Luo Li closed the communication and turned to leave.
Momoka seemed a bit unaccustomed to such a decisive and vigorous Luo Li.
Startled for a moment, she hurried to follow.
"Luo Li, what do we do next?"
"What else can we do?"
Luo Li asked in return, and without waiting for Momoka to respond, she turned to look at Lola.
"Lola, notify the dragon cavalry regiment immediately. Cancel the previous experiment. Order five hundred members of the dragon cavalry regiment to head to Twin-Wing City at once. Upon arrival, they are not to enter the city, but must remain circling in the air above it."
"Where is Shalin?"
Luo Li took a deep breath and shouted with authority.
"Here!"
A young girl's response came from outside the hall, and the large-chested girl with short blue hair appeared instantly, that same faint smile still on her face.
The sleep cycle of the dragon race was completely different from that of humans.
They preferred long periods of sleep followed by long periods of wakefulness.
Once they fell into a slumber, it would often last for decades or even centuries.
When they were awake, they would remain so for an equal amount of time.
One could say that by the time a dragon finished a single nap, several human generations would have passed.
This was why she was the first to react when the magic beasts attacked yesterday.
She didn't need to sleep at all.
"I'm entrusting Momoka to you. Come with me."
In this situation, every minute of delay could lead to tragic consequences.
If a riot broke out among tens of millions of people, it would be a force powerful enough to topple any province.
Even if the majority were the elderly and the weak, they could not be underestimated.
"Astrid!"
Luo Li gave a soft command and then leaped onto the dragon's back.
As an adult dragon, Shalin would not allow anyone she hadn't personally acknowledged to ride her.
Of course, there was another way, which was to stand on her claws.
"Lola, while I am away, all administrative affairs of Brilliant City will be handled by you and Augus, with the Cabinet Ministers assisting you."
"Yes, Your Grace."
"Sake!"
"I'm here."
"Lola's safety is in your hands. Until I return, not a single hair on her head must be harmed. Can you do that?"
As a member of an outside race who had joined Luo Li's camp early on, Sake had always lived in the front hall.
His main task now was essentially to protect Lola.
A look of difficulty appeared on the old ox's face as he looked up at Luo Li.
"Your Grace, how about you count how many there are first?"
Luo Li's gaze instantly became sharp as she glared at the old ox.
"Still playing around? If you keep this up, I'll skin you alive and turn your hide into leather shoes when I get back!"
The old ox froze and subconsciously looked down at the small feet wrapped in white silk stockings.
He muttered quietly, "But you don't even wear shoes, do you?"
"Hmm?"
The girl's piercing gaze made the old ox shudder.
"Nothing! I guarantee Bishop Lola won't lose a single hair!"
Giving the thick-skinned ox a final look, she turned to Hilda.
"Hilda, while I'm gone, tighten security in the city. Increase the number of night patrols by thirty percent. If anyone takes this chance to cause trouble, do not hesitate to kill them on the spot."
"I shall follow the Saint's Decree!"
The nobles surely wouldn't have failed to realize she would head to Twin-Wing City personally.
Once she left, the defenses of Brilliant City would inevitably be weakened.
Without a Saintess present to maintain order, the nobles would certainly start plotting.
Harsh laws were needed in troubled times; now, killing was the only option left.
The Anjou family actually dared to use the lives of seventy million people to attack her.
In that case, they couldn't blame her for being ruthless.
"Shalin, take Momoka and follow me!"
At the same time, she raised her hand and pointed her fingers like a sword into the air.
"Divine Art — Flash!"
With a whoosh, nine small light spheres appeared instantly before the girl.
She then patted the holy white dragon beneath her.
'Awoo!'
Accompanied by a long dragon roar, the white dragon's wings flapped violently as its body rose from the ground, soaring into the sky.
Shalin, following behind with a smile, turned to look at Momoka.
"Lady Momoka, please excuse my rudeness."
Momoka didn't speak, only nodding slightly.
In the next second, Shalin leaped into the air. As she spun, her body rapidly expanded, and in the blink of an eye, a frost dragon appeared before everyone's eyes.
Momoka leaped up immediately after, and the frost dragon reached out its claws to catch her. Then, flapping its wings, it chased after the white dragon.
This was the first time she had ridden the holy white dragon out of the capital. It had to be said that she truly was a child of the great dragons.
Even though her size hadn't reached that of a full-grown dragon, her flight speed was not much slower.
She could likely reach three hundred kilometers per hour.
However, to preserve Astrid's stamina, Luo Li had her reduce her speed somewhat.
They headed northwest at a speed of just over two hundred kilometers per hour.
At such a young age, Astrid had not yet mastered dragon language magic.
Therefore, she had no way to manipulate the air currents.
Fortunately, Luo Li had brought the nine small light spheres.
She cast a 'Light Barrier' directly in front of herself, blocking the violent wind.
Standing on the dragon's back, her mind was still a bit foggy from sleep, but that didn't matter anymore.
The most critical thing now was to think of a way to resolve this situation.
Nobles.
These parasites had been clinging to the great tree of the Kingdom of the Moon for a thousand years.
Over all these years, it wasn't that there were no good people among the nobility, but rather the probability of a good person appearing among them was far too low.
They continuously fed on the great tree of the Kingdom of the Moon to strengthen themselves.
Now, they had grown so greedy that they were even attempting to interfere with the imperial power.
Luo Li couldn't help but start reflecting on her own actions.
Did the policies she targeted at the nobles really drive them to such despair?
Recalling the historical novels she had read...
It wasn't like that.
These nobles were simply too greedy and didn't want to give up the power and interests in their hands.
So why exactly would they be so reckless with their own lives?
Looking at history, which person truly worthy of being called an 'Emperor' didn't have hundreds of thousands of lives on their hands?
To be a good ruler, one had to kill!
Whenever a so-called 'benevolent ruler' appeared, it inevitably led to a decline in national power.
What was the reason?
Was it because these monarchs didn't work hard for their people? Was it because they didn't want their country to be prosperous and strong?
No.
It was because those who wrote the history books were not the common people, but the noble class.
Under the benevolence of a monarch, these nobles protected their interests and their lives.
Naturally, they would write better histories for such rulers.
It was because of too much benevolence that the greedy hearts of those scum couldn't be restrained.
As a ruler, if the blade in your hand loses its deterrent power, you naturally won't be able to suppress this filth.
Currently, the Kingdom of the Moon was almost terminal.
At first, she had thought of slowly letting the country regain its vitality and gradually reducing the influence of the nobles.
She planned to keep at it until all the nobles were dealt with, and then restore the nation's strength.
But now it seemed these nobles couldn't wait.
What gave them the nerve?
What made them think the edge of her blade wasn't sharp?
Was it because she hadn't pursued the matter to the end in Moonrise City?
Or was it that no matter whether she made concessions or not, these nobles would eventually reach this point?
Compassion does not command troops, righteousness does not manage wealth, emotion does not build a legacy, and kindness does not make an official.
The girl's gaze was sharp.
It seemed her heart still hadn't been able to shed its past commoner's mindset in such a short time.
She was far too soft.
Perhaps it was time to let the nobles see if the sword in her hand... was sharp enough.
Otherwise, forget about retiring; she'd be lucky if she didn't die in office.
To change this outcome, the only way seemed to be picking up the butcher's knife.
At this moment, the girl's mindset seemed to shift.
But exactly what had changed, even she couldn't quite distinguish.
Setting those thoughts aside, she stood on the dragon's back and watched the shrinking land below.
This height was about right; any higher and she would have trouble breathing.
Fortunately, her Saintess's robe had heat insulation, otherwise, at such a height and speed, even if she could block the wind, she couldn't stop the cold from sapping her body heat.
The frost dragon followed closely behind, with Momoka standing on its claws.
Compared to Luo Li, who had to use light elementals to block the wind, Momoka's method was much simpler. A single talisman was enough to block the wind in front of her.
She wasn't affected by the wind at all.
Luo Li, however, still had her robe and long hair blown about by the wind to some extent.
But she could no longer care about such things.
What she had to weigh now was whether to kill and how to kill.
How many would she have to kill to make the Anjou family obediently follow orders?
Kill the entire direct lineage?
Or execute three generations of the family?
Looking at the distant night sky, the girl's thoughts became increasingly ruthless.
...
Under the sparse stars and bright moon, outside Twin-Wing City.
Musashi's thirty thousand cavalry and fifty thousand infantry had all arrived.
Four days. Four whole days had passed.
By now, many people had run out of food.
Although Musashi had used all his military rations to support them, it was still just a drop in the bucket.
The million people in the vanguard alone had completely drained all the food in his army.
Not to mention the sixty million people following behind.
Even if he killed everyone in the army, it wouldn't be enough to feed those people for a single day!
"Is there still no news from the people we sent out?"
Yanagi Musashi hadn't slept for two days.
The vast majority of the knights in the cavalry regiment had been sent out to find any edible food.
The money they had was also being used to buy grain from nobles or merchants in the surrounding towns.
Unfortunately, those merchants and nobles seemed to have already formed an alliance.
They wouldn't give him a single grain.
Having no choice, he had to send twenty thousand knights out to hunt.
The fifty thousand infantry were also split into small units to gather edible wild fruits in the surroundings.
However, even so, the supply still couldn't meet the demand.
By now, the army itself had begun to run out of food.
Musashi hadn't eaten anything since yesterday.
The others in the cavalry regiment were the same.
With their powerful physiques, they could at least hold out for a few more days under these conditions.
But some of the elderly and children could not.
After a series of attacks by the demon army, these seventy million people were exhausted.
The elderly and the weak were almost at their breaking point, and many had already fallen ill.
Now that the food supply couldn't keep up, questioning voices had begun to arise among the people in the rear.
If this continued, riots would break out before people even starved to death.
It was hard to imagine the consequences of a riot involving seventy million people!
"My lord, not yet."
Shinichi Mizutani's expression was grave. The horses of the cavalry regiment were the elite of the elite.
Reasonably speaking, the closest city was Twin River City to the south.
With such fast horses, it should only take a little over a day to get there.
Even if things weren't smooth, two days should have been enough.
But up until now, there had been no response from that side.
Clearly, they had either been detained or killed.
If Twin-Wing City was like this, and Twin River City was the same, then these seventy million people would eventually be forced into a riot.
The responsibility for this would undoubtedly fall upon the Saintess of the Moon.
Yanagi Musashi hadn't slept for a day. His eyes were bloodshot, and his face was twisted with fury.
"Those bastards! Do they really have no regard for people's lives at all?!"
Shinichi Mizutani let out a helpless sigh.
"Lord Musashi, you and I both come from noble backgrounds. we should both understand the filth within the nobility."
As the strategist of this army, he understood very well that the current situation was almost irreversible.
Unless a miracle occurred, a riot was only a matter of time.
"I understand, of course I understand!!"
Yanagi Musashi grit his teeth.
The Yanagi and Mizutani families were both part of the noble circle in the Kingdom of the Sun.
And similarly, most of the officers in this cavalry regiment were noble sons.
Among them were also people from the Anjou family.
Yanagi Musashi looked at Shinichi Mizutani.
"Shinichi, I remember there are people from the Anjou family in our ranks as well, right?"
Shinichi Mizutani's brow furrowed slightly as he looked at the disheveled Yanagi Musashi.
In his heart, a hint of worry inexplicably rose.
It seemed something bad was about to happen!
But as the lieutenant, he couldn't refuse the commander's inquiry and could only answer truthfully.
"Yes."
"How many?"
"About... two hundred people."
"Bring them all here!!"
Yanagi Musashi slammed his hand on the table and stood up, his face twisted in rage.
"Lord Musashi, what do you plan to do?"
"What am I doing? Heh... Kill them!!"
Hearing that single word filled with killing intent, Shinichi Mizutani's face changed drastically.
"Absolutely not! General, they have committed no crime. If you kill them like this, it will be impossible to justify to the troops!"
"Impossible to justify?!"
Yanagi Musashi's face was as dark as water, his eyes bloodshot and filled with total madness as he glared at Shinichi Mizutani.
"Look at those people out there! How many are on the verge of starvation? How many don't even have basic medicine?! Do you know how many will die if this continues?!"
"If the Anjou family can do this, why can't I kill them?"
As he spoke, he turned to leave the central command tent.
But Shinichi Mizutani understood that if the Anjou knights were truly killed now, the result would be the worst-case scenario.
Of the thirty thousand knights in this army, at least twenty-seven or twenty-eight thousand were nobles.
Killing them would instantly alienate the entire army, and this cavalry regiment of nearly thirty thousand would lose all loyalty.
If someone with ulterior motives intentionally stirred up trouble, these thirty thousand knights might even mutiny!
At this thought, Shinichi Mizutani no longer cared for formalities. He rushed forward, grabbed Yanagi Musashi around the waist, and pulled him back with all his might.
"General!! General!! Calm down! You must not throw us into chaos now! If you kill the sons of the Anjou family, the entire army could be turned against us!!"
"Let go of me! Let go of me!! Seventy million citizens of the Kingdom of the Sun are suffering from hunger. Why can't I kill these people?"
"You must not be impulsive, General!!"
Seeing Yanagi Musashi gradually losing control and thinking of the consequences, Shinichi Mizutani grit his teeth.
"Forgive me, General!"
With a thud, his palm struck the back of Yanagi Musashi's neck.
Yanagi Musashi's body went limp, and he collapsed to the floor.
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