isn't here today."

"What are we waiting for?" Bruto came over with a hammer and saw, ready to do something rough to the beautiful corpse.

"I'd better do it," Lancelot sighed. He still had a bit of Innate Power, and for precision cutting tasks like these, likely no one else present could surpass him.

So, under Kalalin's direction, he then spent the remaining time disassembling every muscle and bone of the shark lizard beast bit by bit. The Scholar, with a face full of frenzy, recorded all the details on the side and announced that a big academic award this year was undoubtedly his.

If only he could find a way to send the paper back to the Prime Material Plane.

At last, the contents of the Storage Bag, aside from the complete Back Armor with the shark fin, included the head of the shark lizard beast, which everyone agreed would make a suitable souvenir, especially the neat rows of sharp teeth that indeed possessed a certain ornamental appeal.

Besides, Lancelot also saved about ten pounds of the finest tenderloin from the beast's lower back. The meat from that area looked smooth and tender, its evenly distributed fat resembling a layer of white frost. In his not-so-aging noble gaze, Barrend's opinion probably didn't apply to this part of the shark lizard beast.

Preservation was a big issue, but when he saw the ore emitting cold air the Dwarves had dug up, the solution to his problem came naturally.

After dealing with the shark lizard beast, Lancelot also picked up a Cross Pickaxe, ready to join the Dwarves in packing the rest of the Dimensional Bag to the brim with Cold Iron Ore.

But as he was about to walk around the large pit created by the shark lizard beast, his Spiritual Sense alerted him to something important down below.

"Hey Barrend!" Lancelot called out loudly, "Come take a look at this!"

The old Dwarf put down his work and ran over. When he stood at the edge of the mine pit, Lancelot was sure his heart skipped a beat.

Inside the tunnel bored by the shark lizard beast, the faint blue spots twinkled like the pre-dawn night sky, and the chilly air flowed out like the fresh breeze that greets you when you open your door after the first snowfall.

This was a truly gigantic vein, bigger than any the old Dwarf had ever seen, and the Cold Iron Ore that sparkled with starlight was of a Top Grade seldom seen.

Lancelot sensed around for any danger and, confirming there was none, was the first to jump down.

There was something even more valuable inside calling to him.

The shark lizard beast too seemed to fancy the coolness the Cold Iron Ore brought; perhaps the Cold Iron Vein was much larger than they had imagined—the entire tunnel was completely within the Cold Iron Vein.

At a certain turn, Lancelot stopped and began swinging the Cross Pickaxe in a specific direction.

Barrend and Bruto came to help him. The Dwarves also sensed something vaguely but they were not as certain as Lancelot.

Finally, they uncovered a patch of blue crystals associated with the Cold Iron Ore. These crystals exposed to the air emitted a mist like cold smoke, and when Lancelot placed his hand on them, he unsurprisingly felt a significant amount of Spiritual Energy, like that of a mountain crystalizing.

"Coldwater Crystals, treasures comparable to mountain crystals," Bruto glanced at Lancelot, "Boss, your treasure-finding ability, how should I describe it?"

"Cut the chatter," Lancelot scowled at him, "This is all ours, get moving. Afterwards this place will be handed over to the mining team from Twin Bridges Town, you wouldn't want to let..."

He didn't finish his sentence, because the two Dwarves had already speedily begun swinging their Cross Pickaxes, their eyes so fervent they seemed capable of melting the Coldwater Crystals.

When it comes to a love for gemstones, perhaps only Dragons could be mentioned in the same breath as Dwarves.