Chapter 285: Surprise Attack, Two Locations

The messenger who received the orders hurried away. Although Philomina didn’t quite understand what the Inquisition referred to, from the previous mentions at critical moments, she could guess it was some kind of elite force under the Saint of Bright Light.

Given that Princess Yuna judged the Inquisition capable of single-handedly destroying the demon portals in the northern and western parts of the city, Philomina, who had come to respect her even more because of this war, didn’t question it. She unconsciously glanced at the maid Little Seven, who was quietly standing beside her, and spoke again.

“Princess Yuna, what about the demon portal in our direction?”

After all, the main battlefield in the southern area was of utmost importance. The number of high-ranking demons and portals there would likely be more than the combined count of the other two sides.

To break through and destroy it, they would probably need someone of the caliber of those two Angel Misses to even have a chance, and even then, they might not be able to escape unscathed from the enemy’s counterattack. It was undoubtedly perilous.

Comparable to transcendental beings, even among the troops of the Holy Kingdom, they were quite limited.

As the Redeeming Saintess, Philomina wasn’t skilled in combat. If you asked who in the army had the ability to pull off that kind of feat…

The blonde girl shifted her gaze to the Saint of Bright Light standing beside her, gazing into the distance, and at the radiant “Crown of Uncrowned” above her head, and then opened her mouth.

“Are you planning to…”

However, Yuna once more shook her head and smiled as if she could see into the future.

“Princess Philomina, it’s not yet time to go all out. Just watch; more suitable reinforcements will arrive soon.”

As soon as those words fell…

A magnificent golden sword of light, reaching almost to the sky and even taller than the hundred-meter-high demon portal, suddenly arose from behind the demon lines, shooting straight into the clouds!

Attracted by that pure and powerful divine aura, the high-ranking demons that were hovering in the air, keeping a watch on the Holy Kingdom’s powerful forces, quickly turned around and, as if realizing something, their auras momentarily stilled before transforming into several black meteors diving down!

But, it was too late.

Right above their path, meteors wrapped in blazing white flames descended with a thunderous crash, intertwining with several minuscule figures that were firmly hit, crashing to the ground and kicking up dust like tidal waves.

“Boom!!!!!”

Along with that, a delicate laugh, almost inaudible compared to the roar, echoed.

“Hey~ you bunch of clumsy armored idiots, when will you learn to have some common sense?”

Then, the sword of light slid down, reminiscent of the dawn of battle.

“Light—Slash!!!”

The golden sword marks accurately cut through each of the dark portals standing side by side, generating a massive display of electric sparks.

Originally set at the back to guard against the Holy Kingdom’s forces charging at any cost, that very action became a fatal flaw.

“Zzz… zzzzz…”

“Boom boom boom!!!!!”

The giant sword of light severed the spatial gates, which exploded in a chaotic twist, releasing dark, distorted currents without rhythm, scattering the demonic guards responsible for protecting the portal, with some weaker individuals being ripped apart on the spot, dying instantly.

Taking advantage of that brief moment when the gates were wide open, with a sound of cannon fire, a multitude of hoofbeats, accompanied by a roar of battle cries, surged forth from the slopes behind the plains!

“Knights of God! Exterminate the demons!!!”

“Charge, all troops!!!!”

The Holy Knights wielded their holy swords and long spears, rushing through the openings left by the dissipating spatial turbulence, directly piercing the delicate rear line of the demons that had lost their defenses.

The white-armored Holy Knight lady, who had just launched such a powerful attack, showed no signs of fatigue, charging at the front lines alongside another young man clad in high-ranking Holy Knight armor.

Meanwhile, two beams of white light streaked across the sky and, after shattering the meteors, soared back up, preparing to intercept a few high-ranking demons trying to regroup in the back!

“This… this is… Princess Yuna, how could they…?”

However, the girl named after bright light still didn’t explain anything, merely nodding and waving her hand to issue commands.

“To all troops, the time for victory has come! No need to hold back, press forward and crush the enemy!”

“Yes!!!”

The messenger dashed away, the Temple Knights rushed out en masse from the city they had defended for two months, brimming with boundless rage and battle intent, shouting loudly as they became waves crashing against the vast plains at the edge of the Star River, engaging the enemy in close combat.

Not long after, several intense explosions erupted from the west and north sides of the city, finally bringing a sense of relief akin to settling dust to Yuna’s face.

She patted the still stunned Redeeming Saintess on the shoulder and turned to leave first.

“Let’s go, Princess Philomina, it’s time for us to step in and wrap things up.”

…

Sanos Province, Eastern Primitive Forest.

“Hurry, hurry, hurry! Move faster! Don’t bring anything except the real valuables! The shelter space is limited, there are plenty of supplies, abandon unimportant things! Everyone, move quicker!”

At the entrance to the underground staircase, Aland, dressed in a light golden robe, was guiding a large group of unarmed civilians alongside several cultists from the Church of Light as they evacuated.

The space connected here was an underground shelter dug in advance by the Church of Light for extreme situations, stocked with abundant survival supplies transported by caravans like Xavier’s, capable of accommodating nearly 100,000 people for over a month.

Although the Church of Light had temporarily reached a tacit understanding with the demons to avoid interference, it was clear they weren’t banking on the other’s kindness.

The reason for the constant transport of supplies here with the help of the Cecelia Merchant Association was to ensure that once the demons turned hostile, the defenseless civilians they cared for could be kept safe and wouldn’t become hostages.

That day would eventually arrive, and Fleidetrika had been preparing for it.

Because once the Holy Kingdom’s main forces achieved a decisive victory on the front line, pushing eastward, the demons would undoubtedly use the civilians of the two provinces as shields to restrain the Temple Army.

This had already happened many times during previous demon wars.

However, the higher-ups of the Church of Light had indeed not anticipated that the shelter would come into play much sooner than expected.

Not long ago, the Church of Light’s spies had brought back first-hand intelligence.

Yesterday afternoon, the Saint of Bright Light Yuna Summerfield and the Redeeming Saintess Philomina Lambert led the Holy Kingdom’s main forces, in combination with an unknown surprise army, to achieve a crushing victory against the demon forces outside Sacheno City, slaughtering tens of thousands by the Star River, ending nearly two months of grueling stalemate.

By the time the information arrived, the Holy Kingdom’s main forces had already taken advantage of their victory, swiftly crossing the Star River and pushing directly towards the Holy Capital, while the demon forces faced a crushing defeat, with some powerful individuals scattered across the east of the Star River for various reasons, likely unable to form an effective resistance in the short term.

The recovery of the Holy Capital had already become a foregone conclusion, with predictions of a significant advancement within a week at most.

   

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