The outside of the Temple was a mess.
The streets were filled with a chaotic crowd, and houses in the distance seemed to have collapsed.
The combination of heavy snow and an earthquake was bound to trigger chaos.
"Your Highness!"
Cain was the Guardian Knight on duty today.
He had just returned from the army barracks this morning, and it hadn't been long before this happened.
Seeing Her Highness rushing out of the Temple in such a hurry, a wave of warmth surged in Cain's heart.
In such a panicked moment, the first thing Her Highness wanted to do was help the commoners.
A Saintess like her made people instinctively want to rely on her.
However, the more she acted this way, the more it made one's heart ache for her.
Her Highness was only sixteen years old; other girls her age were like blooming flowers.
These should be the years for her to blossom.
The life she should be leading should be incredibly elegant and comfortable.
Tasting fine wine, admiring beautiful scenery, surrounded by handsome knights.
Blushing at a single compliment, being the center of attention because of her beauty.
But now, what good things were there around this Saintess?
Thinking of this, Cain felt a complex mix of emotions and didn't know what to say.
"Cain, you're back? There's no time to explain. Dispatch the knights immediately and begin digging and rescuing people from the nearby collapsed houses. Go, now!"
"Yes!"
Cain nodded vigorously, then turned to look at Gerard beside him.
"Gerard, I'm leaving Her Highness to you."
Gerard struck his left chest with his right fist.
"Rest assured, Sir Cain. Unless they step over my corpse, no one shall harm Her Highness!"
Hearing this, Luo Li glanced at the knight.
She had some impression of him.
This knight greatly admired Cain and was likely one of his die-hard fans.
With a clang, Cain unsheathed his sword and held it high.
"By order of Her Highness, all knights not on duty, follow me immediately to rescue the victims!"
The knights looked at each other. Since ancient times, there had never been a situation where knights participated in disaster relief.
But since Her Highness had given the order, the knights would not say much against it.
Seeing the knights daze for a moment before collectively striking their chests in salute, Cain couldn't help but look back at the silver-haired girl standing before the Temple.
Cain's mind began to wander.
In the past, most of these noble knights would not have bothered with commoners.
Even in a disaster of this scale, usually only the infantry barracks would be mobilized for rescue.
To be able to make these arrogant knights willingly go and help commoners they usually looked down upon...
Probably only the current Saintess could achieve such a thing.
"Move out!!"
Cain shouted, leading the charge. Hundreds of knights followed without a word.
There were no decent buildings in the immediate vicinity of the Temple; after all, this was essentially the royal palace.
Even nobles had to maintain a certain distance before they could build houses.
This was also to prevent anyone from using the upper floors of other buildings to leap over the walls and assassinate the Saintess.
Standing on the steps, she was about three meters above the ground.
She could see the distant scenery quite clearly.
It had to be said that Brilliant City truly lived up to its reputation as an ancient city that had stood for a thousand years.
Because most of the houses in the city were stone and wood structures, with load-bearing pillars and such mostly made of high-quality wood and stone.
Therefore, they had a certain degree of earthquake resistance.
In this world, some things truly defied common logic.
Normally, stone buildings have less resistance to earthquakes than wooden ones.
Perhaps it was because the mortar used in construction was quite special?
Despite this, more than just one or two houses had collapsed on the streets.
Looking further, the buildings near the Central Square were mostly intact.
Most of the properties there belonged to nobles—restaurants, shops, and the like—and were built with the best materials.
Their earthquake resistance was naturally superior.
As for the buildings to the east, almost no collapses could be seen along the streets.
However, to the north and west, one could see clouds of dust rising in many places at a glance.
In some areas, fires had even broken out, with thick black smoke billowing.
Luo Li lowered her hand and touched her stomach.
This morning, she had almost exhausted all of her own holy energy.
Now, through natural recovery, she had only regained a bit more than half.
The area of Brilliant City was nearly a hundred square kilometers.
Could her individual skills cover such a vast space?
Touching her stomach, Luo Li pondered for three breaths.
There was no need for hesitation, no need for doubt.
As the Saintess, as long as her people needed her, she had to stand forward.
This was the duty of a Saintess!
She reached out and made a grasping motion, and a faint ripple appeared in the air.
The sharp end of a flagpole slowly emerged from the ripple in the void.
With the sound of wind, the Moon Banner fluttered.
Holy Crest — Fully Open!
"O Holy One, please protect me and my people—Light up the Brilliant Night with My Moon Banner!"
Boom—!
The moment the Holy Crest was opened to one hundred percent.
A massive amount of holy energy surged frantically into her core.
As the flagpole emitted a dazzling light, darkness completely enveloped the sky that had been covered in dark clouds.
A full moon slowly rose from the edge of the horizon.
When the full moon appeared, the holy energy in her core was suddenly sucked away as if by a powerful vacuum cleaner.
In an instant, it was completely drained.
Not only that,
Luo Li could feel her strength flowing out frantically, like a dam burst.
It surged through her hands and into the flagpole. In just a brief moment, she felt as if she were about to collapse.
A sense of weakness crawled through her entire body.
Even so, the speed at which the distant full moon rose was exceptionally slow.
Without enough holy energy, that full moon seemed unable to rise to a sufficient height.
If it didn't reach that position, the full moon wouldn't be able to exert its intended effect.
As expected, did the law of conservation of energy exist in every world?
Luo Li gritted her teeth, her hands gripping the flagpole tightly.
If the flagpole hadn't been braced against the ground, she would have slumped down, powerless, at that very moment.
However, the end of the flagpole was still planted firmly in the marble tiles.
Even though a single tile was worth a gold coin, it didn't cause even a ripple of concern in her heart.
Not enough!
Not enough!!
I need more, even more!
The strength in her body was spent.
But there was more than just strength in her body; there was also life force!
Drain it, drain everything!
Luo Li seemed to hear the flagpole roaring, and her body actually began to pour out life force.
That feeling of that special essence draining away from her body...
This was life-threatening!
If this continued, she would be drained into a withered husk!
Luo Li stared at the full moon at the end of the horizon.
Was it... really not going to rise?
Should she give up?
If it really couldn't rise and she lost her life instead, wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?
But if she gave up now, there wouldn't be a single shred of hope left.
At this moment, she fell into a state of conflict.
Two voices seemed to be whispering constantly in her ears.
'Give up. Only by giving up on them can you survive. Wasn't your original plan just to live a good life?'
But another voice was urging her.
'Keep going! You have to know that you are the Saintess of the Kingdom of the Moon. If you don't hold it up, who will? Do you really want to watch those people die?'
Looking at the billowing black smoke in the distance, seeing those collapsed houses, and hearing the screams and cries echoing in her ears...
Luo Li took a deep breath and looked up at the Moon Banner fluttering in the wind.
She slowly parted her red lips and whispered:
"Take it!"
As if receiving an order to open the gates, a massive suction force surged from the flagpole.
Just when she thought her life force was about to be sucked dry.
And that she would instantly age like a withered corpse and die in front of the Temple.
A hand suddenly reached out beside her and gripped the flagpole.
The massive suction force seemed to find an outlet instantly, shifting its target from Luo Li.
It turned toward the person beside her.
"Momoka? How can you use... the Moon Banner?"
Luo Li turned her head in shock toward the Saintess of the Sun beside her.
Wasn't this banner her own exclusive Sacred Treasure? How could Momoka also lend a hand?
Momoka smiled at Luo Li, her red lips parting slightly:
"Luo Li, you probably haven't read The Chronicles of the Holy Church, have you? One of the chapters states that the Sacred Treasure of the Saintess of the Moon can be used in coordination with other Saintesses to exert even greater power."
She... she had read it, but she hadn't finished it.
After all, she hadn't had that much time to read since she transmigrated.
Even if she set aside some time every night, she couldn't possibly devour all those books in an instant.
The Chronicles of the Holy Church alone were as thick as two computer towers stacked together.
Who could finish reading all that in a few months?
The smile on Momoka's face lasted for a moment before turning into a look of reproach.
"Luo Li, even as a guest, I have to say a few words to you. Were you planning to use your life force to support it just now?"
"Setting aside whether you could actually hold it up, even if you did, would sacrificing a Saintess really be worth it?"
Luo Li was stunned for a moment and instinctively wanted to argue back.
But Momoka seemed to know what she was going to say, shaking her head and speaking earnestly:
"There's no need to say it. I know everything you want to say, and I understand your thoughts."
"As a Saintess, you naturally hold the safety of your people in your heart, but in some matters, you must still act within your power."
Act within her power?
Hearing this, a bitter smile played on the girl's lips.
If she truly acted within her power, she wouldn't have personally led the expedition to the demon island.
But on second thought, Luo Li curled her lip in disdain.
She rolled her eyes at Momoka, who was speaking so lightly.
"Yes, one should act within their power, but Momoka, let me ask you instead."
"When you lost two legs and an arm, did you ever think about those words?"
Momoka was taken aback by Luo Li's question. After chewing on those words, a bitter smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
"You've got me in checkmate there."
With Momoka's joining, the suction force shifted away from Luo Li.
But even for Momoka, this moment almost completely emptied the holy elements in her body.
After leaving the two Saintesses exhausted and drenched in sweat, the full moon at the edge of the horizon finally rose unhurriedly.
The bright moon stood high in the sky, its moonlight scattering over the land like a sea of stars.
At this moment, it wasn't just Brilliant City; the full moon in the sky also happened to cover the distant New City.
Luo Li could clearly feel that the areas most severely affected were mainly parts of Brilliant City.
Because most of New City had been built using slime adhesive.
The stability of that material was far beyond imagination.
The few injured in New City were only due to falls or being hit by household furniture.
But it was different here in Brilliant City.
Because there were many aging buildings that hadn't received proper maintenance.
Quite a few of these buildings had collapsed.
The number of injured was at least in the tens of thousands.
Some of those with severe injuries recovered in an instant.
There were also some unlucky ones who were crushed to death the moment the earthquake struck.
However, it was only a scattered three to five people.
Fortunately, there were no large-scale deaths, and Luo Li breathed a sigh of relief.
With that sigh of relief, the tension throughout her body also suddenly relaxed.
Her legs went weak, and her body slumped uncontrollably onto the ground.
Momoka beside her wasn't much better.
She was also covered in sweat, her legs powerless as she slowly sat on the ground.
Fortunately, she was slightly better off than Luo Li; seeing that Luo Li was about to fall, she quickly reached out to support her.
Luo Li also reached out to steady Momoka.
The two sat on the steps, supporting each other. Seeing this, Nara hurried over to help.
However, Nara had no level; it was nearly impossible for an ordinary girl to help up two slumped teenage girls.
Meanwhile, Gerard, who was standing guard, was anxious but didn't dare to touch them.
The Saintess was of noble status, and ordinary knights were not qualified to touch her.
Even though his strength had reached the level of a Guardian Knight, there was still a boundary between men and women, not to mention that the one before him was his own Highness!
Anxious but unable to help, he could only urge Nara urgently:
"Ms. Nara, quick, help the two Highnesses up!"
"I'm fine."
Waving a hand at the anxious Nara, Luo Li felt the exhaustion in her body as she looked up at the full moon.
It had to be said that a range of this scale was truly not something she could handle right now.
It had sucked a person like Momoka dry in an instant; although they weren't perfectly matched, it indirectly proved the skill's consumption.
But even so, the power of two people probably wouldn't be enough to treat so many.
The only explanation was that the skill was just a switch.
The truly effective part was the Moon Banner before her.
It was the banner that attracted the wandering holy energy in the air and converted it into moonlight to heal the people.
The activation of the skill had nothing to do with level, but the range of the activation required a corresponding consumption of power.
At this moment, Luo Li wanted to level up even more.
The skill details stated that as her level increased, the range covered by the Moon Banner skill would also increase exponentially.
If she were around level twenty right now, she should have been able to activate a large-scale skill even without Momoka's help.
With the clatter of armor, Lina walked in from outside.
She looked surprised to see the two of them sitting powerlessly on the ground.
"What happened to you two? Did you do something naughty behind my back?"
Rate on N.U.
