Luo Li was genuinely surprised when she learned that Ligeia had reached Shalin through the Dragon King.
She was well aware of the current situation.
Augus had correctly predicted that Brilliant City would fail to send word for so long.
The enemy had severed all the communication relay stations, which was practically equivalent to making the entire country her enemy.
Under these circumstances, communication had become nearly impossible.
In that moment, Luo Li suddenly felt a twinge of regret for not preparing sooner.
While a long-distance communication stone might not have guaranteed a connection, it would have been better than having no options at all.
"Your Highness, the communication has been relayed here in real-time. Should I open the channel?"
"Open it."
Sitting in the central command tent, Luo Li was still fuming.
Had these nobles resorted to such extreme resistance because her methods were too harsh?
But... there was really no other way.
Although they had triumphed in the campaign against the demon island and intercepted the main demon army at sea, wiping out three or four hundred thousand of their main forces in one fell swoop, it had only severely weakened them.
At the same time, Luo Li had received some terrible news.
This world consisted of more than just this one continent.
And the demon race possessed more than just that one demon island.
This place was considered the West Continent, which implied that there was at least an East Continent on the other side.
It was even possible that there were other large landmasses like a South Continent or a North Continent.
If that were truly the case, the military power of the demon race was nothing short of terrifying.
Consider this: a race that could simultaneously target four continents, possess overwhelming power, and occupy the best central strategic locations while persisting for a thousand years without falling.
How many more demon troops remained to the east of the demon island?
If those forces were ever deployed here, could the continent withstand them?
If they couldn't hold, wouldn't they be subjected to all sorts of horrific fates?
Furthermore, while she had won this war, she had also completely enraged the demon race.
It was hard to say if the demons would suddenly launch another attack at some point.
With the current military strength on the demon island, they indeed lacked the power to impact the continent, but what if reinforcements were transferred from elsewhere?
Would her sudden rise to power cause the demons to view her with special interest or give her special treatment?
These were all uncertainties.
If that scenario ever came to pass, the West Continent would be finished.
Based on her current understanding, the continent lacked the strength to oppose such a massive entity.
At the very least, judging by the standards of the human kingdoms, they were absolutely incapable of withstanding a large-scale demon invasion.
It wouldn't take much; once the demons broke through the pass at the Four-Ring Mountains, the entire continent would be plunged into crisis.
She had to admit, this truly felt like a game world.
This situation, where conquering a single pass allowed one to soar to new heights, was exactly the kind of thing a game would design.
The northeast region was shaped like a triangle, with the Four-Ring Mountains pass as the starting point and the Holy Mountains and Eastern Mountains forming the two sides.
This transformed the northeast into a powerful strategic zone.
It possessed great depth, allowing them to retreat to the Four-Ring Mountains as a last resort and hold the pass.
These chaotic thoughts flashed through her mind in an instant.
The most critical issue remained the current situation.
It wasn't that she couldn't afford to boil the frog in lukewarm water, but a ferocious tiger had already set its sights on her.
If she couldn't even feed herself, she would never have the strength to contend with a ferocious tiger!
Therefore, to satisfy her hunger as quickly as possible, she didn't care if the frog jumped in the pot; even if the damn frog suddenly transformed into a prehistoric dragon, she would still find a way to boil it and eat it.
Only by doing so could she increase her strength rapidly enough to turn around and deal with the beast that was the demon race!
It all came down to time! If she had enough time, she would have preferred to implement reforms slowly.
Thinking of this, Luo Li felt a surge of irritation. These nobles, the Church, and even the Pope were all absolute idiots!
Even now, they didn't realize that the energy the demon race had expended on this continent over the last millennium was likely only a small fraction of their total power.
The vast majority was probably focused on the other continents.
She just didn't know what the state of the war was over there.
If there were a way to communicate, it would be a blessing, but the problem was that communication was currently impossible.
These continents had not been in contact for at least a thousand years.
Potential allies were unable to reach one another, making it impossible to coordinate an effective resistance.
A single continent on its own would surely be no match for the demon race.
However, from another perspective, the fact that the other continents were still fighting even now provided the West Continent with an opportunity to develop.
Yet, no one was capable of seizing such an opportunity.
Her arrival might have been an accident, or perhaps it was the arrangement of some higher being.
Or maybe it was just the result of some entity's boredom.
Regardless of the reason, at this stage, she was the only one who knew the truth.
And while she might not be the only one with the power to save everything, at this stage, she was the only one putting in the effort.
The signal connected, and the intellectual beauty with long green hair revealed a relieved smile the moment she saw Luo Li.
"It seems Your Highness is safe. That is a weight off my mind."
Ligeia's first words were an expression of concern for her safety.
After all, Luo Li had left Brilliant City so recklessly and even urgently mobilized the army.
Combined with the current communication blockade, anyone with a brain would realize that the nobles had begun to cause trouble.
Ligeia had traveled through many countries in her youth and naturally understood that among all races, humans were the most adept at internal strife.
The infighting of other races was generally very straightforward.
The weak followed orders, and the strong claimed more resources.
In the human kingdoms, however, these rules became bizarrely convoluted.
Even without the strength to back it up, some humans would resort to endless internal strife for the sake of profit.
When such strife went too far, it turned into open conflict.
Currently, most of the nobles within the Kingdom of the Moon were established families that had lasted for centuries.
Among them were the four major noble families; though one had been destroyed, the remaining three were still incredibly powerful.
No one knew what kind of powerful trump cards these nobles might be holding.
Ligeia had once traveled through the Kingdom of Sand, and during that journey, she realized just how powerful a noble could be.
In that instance, she had actually encountered three limit-breakers.
Setting everything else aside, even a single limit-breaker was enough to inspire terror.
The fact that three appeared together had completely redefined her worldview.
It had left a deep impression on her.
That was why she was so worried.
Taking only five hundred members of the Dragon Knight Corps, a single great dragon, and one Saintess into battle would be extremely dangerous if they encountered three limit-breakers.
"I'm sorry, Ligeia. I've made you worry."
Even through the communication screen, Luo Li could feel Ligeia's concern, which warmed her heart.
She apologized instinctively.
But before she could say anything else, there was a knock on the door on the other side of the video.
Luo Li's gaze naturally shifted toward the sound.
Seeing this, Ligeia gave a faint smile and adjusted the angle of the video slightly before turning back to the door.
"Enter."
A moment later, the door opened.
Lola and Augus walked in from outside.
Seeing these two, Luo Li couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Ever since she learned that the entire nobility had begun to revolt, she had been worried about whether these two would be in danger.
Many of her current policies were implemented through them; in terms of drawing hatred and anger, these two were second only to her.
But it was clearly too late to rush back now, and besides, the refugee crisis at Twin-Wing City had to be resolved.
She could only hope that Augus had prepared a contingency plan for himself and Lola in advance.
Now, seeing them, the worry that had been weighing on her naturally vanished.
"It is good that you are safe. Come, join the meeting."
Seeing the silver-haired girl on the screen, Lola immediately looked pleasantly surprised.
"Your Highness! It is wonderful to see that you are unharmed!"
Lola quickly stepped forward and bowed slightly to Luo Li before looking up to scan Luo Li's surroundings, which were clearly a military camp.
Lola had been handling administrative affairs, but that didn't mean she was ignorant of what was happening at the distant Twin-Wing City.
"Your Highness, are you currently at the camp of the knights from the Kingdom of the Sun?"
"Yes, I arrived not long ago. Ligeia happened to make contact, and seeing the two of you has put my mind at ease. By the way, where is Hilda? You two must have been escorted here by her, so why don't I see her?"
Luo Li asked the question instinctively, but as soon as the words left her mouth, she noticed that both Augus and Lola suddenly fell silent.
Instantly, an ominous premonition rose in her heart, and her brow furrowed.
"Where is... Hilda?"
Augus took a deep breath and stepped forward.
"Your Highness, to cover our escape from the Temple, Lady Hilda stayed behind to defend the entrance. Brilliant City has likely been seized by the nobles by now."
"And what about Hilda?"
Luo Li's head snapped up, and without waiting for Augus to answer, she turned to the side.
"Lancelot, take two hundred dragon knights and bring Hilda back alive."
"Yes!"
As a newcomer, Lancelot had felt he lacked opportunities to prove himself.
This had given him a sense of restless anxiety.
After all, Augus had arrived and immediately presented a great gift to Her Highness by solving the refugee problem.
And the other was the daughter of the noble Elven Queen, who had indirectly helped Her Highness by enlisting the elves during the campaign against the demon island.
Looking at it that way, both of them had achieved great merits.
Only he, the commander of the Dragon Knight Corps, remained.
Until now, he hadn't had any chance to act; aside from training the Dragon Knight Corps according to Her Highness's methods, he had done nothing but stand by at Dragon City.
This had made him feel very pressured.
If he hadn't been useful until now, didn't that imply he was incompetent?
And today, finally, something had happened.
He finally had a chance to act.
But despite such a major incident occurring in Brilliant City, he hadn't received a single word of it until now.
Now, his feeling was no longer just pressure; it was pure anxiety!
Earlier, he had been waiting tensely for Her Highness's orders, standing outside the door. He hadn't dared to appear on camera or even move.
After all, in front of his leader, he felt like a security captain who had allowed someone to raid the base.
That was a total failure!
At the thought of this, Lancelot was fuming with rage!
He answered the command, turned, and strode out of the room into the main hall.
At this moment, the knights in the hall were already standing by. Everyone knew something was wrong, but many were unclear about the details.
Lancelot looked over the crowd.
"First and second squads, mount up! Follow me to Brilliant City to rescue the Guardian Knight Hilda!"
"Be informed that the nobles have staged a rebellion. Brilliant City has been taken and is no longer under our control. Once we are above the city, stay alert. Do not trust anyone except for Guardian Knight Hilda. Do not lower your altitude, and be ready for combat at any moment. Do you understand?!"
"Yes!"
The two hundred knights shouted in unison.
"Move out!"
Lancelot gave a sharp wave of his hand and led the way, leaping onto Mr. Momo's back. He pulled the reins and soared out of the opening.
The other knights followed at a run, the clattering of their armor echoing as they mounted their dragons and flew out of Dragon City behind Lancelot.
They flew straight toward Brilliant City.
Luo Li watched Lancelot leave and took a deep breath, suppressing her worry for a moment as she looked back at Augus.
"Augus, your prediction was correct. How are the arrangements elsewhere?"
"Please rest easy, Your Highness. I have already arranged for support from other countries to move toward the nearest cities for a purge. Those cities will be virtually unable to send any reinforcements."
"Currently, with you stationed at Twin-Wing City, the south should remain stable. That leaves only Brilliant City and Stargaze City in the heartland."
At this point, Augus paused and met Luo Li's gaze.
"Your Highness, Stargaze City is located in the central region of the Kingdom of the Moon and can provide support to any area at any time. Furthermore, experts are as common as clouds there; it is the most developed region of the kingdom."
"If they dispatch troops to surround your position, you could be in danger."
"Therefore, I stand by my recommendation. Please do not linger near Twin-Wing City. Issue your orders to General Yanagi Musashi immediately and then withdraw from the area to avoid being encircled."
Augus had discussed this with Luo Li before.
Luo Li understood the danger, but she felt she had no choice.
After all, seventy million lives were at stake here!
If they couldn't force a breakthrough at Twin-Wing City, at least half of those seventy million people would perish!
Such a massive loss could not be compensated for even by executing the entire Harry family.
In this era, a large population was a massive demographic dividend and the foundation of national development!
Furthermore, as a Saintess, if she couldn't even protect these people, what was the point of any of this?
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