"That is an impostor!!!"
While everyone present stood dumbfounded, Casma's voice suddenly echoed across the square.
"Everyone, attack! Kill her! There is a reward of ten thousand gold coins and a position as a retainer of the Borgia family!"
As soon as those words left his mouth, every soldier on the field was momentarily stunned.
It wasn't for any other reason than the reward being simply too generous.
No one present was a fool, and they understood in an instant that there was definitely something wrong here.
Casma also realized subconsciously that what he had shouted sounded suspicious.
However, even though he had been sitting in front of the burning stake leisurely drinking tea, he was actually more anxious than anyone else.
He was a young man after all, unable to suppress the impatience in his heart, and that one sentence revealed far too many details.
Seeing this, Luo Li inwardly shook her head.
If Casma had been a bit calmer, more sophisticated, and more experienced...
Luo Li might not have been able to walk more than a few steps.
But his words were equivalent to confirming Luo Li's identity.
"The Dragon Knight Corps under my direct command will arrive in Moonrise City at eight o'clock."
"Whether I am real or fake, the truth will naturally be known once the Dragon Knight Corps arrives."
Luo Li looked at this noble scion, whose face had changed drastically, and had only one evaluation in her heart.
He was too green.
Had all her previous worrying been for nothing?
This young man was ruthless enough, but his mind was too shallow, and he was too eager for success.
With a single sentence, he had shifted the momentum directly to her side.
It truly gave Luo Li the illusion of a punch landing on cotton.
If their positions were reversed...
Luo Li felt she would never have let the 'Saintess' utter a single word.
The moment she appeared, she should have been killed instantly without leaving any room for error.
She would have seized the right to speak and not given the 'Saintess' the slightest chance to respond.
Considering this, she had even prepared to unleash a ultimate move as soon as she came out.
What a pity.
"Everyone, listen!!"
Taking a deep breath, the girl's slightly raspy voice drew the attention of the soldiers present.
"The Borgia family is planning to assassinate this Saintess and has had long-term dealings with the demon army. If you act now, you will inevitably be purged by the Borgia family afterward."
"If I die here, every single one of you will surely die as well."
"To ensure the safety of the Borgia family, they will never leave a single witness alive."
The soldiers instantly fell into chaos.
Because what Luo Li said was the absolute truth.
If she was the Saintess and the Borgia family intended to commit apostasy...
Then those who participated would certainly be liquidated afterward.
These soldiers were commoners, and everyone knew the true face of the nobility.
For a moment, suspicious gazes turned toward Casma.
Casma's expression became as dark as stagnant water.
He had already realized that his previous words were off.
But it was too late to take them back now!
He only had his own impatience to blame.
He had imagined many possibilities, but he never expected this Saintess to walk out so openly.
This time... although her appearance wasn't unexpected, it truly caught him off guard.
On the massive square, the fire on the burning stake was still blazing.
Luo Li had already reached the stake. She looked at Hubert and then glanced at the pyre.
Hubert hurried forward to extinguish the fire, and Izzy also rushed up to unchain April and Aiya.
Luo Li stood still before the burning stake, the distance between her and Casma less than a mere ten meters.
She looked up and scanned the surroundings of the square.
"To the people watching from nearby."
The girl's voice echoed across the empty square, and everyone's gaze focused on her.
"I am the Saintess of the Moon, Luo Li Saint Sariel."
"Please remember this day."
"If the Borgia family succeeds in their assassination, please inform everyone around you of this news."
"The Holy Church will have its own public judgment!"
By the time Casma snapped out of his self-reflection, everyone's eyes were fixed on the girl.
He understood instantly that he couldn't let her continue speaking!
"Do it!!"
The moment his words fell...
A black figure suddenly lunged from behind him.
It went straight for the girl.
The speed was so fast that Luo Li didn't even have time to dodge, and she instinctively raised the Holy Cross Sword in her hand.
She subconsciously twisted her body.
Clang—!
The sound of metal clashing echoed in her ears.
Luo Li felt a numbness in her wrist, and her entire right arm lost all sensation.
But she knew she couldn't let go of the sword.
Otherwise... the one being pierced would surely be her heart.
This feeling lingered in her mind.
Her feet didn't have time to move at all, so she could only barely shift her left shoulder to block her heart.
Puff!
The longsword easily pierced through her shoulder, the cold steel stabbing into her flesh.
Using all her strength, her level 5 Swordplay, combined with her current physical attributes and the fact that she was already on guard...
She still almost had her heart pierced by a single sword strike.
If it weren't for that crisis-sensing intuition akin to a sixth sense that made her move her left shoulder to block her heart...
She would be dead by now.
As expected, the pain in her left shoulder didn't come immediately.
There was only a series of icy sensations.
That was the temperature brought by the steel sword.
She wanted to lift her left hand, but it had completely lost control.
The muscles in her shoulder were almost severed.
Movies really were full of lies!
With her arm pierced by a sword, the muscles were damaged and had lost most of their mechanical function.
Those people in movies who could still move freely and shoot guns after their arms were pierced by bullets were simply living a fantasy!
It was all fake!
Only personal experience was real!
She couldn't move it at all; her entire left arm had almost completely lost its functionality.
Only her fingers could still twitch slightly.
But this was useless!
What was the point of twitching?
Was she going to flick the assassin's forehead?
Never mind whether she could flick or if it would hurt.
In this situation, her head would be separated from her body before she could even try!
Healing!!
The Healing skill could be used on herself.
Although it consumed a lot of mana, at least her shoulder regained its strength in an instant.
The longsword wasn't pulled out, but her arm snapped up instantly, grabbing the assassin's wrist.
Only now did Luo Li see the person before her clearly.
It was an expressionless middle-aged man.
From his appearance, it was clear that this person was likely a Borgia family loyalist.
The type who would never give up on killing her just because of a few words.
"Is the Borgia family... truly planning to rebel?"
These words weren't spoken by Luo Li, but by someone unknown in the crowd.
At the same time, the assassin in front of Luo Li reached out to grab her neck.
With the strength this person possessed to pierce a shoulder blade with a sword, if he grabbed her neck...
In the next second, her cervical spine would probably be snapped!
At this moment, time seemed to slow down immensely.
What should she do? What should she do?
Hubert and Izzy behind her were too far away.
They couldn't reach her in time.
Did she really have to use her demon form?
In an instant, a thousand thoughts flashed through her mind, and one suddenly stood out.
Without any hesitation or delay, the moment the thought appeared, the Holy Cross Sword in her hand erupted with a burst of silver-white light.
Light Sword!
Healing!
Two skills fired in succession!
In that single instant, the girl and the assassin had already exchanged moves.
The silver-white sword erupted in the night, and facing the white light that suddenly appeared before his eyes...
Anyone would instinctively close their eyes.
This was an inevitable instinct brought by human physiological structure.
In that same moment, the assassin's hand grabbed her neck and jerked violently.
Luo Li only felt a crisp 'crack' at the connection between her back and spine.
She lost all sensation throughout her body almost instantly.
But Healing reconnected the broken bones and nerves in a flash.
At the same time...
The Holy Cross Sword in her hand did not hesitate for a second.
It plunged straight through the assassin's chin!
It pierced through his brain!
Under normal circumstances, a level fifty expert would definitely have a chance to react.
However, Luo Li's move was completely unconventional.
First, she blinded the opponent's eyes, making it impossible for him to judge the situation.
He could only trust the tactile sensation in his hand.
Furthermore, the lethal blow that should have snapped her neck failed to achieve its intended effect.
This left the assassin with no time to react at all.
A thrilling counter-kill against a higher-level opponent was thus completed.
If the assassin hadn't closed his eyes, he would have been able to dodge before the sword pierced his brain.
If Luo Li hadn't instantly reconnected her spine...
Before the sword in her hand could pierce the assassin's chin, she would have died first.
As it turned out, many people were not used to the existence of such heaven-defying Healing.
Even Luo Li herself had acted on a whim and taken a gamble.
Everyone stared at this scene, dumbfounded.
Including Casma, everyone looked at the girl and the assassin in disbelief.
Schwing—!
The Holy Cross Sword was pulled from the assassin's chin, and at the same time, she backed away from the longsword in her shoulder.
She casually gave herself another Healing.
In the blink of an eye, the wound on her shoulder was restored to its original state.
However, the mana in her body was now more than half depleted.
She touched her neck with lingering fear.
Damn it, the first time in her life having her neck snapped by someone.
That feeling was terrible.
Luo Li looked up at Casma.
At this moment, Casma's face could no longer be described as just gloomy.
"How... how is this possible!?"
"Anything is possible."
It was obvious that Casma was currently panicking, yet he was still forcing himself to appear calm.
He glanced at the soldiers.
"Everyone, follow my orders! Kill her! I swear on my family's honor that I will never betray you!"
But things had reached this point; which of the soldiers was still willing to act?
For a moment, the entire square fell into complete silence.
"Your Highness, how was it? My ability isn't bad, right?"
"Very good."
She glanced at Hubert, who had walked up behind her.
From the moment they entered the field, his ability had been constantly active.
This was also why a few words from Luo Li could completely make Casma lose his composure.
Hubert was struggling a bit now.
He was simultaneously releasing his ability on the soldiers present and focusing heavily on Casma.
Having to influence so many people at once made him feel as if he were about to be drained dry.
Luo Li looked toward Casma.
"Casma Borgia, you have no more chances. Surrender."
Casma looked up at Luo Li in disbelief and opened his mouth.
But the voice didn't come from him; it came from behind him.
"Who says there are no more chances?"
Hearing this voice, Luo Li's brow furrowed, and she subconsciously looked toward the sound.
On the distant street, soldiers were riding toward them in perfect formation.
And the person leading them... Luo Li was very familiar with this voice.
Wasn't this one of the owners of the voices she had overheard beneath the window at the Borgia estate?
Casma looked back, and his panicked gaze suddenly regained its spirit as if he had found his pillar of support!
"Father!"
"Heh, I knew you would be impulsive, boy."
Aubrey looked at his son. He understood that his son was very ambitious and clever.
His flaws were also obvious; he was too impulsive.
Fortunately, he, the father, was here.
In any case, things had escalated to this point, and his son was completely entangled in it.
As his father, he naturally couldn't stay out of it either.
Therefore, he had left a squad of soldiers behind early on to prevent any possible accidents.
And this squad was different from the soldiers Casma had brought.
The soldiers he brought were all Borgia death-sworn soldiers.
"Hello, mysterious young lady."
"Aubrey Borgia... what, even you don't intend to recognize me as the Saintess?"
"Heh~ This old man hasn't never seen Her Highness the Saintess before, but you... you are quite different from that Saintess, aren't you?"
Luo Li's brow furrowed. As expected, the old fox was indeed more cunning.
With a single sentence, he had neutralized half of the advantage she had just gained!
At this point, Aubrey's expression turned cold, and he squinted his eyes at the girl.
"Young lady, although I don't know where you got that fake Saintess's robe, this forgery is too poor. A Saintess's robe possesses self-protection abilities; why was your Saintess's robe pierced by a longsword?"
Hiss!
Impressive.
The defensive power of a Saintess's robe had its limits; anyone with even a bit of strength would be aware of this.
But commoners might not be.
It stood to reason that commoners wouldn't care about your strength levels.
As long as it concerned the Saintess, they would only place her on an infinite pedestal.
A Saintess's robe? How could it have limits? It should be invincible.
As long as the Saintess wore the Saintess's robe, she couldn't be harmed by anyone!
Presumably, the vast majority of commoners would think this way.
After all, the literacy rate in this era wasn't high.
In fact, more than seventy percent of ordinary families were illiterate.
Telling them the Saintess's robe 'had limits' was simply like playing a lute to a cow.
At a time like this, focusing on the Saintess's robe would mean losing; she couldn't let the conversation follow his lead.
"Aubrey Borgia, whether you acknowledge me as the Saintess or not is unimportant. In less than an hour, my Dragon Knight Corps will arrive in Moonrise City. At that time, whether I am real or fake will be clear at a glance."
"Hmm~ That won't do."
Aubrey didn't fall for it at all. Facing the girl's tactic to stall for time, he simply shook his head with a solemn expression.
"As an elder of the Borgia family in Moonrise City and as a noble, I naturally have the responsibility to detain anyone impersonating the Saintess."
"Of course, I can wait for the Dragon Knight Corps, but until then, I must ask you to cooperate, young lady."
Cooperate my foot! If I really cooperate with you, I'll become a ghost!
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