Thousands of kilometers to the northwest of the Kingdom of the Moon lay High Ridge City.
This city was rich in mineral resources but was also a place where magic beasts roamed due to its proximity to the northwestern wastes.
It was one of the few places in the Kingdom of the Moon known as a land of death.
However, within this desolate landscape, a river flowed, creating a vibrant oasis.
Following this oasis eastward would eventually lead one to Brilliant City.
This was the Moonlight River.
It spanned the northwest, passed through Brilliant City, and eventually flowed into the Eastern Mountains before meeting the sea.
Here, the Moonlight River was calm, lacking the turbulent power it displayed in the central regions.
High above the gentle waters of the Kunada, a skysoar dragon soared past the riverbanks toward the nearby Kosa City.
Kosa City was a small town in the western part of the High Ridge City province.
While not particularly prosperous, its proximity to the desert and jungle made it a dangerous place.
Adventurers were a common sight.
In the past, these adventurers were often arrogant and unruly, but over the last few days, Kosa City had become much quieter.
Even the crime rate had plummeted.
This was all because a Saintess and a dragon were currently residing within the city.
The day a dragon and a Saintess appeared before their eyes, the entire city was thrown into an uproar.
Kosa City was immediately placed under martial law.
A city that usually had no curfew was now silent during the night.
Lina sat calmly on the roof of the city's cathedral.
She was perched on a flat terrace, quietly drinking tea brewed from the Flower of the High Ridge, a specialty of the region.
The girl's posture was elegant, a sight to behold.
However, the flicker of anxiety in her eyes was unsettling.
A skysoar dragon galloped through the air from the distance, landing directly on the roof.
The gust of wind from its landing blew against the girl's ponytail, but she didn't seem to care, taking another sip of her tea.
"Reporting to Lady Lina, no sign of the demon race has been found at the foot of the Holy Mountains yet."
"They still haven't appeared?"
Lina's brow furrowed.
It had already been five days.
By now, nearly the entire one thousand members of the Dragon Knight Corps had been deployed.
They had formed a massive search grid in teams of ten.
Yet, despite so many days passing, there was still no word of Zuka.
How could she not be anxious?
Based on the timeline, five days was more than enough for Zuka to have traveled a great distance.
But there was still no news.
Where could he have gone?
She knew all too well that the demon race could disguise themselves as humans. Because of this, entry and exit from Kosa City had been strictly prohibited.
Rather, it was strictly one-way; people could enter, but no one could leave.
Even grain supplies were delivered outside the city walls and then handled by the city's soldiers.
Direct contact between the two parties was forbidden.
In the wild, without sufficient food, even a member of the demon race would likely starve.
So, either Zuka had found enough food to remain hidden in the jungle, or he had already disguised himself and slipped into the city.
There was only one way to identify a demon disguised as a human.
However, the population of Kosa City was at least a hundred thousand.
The amount of Holy Water she could produce herself was nowhere near enough.
Even if she tested everyone with a single drop, she could only process a few thousand people a day at most.
At that rate, screening the entire city would take months.
Furthermore, what if Zuka killed someone else and assumed a new identity?
All of this left Lina feeling extremely irritable.
Zuka could afford to wait, but Lina could not. This one thousand-strong Dragon Knight Corps could not stay here for long.
They had already been away from the Kingdom of the Moon longer than Momoka had.
Lina understood better than anyone how much the nobles hated Luo Li right now.
One thousand dragon knights was almost the maximum force Brilliant City could currently spare.
Any more, and Brilliant City would lose its ability to respond to internal threats.
Even worse, she had just received news from Brilliant City.
It was a message sent by Lola.
Luo Li had taken Momoka, Shalin, and five hundred members of the dragon cavalry regiment directly to Twin-Wing City.
This meant that Brilliant City was now defended only by five hundred dragon knights and Lancelot.
Aside from the high-ranking members like Nar, Cain, and Hilda, the other knights were untrustworthy.
After all, nearly ninety percent of the knights in the regiments were sons of the nobility.
The thought made her head ache.
"Luo Li... she really has it hard."
"The Saintess naturally has a difficult path. Without her, the demon race would likely have invaded the continent by now, wouldn't they?"
The voice that answered her belonged to a man.
Vide, the temporary deputy commander of the Dragon Knight Corps, was a commoner through and through.
In fact, almost the entire Dragon Knight Corps consisted of commoners.
Even those with noble titles were essentially from destitute families.
They were nobles in name only, living no differently than ordinary commoners.
As Luo Li's direct army, she would never allow noble scions to interfere with the Dragon Knight Corps.
From its inception, the Dragon Knight Corps had maintained zero contact with the nobility.
"Yes. Knowing how hard she works makes me want to go back and help her even sooner..."
Lina rubbed her temples and glanced at Vide beside her.
Vide was meticulous and serious in his work. Although his combat talent wasn't exceptional, his mind was simple and free of ulterior motives.
He was an excellent subordinate. While he might not be suited for a high-ranking official post, his loyalty was commendable.
"Where is the unit led by Kevin, the Heavenly Punishment Knight?"
Kevin's force this time consisted of ten thousand knights. Five thousand were his direct subordinates, while the other five thousand had been placed under the command of Knight Yuna.
Lina knew this adjustment was made to keep Kevin in check.
Similarly, Aigie's presence here was also meant to watch over Kevin.
"Reporting to Lady Lina, Lord Kevin's troops have reached High Ridge City. They said they would rest for a day and set out tomorrow morning. They should arrive here by noon tomorrow."
"I see... notify the other knights to hold on for one more day. They can rest tomorrow afternoon."
Over the past five days, these knights had barely slept.
As a dragon species capable of long-distance migration, skysoar dragons did not rely heavily on sleep.
Consequently, the skysoar dragons had not rested at all during these five days.
The knights could only catch brief naps on the dragons' backs before continuing their mission.
After all, a level sixty Demon Marshal was currently in the area.
Any lapse in vigilance could lead to utter disaster.
"Yes, ma'am."
Vide nodded and mounted his skysoar dragon. Pulling the reins, he headed toward the northwest.
That was where the skysoar dragons' temporary resting quarters were located.
To avoid causing undue panic among the townspeople, the Dragon Knight Corps was mostly stationed outside the city.
Vide looked back at the girl sitting on the cathedral roof and let out a silent sigh.
In these few days, not only had he not rested well, but the Saintess of War hadn't either.
No one dared to sleep, fearing that a single oversight would allow Zuka to escape.
Vide felt the same. In his current state, he doubted he could even put up a fight if he encountered Zuka.
Just as that thought crossed his mind, a thunderous explosion erupted below, followed by screams.
"Help!!"
"Argh!!"
Vide was startled and instinctively looked down.
He was currently over the northwestern corner of Kosa City, a gathering place for adventurers.
It was usually a bit chaotic there.
But logically, with a Saintess and dragons present, no matter how bold the adventurers were, they shouldn't have dared to cause trouble lately.
Especially not an explosion of this magnitude.
What was happening?
Vide's thoughts stalled for a moment, but he reacted quickly.
As a member of the Dragon Knight Corps and a direct subordinate of the Saintess, he had no official law enforcement power, but he could still intervene if he saw injustice.
Moreover, as knights, they held titles of nobility and possessed a certain degree of authority.
He instinctively pulled the reins, and his skysoar dragon dove toward the ground.
As he descended, the situation below became clearer.
But when he saw the scene, his expression darkened.
He had expected a minor incident, perhaps a brawl between adventurers.
However, the reality far exceeded his expectations.
"Ah!!"
A man screamed as a thick, dark aura swirled around his body.
Vide knew that aura all too well!
He had participated in the battle outside the West Gate of Brilliant City.
After that war, he had sworn he would never forget the scent of the demon race.
The man standing on the ground now, radiating a dense black mist, was just like the demons he had seen that day.
He exuded an aura that was ominous, frantic, and filled with primal desire.
Demonic corruption!!
The term immediately flooded his mind.
But he quickly dismissed the possibility.
The man was releasing a massive amount of demonic energy, but he hadn't fully demonized.
Instead, he had fallen into a berserk state.
The man was currently clutching a woman.
Judging by her clothes, she was likely a barmaid.
However, her once-clean uniform dress was now in tatters.
Much of her clothing had been torn away.
Clearly, this man, clouded by demonic energy, was beginning to show signs of demonization.
He wanted to vent his lust!
But since Vide had seen it, there was no way he would let it slide!
"Help! Someone, please save me!"
The girl cried out, instinctively trying to cover herself.
But her strength was far too meager against a man consumed by demonic energy.
She was powerless to resist.
Seeing the madman reach out for her, the girl instinctively closed her eyes.
Anyone could guess what would happen in the next second.
However, in the following instant...
'Squelch!'
The distinct sound of flesh being torn reached the girl's ears.
She opened her eyes in a daze.
There was a slight warmth from a sticky liquid on her face.
At the same time, a man clad in shining silver knight armor, holding a lance, appeared before her.
He stood between her and the attacker.
"Are you alright?"
A gentle male voice reached her ears, and a heavy cloak was draped over her shoulders.
The girl reached out to clutch the cloak.
Before she could get a good look at his face, the man had already rushed forward to engage the aura-shrouded attacker.
Simultaneously, a white dragon descended from the sky.
In a few moves, it neutralized the man and pinned him down.
The newcomer was, without a doubt, Vide.
He looked at the girl sitting on the ground, her eyes filled with terror and helplessness.
Fortunately, he had arrived quickly. A moment later, and she would have suffered a terrible fate.
Though Vide was a commoner, he was naturally diligent and eager to learn.
He understood one thing clearly.
Once a woman was violated by the demon race, it was very difficult for her to return to normal.
Even if rescued, they rarely survived for long.
While demonic energy didn't directly corrupt women, it could mutate their bodies.
It made it impossible for them to return to their normal lives.
Even a single instance would bring about massive changes.
Although records showed a few cases where women regained their sanity, the influence would haunt them for a lifetime.
"Th-thank you... Sir Knight."
The girl seemed to recognize his rank and hurriedly added the honorific.
Vide, however, didn't mind.
"It's nothing. I only did what I had to."
Vide smiled and glanced at the girl. She wasn't exceptionally beautiful, but she had delicate features that were quite pleasant to look at.
"Sir... this... this cloak..."
The girl stood up and looked down at the red cloak draped over her, appearing troubled.
Vide thought for a moment and smiled.
It made sense; much of her clothing had been torn earlier.
She was quite exposed, and if he forcibly took the cloak back now, he would be no better than a scoundrel.
"Just keep it for now. It's a gift."
Vide replied casually and then turned to the man lying on the ground.
The man was now heavily injured.
However, the demonic energy swirling around him continued to struggle, knitting his wounds back together.
At this rate, he would be completely healed in less than an hour.
Kosa City was far too distant from the northeast for the demon race to reach it.
The only explanation was that the demonic energy in this man originated from Zuka!
This was a major development that had to be reported immediately.
He quickly took out a demon-sealing magic talisman and slapped it onto the man's forehead.
Then, he leaped onto his skysoar dragon.
Just as he was about to leave, the girl suddenly stepped forward, her expression a mix of shyness and urgency.
"Sir, your name is..."
Vide paused for a moment but answered truthfully.
"I am Vide."
With that, he patted his skysoar dragon. The creature was intelligent; it reached out its claws to snatch up the man and soared into the sky.
They returned directly to the cathedral roof.
Dropping the man onto the floor, Vide dismounted.
"Lady Lina, I have captured a man corrupted by demonic energy!"
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