The vanguard had already reached the heights on both sides of the evacuation point.
Since most of the enemy's elites were concentrated in the encirclement, the combat power of the two ambushing units was not particularly strong.
However, the number of Black Armored Knights and members of the Lion-Tiger tribe Luo Li had sent out was simply too small.
The Black Armored Knights were able to hold their own, even gaining a slight upper hand as they charged back and forth through the demon army, constantly whittling down the enemy's strength.
But the situation on the beastmen's side was far more tragic.
The two thousand members of the Lion-Tiger tribe were fighting an endless battle against over twenty thousand demons, and they were clearly at a disadvantage, fighting and retreating simultaneously.
They left behind a trail of corpses.
The moment these bodies fell, even before they had breathed their last, they were torn apart and devoured by other demons!
The sheer brutality of the scene was beyond words!
"Lancelot!!"
From the rear, Lancelot came rushing up at high speed, riding atop Mr. Momo.
"I am here, Your Highness."
"Take the skysoar dragon tribe and the Beast Sovereign to support the Lion-Tiger tribe."
"Remember, do not kill too many demons all at once; whittle them down bit by bit!"
"As you command!"
Lancelot nodded, steered Mr. Momo, and turned to fly toward the high ground on the right.
Luo Li looked back toward the high ground on the left.
"Black, Aigie, Shalin, come with me to support the Black Armored Knights! Do not kill the demons; find a way to throw them into the sea!"
"We obey the Holy Decree."
With the wind howling in her ears, the dark dragon dove straight down.
Beside her, Aigie and Shalin had also returned to their dragon forms.
On the heated battlefield, three massive dragons suddenly appeared in mid-air.
The entire battlefield fell silent!
The next second, a clear female voice cheered.
"Cheer for Her Highness, our Saintess of the Moon!!"
The next second... under Luo Li's dumbfounded gaze, over ten thousand Black Armored Knights shouted in unison!
"Long live Her Highness the Saintess of the Moon!!!"
In an instant, even the demon army couldn't help but turn their gazes toward the figure of Luo Li atop the dark dragon's head.
She slowly raised her hand to cover her face.
She was mortified... completely and utterly mortified.
Even Black the dark dragon didn't know for a moment whether he should continue his descent.
"Li—na!!!"
Luo Li glared into the distance at the girl with the conspicuous ponytail on horseback, who was wearing a bright, happy smile.
Her armor was already drenched in black blood.
But on that face, she couldn't hide the exhaustion from traveling all night and then engaging in fierce combat.
Fine, seeing how hard she was working, Luo Li decided not to hold it against her for now.
She would settle the score later!
"Black! Aigie! Shalin! Follow my orders and attack!"
"We obey the Holy Decree!"
The Black Armored Knights, who were already holding a slight advantage, felt their morale surge the moment the dragons joined the fray.
Led by Lina, the Black Armored Knights crushed everything in their path, constantly breaking through the demon blockade.
As for Luo Li, she could only hold onto the dragon's horns and watch as Black the dark dragon swept his tail across the ground.
Dozens of demons were instantly sent flying into the sea.
Seeing the dark dragon sweeping through everything, a demon general suddenly rushed out from the demon army.
He roared at the dark dragon: "I am demon general Bri—"
'Roar—!'
Before the demon general could finish his sentence, an incoming dragon claw instantly flattened him into a meat paste.
'Splat!'
Then, the dragon casually picked him up and tossed him into the sea.
The moment the demon general was lost, the war turned into a one-sided slaughter.
Ten thousand Black Armored Knights plus three massive dragons were definitely not something twenty thousand demons could withstand!
On the other side, after receiving Luo Li's instructions, Lancelot consulted with the Beast Sovereign, Ricardo.
They ultimately decided to knock the demons unconscious and control them as much as possible.
The Lion-Tiger tribe members leapt down from the skysoar dragons one after another and began their counterattack.
Meanwhile, the skysoar dragons dove down, grabbed demons, and flew toward the shore.
Like dumplings falling into a pot, one demon after another was dropped into the vast ocean.
After struggling for a few moments, they disappeared beneath the waves.
Demons... almost none of them knew how to swim.
It seemed that demons were inherently loathed by the sea, and they wouldn't even float after falling in.
This was one of the reasons why the demon race had never been able to cross the strait by swimming.
With the help of the sudden reinforcements, the battle reached its conclusion in less than half an hour.
On the two heights, there were twenty thousand demons each.
Of the forty thousand demons in total, less than a few thousand remained.
And they were still being thrown into the sea.
To avoid drawing out that massive tentacle, this was the only way Luo Li could think of.
That tentacle clearly couldn't come into contact with the ocean.
Judging by the demons' trait of being loathed by the sea, that tentacle likely shared the same weakness.
Therefore, this method was the simplest and most convenient.
It could kill the demons without causing the tentacle to appear due to excessive slaughter.
Time passed minute by minute.
At first, Luo Li could still stand on the dragon's head and shout encouragement.
Below her, Lina was leading the Black Armored Knights in a rampage.
By the end, Luo Li had shouted herself hoarse.
She could only stand atop the dark dragon's head, weakly waving her small hand to cheer for him.
Her mind, however, was occupied with what to do next.
At the current pace, whether they could safely evacuate was a major concern.
"Hey!"
If they couldn't evacuate, what would she do? Would she really abandon so many troops and only leave with the dragons and beastmen?
"Luo Li—!"
Snapped out of her daze, she instinctively looked down.
At some point, the battlefield had completely fallen silent.
The surviving demons were being thrown into the sea one by one.
Before her eyes stood Lina, whose face was filled with exhaustion but whose smile was as bright as the spring breeze.
"I said, what are you spacing out for? The battle is over, come down quickly."
"Right."
Stepping onto the dark dragon's palm, she descended from his head. On the ground, a few demon corpses remained.
Though the knights were exhausted, they were still quickly cleaning up the battlefield.
"I knew you'd make it back alive!"
Before Luo Li could say anything, Lina, who had reached her, gave her a firm poke on the shoulder.
"Hiss~ take it easy."
Luo Li grumbled, then looked Lina over and nodded slightly.
"Not bad, you still seem to have some spirit left."
The girl's eyes were still sharp and full of life, but the deep dark circles under them proved her current exhaustion.
Since the incident last night, she hadn't rested at all.
Leading the Black Armored Knights, she had rushed for over ten hours, covering hundreds of kilometers.
She had arrived at the evacuation point without stopping and immediately engaged in battle with the demon army.
It was now past three in the afternoon.
The incident last night had occurred around midnight, and with the ensuing chaos, another two or three hours had passed.
By the time Lina received her orders, it was already two or three in the morning.
Judging by the situation just now, the fighting had likely been going on for at least half an hour.
In other words, all she had done was lead the army here and immediately start fighting.
"You've worked hard."
A sense of admiration couldn't help but rise in Luo Li's heart.
"I'm fine, just a bit tired..."
A hint of helplessness flashed in Lina's eyes.
"But they... sigh."
Following Lina's gaze, a circular area had been cleared on the nearby battlefield.
Many knights' remains consisted only of intact armor and scattered bones; not a single complete body was left.
Their horses were the same. Those demons were not picky eaters at all.
As long as it wasn't corrupted by demonic energy, it could serve as food.
"Lina, I know you're exhausted, but I still need to trouble you to gather the wounded knights and horses. I'm going to perform a wave of healing."
"Yeah, I understand."
Compared to Lina's physical resilience, Luo Li, who hadn't slept all night either, wasn't doing much better.
Her heavy eyelids were practically fighting each other to stay closed.
However, if she didn't treat them immediately, it would be too late if another emergency occurred later.
Soon, Lina gathered the wounded knights.
Of the original ten thousand plus Black Armored Knights, less than eight thousand remained.
Every one of them was injured.
For things like scratches, Luo Li naturally didn't need to intervene; what remained were over three thousand soldiers with light or serious wounds.
The banner was planted, the skill was activated, and she felt as if her body had been hollowed out.
The light elements in her body were drained in an instant.
The knights before her looked at the Saintess of the Moon with gratitude.
Before she could exchange any pleasantries, Luo Li immediately activated her Holy Crest.
In an instant, a surge of warmth flowed through a point two inches below her navel.
This warmth was so comfortable that Luo Li almost let out a soft moan.
Fortunately... to avoid another social death, Luo Li gritted her teeth and endured it.
She wiped the fine beads of sweat from her forehead.
Without time to rest, she quickly rode the dark dragon to the high ground on the right.
As she stepped down from the dragon's head, she saw Lancelot running toward her from the distance.
"Your Highness, the battle is over. Over half of the demons were thrown into the sea, and the remaining corpses are being handled."
"Good... do not leave any corpses behind. How is the situation with the beastmen?"
Lancelot pursed his lips and shook his head slightly.
Seeing his reaction, it seemed the situation for the beastmen was not good.
"You're here. Perfect, quickly help treat my people."
Looking up, she saw Ricardo's classic lion face.
However, that face no longer held its usual ease; instead, it carried a heavy feeling.
Luo Li nodded and stepped forward without hesitation, asking at the same time: "Your Majesty, what are the beastmen's casualties?"
Ricardo's brow furrowed slightly.
"Over one thousand seven hundred..."
"How could there be so many?"
The Beast Sovereign glanced at Luo Li and let out a helpless sigh.
"It was a collapse. Although Rhine is close to me, he doesn't have the same prestige. He charged headlong into the demon army, so casualties were naturally high. In the end, when the people felt they couldn't win, they began to retreat..."
"And the result was... a total collapse?"
Luo Li nodded. If a collapse occurred, no number of deaths would be surprising.
A retreat during a confrontation between two armies is a tactical retreat, maintaining defensive formation and vigilance while slowly backing away.
While such a retreat is still a withdrawal, it at least preserves the fighting force.
But a collapse is different.
When every individual only looks out for themselves, it inevitably hampers the entire army's retreat.
While those nearby are still fighting passionately, they turn around... and find their companions have already retreated, leaving them alone with no time to escape.
In such a situation, the military formation is bound to crumble.
The scattered soldiers in a broken formation will inevitably be devoured bit by bit by the demons.
The final result could only be one thing... a crushing defeat.
"My condolences, Your Majesty."
Over one thousand seven hundred elites died in one go, added to the previous losses.
Of the five thousand members of the Lion-Tiger tribe, less than three thousand now remained.
These were some of the continent's top elite forces.
Yet on the demon side, there wasn't even a single demon general.
The gap in individual strength was infinitely magnified in this moment.
This was equivalent to the strongest knight under the Holy Church's most powerful knight... Sacred Knight Roland.
The Sacred Knight Regiment.
They were the elite of the elite.
This Lion-Tiger tribe legion was the same—the elite force of the beastmen.
Such casualties were a massive blow to the Beast Sovereign.
"Mm..."
The Beast Sovereign's raspy voice let out a heavy sigh, sounding incredibly weary.
There was no time for idle talk, as the injuries couldn't wait.
Soon, the remaining two hundred or so heavily wounded beastmen gathered.
The banner was planted again, the skill was activated once more, and then... her body was hollowed out again.
This time, there was no Holy Crest to help Luo Li recover.
Feeling the light elements in her body drain away almost instantly, her legs buckled, and she nearly collapsed to the ground.
Fortunately, the Beast Sovereign beside her took a step closer to Luo Li.
He didn't touch her, but his tall frame stood like a pillar beside her.
"If you're tired, you can lean on me for a moment. As a ruler... one must never show weakness to their people."
Ricardo looked directly at the beastmen who were cheering because the healing had finished. Although exhaustion was hidden in his eyes, he still maintained his majestic posture.
"Thank you."
However, as soon as she spoke, Lancelot quickly walked over and planted his massive cross behind Luo Li.
"Your Highness, you are the Saintess of the human race. It is slightly inappropriate to lean on the Beast Sovereign. Please use my cross instead."
Luo Li also knew it was inappropriate, but the key was that her legs were truly weak right now.
Luckily Lancelot had come, or she didn't know what would have happened.
She leaned her body back. Although the metal cross was slightly cold, it at least provided some support.
The missing light elements in her body were gradually recovering. Although it was impossible to return to her original level immediately, she should be able to move freely after a few minutes.
"What do you plan to do next?"
At this moment, Ricardo lacked his usual flippancy, asking with a solemn expression instead.
However, his gaze remained forward, and his posture stayed upright.
"Hold the position and wait for the evacuation fleet. Ligeia won't let me down."
"Are you certain? Although the Dragon King and I are here, the demons have the advantage in numbers."
"Once the demons begin to attack regardless of the cost, we can only hold out for a few hours at most."
"Don't worry. If someone must die in battle, I will be in the first rank."
The Beast Sovereign's brow tightened slightly, then slowly relaxed.
"I understand. Leave this side to me. You'll need to worry more about the other side."
"The Dragon King still needs to keep the feathered serpents in check. I must stay here to hold the heights. As for the other side... one Saintess might not be enough."
Luo Li nodded.
"I understand."
Although her friendship with the Beast Sovereign was short, through these few battles, they had developed a certain level of camaraderie.
Their communication was no longer as distant as before.
After giving a few more instructions, Luo Li returned to the other side of the heights.
After giving Lina a few more instructions, Luo Li, who was already completely exhausted, leaned against the dark dragon's horn and fell into a deep sleep.
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