### Chapter 1: Twists and Turns (Part 2)
The Emperor of the Empire also happened to be the Son of God just recently recognized by the Church of Light.
People thought he would crush the enemy invading the Imperial Capital with ease. However, to everyone’s surprise, he ended up in a complete mess under the public gaze.
Not only did he fail to harm his opponents, but he also fled like a lost puppy, too scared to even stick around for a rematch.
Ordinary citizens were left speechless, while many devout followers of the Church of Light began to have doubts about their faith.
In the midst of this chaos, numerous fervent believers continued to cheer everyone up.
“The Son of God is just temporarily retreating! When he returns, he will utterly defeat the enemy with unstoppable force!”
“That’s right! Instead of doubting, let’s pray and beseech the God of Light to grant us more power!”
“Go, go! The God of Light can never be defeated!”
While the Church of Light desperately tried to cover for the Emperor’s little retreat, the threat from the enemy only grew. The howls of the beasts echoed like heavy hammers, pounding on everyone’s hearts.
Thanks to the valiant intervention of Janet, the Dean of the Harpist Academy, a glimmer of hope momentarily flared in the panicking crowd.
“Harpists? Ha! Pretty but useless! Defeat them first, then we can talk,” scoffed Lilith.
Unfazed, as Janet and the others took their positions, Lilith didn’t even bother to fight back. She merely let out a soft whistle, and a few beasts towered over two people each came crashing down from the wall gaps.
These weren’t the small beasts they had faced previously; these monsters were peak athletes in speed and strength.
Though the harpists had some offensive skills, years of neglecting practice joined forces with the overwhelming might of the enemy, sending many harpists into outright panic.
This undeniably posed a massive risk to the harpists’ defensive formation.
Janet had to stand at the front and strummed fierce soundwaves at lightning speed, desperate to ease the enemy’s tension.
Unfortunately, those beasts seemed to have a sixth sense for harpist attacks.
They zigzagged left and right, deftly dodging the soundwave ripples that could split them wide open. Then, like wolves among sheep, they plunged into the harpists’ ranks, shredding through them with their claws. In no time, the harpists suffered heavy casualties, limbs and bl**d flying as screams echoed upwards. Janet, tears in her eyes, attempted to rescue her comrades, but was entangled by a beast, unable to break free.
She had thought that with her abilities, she could at least take on that female demon leader, but here she was, unable to handle even a few of the beasts under her command.
Was being a harpist really not suitable for direct combat?
Meanwhile, Rong Ji, who originally was spectating from outside the city, had stealthily slipped inside amidst the fray.
The moment the Emperor burrowed into the ground, she followed closely behind.
She was quite curious about what cards the Emperor might still hold up his sleeve in this predicament.
Despite being Ji Shen’s right-hand warrior and formerly a saintess of the Church, she really didn’t know much about what the Emperor was planning.
She had a nagging feeling he was scheming something, yet she had consistently been sidelined from the core of his plans.
The magic user corps that shared his bloodline were like his secret goons, entrusted with the execution of extremely confidential tasks.
And thus she had always been left out.
But this time presented the perfect opportunity to uncover the Emperor’s secrets.
To her, burrowing into the ground was but a trivial trick; she could easily keep up with his movements without much effort.
In such a dire escape, the Emperor certainly wouldn’t notice a little tail like her, so Rong Ji wasn’t worried about him spotting her.
However, to her astonishment, the Emperor chose to return to the Imperial Palace.
But the palace, with its towering walls, had no defenses whatsoever.
To the beasts, those walls might as well have been tiny hills—they could easily leap over them. Choosing to barricade himself in the palace now wasn’t the smartest move.
So, with the Emperor’s intellect, why would he willingly walk into a trap?
There had to be something fishy going on.
Just as Janet managed to fight off the encircling beasts with the help of the warriors, the horror of what lay ahead gripped the city. More and more beasts had climbed atop the wall, perching like spectators, their eyes gleaming with hunger at the sight of ready prey. As soon as their master gave the order, they would rush in like a tidal wave, engulfing everyone.
In response, more and more people chose to kneel, thinking maybe submission to the enemy would spare them from d*ath.
“Looks like more and more are realizing the situation. Nice work!
I’ll give you one more minute. If even a single person is still standing at the end, you all will d*e!”
Clearly not impressed by the Four Warriors, Lilith had zero respect for any deity or the Church of Light. To her, those people were nothing but ludicrous for having faith in such obvious nonsense.
Unsurprisingly, her threats fell flat on the diehard believers of the Church of Light.
Their faith was ingrained in their bones; even d*ath wouldn’t make them waver. In fact, they believed dying for their faith was an elevation—surely, they would earn divine grace in the afterlife.
So as the minute drew closer, the chanting intensified, echoing louder among the surrounded group.
The surrounding people were like ants in a panic, completely defenseless, clearly hoping this bunch would take everyone down with them.
“Are you kidding me? The Son of God has already run off, and you’re still playing tough?!”
“Can we just kneel for a moment to let the rest of us survive? Please?!”
“Wah, we don’t want to d*e!”
But those zealots were utterly unfazed, their eyes burning with fervor.
“Time’s up! Well then, let’s send you all off together!”
Lilith raised her hand with zero compassion, the beasts tensed and howled, ready to charge as soon as she waved her hand, ready to surge forward and engulf the wailing, desperate townsfolk.
In the nick of time, a cold woman in a black dress suddenly appeared high above the Imperial Capital.
Accompanied by a soothing harp melody, the beasts that had previously been roaring instantly turned into little lambs, retreating back in fear, cowering and hiding behind walls. Even the gigantic beast that had just smashed a statue of the Four Warriors lowered its once-proud head.
Lilith stared in shock at the woman in the black dress… why did she seem a bit familiar?
At the same time, the majority of the townsfolk, minus a few diehard members of the Church, began to shout with joy.
“It’s the Lord Messenger!”
“The Goddess of Destiny hasn’t abandoned us, woohoo…”
“I knew it! The oldest Goddess of Destiny would definitely come to our rescue!”
