By the time everyone returned, Luo Li had barely managed to gloss over the situation.
Back in the carriage, she took a quick shower and changed into a clean Saintess's robe.
When she stepped back out, the entrance was still crowded with people.
One person, however, was kneeling on the ground.
"Your Highness! Dominica was negligent! I failed to protect you, please punish me!"
Looking at Dominica, whose face was filled with guilt as she knelt before her, Luo Li shook her head.
"Stand up. This had nothing to do with you. It was not your responsibility."
She turned her head to look at the crater not far away.
The monster in the pit had already been hauled out.
Though it was covered in foul blood, the knights did not seem to mind.
Ligeia was currently circling the strangely shaped creature, observing it closely.
It was only at this moment that I could truly see the monster's actual appearance.
The thing's body was similar to a human's, making it a humanoid monster.
However, its neck was very different from a human's, resembling a long whip.
Its extended length was even longer than its own body.
It was as if it had a five-foot-three body with an eight-foot neck.
At the tip of that neck was a massive eye that had already been pierced through.
At this moment, Luo Li was still somewhat worried.
After all, the weapon that had sliced open this demon general was not the Holy Cross Sword in her hand, but her demonized claws.
However, before coming out, Luo Li had already prepared herself by smearing plenty of black blood onto the Holy Cross Sword.
Not far away, the Dragon King and the Beast Sovereign both hurried over.
The moment they met, the Dragon King's face was full of gravity.
"Is your body unharmed?"
The Beast Sovereign, however, was full of rage, roaring loudly, "What thing dared to harm you!? Tell me! I will go kill it!"
Looking at the two angry emperors, Luo Li offered a small smile.
"Rest assured, you two. I am fine. That assassin... has also been killed by me."
She raised her hand and pointed toward the distance, where Ligeia was currently dissecting the monster's corpse.
"That is the one."
The Dragon King's brow furrowed slightly as he looked Luo Li up and down. Only after confirming that she was truly unharmed did he breathe a sigh of relief.
He closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, his golden vertical pupils had relaxed significantly.
"It is good that you are unharmed."
As he spoke, the Dragon King turned back to look at the monster. After a moment of hesitation, he stepped forward to glance at it, asking with quite a bit of confusion, "Do you know what kind of monster this is? I have never seen such a thing."
Seeing that the newcomer was the Dragon King, Ligeia had a hint of excitement in her eyes, but she at least refrained from doing anything out of line.
"Reporting to His Majesty the Dragon King, we do not yet know what this monster is. Its blood has almost entirely drained out, which has preserved the corpse quite well, but... its heart is missing."
"I destroyed it."
Luo Li glanced at the monster. She could tell from Ligeia's expression that the dragon didn't know this was a demon general.
In fact, most people probably didn't know it was a demon general.
It was actually quite normal. Once a creature died, very little elemental power remained in the body.
Most elemental power would dissipate rapidly after life ended.
All that remained was a useless husk.
Trying to determine a person's rank from that was almost impossible.
But at the very least, the cause of death could be determined.
"Your Highness, its heart... seems to have been forcibly torn out? Was this your doing?"
Ligeia looked at Luo Li in surprise, clearly finding it somewhat hard to believe.
However, Luo Li's expression remained calm.
"In that situation, I had no choice. I had to kill him in the fastest way possible."
The Beast Sovereign, on the other hand, was quite satisfied, nodding repeatedly from the side.
"Very good! Excellent! Splitting the chest in one blow and then swiftly tearing out the heart. Such a rapid killing method is indeed the best choice."
Dragon King Asfield's brow furrowed slightly, and he cast a surprised glance at Luo Li, a flicker of movement in his golden pupils.
He seemed to have thought of something, but he did not pursue it further.
Seeing that the Dragon King was no longer questioning anything, Luo Li felt a massive surge of relief.
However, she couldn't help but feel that the Dragon King had noticed something suspicious.
It was the boisterous Beast Sovereign who had no reaction at all.
Yet, in her heart... there was still a tiny, lingering sense of unease.
Two emperors had witnessed this scene, and an old monster like Ligeia was present as well.
There was Lancelot, whose combat and travel experience were practically maxed out.
Furthermore, the strength of almost everyone else was greater than her own.
If she slipped up even slightly, it would become very difficult to explain.
Though she was a bit nervous, when she thought about it, it really wasn't much.
At the very least, even if those two emperors truly saw something, they wouldn't actually ask.
And even if Ligeia and Lancelot noticed, they wouldn't question her either.
"Since you are unharmed, that is good. I shall head back first. However... to avoid a similar situation in the future, I will leave two of my kin to protect you."
As he spoke, the Dragon King turned back and gave a low command.
"Shalin, Aigie."
As soon as the words left his mouth, two figures abruptly appeared behind the Dragon King, placing their hands over their chests and bowing their heads.
"Your Majesty."
"From this moment on, you two shall follow Her Highness the Saintess of the Moon until the end of this war. You must ensure her safety at all costs."
At this point, the Dragon King's voice became heavy and overbearing.
"If you fail... I need not say more."
"Yes!"
"As you command!"
As soon as they finished speaking, the two of them raised their heads.
It was only at this moment that I realized the two before me... were actually twins.
They looked almost exactly the same.
The only difference was that their pupil and hair colors were different.
One had red pupils and red hair, while the other had blue pupils and blue hair.
Both were girls standing only about five feet tall, though those lethal curves of theirs... were truly quite intimidating.
"You two, go introduce yourselves."
The Dragon King's golden vertical pupils looked at Luo Li. He gave a slight nod and turned to leave.
The Beast Sovereign looked at the two girls, then back at his own subordinates. He stood stunned for a moment, hesitating for a long time with his mouth open, but in the end, he said nothing and walked away.
The two girls walked up to Luo Li, placing their hands over their chests and nodding slightly.
"Red Flame Great Dragon, Aigie Noah."
"Frost Great Dragon, Shalin Noah."
"We greet Her Highness the Saintess of the Moon."
Looking at the two identical short-haired girls before her, distinguished only by their hair and pupil colors, Luo Li truly felt a sense of being overwhelmed by favor.
After all... it wasn't just anyone who could make the Dragon King willing to give up two of his kin, especially those bestowed with the title of 'Great Dragon'.
"There is no need for such formality. Although His Majesty the Dragon King said those things, you two don't need to be nervous. Just think of me as a friend."
What were these two before her?
These were great dragons!!
And there were two of them!
Among the dragon race, anyone bestowed with the title of 'Great Dragon' was a purebred dragon of the highest order.
They possessed truly noble bloodlines within the dragon race.
"That is not acceptable. Since my sister and I have received the Dragon King's imperial decree, we will certainly exert our utmost effort. Please rest assured, Your Highness. As long as the two of us are alive, we will not let you suffer any harm."
Aigie, the Red Flame Great Dragon, was clearly a bit stiff. She didn't buy into Luo Li's attempt to act familiar at all.
On the other hand, the blue-haired girl standing beside her, Shalin the Frost Great Dragon, appeared much softer than Aigie.
"Please do not feel like a stranger, Lady Luo Li. My elder sister simply has that kind of personality. She is very direct. If there is any offense, please forgive her."
The personalities of the two were immediately distinct.
The elder sister, Aigie, had a rigid personality, while the younger sister, Shalin, was gentle and submissive.
As for their specific characters, that would require time and contact to understand, but at least from the first glance, the younger sister was far easier to talk to than the elder sister.
"Dominica, go prepare a place for the two of them to rest first."
Luo Li turned back to look at Dominica, who was still wallowing in guilt. In truth, she knew that even if Dominica had been there, kidnapping her would have been easy with that monster's abilities.
This had nothing to do with Dominica.
The blame lay with the fact that Shadow's abilities were simply too unique.
Even when he was standing right in front of her, Luo Li couldn't sense any biological fluctuations from Shadow's body.
He always felt like a dead object. If she hadn't sliced open his chest and seen the active organs inside, Luo Li would have even thought Shadow was some kind of artificial creation, something like a robot.
"Your Highness, I..."
"Enough. This is not your fault. Truly, it isn't."
She gently patted Dominica's shoulder. The knight was stunned for a moment, her eyes appearing somewhat dazed, but she quickly snapped out of it.
A trace of determination revealed itself in her gaze.
That look of determination made Luo Li realize... Dominica had probably already made a 'resolve to die' at this point, hadn't she?
It was naturally good for a subordinate to have such a mindset!
"Do not put too much pressure on yourself."
"Yes!"
Dominica responded crisply, then immediately turned to look at the tents in the distance.
"Someone, set up a tent. Arrange it right next to the Saint's Carriage."
As soon as Dominica's words left her mouth, Aigie the Red Flame Great Dragon interrupted her.
"There is no need. My sister and I do not require a place to rest."
Shalin, beside her, quickly stepped forward.
She gave her elder sister a tug and turned to Dominica.
"Human, thank you for your kindness, but it is unnecessary. We dragons are not picky about where we rest."
Dominica was taken aback. She turned to look at her own lady, seeking her opinion.
Seeing Luo Li nod, she no longer insisted.
"In that case, you two... please do as you please. If you need anything, please tell me directly."
And so, after a period of chaos, the incident came to an end.
Luo Li now had two great dragons by her side.
Although they remained in their human forms, the Dragon King's attitude and orders had been displayed in front of everyone.
The nearby knights were mostly from the Snow Country, as this was the central command.
Many knights were speculating about the nature of the relationship between the Dragon King and the Saintess of the Moon.
Based solely on the title of 'strongest race on the continent', even the Pope could only bow and offer a forced smile when facing the dragon race.
Why would such a powerful existence show such favor exclusively to a human Saintess?
Although everyone had doubts in their hearts, no one dared to discuss it openly.
Returning to the Saint's Carriage, Aigie and Shalin did not follow her inside.
They stood to the left and right outside the carriage.
Like two guardian deities, they stood there silently.
When the surrounding knights saw the two, they would subconsciously steal a glance.
After all... living great dragons were right before their eyes. Even in human form, many parts of them were different from normal humans.
For instance, the dragon horns on their heads, their beautiful faces, and those... ahem, lethal curves that were comparable in size to a human head.
However, the two of them didn't seem to care about any of it.
Perhaps this was how humans felt toward ants.
In the eyes of the dragon race, humans—with their extremely short lifespans, lack of strength, and overwhelming breeding—were probably not much different from ants.
As a person, who would care if an ant looked at them an extra time?
The reaction of the two was exactly the same.
Inside the Saint's Carriage, Ligeia sat across from Luo Li, discussing that creature.
"This is the first time I have seen such a strange creature. Its skin is very special; it almost doesn't reflect any light."
So that was it. Was that why it was so difficult for the knights to discover Shadow?
Luo Li's brow furrowed slightly.
One or two such creatures were fine, but if there were truly many of them, it would be extremely dangerous for any race.
"Can you distinguish what type of creature this was before it demonized?"
Ligeia shook her head.
"According to my observations, this does not seem like something that was bred. Instead, it feels more like..."
"Like what?"
Ligeia's gaze was solemn, and a slight ripple of emotion appeared within her emerald-green pupils.
"It feels more like a mutation. From its internal organs, one can tell that its body structure is extremely similar to a human's, but its neck is completely different."
"A human's cervical spine has a total of seven bones, but this thing's neck seems to have no hard bone, only cartilage."
"This allows its neck to move very freely, even performing some nearly bizarre movements."
At this point, Ligeia provided a summary.
"I suspect that this demon race member is likely a special variant that mutated from a human."
"Does it have the ability to reproduce?"
This was the question Luo Li was most concerned about.
If such Shadows had powerful reproductive capabilities like other demon races, the result would be terrifying.
"Although I really do not want to discuss this with Your Highness, in my opinion... he had the ability to reproduce."
Luo Li lowered her head and closed her eyes, contemplating for a long time.
"Ligeia, I am entrusting his corpse to you. You must find this monster's weakness. Regarding that special skin of his, see if you can find some corresponding countermeasures."
"Yes, Your Highness."
As a biologist, although Ligeia specialized in dragons, she also had extensive knowledge of other creatures.
After all, such a long lifespan gave Ligeia enough time to gain an understanding of this knowledge.
"Dominica, notify the entire army. Starting today, the number of night patrols and sentries will be doubled. Ensure there are no gaps twenty-four hours a day."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Dominica responded from outside the door and quickly turned to instruct the nearby knights to issue this Divine Oracle.
"Additionally, warn all knights that they are not permitted to remove their armor to rest, even at night."
"The abilities of this monster are not allowed to be spread. No matter how much they heard tonight, none of the knights present are permitted to leak it. Violators will be stripped of their knightly status."
The existence of such a monster was like an invisible sword hanging over their heads.
No one knew when it would fall and pierce through their skulls.
Before a solution was found, this monster's abilities absolutely could not be leaked.
The impact on morale would be far too great!
"Ligeia, for the next few days, focus all your efforts on studying this monster. Give me a result as quickly as possible."
"As you command."
After all the orders were issued, Luo Li dismissed the others.
She closed the door of the Saint's Carriage, and after ensuring that no sound could leak out, she slumped onto the bed, her face written with exhaustion and lingering fear.
"Phew... That scared the absolute daylights out of me!"
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