Scouts from the rear continuously sent back reports, each one more unsettling than the last.
"The demon elites are forming an encirclement and are closing in on our position."
"The location where the toxic mist is spreading is indistinguishable, but it appears to be drifting toward the strait."
"The army has abandoned most of its heavy weight and is retreating in the designated direction."
Sitting inside the Saint's Carriage and listening to the reports, Luo Li felt as if her heart was sinking into an abyss.
They would likely not be caught during the evacuation.
After all, the knights had horses to carry them, making them much faster than the demons.
However, the thought of heading straight for the central command of the demon army and being forced into a desperate struggle made her uneasy.
Stay calm. I need to stay calm.
Don't panic. Everything has been arranged. Nothing will go wrong.
Luo Li constantly cautioned herself, but calmness was not something that could be summoned on command.
It was like the saying, "If you aren't even afraid of being poor, why fear ghosts?"
However, the person who said that was clearly speaking from a place of comfort.
Watching a tiger from outside a cage is entirely different from being inside the cage with it.
From the outside, you know the tiger is contained and cannot scratch or bite you.
But what if you were the one standing inside that cage?
If you didn't collapse from sheer terror on the spot, you would be considered exceptionally brave.
That was exactly how Luo Li felt right now.
Even though she knew she had planned everything, fear still gripped her heart.
Who wouldn't be afraid?
She was about to charge directly into the demon elites. One wrong move, and she would truly die there.
The most frustrating part was that even though she knew she should be calm, her body was still reacting instinctively.
Her fingers, hidden within her sleeves, were trembling slightly.
She simply didn't let it show on the surface.
"Your Highness, everything is ready."
Outside the Saint's Carriage, two thousand knights had suddenly lost their mounts, which was a significant issue.
However, they could share horses with others. With two people to a single mount, they could manage for now.
"Are the skysoar dragons ready?"
"Yes."
Lancelot's response was like a loud alarm bell ringing in her heart!
She took a deep breath. This plan felt even more thrilling than the moment she had first transmigrated.
"Dominica, notify the Dragon King and the airship unit. Prepare to execute the plan!"
"Yes!"
She grit her teeth and pushed all stray thoughts from her mind. The moment had arrived, and the arrow was on the string!
There was no turning back.
She stood up and smoothed the wrinkles on her sleeves. As the critical moment drew near, the tension she had felt earlier suddenly vanished.
Instead, it was replaced by a strange sense of relief and a heart determined to press forward!
She stepped out of the Saint's Carriage, not forgetting to take the statue with her.
After all, she couldn't apply buffs without the statue.
Fortunately, one could pray to a statue of any size.
Luo Li casually took a finger-tall statue of Sariel and tucked it into her pocket.
From the outside, the Saintess's robe appeared to have no pockets.
However, there were hidden pockets within the sleeves and the sides of the skirt.
As she stepped out of the carriage, the massive figure of Mr. Momo appeared before her.
His silver armor reflected the faint light of the night sky.
His enormous body lay crouched in front of the Saint's Carriage.
The army had come to a temporary halt.
To coordinate with the upcoming plan, the knights needed to clash with the demon army once.
Simply put, they needed to draw their fire before continuing the retreat.
Standing before the Saint's Carriage, alongside the dragon sisters Edge and Shalin, was a mature man.
"Greetings, respected Saintess of the humans. I am the dark dragon, Black Dehn."
The dragon appearing before her was the only black dragon among the dragon race in this war.
He was the dark dragon capable of withstanding the magic of other dragons with his physical body alone!
"Hello. I am Luo Li. I will be in your care for what follows."
"You are too kind. His Majesty has ordered that I am to follow your commands throughout this operation."
Black lowered his head slightly to show respect but said nothing more.
"Mr. Momo, I'll have to trouble you to carry me."
Luo Li turned to look at Mr. Momo, but as soon as she spoke, Black interrupted.
"Saintess, the Dragon King has instructed that if you need to fly, I am to be the one to carry you. I hope you will not make things difficult for me."
Well... the Dragon King was certainly thorough.
After all, this was a dark dragon. He was much more durable than Mr. Momo.
At a critical moment, he could even use his body to shield her.
"In that case, I'll leave it to you."
"It is no trouble. His Majesty's orders are as sacred as a divine decree to us."
As he spoke, Black looked around.
"Does the Saintess intend to take off from here?"
Luo Li followed his gaze and looked around.
The area was crowded with knights, leaving no room for him to transform into a dragon.
After all, the size of this dark dragon was not smaller than the Dragon King; he was actually a size larger.
"Hmm... how about Mr. Momo carries me into the air first, and then I transfer..."
She offered a suggestion after a slight hesitation, but Black remained persistent.
"No. Since the Saintess needs to take off from here, please forgive my rudeness."
He stepped forward and stopped in front of the carriage, extending a hand.
"Please step onto my palm, Your Highness. I will send you up."
Up where? To heaven?
Luo Li's lips twitched. She guessed this guy was planning to jump up and transform mid-air.
Forget it, she wouldn't overthink it.
"In that case, I'll leave it to you."
Luo Li nodded and stepped forward.
Her feet were small, but it was impossible for a single hand to accommodate them entirely. She could only manage to balance with one foot on his palm.
She kept her other foot suspended in the air.
Fortunately, she had her floating skill. Even with only one foot on his palm, she could remain stable.
This was the benefit of the floating skill.
"Saintess, please clench your teeth so you don't chip them."
"Huh? Mmph!"
Luo Li was confused, not quite understanding what the black dragon intended to do, but she didn't say anything. She simply closed her mouth and grit her teeth.
In the next instant, Black crouched low and suddenly threw his arm upward with immense force!
Luo Li felt a massive force crushing her from both directions, as if it wanted to flatten her!
"Mmph!"
Fortunately, she had heeded Black's warning and grit her teeth, otherwise she might have actually bitten her tongue!
She felt like she was in a high-speed elevator, but one without a physical cabin.
And it was the kind with extreme acceleration!
The blood in her brain felt as if it had rushed entirely into her feet in a single instant.
A loud buzzing rang in her head, and her eardrums felt like they were being sucked inward.
She even began to see darkness, her vision failing her.
At that exact moment, a dragon's roar erupted from below.
A massive surge of black energy exploded beneath her.
Rising from that black mist was an enormous dragon head.
The speed of that head was several times faster than her ascent, reaching her in the blink of an eye.
Then, the massive head lowered slightly, and Luo Li felt her feet land on something cold.
There was something cylindrical nearby, and she instinctively wrapped her arms around it.
When she opened her eyes again, she was sitting atop the head of the dark dragon.
Her hands were tightly gripping the right horn of the black dragon!
Beneath her was the black dragon, and on either side were two other dragons—one as red as flame and the other as blue as ice.
It seemed these three were the dragons the Dragon King had prepared for her.
As the black dragon soared into the sky, a flash of fire suddenly appeared in the distance.
It was the light of a signal flare.
However, unlike the red warning flares, this one was blue!
The plan... had officially begun!
She looked toward the distance.
Thirty dragons had already gathered in the sky. Further away, two magic airships were sailing toward the demon elites.
The remaining eight were being escorted toward the evacuation point by twenty-four other dragons.
Among the thirty dragons intercepting the feathered serpent tribe, the golden dragon shining with brilliant light stood out.
The Dragon King, Asfield, was also among them.
Clearly, the Dragon King was going all out this time, participating in the front-line combat himself.
"Black, head toward those two magic airships!"
"As you command!"
Black responded, his massive body tilting as he changed course toward the airships.
The two dragons behind him followed closely.
Looking back, her vision was filled with her silver hair fluttering in the wind.
Behind them followed two thousand skysoar dragons.
Lancelot's figure was clearly visible atop the lead skysoar dragon.
This massive black dragon was approximately six hundred meters long.
His wingspan reached a width of over twelve hundred meters.
The sudden appearance of such a gargantuan black dragon caused a minor stir among both the knights below and the demon army in the distance.
But once the commotion settled, the battle... officially began!
About ten thousand cavalrymen split off from the knight corps below, preparing for a charge.
And about two kilometers away, the two magic airships began to adjust their angles.
They were preparing to dive!
The battlefield at this moment was like the instant before a storm.
It was deathly silent!
The silence was broken by a world-shaking dragon roar!
With the roar of the golden dragon, the war officially began!
Every six dragons worked together to pin down one feathered serpent, their magic clashing directly in the sky!
The magic of the feathered serpents was similar to dark magic, and every time it erupted, it took a form similar to fireballs.
It was almost like an indiscriminate attack. In the blink of an eye, a barrage of dark elemental power formed in the sky.
It surged toward the dragons.
However, the dragons were not to be outdone.
Under Asfield's leadership, numerous wind dragons cast their magic simultaneously.
A Wind Wall was instantly formed in mid-air.
At the same time, the Red Flame Great Dragon in the rear unleashed its Dragon Breath.
The moment the Dragon Breath passed through the Wind Wall, the wind fanned the flames.
The Dragon Breath, which was originally ten meters in diameter, instantly expanded several times over.
The two barrages collided violently at that moment.
The intense clash of elemental energies resulted in a massive explosion of power!
It illuminated the dark night sky as if it were day.
The shockwave from the explosion spread out instantly.
Luo Li gripped the dragon horn tightly as the gale hit her head-on.
Her silver hair and clothes lashed against her in the fierce wind, sounding like a whip snapping in the air.
She even felt as if her scalp was being torn.
Fortunately, at that moment, the self-defense system of the Saintess's robe activated.
Though the wind buffeted her face, she was able to endure it.
"Is the Saintess unharmed?"
The dark dragon Black tilted his eye upward to check on her.
"I'm fine. Keep moving forward and prepare to accelerate."
"As you command."
Black's raspy voice echoed through the air.
In the next second, the two magic airships began their descent.
The demons on the ground clearly sensed something was wrong and began launching long-range attacks at the two magic airships.
But against those massive hulls, arrows and minor magic were useless.
Unless a dragon-level entity used its massive body to block them, magic alone was insufficient.
They would either have to shatter the airships or they would be unable to stop their descent.
The demons... chose the former.
A surge of intense dark elemental power suddenly erupted from the demon army. Accompanied by a pillar of black mist, it instantly pierced through one of the airships.
That airship exploded before it even hit the ground. However, the fragments of the airship became even more lethal in the blast, falling rapidly.
An airship engine plummeted downward.
Without the control of the mana elements, the engine could no longer withstand the intense heat of combustion and exploded violently.
In an instant, dozens of demons were blown away.
Fragments of corpses scattered like a rain of blood.
The supplies left inside the magic airship turned into balls of fire, raining down upon the earth.
The devastating power of objects falling from high altitudes was fully realized at this moment!
Even without the fire, heavy objects falling from hundreds of meters were enough to crush the heads of the demons.
Furthermore, with the added combustion buff, any demon touched by the fuel was instantly set ablaze.
They ran screaming through the chaotic ranks.
The even unluckier demons had their heads split open, losing their lives before they could even let out a sound.
They turned into corpses and collapsed to the ground.
The other airship, which had not been destroyed, crashed directly into the demon army.
The fire from the explosion instantly formed a massive mushroom cloud.
Flames soared into the sky, and the flying fragments of the airship acted like blades. Every demon they touched was eviscerated.
It was a bloodbath!
"Charge!"
Luo Li gripped the dragon horn beside her and gave the order.
The black dragon beneath her roared to the heavens, his flight speed surging as he accelerated forward!
The whistling wind was all she could hear. The rushing air was so fierce that Luo Li could barely keep her eyes open.
She could only use one hand to shield her face from the direct blast as she looked down.
The demon camp was in utter chaos.
At the same time, the knight corps below had gathered over ten thousand men to crush the remaining demon forces.
In the distance, thirty dragons continued their fierce struggle against the five feathered serpents.
Amidst this chaos, Luo Li stood atop the black dragon's head, leading the other two dragons and the two thousand skysoar dragons.
They soared right over the demon army's formation.
The first step of the plan... was a success!
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