The Rallying Cry

At this moment, the royal city had become a deathly Hell.

Although the steel fortress's magical cannons had torn several holes in the city walls, not a single person chose to escape—faced with the overwhelming horde of undead, they were utterly helpless. Under Catherine's meticulous planning, the city's inhabitants were now trapped, the undead's most abundant food. Death and destruction inevitably loomed over them. Though they still struggled desperately in their death throes, Catherine's betrayal had eroded their last resolve, leaving even their resistance feeble and weak.

Those who scattered outside the city were no more fortunate than their compatriots inside the capital.

As they ran across the surrounding plains, desperately trying to buy themselves a sliver of hope for survival, it was obvious to anyone that the Magic Empire's target was the royal city, and that they still had a tiny bit of hope until the royal city was completely destroyed and disappeared.

However, Li Lin had naturally taken this into account. He did not intend to let any of the residents of the Five-Nation Alliance go; his goal was to exterminate them all.

Then, the thick clouds began to churn again.

People looked up in terror at the sky, watching as three other floating cities appeared before them, forming a cross-shaped encirclement with the Ringwraith City, completely surrounding the entire city of Dideyasi and the surrounding plains. But this was only the beginning.

With a dazzling flash, the Black Edge Knights appeared below the training ground. Thousands of undead knights, lances in hand, rode on undead steeds, forming a long, narrow line that blocked the escape route. The Dark Elf also appeared on the other side of the battlefield, unusually wielding poisoned longswords, assembled in neat formations, their morale soaring as if they were about to attack the territory of a rival family and wipe them out—in a way, this wasn't wrong; doing so would certainly please the current goddess, although she didn't particularly approve of this cruel fighting style. However, the Arcane Mage's influence clearly forced the Goddess of Dance to reconsider her purpose in life.

Although no soldiers appeared in the metal city with its countless cannons, the sight of those massive, densely packed, hundreds or even thousands of enormous magic cannons was enough to send chills down one's spine.

Within this impenetrable encirclement, any attempt to escape was futile. The crowd, scattered across the plain, slowed their pace, anxiously glancing around as they pondered which of the following options would allow them to "die a worthy death": being blasted to smithereens by magical cannons, being trampled into mincemeat by Black Edge Knight, becoming targets for Dark Elf poison arrows, or being bitten to death by undead creatures. However, it was clear they had no time to carefully consider which method of death best suited them. Some began to retreat, while others recklessly pressed forward, clinging to chance, coincidence, and miracles—even though they knew it was merely self-deception. They couldn't resist taking the gamble, for a near-death experience was far better than certain death.

Unfortunately, they were clearly not blessed by Goddess of Fortune.

A deafening roar of cannons filled the air.

Relying on the fact that her floating city always had the longest range and the greatest power, Yi Aier launched the first attack. The enormous roar was enough to deafen even those with good hearing. When the thousands upon thousands of Magic Power beams of light rained down on the plains, the immense impact was so great that even the distant royal city was not spared, shaking and then collapsing. The land struck by that rain of light was completely unrecognizable, demonstrating the true meaning of the word "miserable." As for those who tried to gain freedom from this direction on their own two feet, they were blasted away without even leaving a trace.

A scream erupted.

Without hesitation, the remaining survivors immediately changed direction. They saw the gleaming cannon muzzles shifting, seemingly searching for new targets. Although the Black Edge Knight and Dark Elf weren't ideal choices, at least they hadn't yet unleashed their full power, giving the fleeing survivors the shock of a massive artillery barrage. However, faced with Yi Aier's preemptive action, Miu'erkasi and Anna didn't stop their own. After all, they remembered clearly that their mission was to mop up the remaining enemies.

As Miu'erkasi raised her longsword, the Black Edge Knight charged forward. On the other side, the Dark Elf drew their longbows, carefully aiming at the scattered shadows on the plain, awaiting the start of the battle.

"It seems that Master's plan is nearing completion."

Catherine floated in the air, gazing at the fleeing crowds in the distance, a happy smile spreading across her face. She then waved her hand, bringing the heroine, now completely bound by magic, to her side. Next, Catherine pointed to the corpses in the street. They had been torn apart and killed by the Scourge Legion, and were now quietly waiting, waiting to rise again and join the Scourge Legion's ranks.

"This is everything you were meant to protect, hero."

Catherine gazed happily at a corpse whose head had been half-eaten off. Judging from the clothes, it must have been a strong man, but even he could not resist the power of the undead. Beneath him, two petite bodies were curled up, which appeared to be his wife and daughter.

"..."

Gazing at the horrific scene before her, the heroine closed her eyes, unable to bear witnessing it any longer.

Open your eyes and look at me!

However, Catherine clearly had no intention of letting her off the hook. She slapped the heroine hard across the face, then chanted a spell, forcibly manipulating her body, opening her eyes, and forcing her to look again at the corpses, ruins, and blood before her.

"You want to run away? They all chose to die because of your foolishness! Hero, hero, ah, what a glorious title! Now, do you see this flesh and corpses? Didn't you become a hero by relying on these same things? Why are you closing your eyes and running away from all of this?! Tell me!"

"..."

It's fine if you don't want to answer.

Catherine's face darkened, then she glanced around, as if she had noticed something.

"In fact, before I left, Miss Angela gave me a rather interesting suggestion. She said it would allow me to experience firsthand the love of my own people... It seems that now is a good opportunity."

With that, Catherine spread her wings and, carrying the bound heroine, flew towards a corner of the city engulfed in chaos.

In a narrow alley, several young soldiers were resisting an attack by undead creatures—this isn't quite accurate. In fact, their expressions revealed them to be mere recruits fresh from the battlefield. Their trembling hands couldn't even grip their longswords properly, while the undead had surrounded them from all sides. Now, these undead were less concerned with taking lives and more with toying with them. After initially venting their rage, they sought to fill the emptiness within themselves with the despair of souls and the pain of suffering. It was precisely for this reason that these young soldiers didn't fall to the ground and become corpses like their comrades.

As Catherine approached, the undead began to retreat. They had no memory, but they could sense the power of the being before them and its relationship with their supreme creator. So the undead let out a low roar and made way for Catherine.

This was undoubtedly the last chance for those soldiers. They looked up with expectant eyes, which then turned into expressions of confusion. However, Catherine clearly did not care about their confusion. She simply looked at the soldiers with a cold smile.

"You're very lucky."

Her voice was cold, tinged with arrogance and mockery.

"To be honest, I really admire your will to survive, no matter how you managed to stay alive."

Faced with Catherine's praise, the soldiers dared not say anything more. They knew of the saintess's betrayal, and they wondered why she was now before them, uttering such strange words. What did she want?

"Don't be so nervous, I'm just planning to give you some rewards."

As Catherine spoke, the heroine slowly floated over, causing a stir among the soldiers. They couldn't understand why two people who looked so similar would appear at the same time.

"Although most of you may already know her, I'll still introduce her again."

At this moment, Catherine seemed to be at a court ball, introducing guests to others.

"This is the creator of our nation, one of the Five Heroes. She was commanded by the holy, righteous, great... God of Justice to vanquish evil and resist my master's attack. And as you have all seen, she was utterly defeated and became my prisoner. Although I have many ways to torture her, after much consideration, I have decided to hand her over to you. After all, the reason you were attacked by the Magic Empire is because of her. So I think you understand what I mean. How about it? She is the founding hero, you know? Don't you want to taste her? Don't think I don't know you've had such thoughts before, haven't you? Now, I'm giving you the chance."

As she spoke, Catherine snapped her fingers lightly.

The heroine's armor instantly fell away, revealing her naked body. Then, Catherine reached down, and with the power of magic, she fell heavily in front of everyone.

"Now, violate her."

Catherine looked at the young people and smiled smugly.

"Those who refuse to obey my orders, I wouldn't mind sending them to keep company with the undead. Also, if some good-for-nothings finish their jobs early, they'll also be added to their master's army. Show your male capabilities! I don't want to end up like Miss Angela, having to use dogs to replace you."

"You, you can't..."

The heroine opened her eyes, wanting to say something, but she could no longer utter a word. What she saw was fear, anger, and burning lust in the eyes of those young men. Under Catherine's provocative words, they no longer resisted—after all, they were going to die anyway, so why not have some fun before they died? And the other man wasn't just anyone, but a founding hero! Such a good thing was worth exchanging their lives for!

"No, no, no..."

Before the heroine could finish speaking, the men roared and pounced on her.

"I hope you enjoy yourself enough, Your Highness."

Catherine watched the woman struggling to break free, but gradually being pinned to the ground by the men, and a smug smile appeared on her face.

"Destroy your country along with it; it is your duty and responsibility as a sinner."