Forget two or three seconds—even in reality, if he wasted just one more second, Protector Ren would suffer a fatal wound.

That would certainly have been the outcome if he kept stalling. However, he didn't waste that split second on which his life depended.

Protector Ren would rather interrupt his own attack than do nothing but move his body, shifting himself to the side.

Afterward, his figure moved away from directly in front of Bai Meow, and in the blink of an eye, she regretfully withdrew the dagger that had flashed past.

After rolling across the ground once like he was tumbling, Protector Ren got back to his feet in an ungainly pose and said with shaken relief:

“I almost got done in by a barbarian...”

The one thing that had saved Protector Ren at the critical moment was the combat experience he had gradually accumulated over the course of many long years.

When all was said and done, Bai Meow simply had too little experience in actual combat.

If she hadn't grown up in the royal palace, but had instead fought many brutal, life-and-death battles against worthy opponents from a young age, she would have been the one laughing last.

What ultimately decided the winner and loser was that invisible, untouchable “difference in experience.”

The lingering terror of nearly being killed made Protector Ren even more determined in his resolve.

He decided not to kill his target so easily. His reason was as follows:

“Killing you outright wouldn't be satisfying enough. I'll spend a little more time torturing you instead. I'll start by chopping off your limbs one by one.”

Having learned from his previous lesson, Protector Ren no longer maintained a physical form.

Even if his strength would be reduced after transforming into a gaseous state, he had no intention of taking the slightest risk.

On the other side, after failing to land the strike with the highest chance of success, Bai Meow's odds of winning were, without a doubt, zero.

For her own safety, the best thing Bai Meow could do now was run.

After all, speed was one of her greatest advantages.

If Bai Meow truly intended to flee, Protector Ren might not be able to catch her even after transforming into a gaseous state.

But Bai Meow chose to stay.

She knew that if she left this place, Protector Ren might very well catch up to the residents who had escaped earlier.

Even if he didn't attack the civilians and instead went to fight Dibiles' soldiers, hills of corpses would still pile up in the surrounding area.

That outcome was entirely possible, because no one could guarantee that

after failing to catch Bai Meow, Protector Ren wouldn't fly into a rage over not obtaining the “Sharktooth Dagger” and decide to vent his anger on innocent people.

Because there was someone she wanted to protect, Bai Meow had no intention of protecting herself.

She was still young, but she understood one principle:

“A guardian can fail countless times, but can never run away—not even once!”

(Big Brother, Dad, Grandma... I'm going to see Mom now...)

The instant Bai Meow raised the dagger with both arms crossed, she made every preparation for one final battle.

At this moment, both inside and outside the capital, there were people who knew they couldn't win, yet whose courage had not diminished.

And there were also those who, faced with powerful enemies, had resolved to fight to the very end.

A little after eleven o'clock that same day, the Holy Empire's core combat forces gradually gathered on the plains outside the city.

The woman holding a divine blade and standing in a defensive stance was the Holy Empire's Azure-clad Cardinal.

Beside her stood a handsome man in priestly robes, with his bangs covering one eye.

Though he was only one man, the dangerous aura he gave off undoubtedly surpassed that of the eighty thousand “Saviors.”

Rather than the strength piled up through sheer numbers, what this man possessed was absolute combat power—power that, by itself, was enough to destroy those “numbers.”

Even an existence as powerful as White Bear would have only one fate against this opponent: death, and a completely one-sided death at that.

Someone with this level of strength could challenge the Empire alone and truly shake it.

It was no exaggeration to say that

he alone was enough to destroy this capital, a city that would require an army of more than a hundred thousand soldiers to conquer.

Cai could tell the strong from the weak at a glance, so with just one look at him, she clearly realized that

the level this man had reached surpassed “City-Toppling” and “Country-Toppling”—he had truly entered the “Quasi-World-Toppling” rank!

This man was the ruler of the Holy Empire, the proxy chosen by the gods in the mortal world.

His position stood above the Four Archbishops and the Holy Maiden. In other words, he was the current Pope!

“In this crucial war concerning the future of the Holy Empire, you, the current Holy Maiden, have actually chosen to stand with the very force that is to be destroyed.”

The Pope coldly gazed at the girl standing across from him with his single gray-tinged eye.

His sudden appearance and participation in the battle were the worst possible development Cai could have imagined.

And of all times, it had happened now—when she held the initiative and was on the verge of defeating the Azure-clad Cardinal. Her most troublesome enemy had appeared right before her eyes.

“The Holy Empire really is willing to pay any price to conquer this country!”

The Pope's reaction and expression remained unchanged in response to Cai's sarcasm. He merely continued pressing her to follow the subject he had raised:

“You were recommended by the previous Pope. I've thought you unreliable from the very beginning.

“Now that we've reached this critical moment, you've finally revealed your true colors? You hypocrite who only pretends to revere the gods!”

The claim was so amusing that Cai couldn't help laughing, though no sound came out.

“I'm not pretending. I still hold the gods in great respect, and that won't change in the future.”

Her excuse-like words made the Pope raise his brows. The tension around his eyelids even brought out fine lines.

He didn't believe her. He only thought:

“Are you joking?”

“You're the ones who don't understand. For someone as useless as me, he—and only Lord Xiaole—is the one true god!”

The expression of a fanatic surfaced on Cai's face. As her words continued, the aura released from within her surged at an astonishing speed.

Quasi-nation-toppling → Nation-toppling → Quasi-world-toppling

In an instant, Cai revealed the terrifying power she had never truly exposed before anyone in a hundred years.

In that brief moment, the gap between her strength and the Pope's was instantly filled.

It was abnormal no matter how one looked at it for the Holy Empire's Holy Maiden to possess such power.

However, even after accurately judging his opponent's strength, the Pope showed no surprise.

He merely said softly:

“The words you just spoke mean that you have already placed yourself in opposition to the gods. A believer with such a twisted mind is no longer fit to be the Holy Maiden...”

“That's not true!”

Azure rarely raised her voice, but she interrupted the Pope before he could finish his verdict and spoke up in Cai's defense:

“Lady Holy Maiden has been controlled. Otherwise, how could someone trusted so deeply by the previous Pope possibly turn against us?”

Azure naturally understood Cai's true feelings.

What she was doing now was merely trying, through her own efforts, to preserve Cai's position within the Holy Empire and keep the woman she respected from completely breaking with them.

The Pope didn't understand Azure's good intentions. Even if he had, he wouldn't have tried to.

At that moment, he merely glared at Azure with displeasure and demanded sharply:

“What are you trying to say?”

That was exactly the line Azure had been waiting for. She immediately laid out everything that would benefit Cai:

“Since her mind is currently clouded, we should use battle to bring her back to her senses. Of course, afterward, she will still be the Holy Maiden of the Holy Empire.”

Azure bowed her head deeply and pleaded with the Pope in a meek voice.

Even when faced with a subordinate whose attitude was so earnest, the Pope had no intention of changing his mind.

“Is that all you wanted to say?”

His tone indicated that he was prepared to reject Azure. But at that moment—

“Yes. Your Majesty, please don't give up on Lady Holy Maiden.”

The Purple-clad Archbishop's voice arrived together with his own person.

After setting the “Saviors” into motion, Purple had walked toward this place.

He hadn't originally intended to come here. However, the battle that had erupted earlier between Cai and Azure had drawn his attention to the aura of the person he loved.

Once he realized who was here, Purple immediately understood

why Azure, who cared about the lives of the soldiers on the front line, had suddenly left the area near the main camp while arguing with him and completely vanished from everyone's sight.

No one else and no other matter could make Azure set aside what she was doing.

Only Cai—only this Holy Maiden of the Holy Empire whom Azure deeply respected—could make her abandon her duties and leave the front line without permission.

After figuring it out, Purple abandoned his task as well, since the battle was progressing smoothly, and came here to meet Cai.

He had arrived just in time to hear the Pope's earlier words.

Purple didn't want Cai to leave the Holy Empire, because then it would be very difficult for him to meet her.

Even if he considered nothing but his own selfish motives, he would certainly plead for Cai.

When the Pope's most important confidant and the highest-ranking archbishop in the country both made a request for the same person

it would be difficult for even the Pope to refuse.

After weighing the matter again and again, the Pope gave them his answer:

“Fine. Just this once, I'll grant the request of both of you... In return, you understand, don't you?”

After their greatest wish was granted, Azure and Purple—these two people who had always had a poor relationship—spoke at the exact same moment for the first time:

“For Lady Holy Maiden, I'll fight with everything I've got!”

“For my sweetheart, I'll unleash my full power!”

The person at the very top of the Holy Empire had joined forces with the country's two strongest archbishops, together facing Cai as their sole opponent.

Perhaps it was precisely because he had anticipated this moment that the Pope had appeared here.

Rather than saying he was wary of Dibiles' hidden combat strength, it would be more accurate to say that

he had regarded Cai as an enemy and guarded against her from the very beginning, making preparations to fight her.

“All three of you?”

Cai still showed no panic whatsoever, and the fact left the Pope unable to understand.

“That idea is absurd. But don't tell me you really think—you can defeat me and these two?”

“I can beat you! It'd be troublesome if your true self came here, but against one archbishop and two ‘shadows,’ I don't think I'll lose.”

“What did you say?”

Upon hearing the words “shadows,” Purple's expression changed violently for the first time that day.