Chapter 40: The Undead Knights Attack, Crisis Descends

However, this warmth didn’t last long. Night fell.

Yisela and Lina squeezed into one tent.

Lina had already fallen asleep, clutching a beautiful magic crystal that Yisela had given her.

But Yisela couldn’t sleep.

She lay on the straw mat, staring blankly at the tent ceiling.

The sense of security from the holy spirit boots and arm guards still couldn’t drive away the deep unease in her heart.

Just then—

BOOM!!!

A deafening roar that seemed to tear the earth apart instantly spread throughout the camp.

Immediately after, a piercing howl followed.

It didn’t sound like a human, nor like an ordinary magic beast—it was like a demon crawling out of hell, shrieking.

“Ahhh!!!”

Panicked screams came from outside the tent.

“It’s over!”

“We’re doomed!”

“We’re finished!”

“The front-line position!”

“The entire front-line position is wiped out!”

“Run for it!”

“We’re all going to die!”

Yisela shot up from the straw mat, grabbed the holy spirit boots beside her, pulled them on, and dashed out of the tent.

Outside, the world had already descended into chaos.

The quiet night was torn apart by firelight and wails.

The villagers ran around like headless flies. The Knights shouted orders, trying to maintain order, but fear spread like a plague.

“What’s going on?!”

Saintess Seraphina’s figure appeared in midair, followed by several elite Knights.

Her usually gentle face was now stern, her eyes filled with shock.

“There wasn’t any warning from the front line?”

“How could they be wiped out instantly?!”

Just then, a scout covered in blood stumbled out of the darkness. He collapsed before reaching the Saintess.

“Help…!”

“Save me…!”

Seraphina pointed a finger, and a soft holy light instantly enveloped the scout, steadying his crumbling spirit.

“Calm down. Tell me, what happened up ahead?”

The scout trembled all over, tears and blood streaming down his face. His voice was distorted by fear.

“A monster…!”

“It’s a monster!”

“A magic beast with an incredibly powerful aura…!”

“…!”

“It smashed straight through the camp’s Barrier!”

“We didn’t even have time to react!”

“The platinum rank defense Barrier was like paper in front of it!”

“In an instant…!”

“Wiped out!”

“I saw it from the distant watch post and ran back with all my might!”

“Flee now!”

“Saintess!”

“Flee now!”

“There’s no way we can beat it!”

“We’re all going to die!”

The scout’s words exploded like a bomb, igniting the crowd’s panic.

“Wiped out?”

“That was a platinum rank magic array!”

“Even the Barrier couldn’t stop it?”

“We’re doomed!”

“Run!”

“Run!”

The army’s morale shattered instantly.

Seraphina’s face turned pale, but she knew this wasn’t the time to be afraid.

She took a deep breath, and a soft yet firm holy light burst from her body, suppressing the surrounding chaos.

“Everyone, hear my command!”

Her voice carried through magic power, filled with unquestionable authority.

“Knights Order, hear me!”

“Form a defensive formation and cover the villagers’ retreat!”

“Withdraw to the Southern Valley!”

“Yisela!”

Seraphina turned her head and looked at the silver-haired girl standing nearby.

Her gaze shifted from authority to deep anxiety and tenderness.

“You retreat with the villagers immediately!”

“I have to deal with that monster. I can’t let it advance any further. If it reaches another town, there will be more slaughter!”

Yisela stood still, her small fists clenched tightly.

She didn’t want to go.

The despair in that scout’s eyes filled her with a panic she had never felt before.

“I’m not going!”

Yisela gritted her teeth, the holy spirit boots on her feet glowing.

“I’m a silver dragon!”

“I can help you…!”

“Listen to me!”

Seraphina interrupted Yisela with a harsher tone than ever before.

She flew down in front of Yisela, grabbed her shoulders tightly, her eyes full of pleading.

“Yisela, I don’t know how many magic beasts there are, or how strong that thing really is.”

“But I have to go and hold it off, to buy the villagers in other towns time to evacuate and wait for reinforcements.”

“You must withdraw immediately!”

“Go now!”

With that, Seraphina gave no more time.

She spun around. Her white wings spread wide in an instant. A dazzling holy light rose like the sun, illuminating the entire dark night sky.

“In the name of light, purify everything!”

Seraphina transformed into a streak of light and charged without looking back toward the direction of the roar in the depths of the darkness.

“Saintess!!”

The Knights shouted mournfully, following close behind.

“Your Highness!”

“Let’s go too!”

Lina had woken up at some point. She ran over crying and hugged Yisela’s leg.

“Your Highness!”

“Let’s go quickly!”

Yisela watched the Saintess’s receding figure.

A single tear slid down from the corner of her eye.

“You idiot Saintess!”

“Sister…!”

“Why did you have to charge in alone…!”

Yisela took a deep breath, forcing down her fear and impulse.

She knew that if she rushed in now, she would only cause trouble for the Saintess.

“Let’s move!”

Yisela scooped up Lina.

“Everyone, follow me closely!”

“Anyone who falls behind, I, the Princess, will not forgive!”

Yisela fled into the dark night with the terrified villagers.

And far behind them, a huge black shadow slowly rose from the ruins, letting out a mocking sneer at the holy light flying toward it in the sky.