"Crack!"
The crisp snap of a horsewhip echoed across the battlefield.
Standing at the front of the carriage, the young girl gripped the reins with her right hand and held the banner pole with her left, leading the heavy cavalry charge from the very front.
To her left was Hilda and to her right was Yuna, both white horses guarding her closely.
Behind them, nearly eight hundred heavy cavalry followed in tight formation.
The entire unit was like a sharp blade piercing into the chaotic heart of the demon army.
Luo Li fixed her gaze on Butcher Zuka, one of the Twelve Demon Generals.
The title of demon general was only bestowed upon those between level sixty and sixty-nine.
In other words, this enemy was a powerhouse who had crossed the level sixty threshold, placing him among the top combatants on the continent!
Zuka noticed the approaching force, and his eyes landed on the silver-haired, red-eyed girl standing atop the carriage, dressed in a gold-trimmed white robe and wearing a golden crown.
A smile spread across his hideous face.
"So it is Her Highness, the Saintess of the Moon. I never expected a pampered Saintess to hide her strength so deeply. It seems that useless Martha really did deserve to be executed."
Luo Li looked at Zuka with an expressionless face. She could guess what was happening to the women behind him without even thinking.
However, she didn't acknowledge him or even offer a response, simply continuing to snap the reins.
The carriage horses felt the sting and accelerated again. Her Guardian Knights, Hilda and Yuna, followed suit without hesitation, keeping pace with the carriage.
Watching the Saintess charge toward him, Zuka's eyes filled with insatiable greed.
Such a beautiful girl was a waste to leave in the human world!
"My dear Saintess, have you misunderstood something? I was looking for you, yet you dare to deliver yourself to my doorstep? I am... Butcher Zuka!"
A heart-stopping aura erupted from his massive frame. Even facing the torrent of heavy cavalry, there wasn't a hint of fear on his face!
Instead, a bloodthirsty grin twisted his ugly features.
"Since you're so eager for my affection, I won't be polite!"
As he spoke, he suddenly raised his hand and pointed it at the charging heavy cavalry, letting out a furious roar.
"Darkness Devour!"
The skill activated instantly.
Levels thirty and sixty were the two major watersheds in this world. Every time a person crossed one, their strength experienced an explosive surge.
The demon general before her had already surpassed level sixty!
The power he unleashed was comparable to that of an army of ten thousand!
However, Luo Li had anticipated this.
She had calculated every possible scenario.
If she hadn't accounted for this, her reckless charge would have been no different from throwing herself into his arms.
"Hilda, get ready!"
Luo Li looked back to give Hilda the instruction, then turned her focus back to Zuka.
She gripped the banner pole tightly with her left hand.
"Protect the Brilliant Night with My Moon Banner—O Holy One! Please protect me and my people!"
The overly dramatic line left her lips once more, but Luo Li did not relax for a second.
In the sky, the brightness of the full moon suddenly intensified!
At night, the power of the Saintess of the Moon was amplified to its absolute peak.
In an instant!
The Moon Banner in her left hand erupted with a dazzling silver light that shot straight into the clouds.
At the same time, the moonlight that had been hiding behind the dark clouds suddenly spilled across the land.
The entirety of Brilliant City was completely bathed in moonlight!
Boom!
A pillar of silver light, far larger than the first time she had used it, poured down from the heavens.
Nearly every human in Brilliant City was showered in this silver radiance.
At that moment, the demon general's skill, Darkness Devour, arrived before them.
A thick black mist erupted from Zuka's palm. Carrying a foul, rancid stench, it spiraled like a horizontal tornado, howling as it surged toward Luo Li.
"Hilda!"
Seeing this, Luo Li didn't let down her guard. She snapped her head back toward Hilda.
"Your Highness, I am ready!"
Hilda rode her horse close to the carriage, her expression one of absolute resolve.
Luo Li nodded, released the reins, and drew the Sword of Fidelity from her waist, pointing it toward the moonlight!
"O sleeping hero, in the name of Luo Li Saint Sariel, I beseech you to awaken from your eternal slumber and open the path to light for us!"
As soon as the words were spoken, a silver streak of light suddenly cut across the sky. Though it looked thin, it carried an unparalleled pressure!
In that heartbeat!
Nearly everyone on the battlefield noticed that streak of light.
Zuka's eyes widened in shock.
"Hero Creation!? This is bad!"
Luo Li twisted the Sword of Fidelity, and the silver light in the sky followed the tip of her blade like a falling star, slamming heavily into Hilda's forehead.
Buzz!
Hilda, still mounted, felt a violent impact. Her body recoiled instinctively as her vision went dark and she lost consciousness.
The sounds of shouting and killing on the battlefield seemed to vanish completely in that moment.
Then, Hilda slowly opened her eyes.
Within her blue pupils, a faint golden light began to surface!
"This is..."
She looked around with a slight sense of confusion, then, as if realizing something, she turned to look at Luo Li.
"Greetings, Saintess of the Moon. Though I am but a spirit of the dead, if I can be of service to you, I, Sacred Knight Julius, am willing to give my all."
With those words, Hilda... no, she was no longer just Hilda. Hero Creation had summoned the soul of a historical hero to possess her.
It was the legendary hero who had earned his title at the youngest age in history.
The Sacred Knight—Julius!
Julius turned to look ahead, her brow furrowing slightly upon seeing Zuka.
"A demon general. No wonder the Saintess of the Moon summoned me. It seems... this will be another exhilarating battle!"
"Julius... I'm counting on you," Luo Li cried out!
"O moonlight! Protect my knight!"
The moonlight wound around Hilda's body like flowing water, faintly forming a semi-transparent suit of armor.
Protect the Brilliant Night with My Moon Banner, Hero Creation, and Moon's Protection.
One special active skill and two Authorities were active at once!
In this moment, Luo Li had played every single card in her hand.
"Thank you, Saintess. I shall go now."
Hilda looked back to thank Luo Li, and when she turned forward again, a golden light flashed in her eyes!
"Demon general, though I know not your name, as a knight, I shall announce mine. I am the Sacred Knight, Julius!"
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