This is an Order!

The knights’ expressions had been grim, their eyes hollow and heads bowed, like captives waiting for death after a crushing defeat.

But now, almost everyone's eyes shone with renewed life.

Wherever the carriage passed, the knights straightened their backs and puffed out their chests.

Even those who were injured forced themselves to stand upright.

Luo Li suddenly realized just how high the Saintess's prestige was among the common people.

She understood how precious such a presence was on this battlefield.

It was fortunate that the Dragon King was currently overseeing the camp; otherwise, with their previous lack of discipline, the army would have surely collapsed at the first sign of conflict.

Their previous aura had been that of a defeated army before the battle had even begun.

Now, even though their faces were covered in dust and grime like stragglers, every one of them was filled with a radiant glow.

Luo Li slowly lowered the carriage curtain; at this moment, she didn't need to do anything at all.

Simply by sitting here, she could instill a supreme sense of courage in these knights.

She had underestimated the Saintess's influence among the people.

She had also overestimated these knights.

Even though these knights were far more powerful than she was, there was one glaring issue.

After she and Lina had left, the knights in this camp had lost their faith.

In a strange land, where they lacked both the advantage of time and terrain, the loss of the only Saintess respected by all the knights had proved fatal.

This loss of unity and morale was the obvious result of her departure.

Previously, she had thought that as a mere Saintess, her absence wouldn't matter much; she assumed that once the plan was distributed, the knights would work together in earnest to overcome the difficulties.

But this scene proved the true significance of a Saintess in the army.

She was not just a commander; she was the battle flag currently planted in the hearts of every knight.

Once that battle flag was gone, the knights’ desire to fight, which was already low, had plummeted to its absolute minimum.

Yet, the moment the Saintess returned to the military array, these knights suddenly seemed to have found their faith again.

A fanatical fire was rekindled in their eyes.

She never imagined it would be like this.

She had assumed these knights were all nobles.

As nobles, surely they wouldn't be so superstitious about a Saintess?

Now it seemed she had overlooked a crucial point.

The morale of an army was both simple and complex.

It was complex because a single rumor from a knight’s mouth, born from some baseless worry, could spread through the entire camp.

It was simple because as long as they had a faith to follow, everyone would fight to the death!

If someone said all these knights were devout fanatics, others might believe it.

But Luo Li would never believe such a thing.

However, even if only a tenth or even a hundredth of them were true zealots, the subtle influence of the Holy Church over a thousand years had taken hold.

All these knights had developed a fundamental faith in the Saintess.

While this might not be apparent in daily life, on a battlefield at such a critical juncture, the blow to morale was too great when the banners of their faith disappeared.

I miscalculated.

A shadow of gloom crossed Luo Li’s mind.

She had underestimated the title of Saintess and overestimated the psychological resilience of the knights.

On a normal battlefield, such a mistake would be enough to completely reverse the course of the war in an instant.

If the Dragon King hadn't been here with dozens of dragons to at least maintain air superiority, these knights would have been wiped out long ago.

She had to keep this in mind as a warning.

She could never allow herself to make such a low-level mistake again.

Otherwise, no matter how large her army was, it wouldn't be enough to prevent a loss.

Luo Li took a deep breath, silently noting this key point in her heart.

The Saint's Carriage slowly drove into the central command.

As it passed, a visible spark of vitality began to return to the army.

Many knights even began to spontaneously drop to one knee, clasping their fingers over their chests in prayer.

Clearly, the Holy Church’s subtle influence over the past millennium had left these knights with almost no other faith.

This was likely a key reason why the Holy Church could stand for a thousand years without falling.

Although the knights’ families served their own interests, the Holy Church remained supreme in their hearts.

And they had never even considered changing their faith.

Even when knights rebelled, they only sought to fight for land and power; they never dared to interfere with matters of faith.

As the Saint's Carriage slowly came to a halt, Dominica’s familiar yet weary voice drifted from outside.

"Welcome back to camp, Your Highness."

Her words seemed to ignite an impulse within the nearby knights.

It was an impulse that could only be released through shouting; the knights fell to their knees one after another, their voices rising in a mountain-shaking cry.

"Welcome back to camp, Your Highness!"

"Rise."

Luo Li did not step out of the carriage, simply speaking casually.

"Dominica, come inside and report on the current situation. The rest of the knights are to return to their posts and remain vigilant against the demons."

"As you command!"

The carriage door was pushed open, and the blonde girl stepped inside, her delicate face etched with grievance and exhaustion.

Seeing her like this, Luo Li felt a small pang of pity in her heart.

"Alright, alright. I'm not dead, so don't make that face."

"Your Highness!"

Dominica grew anxious the moment she heard that.

"How can you talk about death like that!"

"Fine, fine, I won't say it..."

Seeing Dominica both anxious and angry, Luo Li gave a helpless smile and waved her hands repeatedly.

"Dominica, report the current state of the army to me. What exactly happened? Why has the morale in the camp dropped so much?"

Although she had her suspicions, she needed to hear the answer from Dominica to be certain.

It was safer that way.

"Your Highness... after you left, word spread. The knights... they were all saying that you might have abandoned us to leave on your own, so..."

"I see. So they lost hope of survival because they felt I had abandoned them?"

Dominica nodded helplessly.

"That is exactly it."

That was close... it was a good thing I returned in time.

If such rumors had intensified over time, they might have led to a mutiny!

Once a mutiny occurred in the army, the consequences would be beyond imagination.

"You've worked hard these past two days."

"It wasn't hard. As long as Your Highness has returned, everything was worth it."

Looking at her pouting face and the expression that looked like she was about to cry... wait, she wasn't just about to cry.

She was actually crying.

Luo Li stood up and walked over to Dominica. Seeing the clear tears overflowing from the corners of her eyes, she felt both amused and sympathetic.

"There now, haven't I returned?"

Dominica slowly lowered her head, her shoulders trembling slightly and her voice shaking.

"Your Highness... if you hadn't come back, I really wouldn't have known what to do."

"It's alright now. I'm here."

Luo Li gently soothed her trembling heart, softly stroking the top of her head.

Her hair was a bit greasy from the battles of the past few days.

Fortunately, the Saintess's robe possessed a self-cleaning function, and even her palms were affected by its properties.

She wouldn't end up with hands full of hair oil.

"Report on the situation of the past two days. Also, send someone to organize the troops immediately. Aside from the knights of the Kingdom of the Moon, everyone else is to be ready for orders."

"Your Highness, what do you plan to do?"

Dominica was stunned for a moment and asked instinctively.

"Just do it. I'll tell you later."

Explaining everything to Dominica now might only result in opposition.

Therefore, she had to keep it hidden for now.

"Yes."

Dominica nodded and then hurriedly turned to notify the messenger outside.

The messenger immediately mounted a swift horse and galloped toward the other camps to deliver the notice.

Dominica remained behind and spoke up.

"During the two days Your Highness was away, although the demon army continued to press closely behind us, no direct conflict occurred."

"There were some minor skirmishes, but they were mostly battles between scouts."

"The demon army is roughly five kilometers away from us, and the situation within our ranks is relatively stable."

"The scattered rear guard has been regrouped. After a headcount, we found that over two hundred people are missing, but there were no other losses."

Luo Li nodded. It seemed that after the sea race army of the rear guard saw the demon army, their resolve had wavered.

A portion of the knights had likely headed for the strait, hoping to escape on their own.

Those two hundred-plus people were unfortunate.

If they had stayed with the main army, they might have been fine.

But heading for the strait alone?

Since the demons dared to surround them on such a large scale, they weren't afraid of them breaking through the lines individually.

This meant the demons had likely completely blockaded the strait. Even if they did manage to break through, they would only be caught in a pincer movement at the coast.

For two hundred knights to go to the strait alone... the only outcome was death.

"However, Your Highness, every time our army stops for less than an hour, the demon army presses forward, forcing us to move again."

"Yes, I know."

This was a psychological tactic, an exhaustion strategy.

But it was also an open scheme; even knowing it was a trap, she still had to guard against it, retreat, and endure the fatigue.

If this continued, the army would likely fall into deep exhaustion before even reaching the evacuation point.

By then, once the battle began, defeat would be certain!

Fortunately, she had thought of a new method; otherwise, following the previous plan, they truly might not have been able to hold out.

She looked up at the sky. After traveling for this long, it was already midnight.

The timing was perfect.

"Dominica, notify the knights of the Kingdom of the Sea—specifically Norman and Maren. They are to lead their subordinate knights to the evacuation point immediately and begin the withdrawal."

"Your Highness? This..."

Hearing this order, Dominica was startled and stared at her with wide eyes.

Luo Li shook her head, signaling her not to make a scene.

"Follow my orders. Have all knights wrap their horses' hooves as much as possible so they make no sound. Every harness bell is to be removed. Then, march toward the evacuation point."

"Within one hour, they must be five kilometers away. Two hours after that, the knights of the Kingdom of Flame will set out, followed finally by those from Snow Country."

"Your Highness... You? Do you plan to lead the rear guard? No! I absolutely will not agree to that!!"

"This is an order!"