Where is Knight Yuna!?

One hour ago, at three in the morning.

Ten minutes before contacting Luo Li.

Augus had contacted someone else beforehand.

This time, he did not choose to go through the communication relay stations of other cities.

Instead, he made a direct connection.

This type of long distance call without a relay station consumed significantly more mana, but in such an emergency, it was worth the cost.

Soon, the video communication was established.

The moment the call connected, an unfamiliar face appeared on the glowing screen.

"This is Archbishop Augustinus. The caller is... you are not the Saintess of the Moon?"

Of course not. Although Augus was physically weak, he was a man through and through.

Archbishop Augustinus stared at the young man on the screen.

His face was pale and his lips had a bluish tint; it was obvious his heart and lungs were in poor condition.

As an Archbishop with a passion for the medical arts, Augustinus blurted out without thinking:

"You're sick!"

'How very polite of you!!'

Augus almost couldn't stop himself from snapping back.

But remembering that the man before him was an Archbishop, he quickly swallowed the words. The air meant for his retort swirled in his throat and exited through his nose instead.

It left Augus in a fit of sharp coughing.

"Cough! I... your servant, Augus, Cabinet Minister of the Kingdom of the Moon, greets Archbishop Augustinus."

There were seven Archbishops in the Holy Church, and all seven were people with distinct personalities.

He had heard of and researched the man before him.

He was an Archbishop with superb medical skills who specialized in the healing branch of divine arts.

There was nothing technically wrong with the man saying he was sick.

After all, his constitution truly was poor, and he had been coughing and wheezing severely over the past few days due to the cold.

Perhaps it was also related to staying up late?

He shook his head, clearing those thoughts.

Augus looked up at the screen.

"Archbishop Augustinus, I have an urgent matter to present to His Holiness the Pope. Please inform him immediately. This matter concerns the survival of the Kingdom of the Moon, the reputation of the Holy Church, and the lives of seventy million people. There must be no delay!"

At this moment, Augus was truly fortunate that the one he encountered was this particular Archbishop.

The previous Archbishop Ferdinand could no longer fulfill his duties because of Zuka.

Therefore, other Archbishops were currently acting as proxies.

If he had encountered any of the other Archbishops, Augus might have needed to spend a great deal of effort to convince them.

However, Archbishop Augustinus was a man who deeply cared for the common people.

As soon as he heard it concerned seventy million lives, the Archbishop did not hesitate.

"Wait here. I will go invite His Holiness at once."

As soon as he finished speaking, his figure vanished through the door of the communication room.

Augus focused his mind and waited for a moment.

After a short while, a slightly weary figure appeared on the screen, and Augus felt a surge of relief.

He had succeeded!

Normally, as a Cabinet Minister, he would not have the status to meet His Holiness directly.

Only the Saintesses, Archbishops, and Heavenly Punishment Knights were permitted to see the Pope face to face.

"Hmm... To call me here at such an hour, Minister Augus must surely have a grave matter to discuss."

"Indeed I do, Your Holiness. Please issue an order immediately to send troops to surround Moonfall City."

As soon as those words were spoken, the weariness on Diocletian's face vanished instantly.

His gaze sharpened as he glanced at those to his left and right.

The people behind him immediately understood his meaning and quickly withdrew.

In the communication room, only Diocletian and Augustinus remained, while Augus was alone on his side.

"Those nobles... did they really make their move?"

Previously, Augus had met with the Pope twice, both times in private.

Augus had not even informed Luo Li about this.

After all, there were some things her highness did not need to know, and there were other things he had not yet fully investigated.

If he could not hide it from his own lady, he certainly would not be able to hide it from the other nobles.

"Yes."

Diocletian frowned slightly, his fingers lightly tapping the top of his scepter.

After a moment, he let out a long sigh.

"Fine. I understand. I will order four Guardian Knights and one Heavenly Punishment Knight to lead forty thousand knights to stand by at the border. Upon your signal, the entire army will be permitted to advance."

"Thank you for your assistance, Your Holiness. However, there is one more thing. I must ask for the help of that person."

Diocletian's brow tightened at those words.

"You want him to take action?"

"Yes. Otherwise, I fear my lady will truly be forced to surrender her royal power."

Hearing Augus's response, Diocletian thought of how the Saintess of the Moon had ruthlessly rejected him time and again, and he couldn't help but offer a slight smile.

"Wouldn't that be for the best? At least for me, I would have a legitimate reason to send troops to suppress the chaos."

However, Augus directly interrupted Diocletian's voice.

"No, Your Holiness. This matter would be a disaster, whether for the Holy See, the Eight Nations of the Holy Church, or even all human nations."

"How so?" The smile faded from Diocletian's face as he fixed his gaze on Augus.

"Your Holiness, may I ask, what are my lady's achievements?"

"That goes without saying. In a thousand years, she is the only one capable of leading an army to counterattack the demon island."

Diocletian wore a confident smile, seemingly having guessed what Augus would say next, yet he listened with interest rather than interrupting.

"With such achievements, if she loses her royal power because Your Holiness did not protect her, may I ask... will anyone else be willing to risk their lives for the Holy See in the future?"

"Wait, you're not phrasing that correctly. It's not a matter of whether I want to protect her, but rather the nobility..."

"No. If you take action, you can certainly protect her. But if you fail to do so, no matter how you explain it, you will not escape the suspicion of billions of subjects."

Diocletian took a deep breath and nodded.

That was very true.

Regardless of whether he knew about it, if the Saintess of the Moon was truly dragged down from her throne by the nobles, the ultimate target of everyone's suspicion would be him, the Pope.

After all, he was the head of the entire Holy Church.

And as the head of the family, he could not even protect one of his own?

Either he was useless, or he had ulterior motives.

No matter the explanation, public opinion would ultimately side with the Saintess of the Moon.

Everyone would doubt the Pope.

Augus watched the contemplative Pope and quickly added:

"A meritorious official did not receive the corresponding rewards but was instead stripped of her power. May I ask Your Holiness, from now on, who will be willing to sacrifice themselves for the Holy See? This is a path to ruin for the Holy See."

"Insolence! How dare you speak such words before His Holiness!!"

Augustinus, standing nearby, quickly spoke up to stop him, though he harbored no ill will.

On the contrary, he was helping Augus.

He had to give the Pope a way to save face, otherwise the conversation could not continue.

Furthermore, he was reminding Augus that the man before him was the Pope, the most powerful and influential person in the human nations.

He could not be so aggressive, or he would truly face death.

"Your servant has sinned. I ask for Your Holiness's punishment."

Seeing this, Diocletian waved his hand.

"Rise. I pardon your offense. After all, your words are indeed reasonable. If I truly allowed this to happen, I fear no one would ever trust me again."

The Pope toyed with the scepter in his hand before suddenly laughing.

"Haha! Since things have reached this point, if I still don't give in, I'm afraid I'll truly be forced into a corner where I can't save face. Isn't that right, Augustinus?"

Those words came from the Pope's mouth like a joke, and the last part was addressed to Augustinus behind him.

He naturally understood that Augustinus's previous outburst was a cover for Augus.

But he didn't mind.

After all, Augus was right about this matter.

As the Pope, if he didn't even have this much tolerance, then the Holy See would have collapsed long ago.

"I have overstepped."

Augustinus quickly asked for forgiveness, but Diocletian waved his hand dismissively.

"Enough. Since that is the case... someone, come here!"

A knight quickly ran in from outside and lowered his head, waiting for orders.

"Command Roland Feding to temporarily take orders from Augus, the Cabinet Minister of the Kingdom of the Moon, until this matter is concluded. He is to return to his original post afterward."

"As you command."

Hearing this, Augus quickly bowed his head.

"I thank Your Holiness."

"Don't mention it. Perhaps we will see each other often in the future. Enough... I'm going back to sleep. Remember to tell me when you've finished the task."

Diocletian stood up with a smile.

"Remember, handle things cleanly. Don't let people point fingers at me behind my back."

"Your servant obeys the sacred decree."

After the Pope left, Augus immediately issued orders remotely.

Following that, the communication between Luo Li and him occurred, followed by the armies of other nations entering the borders to surround the cities.

In short, the nobles had already lost this rebellion.

Unless they truly intended to commit mass apostasy, they could no longer cause any significant trouble as long as the fundamental rules remained unchanged.

Other measures were merely to keep losses to a minimum.

What Augus truly needed was the support of the Pope.

With that, there was nothing left to fear!

...

Returning to the present, it was already four-thirty. The carriage had just left the North Gate not long ago.

Around a dozen loyal knights escorted the carriage forward.

There were no pursuers behind them.

However, Augus knew very well that the nobles would certainly not let them leave so easily.

A single Sake could not stop all the nobles.

After hesitating for a moment, he called for the carriage to stop.

The driver froze for a second before pulling the reins. As the carriage slowly decelerated, the dozen knights gathered around.

"My lord, why have we stopped? We should reach Dragon City in another five kilometers!"

Augus shook his head.

"The path ahead is likely blocked. Those nobles will not let us through easily."

He looked up at the dozen knights before him.

"I need you to do something."

As he spoke, he pulled a newly written decree from his robes.

"Bishop Lola and I will wait here. Each of you take one of these. Please do your utmost to bring this decree to Dragon City."

Even if they continued forward, they would likely only fall into a net.

It was better to wait here; perhaps they could stall for some time.

"Everyone, please do not head straight for Dragon City. Make sure to take a detour before arriving."

"If any of you have the chance, you can use the Moonlight River to sneak all the way to Dragon City."

When Dragon City was first built, all sorts of needs were considered, so it was constructed right next to the Moonlight River.

If one went downstream from the upper reaches, the speed would be much faster.

However, to avoid being caught in a single sweep, Augus still arranged for other knights to take a detour from the lower reaches.

As for Augus and Lola, the two sat directly on a large rock by the roadside.

A blanket was spread over the stone, and they waited quietly in the cold night wind.

The carriage had been taken away by the driver.

The driver's task was to take the carriage all the way to New City.

This was also meant to confuse the nobles.

"Sigh, I never imagined that we would be pushed out directly by Hilda."

When Hilda learned of the noble rebellion, she had almost unhesitatingly sent knights to forcibly escort him and Lola away.

He didn't even have time to offer an explanation.

"Knight Hilda's concern clouded her judgment."

Lola offered a somewhat helpless defense for Hilda.

Augus shook his head with a bitter smile.

"If she hadn't pushed us out, I am certain that at least you would have been fine. They wouldn't dare judge a Bishop without any authorization. As for me... I'm really not sure I would have survived."

In this rebellion, Augus had considered almost every aspect, yet he had not planned perfectly for himself.

He had thought about hiding in certain places, or as a last resort, hiding in her highness's bedchamber.

No matter how bold those rebels were, they wouldn't dare kill him in the display room.

The Kingdom of the Moon had stood for a thousand years, and such a thing had never occurred.

Of course, he didn't deny there might be a one in a million chance.

But where in this world does a one hundred percent perfect situation exist?

All he could do was his best to prepare a perfect start for her highness.

Yes.

To him, all of her highness's previous policies were merely laying a foundation.

They didn't even count as the start.

Now that these nobles couldn't help but jump out, this time, they could at least be severely weakened.

In one breath, these nobles could be suppressed to the point where they wouldn't be able to breathe for ten years.

And starting from this, it would count as the true beginning of her highness's governance of the country!

Everything before was just the appetizer.

Counterattacking the demons, conquering the demon island, formulating policies, building her own team, and conducting trials like the trains.

All of these were the foundation.

The true beginning started here.

Once tonight passed, a magnificent situation would be laid before her highness.

This ship had previously been building the keel, erecting the masts, and crafting the hull.

And now, this ship was finally about to set sail.

Augus looked up at the sky.

"I wonder what kind of splendor this ship will display as it ventures through this treacherous world... I truly wish to see it with my own eyes."

Beside him, Lola held a copper hand warmer, also looking up at the night sky.

"As long as her highness is here, we will see it."

Augus smiled, simply staring blankly at the night sky in silence.

Meanwhile, above the great mining city, Medi City.

A long, echoing dragon's roar awakened everyone who was waiting.

'Roar—'

Following the roar was the unique magic of the dragon race that transformed air vibrations into sound.

It echoed across the night sky of Medi City.

"By the order of Lady Luo Li, we have come to support Knight Yuna. Where is Knight Yuna?"

Baron Harry, who was eating a midnight snack, couldn't help but tremble all over.

Before Baron Harry could speak, more dragon roars came from above.

And this time, it wasn't just a single dragon, but the roars of a thousand dragons.

"Vide, acting vice commander of the Dragon Knight Corps, has arrived with a thousand dragon riders to reinforce Guardian Knight Yuna! Where is Knight Yuna?!"

The two voices reached Baron Harry's ears simultaneously.

It was deafening!