Lofna and Hilna could've stayed at Shel's house whenever they wanted. But last night, their teacher found some excuse and sent them back home.

The two girls weren't stupid. They knew Teacher Charles didn't want to drag them in. He was getting ready to deal with the two Holy Knights, in case they came back looking for trouble.

So they got busy too.

Around the city, there were plenty of residents Shel had helped before.

Maybe a farmer from some manor who'd shared the wine Shel sent over. Maybe an old lord who'd received Shel's blessing at his daughter's wedding. Maybe a tenant farmer who'd survived the winter in a hut Shel built for him. Maybe an innkeeper who'd received Shel's financial help...

Early in the morning, the two girls made a big round through the nearby area. With a round of shouting, they easily roused everyone.

"This is bad! Two guys claiming to be Holy Knights fought with Mr. Shel yesterday! They injured Teacher Charles yesterday, and they might come trouble him again today!"

The half-awake residents heard that and instantly woke right up.

This wouldn't do.

Sure, even here in Ipoli, a place where most people hadn't seen much of the world, everyone instinctively held the Church's Holy Knights in awe. They knew those people stood for justice and order, guardians sent by the HolySee to uphold sacred law.

But who here hadn't received Shel's help?

Would Holy Knights hand out delicious iced drinks in the brutal summer heat? Would Holy Knights repair roads and patch leaking roofs for free? Would Holy Knights use magic to help with farm work during spring plowing and autumn harvest? Would Holy Knights build canals to bring water in? Would Holy Knights, like Shel, kindly help everyone with whatever problem they had?

So if Shel had clashed with some Holy Knight, then this so-called "Holy Knight" had to be the one with a problem.

And just like that, at the crack of dawn, the residents around the city were mobilized by Hilna and Lofna.

The farmers grabbed rakes and pitchforks. Cooks picked up rolling pins and cleavers. Blacksmiths clenched their sledgehammers. Guards sharpened their blades and spears. Drunkards hoisted beer barrels...

Even a bunch of old ladies came out with brooms, ready to lend a hand.

Hilna even dragged in her own father. She got the still-drowsy Prince Noren into his armor, then had him mount a tall horse and ride out of the palace under the banner of the Kingdom of Ipoli.

"Holy Knights are here to arrest Mr. Shel?" He still had no idea what was going on. "What the hell happened?"

But the crowd had already been fired up.

This makeshift force was loud as hell. With the prince leading them, their confidence soared. They raised all kinds of weird objects as weapons and shouted slogans like "We're backing Mr. Shel!" "Drive out those two bastards!" and "Fake Holy Knight scammers!"

Then they marched out of the city.

There were thousands of them. Just like that, this army made up of Ipoli's residents set out.

From the perspective of later generations, this conflict could be seen as the first time the Empire of Ypoli launched a war on its own initiative against a power outside the Great Darksend Region. Its significance was enormous.

When Perry and Shel were talking inside, Talia was actually getting very impatient outside.

Winter in Ipoli was bitterly cold. The wind came in waves, and even in a thick robe, it was hard to endure.

She paced irritably along the small path outside Shel's residence, waiting for the result of the conversation inside.

She understood it too. If they really had found a young genius who had already mastered multiple high-tier spells, the benefit to the HolySee would far outweigh the loss of her two front teeth.

But she still couldn't swallow it.

She was in a terrible mood, and she didn't want to believe that blue-haired girl was some Saintess.

Annoyed, she kicked the snowbank in front of her, then drew the sword at her waist and idly spun a few flourishes.

As she looked around in agitation, she saw two girls slowly coming down the snow-covered bend in the road.

She narrowed her eyes and checked their hair colors more carefully. One red, one blue.

Oh. Those two brats from yesterday. Shel's two students.

"What are you here for?" she shouted violently. "We're talking with your teacher! This has nothing to do with you! Go back!"

Her mouth was leaking air a little, and they were some distance apart, so her words were hard to make out in the biting wind.

Lofna and Hilna didn't hear what she said either, but her fierce shout sounded a lot like a threat.

So the two girls assumed she'd already found Shel and was about to storm into the house to cause trouble. They immediately shouted to the crowd behind them.

What Talia saw next became something she would never forget for the rest of her life.

From behind the snowy hill at the bend in the road, a knight carrying the great banner of the Ipoli royal crest appeared first. Then came soldiers with crooked helmets. Then blacksmiths with hammers, cooks waving rolling pins, and aunties carrying baskets of rotten fruit...

More and more residents appeared.

And Talia's eyes widened more and more.

Those residents were obviously worked up. They'd already been yelling nonstop. But the moment they saw Talia in her white clerical robes, they got even more excited and started hurling all kinds of traditional Ipoli curses.

Then they charged her.

Talia reflexively swung her sword and tried to shout something to stop the impulsive residents, but it was useless.

Rotten fruit, broken stones, some kind of dried animal droppings... all of it was already flying at her.

Their aim was terrible, but sheer numbers made up for that flaw nicely. There was nowhere for her to dodge.

"What the hell?!"

Those bits and pieces couldn't really hurt a Holy Knight wearing armor under her robes. But her exquisite white robe with gold patterns was covered in filth in an instant.

Before she even had time to feel miserable about it, the next wave came.

A group of the craziest residents had already rushed up.

At the very front were several famous drunks from Ipoli. They'd drunk plenty of the free beer Shel handed out outside the city, so today they charged especially hard.

Those drunks carried old barrels packed with ice from outside the tavern. Drooling and howling, they slammed straight at Talia.

Talia burned with rage. She saw herself as a noble warrior, and now even some backwater drunk dared charge her like this.

In her fury, she stopped caring about appearances or avoiding a clash with civilians.

In the next moment, she was about to swing hard and bring her sword down, wounding those drunks with a single slash.

But Hilna was watching from over there.

She knew this woman was strong and vicious, so she drew a rune, chanted a spell, and cast it at Talia from afar.

A burst of agony exploded directly inside Talia's head, like a red-hot knife had been driven into her brain.

"So it really is high-tier magic... Soul Shock?!" She finally realized it. "That girl really is a magical genius..."

But it was already too late.

Using the inertia from the weight of the barrel, those drunks successfully knocked the broad-shouldered Talia to the ground.

A cheer went up, and they pinned Talia down. The other residents swarmed in too, raising whatever they had in hand and beating the unlucky Holy Knight.

Luckily, Shel and Perry, who were still talking inside, heard the commotion outside and came out.

Otherwise, Talia probably would've become the first Holy Knight in the Empire of Ypoli's history to be formally recorded and officially suppressed.