Chapter 66: The Heaven’s Mandate Token

At the southern main gate of the Holy Royal Palace,

Deputy Commander Latuo of the Star Cross Knights hurriedly led his troops toward the Holy Royal Palace. Their faces were grim, their hearts filled with urgency.

Having learned of the news that the Holy King Superion had been poisoned, as core members of the Holy King’s faction, they rushed to the palace in a panic. However, when they arrived at the entrance, the sight before them left them greatly shocked.

Helibea’s Life-Saving Army was already waiting in full force. They were fully armed, gripping sharp blades, their expressions cold. The soldiers of the Life-Saving Army stood in neat rows, forming an impenetrable defensive line that blocked the way for Enqize and Latuo’s troops.

Seeing this, Enqize furrowed his brow.

‘The Life-Saving Army? Princess Helibea’s troops? Shouldn’t they be guarding the border? How did they appear in the capital? And they’ve seized major strategic points, even occupied the Holy Royal Palace? Are you rebelling?!’

Enqize shouted loudly, his tone filled with unparalleled fury.

However,

the captain of the Life-Saving Army standing at the front remained unwavering. He responded coldly:

“I dare not. We are merely following Princess Helibea’s orders to seal off the Holy Royal Palace. During this time, no one is permitted to enter the palace without authorization. Please forgive us, Prime Minister and Deputy Commander.”

Hearing this,

Enqize and Latuo exchanged glances, their hearts filled with doubt and unease.

The Holy King was poisoned, and now Helibea’s troops were marching into the capital and sealing off the palace.

And they? Couldn’t even contact the Star Cross soldiers inside.

If Her Highness truly intended to rebel, then wouldn’t that…?

A foreboding feeling spread through Enqize’s heart.

Taking a deep breath, Enqize roared:

“Nonsense! The Holy Royal Palace is the domain of His Majesty Superion. No one but the king himself can order it sealed off! Not even the First Saint Princess! You are defying the law!”

As the words left his mouth, Enqize directly summoned his staff, and the Star Cross troops behind him also released their holy power.

Of course,

Helibea’s Life-Saving Army was not to be outdone. They drew their swords and pointed them directly at Enqize and his men.

For a moment, both sides were trapped in a tense, sword-drawn atmosphere.

***

At that moment,

a majestic female voice broke the stalemate.

“Lord Enqize, this is my father’s order.”

?!

Hearing this, Enqize looked up in shock at the top of the city wall. There, a spirited woman with red hair stood against the wind.

“Princess Helibea?”

Gazing at Helibea’s face, Enqize asked indignantly:

“Transferring border troops back to the capital and arbitrarily sealing off the capital—these are grave crimes!”

“I told you, Lord Enqize, this is my father’s order.”

“How is that possible?”

“How could it be impossible? This is the proof.”

Saying this,

to intimidate Enqize and the surrounding Star Cross generals, Helibea directly produced a token—the Heaven’s Mandate Token that she had taken from Xiamiya earlier.

“Now, do you still not believe me?”

“His Majesty’s Heaven’s Mandate Token?!”

Seeing the token, Enqize’s eyes narrowed sharply, filled with disbelief.

Although the whole matter felt extremely strange to him, seeing the Heaven’s Mandate Token was like seeing the Holy King himself. After exchanging glances, Enqize and the generals behind him reluctantly knelt on one knee.

“We obey His Majesty’s will.”

…

Watching the scene below, Helibea couldn’t help but reveal a pleased smile.

‘Hmph. As expected, to subdue these stubborn royalists, you have to rely on the Heaven’s Mandate Token. It is not only my father’s symbol but also the symbol of the Goddess of Creation’s authority. As a devout believer, Enqize cannot possibly disobey.’

But…

At this moment, Helibea’s brow furrowed again. She clenched the token in her hand with displeasure.

‘Father, you actually gave such an important thing as the Heaven’s Mandate Token to that bastard! I am your daughter!’

Taking a deep breath, a cold gleam flashing in her eyes, Helibea completely ignored Enqize and the others below and slowly walked toward the Sun Crown Palace.

‘It’s time to end this.’

On the other side, near the western gate of the Holy Royal Palace,

More than twenty soldiers led by the apprentice holy knight Geyou Leipzig were escorting Xiamiya to the dungeon. Geyou roughly yanked at Xiamiya’s handcuffs, no trace of pity in his eyes.

Xiamiya, being dragged along, was like a walking corpse—silent, mechanically moving forward.

Clearly,

after confirming that Helibea had never regarded her as a sister and even intended to harm her, Xiamiya’s heart suffered another devastating blow after the Mitise incident. She was completely despondent.

‘First a friend, then a sister… What the hell is this? And I trusted her so much… It was all a lie…’

Thinking this, Xiamiya bit her lip so hard that blood slowly trickled from the corner of her mouth.

But now,

there seemed to be no time to dwell on these issues.

The most important thing now was: what should she do next?

If she was thrown into the dungeon and convicted, her already tarnished reputation in the Holy Kingdom would surely plummet even further.

‘No! Why am I still thinking about reputation? I’ll probably be sentenced to death in there, won’t I? I’m about to die! What should I do? Resist? But then I’d have to use the power of Starfall Palace…’

Briefly imagining the scene of the calamity demon wreaking havoc, Xiamiya’s heart trembled. Having aspired to become a saint, she could never accept such a terrifying sight.

‘Maybe I should just obediently go to the dungeon. The old priest grandfather should help me, right?’

Thinking thus, the evil god lady sighed helplessly.

However,

it turned out that she had underestimated Helibea’s ruthlessness.

Because,

at that moment, Geyou, who was leading the group, suddenly stopped. With the leader’s halt, the surrounding guards also stopped in unison.

“Huh?”

Puzzled, Xiamiya paused her thoughts and looked up at the front in confusion.

Then, to her astonishment, she found that Geyou and the others, as if they had conspired, all turned fearful gazes toward her.

Next,

the apprentice holy knight, with a look of ‘panic,’ adopted a vigilant posture toward Xiamiya and shouted loudly:

“Princess Xiamiya! What are you doing?! No, don’t act rashly! Don’t try to escape! Stop, don’t attack me! Otherwise… I, I will have no choice but to fight back!”

??!

“What are you doing?” Xiamiya frowned in confusion as she watched Geyou’s impromptu performance.

At the same time, a bad premonition arose in Xiamiya’s mind.

“Wait! You don’t mean to?!”

This time, Xiamiya’s judgment was correct.

The moment she questioned, Geyou drew the sword at his waist.

“Since you resist, don’t blame me!”

The next instant, the tall apprentice holy knight flashed in front of Xiamiya and thrust his sword straight through her chest, piercing the position of the girl’s heart.

In an instant, blood splattered…

…

And at the moment Xiamiya was pierced by the blade, You, who was being escorted by Krodi-Leipzig, seemed to sense something. She slowly stopped and revealed a meaningful smile.

“I must say, I am very grateful to you, Princess Helibea.”

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