As the news that the Saintess of the Moon was heavily injured spread throughout the Kingdom of the Moon, public opinion boiled over and panic gripped the populace.
Numerous nobles scrambled to send messengers to Brilliant City to gather information, yet not a single one returned.
Meanwhile, the state of Seaview City had reached a level of chaos that was unbearable to witness.
When Kevin Cromwell, the Heavenly Punishment Knight, arrived at Seaview City, the once-prosperous metropolis was nearly a dead city.
Most of the city had been reduced to ash and ruins by raging fires.
Large iron pots could be seen everywhere along the streets.
Inside the pots were the remains of putrid meat broth.
The ground beneath his feet was covered in black blood scabs in many places, and skeletons lay scattered by the roadside.
Swarms of flies and mosquitoes flew through the sky without fear, greedily feeding on the rotting flesh.
Seaview City, one of the ten major cities of the Kingdom of the Moon with a population of nearly a million, had completely transformed into a city of the dead at this moment.
God only knew what the people of Seaview City had endured.
Once the Garnet family had completely turned their backs on the nation, the demon army had already invaded the continent.
And the actions of the demons required no second thought.
In all of Seaview City, almost no survivors remained.
The main roads of the city were filled with the smell of char, mixed with the stench of blood and decay.
In the distance, a few figures emerged from a house, clutching armfuls of gold, silver, and jewelry.
These people were bandits or petty thieves, and it was almost certain they were not locals of Seaview City.
All the locals were already dead.
This war had only lasted for about half a month, yet the population of nearly a million in Seaview City had been wiped out.
The destructive power of the demons was evident from this alone.
"Apprehend them."
Seeing these people profiting from a national disaster, Kevin felt an uncontrollable rage rising within him!
"Yes!"
Cain, the Guardian Knight, nodded and vanished in a blur of motion. He rushed forward and, in a matter of seconds, had the men bound and thrown before Kevin.
"Have mercy, Sir Knight! Have mercy!"
Initially, the three foolish thieves looked confused, but when they clearly saw the man before them wearing bright silver knight armor, they were stunned.
Silver knight armor was practically the standard equipment of the Temple knights.
Against ordinary people, Temple knights possessed a crushing class difference.
To a certain extent, Temple knights even held judicial authority, though one had to reach the rank of Guardian Knight for that.
"What were the three of you doing?"
Kevin's brow furrowed deeply, his gaze sharp as lightning as he stared them down.
The three thieves knelt on the ground. One was trembling so much he didn't dare speak.
Of the other two, the sturdier one spoke up immediately.
"We... we were just going home to get some things."
"Going home?"
Kevin let out a cold sneer and looked up at the courtyard they had just exited.
It was a small two-story villa.
While not a residence for high nobility, it belonged to at least a wealthy merchant or an official.
A commoner could never afford such a large house in Seaview City, one of the ten major cities of the Kingdom of the Moon, even with a lifetime of savings.
"Very well. Tell me, what is the name of the owner of this house?"
Every house had the owner's name displayed by the door, but foolish thieves like these would never pay attention to such details.
Faced with Kevin's questioning, the three men remained silent.
Seeing this, Kevin's brow snapped up in anger!
"The three of you dared to loot Seaview City amidst the chaos. Such inhumane behavior proves you are no longer fit to be called human."
He let out a furious shout.
"In the name of Kevin Cromwell, Heavenly Punishment Knight, I sentence you to death. Execute them immediately!"
Several knights following close behind Kevin quickly dismounted, dragging the three men toward the distance.
"Have mercy, my lord! Have mercy!!"
As three heads rolled onto the ground, the desperate pleas for mercy abruptly ceased.
Kevin took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the fire in his heart.
"Knights, split into groups of ten and search Seaview City. Order the regular soldiers outside to enter the city and begin a tally of the corpses. Notify Brilliant City to send officials immediately to reorganize Seaview City."
With that, he nudged his horse's flanks.
"A hundred knights, follow me!"
As he spoke, his white steed bolted forward. Over a hundred knights followed close behind, heading straight for the eastern part of the city.
That was the location of the Garnet family estate, where the family had been entrenched for a thousand years.
When Kevin led his hundred knights to the Garnet family estate, he found it had become an earthly hell.
The ground was covered in mangled corpses and shredded clothing, with all sorts of items scattered about.
The house before them was the heart of the Garnet family estate.
The massive garden complex occupied an area of nearly three square kilometers.
Every building appeared incredibly luxurious.
Yet, hanging from the main gate at this moment was half a corpse.
This body had long since rotted and stank, surrounded entirely by flies and mosquitoes.
Judging by the battered appearance of the corpse and the large iron pot placed nearby, it seemed the demons had previously boiled the body here.
Seeing this, Kevin's brow twisted even tighter.
He rode forward, and the entire garden came into view.
Small bridges over flowing water, artificial lakes, gardens, and corridors—some parts of the garden were even built in the style of the Kingdom of the Sun.
Clearly, every corner had been meticulously crafted.
The cost of this entire garden was beyond measure.
However, all that remained in the garden now was a landscape of ruins.
Almost all the buildings had been torched, and what was left was useless.
"Spread out and see if there are any survivors."
"Yes!"
Everyone dispersed, while Kevin stood in place, deep in thought with a furrowed brow.
Before long, a knight came running from a distance.
"My lord! My lord, we found something over by the artificial lake..."
At this point, the knight suddenly lost his voice.
Hearing this, Kevin reacted instantly, galloping his horse forward without waiting for the knight.
He arrived at the edge of the artificial lake.
When his gaze swept across the water, he saw nothing unusual. He turned back to the knight behind him.
"What did you find? Where is it?"
The knight opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment, and finally pointed toward the artificial lake.
Kevin frowned and instinctively scanned the lake again, but he still couldn't find anything different.
"My lord... please look at the bottom of the lake."
The knight realized Kevin was looking in the wrong place and pointed toward the surface of the water.
Kevin looked down with a tight frown.
The calm surface of the lake reflected his own face.
Then, a very strange scene occurred.
He saw a face that looked nothing like his own, yet overlapped with his reflection.
A second later, his gaze finally focused on the bottom of the lake.
When he saw the human head resting on the lakebed, he froze.
Following that head, he looked further into the depths of the lake.
The entire bottom of the artificial lake was covered in corpses.
The remains were piled into a small mountain beneath the water.
The rage in Kevin's heart had reached its boiling point.
However, the demons had already retreated, leaving him with nowhere to vent his fury.
His eyes widened as he stared at the corpses that almost paved the entire lakebed.
"Demons... Demons!! I will have my vengeance!!"
Just then, a knight came running from the distance, holding a stack of documents in his hand.
"Lord Kevin! Lord Kevin!! Urgent news! Urgent news!!"
As he spoke, the sound of frantic hooves approached. The knight on horseback didn't even wait for the horse to stop before tumbling off.
He stumbled toward Kevin and knelt on one knee.
He raised his hand and handed the documents to Kevin.
"My lord!! Urgent news!! Her Highness is heavily injured. By Papal Decree, all authority over the Kingdom of the Moon is temporarily transferred to Bishop Lola!"
"What did you..."
Kevin's body stiffened. He slowly turned his head, his eyes bulging with fury.
"What?!"
"My lord, the Papal Decree states that the Saintess of the Moon is recuperating from heavy injuries. All authority in the Kingdom of the Moon is temporarily transferred to Bishop Lola."
The knight hurriedly repeated himself and raised the documents higher.
Kevin snatched the papers and flipped through them. He stood there as if struck by lightning.
After a long while, Kevin finally managed to catch his breath.
"Quick! Go to the communication room in Seaview City immediately. I need to speak with Brilliant City at once!"
"My lord, the communication room in Seaview City has already been destroyed, and the surrounding magic towers have been leveled..."
Kevin paused, tucked the documents into his robe, and leaped onto his horse.
"Immediately summon Guardian Knight Cain and Guardian Knight Nar. The entire army will rest for half a day and then return at once!"
"But my lord, what about Seaview City..."
"Forget Seaview City! If anything happens to Her Highness, it will be a disaster for the entire Kingdom of the Moon!!"
With that, Kevin didn't wait for the other knights to respond before speeding away on his horse.
Meanwhile, the other five nations of the Holy Church were also in a state of shock.
Momoka, the Saintess of the Sun, was heavily injured, and the Saintess of the Moon was recuperating from heavy injuries.
However, no one knew the actual condition of the Saintess of the Moon.
They wanted to ask, but didn't know how to bring it up.
At this moment, the focus of everyone's attention, the Saintess of the Moon,
Was still on the demon island, staring blankly at the storm.
The storm outside had been raging for three days without pause.
The rain was torrential, as if the sky were being poured out.
The raindrops were as large as beans, battering the reefs along the shore.
Watching the spray from the reefs being instantly swallowed by the sea,
Luo Li's mood was extremely complicated.
It could be summarized in one question.
'How am I supposed to get back?'
At the moment, she was practically trapped here.
She wanted to leave, but if she left this little guy behind,
He would either starve to death or be caught by demons and then boiled and eaten.
Although she didn't have much mercy in her heart right now, she still couldn't bring herself to do such a thing.
She looked at the small child and then at the stormy weather outside.
Luo Li let out a helpless sigh.
It had been two days since the boy appeared.
During these two days, there had been almost no verbal communication inside the cave.
This kid's endurance was truly extraordinary.
Setting aside the lack of communication, the child hadn't changed his expression at all.
Just his previous behavior of trying to climb into the pot himself was enough to prove that the child's willpower far exceeded that of ordinary people.
But even so, it was useless!
No matter how good the child's willpower was, it couldn't change anything in the physical world.
For instance, take the current situation.
What was she supposed to do?
Staying here would only waste time.
The storm wasn't an issue for her.
The heels of her combat boots were enough to let her walk on any surface.
However, this little boy couldn't do that.
If she took him out into the storm, he would have a high fever within three days.
At this thought, Luo Li's brow tightened, and she instinctively reached up to rub her scalp.
However, what she felt wasn't soft long hair, but hard horns.
The touch of her fingers simultaneously brought a tingling sensation.
It sent a jolt through her heart.
No, no, no!
Now was not the time to think about such things.
'No being horny! Absolutely not!'
Forcing down the intense urge that wanted to burst forth,
Luo Li took a deep breath and stepped out into the rain.
Mochizuki Shingen glanced at Luo Li and then ignored her.
Over the past two days, Luo Li would occasionally go out into the heavy rain to wash herself.
She claimed it was for the sake of cleanliness.
However, the real reason was to calm the urges within her.
At this moment, even her fingers were itching with an intense urge to destroy.
Mochizuki Shingen certainly wouldn't become her target, so the boxes suffered instead.
Almost all the boxes had been completely destroyed by her.
If this continued, she might not be able to stop herself from laying hands on the boy before the rain stopped.
Just as she was thinking this, a set of messy footsteps suddenly echoed from the distance.
Accompanying them were heavy thuds.
Luo Li had only heard those footsteps once, but she remembered them well.
They were the footsteps of an ox-horse beast!
Hearing this, the three demons flashed through Luo Li's mind.
Those three must have led an enemy force here!!
And the next thought that flashed through her mind was—oh no!! Mochizuki Shingen is in danger!
At this moment, she was a demon, and apparently a high-ranking one at that.
She likely wouldn't be targeted by other demons, but the small child was different.
He was a human with tender skin and soft flesh!
If he encountered these demons who took pleasure in eating humans, could he possibly survive?
Thinking of this, she quickly walked into the cave and pointed at the pile of hay while looking at Mochizuki Shingen.
"Hide, quickly!!"
Mochizuki Shingen was startled. His hearing was not as sharp as Luo Li's, so although he was a bit confused, he still obediently stood up, walked into the pile of hay, and covered himself with it.
Just as he finished hiding, the ground began to tremble slightly.
He was incredibly familiar with this sound!!
His black pupils contracted sharply as a wave of terror surged into his heart once more!
At this moment, he didn't even dare to breathe, shrinking as far back into the pile of hay as possible.
He quietly listened to the sounds outside.
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