"Everything I've just said will only happen if something goes wrong with Her Highness. But if she doesn't meet with an accident and is instead rescued by the Stuarts, then tell me... what do you think will happen to your family?"
Lola deliberately slowed her speech, giving Byron enough time to think.
At the same time, she observed his reaction.
She watched as a glimmer of light slowly surfaced on his face.
The timing was just right.
"I have said enough. Lord Byron naturally knows what should be done and what should not."
"I understand. I understand, Lady Lola. Thank you for your guidance. If not for you, I fear the Stuart family would have faced a great catastrophe."
"Good. Go now. Do what must be done."
"As you command!!"
...
Back at the central square of Moonrise City.
Byron knelt on one knee, looking up at the young girl before him.
Although this was not the first time he had seen Her Highness, it was the first time he had been in such close proximity.
He couldn't help but study her closely.
She had willow-leaf eyebrows, phoenix eyes, and a heart-shaped face, with skin as delicate as a newborn's.
Her entire being radiated an aura that made people instinctively want to draw closer.
Her features were stunning on their own, and their perfect arrangement only made her more captivating the longer one looked.
"To answer Your Highness, it was... my own decision to do this."
As he spoke, he didn't forget to pull his ally along.
"President Vincent heard that Your Highness was in danger and rushed over as well to ensure your safety!"
Luo Li looked down at Byron, whose eyes flickered slightly, clearly showing he was lying.
However, at a time like this, it no longer mattered whether it was a lie or not.
Glancing at the soldiers Byron had brought, Luo Li felt a secret sense of relief.
This was a fresh force of reinforcements.
They had arrived at the perfect moment.
"Lord Byron, please rise."
"Thank you, Your Highness!"
"You... have done well."
Luo Li offered a word of praise.
She would not be stingy with those who could stand up in a moment of crisis.
It seemed that there was still a need to shake things up in Moonrise City.
"Byron, what do you think you're doing?"
Just as Byron stood up, Aubrey furrowed his brow and looked toward Vincent as well.
One was the local lord, and the other was the local head of the Mage Association.
One had power, and the other had ability.
Wouldn't this be a problem?
"Hah! Aubrey, things have already reached this point, so stop putting on an act with me. You should know exactly why I am here."
Byron spoke with an unfriendly tone as he sized up Aubrey.
Aubrey, however, only narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze flickering.
"I see. But that is fine. Since things have come to this, none of you shall leave."
With that, Aubrey looked up and let out a loud shout.
"You've already seen enough. If you don't come out now, it would be quite inappropriate, wouldn't it?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a clamor of noise erupted across the square.
At the same time, squad after squad of soldiers appeared from the surrounding streets.
"Lord Byron, I am somewhat surprised you could think this far ahead. I seem to have underestimated you."
Luo Li watched the newcomer closely. The man wore a noble insignia on his chest featuring a sword and rose.
It was the Cromwell family!
"Indeed. Though I am still a bit curious, Lord Byron. Was this really your own idea?"
Another person appeared, wearing an insignia of a spear and lavender.
It was the Dressas family.
"How could he have thought of it? This fool only knows how to spend his time in debauchery!"
The newcomer wore an insignia of thorns and a sword. It was the Alvin family.
Following them, over a dozen other nobles with different insignias appeared from the surroundings.
In an instant, the number of soldiers in the central square exceeded ten thousand, and their ranks were still growing.
Meanwhile, the soldiers Byron had brought didn't even number a thousand.
This was not the territory of the other families, and their main estates were not located here.
These were all branch families.
However, even so, the forces they had gathered together numbered no less than fifteen thousand.
These were all private army soldiers.
And this was just one major city.
Aside from Moonrise City, there were eight other major cities not under Luo Li's control.
If one included the subsidiary and minor cities, they could mobilize a significant amount of troops.
These nobles could easily gather hundreds of thousands of soldiers.
Furthermore, most of the knights were the sons of noble families.
Strictly speaking, this country was supported by the nobles.
As expected, this incident targeting her was a plot by the entire noble circle.
Byron had likely realized something to have come here.
After all, if the Saintess died here, regardless of whether she was real or fake, there had to be a scapegoat.
A fake?
Who are you to say she's a fake? Has it been verified by the Holy Church?
The real one?
That would be even worse.
So no matter what, a scapegoat had to be dragged out.
And wouldn't the local lord, Byron Stuart, be the perfect scapegoat?
This plan was likely not something Casma could have devised.
Aubrey had probably notified the entire noble circle of Moonrise City before he even stepped out the door.
The old fox was indeed cunning.
This move was ruthless enough.
"Everyone, time is pressing, and there likely won't be much chance for more talk. We might as well start."
Aubrey spoke calmly, his voice remaining steady despite the situation.
Tsk tsk, such a quality was truly a waste on him.
Luo Li let out a long sigh in her heart.
But there was no other way. Since the other party was an enemy, she could only kill.
"Very well!"
"Agreed."
"Delay... leads to trouble!"
"Wait!!"
Aubrey's eyebrows shot up!
"Who is it now!!"
In the next second, his gaze suddenly shifted to a nearby hotel. A window had been opened at some point, and the candlelight inside was lit.
A civilian dressed in ordinary clothes shouted loudly.
"You're committing treason! Have you no regard for the situation we're in?!"
It was a man, though a woman immediately grabbed him from behind, trying to pull him back into the room.
But the man broke free from her grasp and continued to shout.
"The Saintess cleared out the demons for us! If not for Her Highness, would you even be able to stand there talking so boldly?! Wife, stop pulling me! Let me finish!"
"You're crazy! Can't you see what's happening down there? Do you want our whole family to die with you?"
"Die?! Fine by me! I don't want to live like this anyway!"
The entire square fell into a dead silence as everyone looked up at the open hotel window.
"You nobles only care about money, money, money all day long! Do you have any idea what price the Saintess paid for this country? She even risked her life to go to the demon island to conquer it! Wasn't it all so that the Kingdom of the Moon could have lasting peace?!"
"I escaped from Seaview City! Perhaps you people don't know, but do you have any idea how horrific it was there?! There were corpses everywhere! Everywhere!!"
"That place was a living hell! Do you understand what hell is!"
"If not for the Saintess's conquest, the entire Kingdom of the Moon might have been invaded by the demons by now!!"
"I don't care what anyone else says, but I know that today, the Saintess cannot die here!"
"Otherwise, I won't even know how my descendants will point at my grave and curse me!!"
"Wife, move aside! Son, remember this—your father was loyal to the country today!"
The voice echoed through the silent square. Under everyone's gaze, a middle-aged man rushed out of the hotel entrance, clutching a kitchen cleaver he had grabbed from somewhere.
"Your Highness, I've come to protect you! As a citizen of the Kingdom of the Moon, if our own Saintess is about to be killed and you all just stand there like cowards, only daring to peek and not to stand up... does our Kingdom of the Moon really have no backbone left at all?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a window in an old building nearby suddenly slammed open.
A head poked out from inside, roaring.
"Damn it! Who are you calling a coward?! My son is a soldier at the Great Wall, eating the food provided by the Temple. Do you think I can just watch the Saintess be harmed!"
"Exactly! I'm not that kind of person either. Watch your mouth!"
"I... I can't just watch either!"
As more and more people spoke up, more and more citizens began to gather from all around.
Luo Li stared blankly at all of this. She hadn't realized that she had gained such immense prestige at some point.
Was it when she expelled the demons from Brilliant City, or later when she quelled the rebellions?
It was likely the conquest of the demon island.
After all, that was the only feat that had been widely praised by so many people.
However, the reaction of the people's hearts was a bit too fast.
It made Luo Li feel a bit unadjusted for a moment.
But thinking about it, it made sense. After all, the Saintess of the Moon held both imperial power and divine power.
Her influence among the common people was quite significant.
Not to mention, her recent feats were unprecedented in a thousand years, so it was normal for word to spread quickly.
It seemed the people's hearts were still with her.
But this also indirectly showed that life in Moonrise City was at least tolerable.
If it were truly terrible, the people would not have developed any patriotism for the Kingdom of the Moon.
Furthermore, the Kingdom of the Moon had endured for a thousand years.
These people naturally held some hope for their homeland and the Saintess.
To be honest, Luo Li was almost moved to tears.
Moreover, the things the Borgia family had done today were indeed a bit too dirty.
Such filthy methods might have worked if kept in the shadows.
But by bringing them out into the open like this, the people's hearts naturally leaned toward Luo Li.
On one side was using a woman as a bargaining chip, while the other side was open and upright.
Ordinary people had a scale in their hearts, and they would naturally favor Luo Li.
Taking a deep breath, she calmed her internal excitement.
Luo Li looked up and scanned the citizens walking out from the various streets.
"I thank you all for standing up today. To be your Saintess in this life, I will have no regrets, even in death!"
Under everyone's gaze, Luo Li slowly raised the banner pole in her hand.
"Protect the Brilliant Night with My Moon Banner—O Holy One, please protect my people!!"
Boom—!
The fluttering Moon Banner instantly erupted with a beam of light.
It shot into the sky, shining as brightly as the crescent moon!
Centering on the brilliant banner, it greatly increased the defense, recovery, speed, and attack power of all allies, allowing them to unconditionally block any single attack while increasing every attribute by twenty percent.
Clang!
The base of the banner pole was slammed into the ground.
At this moment, she had no room to retreat.
Fleeing would be equivalent to betraying those citizens and the soldiers who had rushed to her aid.
Setting aside how much damage such an act would do to the Saintess's reputation once it spread, she simply couldn't get past her own conscience.
At a time like this, even if it meant a desperate struggle, she would never back down.
By planting the banner pole into the ground, she was releasing the skill with the square as its center.
In an instant, the crescent moon in the sky showered down radiance, with countless beams of light falling upon every person.
The Holy Cross Sword appeared in response, and the young girl pointed it directly at Aubrey!
"My people, please fight with me!!"
The skill was released with the Night of Protection as its foundation.
Invigoration!!
—Increases ally courage and increases ally attack power by 10%.
At that moment, Byron also reacted immediately, drawing the longsword at his waist and pointing it straight at Aubrey!
"For Her Highness the Saintess—charge!!"
"Kill—!"
Aubrey's face was grim. Looking at the scene before him, he felt a hint of regret for having wasted time talking at the beginning.
However, it was not too late!
With a clang, he drew his longsword and let out a great shout:
"Kill!!"
The other nobles looked at each other before drawing their own swords and pointing them at the girl.
"Kill!!"
In an instant, the entire square turned into a meat grinder.
Shouts of slaughter, screams of agony, and the clashing of steel filled the air.
People fell constantly, only for others to rush forward.
Luo Li stood before the burning stake, watching the surroundings.
Beside her, Hubert sighed as he released magic.
"Holy crap, I've never had such a thrill in my life."
Izzy held a short sword. Although his strength was lacking, he could at least manage a few swings.
"You're right. But the difference in numbers is too great. If we keep fighting, it won't be a thrill—it'll be our lives!"
Byron had rushed out this time without even consulting the other elders of his family.
The soldiers he had brought were only from the main family, not the forces of the entire Moonrise City.
Consequently, the lack of troops was painfully obvious.
Even with Luo Li's skills increasing their attributes and courage, a battlefield could not be changed by pure courage alone.
"Your Highness, go. I will escort you out of here."
Byron gritted his teeth as he watched his soldiers fall. That was his family's lifeblood!
But now, for the sake of the family, he had to sacrifice them!
"I cannot leave."
"Huh? Your Highness, now is the best time. If we delay any longer, we won't be able to get out!"
Those ordinary people were shouting and fighting, but before a regular army, they were inferior in both equipment and coordination by more than a single level.
This was almost a one-sided slaughter.
The citizens outside numbered at least nearly a thousand, including both men and women.
Some held kitchen cleavers, which provided some offensive power, but others had simply rushed out swinging large sticks.
Against soldiers clad in full armor and wielding sharp swords, the combat power of these people was far too low.
Even with the boost from Luo Li's skills, they were still forced into a disadvantage.
"If I leave, it would be the same as selling out my own people. Can a monarch who sells out her own people still rule a country?"
"But Your Highness..."
"There are no buts!"
The young girl stared intently at the battlefield.
"Go and fight, Lord Byron."
Byron let out a helpless sigh.
It seemed this Highness was determined not to leave.
Dragon Knight Corps, you'd better hurry.
If you don't show up soon, your master is truly done for!
Rate on N.U.
