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Chapter 71: The Priestess is Not Fond of Fighting

In this situation, it was essentially no different than facing a transcendent being. If we had a normal opponent, perhaps we could have overwhelmed it with numbers before the Vengeful Spirit learned enough abilities.

But with only Edwina capable of inflicting effective damage and the output efficiency greatly suppressed, even using all our trump cards might not be enough to defeat it. Instead, it could lead to the creation of something extremely terrifying.

If the Vengeful Spirit could devour more souls and exceed its limits, the entire royal capital would surely be engulfed in a bloody storm, unless…

Liliya shook her head, burying a certain figure that unconsciously appeared in her mind deep within her heart.

Really, how could she think about relying on Vilyric the moment danger and difficulty arose? Wasn’t that making her determination a joke?

However, relying solely on current strength, the Princess had already lost confidence in eliminating this legendary fused Vengeful Spirit.

To be safe, it would be best to temporarily retreat and seal the area, waiting to gather more legendary experts before engaging in a life-or-death battle.

But if they did so, the destruction caused by the Vengeful Spirit would be incalculable, and those other hostages trapped here, uncertain of their lives or deaths, would likely not escape either. This would inevitably create even more turbulence in the already turbulent City of Courage.

Should they retreat? Or should they bet it all on Edwina’s performance?

As Liliya weighed the pros and cons in her heart, feeling trapped, the Holy Knight found herself having to pause after a series of unsuccessful attacks. Even with the assistance of two Sky-level Priests, her power was not truly infinite and required time to recharge.

“Hahaha!!! Die die die die die die!!!”

A rain of black arrows darkened the skies once more, even denser and stronger than before, swirling with a hint of black flame.

Such area attacks surely couldn’t have every arrow reach Miss Hua’s Fiery Blossom strength, but their power was undoubtedly greater than ordinary arrows.

Everyone tightened their grips on their weapons, protecting the most important Edwina in the center, but even so, feelings of powerlessness crept in.

“Damn… Is its power truly unlimited?”

Seeing this, the Princess finally made up her mind.

When in doubt, take decisive action. As a leader, she had to make sacrifices and choices; otherwise, it would only lead to greater losses.

“Everyone, retreat…”

“No need for that ~”

A familiar voice sweet as celestial music suddenly rang in Liliya’s ear.

No matter how determined she had been before, vowing not to rely on that miraculous girl, the moment she heard her whisper, a wave of intense reassurance and joy washed over the Princess.

“Is it… Vilyric?”

Liliya bit her lip to maintain her composure, lowering her voice as she called out, already turning to look around when her empty left hand was grasped by another delicate and warm hand.

“It’s me! Don’t make a fuss now. Just to clarify, I’m not wearing the ‘Cognitive Barrier Mask,’ so I’m temporarily invisible.”

“Um… I’m so sorry, I might have to trouble you again.”

Liliya’s cheeks flushed as Vilyric took her hand, but the Princess clearly excelled at expression management, maintaining her calm and authoritative demeanor on the surface.

Though feeling a bit reluctant, as a Princess, Liliya truly enjoyed the safety of being able to fully depend on someone.

So… it was okay, just a little bit more. This was all… for the citizens of the royal capital, not just to satiate her own emotions.

“Vi…”

“Mm? No trouble at all; I’m not planning to get involved anyway.”

“Oh… huh?”

The Princess went blank, nearly losing her expression, luckily the Vengeful Spirit paused its rain of arrows to conserve energy for a stronger attack, otherwise Liliya would have been exposed.

Meanwhile, the Priestess spoke with a tone of righteousness and reason.

“Isn’t that obvious? I have no obligation to exterminate this monster, or is being ugly a sin?”

Then what are you doing here?! Give me back my emotional moment!!!

To be honest, Vilyric had initially planned to come and squash this soul-draining creature, but when she arrived, she found that the Princess and her companions were already engaged in battle with it.

Especially since, among the crowd, the Priestess had spotted a certain Holy Knight girl whom she had crossed paths with three times in such a short time. The Holy Light powers of the Knight incited a guess from Vilyric, prompting her to change her plans.

“However…”

The tone of someone shifted.

“While I won’t take the initiative, I can help out a little; I did come here specifically for this ugly thing after all.”

“A little help?”

The Princess raised an eyebrow, doubting the extent of that description.

“Hehe, did Liliya forget I’m a Priestess? My strengths aren’t limited to just healing, so feel free to do your part, and leave the rest to me.”

With that, the delicate little hand that had been linked with the Princess gently pulled away, leaving a lingering scent behind alongside a touch of loneliness.

“Ah…”

Liliya instinctively reached out to grab the retreating figure, but that silhouette… had already vanished.

Inside, there was an emptiness.

But soon, the Princess rallied herself.

“Everyone, listen up, give it your all! We cannot allow this evil to take even one step out of here!”

“Yes!”

Since the Princess had given the order, everyone stopped hesitating, and did not notice the subtle changes in her attitude before and after.

Only Miss Fiery Blossom, closest to Liliya, sensed something odd from the Princess’s strange behavior.

“Is she here?”

While following Liliya’s directives and continuing to engage the Vengeful Spirit, providing backup to her allies, Hua cast a discreet glance toward the blue-haired girl beside her.

“Mm.”

Liliya did not hide this from her close friend, sharing the situation:

“Support…? Does that girl really have any need to assist others?”

Miss Hua twitched her lips. Though the black-haired girl kept emphasizing her role as a Priestess, to her, Vilyric felt more like an omnipotent powerful mage and warrior, with healing capabilities being secondary.

After all, Miss Fiery Blossom had never seen a Priestess strong enough to kick a several-ton heavy iron door away from the wall and embed it into the opposite wall.

“Anyway, trusting her is definitely a good move!”

Liliya gave Hua a thumbs-up for encouragement, refocusing her energy on the battle.

Meanwhile, in the air, countless arrows engulfed in black flames had reached their limit and finally came crashing down!

“Die!!!!!!!”

At this moment, a fantastical sight unfolded.

Buzz ~

A dazzling golden curtain rose, forcefully separating the lower half of the experimental ground from the upper half.

The rain of black flame arrows fell into it, stirring only subtle ripples barely perceptible to the eye, and promptly melting away, not even returning to the Vengeful Spirit’s form as before.

“What?”

“My God!”

“What… is this power…?”

Following the source of the golden light, everyone widened their eyes to see a Holy Knight named Edwina Cecelia, holding the glowing holy emblem that had yet to fade, looking bewildered.

“Eh?”