Heading to Twin-Wing City

"Luo Li, something has happened to the migrants in Twin-Wing City."

This was the first thing Momoka said after she rushed in.

Luo Li had not even had the chance to get dressed yet, so she could only wrap herself in a bedsheet for the time being.

"What happened?"

For Momoka to be this anxious and disturb her in the middle of the night, it was clearly no small matter.

"Don't panic. Sit down and tell me."

Momoka took a deep breath and recounted the news she had just received.

It had to be said that this move... was ruthless.

They were using the lives of so many people to set a trap for her in broad daylight.

If things were truly delayed for ten or more days and a major incident occurred at Twin-Wing City, whether it was a riot or people starving to death, she would be held solely responsible.

This was a scheme designed purely to ruin her.

"Momoka, what do you think we should do now?"

Indeed, what could be done?

Under the current circumstances, it was likely impossible to force Twin-Wing City to release grain.

The other party had even cut off communication, so they certainly wouldn't follow orders.

If she sent troops from Brilliant City now, even a high-mobility unit like the dragon cavalry regiment would take at least three days to arrive, and three or four days had already passed.

If they waited another three days, how many people would starve to death?

In other words, no matter what, they had to make Twin-Wing City release the grain now.

"The airships haven't even reached Stargaze City yet. They are at least nine days away from Twin-Wing City."

Momoka's brow was furrowed as she lowered her head to consider every possibility.

"Even if you sent your fastest dragon cavalry regiment, it would still take about three days."

"The Holy See's logistics are failing, and they have no grain. Even if they did, they couldn't transport it there in time."

"The next closest city is Twin River City. If we could get Twin River City to release grain, we might barely manage to weather the crisis, but Twin River City..."

At this point, she was completely in despair.

Currently, grain supplies everywhere were failing to keep up, and distant help would be of no use in this immediate crisis.

If the grain didn't reach them within three days, a week of starvation would be enough to kill the elderly and the weak.

Furthermore, once people fell into the depths of hunger, they would erupt with infinite madness.

In history, instances of exchanging children for food due to famine were not at all uncommon.

At the thought of her own subjects ending up like that because of her momentary oversight, Momoka's heart bled.

Looking at the dark-haired girl's ashen gaze, Luo Li's heart gradually sank as well.

This situation truly did seem to have no way out.

Any grain that could be sent as aid was too far away, and just as Momoka had left unsaid, for Twin-Wing City to act like this, they must have already allied with the nobles of several other major cities.

Even if she ordered Twin River City to release grain now, they would likely only be outwardly complying while secretly defying her.

Once a large-scale riot and mass deaths occurred, those nobles would have a reason to petition the Holy See for arbitration!

What a sinister move.

They wanted to drag Luo Li out into the light to be reviled by tens of millions.

With a population of tens of millions, even if only a tenth of them died, the responsibility would be immense.

Although the Eight Nations of the Holy Church were currently enfeoffed and the other seven nations were essentially vassal states of the Holy See with their own autonomous governments, the Holy See still held the ultimate authority.

If it truly came to that, even if the other Saintesses spoke up together, it would be difficult for them to help her keep her power.

So, what should she do now?

Should she just sit here and watch those seventy million people die?

This move had struck directly at her Achilles' heel, leaving her with almost no options.

"Momoka, go back for a moment and wait for me to change."

Luo Li grit her teeth. It seemed there was no better way now.

"You have a plan?"

Momoka looked at the silver-haired girl. Seeing her expression, it seemed she had made some kind of resolution, and Momoka hurriedly pressed for an answer.

Luo Li took a deep breath and forced a grin.

"Don't worry. Perhaps it's not a complete dead end just yet."

"Perhaps...?"

Faced with those words, Luo Li didn't know how to respond.

"Momoka, go back and prepare. We're leaving immediately."

"Where to?"

"Twin-Wing City."

There was no other way now.

If she wanted Harriet Anjou of Twin-Wing City to obediently hand over the grain, she needed an absolute status to face him directly.

The only way was for a Saintess to arrive in person.

The magic airships couldn't arrive in a short time. Although the dragon cavalry regiment could make it, they didn't technically outrank Harriet. If the other party feigned compliance, even Lancelot could only stand by and watch.

The only remaining option was to go herself.

And not just her alone, she had to bring Momoka too.

With two Saintesses arriving in person, even if Harriet Anjou truly intended to rebel, he would never dare to directly lay hands on two Saintesses.

If anything actually happened to them, the Anjou family would undoubtedly be annihilated by a furious Holy See.

Even if six of the Eight Nations of the Holy Church had already seen a separation of divine and imperial power, and even if that separated imperial power was in the hands of the nobles, the power of the Holy See was still not something they could resist.

Don't forget, a Sacred Knight with a title was considered among the strongest in the Eight Nations of the Holy Church.

Right!

She and Momoka couldn't be the only ones carrying this weight.

She had to check in with the Pope first.

"Someone, come. Help me with the baptism and dress me."

There was no more time for sleep.

If she slept any longer, her power would be snatched away by others!

The Anjou family...

Good, very good.

She stood up, tossed the bedsheet aside, and walked straight into the adjacent baptismal chamber.

The water in the baptismal chamber flowed year-round. She stepped directly into the pool, and the warm water quickly enveloped her body.

A wave of sleepiness washed over her.

She forced herself to stay alert, splashed her face, and washed her body clean.

As soon as she walked out of the room, Nara, Lola, and several little nuns were already waiting at the door.

"Lola, you already know about the situation."

"Yes. I never expected the Anjou family to have such audacity. I fear... this might not be the plan of the Anjou family alone."

Lola adjusted her classic gold-rimmed glasses, her gaze as dark as water.

Never mind Lola, even Luo Li herself hadn't expected the Anjou family to have the nerve. Did he not know that if a civil uprising occurred, the first thing to be destroyed would be his own family's properties?!

The Anjou family's assets were all based in Twin-Wing City, and the refugees had just migrated there.

Once a riot broke out, Twin-Wing City under his jurisdiction would surely suffer heavy losses.

Yet he chose to do this anyway.

The only possibility was that other nobles were also involved in this plot.

What they wanted to do was obvious: they wanted to pull her down and seize the imperial power.

Her previous targeted actions had likely made these nobles feel threatened, otherwise they wouldn't be so united, and the Anjou family certainly wouldn't have this kind of courage.

"This isn't your fault. I didn't expect them to do this either."

Luo Li thought for a moment and issued her orders.

"Lola, contact the Holy See immediately. Tell them that the Saintess of the Sun, Momoka, and I wish to personally meet with His Holiness the Pope."

"Yes, Your Grace."

Lola turned and left, while Luo Li quickly finished dressing.

When she came out, she saw Momoka standing at the door with a face full of anxiety.

"Let's go."

Luo Li smiled. Now was not the time for idle chatter; the key was to set out as quickly as possible.

"Luo Li, what exactly do you plan to do?"

The smile on Luo Li's face was the same as usual, as if she wasn't worried at all. But Momoka was different; her heart felt like it was being held over a grill, burning with anxiety yet helpless.

"We'll find the Pope first, and then go straight to Twin-Wing City."

"Go straight to... Twin-Wing City!?"

These nobles hated her to the bone now. If she went to Twin-Wing City in person, wouldn't that be like a lamb walking into a tiger's den?

"Yes. And it won't be just me. You're coming, and Shalin, and one more..."

"Who?"

'Awoo!'

As soon as the word 'who' left Momoka's mouth, a low dragon roar echoed from behind her.

She spun around and saw the holy white dragon, Astrid, following them with an angry huff.

Although it couldn't understand human language, its natural dragon instincts let it sense that Luo Li was currently furious, and this made Astrid instinctively angry as well.

The dragon race was incredibly united. Setting aside those of the same generation, elders and juniors were always deeply respectful and protective of one another, regardless of whether they were blood relatives.

Astrid had been sent here four months ago, and although they hadn't been together long, to the current Astrid, Luo Li was almost like a mother.

If her mother was enraged, then as her child, she was naturally furious too.

"Her?"

Momoka was stunned for a moment and subconsciously asked, "But she's just a child!"

Yes, she was indeed a child. Compared to the massive bodies of adult dragons that could be hundreds of meters long and a hundred meters tall, the current Astrid was just a baby, and one that hadn't even been weaned yet.

In terms of combat power, she was only around level thirty. With such strength and such a young age, she couldn't even use many of the unique skills of the dragon race. She was practically easy prey.

"Astrid is indeed a child, but she is no ordinary child."

Luo Li smiled faintly as she looked back at the holy white dragon.

"She... is a child of the Great Dragon Class."

Momoka froze as a thought suddenly flashed through her mind. 【Luo Li intends to use the name of the dragon race to suppress the Anjou family!】

Once this thought appeared, it refused to leave. Every race on the continent was well aware of the dragon race's power, and their internal unity was something other races looked up to with awe. It could be said that the most united race on the entire continent was the dragon race.

And within the dragon race, the most noble lineage was that of the great dragons. They were the ones who truly possessed the bloodline of the Dragon God, standing at the very top of the dragon hierarchy. They were also the most united and powerful force within the dragon race.

If any nation were to harm a member of the great dragon lineage, the dragon race would undoubtedly expend their entire racial strength to retaliate. Under the crushing weight of such power, not even the Eight Nations of the Holy Church, the Beastmen Empire, or the elven kingdoms could hope to stand against them.

The only way to oppose the dragon race would be for every other race on the continent to unite, but that was practically impossible. Setting aside the difficulty of such an alliance, the elves were clearly much closer to the dragon race. Both were long-lived species and naturally shared more in common.

In contrast, the elves had almost no goodwill toward the new generation of the Beastmen Empire and the human Holy See, as both often captured scattered elves to sell as slaves. For this reason alone, the elves would never ally with other nations.

The only reason the Elven Queen had personally led her army to the Kingdom of the Moon this time was to face a common external enemy. Therefore, the dominance of the dragon race over other species was almost unstoppable.

If Luo Li went to Twin-Wing City without any protection, she would basically be certain to die. Even with Shalin following her, she might still be assassinated. But things were different if the holy white dragon was there.

Every intelligent race on the continent knew how protective the great dragon tribe was of their young. If an adult dragon was harmed, perhaps both sides could still debate who was in the right. But if a young dragon was harmed, it would absolutely invite the unreserved retaliation of the entire great dragon tribe!

In other words, by bringing Astrid along, Luo Li was carrying a dragon-born protective charm. Any faction that wanted to harm Luo Li would first have to consider whether this young dragon would allow it.

This was a move that no one but Luo Li could make.

Momoka had been in Brilliant City for about ten days and had a decent understanding of the situation, so she naturally knew of Astrid's existence. The current Dragon King, the golden dragon Asfield, had personally delivered this holy white dragon into the Saintess's hands.

If an accident truly occurred, although Luo Li would certainly be scolded by the Dragon King, anyone else who harmed Astrid would find it impossible to survive. It was safe to say that no family on this continent could endure the Dragon King's wrath.

Thinking of this, Momoka finally breathed a sigh of relief. She looked up at the girl's slender back. As expected of the Saintess of the Moon who could lead the weakened Kingdom of the Moon to counter-attack the demon army. She was likely the only person on the entire continent who would think of using such a method to pressure the Anjou family.

"What are you doing? Hurry up and follow me. We still have to say hello to the Pope first."

Hearing her voice, Momoka quickly responded.

"Right."

She hurried to catch up, though her steps were much lighter now.

Soon, the two Saintesses arrived at the communication room to face the Pope.

"Your Holiness, I am preparing to set out for Twin-Wing City to negotiate directly with the Anjou family. However, the Anjou family does not belong to the Kingdom of the Moon alone. I hope Your Holiness can provide some assistance as well."

Diocletian had been woken up in the middle of the night and was in a very foul mood. However, faced with such a critical situation, he had no choice but to take it seriously.

When he heard that even the holy white dragon was going along, Diocletian's brow instantly knit together. He looked at the young holy white dragon standing behind the two girls on the screen with a hint of envy and a touch of jealousy, but mostly with solemnity.

"I understand what you mean. Please rest assured, I will speak with the head of the Anjou family shortly. I imagine... the Anjou main house here in the Holy See will not approve of the actions of their branch family in the Kingdom of the Moon."

The Anjou family was a massive human family whose true main house resided within the borders of the Holy See. The Anjou family in the Kingdom of the Moon was merely a branch that had split off from the main house. One could only imagine how vast the family was.

However, no matter how powerful a family was, they would never dare to confront the dragon race head-on.

"Then I shall trouble Your Holiness."

"Saintess Luo Li is too polite. By the way, as I mentioned before..."

"I'm in a hurry to get to Twin-Wing City. Farewell!"