The moon hung high in the sky.
The cold northern wind howled across the land.
In the northern winter, the night was sparsely populated.
After all, it was too cold.
This level of cold was enough to freeze a person to death in a short time.
However, today was different.
Less than two hundred kilometers from High Ridge City in the northwest, the ground trembled slightly.
The vibrations of thousands of knights galloping caused countless hibernating animals to feel fear, their eyes snapping open in panic as they looked around.
Yet, the knights paid those animals no mind.
Their goal was to reach High Ridge City.
Although they could rush through the day and night while traveling, both the knights and their horses required a certain amount of rest.
To ensure the condition of all his knights, Kevin Cromwell had to stop and rest every few hours.
This at least guaranteed that if they encountered an emergency, all the knights would have enough mental energy to deal with it.
The one who had escaped this time was no ordinary being.
It was a Demon Marshal capable of fighting on par with a Heavenly Punishment Knight!
Furthermore, it was the notorious Butcher Zuka!
Compared to other demons, this one earned his name because the speed at which he slaughtered everywhere he went was exceptionally fast.
He himself was a being who took great pleasure in killing.
This infamous reputation had already spread through human society for over two hundred years.
Though he loathed to admit it, the physical capabilities of the demon race were indeed far superior to those of humans.
Their lifespans were also much longer than those of humans.
This brought with it more combat experience, more skills, and more room for improvement.
The strength of the demon race was unquestionable.
The danger posed by Butcher Zuka was even more obvious.
Although Kevin had developed doubts about Her Highness the Saintess's national management policies after learning of certain matters, he was not the type of person who enjoyed internal strife, craved power, or was controlled by worldly desires.
He understood very well that in the current situation, despite his desire to protect his family, he had to point all his spears at the external enemy.
Butcher Zuka!!
Last time, because of the Holy See, the Saintess had no choice but to spare this guy's life.
This was precisely what led to the current incident.
However, this time, Kevin was certain he would not hold back.
Once he encountered Zuka, he would definitely decapitate him without hesitation.
Such a being would only become a disaster if left alive.
Rather than handing him over to the Holy See again and facing potential accidents, it was better to kill him directly.
This was already the second night since they set out, but according to the distance, they had only covered a little over two hundred kilometers.
It wasn't that he intended to move so slowly; he was truly afraid of encountering trouble along the way.
Butcher Zuka had escaped.
But how did he escape?
How did he break free from the demon-sealing chains while being escorted by a group of knights and an archbishop?
Could there be others of his kind helping him?
Could it be that during the previous battles, the demon army still had a portion of their forces remaining within the Kingdom of the Moon?
Had this portion of the forces rescued Butcher Zuka?
Other than that, he really couldn't think of any other possibility for Zuka's escape.
Those were demon-sealing chains.
Kevin thought to himself that even he would find it nearly impossible to break free under guard.
Not to mention there was an archbishop present.
Although archbishops themselves were not created for war and their strength might not be excessively high, they were definitely not below level fifty.
Among the knights escorting him, there was also a Guardian Knight level existence.
Two titled powerhouses over level fifty, plus the demon-sealing chains and over two hundred knights.
From his perspective, the idea of Zuka escaping alone was nothing but a pipe dream.
Although the order issued by the Saintess this time was to corner and capture Zuka, in Kevin's view, the order was inaccurate.
It should have been changed to 'Capture Zuka, his accomplices, and any other demons.'
However, that wasn't important. Although the Saintess had led the army to win a war unseen in a thousand years, she was still too green.
After all, her age was right there.
No matter how much of a genius she was, there were some things one simply couldn't know without experiencing them.
But Kevin did not intend to say much.
In fact, he hadn't even seen the Saintess before departing.
On one hand, he hadn't actively sought an audience because he didn't want to see her.
He didn't know how to meet Her Highness in his current awkward situation.
On the other hand, that lady had already become wary of him.
This rift made him very uncomfortable.
Granted, he was indeed dissatisfied with some of Her Highness's policies.
But at the very least, one thing was certain: he would not pose a threat to her, nor would he ever personally overthrow her.
The Saintess was the distinct banner of the Kingdom of the Moon, a flag that must never fall.
Yes!
Although he felt somewhat uneasy about her distancing herself, Kevin decided that after cornering Zuka and the other demons this time, he would have a showdown and negotiate with her upon his return.
Her Highness's policies were a bit too oppressive toward the nobility.
The nobles were the branches supporting the great tree that was the Kingdom of the Moon, the reason this tree had stood for a thousand years without falling.
On one hand, it was because of its essential strength, the Holy See.
On the other hand, it relied on the other nobles for the nation's blood supply and management.
One must realize that almost all knights and administrators came from the nobility.
He truly didn't understand what Her Highness was thinking, exerting such pressure on the very pillars of the nation.
It was truly improper.
Kevin was well aware of the flaws of the nobility.
He also understood that the current nobility was indeed in a bad state.
But... couldn't it just be handled?
Let the nobles investigate themselves!
He wouldn't even mind personally inspecting the various noble fiefs to ensure there were no black sheep.
Even if a black sheep appeared within his own family, he would absolutely cut them out.
Standing in his high position, he could see the decline of the Kingdom of the Moon just as clearly.
Corruption and luxury were the root causes.
As long as this point was addressed, the Kingdom of the Moon could also be restored to its grand state of a thousand years ago.
Yes!
Upon his return this time, he had to speak with Her Highness no matter what.
She could not continue to oppress them like this.
Once the pressure reached a certain point, the force of the rebound would inevitably be massive.
Just like... what that person had told him.
Thinking of this, Kevin couldn't help but sigh, glancing back at a knightess following closely behind him.
Yuna Von.
A Guardian Knight of the Von family and one of the Saintess's current confidants.
If Her Highness didn't distrust him, she wouldn't have had Knight Yuna take half the military authority over these ten thousand knights.
How could he not know that Yuna's presence was, on one hand, to help him find and corner Zuka, and on the other hand, to keep a wary eye on him?
Oh, Kingdom of the Moon, how did things ever get to this point?
Kevin's heart ached.
"Knight Yuna, how long have we been out?"
Yuna frowned slightly and took out the pocket watch at her waist to check.
"Lord Kevin, we have been out for fifty-seven hours."
In other words, two days had already passed.
"Lord Kevin, is our speed perhaps a bit too slow? We already departed a day later than the Dragon Knight Corps and Lady Lina, yet we are still stopping and starting like this. At this rate, how long will it take to reach Kosa City?"
Yuna's words were, on one hand, expressing concern for the situation ahead, and on the other, deliberately urging him.
Kevin was well aware of this.
He shook his head.
"Lady Lina and the Dragon Knight Corps are ahead, along with Miss Aigie. Even if they encounter Zuka, they have the strength to fight. Even if they are overmatched, they can retreat and pull back the battle line."
"Our existence is to ensure Zuka cannot continue eastward. We must preserve our combat strength to ensure that any problems we encounter on the way will not cause massive trouble."
If the demon group ahead wasn't large, Lady Lina and a thousand men from the Dragon Knight Corps, plus a great dragon, were enough to suppress Zuka.
If the demon forces were numerous, and they rushed there in such a hurry, how much power could knights who had lost most of their stamina actually exert?
Rather than the entire army going to their deaths then, it was better to save a certain amount of stamina now.
The combat experience of the Saintess of War was incomparable to that of the other Saintesses.
She would understand when to make trade-offs and how to weigh the situation.
If they truly couldn't hold out, Lady Lina wouldn't simply fight to the bitter end.
After all, this was the human home ground. Even if they gave up part of the battle line to create depth, it was impossible for Zuka to escape.
Conversely, their group of knights was the main combat force. If they consumed too much stamina on the way, Zuka might lead his demon forces in a charge against the entire regiment once they arrived.
At that time, the knights whose stamina had dropped too much would simply be unable to confront the enemy head-on.
The result would be only one.
The demons would go on a killing spree, and Lady Lina, out of concern for the knights, would be unable to go all out.
Then Zuka would have the chance to break through the encirclement.
That outcome would be the worst of all!
"Lord Kevin, do you mean... there are internal colluders for Zuka within the Kingdom of the Moon? Or perhaps... an army?"
Yuna's expression turned somewhat grim.
If it were truly as Knight Kevin speculated, then this way of marching could be explained.
But the problem was that no message had been sent from the front to this side yet, so no one knew exactly what the situation was.
How was Kevin so sure there was a demon force ahead?
"Then why didn't you report this to Her Highness before departing? If she had known this, she would surely have made other preparations."
Yuna looked at Kevin ahead of her and began to feel a bit suspicious of this Heavenly Punishment Knight.
Why hadn't he discussed such important information with the Saintess before?
Instead, he only mentioned it now?
Kevin let out a sigh.
"Do you think I didn't want to say it? Do you think the current me can even get a word in with Her Highness?"
The helplessness in his gaze was deeply imprinted in Yuna's mind.
That was true.
The relationship between the Saintess and Knight Kevin was now unexpectedly complicated, so much so that Yuna still hadn't fully adjusted to it.
After all, who could have imagined that a nation's Heavenly Punishment Knight and its Saintess would have such massive mutual suspicion?
For the stability of a nation, this was truly a severe blow!
"Lord Kevin, if I may be blunt, if you had reported this news to Her Highness before departing, I believe that with her magnanimity, she would have accepted your counsel."
Yuna was very clear about how broad-minded the current Saintess was.
It was a depth that ordinary people could not fathom.
Her grandfather, Audis Von, had praised the Saintess's foresight in front of her more than once.
And from her long-term contact over these past few months, she was certain of it.
When it came to major issues of right and wrong, her lady would absolutely not allow any personal feelings to interfere.
Even if she had truly fallen out with the Heavenly Punishment Knight Kevin, she would definitely humbly accept any counsel on such a matter!
"If only things were as you thought."
Kevin shook his head.
Ultimately, their positions were different.
Especially for Kevin, now that he knew the nobles' current resistance toward the Saintess, what he worried about most was a massive fracture within the country.
Once the nobility truly went to war with her, there was no doubt that more than half of the Kingdom of the Moon's territory would instantly secede.
They might even appeal directly to the Pope to depose the Saintess and establish a new one.
Should that happen, both sides would be locked in a fight to the death.
No matter what, Kevin did not want to see that happen!
Just as he was thinking this, a small city could already be faintly seen in the distance.
Such cities, which were much smaller than major cities but much larger than villages and towns, were innumerable in the Kingdom of the Moon.
Even Kevin didn't know how many such small cities the Kingdom of the Moon had now.
But that wasn't important. At the very least, there was a small city ahead, and the knights could have a good rest tonight.
"There is a city ahead. Notify all the knights in the rear to speed up. Tonight, we can stay in inns!"
Upon hearing this news, the knights in the rear all acted like they'd been given a shot of adrenaline, constantly whipping their horses.
After all, living in the wild for two consecutive days, pitching tents and eating dry rations, was indeed not a very comfortable environment for these noble knights.
Being able to stay in an inn and eat a hot meal was still very necessary for them.
The knights' speed was very fast, and it took only a little over half an hour to reach the city ahead.
This city was roughly half the size of Brilliant City. Compared to a massive city like the capital, it was not considered small.
Under the welcome of numerous soldiers, the knights entered the city.
Kevin remained on his horse, positioned by the road just inside the city gate, watching the knights enter one after another to ensure they wouldn't cause any trouble for the citizens.
"Lord Kevin, my master requests your presence."
Hearing this voice, Kevin was slightly startled and instinctively looked down at the servant beside him.
Clearly, the crest on his person belonged to the Anjou family.
Seeing this crest, Kevin's brow furrowed slightly.
"Your master is..."
"In reply to your lordship, my master is the lord of this city. He says he would like to invite you to the manor for a talk."
"The lord of this city?"
Kevin nodded.
"Very well. Since we are intruding late at night, it's only right that we meet. Knight Yuna, I leave things here to you."
"Lead the way."
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