“…Excuse me, are you a staff member of the inn? I believe I should have instructed the owner not to let anyone into my room without permission, right?”

 

While politely inquiring on the surface, Edwina quietly reached for the sword at her waist, and the holy emblem hanging on her other wrist began to emit a faint glow.

 

This woman was very mysterious.

 

Edwina couldn’t sense her strength, and when she pushed the door, she didn’t notice anyone inside at all.

 

Either she possessed some special magic.

 

Or her strength surpassed Edwina’s by far.

 

But no matter which…

 

“The newcomer seems unfriendly…”

 

The Holy Knight girl murmured, gripping the sword handle tightly, the power within her body reaching its limit. She vigilantly stared at the woman in the short black dress with dark blue hair, who remained facing away from her.

 

“You are a follower of Aurora, aren’t you? Quite audacious to meddle in our affairs.”

 

The woman spoke, her voice strange, ethereal, like a myriad of noises mixed together, yet with a distinctively appealing tone.

 

“What!?”

 

Without time to dwell on the oddity of the situation, a displeased expression instantly appeared on Edwina’s charming face.

 

Calling out the name of the goddess directly is something only those apostates who reject the deities dare to do, except during special ceremonies.

 

This is no longer just a matter of belief or disbelief. Just this act alone is a great blasphemy!

 

She is an enemy.

 

At a time like this, appearing in her room and speaking disrespectfully to the lady of the goddess, there’s no way it could be with good intentions.

 

It’s better to take the initiative.

 

“Watch my sword!”

 

A burst of light, a radiant strike aimed directly at the back of the mysterious girl’s head.

 

The Radiant Slash is a signature skill that most Holy Knights must learn. It’s classic, powerful, highly versatile, and has a clear restraining effect on the supernatural.

 

Legend has it that there was once a Judgment Saintess in the Holy Empire who refined this move for decades. In a battle against heretical forces, she instantly killed three vampire dukes with a single stroke, gaining widespread fame.

 

Although Edwina hasn’t reached that level, she has mastered the Radiant Slash quite well. With her Sky-level strength and the full power of a prepared strike, this is already the most powerful attack she can unleash in a short amount of time.

 

The enemy is too mysterious, and with the lingering shadow of her recent encounter with powerful beings, she doesn’t dare to hold back in the slightest.

 

“Not bad at all. You must be one of the young elites of the Holy Empire. Unfortunately, still too weak.”

 

Clang!

 

The girl finally turned around, her enchanting face carrying a playful smile. In her ink-black vertical pupils, a faint glow flickered as she raised her left arm, unexpectedly using her own body to directly block the Radiant Slash from the Holy Knight Miss!

 

“?!”

 

Edwina’s pupils contracted. She quickly swept her gaze over the enemy’s forearm against the blade, discovering that it was covered with fine dark blue scales. And her precious holy sword, blessed by the Pope himself and of a purple grade, surprisingly left no trace on it?

 

A shape-shifting creature!

 

Making a quick judgment, Edwina swiftly retreated.

 

She didn’t necessarily want to determine a winner or loser with the girl in front of her. This was the capital of the Human United Kingdom, a gathering place for experts. As long as she made a bit of noise and ran out into the streets, she didn’t believe the girl would dare to continue entangling with her in broad daylight.

 

If she really had the confidence, this woman wouldn’t have intentionally followed and ambushed her in an empty room in advance.

 

However…

 

Bang!

 

Retreating hastily, the Lady Holy Knight suddenly felt a dull pain in her back. She felt like she had collided with something solid, and her retreat was forcibly halted.

 

It was then that she noticed the entire room had been covered by a dark blue barrier at some point, neatly trapping Edwina and the girl in a confined space.

 

“A barrier…?”

 

“It’s useless, my Arcane Barrier is absolutely unbreakable unless you have a level above the sixth tier. Oh, I believe you humans call this transcendent, right?”

 

Transcendent! transcendent again!?

 

Edwina was horrified.

 

From the information casually revealed by the girl, coupled with her easy resistance to the Sky-level Radiant Slash, it was highly likely that this girl had also transcended the limits of humanity.

 

Normally, only mythical creatures could easily achieve transcendent. Why, in just a short month, did she repeatedly encounter so many top-tier experts!?

 

“You don’t seem so afraid. Strange. Usually, when humans realize the gap in strength with me, their faces are filled with an unbelievably terrified look. Did Aurora train you too well?”

 

“….”

 

After the surprise, Edwina didn’t continue speaking but silently pondered a way to break free from the situation.

 

Although this woman was strong, she didn’t instill the suffocating tremors and overwhelming feeling like Miss Violet and her companion Xiao Guang did. It felt similar to the 【Judgment Saintess】, her elder sister, Frederica Cecilia, who possessed the 【Judgment Holy Sword】.

 

In other words, she had just reached the level of transcendent.

 

If the opponent became complacent, there might still be a chance to escape, as Edwina also had some life-saving cards up her sleeve.

 

“Well, let’s resolve this quickly. Although there’s no one in this city who can match me, there are still a few troublesome individuals around. It would be a headache if I were discovered.”

 

“Hiss.”

 

The blue-haired woman raised her hand, forming her five fingers into claws as she reached towards the Miss Holy Knight from a distance. Edwina suddenly felt her strength rapidly diminishing throughout her body, even her spirit and the holy light energy within her weakened.

 

What kind of bizarre technique was this!?

 

She had never heard of such a thing!

 

But the Holy Knight wouldn’t just sit idly by. Resisting the enemy’s absorption, she suddenly tightened the simple holy emblem wrapped around her wrist and sprayed reverse blood directly onto the square seal.

 

A burst of light erupted as dozens of characters engraved on the holy emblem simultaneously emitted a magnificent and divine power. It broke the woman’s suppression on Edwina, causing her expression to change slightly.

 

However, instead of seizing this opportunity to launch an attack, Edwina, recognizing the vast difference in strength between them, refrained from using the power her teacher had bestowed upon her. She knew it wouldn’t necessarily harm this seemingly transcendent creature.

 

Edwina’s choice was to turn around and imprint the dazzling holy emblem directly onto the dark blue barrier behind her.

 

Sizzle… Sizzle… Bang!!!

 

In the harsh friction sounds, the barrier and the wall were forcibly opened by a large crack that was half the height of a person, and the auras of the two fighters quickly leaked out through it.

 

Although the blue-haired woman’s face changed drastically, and she rushed over immediately, it was already too late.

 

In the end, this person was too arrogant, not taking Edwina seriously just because she was only Sky-level. She didn’t even move, treating this devout follower of the goddess as a plaything. That’s why she ended up being counterattacked.

 

“You’re asking for death!”

 

Thud! A tremendous force struck from the side of her waist, and Edwina had no time to react. She was sent flying and crashed into another barrier, spitting out two mouthfuls of blood. The glow from the holy emblem by her hand quickly dimmed.

 

“Cough… cough…”

 

The desperate opponent showed no mercy. Edwina lay slanted on the ground, feeling an intense pain as if her waist had been broken. She couldn’t move, and with the significant loss of physical and mental energy from earlier, her vision began to darken.

 

In her peripheral vision, the white knight armor on her waist even caved in, revealing the tremendous power unleashed by the opponent’s strike. It was truly transcendent, living up to its name…

 

Was this the end?

 

She had made the most correct choice, and the sudden rage from the woman proved that her previous actions would indeed bring considerable trouble. But that was it.

 

Indeed, she was still too weak…

 

Could it be that she wouldn’t be able to return to her homeland, unable to serve the goddess again?

 

Please… forgive my sins, Lady Goddess…

 

In the gradually rising cacophony from the outside world, Edwina lost consciousness.