“Hmph, hmph, hmph, even if I, Alice, die today, I will protect my people!”
The cherry-haired girl slammed hard onto the ground, her face covered in dust, yet she still defiantly met the ghost knight’s burning ghost-fire eyes. Every move she made was filled with the righteous grandeur befitting a princess. Anyone who saw it would be moved to tears.
But it seemed the girl wasn’t quite satisfied with this performance.
“What if Luo Lin spots a flaw?! Tsk, didn’t you eat enough? Little knight, you’re whipping so lightly, afraid you’ll actually hurt me?”
“Also, you soldiers standing guard over there, shift to the right a bit. You useless lot are blocking the view—when Luo Lin arrives, how’s he supposed to see me in this noble, self-sacrificing pose for my country and people!”
“And you lot in the Atmosphere Group, remember that later you absolutely must—”
“Damn, why is she here so fast? You all hurry up and follow my orders, or else I swear I’ll make you useless trash pay!”
The ghost knight, having readjusted its angle and lines this time, was so exaggerated that even black flames overflowed from within its black helmet, letting anyone far away feel its overwhelming aura.
Its spoken lines were also practically perfect, the voice so booming that echoes rang throughout the entire plaza.
“What’s this? Has our wilting Princess Alice finally given up?”
“Hmph, I-this princess will protect the people of my Papal State even if it means death!”
Clearly, “Alice’s” defiance thoroughly enraged the ghost knight.
It leaped high from its warhorse, its black spear striking with the ferocity of a black tiger, carrying the full weight of its body toward “Alice.”
The cherry-haired girl spread her arms wide, closed her eyes toward the direction Selina was flying in, and through the burning flames of the ghost soldiers, gave a close-up of the tears glistening in her eyes.
She calculated how many seconds until Selina would arrive, all while fearlessly facing the ghost knight’s spear tip.
“I, Alice, was born for the people of the Papal State, and I will die for the people of the Papal State!”
Sure enough, everything went according to her calculations. Selina arrived just in time, smashing her fist into the spear, her silver figure carrying shattered ice shards as she collided mid-air with the ghost knight wreathed in black flames.
“Alright, next I just wait for her to gracefully catch me mid-air, and then fall—”
Shadow Alice was supremely confident. She had even planned out how she’d have Selina spin her around a few times in the air before locking eyes with her, full of tender affection.
“Hmph, useless Alice, the thing you couldn’t accomplish in eighteen years, I’ll do in two hours! When you wake up, you’ll see me and your childhood friend kissing right in front of you, ahahahaha!”
But even as she slammed hard onto the cracked earth, coughing from the dust, she never felt the hands that should have caught her.
Her eyes widened in disbelief as she watched Selina directly entangle herself with the ghost knight instead.
Seeing this, the one who had meticulously planned everything clutched her head and screamed internally.
“Girl, what are you doing!?”
“Do you even know how to play?! Such a beautiful woman, your childhood friend since forever is falling, and instead of princess-carrying her to win points with a grand heroic rescue, you go fight some flaming tin can? No wonder you’ve been single your whole life!”
“Mm~ the sound of clashing from the neighboring battlefield is so intense, looks like Shadow, Qingyu, and that silver dragon are fighting with blood and fire!”
Qingyu perked up her ears at the sound that made even space tremble, letting out a pleased little hum.
From the moment Shadow Alice was born, she’d felt the girl was a ruthless character who could share her burdens.
Look how cautious she was, how clever—she’d even volunteered to bring the unconscious Alice along as a hostage, just in case.
Now that was dedication!
How could her grand plan for “justice” possibly fail? If the Holy Faith had talents like this, how could she, Qingyu, ever worry about her grand plan for “justice” across the world!
As for the possibility of Shadow Alice betraying her, Qingyu dismissed it with a laugh.
“Impossible, absolutely impossible. In all the shadow replicas she’d seen in her life, which one didn’t have a mad, desperate craving to become an independent person?”
“Surely no one would actually give up the chance to become a real person just to prove they’re better than the original, right? Right?”
However, the shadow she had placed such high hopes on was now holding her forehead with her hand, watching Selina continuously collide with the ghost knight in the air.
The black and silver figures fought fiercely, neither gaining the upper hand.
So she curled her lips into a crooked smile:
“Heh heh, you little virgin, you dodged my heroic rescue plan, but what about this next move?”
“As long as I step forward and take a spear hit for her when she’s losing, won’t she be head over heels for me?”
Of course, she’d prepared a blood pack in advance.
After all, she was just a human form made from Alice’s shadow—if she actually bled, the whole act would fall apart.
So she waited for the flaming warhorse to charge, watched the moment it knocked Selina into the air, then dashed forward in one stride, planning to pull off a heroic shield like a light novel heroine.
“Come on, black knight, run me through! Make it look real!”
But what she never expected was that Selina, soaring mid-air, simply adjusted herself slightly and traced an elegant arc through the sky.
The entire dragon twirled through the air twice before swiftly identifying the ghost knight’s defensive weakness.
She took a deep breath, her pristine white feathers all standing on end as she gathered her power.
Then she dove downward loaded with ice elements, forming a fierce, clawing giant dragon projection!
The shadow, still waiting in place to take the spear, suddenly felt a chill run down her back!
“Not good!!!”
Before she could dodge, the frost giant dragon’s projection slammed her directly onto the ghost knight’s flaming spear!
Seeing she was about to be caught in a pincer between ice and fire, she abandoned any thought of keeping up the act, scrambling to dive into the shadows along the ground, barely escaping her fate of being skewered like a kebab.
She crawled up from the ground, bedraggled and spitting out dust, and glared at Selina—who had just bowled over and executed the ghost knight—wanting nothing more than to curse her out loud!
“You dragon, did your cerebellum not develop properly? Are you an underdeveloped child? Do you even know how to play!”
Her once gorgeous princess dress was now riddled with holes and tears from the two accidents. The elegant tassels were scattered everywhere, and her precious silk skirt had been ripped open in several places!
Damn it, this was her favorite dress since she’d become human!
It was also the only outfit that fool Qingyu, that brainless cultist, had managed to steal from Alice’s wardrobe!
She now seriously suspected that this little troublemaker dragon had seen right through her identity and was deliberately tormenting her!
“Hey, Alice, why did you suddenly charge in like that!”
“Do you know how dangerous that was? You almost took that spear for the ghost knight!”
With the leader’s defeat, the ghost soldiers that had been surrounding them in layer after layer also made a strategic retreat at Shadow Alice’s signal.
Selina, after triple-checking that the area was sufficiently safe, descended beside her and asked with genuine concern: