After leaving the Temporary Encampment of the Rose Knights, Selis transformed into Isavel—a breathtaking Saintess with flowing black hair appeared deep within the forest.
Her gentle, loving eyes were concealed beneath indifferent, pitch-black irises.
Selis was a fabricated Saintess; every part of her, including her background, was false—just a lie concocted to comfort Aelia.
At the same time, she wasn’t afraid of them discovering the truth. After all, in her territory, any information they obtained was information she allowed them to know.
Moreover, the identity of Selis was a chain forged from love and care, tightly binding them and preventing any wild imaginations.
She cast a teleportation spell on herself. One moment, she was still within the Crimson Forest; the next, she had already appeared in front of the Oracle Hall in the Aos Empire’s Imperial Capital.
At the entrance of the Oracle Hall, Renia, dressed in a black and white maid uniform, lifted her skirt and bowed respectfully: “Lady Vel, the Goddess has issued a new oracle. The nations will also convene an Oracle Conference.”
“I understand.”
As the words fell, the Oracle Maidens lining the path bowed their heads, welcoming Isavel into the Oracle Hall.
The Oracle Hall, overseen by the Saintess, was where the Goddess’s oracles were delivered.
Its main structure was white and grandiose, making it one of the most sacred and solemn places in the mortal world.
Renia had been Isavel’s maid since childhood and could be said to be the closest person to her in this world.
So when Isavel wasn’t at the Oracle Hall, Renia was effectively the second-in-command.
Inside, the Oracle Hall was a spacious and bright hall. At its far end stood a statue of the Goddess, nearly ten meters tall.
At that moment, on the snow-white tiles before the statue, a golden magic array radiated light.
Stepping forward into the golden magic array, Isavel’s consciousness left her body and entered a solemn conference room.
At the center of the room was a massive round table surrounded by seven throne-like chairs. Six figures were already seated; only the last throne remained empty.
That seat was for Isavel.
The Oracle Conference was, in essence, the highest assembly of mankind. Besides Isavel, the six others consisted of three emperors from various empires, two heads of the Academy, and one Tower Master from the Archmage Tower.
The Queen of the Aos Empire was notably among them.
After she sat down, one of the white-haired Academy Heads stroked his beard and said:
“Everyone knows the Goddess’s oracle, yes? In half a month, demons will descend from the Abyss, taking advantage of the seal’s disturbance. If no one intervenes, chaos will engulf the mortal world.”
“Chaos? Hmph, isn’t that a bit exaggerated? Those demons can only appear because of the seal’s crack. How formidable can they really be?”
Another Academy Head, looking middle-aged and somewhat impatient, retorted.
“According to the seal’s fluctuations, the demons coming to the mortal realm have a magical power level around 15. It’s not high, but don’t forget, Abyssal Demons aren’t easy to kill.”
“Ordinary people cannot kill demons. Only beings touched by the aura of the gods can manage it, including those blessed by the Goddess.”
At this, the elderly Academy Head looked toward Isavel.
Isavel’s expression remained calm, though inwardly, she was quite displeased.
Abyssal Demons were different from the usual monsters of this world.
Although both were bloodthirsty and cruel, Abyssal Demons were more cunning and had extraordinarily strong resurrection abilities—ordinary people simply couldn’t kill them.
As for those touched by the gods, simply put, they were wielders of artifacts.
Such artifacts were scarce across the mortal world, and even if they existed, they were rarely used lightly.
So the Academy Head’s meaning was clear: the Rose Knights were to be sent to deal with the Abyssal Demons.
Sure enough, after the Academy Head’s words, a portly emperor chuckled warmly:
“The Rose Knights can take action now. Isn’t this just their moment to shine against the demons?”
Heh, fat pig.
Silently cursing the emperor, Isavel replied, “They’ve just become Knights recently. They’re all novices, with an average magical power level of only 10. Sending them to face Abyssal Demons would cause heavy casualties.”
To put it nicely, “heavy casualties” meant utter annihilation.
From her understanding of the current Rose Knights, sending them to wipe out Abyssal Demons was no different from delivering food to the demons.
“What does sacrifice matter? I believe some of them will survive the demons, and those survivors will undoubtedly be the elite among elites in the future.”
“Besides, raising one person to a Demigod takes countless resources—forty of them at that! Losing a few now just lightens our burden.”
Hearing the fat pig’s words, Isavel frowned slightly but did not reply.
If she had full control over the Rose Knights, she would have retorted already, but unfortunately, as Saintess, she only possessed the right to train the Rose Knights.
The Rose Knights were not her private property. So if these people insisted that the Knights go out and fight demons, there was nothing she could do.
And the fat pig’s constant targeting of the Rose Knights relied exactly on this fact.
As for the reason behind the targeting…
The Rose Knights were raised by Isavel, who was born in the Aos Empire. So weren’t the Rose Knights loyal to the Aos Empire?
If that was the case, then by helping the Rose Knights, weren’t they aiding the enemy?
Isavel clearly understood that this was the mindset of the fat pig and certain high-ranking officials.
Humans, even when facing a unified crisis, could never fully unite within.
“Hmph, I think you’re just stingy. If a few more Knights die, what then? What if you can’t kill the Abyssal Dragon? Will you step in?”
“An empire can barely raise a single Demigod, let alone forty!”
The Queen of the Aos Empire sneered, mocking the emperor, who wasn’t one to back down, and soon they were chattering like market vendors.
The Oracle Conference quickly degenerated into a chaotic mess.
“Enough! Demons are extremely troublesome. Besides the Rose Knights, I can’t think of any other solution. Artifacts are simply too scarce.”
The Tower Master of the Archmage Tower ended the argument decisively, stroking his long beard with a smile aimed at Isavel—enough to make her want to set his beard on fire.
Isavel knew that from this point forward, she could no longer shield the Rose Knights from this crisis.
They were destined to go to the battlefield and face the Abyssal Demons in a life-or-death battle.
She trusted that the moment they became Rose Knights, they had already accepted this fate.
However… she could still fight for a little more time for them.
After a moment of silence, Isavel said:
“One month. Give me one more month. I will make sure they gain the strength to encircle and defeat the demons. If I fail, I will relinquish the training rights.”
“Fine! You said it yourself—one month!”
The fat pig emperor grinned broadly and eagerly agreed. Although the demons would arrive in half a month, to him, delaying by another half month was no big deal.
The others remained silent, knowing full well this matter would not end so simply.
Just as they expected, Isavel smiled faintly and slowly added:
“Likewise, if I succeed, I will need full control over the Rose Knights thereafter.”
Silence fell.
Full control over the Rose Knights?
That was practically admitting the Rose Knights were her personal order.
“No problem, as long as you can deliver.”
In the end, they agreed.
After all, to make a group of novice Knights from level 10 to level 15 in one month—and give them the strength to defeat Abyssal Demons?
It was like forcing a newborn baby to learn to walk.
Breaking the Oracle Conference, the fat pig emperor laughed aloud just thinking about it.