Su Mo slapped his face hard. The sight of the panicked crowd gave him a headache, but he still raised his voice and shouted, "Get into the forest, now! We'll hold them here. As long as you make it deep into the woods, you'll be safe."
At that moment, a little girl tugged uneasily at Su Mo's trouser leg. "Big brother, can we really survive?"
Su Mo crouched down and gently patted the little girl's head with a smile. "I'll do everything I can to stop the pursuers. Just follow everyone to Lyon. You'll be safe once you get there."
The civilians who had escaped from La Charité followed Su Mo's instructions and ran into the woods one after another. During this time, Jeanne d'Arc led the soldiers in guarding the only entrance to the forest and covering the civilians' retreat, while the attacking Servants had already caught up from the burning city.
The most eye-catching among them was the black Servant descending from the sky atop a black dragon!
Unlike the Wyvern circling overhead, the black dragon possessed powerful limbs and black fleshy wings as immense as mountains. Its entire body was covered in pure black Dragon Scales.
Most terrifying of all was its size. It stood at least several dozen meters tall, making the surrounding trees seem tiny before it. When it landed, the ground actually collapsed beneath the overwhelming weight of its massive body!
"W-What kind of monster is that?"
As though it had heard the soldiers' terrified cries, the evil dragon suddenly spread its mountain-sized black wings. The gale it whipped up uprooted trees and sent them flying, sweeping many soldiers into the air and grinding them to pieces!
"Is... is that a real dragon?"
Holding down her clothing as the violent wind whipped it up, Kiyohime stared fearfully at the black dragon across from her. Before it, she felt as small as a frail reptile.
"Are you all right, Kiyohime?" Sensing her fear, Su Mo pulled her into his arms and spoke softly into her ear.
Kiyohime's body trembled slightly. Then, with an embarrassed expression, she said to Su Mo, "I am deeply sorry. Even though I am Master's Servant, I keep disgracing you..."
"Good girl, don't overthink it. Besides, I've never blamed you." Seeing the guilt in Kiyohime's heart, all Su Mo could do was hold her tighter and comfort her by her ear.
In the control room, the Director watched Su Mo and Kiyohime awkwardly embracing on the screen, her brows knitting in displeasure.
"Why do I smell the sickly sweetness of romance? What are those two doing on a battlefield? Can't they see the enemy army is already closing in?"
The next instant, after the Director finished speaking, a distinctively peculiar laugh rang out.
"Where do you think you're running off to?"
Standing atop the black dragon and holding a black military banner, the Servant glanced at Jeanne d'Arc, who stood at the very front of the army, and revealed a mocking expression.
"This is awful... This is terrible. I'm really going to lose my mind... If I don't, I'll probably die laughing at this ridiculous scene!"
The black Servant, who looked exactly like Jeanne d'Arc apart from her ash-gray skin and pale golden hair, pointed the banner in her hand at Jeanne d'Arc, standing at the very front of the French army.
"Hey! Look, Gilles! That pathetic little girl is standing with those worms again! She's going to protect those worms again! It's hilarious! And have these rats been scared so badly that their brains have turned to mush? They still have the nerve to stand behind that little girl! Say something, Gilles..."
"Oh, right. How careless of me. I didn't bring Gilles with me."
The black Servant kept calling for the Marshal, but received no reply, because he was not there at all. Still, no one dared speak carelessly. Though she appeared insane on the surface, the black Servant radiated a heavy, vicious aura with willful abandon.
"Miss Jeanne d'Arc, it's obvious that this 'Dragon Witch' is very fixated on you. Go talk to her and see if you can draw out any useful information."
Su Mo quietly whispered a few words into Jeanne d'Arc's ear. She nodded firmly, stepped forward a few paces, and stared resolutely at the Servant atop the black dragon.
"Who are you?"
Su Mo covered his face in anguish. He had clearly told her most of the information about Black Jeanne d'Arc while they were exchanging intel, and she knew the other woman was another version of herself. Yet the first thing she asked after going up there was, "Who are you?" Was that any way to gather information?
"I was just about to ask who you are!" Black Jeanne d'Arc put away her crazed expression, revealing a cold, stern demeanor as she looked down at Jeanne d'Arc in silver knight's armor.
"Fine. As your superior, I shall graciously answer your question. Listen carefully."
Before you continue