Chapter 18: The traitor makes a move

That was the only person in the entire Moon Nation who had surpassed level sixty — one of the Ten Heavenly Punishment

Knights of the Eight Holy Nations.

Aside from the strongest, the Holy Knight Caesar of the City of Angels, these ten were the top military force in all the

Eight Holy Nations.

If that person had been present, then even if the demon race launched a massive attack, Glorious City wouldn’t have

fallen into such a defensive position.

Unfortunately, not only was Will Kevin absent — even among the eight Guardian Knights of Glorious City, four had been

reassigned elsewhere.

Martha had spent an entire year planning all of this, which resulted in only four Guardian Knights — the absolute

minimum required by the city’s rules — remaining behind.

This was the lowest possible number of guardians allowed under Glorious City’s regulations.

No one even knew who was leading the enemy this time.

“Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.”

But all she remembered were those indecent scenes — she didn’t even know the storyline properly.

“No matter what, we cannot lose this war!”

If they lost… it would mean becoming playthings for the demons.

Just thinking about it sent chills down her spine.

Time passed quickly while she was deep in thought — an hour had gone by.

The knights, now in full formation, rose from the ground and ended their short rest.

The sound of hoofbeats approached, and Hilda’s stern voice reached their ears.

“Knights! This time, we fight for Glorious City and for Her Holiness the Saintess! I will not allow a single one of you to flee

from battle. If I find anyone trying to escape, I will personally cut off their head and hang it from the city wall for all to see

and scorn!”

“For Her Holiness the Saintess!”

“For Glorious City!”

The knights’ shouted response stirred the heart and soul.

“Mount your horses!”

The clanging of armor rang out all at once.

Outside the carriage, Hilda’s voice called out.

“Your Holiness, the knights are ready. We’re only waiting for the signal from the west wall.”

“Yes, I understand,” Luo Li responded calmly, her face still wearing that confident and gentle smile.

But inside, she was nervous. After all, this was a battle that would decide their fate.

Still, there was no use being nervous now.

Luo Li took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and quietly waited for the signal to come from the west gate.

Once that signal rang out, it would mark the beginning — and the end — of this great war.

At that very moment, not even a dozen miles from Luo Li’s location, at Glorious City…

Beneath the city walls, cheerful and hearty singing could be heard echoing from above. The rich aroma of wheat and ale

drifted from the battlements on the breeze.

Up on the walls, the soldiers held up wooden mugs of cheap barley beer, joy written all over their faces.

The retreat of the demon army had finally given these long-unbattled soldiers a chance to breathe.

“Come on! Drink!”

Drunken Mark raised his wooden mug high, the amber liquid sloshing inside.

“ Mark, you’re drunk already? You’ve only had a few drinks! Look at you wobbling like a lizard on oil — can’t even

stand straight!”

Mark turned to look at the one mocking him — their squad captain.

Normally, Mark was known for being timid, but today, with a bit of alcohol in him, his foggy mind had taken on a bit of

boldness. That part of him he usually suppressed was finally showing itself.

“I’m not drunk! Look — I can still see clearly even far off in the distance!”

Climbing up onto the battlements, Mark squinted into the distance and pointed up at the stars.

“Look, that’s the North Star! And over there — those mountains are the Glorious Holy Mountains… and look at that —

those huge shadows, that’s the demon race for sure! Captain, come look!”

Mark pulled his captain over and drunkenly pointed at the dark shadows in the distance, shouting:

“See? That height, that build — no other race is that massive except the demon race!”

Seeing the shock and fear on his captain’s face, Mark burst into laughter.

“Well? Captain? I was right, huh?”

His legs gave out under him, and sleep from drunkenness washed over him. He slid down from the battlements, eyelids

growing heavy, and passed out in a daze.

The other soldiers laughed heartily at his antics.

But among them, the only one who wasn’t laughing — who looked terrified and flustered — was the captain.

He stared at the swarm of dark shadows in the distance, beads of sweat appearing all over his forehead.

“Captain? What’s wrong? Did Mark scare you or something? Come on, the demons already retreated, right?”

One soldier patted the captain’s shoulder with a scoff, holding his wooden mug casually.

But the captain didn’t respond. The curious soldier turned his head to look at him.

Then he noticed something was off — the captain’s expression, his eyes fixed on the distant scene.

Instinctively, he followed the captain’s gaze.

The crescent moon peeked out from behind clouds like a shy girl, casting light over the earth.

From the top of the wall, one could see rolling hills that stretched like ocean waves.

And there — just on the nearest hill to the west wall — a dense swarm of dark figures was moving down the slope like ants.

The sight made their hairs stand on end.

A cool breeze swept across the wall.

Mixed with the scent of beer and singing… was a strange smell.

It was the smell only the demon race had!

The captain and the soldier turned their heads slowly toward each other, locking eyes stiffly.

Their faces were filled with terror.

“Captain? What’s going on?”

One of the more sober soldiers looked at them in confusion.

“Captain, don’t tell me you two are actually—”

The rest of the soldiers burst into laughter again.

But just then, the captain suddenly turned back toward them and roared:

“Quick! Call a priest to use Holy Light! Notify the magic corps — we need a barrier spell now! And the alarm bell! Ring the

bell! The demon army is attacking!!”

The others froze. One soldier, seeing the captain’s tense face, realized something was seriously wrong. He turned to run

for the alarm bell—

A flash of silver light sliced through the darkness.

Everyone turned in shock toward the source of the silver light. A shadowy figure stepped out from the darkness.

“Sorry, everyone. I can’t let you ring that bell.”

It wasn’t until the figure spoke that the captain realized who it was.

“Sir Celes…?”

Wasn’t that Celes — one of the west wall commanders, a brave knight?

Why was he attacking his own comrades?

The captain’s mind was a mess. He stared blankly at the thin sword in Celes’s hand, still dripping with a comrade’s blood.

A sudden realization struck him.

He had seen the nun Martha undergo demonic transformation earlier that day.

In that moment, he understood.

“Celes… you’ve joined the demon race?! Everyone, run! Notify the Sanctuary — Knight Celes has betrayed the Holy

Church—”

Before he could finish his sentence, his voice cut off.

“You all know too much.”

Several silver flashes later, the soldiers on the wall clutched their throats, staring in disbelief at the knight before them.

Who would’ve thought… that a knight of the Sanctuary — someone of such high status in the Holy Church — would betray

them?

Bodies fell to the ground.

Celes sneered coldly, looked around at the corpses, and disappeared back into the shadows.

Situations like this repeated across the west wall.

Squad after squad of guards fell where they stood, turning into corpses.

Because of this, even though the demon army’s advance made considerable noise, there was no reaction from the west

wall.

So when the demon army finally arrived at the foot of Glorious City’s western wall, neither the magic barrier nor the Holy

Light barrier had been activated.

The battlements were completely empty…

No — not completely.

There was still one person left.