As dawn broke, the light from the horizon illuminated the entire Kalinsha Plaza. The plaza was littered with bodies, and the blood had turned the ground red.
The entire Kalinsha felt like a dead city, with dark clouds swirling above.
Remedios opened her eyes, feeling a heavy dizziness in her head.
The bodies of her former companions were scattered everywhere. The once-prosperous Kalinsha had turned into a city filled with death.
"Is there anyone still alive?"
Remedios cried out.
But no one answered her. The only response came from the cawing of crows.
"Kelart, Calca! I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. The one who should have been captured is me!"
For the first time in her life, Remedios, who had never shed a tear, looked at the scene before her and remembered her sister and the Holy Queen.
Her emotional defenses completely shattered, she collapsed to the ground and began to sob uncontrollably.
......
Soon, Remedios stopped crying and began searching for survivors.
"I must atone for all my mistakes. Holy Queen, Lady Calca, and Kelart, wait for me! I will rescue you!"
After searching, she was able to find several survivors.
She also learned the location of the injured from the Holy Knights' Order.
Remedios found the Holy Knights' Order, now reduced to fewer than thirty members, half of whom were severely wounded.
"Since the Holy Kingdom has no strong warriors who can defeat Jaldabaoth, I will seek powerful allies in other nations," Remedios thought to herself.
After all, Remedios herself was the strongest Holy Knight of the Holy Kingdom, and there was no one in her country more powerful than her.
Once she had decided what needed to be done, Remedios immediately set off to seek aid from the King.
With a small group of about a dozen people, she left Kalinsha. On the way, she encountered a fellow member of the Knights' Order—an apprentice knight.
"Neia."
She was also the daughter of General Pabel of the Border Army. She inherited her father's archery skills, but her dream was to become a Holy Knight. To that end, she joined the Holy Knights' Order.
Shortly after becoming an apprentice, Neia was assigned to the most exhausting task by the order:
Night patrol.
Her job was to patrol the outer areas of Kalinsha, guarding against any unexpected situations. The area she had to cover was vast, and it took an entire night to complete the patrol.
When the apprentice Holy Knights learned of Kalinsha's fall, they all fled.
Only Neia returned to Kalinsha.
Remedios, in need of personnel, decided to take her along.
On the way to the kingdom, Neia was responsible for scouting ahead.
Scouting was the most troublesome task. Neia had to determine whether the path ahead was safe and regularly return to report to the group. Remedios completely used Neia as a laborer.
Since Neia hadn't been present for the battle with Jaldabaoth, Remedios looked down on her. She hadn't participated in the most brutal battle but had only come to them after the fight was over.
However, from Neia's perspective, as an apprentice Holy Knight, who would have notified them about Kalinsha's attack? No one would have.
It was only when they returned to Karinsa after completing their mission that they discovered the attack.
But Remedios wouldn't consider Neia's situation; she only thought of her as someone unworthy of being a Holy Knight.
Soon, they arrived at the kingdom and reached the capital, but they didn't meet the King.
Instead, they were greeted by the King's second son, the current heir to the kingdom.
They requested the kingdom's help to defeat Jaldabaoth, but their plea was rejected.
The reason given was that the kingdom had suffered heavy losses on the Katze Plains and was unable to help other nations, as they were too focused on their own survival.
Remedios then turned to the Blue Roses for assistance, only to be rejected without hesitation.
Without powerful figures like Momon and Chino, they had no desire to face Jaldabaoth, an existence far beyond the level of a Demon God.
Evileye reminded them that they could seek out Momon or Chino from the Sorcerer Kingdom.
Remedios truly didn't want to go to the Sorcerer Kingdom, because before Jaldabaoth appeared, she had often discussed the Sorcerer Kingdom with her sister, and the conclusion was always that the Sorcerer Kingdom was definitely a garbage state.
Ruled by the undead, it was clearly governed terribly. Remedios even considered having the Holy Queen lead an army to attack the Sorcerer Kingdom and destroy those damned undead.
But she was refused.
Though the Blue Rose had rejected their request, Evileye from the Blue Roses spoke highly of Chino and Momon from the Sorcerer Kingdom, saying they were strong enough to defeat Jaldabaoth.
"For Calca and Kelart, I'll put aside my hatred for the undead," Remedios said to herself.
Remedios led her group toward the Sorcerer Kingdom, and as they neared, a thick fog suddenly appeared.
"Everyone, draw your weapons!"
Remedios sensed a dangerous aura.
It was the scent of the undead.
The group cautiously entered the mist, and as for the scout Neia, Remedios didn't care at all about her safety.
After entering the mist, it didn't take long before their vision cleared, and a massive ghost ship appeared in front of them. The sails of the ghost ship were emblazoned with the words:
"Welcome to the Sorcerer Kingdom!"
The group froze for a moment. A ghost ship floating on land was just too absurd.
At this point, Neia returned to the group and informed everyone that there was no danger ahead, and that the ghost ship wouldn't attack them.
The group continued forward, and along the way, they encountered people who were laughing and chatting. They seemed much happier than the people of the Holy Kingdom. Their eyes all had a certain sparkle.
After walking for a while, they were unsure of their exact location, and they didn't notice any other people nearby.
"It looks like there are people fishing up ahead!" Neia spoke up.
Sure enough, the group saw figures by a lake in the distance.
"Let's go ask them!" said the vice-captain of the squad.
As they approached and took a closer look, they realized they weren't fishing at all—they were simply enjoying life. All the men in the group were filled with envy.
The men were lounging on makeshift benches, leisurely holding fishing rods, with three women by their side. The youngest one appeared to be under ten years old.
She was seriously massaging the man's legs, while one of the other women fanned him with a hand fan and held a drink, ready to serve him at any moment.
The third woman was massaging his shoulders.
If this had been the old Remedios, she would have immediately gone over to scold these people for being so lazy, having so many women serving them, and not even sparing a child.
She would have beaten him so badly that his own mother wouldn't recognize him.
But now, she had more important things to do and didn't want to cause trouble.
"Neia, go ask those people how far we are from the capital of the Sorcerer Kingdom!"
"Yes!"
Neia's eyes were full of exhaustion. These past few days, she could only sleep for three hours—scouting during the day and standing guard at night. Only in the late hours of the night, when the shift changed, could she get a little rest.
She slapped her face to try to wake herself up.
"Hello, may I ask how far we are from the capital of the Sorcerer Kingdom?" Neia politely asked as she approached Peroroncino.
Peroroncino looked at Neia.
"And who are you?"
"We are the envoy group from the Holy Kingdom!"
"The Holy Kingdom's envoy group, that come here to seek help?!"
"Yes!"
"If you keep going along this road for another hour, you'll be there!"
"Thank you so much!"
"Wait! You look like you're malnourished! I have a freshly grilled fish here! Take it!"
Neia only then noticed the barbecue grill beside them.
She had been so exhausted that she hadn't seen it earlier.
"Thank you so much!"
Neia happily took the grilled fish and returned.
Peroroncino had just laid back down in his position.
"Slap!"
A loud slap echoed.
"How can you still have the mood to eat grilled fish!" Remedios scolded Neia.
Then, she began to berate Neia furiously.
"Nana!" Perorochino spoke coldly.
"Yes, Onii-san!"
Nana, having been trained by Yulia, now fully understood what Peroroncino wanted her to do.
End of chapter
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