Gambling

"Hahaha! You won't escape this time!"

The Demon Emperor cackled with a sinister grin, his face practically screaming his intent to violate her.

But in the next second, that face... suddenly transformed into her own face from her past life.

"Imposter! I'm taking everything back!!"

"Wait, don't be impulsive! Listen to me, I actually am you!"

Her 'other self' actually lunged forward, tearing at her clothes!

"No!!"

Luo Li’s vision went dark. A slightly salty sea breeze brushed past the tip of her nose, then gently ruffled the hair on her forehead.

Slowly opening her eyes, what greeted her was the vast, expansive ocean.

A full moon was reflected on the shimmering surface of the water.

"Was it... a dream?"

Staring blankly at the scenery she loved most, Luo Li slowly came to her senses.

That really seemed like... a dream?

Ugh! Ugh... uwaaaah!

Why would I have a dream like that?!

Having just woken up, Luo Li clutched her head, sinking into a state of utter confusion.

Black the dark dragon’s massive eye shifted slightly, glancing upward.

Although he couldn't see what the human Saintess was doing on top of his head...

This Saintly Maiden seemed to have some kind of problem.

Why did she start crouching in a defensive pose and clutching her head the moment she woke up?

"Your Highness the Saintess... are you well?"

"Huh? Oh... yes, I am."

Hearing that unique voice produced by a dragon in its true form—a voice that vibrated the air with its own built-in Dolby surround sound—Luo Li recovered from her panic.

She looked down at the dark dragon she was sitting on.

Then she looked at the sea ahead.

Her mood suddenly improved a bit.

"I didn't expect you to be so surprisingly attentive, Mr. Black."

"Your Highness overestimates me... As a dragon, I simply have a relatively good memory."

Black’s voice echoed around her.

Luo Li couldn't help but think that if he used this voice to sing, it would probably sound amazing.

After all, it came with natural Dolby surround sound.

"What are you two chatting about?"

Just as Luo Li was about to lift her head and properly take in the vast ocean before her, a familiar voice drifted up from below.

She looked down toward the sound.

Right beneath the dragon's head stood Lina, who had already brushed away her exhaustion and was dressed in her heroic attire.

She had returned to being the spirited Saintess of War.

"Just some idle chatter."

Luo Li smiled and gave a casual reply before looking back at the distant scenery.

"Lina, why don't you come up and see the view?"

"No need... I just came to see if you were awake."

"Besides, this Mr. Black might not necessarily let me climb onto his head."

Lina was straightforward, saying those words without any hint of concealment.

If it were anyone else, they might have misunderstood her, thinking she was being intentionally sarcastic.

But Black happened to not be 'anyone else.'

His massive dragon eye slowly rotated. The vertical pupil, which was nearly two sizes larger than a bathtub, fixed its gaze on the heroic Saintly Maiden.

"Correct. As a member of the dragon race, this is my pride!"

Luo Li was taken aback.

It seemed that over the past two days, she had almost forgotten while riding him that dragons were the most powerful and arrogant creatures on this continent.

Let alone a Saintess of War, even the Pope himself wouldn't dream of stepping onto this noble dragon's head.

She wasn't an exception because of her own status, but only because of Dragon King Asfield’s command.

That was the only reason Black allowed her to stay atop his massive head.

However, once those words were spoken, it was Luo Li who felt awkward.

"Then... should I come down?"

"No need."

Black’s response was flat but firm, the two words coming out sharp and clean.

"The Dragon King's command was for me to protect you throughout the journey. However, now..."

"However what?"

Luo Li, who was preparing to jump off the dragon's head, paused. This 'however' took her by surprise.

"I admit that among the humans I have seen, you are the most unique and most powerful existence."

"Me?"

Luo Li blinked, pointing a slender finger at herself.

The dark dragon didn't open his mouth, but his voice with its built-in Dolby surround sound still echoed in her ears.

"Indeed."

"Although your level is not high, you are able to anticipate the enemy's moves at every turn. In your first time commanding a battlefield, you remained calm in the face of crisis."

"I have never seen a human like you, and perhaps I never will again."

"I—Black Dragondark, formally acknowledge the Saintess of the human race, Luo Li Saint Sariel."

"This..."

Luo Li stood blankly on the dragon's head. At this moment, not only her, but even Lina below the dragon's head was stunned.

To be acknowledged by a dragon.

On this continent, those who had been able to achieve this since ancient times were few and far between.

The dragon race's way of thinking was sometimes very strange.

They held immense respect for the strong.

Furthermore, dragons were exceptionally united.

Once acknowledged by a dragon, even if one was not of their kind, they would be protected by them.

The meaning of this was that if one day Luo Li could no longer stay in the human kingdoms...

This dark dragon could even step forward to protect her.

That was the significance of acknowledgment.

Furthermore, even the children Luo Li bore would be acknowledged by the dark dragon.

In the past thousand years, it seemed only the first Pope had achieved this.

The difference was that the one who acknowledged the Pope back then was the Dragon King of that era.

In other words, it represented the acknowledgment of the entire dragon race.

And the one acknowledging her now was a dark dragon, representing only Black himself.

Yet this alone was enough to make all intelligent creatures on the continent take notice!

It meant she could directly trade with, ride, or even hire this dark dragon.

In a professional sense, of course.

That is to say, if Luo Li felt she was in danger, she could directly ask Black for help.

For a thousand years, only that Pope had received such recognition.

And while the Dragon King valued her, he had never formally 'acknowledged' her.

It was a kind of formal ritual that had to be spoken aloud and concluded in person.

Rather than just acknowledgment, it was more like a form of contract.

For a moment, Luo Li felt quite flattered.

The acknowledgment of a dragon, even if it was just one dark dragon, was no simple matter.

It might even lead the Pope to issue a Papal Decree to reward and honor her.

Because dragons only acknowledged the strong!

And would a powerhouse acknowledged by a dragon be weak?

"This... Mr. Black, to be honest, I'm a bit—flattered."

"Your Highness the Saintess need not be humble. At least in my memory, there has never been anyone who could toy with an existence that has gone beyond human limits."

"And you... did it."

Beyond human limits was the universally accepted term on the continent for those at level seventy.

Below level seventy, although one surpassed ordinary humans, they had not yet exceeded the 'mortal' tier.

But above level seventy, one truly reached the peak and transcended the mortal tier.

"Mr. Black, that was just a small strategy. It wasn't as exaggerated as you say."

"..."

The dark dragon stopped speaking, his massive eye merely glancing upward slightly.

Luo Li rubbed her cheek sheepishly.

Those words did sound a bit like humble-bragging.

Didn't you see the dark dragon rolling his eyes?

"Anyway, Mr. Black, could I trouble you to let me down? I have some matters to discuss with Lina."

Black paused for a moment, his massive pupils slowly turning toward the ocean.

Then, he extended a claw and gently lowered Luo Li from his head.

The scene was momentarily awkward.

What was supposed to be a grand, imposing moment of acknowledgment had suddenly turned into a bit of a one-sided affair.

Fortunately, Black was a dark dragon, otherwise his blushing face really wouldn't have been hidden.

Of course, Luo Li didn't intend to explain anything and quickly pulled Lina aside.

She wanted to give Black some time to recover.

Let him deal with his own awkwardness.

"Lina, what's the situation now? Is the camp construction going smoothly?"

Lina shook her head and pointed around them.

"See for yourself."

Luo Li instinctively scanned the direction Lina was pointing.

Her initial idea had indeed been to build a camp and hold the high ground.

But now that most of the day had passed, not a single fortification had been established.

"...I'm sorry."

Luo Li raised a hand to her forehead, apologizing for the lack of thoroughness in her plan.

The current situation made it clear that it wasn't that the knights didn't want to build a camp.

It was that on this demon island, nothing grew except wild grass; there were no trees at all.

This brought the construction of the camp to a direct standstill.

With no wood and only mud, how were they supposed to build a camp?

Forget building a camp; right now, there wasn't even a place for the knights to rest.

Many knights had simply spread blankets on the ground, sitting in circles and chatting.

The food they were eating was nothing but dry rations.

Luo Li hadn't eaten those rations herself, but she knew the taste couldn't possibly be good.

The knights could only soak the dry rations in water and then put them in their mouths, not even chewing, just letting them soften.

It seemed these rations were just some kind of dried flour-based food.

On a nearby patch of flat ground, there was a large scorched mark. Although only some residue remained...

It was clear that those were ashes.

The funerals for the fallen knights had been completed in a simple manner.

The current situation was becoming difficult to handle.

There was nothing on this plain that could be used for construction, and stone structures weren't something that could be put together in just half a day.

Because of the demonic corruption, not a single tree grew on this land.

If this continued, the army would have to face the demon army directly.

"Let me think of a way."

She looked over toward the Beast Sovereign's side. The situation there was also poor; many beastmen were digging up soil to pile up obstacles.

But strictly speaking, these mud-based obstacles didn't meet defensive standards at all.

A stampede by tens of thousands would flatten them instantly.

Digging pits?

Setting aside everything else, for the knight class, pits might offer some restriction against infantry.

But they were even more restrictive against cavalry.

Digging pits wouldn't be trapping the enemy; it would be trapping themselves.

The beastmen were all infantry, so digging pits wouldn't be much of a problem for them.

But the Black Armored Knights simply couldn't dig pits here.

It would severely limit the knights' charging capability.

Furthermore, they hadn't come prepared with many tools. Where were they going to find ten thousand shovels to dig with now?

She thought for a long time but couldn't come up with any ideas.

In this situation, was there any other way besides a head-on clash with the demons?

Flanking and charging—these had almost been completely restricted by the demons.

The demons' encirclement would only get tighter, and their flanking capability would only get stronger.

By the time they reached the evacuation point, there would be almost no room left for the cavalry to maneuver.

The only way was to pay a price to draw away a portion of the demon forces.

But the existence serving as bait would be facing a certain death.

And... if the demons didn't focus on the bait from the start and instead kept attacking the main army...

Then the bait would be useless.

In other words, the bait had to be something that would drive the hunters into a frenzy.

Thinking it over... it seemed the only one who fit that description for the bait was me?

Luo Li blinked, her mind ringing with a dull buzz.

For a moment, she didn't know what to do.

Did she really have to act as bait?

If she went as bait and took a portion of the knights with her, she could indeed draw away most of the Demon Emperor's attention.

By then, the evacuation of the central command would naturally be much smoother.

After all, without their top-tier combat power, at certain special locations—especially an evacuation point like this...

The Dragon King and the Beast Sovereign could act as a bottleneck where one could hold back a thousand.

The army's retreat would basically face no further accidents.

But the 'accident'... would be her.

From the very beginning when she came here, her goal was to eliminate the threat to herself.

And now she had to do the exact opposite. Wasn't this... just a wasted effort?

But if she didn't do it, the demon elites combined with the Demon Emperor's command would slowly crush the survival space of the central command.

If the rescue fleet didn't arrive in time, the army would be driven to a dead end.

"Luo Li, Luo Li? What's wrong?"

"No... it's nothing."

"That's not right. Why did your face suddenly turn so pale? Did you catch a cold?"

Luo Li shook her head.

"I was just thinking about things. I'm really fine."

Lina’s concern, however, made Luo Li’s heart sink into a state of conflict.

If they held their ground, once they reached the point where this was the only option left, could she really make that choice?

If she didn't choose this, would it be equivalent to sacrificing everyone else?

No... there must be another way.

There must be another way.

Luo Li’s gaze instinctively began to search around.

Everywhere her eyes landed, there were either the Black Armored Knights or the beastmen on the other high ground in the distance.

The rest were the two thousand skysoar dragons and the three dragons.

What way is there... what way... a way...

Wait!

Could this... also be a way to escape danger temporarily?

But if she did this, she would need to sacrifice a large portion of something.

Yet at the very least, it could ensure that all the knights left safely.

Of course, this was only a temporary measure. If the evacuation fleet didn't arrive by then...

They would still be left waiting for death.

But once she did this, there truly would be no turning back.

This was a gamble.

Should I... really place the bet?

"Luo Li?"

"Um... it's fine. I've thought of a way."

Looking up at Lina, who was worried about her, Luo Li shook her head to indicate she was okay.

Right now, do I have any other choice besides placing this bet?

Since the decision is made, I must execute it as quickly as possible!

The one who strikes first gains the advantage; the one who strikes late is controlled by others.

There is no time to hesitate!