Kicking aside the rubble blocking his way, Morton raised his hand to sheath his longsword.
He narrowed his eyes and asked with a smile, “The fortress has fallen. What, Saint Deputy, you’re the first to run?”
The Deputy looked around, and seeing there was no way to escape, he forced a stiff smile, his lips twitching.
“Run? Hehe, don’t we still have all of you? You will surely turn the tide, right?”
Morton took a step forward, his silver armor shimmering with a brilliant luster under the light. His tall figure completely enveloped the Deputy.
“Us, turning the tide? Shouldn’t it be the soldiers of the Barnes Territory who killed all the demons and truly repelled them? Why change your tune now and say we are the ones turning the tide?”
His words were filled with extreme sarcasm, causing the Deputy to stagger back, cold sweat drenching his forehead.
In theory, as a Deputy of the Imperial Command, he had no reason to fear a Commander of the Cross Knights. However, at this moment, his guilty conscience made him completely oblivious to that fact.
Beyond that, he was worried the other party had caught him red-handed.
If his conspiracy with Viscount Barnes were exposed, no one would be able to protect him. Therefore, when it was time to bow one’s head, he would bow.
He was a man who knew how to yield when necessary.
With a somewhat apologetic smile, the Deputy said, “Commander Morton, you misunderstand. I was also forced by Viscount Barnes. I didn’t support their actions from the very beginning, but…”
“Shut up!”
Morton suddenly roared, stomping his foot so hard the ground shook.
The Deputy shrunk his neck in fear, his entire body nearly collapsing to the floor.
Morton took a deep breath. The air was thick with the scent of blood and scorched earth. Tattered flags fluttered weakly in the evening breeze, and the moans of wounded soldiers drifted from the distance.
“The fortress has fallen, and it can be said that you and Viscount Barnes have rendered the greatest ‘service.’ We have recorded the conversation between you and General Gerald. From now on, you’d best prepare for the consequences.”
“Take him away.”
He made a gesture behind him, and two Knights stepped forward to seize the Deputy.
After that, Morton raised his foot and walked toward the interior of the fortress, where demons still ran rampant.
Upon seeing that Morton possessed evidence of his conspiracy with Viscount Barnes, the Deputy’s face turned deathly pale. Forgetting his status, he could only scream repeatedly.
“No, no, no, Commander Morton! We can talk this over! Let’s talk about it!”
However, Morton did not even turn his head.
***
The garrison inside the fortress and some residents providing logistics had long known the news of the breach.
They had hidden in the fortress’s underground early on, waiting for the demons to disperse.
Inside the fortress, the Rose Knights and the Cross Knights were like demon hunters, sweeping through the area at will.
Any demon that collided with them was annihilated in an instant.
General Gerald took in this scene with his own eyes. He sat paralyzed on the ground, his mouth hanging open unconsciously.
Beside him, the expressions of some soldiers from the Barnes Territory were identical to his.
He had thought there wouldn’t be much of a gap between the soldiers of his own territory and these Orders of Knights, but looking at it now, they were truly like frogs at the bottom of a well.
The demons that had slaughtered them could not last more than three seconds in the hands of these Knights.
So, what on earth was Viscount Barnes thinking, trying to seize the credit for repelling the demons?
General Gerald could not understand it.
The operation to surround and suppress the demons lasted for two days. After the last demon was killed, Snow City Fortress finally returned to the hands of General Breno.
Morton stood on the city wall, watching the soldiers who were cleaning up the battlefield. His gaze fell upon a blood-stained figure nearby.
He walked over, his armor making a dull clanking sound with every step.
“What’s wrong? You look a bit troubled.”
Leanna did not answer immediately. She gazed at the demon remains covering the ground, her brows tightly furrowed, allowing the evening wind to blow through her scattered hair.
“These demons feel very different to me.”
“Different how?”
Leanna looked up, a hint of memory flashing in her eyes.
“When I first encountered demons, every one of them was incredibly cunning and possessed special abilities. These demons, however, are somewhat like Beasts—they have no reason, and their abilities are quite mediocre.”
Morton pondered for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the mountain of demon corpses piled outside the city.
“With such a massive quantity of demons, perhaps there were some conditional restrictions when they were summoned? Besides, it’s also possible they are mere clones meant to deplete our garrison’s strength.”
Leanna remained silent for a long time, her fingers unconsciously rubbing the hilt of her sword. In the distance, a burned military flag made a wailing sound in the wind.
“…I hope that’s the case.”
***
Although the demons that entered the fortress had been eliminated, many of the fortress’s facilities were destroyed by them. Repairing them would take many days, and the air was still permeated with the smell of gunpowder and a faint scent of blood.
At a busy street corner, Teresa, who finally had some time to relax, was attracted by a half-collapsed shop. A damaged sign hung crookedly, though one could still discern it had once been a bookstore.
After a moment of hesitation, Teresa pulled open the shattered door and bent down to enter.
The light inside the shop was dim. The bookshelves were overturned, and books were scattered all over the floor, covered in a thick layer of dust. Amidst this mess, she saw a familiar figure squatting in the corner, sneakily rummaging through something.
That back… the more Teresa looked, the more familiar it seemed.
“Iserine? Why are you here?”
Iserine reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. Her whole body jolted, and she quickly hid a booklet behind her back before turning around with a lingering look of alarm.
After seeing who it was, she breathed a sigh of relief and patted her dust-covered breastplate, a bit of color returning to her face.
Her voice still carried a hint of lingering tension.
Teresa frowned slightly, noticing the other’s strange expression.
“What’s the matter with you?”
“It’s nothing.”
Iserine tried to make her expression look natural, but her flickering eyes betrayed her.
Teresa took a step forward and said, “You seem a bit nervous?”
Iserine sighed and curled her lips in complaint. “Someone suddenly called my name, how could I not be nervous? But seeing it’s you, I feel much better.”
“What do you mean?”
“What do I mean? Didn’t you come to this shop for this?”
A sly smile hooked the corner of Iserine’s mouth. Like she was performing magic, she revealed the booklet she had hidden behind her back. The cover depicted two women in an intimate pose.
Teresa’s eyebrows shot up.
“This is…”
When she took the booklet from Iserine’s hand, her fair face instantly turned bright red, the blush even spreading to the tips of her ears.
She had originally thought the women on the cover were just in an intimate pose, but upon closer inspection, she realized they were more than just intimate—they were bold!
Not only that, the dresses they wore were very revealing, with many details outlined through the fabric.
When she looked at the title and saw the words “Forbidden Love,” Teresa completely understood. This was a forbidden book! A forbidden book that would be burned by the holy Saintess of the Oracle Hall!
Teresa seemed pinned to the spot, her mouth slightly open, but she only managed to utter a few broken syllables.
“This, this is!”
“Shh—!” Iserine immediately placed a finger to her lips, glancing left and right like a thief.
She then leaned closer to Teresa and whispered, “It’s exactly what you think it is.”
Watching Teresa look as if she were about to start smoking, Iserine couldn’t help but chuckle.
“It seems you really didn’t know, Teresa. But that makes sense. Among us, you don’t like to talk much; you’re a true ice beauty.”
Ice beauty?
She was not!
She had been very silent in the Rose Knights at the beginning simply because she wasn’t familiar with them. With people she knew well, she talked quite a lot.
Especially with Lady Isavel…
To constantly get closer to her, she had racked her brains thinking of many Magic questions.
It was just that Lady Isavel was truly amazing; even now, there wasn’t a single Magic question that could stump her.
…Wait, now was not the time to be thinking about that!
What she should be considering was why there was such a forbidden book here!
Teresa suddenly snapped out of it, forcing herself to look away. She tried to maintain her composure as she scolded, though it carried no real authority.
“How can there be such a vulgar thing here?”
“Vulgar? Please—”
Iserine drew out her words exaggeratedly, using the booklet in her hand to lightly tap the dusty bookshelf beside her.
“This is a fortress. The garrison soldiers work very hard to defend the city. Is it so wrong to let them relax a bit?”
She retorted righteously and took a step forward. Her ample chest appeared before Teresa like leaping rabbits, causing the corner of Teresa’s eye to twitch.
She was someone who didn’t care about her figure at all, but for some reason, seeing Iserine now made her feel a slight pang of jealousy.
Especially after she had forcibly used Divine Grace, causing her body to manifest characteristics of Monsterization…
Although her Monsterization had been cured by the Potion in the following days, her body had become much weaker as a result, and her previously satisfactory figure had shrunk a bit.
Perhaps… that was the source of her jealousy.
Allowing her eyes to be filled by the large rabbits, Teresa tried to regain her dignity as a Rose Knight. She straightened her back and said, “But those are garrison soldiers. We are Rose Knights…”
“Rose Knights?”
Folding her arms, Iserine huffed. “We suffer much more than those garrison soldiers. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten that we’ve been risking our lives this entire time?”
In over two years, our Magic Level reached level 60 or so. Looking at the entirety of human history, not many people could achieve such a speed.
She paused, and her tone became lighthearted again, carrying a sort of rebellious encouragement.
“We work so hard, what’s wrong with a little secret indulgence? As long as the Lady Saintess doesn’t find out… oh, and Leanna can’t find out either; she’s too stiff.”
Thinking of Leanna, Iserine couldn’t help but curl her lips.
It was clear she had some opinions about the Captain’s personal life, likely because her previous suggestions filled with a spirit of adventure had all been rejected by Leanna one by one.
Seeing Teresa fall into silence, Iserine sighed, stepped forward, and patted her shoulder.
“Don’t worry. We’re at this age now, so it’s normal to have some needs. Even if the Lady Saintess found out, she would surely forgive us.”
Her pupils dilated instantly. Teresa cast an incredible look at Iserine, the blush that had faded from her cheeks rising once more.
“Some needs… don’t tell me you’ve already…”
Embarrassed by Teresa’s gaze, Iserine realized what she meant. Her mouth twitched as she said, “I’ve already what! I haven’t done it with anyone! My point is, at our age, it’s normal to be a little curious about that kind of thing!”
“…Oh, so that’s how it is.”
Seeing a strange sense of disappointment in Teresa’s eyes, Iserine felt she might need to re-evaluate this ice beauty of the Rose Knights.
“Anyway, that’s how it is. To be honest, even if Lady Selis found out we were looking at this kind of book, nothing should happen. We just need to make sure Lady Isavel doesn’t know.”
As she spoke, Iserine generously held out the copy of “Forbidden Love” in front of Teresa.
As if seeing some terrifying beast, Teresa subconsciously took a half-step back, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. She shook her head firmly. “I’m sorry, I… I don’t want it…”
“Eh? What a pity—”
Iserine waved the booklet in her hand, promoting it with a highly seductive tone.
“This is a forbidden lily love between two women who look like mother and daughter. Setting the plot aside, the art style alone is perfect. You’ll regret it for the rest of your life if you don’t read it.”
“Iserine!”
Teresa’s delicate body trembled, and her face turned even redder, this time seemingly out of anger.
Immediately after, she shouted with righteous indignation, “We are Rose Knights! How can we appreciate this kind of forbidden love?!”
Then, under Iserine’s stunned gaze, she snatched “Forbidden Love” from her hand. She turned around and said quickly with incomparable clarity:
“This is truly terrible! I must criticize it severely! Come find me in a few days to get this book back!”