Far from feeling better, she felt even worse.
His Holiness clearly belongs to everyone! How could someone use her authority for personal gain like this?
Eleanor wept bitter tears in her heart, yet she still forced herself to perk up and reply, “Rest assured, Your Holiness, I really am fine now.”
It was merely a bit of hardship, nothing more.
Despite going through a secret emotional journey, Eleanor truly proved herself to be a reliable Legion Commander, quickly pulling herself together.
Before setting out for the Oran Plains, the Gargo region had faced several waves of counterattacks from the Kingdom of Northland's forces, all of which Eleanor had led the Expeditionary Force to push back.
Yet beyond anyone's expectations, the Hellfire Legion launched a full-scale offensive under the cover of night ahead of schedule.
A massive, overwhelming army surged toward Gargo City like a black tide. Clad in pitch-black power armor, the thundering sound of their boots against the ground echoed like millions of giant elephants stampeding across a plain.
“Have they gone mad?” Eleanor stood atop the city wall, gazing grimly at the dark mass of enemy forces in the distance.
An army of this size and scale had to be the Kingdom of Northland's final fresh reserve. That fatuous monarch was planning to bury everyone right here.
Lu Li was awakened by the noisy shouts and battle cries outside. The moment he opened his eyes, he realized something had gone wrong.
He hurriedly got up, threw on his coat, and pushed the door open.
A chaotic chorus of frantic footsteps, bellowing commanders, and the painful wails of wounded soldiers rushed into his ears all at once.
“Your Holiness.”
Outside the door, the firelight illuminated Anthelia's tall and straight figure, with Lillian standing quietly beside her.
Both of them had arrived in Gargo City on the supply transport train shortly after Julia found him.
Ever since Lu Li's sudden disappearance that day, Anthelia had regretted every single moment that she hadn't stayed glued to His Holiness's side. Thus, the moment she learned Lu Li was in Gargo, she had rushed over immediately.
As for Lillian, she firmly believed she had inherited Mira's mission, meaning her most critical duty was protecting Lu Li's safety, so she had followed along as well.
“What's happening outside?” Lu Li asked.
“It is Northland's Hellfire Legion. They have launched an attack against us,” Anthelia explained succinctly.
Lillian looked at Lu Li and asked softly, “Did they disturb Brother Pope's rest?”
“I suppose so.”
Lu Li had anticipated they would make a desperate last stand, but he hadn't expected their attack to be so fierce.
“Then shall Lillian kill them all for Brother Pope?” The little girl's expression was utterly serious, looking not in the least bit like she was joking.
A slight chill ran through Anthelia's heart, raising her vigilance toward this seemingly harmless girl to the absolute maximum.
Lu Li didn't doubt whether she possessed the ability. After all, she was a child adopted by Mira. If Mira's name hadn't been erased from history, she would certainly be a legendary figure.
And as the heir to Mira's will, Lillian could never be as frail as her appearance suggested.
“It's not time for you to step in yet.” Lu Li shook his head, then started walking toward the city wall. “Let's go take a look.”
Exposing Lillian's existence to the eyes of the world might not be a good thing. How many people could resist the temptation of eternal life?
Let alone others, even Lu Li himself would occasionally have the sudden thought popping into his head: Maybe I should let Lillian bite me once?
It truly was terrifying.
He shook his head. People who hadn't endured that same suffering could only see the temptation before them without ever considering the price they would have to pay.
Knowing she couldn't stop Lu Li, Anthelia could only stay tightly by his side, prepared for any sudden turn of events.
The soldiers atop the city wall had not drawn their bows; instead, they manned massive ballistas aimed at the distant battlefield, staying on high alert for the enemy's approach.
Eleanor, who had been observing the battle unfold, was startled by a report from a soldier and hurriedly turned around.
“Your Holiness, why have you come up here?”
As she spoke, she unconsciously stole a glance at the Lady Cardinal beside her.
Sure enough, even under the glow of the torches, that woman's face had turned dark as pitch.
“My soldiers are bleeding in battle; how could I hide alone in a safe corner?”
The youth answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world. With that, he stepped closer to the rampart, tilting his head slightly as he watched the distant battlefield.
In the distance, a black torrent and a silver torrent surged into one another, the sound of clashing blades ringing out continuously.
Most striking was the cleared area at the center of the battlefield, where two figures were engaged in a fierce duel.
Every strike they traded whipped up vast waves of energy, ensuring no one within a hundred meters dared step half a foot closer.
Celine gazed at the woman before her, her lifelong enemy who had blocked her path to saving her nation.
She was like a nightmare that could never be shaken off—no matter how many times she was killed, she would always make a comeback from the depths of Hell.
Pure white snowflakes drifted down gently, settling on both of them.
Celine had grown up in the far north of Northland—a place even further north than the northern border, where temperatures remained below freezing year-round. She had thought she was long accustomed to the cold, right up until that gust of wind swept past her.
It was the sound of the weapon in Teresa's hands tearing through the air, sounding like a whistling wind.
She remembered someone saying that the last sound a knight hears is always the wind. Once, she hadn't understood what that meant, but now she seemed to grasp it.
“Winter...”
“It really is so cold.”
Celine slowly lowered her eyes to look at her chest, pierced through by a longsword. Her heart twitched in agony, as if trying to deliver the very last drop of its strength to her.
Yet in the end, she had failed, defeated by the demon that had returned from Hell.
In the final moment before she collapsed, Celine looked toward the distant city with a gaze full of longing, only to spot the figure of a youth where the moonlight spilled down.
He was so dreamlike, pure, and beautiful, leaving not a single trace of profanity in anyone's heart.
Celine's mind suddenly grew peaceful. Everything was rapidly fading away from her, leaving only that solitary figure eternally etched into her eyes.
In truth, her death was not as extraordinary as one might imagine. Even legends whose names were carved into history died no differently from anyone else.
Sickness and old age showed no mercy simply because of someone's mortal status, nor would they pause for the grand epics someone had written.
Compared to another person, perhaps dying on the battlefield was actually a stroke of good fortune.
Inside the desolate royal palace of Northland, Ragna dismissed all her attendants and sat alone on the lofty throne, awaiting the arrival of her final day like a true monarch.
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