Chapter 15: To boost morale

The painful journey finally came to an end as the carriage arrived at its destination.

A small town south of Glorious City.

But as soon as they entered the town, there was no grand welcome like one might expect. Instead, rows of silver-armored

knights stood lined up on either side of the street—just like the parades seen when a head of state inspects troops in the

old world.

Hilda was the first to step out of the carriage. Knight Adam dismounted his horse, turned to the carriage door, and

respectfully bowed low.

Three nuns hurried down from the carriage and laid a thick red carpet at the spot where someone would step down.

The moment the curtain of the carriage was lifted by a delicate hand, all the knights dropped to their knees in perfect

unison. Every single pair of eyes was filled with a blazing, fervent light.

As Luo Li stepped out from the carriage, she immediately felt the intensity of those burning gazes.

She didn’t walk down—Luo Li didn’t have any shoes on, so of course she couldn’t step onto the dusty ground. She simply

stood in front of the carriage, looking out at the rows of silver-armored knights.

“Hilda, what time is it now?”

Hilda took out her pocket watch and checked.

“Your Holiness, it is already 8:30.”

“How long would it take to reach the west city gate from here?”

“If cavalry ride at full speed, they can reach it within half an hour.”

Hilda understood this was part of the Saintess’s plan, so she answered very seriously.

Luo Li nodded, then turned her head and looked over the silver-armored knights standing along the street.

It was clear that every one of these knights was a seasoned warrior—sharp eyes, strong presence, and brimming with

energy.

The aura they gave off even gave Luo Li a bit more confidence deep down.

“My knights, are you willing… to face death alongside me?”

Luo Li carefully chose her words as she looked at the knights on the street.

The knights froze, surprised by the sudden question. None of them had expected the Saintess to ask something like this.

They all looked around at each other in confusion.

Suddenly, a bold and valiant female knight stepped forward and shouted:

“For Your Holiness, death is an honor!”

The rest of the knights quickly came to their senses and shouted in unison:

“For Your Holiness—death is an honor!”

But Luo Li shook her head.

Dying for the Holy Church… that kind of slogan felt too empty. It lacked unity and true connection.

She didn’t say anything. She simply kept looking at the knights. As her eyes swept over them, their chanting slowly died

down.

Luo Li knew that among the Holy Church, there were definitely a few die-hard followers. Those people would truly feel

honored even if they died for the Church.

But they were only a small minority.

The vast majority of people, though they believed in God, wouldn’t equate their faith with their own lives.

“No. You’re all afraid of death. Even I am afraid of death. In this world, no one truly wants to die.”

At those words, Hilda froze. Even Knight Adam, who usually had little presence, was stunned.

Not only them—the rest of the knights also stood in shock.

The three nuns were dumbfounded, staring at their Saintess with wide eyes.

What was going on with Her Holiness? How could she say something like that?

Could it be… the Saintess was about to betray the Holy Church?

Wasn’t this rebellion against herself?

The Saintess is the Church—so if she denied herself, wasn’t that denying the Church?

What was she planning to do?

Everyone present couldn’t help but speculate wildly. No one understood what the Saintess meant by such shocking words.

For a moment, there wasn’t a sound.

The knights looked at each other.

Hilda’s face looked uneasy.

Knight Adam’s brow was tightly furrowed.

The three nuns were so shocked, one even covered her mouth, not knowing how to react to this Saintess who seemed to

be turning against herself.

Luo Li saw that the atmosphere had ripened just enough. She took a deep breath and raised her soft voice:

“That’s why I hope—all of you can return alive! Live… to win this war! Live… to stand with me and bask in the glory

afterward!!”

Though her pink lips spoke such gentle, almost cute words, they stirred the hearts of everyone present!

The knights’ faces lit up with excitement and curiosity. Someone from the crowd called out:

“Your Holiness, what is going to happen tonight??”

“Tonight… I expect the demons will likely attack Glorious City. If we fail to defend it, then by tomorrow, we’ll all become

food and slaves to the demons.”

Those words left the knights stunned.

Everyone knew exactly what kind of threat the demons posed.

If Glorious City were to fall, they all understood what fate awaited its people.

Some knights who had family in the city could no longer hide the worry in their hearts.

“Your Holiness, if we know the demons will attack tonight, why are we leaving Glorious City now? Wouldn’t this only

weaken our forces? If we’re here, then what about the city?”

“Exactly! Our families are still in the city!”

“Your Holiness, are you planning to abandon us and leave?”

“Please don’t! My sister, my mother—they’re both in Glorious City. If they fall into demon hands, it will be worse than

death! Your Holiness!!”

Even these well-trained knights, at this moment, put their loved ones first.

Of course, there were also those in the crowd who wanted to take Luo Li and escape. These were mostly the die-hard

followers of the Holy Church—but they were too few and their voices too small.

Their words were drowned in the louder cries of the others, like a drop in a river—unable to make even a ripple.

“Silence!”

Seeing that the knights were on the verge of open revolt, Hilda could no longer stay quiet—even though the Saintess

herself didn’t look the least bit anxious. That made Hilda uneasy.

That her own knights were showing such weakness made her, the Guardian Knight known as the Light of the Flowing

Moon, feel ashamed.

At Hilda’s command, the knights went silent. But the emotions burning in their eyes made Hilda feel… this situation was

slipping out of control.

If the Saintess said one wrong word now, she might not be able to stop the knights’ desire to return home.

And then, all of the Saintess’s plans would fall apart!

But Luo Li had already predicted this reaction. Everything was going exactly as she had expected.

Honestly… these knights were still a bit too naïve.

Luo Li nodded to herself.

It looked like she would need to train their emotional resilience in the future.

But that could wait. For now, she needed to calm the situation.

If she accidentally started a mutiny, that would be a real disaster.

“Knights, I understand how anxious you must feel. But rest assured—as long as I’m still standing, Glorious City will

remain strong and unshakable!”

“Your Holiness… you’ve said so much. Surely, you already have a plan. Please, share it with us!”

Someone in the crowd, perhaps knowingly, asked just the right thing.

Good question.

Luo Li gave them a silent thumbs-up in her heart.

“Please, Your Holiness, share your plan!”

The knights all dropped to their knees again in unison.

Looking at the kneeling crowd, Luo Li nodded.

“Knights, now it’s time for you to speak. For the sake of the 100,000 citizens of Glorious City—tonight, we will coordinate

with the forces inside the city to crush the demon attack in one strike. But this time… it’s possible that none of you will

make it back. So I ask you again—are you afraid to die?”

The moment she finished speaking, a thunderous roar erupted from the knights:

“For the Holy Church! For Glorious City! Death is an honor!!”