The Paladin in the Abyss

Under the power of Titan's Blood, Bruto was as mighty as a Divine Envoy descending to earth. His biceps alone were nearly three feet in circumference, and his waist almost matched his height. When he wielded his two-handed warhammer with an unstoppable momentum, he looked more like a giant forging machine in a dwarf workshop, born to crush everything in front of him to the smallest physical limits.

The problem was that the enemy he faced right now was not a creature that could appear in the natural world.

Facing the ferocious attack of the giant dwarf, the skeletal knight showed no fear. It retreated two steps with a stable cross-footwork technique, simultaneously lifting its long-handled battle axe up to meet Bruto's warhammer. With a thunderous crash, the two weapons flew back along their original paths. Bruto was thrown back several steps, while the skeletal knight burst into a cloud of gray-white bone dust, like a blanket that hadn't been used for ten years, and its lower torso sank into the ground.

Bruto's troubles were not over; another skeletal knight had already stood up from the ground, right behind the dwarf. Facing the retreating enemy, the skeletal knight decisively swung its axe towards the dwarf's back.

Though Bruto didn't have eyes in the back of his head, his warrior's instinct sensed the danger behind him. Acting purely on instinct, he forcefully rolled to one side, dodging the attack from behind... if he were still his original size.

Despite not being much slower than before, his larger size caused him to be hit. Bruto preferred dodging to parrying, a combat style somewhat at odds with the effects of Titan's Blood. Even though the axe didn't hit him directly, its blade still grazed the dwarf's back, slicing through the metal armor and drawing a streak of red blood.

However, while the dwarf faced a dangerous predicament, his companions didn't stand idly by. Kalalin and Tanya continued their spellcasting to prevent other enemies from joining the battle. Alamir began chanting a healing prayer the moment the dwarf was in danger, but the most immediate was from Little Isha—the wanderer who wouldn't miss the chance when the enemy was stuck in the ground and unable to move. Her blurry figure appeared like a ghost behind the skeletal knight, cold light flashed in her hand, and she plunged her short sword into the gap between the enemy's helmet and breastplate.

The skeletal knight didn't die immediately but struggled violently like a mouse with its tail stepped on. It threw away its weapon and reached back to grab the vampire clinging to it, but Little Isha expertly choked its throat. Though it wasn't blood flowing from its body, its strength rapidly drained into the assassin, making the stranglehold even harder to break.

On the other side, Bruto also entered a berserk state under the stimulation of pain. As soon as he got up, he violently threw his warhammer, then charged at the enemy with bare hands— the opponent had just deflected his warhammer when the next second the dwarf, taller by three heads, knocked it down, both falling to the ground.

Although it looked extremely ugly, given Bruto's current size advantage, the outcome was already certain. Bruto, like an enraged brown bear, held on to his opponent with all four limbs, rendering the skeletal knight immobile with his overwhelming strength (and weight). The skeletal knight tried to bite Bruto's face, but what greeted it was a well-planned headbutt from the dwarf—this race had such peculiar heads, as if the creator had installed an extra layer of steel under their scalps. A short neck provided ample explosive power.

With a crisp crack, the skeletal knight's entire face caved in like a deflated ball, but Bruto didn't stop. He slammed his forehead into the opponent repeatedly, seven or eight times, until the knight's head was completely turned backward, the purple flames in its eye sockets extinguished. Only then did he release the lifeless corpse and get up.

"Bastard, keep going, huh?" the dwarf spat out bloody saliva, "I just... kissed..."

He couldn't finish his sentence. The sky suddenly brightened immensely, and a thick lightning bolt descended from the sky, striking the standing dwarf squarely before he could react. However, the spell didn't stop there. The lightning bolt, after hitting the dwarf, split into several arcs, shooting towards the other five companions present. They had a fraction more reaction time, just enough for Little Isha to narrowly dodge the main arc, albeit still suffering burns from the high temperature. The others were completely hit, severely injured, and fell to the ground wailing.

"Who's there?"

Little Isha took a defensive stance, quickly scanning around. The answer came immediately—a lady in a deep red low-cut evening gown appeared from the direction of the buildings near the lake, with arcs of lightning still fading at her fingertips.

Having seen her before, Little Isha immediately recognized her as the owner of Wolf King's Den, a woman titled 'Madam Baroness' Giselle Endyarui, and a long-time supporter and mistress of the Lich King Peyton Derrick.

"Oh, it's my dear mercenary friends," the witch walked gracefully, surrounded by a horde of undead creatures, unhurriedly approaching, "Oh, and a little sister I've never seen before. How did you end up with these people? And what's with that strange tree?"

"Hmph, not telling you!"

Little Isha made a face at her, while her left hand behind her back stealthily took out a healing potion and poured the liquid directly onto Alamir's face. It was indeed wasteful, but it was enough to wake the priest from unconsciousness.

"Hehe, not saying, huh? No problem..." The innkeeper sneered with a sinister smile, definitely not befitting someone in the service industry, "I have plenty of ways to make a corpse talk..."

"Oh great Lady of the Flame, please heed my plea!"

The elf priest, previously lying on the ground, suddenly stood up, holding his shield high. The divine emblem on the shield shone brilliantly. A surge of life energy emanated from Alamir, rushing towards his companions still lying on the ground, pulling them back from the brink of death.

"Hmph, futile struggle..." The baroness disdainfully waved her hand, ordering her followers, "Kill them all!"