Chapter 12: To settle on a plan

“This is my duty!”

A slightly youthful voice replied to Luo Li. It came from Knight Narl, whose handsome face was serious—but no matter

how serious he tried to look, his young features made him seem more like a cute, pouty kid than a stern knight.

He’s a handsome little guy. Definitely full of potential.

“You praise me too much, Your Holiness.”

Knight Yuna also responded, while Hilda kept shaking her head and said, “This is how it should be.”

“I called you four here not for any other reason, but because tonight… there’s a high chance the demon race will attack the

city.”

Luo Li herself wasn’t completely confident in this prediction.

After all, this was based on her memories from her previous life. If someone asked her to explain the reasoning step by

step, she might be able to—but also might not.

But surprisingly, even though all four knights showed puzzled expressions, not one of them questioned her.

That showed just how much trust they had in the Saintess.

Luo Li let out a quiet sigh of relief. No matter what, at least she didn’t have to explain something so vague.

“I can’t tell you exactly how I know about this.”

Of course she couldn’t. If she did, her identity as a fake Saintess might get her burned at the stake.

“Your Holiness, please give us your orders.”

All four knights stood before Luo Li with serious, solemn expressions—clearly not how they normally acted.

Though Luo Li wanted to get closer to them—after all, these were now her own soldiers—she wasn’t sure where to start.

Becoming the Saintess out of nowhere gave her more power than the emperor, but with no understanding of how things

worked here, she knew messing around blindly could end up turning this already poor Glorious City into complete ruin.

“You all likely have trusted aides. I’ve received word that there’s already a traitor among the Temple Knights.”

When she said this, the four knights all seemed like they wanted to speak, but Luo Li raised her hand to stop them.

“I know what you want to say. I don’t want to believe it either. But I am sure—one of the knights is a traitor. And this

traitor’s strength isn’t low—at least at the level of a Loyal Knight.”

Luo Li let out a long breath and stood up, looking down at the four knights in front of her.

“I want each of you to bring your most trusted followers and meet in West City during the banquet tonight.”

“As you command, Your Holiness!”

All four knights knelt on one knee. On their faces, there was nothing but pure loyalty and reverence—even the rough-

looking Knight Kaen was no different.

Luo Li turned to Hilda.

“Hilda, stay behind. I have something more important to tell you.”

Though Hilda didn’t understand, she didn’t question it either. She simply nodded and stepped to the side.

Luo Li looked back at the remaining three Guardian Knights.

“Tonight, the demon race may attack West City. I need each of you to lead your trusted aides and guard the area near the

west gate. I have no definite proof—only speculation. I can’t guarantee anything. And because of our limited forces, this

mission is very dangerous. If any of you don’t want to do it, I won’t force you.”

“Wherever the Saintess points her sword, that’s where our hooves shall ride!”

Knight Kaen, with his usual dark expression, knelt on one knee without the slightest hesitation.

The trust in his eyes made Luo Li feel warm inside.

Even in this strange world, having a few knights I can trust… that’s enough.

“For the Saintess, Narl will give his life without regret!”

Knight Narl’s young face was full of resolve. He clearly understood the danger and was ready to die for her.

Knight Yuna also knelt down with a serious look on her face.

“Please don’t doubt our faith in the gods, or our loyalty to you, Your Holiness. No matter what hell lies ahead, we Temple

Knights are willing to fight through any suffering for you!”

Even Hilda, standing quietly to the side, dropped to one knee.

“Your Holiness, none of us Temple Knights fear death. Just give the command.”

Hearing these words, Luo Li couldn’t help but feel grateful for the knight selection process. Those who don’t respect the

gods can never become Temple Knights. No matter how strong they are, they can only end up as mercenaries or

vagabonds.

She had barely met these four people—they were basically strangers to her. Yet now, it seemed even if she were captured

by the demon race, these four would risk everything to rescue her.

Even though she would never allow herself to be caught by demons, this loyalty still gave her deep comfort.

“Very well. Now, please listen carefully to what I’m about to say…”

The temple went quiet.

Only the Saintess continued to speak, calmly explaining all the possible scenarios they might face.

The grand temple doors stayed shut, with loyal knights guarding outside. Not even a fly could have gotten in.

About thirty minutes later, the temple doors opened. The three knights walked out side by side, chatting and laughing

casually, looking completely relaxed.

Soon after, the Saintess issued a divine message.

Starting today, the Saintess would enter a three-day period of closed prayer, to show gratitude to the gods for protecting

Glorious City.

When the people heard this, their reactions varied. Most were reverent and faithful—but a few showed scorn and disgust.

Clearly, not as many people in Glorious City truly followed the Church as it seemed on the surface.

Luo Li understood this well. And she also knew: she needed some nuns she could truly trust by her side.

Any unfamiliar nuns or those who had been too close with the demon Martha had to be removed immediately!

“Hilda, bring me the profiles of all the nuns. I want to see them.”

Though confused, Hilda obeyed and quickly brought over a thick stack of files.

Each file had a magical image of the nun on it—lively and realistic, like a photograph.

Luo Li flipped through them quickly and picked out ten.

Then she began to question them one by one…

Until only three remained.

Everything was ready. Luo Li got into a plain carriage.

Inside, Hilda sat across from her in full heavy armor. On Luo Li’s side, four girls had to squeeze in just to balance out

Hilda’s weight, so the carriage wouldn’t tip over.

“Your Holiness… are you sure about this?”

Hilda looked worriedly at the Saintess.

Just moments ago, after Kaen and the others had left, the Saintess had made a bold and chilling proposal:

Leave the temple. Leave Glorious City.

“It’s fine. If the demon race really has retreated, we’ll be perfectly safe on this trip. But if they return to attack, their

insider will probably try to seize the temple immediately. The only safe move right now is for me to leave the temple.”

This was Luo Li’s plan.

If the demon race returned to attack Glorious City, it would definitely be a coordinated attack—an inside job to open the

gates, a full-on strike on both the Temple Knights and the temple itself to kidnap the Saintess.

At the same time, arsonists would be used to stir chaos inside the city.

If she were the one planning the attack, that’s exactly how she’d do it.

Luo Li was convinced: if the demons really attacked at night, the timing would be around 3 a.m.—the hour when people

sleep the deepest.

After all, she’d watched enough TV dramas—Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin, Heroes of the Sui and

Tang Dynasties—all filled with tactics and dirty tricks.

These little schemes?

Please.

She wasn’t targeting anyone in particular. But everyone in this world? Noobs!

You want to play mind games with her?

Come back after you’ve studied The Thirty-Six Stratagems and Water Margin.

Luo Li closed the heavy book in her lap. On the cover were four large characters written in the local script:

“Legend of Heroes”

It was a collection of legendary hero stories.

One of her skills was “Hero Creation”, but since she still didn’t know this world well, she was skimming the book last-

minute just in case—so she’d know who to summon when the time came.

“Hilda, did you secretly get your people out of the city like I asked?”

“Reporting to Your Holiness, my subordinates have already left Glorious City. They’re gathering in a village south of the

city.”

“Good. Very good.”

The table is set. Just waiting for the prey to walk in.