Chapter 203: The Empty City

However, the soaring sword of light and the sound waves spread for more than half a minute, yet the city remained eerily silent.

No Temple Knights appeared atop the city walls to check Edwina’s identity or open the city gates, nor were there any signs of demons attacking, as if… this place had turned into an empty city.

“…”

After waiting a moment, Edwina frowned and turned to make eye contact with Miss White Fox once again, and then she made her decision.

“I have no choice; I must act in urgency… my apologies!”

“Boom!!!”

The gigantic sword of light descended, sending forth a tremendous rumble and a cloud of dust.

As it turns out, this strike was not merely for intimidation.

When the dust settled, Sacheno City’s gate, only a few meters high, had been reduced to rubble, collapsing and exposing a wide road leading into the city.

“Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish!”

With a gesture from the Holy Knight, dozens of casually dressed Arbiters dashed out from the lines of Temple Knights, rushing into the city through the opened gates. A few particularly agile figures even used grappling hooks to scale the relatively low city wall, vaulting over into the city, quickly disappearing from sight.

So, after waiting for about another minute and a half…

Two Arbiters emerged from within the city and approached the Holy Knight, who stood with her sword at the ready, kneeling on one knee.

Though these were just minor details, Vilyric immediately noticed what it implied.

The core teachings of the Holy Empire and the Church of the Goddess is equality, therefore, even as the acting commander of the army, the Temple Knights had no obligation to kneel before Edwina. After all, she was a divinely descended being, but not a Saint like Yuna or the Pope, the emissary of the God.

The fact that they took such action indicated that these two Arbiters were likely confidential subordinates personally trained by Edwina, internal retainers of the Cecelia Family.

Sending one’s own people out to face the first wave of unknown risks was indeed a commendable and selfless act.

This could also be inferred from the titles used by the Arbiters when addressing the Holy Knight.

“Second Miss, the entire block near the west gate is deserted; there are no residents or demons… it’s strange.”

Edwina remained composed, merely nodding slightly in response.

“What about the signs?”

The middle-aged Arbiter reporting the situation spoke without hesitation.

“No signs of large-scale invasion or battle damage were found, but the residents’ doors and windows are shut tight. It looks like they are preparing to leave their homes all at once. As per your instructions, we refrained from barging into any houses or delving deeper, so we can’t determine the situation in the nearby eastern areas.”

“Mm, maintain vigilance; go.”

“Understood!”

The two Arbiters returned to the city while Edwina did not immediately act but instead chose to look at the White Fox Girl beside her.

“Miss Xī, what do you think?”

In response to the Holy Knight’s inquiry, Vilyric merely smiled noncommittally.

“You’re the commander of this battle.”

Seemingly having expected such a response, Edwina was not surprised. She offered a slight rueful smile and nodded.

“That’s true; nonetheless, let’s first enter the city. This troop of mine is intended to pave the way for the main force. Regardless of the risks, we should face them ourselves.”

“~”

Thus, under the command of the Holy Knight as the leader, the well-prepared elite unit known as the “Judgment Balance” formed into an array and orderly stormed into the city through the severed western gate, quickly taking over the already deserted west city wall and nearby defenses.

For safety’s sake, Edwina only brought in half of her forces, totaling fifteen hundred Temple Knights.

For a small city, such a number of elite troops was entirely sufficient to maintain basic defensive control of the area. Given the uncertain situation within the city, it seemed Edwina wanted to keep some reserves for her side, maintaining a cautious demeanor as much as possible.

This was indeed a wise decision.

According to previously gathered intelligence, Sacheno City’s layout was quite simple, with the city itself being structured around four main blocks in the cardinal directions, while the center housed the temple, serving a role similar to that of a city lord’s residence; there were no well-structured facilities like barracks.

In fact, it was quite a primitive city.

Once inside, other than the portion of the military stationed atop the city wall for defense, the remaining “Judgment Balance” knights dispersed throughout the entire west market area as directed by Edwina, maintaining formations that allowed for enough gaps yet ready to support each other, starting their search of the vacant area.

Throughout this process, the divine lady and strongest among them did not remain idle; instead, she led a team of loyal guards, along with the White Fox Girl trio, and tried to knock on one of the tightly shut doors.

“Knock knock knock.”

After a while of waiting at the door, Edwina once again faced a reception akin to that outside the western gate earlier.

“Is there really no one?”

The three-pointed ears on top of the White Fox Girl’s head seemed to twitch instinctively a couple of times.

“It seems that way; at least I haven’t heard any heartbeats or breathing from inside ~”

“Well, if even Miss Xī says that…”

The Vice Commander turned her head, signaling to the Holy Knight behind her with her eyes.

“Yes!”

There was no need for words; these well-trained elite holy warriors immediately understood their superior’s intent. Three of them stepped forward in unison, coming to the hefty wooden door’s sides, exchanging meaningful glances…

“Bang! Bang!!!”

The holy sword struck the lock, severing it while two pairs of large feet encased in iron boots simultaneously kicked at crucial points, the immense force instantly destroying the interior door’s structure, with a clang, they broke it open. The three Temple Knights seized the moment and charged into the room, drawing their swords and scanning the surroundings with vigilance.

Wow… they are so skillful…

While muttering to herself, the White Fox Girl did not forget to follow closely behind, entering alongside the few young ladies and the remaining Temple Knights, naturally beginning their search in the modestly-sized room with two bedrooms and a living room.

“Second Miss, no signs of life or demons found! This is just an empty house!”

“Is that so…”

Looking at the neatly arranged dishes in the cupboard and the unlit stove, along with the neatly made beds, the blonde girl, serving as the commander of the operation, fell into brief contemplation.

“Any thoughts?”

The same question was posed but directed differently. However, this time, the Holy Knight, thus asked by Vilyric, did not hesitate or evade.

“It… appears that this western market area is indeed genuinely empty.”

Edwina speculated solemnly.

“Based on the previous observations from the hillside, there should have been signs of activity in this city before. Although it doesn’t quite align with its former population of over one hundred thousand, it definitely shouldn’t be this desolate now… Furthermore, there were no observations of large-scale attacks from demons coming from the direction of the Star River, which contradicts the intelligence.”

“From the time we descended the mountain to arriving here, it’s been only about an hour. Even if the city fell, the demons wouldn’t have managed to relocate over one hundred thousand residents in such a short timeframe. Not to mention the lack of clear signs of battle or destruction.”

“Then, it can only mean two possibilities.”

   

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