"Knight Corps Battle Formation Skill — Spiral Charge!"
Nar shouted as he charged out of the city gates, a silver-white light shimmering around his body.
The light acted like a massive barrier.
It instantly began to shift, spreading back from Nar, who stood at the vanguard.
In that moment, countless knights roared in unison:
"Spiral Charge!!"
With that roar, similar silver-white lights appeared before each knight.
The light began to rotate, centering on the tips of their conical lances.
It formed a series of spirals covering the front of every knight.
Countless small spirals gradually synchronized with the light on Nar, eventually forming a single, massive silver-white spiral that tore toward the magic beast!
Watching from Astrid's back high in the sky, Luo Li couldn't help but admire the sight.
He truly was a gifted talent.
Since ancient times, those who could reach Level 40 by the age of fifteen were extremely rare.
Nar was a particularly special case.
Fifteen years old, Level 48, and already possessing his own battle formation skill.
He was more than capable of holding his own.
On the ground, with Nar as the spearhead, a giant silver-white spiral lance slowly took shape.
Fueled by the knights' shouts, the spiral lance reached its peak power.
Their speed surged by two hundred percent.
The earth trembled wherever they passed.
The deafening noise drew the attention of the magic beast in the distance.
Luo Li finally got a clear look at the creature's form.
The shadows she had seen from inside the city, locked in combat with the frost dragon Shalin, were not what she thought.
She had assumed they were tails, but they were actually heads.
It was a serpent-like magic beast with seven heads and a single tail.
Its massive body was coiled on the ground in a defensive stance.
Its seven heads were fixed intently on the frost dragon.
Whenever the frost dragon unleashed her breath, the seven heads would immediately strike back.
The two sides were locked in a fierce exchange.
However, Shalin was clearly unable to overcome it in the short term.
And the giant seven-headed serpent didn't dare turn its back on the frost dragon.
The two sides remained at a stalemate less than a thousand meters from the city gates.
Luo Li frowned slightly at the sight; it seemed she didn't need to intervene directly just yet.
But as a battlefield support, her purpose here was clear.
She was there to provide assistance whenever necessary.
She would wait for the first major clash to make her move.
On the ground, the massive spiral lance sped toward the seven-headed serpent.
Their target was clear: the giant body coiled on the ground.
The outcome would be obvious once the lance struck.
It was like a blade stabbing into an unarmored belly.
The serpent's level seemed high, though it was hard to tell how much dragon blood remained in its lineage.
Perhaps a lot, perhaps very little.
But this was still a major concern.
Normally, such a massive magic beast would not respond to the dragon calamity.
Yet this one had.
Combined with the other anomalies of the dragon calamity recently, one thing was certain: the disaster was growing more severe.
If this continued, other regions might face attacks from giant magic beasts as well.
She needed to find a solution, but not right now.
Holding the Moon Banner in her left hand and the Holy Cross Sword in her right, she pointed toward the figure at the front of the knightly order.
"Skill — Chain Healing!"
With a soft command, a pure white light descended from the sky, landing on Nar at the tip of the spiral.
Feeling the sudden surge of holy energy, he instinctively looked up at the shadow in the sky.
When he saw the young holy white dragon, his heart skipped a beat.
'Her Highness?'
'Why is she here?'
'This place is so dangerous. What if something happens to her?'
But he had no time to try and persuade her to leave.
With the massive serpent right in front of him, Nar took a deep breath.
No matter what, this strike had to deal enough damage to keep the beast from focusing on anything else!
"Knights! Her Highness is watching over us from above! For Her Highness, kill—!"
The other knights also instinctively looked up.
Most of these knights were already between Level 20 and 30.
Their vision was naturally far better than that of an average person.
The holy white dragon in the sky immediately became the center of attention.
And on its back stood the silver-haired girl holding the Moon Banner and the Holy Cross Sword.
Who else could it be but Her Highness?
Her Highness had actually come to the battlefield?
Was she watching them?
The hearts of countless knights swelled with emotion.
The Holy Church had stood in the human kingdoms for a thousand years.
In the Kingdom of the Moon, the Saintess represented both the church and the crown.
At the thought of this, the blood of many knights began to boil.
Their monarch was personally overseeing the battle. As knights, what reason did they have not to give their all?
Furthermore, this Saintess had already broken through the limitations humans had faced for a thousand years.
A princess who could conquer the demon island... why would she fear a mere magic beast?
"For Her Highness! Kill—!"
The morale of the knightly order surged to a new level as they roared.
The speed of the giant spiral lance increased by another ten percent!
The seven-headed serpent seemed to notice the change. Suddenly, three of its heads turned to face the massive lance.
The three heads opened their mouths simultaneously, and three different magical elements erupted!
Water, earth, and wind.
The three elements merged in mid-air.
A black torrent rose from the ground, reaching dozens of meters high like a giant wall, before pouring down like a flood!
'Boom—!'
Seeing this, Luo Li knew she could no longer just watch.
"Astrid, get above the knightly order!"
'Roar!'
Astrid let out a draconic roar, adjusted her wings, and glided down with the wind, hovering directly above the spiral lance.
"Knights, do not fear! Continue your charge!"
Waving her banner, the girl stared down the seven-headed serpent in the distance.
"Protect the Brilliant Night with My Moon Banner—O Holy One, please protect me and my people!"
A full moon rose, shining brightly in the sky.
The silver-white moonlight fell upon the earth like starlight.
The distance between the two sides was only a thousand meters, a distance the charging knights could cover in just a few minutes.
As the spiral lance charged forward, Luo Li didn't hesitate to steer the holy white dragon upward.
At the same time, the spiral lance on the ground collided violently with the black torrent.
The two forces held in a stalemate for only a split second.
The world went silent!
The giant spiral lance shattered the torrent instantly and continued its path toward the serpent's body.
The giant seven-headed serpent seemed to realize it couldn't dodge.
Being such a massive creature, it lacked flexibility.
With the enemy having closed the distance so quickly, evasion was impossible.
Simultaneously, the frost dragon in the sky unleashed a blast of freezing air!
'Roar—!'
Three of the four remaining heads spat fire to counter it.
Previously, it had taken all seven heads to maintain a stalemate with the frost dragon.
Using only three was nowhere near enough.
The crimson light of the fire elements was pushed back as the dragon's breath surged forward.
In that very moment!
The final head suddenly opened its mouth, but no elemental energy emerged.
Instead, Shalin felt a sudden surge of madness flooding her mind.
Though her body was unharmed, her mind felt as if it had been struck by a heavy club.
With a loud ringing in her ears, her thoughts fell into complete chaos.
She couldn't even maintain her dragon's breath. With a cry of pain, her massive draconic form wobbled and fell straight toward the ground.
Seeing this, Luo Li instinctively remembered the time she had spent allocating her attribute points.
There were no external injuries or other strange signs.
The only possible explanation was mental interference!
"Holy Guard!"
In an instant, ten points of her mana vanished.
Between the previous Protect the Brilliant Night, Chain Healing, and now Holy Guard, seventy points of mana had been consumed in a flash.
Fortunately, she had already maxed out her mana.
She currently possessed one hundred and fifty-one points!
It was enough!
The moment the Holy Guard skill took effect, a silver-white light draped over the frost dragon.
Her pained cries stopped abruptly.
It had worked.
Luo Li felt a chill run down her spine.
This magic beast actually had a mental interference skill?
Without hesitation, she turned her gaze back to the knightly order.
"Divine Arts — Saint's Armor!"
A silver light flashed. Luo Li watched as another fifty points of mana were consumed in the blink of an eye.
She only had twenty-one points left.
The battle had barely begun, and her skills were already almost depleted.
However, the silver light did not disappoint.
This first use of the skill came with a massive visual effect.
A layer of armor made of holy energy appeared over the knights' existing armor.
Almost all skills labeled as 'Divine Arts' required the Moon Banner or the Holy Cross Sword.
And these Divine Arts were almost exclusively area-of-effect skills.
The appearance of the silver-white armor left the knights in a state of shock.
Nar was the first to react!
The rest of the charge proceeded without any further obstacles.
The giant seven-headed serpent tried to use its mental interference skill again.
However, Saint's Armor provided a brief period of mental interference resistance.
Though it was an inferior version of Holy Guard, it was more than enough for this moment.
Amidst the serpent's screams, the massive spiral lance pierced through its entire body!
'Boom—!'
Blood sprayed everywhere as the spiral lance bored a massive hole through the serpent's coils.
The creature's agonized roar echoed across the land.
In the next second, a dragon descended from the sky, pinning down the serpent right where its heads branched off.
She opened her maw and bit down hard!
There was a sickening crunch.
Even from high in the sky, Luo Li could clearly hear the sound of the creature's spine snapping.
The light faded from the serpent's eyes the moment its neck was broken.
Victory on the battlefield was decided in a single instant.
Luo Li breathed a sigh of relief.
The battle had ended remarkably quickly.
Of course, that was to be expected.
With a dragon, a knightly order, and a powerful support like her assisting them, it would have been more surprising if they couldn't kill the seven-headed serpent quickly.
If they couldn't even manage that, Luo Li would have to seriously consider how to rebuild Brilliant City from the ground up.
After all, the frost dragon Shalin was over Level 50.
And dragons possessed an inherent racial suppression.
While she couldn't fully compare to a Level 60 Heavenly Punishment Knight, she was still capable of holding her own against one.
If they couldn't stop this, Brilliant City would have been crushed by whatever came next.
At that moment, a group of skysoar dragons arrived in the sky.
The Dragon Knight Corps had clearly been too slow to deploy.
"Your Highness, I have arrived late!"
As the Dragon Knight Corps approached, Lancelot's face was filled with guilt.
Ligeia followed closely behind.
"Little Luo Li... cough, Your Highness, why are you here?"
Luo Li's expression was grim as she shook her head.
"Why am I here? If I hadn't been here, and we had waited for you to act, the East Gate of Brilliant City would probably be a pile of rubble by now."
The Dragon Knight Corps was supposed to be known for its speed. Why had they taken so long to arrive?
Even Nar's reaction speed had been better!
Despite the difference in distance, the flight speed of the Dragon Knight Corps far exceeded that of regular knights.
What had taken them so long?
Luo Li wanted to ask, but now was not the time.
She turned to look at Shalin, who had taken flight once more.
She had clearly been injured during the fight with the seven-headed serpent.
Though it wasn't obvious at first glance, a wound was visible on her left leg.
"Shalin, are you all right? You're injured?"
Shalin flew up with effort. With a flash of blue light, she transformed into her human form, appearing before Luo Li with short, light-blue hair.
She didn't land on Astrid's back, but used a pair of dragon wings to fly alongside them.
"Replying to Your Highness, my injury is not serious. I just need a bit of rest."
Luo Li looked down at Shalin's leg.
There was a ten-centimeter wound on the inner part of her thigh.
The color around it had already begun to darken.
Clearly, the seven-headed serpent had been venomous!
Without a word, Luo Li raised her hand and cast a healing spell.
While it couldn't completely purge the toxin, it would at least help her recover somewhat.
Shalin looked at her wound and nodded.
"Thank you."
Luo Li simply nodded in return before glancing back at Lancelot.
"Ligeia, take the Dragon Knight Corps back. Lancelot, come with me."
Ligeia was merely an advisor to the Dragon Knight Corps, handling any issues regarding the dragons.
But Lancelot was the one truly in command.
In other words, the delay in deployment was Lancelot's responsibility!
Lancelot seemed to realize his failure, and his expression turned somber.
The Dragon Knight Corps was the first purebred dragon unit in the Holy Church's thousand-year history.
But their reaction speed had been utterly disappointing.
Rate on N.U.
