The entire Red Maple Kingdom, and every corner that the Human Allied Forces could reach, was caught in an almost fanatical fervor.
Every scene—whether on the giant magic projections in the central squares of the cities, or on the alchemy phone screens in everyone’s hands—was interwoven with flowing light, playing the same image over and over.
It was a storm sweeping across the entire continent.
Academy City.
The Saintess Tower, once a symbol of hope because of Su Nian’s presence, now had its great square covered in a solemn silver.
Three thousand people.
A full three thousand top elites, drawn from every field of the Human Allied Forces, gathered here.
Their breathing was heavy and unified, converging into a suppressed roar, like a volcano ready to erupt at any moment.
At the very front stood the most devout Holy Radiance Knight Order of the temple.
They wore Mithril Heavy Armor engraved with Holy Light runes, every piece blessed by the bishop himself, reflecting an inviolable holy radiance in the sunlight.
In the middle of the formation were the veteran adventurers who lived on the edge of the blade.
They might not believe in gods, but they believed in strength, and even more in that Star-Moon Saintess who had saved countless civilians and protected the entire city.
At the rear of the formation, magic elements converged in the air into a faint visible light.
They were archmages from various magic academies, wearing robes of different colors representing their respective elemental affinities.
The leading elder held a staff wrapped in frost, his eyes closed in meditation, but the cold aura radiating from him had already formed a thin layer of frost on the ground.
These three thousand people formed an army.
Its name spread across the world in just seven days—the “Saintess Rescue Corps.”
Outside the square, a sea of people.
Hundreds of thousands of citizens clogged the streets, coming from all corners of the kingdom just to witness this historic moment.
At the very front of the crowd, several great heroes stood with solemn expressions.
Ranur Hongfeng stepped out from the formation.
He wore the dark red, gold-trimmed uniform of the Red Maple Kingdom’s Royal Guard, his posture as straight as a pine.
On the hilt of the longsword at his waist was set a huge ruby, a glory personally bestowed by the king.
He walked step by step to the front of the formation.
Behind him, the eyes of the three thousand elites focused on him with absolute trust.
Ranur’s gaze swept over this army that embodied the peak of human combat power, then passed over them to look at the turbulent sea of emotions formed by countless faces.
He could see the grief, anger, and that ignited, desperate hope in people’s eyes.
He knew that every word he was about to say would be broadcast throughout the city and the entire kingdom by the magic amplification array.
He slowly drew his longsword.
The sword sang clear and sharp, like a dragon’s roar.
Sunlight flowed along the straight blade, dazzling and blinding.
“Fellow countrymen!” His voice, amplified by magic, echoed clearly in everyone’s ears, carrying an indisputable calm and strength.
“Ten days ago, our hope, our light, our beloved Star-Moon Saintess, was kidnapped by a cowardly demon who hides his face.”
A wave of suppressed sobs and angry growls rose from the crowd.
“I know your pain, I feel your anger!”
Ranur’s voice suddenly rose, and the blade of his sword cut through the air.
“But grief and anger cannot bring back our Saintess! Tears and prayers cannot punish evil!”
“What can do it is only the sword in our hands, only the fury in our hearts, only our determination to level the demon’s lair at any cost!”
He suddenly raised his longsword high, the tip pointing straight at the sky, as if to pierce a hole through the heavens.
“Now, I, Ranur Hongfeng, in the name of the Captain of the Royal Guard of the Red Maple Kingdom, in the name of the Commander of the Saintess Rescue Corps, swear this oath here!”
“In this battle—if we do not rescue the Saintess, we swear never to return!”
He roared with all his might.
“Fight for the Saintess! Fight for the hope of humanity!”
“BOOM—!”
A response like an avalanche exploded instantly.
“Fight for the Saintess!”
“Fight for the hope of humanity!”
The sound turned into a tangible shockwave, shaking the skies.
Countless citizens surged to the sides of the road where the army was marching.
They waved their arms and threw the flowers they had clutched all the way toward the departing heroes.
Petals fell like rain, scattering in profusion.
An old woman with white hair knelt on the ground, tears streaming down her face.
She had once been healed by Su Nian’s Holy Light.
Thousands upon thousands of people were praying for their Saintess and seeing off this departing army in their own ways.
“We must rescue the Holy Lady!”
“Those heroes will surely tear that evil black-robed demon into pieces!”
“Holy Lady, please hold on a little longer, we are coming to save you!”
***
Monster Forest.
Horned Demon’s Castle, study.
A huge crystal image floated in midair, light and shadow interweaving, casting Chu Tian’s face in shifting brightness.
In the image, a roaring avalanche.
“Fight for the Saintess!”
“Fight for the hope of humanity!”
The sound echoed in the quiet study, carrying an absurd tragic grandeur.
Chu Tian’s fingertips idly twirled the black leather chain, the chain pulling taut.
The other end was connected to the girl kneeling on the thick carpet at his feet—the very Star-Moon Saintess the Saintess Rescue Corps wanted to rescue, Su Nian.
At that moment, Su Nian tilted her head up, her sky-blue eyes unwavering, staring at the scene in the crystal image.
She looked at those frenzied crowds that had come for her, looked at those believers who regarded her as light and hope.
These people were once the ones she had tried with all her might to protect.
Now, they had formed an elite corps staking their lives to come and rescue her.
And she…
Su Nian’s breath caught.
Yet, for the sake of the final eight million Humiliation Value, she was hesitating whether to personally crush this army that had come to save her.
Her heart felt as if gripped tightly by an invisible hand.
A line of cold text flashed wildly in her mental vision:
[Plan Five: The Fallen Saintess.]
[Description: When the Human Allied Forces dispatch a “Brave” unit to rescue the Saintess, the Host personally steps in and repels those who came to save her in full view of the crowd. Let the world believe that the Saintess has been completely conquered and corrupted by the enemy.]
[Estimated Humiliation Value available: 3,000,000 – 5,000,000.]
“Current total Humiliation Value: 94,000,000.”
Only the last step remained.
This was almost the final step tailor-made for her current situation—to become a god.
However, just as her mind was violently shaken, a sudden wave of nausea surged from her stomach.
Her throat tightened.
She subconsciously retched, making a faint sound.
These past two days, her body… had been getting tired very easily.
She had also become unusually sleepy, sometimes even falling into a deep sleep at his feet while he was handling documents.
A bolt of black lightning struck into her mind.
An absurd thought that chilled her to the bone appeared without warning.
Three days ago.
Because of that damned [Enchantment Mark IV], she had almost lost all reason.
As soon as she returned to the room with the Horn Demon Master, she had pounced on him impatiently, truly as if she had lost her mind…
That time, Chu Tian hadn’t had time to prepare any “measures.”
So…
Su Nian’s fingertips began to tremble violently uncontrollably.
With a thought, she called up the most detailed body status panel in the corner of her vision.
A line of small text lay there quietly.
[Current Status: Pregnant (3 days)]
Boom.
The world lost its sound.
The deafening shouts in the crystal image, the crackling of firewood in the fireplace, the steady breathing of the man beside her… everything disappeared.
Su Nian’s mind went blank.
Only those two words kept expanding, burning in her vision, searing through her retina, branding deep into her soul.
Pregnant…
She was pregnant.
Carrying… the child of this Horned Demon Bastard.
She, who had once been a man, now had to nurture in her own body a life created jointly by her and her enemy.
If it were the past, this would have been completely unimaginable.
However, she had no time to be shocked or afraid.
She would not tell Chu Tian.
Tell him and make him take responsibility?
That thought had never lingered in her mind for even a second.
Completely unnecessary.
But… abort this child?
When that option surfaced, Su Nian’s heart twitched violently.
She didn’t know why.
The moment she confirmed this fact, a strange emotion, mixed with extreme shame and primal protective instinct, seized her heart.
After she became a god and defeated this bastard, she would completely lose her purpose in the long and eternal life that followed.
Raising a child… seemed like it could just be a way to dispel loneliness.
This thought stubbornly broke through the soil in her chaotic and barren heart, sprouting and growing.
This seemed like a goal after all.
‘System, will the pregnancy status affect my combat ability?’
She asked urgently in her heart, her voice carrying a tremor she herself hadn’t noticed.
“Ding! Detected that the Host is in a special state. Can spend 10,000,000 Humiliation Value to purchase the “Divine Fetus Disguise” service.”
The system’s response was cold and swift.
“Divine Fetus Disguise: Can perfectly conceal the Host’s pregnancy state and all physiological reactions. Does not affect the Host’s combat ability or completion of Daily Quests, and increases the talent for bearing offspring.”
Does not affect… completing Daily Quests.
Su Nian’s face instantly flushed bright red.
She instantly understood the sinister intention behind the system’s addition.
Fortunately, she now had more Humiliation Value than she could use.
Anyway, spending didn’t affect the acquisition of total Humiliation Value.
‘Buy!’
“Ding! 10,000,000 Humiliation Value deducted successfully! “Divine Fetus Disguise” has taken effect!”
A warm current surged from deep within her body, instantly spreading to her limbs and bones.
That churning nausea that had been entrenched in her stomach disappeared.
The deep fatigue and drowsiness in her body also vanished.
Everything returned to normal, as if the previous events had just been an illusion.
This was a secret that belonged only to her, the most important secret.
She must reach 100,000,000 Humiliation Value as soon as possible, if only for the child.
Pregnancy also made Su Nian firm her final determination.
To complete the task of the fifth plan given by the system: repel the allied forces that came to “rescue” the Saintess.
Let the world believe that the Saintess had been completely conquered and corrupted by the enemy.
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