Bam! Bam! Bam!
Over a dozen blossoms of bright red erupted like exploding fireworks.
Although Virginia was possessing the level twenty Hubert, the chaotic nature of her divine attribute remained unchanged.
She didn't even need to use much force; a light punch was enough to trigger that massive, turbulent power.
The tide of battle shifted instantly, becoming a one-sided slaughter.
On the ground, the noble soldiers watched this scene with wide eyes, their hearts filled with terror.
For a moment, even their movements became sluggish.
In contrast, the soldiers Byron had brought seemed to gain immense courage at that moment.
Their morale soared!
The civilians in the outer circle regained their strength and rejoined the fray.
Luo Li watched everything around her, and it seemed as though things were moving in a positive direction.
However, Luo Li’s heart was gradually sinking to the bottom of an abyss.
There were still forty minutes until 8:00 PM, yet she had already used Hero Creation.
From this point on, she had no more cards to play.
Hero Creation only lasted for five minutes, and if the battle wasn't resolved by the time those five minutes were up, she would have no way to break the deadlock.
All hope rested on Virginia.
Luo Li turned her gaze toward Virginia, who was facing powerhouses around level forty.
Virginia was practically sweeping through them, her superior level and technique making her invincible.
In the short term, there didn't seem to be a problem.
But Luo Li noticed something else.
Aubrey.
That wily mastermind showed no signs of panic.
This could only mean one thing... he still had a trump card!
Just as the girl realized something was wrong, Aubrey looked up and shouted to the crowd.
"Listen up, everyone! This is a Heroic Spirit summoned by a special skill, and it only lasts for five minutes! As long as we hold out, there won't be any problem!!"
He looked down at Luo Li, a cold sneer curling his lips.
Aubrey mouthed several words that Luo Li could clearly read.
'You’ve lost'.
It was just as she feared.
Aubrey’s goal in forcing the other nobles to act earlier was to make her use this skill prematurely!
But what was his purpose?
Unless he had an even stronger hand to play, it would be impossible to stop Virginia.
A stronger hand?
Luo Li’s brow furrowed.
Her skills were no longer a secret to many, and some observant individuals might have already discovered the conditions and the power they could exert.
To date, she had used this skill fewer than five times.
But anyone who knew of it understood just how powerful it was.
This meant Aubrey was certain he could outlast the skill.
Where did his confidence come from?
The experts raised by the other noble families?
No.
Based on her experience, truly clever people never staked their final cards on others.
That was the behavior of a fool.
So what was he doing now?
Encouraging the experts of other noble families to block Virginia?
He wasn't just trying to stop Virginia; he had another objective.
In other words... Aubrey was intentionally exhausting the strength of the other nobles?
The realization hit Luo Li like a bolt of lightning.
As expected of a noble.
They truly were the type to act like pillars of society in public while acting like common thieves in the shadows.
Even in this situation, he was still plotting against his own allies. It was hard to find anyone as foolishly treacherous as a noble.
For a thousand years, these nobles had constantly fought over resources.
Because the resources of the Kingdom of the Moon were finite, while their greed was infinite.
Even though they were in the same boat, they schemed against each other just to get a better meal.
Even at a time when they should have presented a united front, they still held such petty intentions.
If it weren't for the sake of maintaining the stability of the Kingdom of the Moon, she would have truly loved to carry out a great purge right now.
She wanted to just sweep the nobility away entirely!
But that thought had to remain just a thought.
As the ancients said: destruction before creation.
But the price of destruction was immense.
With a population of around three hundred million in the Kingdom of the Moon, making that choice would be devastating.
Leaving nine out of ten houses empty... that was no exaggeration.
Furthermore, once a great purge began, she would inevitably be ostracized by the nobility of other nations.
Reminded by Aubrey, those nobles immediately reacted and ordered their private experts to block Virginia.
The situation on the battlefield shifted instantly.
Facing over a dozen level forty experts from three different classes working in perfect coordination, even Virginia’s killing speed began to slow.
There was no helping it; Hubert was only level twenty. Being able to reach nearly level fifty with Virginia’s enhancement was already an incredible feat.
After this, Hubert would likely need a long time to recover.
But that didn't matter now.
What mattered was that Virginia was beginning to show signs of fatigue.
Boom!!
As a flash of fire streaked across the night sky, Virginia threw a punch to meet it!
Flames soared into the air, and Virginia’s figure instantly broke through the wall of fire to reach a mage.
Just as she was about to strike, three melee experts suddenly lunged at her from the side.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
A series of blows rang out like rapid rain. In an instant, the three of them had exchanged dozens of strikes.
Virginia was undoubtedly powerful, but her opponents were also incredibly experienced in combat.
Moreover, their goal this time was very focused.
They only wanted to block Virginia, making it impossible for her to kill the mages and archers in the rear.
She could only try repeatedly to break through the encirclement of the experts, only to be pushed back every time.
Every time she moved, at least three melee powerhouses stood in her way.
Minutes and seconds ticked by, and the number of soldiers lying dead on the ground exceeded five thousand.
On one hand, this was due to the power of the Saintess’s enhancement and the surge in morale from Virginia’s appearance, which pushed Byron’s soldiers to a new level of combat effectiveness.
On the other hand, it was because the civilians outside were constantly drawing away the pressure from the inner circle.
Yet even so, the casualties among the civilians had already surpassed a thousand.
When a battle reached a certain level of intensity, the people involved would lose their heads.
They would simply follow the tide, losing their ability to make calm judgments.
Looking at the situation, there were at least four or five thousand civilians gathered outside.
More people were still approaching from the distance.
Some even shouted slogans like "Kill the nobles."
Clearly, the common people who had been filled with resentment toward the nobility for years were finally reaching their breaking point.
As for the inner circle, only about four hundred people remained, and the defensive area had shrunk to a diameter of less than thirty meters.
Luo Li could even see the confusion on the faces of the private soldiers outside the circle.
Even the private soldiers raised by the nobles still possessed a sense of justice in their hearts.
But this time, that sense of justice had vanished. Many of them didn't even know what they were doing or if it was right.
"Your Highness!!"
Suddenly, Virginia landed beside Luo Li, her fist smashing a streak of light that had flown through the darkness.
Luo Li’s brow furrowed as she looked down at the arrow that had been shattered into several pieces on the ground.
"Thank you."
"Save your thanks for when you survive to see me again."
The Heroic Spirit’s face was filled with gravity.
"Is the situation that bad?"
Virginia shook her head, her attention fixed on the front.
"There is almost no hope. Their defense is too tight. If I can't break through to the outer circle to kill the mages and archers, there is nothing I can do."
Has it really come to this?
"Thank you for your hard work..."
Virginia gave a subtle smile.
"It was no trouble. I can hold on for one more minute. I hope we have the chance to meet again."
"I hope so too. Don't forget to return this body's owner in one piece."
"I will."
As soon as the word left her lips, Virginia’s figure charged out again.
Her plan was simple: to kill as many enemies as possible in the shortest amount of time.
That was all she could do now.
Luo Li took a deep breath as countless possibilities flashed through her mind, but each plan was rejected one by one.
Thirty seven minutes until 8:00 PM.
Virginia descended from the sky, drenched in sweat, her voice weak.
"Your Highness, please forgive me for taking my leave now. I hope... we will meet again one day."
"I hope so too."
Luo Li nodded to Virginia, and in a flash, the divine radiance on Hubert’s body quietly faded away.
His eyes, which had been tightly shut, snapped open. He exhaled a long breath and his legs gave way, causing him to slump to the ground, seemingly without even the strength to stand.
"How do you feel?"
"Your Highness... it was truly terrible, being judged for being... small and all that."
Pfft.
Even at death's door, he was still worried about that?
Fine, let him lie on the ground for a while.
With Virginia’s disappearance, the gathered powerhouses began to push toward the inner circle.
Ordinary soldiers, even with Luo Li’s abilities stacked on them, could not possibly face such experts.
Was this... fate?
Watching the soldiers fall one after another, she could hear the panicked shouts of Izzy and Byron.
But it was too late for shouting.
There was no chance to retreat now.
If she had let Virginia carve out a path earlier, they might have escaped.
But she didn't want to do that.
The number of fallen soldiers grew, and the inner circle became smaller and smaller.
In the end, only a ten meter wide circle remained.
Less than fifty of Byron’s soldiers were left.
The girl held the banner with one hand. She had just finished casting Collective Healing.
That had managed to delay the end for another five minutes.
But in the end, the tide could not be turned.
She hadn't moved a single step on the battlefield, standing there like a banner herself.
She was like a brilliant moon rising in everyone's hearts, guiding their way.
Seeing the lack of panic on the girl’s face, Aubrey stepped forward.
Even through the two rows of soldiers, he could see the girl’s exquisite face and her unwavering gaze.
"Saintess, it seems I have won."
The girl glanced at Aubrey but said nothing, offering either silent defiance or tacit acceptance.
Aubrey had a smile on his face, but there was also a hint of admiration in his eyes.
Even as her enemy, now that victory was within his grasp, he couldn't help but feel a deep-seated admiration for the girl.
"Your Highness... at this moment, we have you surrounded. You have no way out. Are you not afraid?"
"Do I need to be?"
Having died once, she felt a deep loathing for death, but she did not fear it.
Aubrey was momentarily choked by Luo Li’s words, taking several breaths to settle his irritation.
"Heh, the Saintess is indeed extraordinary. Then, please allow me to ask another presumptuous question. Do you not regret this?"
"Why would I regret it?"
Aubrey pointed behind Luo Li at the two women who had been saved.
Aiya and April.
"For the sake of these two women."
He pointed at the corpses on the ground and then at the civilians in the distance.
"From a rough estimate, at least ten thousand people have died. Do you not understand simple arithmetic?"
"If you had stayed hidden, even if I killed everyone in Moonrise City, I would have had a hard time finding you. Why take such a risk?"
"Why should I answer you?"
Even in this state, these nobles didn't dare to insult her lightly.
So, what should she do when facing a man-eating tiger?
It was simple: die with some dignity.
"I am merely curious."
Luo Li slowly closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her gaze was as firm as ever.
"To save one's own life, should one abandon another? For the sake of ten thousand, should one abandon another?"
"Hmm?"
Aubrey’s eyes were filled with confusion.
Clearly, he did not understand this value system.
"I have failed, yet I have also succeeded."
Luo Li spoke softly, a hint of pain flashing in her eyes as she looked at the corpses surrounding her.
"I will not abandon ten thousand for the sake of one, nor will I abandon one for the sake of ten thousand."
It was exactly as she said.
She had succeeded, and she had failed.
She succeeded in not abandoning a single person for the sake of millions.
That meant she also succeeded in not abandoning millions for the sake of one.
But she had failed to find a perfect resolution.
She was saving Aiya and April, just as she was saving herself and everyone else.
Though she hadn't achieved it, she had tried.
"The value created by ten thousand people versus one is clearly different. Your Highness’s thoughts are perhaps a bit naive."
Aubrey looked at the girl before him. At this moment, his admiration was genuine.
He somewhat understood her thoughts, but he could not agree with them.
After all, the difference in potential value between ten thousand people and one was far too great.
Luo Li took a deep breath, having calmly accepted the prospect of death.
She stared at Aubrey without a trace of fear.
"Life is immeasurable. In my heart, not a single life can be abandoned!"
"This is my answer!"
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