After choosing to leave, they regretted it.

In other words, she never faced up to that failure.

Aize understood this, which is why he constantly tried to comfort Chris by saying that he, too, would fail. But Chris stubbornly refused to face up to her failure and continued to avoid reality.

Until Adrien slapped the words back in his own face.

Actually, this is a bit ironic.

If the same words were spoken by Aize or Marquis Adrian, the impact on Chris would likely be fatal.

After all, arrogance is her underlying logic.

Once it is revealed, no one knows what will happen.

That's why Aize and the Marquis tried to influence her indirectly, preferring slow progress rather than being explicit, in order to avoid any accidents to Chris herself.

Only Adrian could say these words.

Because, Adrian is "second in command".

Throughout his college career, he constantly challenged Chris, but was completely defeated in all aspects and never won even a small game and got second place.

Because of her arrogance, Chris actually looked down on him deep down in her heart.

But even such a despised person has been in the same situation as Chris countless times, and has persisted with amazing perseverance and responsibility, without showing any weakness like her.

This means that Adrian beat Chris, and even beat him countless times.

This made it impossible for Christina to escape reality by worshipping Aize.

After all, in her extremely arrogant mind, she really thought that losing to her master was natural, but losing to Adrian would be a complete loss of face.

A strong sense of unwillingness supported her arrogance - and the personality built on it did not collapse directly, but instead went through the most difficult time in a relatively stable state.

Therefore, Adrian is the only one in the world who can make these words clear.

And Aize’s current condition plays an indispensable role.

Aize said before that what is needed is not believers, but companions.

Being a companion means standing by someone's side on an equal footing, sharing the pressure and achieving the goal together.

Chris longed for that position, but she didn't dare to really stand up and pursue it. The result was a vicious cycle of self-loathing that kept repeating.

What now?

"I'm going to get that guy who likes to show off. This is an Imperial war. There's no reason for an outsider like him to bear all the consequences alone."

Although it was not intentional and I will never admit it, what Adrian said and what he wanted to do is not the positioning of a companion as described by Aize?

What I can't do, Adrian can do without any burden in his heart?

Makes no sense.

At this moment, Chris actually felt jealous of His Royal Highness the Prince - although even she herself felt that this was a bit too outrageous and abstract.

So, the last piece of the puzzle is complete.

All the seemingly useless preparations that Aize had made before were finally connected together with Adrian's unintentional assist.

"That runner-up is really infuriating. What a joke! What a joke!"

Chris held her forehead against the wall and stood up with gritted teeth.

Extremely annoyed and unwilling to give in.

And he was so jealous that he was almost deformed.

But at this moment, Christina Karlsade felt refreshed as never before.

The terrifying clouds of arrogance that had been accumulating in my heart for two years had been replaced by a strong and complex desire that came from the same source.

She wanted to rescue Aize - this was originally the task Aize gave her, and it was not Adrian's turn to interfere.

She wanted to prove herself to Aize - to meet his expectations.

She wanted to share Aize's responsibility - the former hero who suffered torture in his former team but still cared about the world, deserved to live an easier life than he had now.

……

……

All the desires that had accumulated over the past two years, but which I had been unable to pursue and realize due to timidity, suddenly burst out like a flood.

"I've been playing it down for long enough... I'm sorry, Master. Please hold on a little longer. I'll be here to help you soon."

She slapped her face hard, looked out the window in the direction of Lilbas, and said to herself.

Chapter 104 Hell Difficulty

After wrapping the gauze around his neck again, Adrian wasted no time and went straight to the command post on the first floor of Jarlsburg.

In addition to the guards and officers who were still busy, Marquis Carlside, who had left earlier, also came here and sat at the table with a gloomy expression.

Seeing the prince coming, he quickly stood up and greeted him:

"Your Highness, how is it? Chris..."

"She has nothing to do with this matter anymore."

Adrian had a blank expression on his face, and he didn't seem to want to say anything more. Instead, he immediately changed the subject:

"Marquis, in the name of the Saxon Imperial Family, I formally request to take over all the troops and resources you can mobilize to deal with this crisis. Is that alright?"

The command of the family army is still in Chris's hands. This sentence basically explains the result of the so-called classmate conversation between the two just now.

Christina, after all, did not cheer up, and her plan completely failed.

This fact made the slightly elderly Marquis feel heartbroken and he closed his eyes in pain.

But I have responsibilities, and now is not the time to worry about these family matters.

So he quickly adjusted his mood, opened his eyes, stood at attention, saluted, and nodded:

"It is my honor, Your Highness. The Karseid family is at your disposal at any time. However, your injury..."

"Report the situation."

Adrian interrupted the other party's concern with a little impatience, then came to the table where the map was spread out, put his hands behind his back, pursed his lips, and frowned as he looked at the contents on it.

This meant that he had made up his mind and there was no point in saying more. The Marquis could only begin to explain the situation:

"Since the incident yesterday, we have been sending scouts to the Central Mountains to try to find out the situation of the Undead Army and Lilbas."

"and then?"

"It's currently confirmed that the Eternal Dynasty has a conservative estimate of 100,000 troops on this side of the mountain. In addition to surrounding Lilbas, they have also deployed considerable forces to establish defenses along various terrains, seemingly attempting to prevent our rescue efforts for Lilbas."

"What about the configuration?"

"The troops conducting the exploratory attack reported seeing only human and orc zombies, no high-level undead units. However, based on last night's battle logs, there were quite a few Revenant Golems and Mages. It's possible..."

"They've gathered in Lilbas, or perhaps they've set an ambush, waiting for our attack. Tsk, those old bastards in Augris actually hid such a large army right under the Empire's noses for two years."

Adrien cursed.

For this expedition, he knew clearly that the demons must have set some kind of trap waiting for him, so he imagined many possible ingenious arrangements and made preparations for them.

Who would have thought that there was no magic trick at all.

It simply utilizes racial characteristics to bury the body. It is simple and unpretentious, yet extremely effective.

This made His Royal Highness the Prince, who was completely fooled and almost had a car accident, very unhappy.

"Lilbas has been ravaged by orcs for over two years. Its supply reserves and population are in a mess. Even the Royal Guards and that Aize can't hold out for long. We must act immediately."

Before the battle began, in addition to the Royal Guards and the Karlsade family, there were several other aristocratic armies cooperating in the operations around Jarlsburg.

But unfortunately, they had suffered heavy losses in the first wave of attacks by the undead and could no longer provide support for the next operations.

The fighting force of the Karseid family, which was saved by Azer, was seriously insufficient in numbers and could not do anything against the undead army that was ready for battle.

Then there must be reinforcements.

Adrian's brain worked rapidly, and he quickly made arrangements based on the known information.

"Immediately send a message to Count Erwin and Marshal Strauss on the northern front. Deploy the two Imperial Guard corps prepared for Plan 4 southward. They do not need to rendezvous with us here. Enter the battlefield from the direction of Levin Village and begin the attack directly."

"On the southern front, have Marquis Seydlitz, who is heading towards Eindhoven, change direction and rendezvous with me here immediately. Attack from both directions simultaneously. Break through the Undead defenses within a day, at all costs, and lift the siege of Lillebas!"

In this operation, the Imperial Army launched an all-out attack, launching an unprecedented large-scale counterattack against the invading demon army with an almost all-in attitude.

There are wars everywhere, and the military forces are not sufficient.

The combined power of the four Imperial Legions was enough to shake the nation's foundation. Withdrawing them would inevitably cause the situation on other fronts to plummet, rendering them unable to continue the offensive and expand their gains.

This will inevitably cause him to face tremendous pressure and criticism from domestic opponents in the future.

But right now, I can’t think about that much.

His life should have ended the moment the undead broke out of the ground, and the battle would have collapsed, but he managed to survive thanks to Aze's operation.

Not only the royal family, but the entire empire owed him a great favor.

Therefore, Adrian naturally had to return the favor and rescue him at all costs - and of course ensure that the strategic location of Lilbas could be firmly in his hands.

however--

"I object to that plan."

"……what?"

A familiar voice suddenly came from behind. Adrian was stunned and then turned around.

Then he saw Christina, who had just been lying on the ground, had already gone downstairs and walked into the command center.

His eyes, which were almost empty just now, became much brighter in less than a few minutes.

The prince then cast a dissatisfied look:

"What are you even doing here? Go somewhere and cry like a raging child. Didn't I just tell you this has nothing to do with you anymore? Get lost!"

"That won't do. After Aize was surrounded, I took over command of him and the severely injured royal family, and acted on my own judgment. This is the order I borrowed from him."

Christina walked to the table despite Adrian's contemptuous gaze and said with a smile:

"By the way, this order was issued by Lord Aize based on his status as a member of the Kingdom and the Church. I also accept it as a member of the Holy War Knights. The Empire has no right to interfere."

Although Aize left the Brave Team and the Church, the latter did not remove the identities of Aize and his subordinates in order to save face.

Legally speaking, Aize is still the chosen hero at this moment.

Christina Karsade is still the adjutant of his Holy War Knights.

In addition, after the incident in the royal capital, Heidi, who had become the queen, gave Aize a lot of titles endorsed by the royal family of the kingdom, such as regent, consul, and marshal.

Taking all these together, Aize is a dual-key official of the Church of the Supreme God and the Kingdom of Art, and there is really no reason for him to obey the orders of the Imperial Royal Family.

Of course, this is only theoretical.

Given the current situation, if Adrian wanted to make a fuss, he could just ask a few guards to throw Chris into the dungeon and lock her up until the matter was over. The Marquis would not be able to say anything.

However, this guy actually reversed his extremely depressed look and was even brave enough to confront me. This was quite interesting.

It doesn't hurt to hear something.

Adrien snorted coldly and signaled her to continue with his eyes.

Chris put her hand on the map:

"Although drawing forces from the north and south lines could easily defeat the undead army in front of us, it would take far too long. It would take at least ten days to prepare and arrive. Master can undoubtedly hold on, but if another accident occurs during this time, we won't be able to cope! The other fronts could collapse!"

The Empire's army, which was mainly composed of heavy infantry, had its disadvantages revealed at this time. Its mobility was far inferior to that of the Kingdom and the Church's knights, and it was difficult for it to move quickly according to the needs of the battle situation. It was too cumbersome.

Adrian was of course very clear about this:

"That's why I asked them to come as quickly as possible. What else can we do? Or do you have a way to solve the problem without any support and with only the power at hand?"

"NO, I have not."

Chris answered simply.

"But I think this matter must be handled more cautiously. At least we need to find out the movements of the demon reinforcements first."

Before parting, Aize did not simply ask Chris to bring people to rescue him, but specifically instructed her to act according to the situation.

This means that at that moment, Aize knew that this incident was definitely not that simple, and the actions of the undead army must be accompanied by more backup plans from the demon clan as a whole.