The magic cards I made are absolutely flawless!

The explosion had clearly terrified her, and helpless tears streamed down her cheeks.

Andrea paused for a moment, then sighed and put away her weapon.

She stepped lightly across the ruins to the half-dragon girl's side and asked gently:

Do you have family?

"..."

The half-dragon girl didn't reply, like a soulless doll.

Andrea slowly reached out, wanting to touch the half-dragon girl, but the half-dragon girl instinctively dodged away, as if she no longer trusted anyone.

This pitiful appearance, for some reason, made Andrea feel particularly heartbroken.

"Ugh."

Andrea sighed with some self-reproach and ordered her subordinates to bring a coat, which she carefully draped over the girl's shoulders.

The half-dragon girl was clearly weak. Even though she was at the sixth rank, her strength and stamina were far inferior to those of a fourth-rank warrior. She was clearly a clerical worker.

She was weak and pitiful, yet grateful and repaying kindness; she was clearly a kind person.

There's no reason to question a victim like her.

Andrea only regretted that her unintentional display of wariness and hostility seemed to have further alienated the half-dragon girl's shattered heart.

"Please come with us. We won't hurt you; we just need to investigate some things."

Andrea spoke cautiously.

However, the girl didn't seem to trust her very much.

The fragile and sensitive girl felt utterly distrusted by Andrea's momentary wariness.

Just as Andrea was struggling with what to do...

The girl suddenly seemed to notice something.

It was being carried by medics past a nearby stretcher on which lay an injured soldier.

Despite her foot injury, the half-dragon girl struggled to her feet and ran to the stretcher of the seriously wounded soldier who had rescued her earlier. She gently hugged his arm and began to sob.

She seemed particularly worried about the soldier's injuries.

"Why don't you stay with him? We promise we won't touch you."

Andrea helplessly raised her hands and said to the half-dragon girl.

It seems this young girl only trusts the soldier who risked his life to save her.

However, in Andrea's view, this is already the best possible outcome.

Andrea then looked at Clay:

"Corporal McCree, how are your injuries? Could you look after this young girl for me?"

"That's not good... although it shouldn't be a problem for her to come with me."

Clay responded weakly as he lay on the stretcher.

He raised his right hand with difficulty, making a V-sign.

"But it will cost extra."

"You gambling addict sergeant, you're hopeless,"

Andrea covered her forehead and said helplessly, taking twenty gold coins out of her pocket and placing them on Clay's stretcher.

"Don't lose it all at once this time."

She had no doubt that there was anything wrong with the soldier.

"?"

Dekan witnessed all of this and was completely shocked.

You're not only a natural actor, but you also want to play yourself to make a quick buck, huh?!

344 Mier is seeking support from De Cancre.

The capital of the Salon Empire.

Thick smoke billowed into the sky above the center of the palace.

The sudden turn of events quickly drew the support of all the eighth-tier powerhouses remaining in the capital.

A fierce wind howled through the sky, but just as the first batch of eighth-tier reinforcements were about to rush into the imperial city, they found two figures standing outside with remarkably calm expressions, like gatekeepers.

They were fighting their opponents with ease, and it seemed that even if a few more eighth-level experts came, they could still hold them off!

What initially seemed like a suicidal act in the capital of the Saron Empire became clear when the reinforcements recognized the two enemies blocking their path.

They are the remnants of the Church of Resurrection, the Devouring Bishop and the Plague Bishop!

Two genuine bishop-level combatants, in most cases they can almost take on three opponents of the same level!

Even during their time at the Church of Resurrection, they never dared to directly declare war on the Saron Empire. Yet now, having established the Church of Calamity, they dare to launch a direct attack on the imperial palace!

Their purpose in coming here was very clear.

He was insanely obsessed with killing the lord!

Although no one knows what these lunatics were ultimately plotting.

However, most of the people present couldn't help but worry about the Queen.

Even though everyone in the Saron Empire firmly believed in the Empress's power.

But the Resurrected Church members are not good at fighting battles they can't win.

Just like when they attacked the Kingdom Federation, what seemed like a near 1000% chance of victory was repeatedly disrupted by multiple variables before they finally managed to defuse the Church of Resurrection's fatal blow.

Even so, the Kingdom Federation paid a heavy price—

It was beaten to the point of disintegration.

……

The outer perimeter of the palace.

"It's been so long since I've tasted eighth-tier human flesh! I have to thank your Sword Saint, Mr. Adair, for the last time I was able to eat the kingdom's eighth-tier flesh!"

The Devouring Bishop occasionally let out maniacal laughter as he fought against the Imperial Guard Knight Commander, who wielded a silver holy sword.

He seemed to be enjoying the battle, while the Royal Guard Commander suppressed his anger and used all his strength to resist the bishop whose body was almost turning into a monster.

Their battle raged from inside the palace all the way to outside.

The moment these terrifying bishops stormed into the palace, if the Queen hadn't been the first to react, even the other eighth-tier powerhouses would probably have been severely injured before they could even react.

Bloodstained blades clashed, sparks flying, and then figures flashed by. The low, guttural sound of sharp blades slicing through flesh echoed chillingly outside the palace, a place filled with the sounds of battle.

Several officers dressed in Imperial Magic Special Forces uniforms were working together with grim expressions to kill the Plague Bishop.

The Plague Bishop remained expressionless, silently reciting numbers as if counting down the days for those who would soon die from the virus.

Even though two bishops were held back, or rather, they voluntarily cooperated with these imperial powerhouses to stay away from the fiercest battlefield.

There are still two terrifyingly powerful individuals left in the palace who are capable of threatening the Empress!

But no one could come to the Queen's aid anymore, or rather, that level of battle was beyond the reach of an eighth-rank official!

Perhaps they will become a negative force that interferes with the Queen's fighting ability!

In addition, the large number of Calamity Cultists who poured in from the outskirts of the imperial city were all elites of the fifth rank or above, and there were even leaders of the seventh and eighth ranks.

Despite being outnumbered by the Knights, they were all reckless madmen, each equipped with self-destruct spells.

Coupled with the Plague Bishop's wide-area destructive spells that showed no regard for allies, while resisting the eighth-tier powerhouse, the Plague Bishop was also destroying the Knights' defenses with a slaughter-like force.

The Imperial Army was well aware that they absolutely could not allow all of these enemies to storm into the main hall of the palace.

The Queen's only weakness is the lack of powerful, wide-area, direct-damage spells.

Because she was born with a high spirit and low magic power growth attribute, even when she used attack spells, the damage was not high, and she couldn't even kill a seventh-tier enemy instantly.

If these guys were to get involved in the Queen's battle, even a balanced situation would likely put the Queen at a significant disadvantage.

After several rounds of attacks, the elite of the Church of Calamity successfully broke through several lines of defense of the Knights. Just as they were about to completely occupy the imperial city and begin to rush into the palace area to slaughter, the real fierce battle broke out at this moment.

The last and most difficult line of defense was composed entirely of court magicians.

The light of the protective barrier around the palace flickered and materialized, suddenly appearing within the vast and magnificent palace, blocking the entrance.

The court magicians worked together to activate the palace's protective barrier, empowering the allies below the defensive line while simultaneously preventing other enemy forces from advancing. They launched a counterattack, forcefully repelling the enemy's rapid advance.

As the sword energy swept across, a deafening roar shook the ground around the palace, shattering the tiles. For the first time, the offensive of the elite forces of the Calamity Cult showed signs of slowing down.

However, even with the strict defenses of court magicians and elite knights, it was not an impregnable fortress.

With the Calamity Cult advancing with overwhelming force, it's only a matter of time before they break through our defenses.

If the Empress loses, they, who are surrounded from both sides, will all die!

Within the vast imperial city, an even more terrifying battle was taking place, with occasional earth-shattering collapses echoing through the air.

Every member of the Imperial Army could only pray that the Empress would win quickly and defeat her enemies.

They also knew that an enemy capable of fighting the Queen for so long must be exceptionally terrifying.

……

In the shattered palace, the setting sun shone through the collapsed dome, casting a gradually focusing light onto the throne.

The castle was almost reduced to ruins, with the blood-stained, magnificent noble robes mixed among the rubble.

Almost none of the servants and officials who were originally in the palace survived. In the instant the upheaval occurred, they were shattered like glass bottles before they could even react.

In addition, there were several black-robed corpses bleeding from all seven orifices, all of whom died from a curse casually cast by the Empress.

Standing atop the shattered ruins were only three figures, each bearing injuries.

"Huh...huh..."

Standing at the furthest edge, the most severely injured was the vain Bishop Carlos, who was panting heavily.