Chapter 29: The severely injured Kane

A ray of light rose from the horizon. The morning sun revealed half of its body, and in that instant, its golden glow… lit up Glorious City.

“Let’s not go today. We’ll go tomorrow instead.”

Hilda’s response came out of nowhere. Yuna paused for a moment before realizing what she meant and looked toward the battlefield, which was littered with corpses.

“Yeah, true. Looks like we won’t be able to go today. We’ll probably be busy until midnight.”

Not only did they have to clean up the battlefield, but they also had to deal with the corpses. Even after death, demonic creatures still carried a degree of contagion.

They were like a plague, corrupting every living being on the continent.

“We’ve caught the traitor. He’s currently restrained with a holy shackle in the dungeon.”

“Who is it?”

“Celes… from a branch of the Cavendish family.”

Hilda fell into brief silence and turned to glance at Yuna.

“Report this to Her Holiness the Saintess. Put the entire Cavendish family under house arrest and wait for Her Holiness’s decision.”

Yuna winked at Hilda, raised a brow, and said with a relaxed smile:

“You’re late~ I already did that~”

Hilda froze for a second. Seeing Yuna making playful faces, she couldn’t help but shake her head and smile bitterly.

“This is still a battlefield. Don’t joke with me—you know how I am.”

“Alright, alright. I just wanted to lighten the mood for our serious lady. No more jokes.”

Yuna’s smile faded, her brows furrowed slightly as she looked Hilda straight in the eyes.

“Hilda, what happened to Her Holiness the Saintess…? How could she change so drastically overnight?”

Hilda opened her mouth but then remembered what Her Holiness told her in the carriage. She held back the words.

“You’ll find out… but not yet.”

“So you do know~ That’s all I need to hear~”

Yuna’s tightly furrowed brow relaxed, and her usual smile returned to her lips. The shallow dimples on her cheeks showed how lighthearted she felt in that moment.

“You can feel at ease even though you don’t know anything?”

Hilda glanced at Yuna with an expression that said, Why can’t you be more serious?

Even though Yuna was stronger and of a higher rank as a knight, she always gave off the impression of a mischievous girl. It made Hilda worry.

“I trust you. I don’t know what exactly happened around Her Holiness, but I believe you. If you believe in Her Holiness, then of course I will too~”

With that, Yuna looked back at the soldiers slowly walking out from the city gates in the distance.

“Alright, alright. We’ve still got work to do.”

With those words, she tugged the reins and rode her horse to the front of the military formation.

Most of the soldiers in these units were below level 10. Compared to the demon race’s cannon fodder, they still had some fighting ability—but if faced alone against demonized beastmen or demonized humans, they would only die.

“Soldiers! As your Guardian Knight, I command you: form teams of fifty and sweep across the battlefield. Eliminate all demonkind that are not fully dead.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Yuna turned back and gave Hilda a playful wink before turning her horse and leading the troops toward the battlefield for cleanup.

Hilda smiled helplessly. This kid might act childish, but she could be relied on when it really mattered.

“Hmm… Looks like I won’t be resting either. I should head to the front lines and prevent any large group of demons from gathering and forming a fighting force.”

With that thought, Hilda pulled the reins. Her white horse turned its head. Just as she was about to charge forward—

A small squad suddenly rode toward her from the front.

It was a unit of at least fifty knights, escorting a black horse galloping from afar.

“Make way! Move aside!”

Their voices rang out as they got closer. Seeing the knight riding the black horse, Hilda was stunned.

“Kain!?”

Kain was in a terrible state.

The silver armor on his chest had caved in; the armor on his right shoulder was torn, exposing the soft armor and flesh underneath. His abdomen had a gaping wound—his internal organs could even be seen through it.

Kain clutched his stomach with one hand. He sat slumped on the black horse, barely conscious and about to fall.

“What happened!?”

Hilda quickly urged her horse forward. A knight holding the black horse’s reins recognized her and called out anxiously.

“Lady Hilda! The forward battle formation encountered the demon warlord Barn. Lord Kain fought hard and wounded Barn, but he’s been severely injured himself! Please go reinforce the front immediately!”

“I understand. Take Kain to Her Holiness the Saintess at once! I’ll handle the rest!”

Hilda nodded, asked for the direction, and galloped away.

Gerald glanced at Hilda and felt somewhat relieved.

That Barn had lost an arm from Kain’s desperate strike. Although Kain was gravely injured in the process, Barn’s combat strength had dropped by at least 40%.

A fully capable Guardian Knight could definitely handle it.

If Gerald hadn’t been worried Kain would die, he would’ve stayed to kill Barn himself!

Right now, even though he didn’t hold the title of Guardian Knight, Gerald had already surpassed level 50—reaching level 52. Under normal circumstances, he was eligible to apply for the Guardian Knight title.

However, he hadn’t done so—because if he did, he wouldn’t be able to follow the person behind him anymore!

The “Guardian Knight” title boosted one’s overall strength by more than double. It wasn’t just a title—it was a divine blessing of protection.

Even the “Brave Knight” title Gerald held now nearly doubled his overall power.

This was one of humanity’s advantages over the demon race.

Level, Class, and Title—these were the three most important elements for any powerful figure in this world.

Equipment, Battle Pets, and Skills were all support systems meant to bring out the full potential of those three.

Without the first three, the rest were nearly useless.

But without the latter three, the potential of the first three could never be fully realized.

Levels could increase through training; classes could be freely chosen with no limits.

Even if someone chose ten classes to train at once, it was possible.

However… no one could actually pull that off.

Titles were the rarest and most valuable things on the entire continent.

The cavalry unit made its way into the city. Under the hopeful gazes of the citizens, they arrived in front of the temple.

At that moment, an old, worn-out carriage was parked at the entrance, just about to leave.

And Her Holiness the Saintess was walking barefoot across the thick carpet, heading into the temple.

“Your Holiness! Saintess! Please, save Sir Kain!!”

Luo Li had finally relaxed and was ready to enjoy a hot bath and a peaceful, restful sleep. But before she could even step into the temple, someone’s desperate voice suddenly called out behind her.

“Kain!? How did he get injured like that!?”