"These clueless bastards!"

    Ten minutes had elapsed since the separation from the Gray Dwarves, and Bruto was still seething about the recent events.

    Lancelot carefully scouted ahead for danger. He felt slightly uneasy, always sensing that he might have overlooked some detail, and Dunif’s parting glance must have held a particular reason.

    Under the subconscious operation of the Ice Heart Spell’s mental method, he found himself calming down and began to meticulously recall the entire recent process.

    "How many people did the Craftsmen Committee say were in that Gray Dwarf mining team?" he suddenly turned back and asked Barrend.

    "Twelve, why?"

    "The group of Gray Dwarves we just saw was nine, right?"

    "Correct." The old Dwarf nodded, "There was a Gray Dwarf’s corpse inside that mud creature, and the flesh hadn’t even decomposed properly, clearly it had been devoured recently. Plus, the two bodies we found earlier at the fourteenth worksite, the numbers exactly match up."

    Lancelot nodded; he figured out where the unease stemmed from.

    "From now on, maintain the highest alert for any Gray Dwarves we encounter in our sight," Lancelot declared.

    "What are you talking about?" Barrend looked at him confused, "Didn’t we just count? Three bodies, nine survivors, the numbers match up."

    "Especially those survivors," Lancelot answered without turning back.

    Everyone shrugged their shoulders and discontinued the topic. They continued downwards for another half hour, stopping as they encountered waves of pitiful wailing.

    "I might know what creature made that sound," Kalalin whispered, "Move lightly, let’s get closer and see."

    The group stealthily made their way forward and, around a corner, they saw five Demons emitting continuous wails.

    Lancelot took out a sharply-edged silver coin, specially modified by Bruto for him. He took a deep breath and aimed the coin at the farthest enemy, throwing it.

    A silver streak flashed across the sky, and the struck Aberrant Demon fell with a large chunk of its skull sheared off, but it seemed not yet dead, struggling to stand.

    The rest of the Aberrant Demons instinctively looked towards their attacked kin; just then, Lancelot and Bruto charged out.

    Lancelot employed a footwork technique he had learned from ancient bamboo slips. According to the revered Han Tianzun, it was a favorite move of his youth that had saved his name multiple times in critical moments, but Lancelot found it extremely useful for launching surprise attacks on enemies.

    The effect was striking. Although dwarves were naturally a bit slower than humans, when Lancelot reached the first enemy, Bruto had only covered half the distance.

    As he charged, Lancelot held his longsword aloft on his shoulder, grasping the handle with both hands. The Aberrant Demon finally noticed the incoming enemy, but as it turned its head, the great sword’s blade filled its entire field of vision.

    "Damn! Leave some for me!"

    Bruto witnessed Lancelot’s astonishing over-the-shoulder charge and slash, and the unguarded enemy was cleaved in two by the strike. He couldn’t help but shout anxiously.

    Lancelot had no time to chat; following the downward slash was a horizontal slash, parrying an incoming trident from another Aberrant Demon. Taking advantage of the enemy’s exposed defense, he turned his sword back for a thrusting stab, ending the twisted demon’s agony.

    This was his most commonly used attack combination, executed countless times on the battlefield, polished to perfection.

    But only when facing the enemy again did Lancelot truly appreciate how much spiritual cultivation had enhanced him.

    True Qi naturally circulated within him, making the longsword feel as light to wield as a broomstick. His speed had increased by at least a third, and his final thrust even left him with time to aim for the heart.

    Moreover, the cold iron construction of the weapon inflicted significant additional damage to the demons. Demons naturally possessed extremely tough bodies, their musculature acting like armor, but Frostslash could easily breach this defense, frosting the impacted area and suppressing the demons’ powerful regenerative abilities.

    Two more Aberrant Demons came at him; Lancelot calmly parried all their attacks, never falling into disadvantage despite being outnumbered.

    Then Bruto joined the fray, slamming his shield hard into an Aberrant Demon that tried to join the assault on Lancelot and then habitually swinging his hammer at where the knee should be.

    He missed; there was nothing where the knee was supposed to be.