Chapter 272: Victory Celebration
The Holy Knight did not possess a tracking ability in the first place.
In other words, he could not pursue the Night Reaper.
He glanced at Max, and the latter shrugged.
"Don’t bother."
Max had already recalled Fiora to his Conclave Network after confirming that the Night Reaper had truly retreated.
Judging from the Night Reaper’s capabilities, it clearly did not come from the Lewis Guild.
It was able to attack swiftly and retreat, knowing that any further attempt to kill Max would result in its death.
Max had an idea where Julian had recruited such a highly capable individual.
He glanced at Julian, who was flabbergasted.
The Holy Knight did not kill them.
Instead, he simply stood in front of Max and his warhorse, seemingly ready to protect him at all costs.
Julian and his friends were unable to make another move against Max.
In other words, their attempt to kill him had completely failed.
They watched as Max jumped onto his warhorse and left, leaving behind the Holy Knight, who continued to stare at them.
Julian and his friends were about to retreat when they were struck by an artifact that left them immobilized.
They could not even resist as the Imperial Army apprehended them.
The worst-case scenario had happened.
Julian and his friends, who once belonged to Rhayne’s leadership party, were about to be imprisoned in the Empire.
They could not create another player account, and their characters would only be tortured whenever they continued playing Apocalypse Online.
In other words...
They should forget about continuing to play Apocalypse Online from now on.
Julian mostly understood the crime of attempted murder.
An imprisonment of two years or above.
Depending on the Empire’s verdict regarding their crime.
In fact, Julian and his friends had already prepared a suicidal method in case they failed.
But their reaction had been a bit too late.
The Holy Knight and Max’s Aura had left them frozen for some time, giving the Imperial Army the chance to apprehend them.
Staring at Max in disbelief, Julian could not even muster the strength to be angry at him when Max disappeared without batting an eye at him.
While they were being carried away by the Imperial Officers, Julian and his friends caught sight of Rhayne, staring at them with an indifferent expression.
Julian’s friends were about to implicate Rhayne when they realized they could not utter a single word.
A blinding rune must have been active within the artifacts used to apprehend them.
Rhayne did not utter a single word at all, merely staring at them indifferently as she watched them being carried away like pigs.
She then glanced in the direction of Max, who had clearly returned to the Main Command Hall to further discuss the conclusion of the war.
Although the demons had retreated, many monsters from different provinces would definitely return to their previous territories and attack the three provinces.
Of course, the Demon Hunters Guild could now rest, leaving the further defense to the Imperial Army.
In other words, the Demon Hunters Guild had won the war.
Rhayne’s admiration for Max grew.
Wait! I’m not supposed to feel this way.
Rhayne’s face turned ugly as she clenched her fists tightly.
Her desire to surpass Max remained.
I’m not admiring him, but his Guild...
Rhayne fell into deep thought as she tried to convince herself.
Should I create my own Guild as well?
Honestly, she had already thought about it many times before, but understanding that her leadership ability did not sit well with the people who followed her had made her change her mind.
But now...
She suddenly liked the idea of creating a Guild.
Suddenly, she recalled how her former party members had opened up about her behavior when they decided to expel her from the party, causing her to change her mind and realize that she preferred being a solo player.
All for the sake of growing stronger to surpass Max.
She believed she did not need a Guild to surpass Max and his Radiant Knights.
She believed in her legacy.
Despite it being only at A-class...
...
When Max returned to the Main Command Hall, the High General and other high-ranking officials from the Imperial Army, alongside his own high-ranking officials from his Guild, had begun appearing.
Max only needed to wait ten minutes before everyone was fully present.
Max could perceive their gazes, especially those from the Imperial Army, who appeared to feel guilty about what had happened earlier.
The Sword Emperor suddenly stepped forward to gain Max’s attention and said,
"I apologize for the rude behavior of my soldiers.
I swear to punish them in accordance with the law."
Max nodded.
"Do as you see fit."
He swept his gaze around and said,
"I’m not here to discuss that, and I don’t want to spoil our victory because of it."
He beamed a smile.
"We have successfully forced them to retreat. What could be more joyous than that?"
He raised his fists, a signal for them to erupt into a thunderous cheer.
The Sword Emperor smiled and raised his fists as well, compelling his officers to forget what had happened earlier and celebrate their victory in the war against the demons.
It took them ten minutes to become exhausted, eventually dying down into silence as the thunderous cheer faded.
Max lowered his arm and turned toward Seraphina.
The latter understood his intention and nodded, turning toward the Sword Emperor and the others.
"The Authority of Salvation confirms the retreat of the demons.
The demonic saturation will weaken, and once the demons have fully disappeared, we can have humans who possess significant protection against the corruption of demonic mana enter, allowing the Authority of Salvation to dispel it."
Her voice was so elegant and calm, but her tone could not conceal the excitement within.
In fact, her body was already trembling as she delivered the great news.
𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂
The news that she had been waiting for ever since the demons claimed a piece of the Empire’s territory, driving back a part of the Authority of Salvation’s protection.
She felt like a heavy mountain that had been pressing down on her had finally vanished.
She felt so relieved that she simply wanted to take a long, long nap...