The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 199 Southbound
When a troop of demon cavalry charged along the city wall from the west, Natalia came into close contact with this race, which posed the greatest threat to humanity, for the first time, if one disregarded the demon corpses she had personally sent to the palace the previous year.

When Natalia saw the size of the demon cavalry rushing through the snowstorm, she realized that she might be the one to become a corpse today.

"Enemy attack——"

She swiftly drew her sword and roared, "Everyone, prepare to fight!"

The battle was about to break out, and the blood of both sides quickly stained the snow inside and outside the camp.

"Your Highness, I have to...I have to leave...I have no fighting ability...I have to leave."

"I understand, I won't let you stay."

Natalia did not stop the winged messenger from leaving, "Take my message with you and pass on all the information about this place."

"I will, Your Highness, I will..."

"Be careful of demon archers on the road. Let's go!"

Watching the winged messenger take off into the sky, Natalia looked back at the battle outside the camp.

The snow sheep beneath the demon cavalry possessed astonishing leaping power, easily bounding over the barricades outside the camp. Previously, snow sheep were more of a rare and coveted delicacy for the garrison of the Black Ice Great Wall.

One of the cavalrymen seemed to notice her unusual nature and broke through the dozen or so human warriors in the road, charging towards her. With each swing of his giant hammer, a warrior fell.

Natalia stared coldly at him, but her hand holding the sword trembled involuntarily—she was practically defenseless; let alone cavalry, even an ordinary demon warrior could easily kill her.

Just as the demon cavalry was about to reach her, another horse charged over from the side, its greatsword sweeping across, slicing the demon cavalryman and his giant hammer to the ground.

"Your Highness, please leave here immediately!"

The elite knights of Frostwind City struck a blow, halted their charge, and quickly turned back to Natalia. "The west has fallen, and this side can no longer be held!"

"..."

Natalia gritted her teeth, her whole body trembling; she was unwilling to accept this.

"Please break out immediately!"

The knight shouted again and charged back into the center of the battle, clashing with the other demon cavalry.

"Your Highness, please leave here immediately," the guards the Holy Maiden had left her began to urge. "Otherwise, it will be too late."

"Your Highness, let's go!" shouted a Great Wall garrison soldier not far away.

"We'll cover your retreat!" another man shouted, his face covered in blood, before rushing toward a fallen demon knight.

"Hurry up and leave!" More and more people urged her to leave immediately.

"..."

The tears that flowed down her face froze. Natalia did not insist any further. She mounted the horse her guards had brought, took one last look at the garrison camp she had held for more than a year, and rode south.

Several guard knights followed closely behind, while the elite knights who had come from Frostwind City immediately spurred their horses forward and desperately blocked the demon cavalry that were trying to catch up, buying them time to escape.

Natalia ran forward while looking back.

Swords clashed, the battle raged on, demon cavalrymen fell one after another, and defenders left a trail of crimson blood on the ground.

There are quite a few of them...

There's also a lot of freshly delivered food...

The bay will take time to freeze, and they have been actively preparing for war, which should at least hold off the demons attempting to cross the sea for another half a month or so...

They can hold out as long as there are no enemies from other sources.

But the western side was lost, and there was not even a hint of news.

Natalia still doesn't know how the other side of the Great Wall fell.

Soon, the campsite behind them was obscured by the wind and snow and could no longer be seen.

Natalia prayed silently that the defenders might be able to hold off the attack.

Those warriors shouldn't all be wiped out... There are still quite a few mages and priests on the city walls; if they join the battle, they'll definitely be able to repel those demon cavalry.

Natalia suddenly regretted abandoning them, and her horse slowed down.

However, several guard knights immediately realized her intentions and surrounded her.

"Your Highness, you cannot go back. Whether they can hold out against this attack or not, it will be pointless for you to go back. Those are just the vanguard of the demon race."

"..."

"Moreover, the army that marched north from Frostwind City has been completely wiped out. It is difficult to guarantee that the demons they encountered will not send some of their troops north to completely annihilate the garrison at the East Watchtower camp."

“With the Great Wall as our support, we can hold out for a while longer…” Natalia was forced to pick up speed as several horses beside her threatened her.

“The battle has progressed to this point, and the outcome is no longer Your Highness’s concern,” the leading knight said. “They may all die in battle today, or they may hold out for a few more days, but that has nothing to do with Your Highness. What you need to do now is return to Lutia and face the demons on a larger battlefield… Her Highness the Saintess has instructed that even if we knock you unconscious, we must send you back to Lutia alive.”

Natalia turned back one last time and wiped her face hard.

"I understand... I understand everything."

The group continued their escape south, and the knight's suspicions about the demons' movements were unfortunately confirmed half a day later.

A series of rapid footsteps pierced through the wind and snow, coming from ahead on the main road. The group quickly left the main road and disappeared into the snow.

However, before they could run very far, they saw a demon army rushing out of the snowstorm at the other end of the road.

Conversely, the other party also saw them at the same time.

"..."

They exchanged a glance, and a dozen or so demon infantrymen, seemingly receiving a command, immediately charged toward them.

"Run!" the lead knight shouted, leading his men to continue speeding away from the main road.

Walking on the snow was difficult, but four legs were still faster than two. Natalia ran for an unknown amount of time with her back to the wind and snow. She felt like her face was being cut with countless cuts. When she turned around, she could see nothing but two knights behind her.

"We should get rid of them."

The knight commander slowed down and nodded, but his expression remained solemn.

"As long as our goal is to return to Lutia, we will inevitably encounter the demon army again along the way."

Natalia understood that they were only able to shake off the demon soldiers because they were on horseback; if they had run into demon cavalry, it would have been much harder to escape.

“Your Highness, I remember there’s a small harbor town ahead. If the demons haven’t taken it over, we can replenish our food supplies there,” the knight commander said.

“Okay.” Natalia nodded.

The Knight Commander then said, "For Your Highness's safety, I suggest we head east to avoid the demon army marching south along Hero's Avenue and instead return to Lutia via a detour."

"..."

Natalia's face was bitter.

The Hero's Avenue, built by the Hero King to aid and control the entire empire, has now become a smooth road for the demons to launch a surprise attack on Lutia. As a descendant of the Hero King, she cannot use it to get back immediately.

"Hero's Avenue is the fastest way back. If we take a detour, by the time we get back to Lutia, it will probably already be surrounded by the demon army."

“Your Highness is right, but we must consider your safety,” the Knight Commander said.

Natalia remained silent for a moment, recalling the map of the North in her mind, trying to find a shortcut.

After riding for a while longer, they arrived at the fishing port town.

Natalia had never been here before, but she still had some impression of it: a garrison of the Black Ice Wall had heard that a dark elf girl had appeared here, and out of professional instinct, he reported this to his captain, who eventually reported it to her.

At that time, she had only been in the Black Ice Great Wall for less than two months and was ordering people to strengthen their checks in an attempt to stop the demon princess who had fled all the way from Lutia, although the matter was eventually dropped.

The wind and snow were blowing through the town, and there wasn't a soul in sight.

Several knights shielded Natalia as they rode into the town, peering around warily for a while before relaxing slightly when they saw townspeople peeking at them from their windows.

"Your Highness, please do not dismount."

The knight commander gave a brief instruction, nodded to his fellow knights, and then went to knock on the door.

The door opened quickly, but not completely, leaving only a crack. The homeowner, completely covered by clothes with only his eyes showing, asked them warily what they were doing there.

The knight commander said they wanted to buy some food.

"...Buy? You're willing to pay for it?"

"of course."

The knight commander turned around and took out a handful of silver coins from his horse's satchel. The homeowner took them, weighed them in his hand, and then looked at him and the others outside. "Only you can come in."

“We just need some dry rations to take with us…” the knight commander said, when suddenly he heard an unusual noise amidst the wind and snow. He turned his head abruptly and saw more than a dozen demon warriors rushing out of several houses nearby. His heart sank instantly, but his voice rose sharply: “Fight!”

The knights who remained on horseback reacted immediately, raising their longswords. Golden light surged forth, enveloping them. Natalia, who was also illuminated, suddenly felt her body filled with power.

On one side, several knights dismounted and began fighting the demons. On the other side, the knight captain also drew his sword. Suddenly, the door of the house in front of them opened, and the owner of the house rushed out with a knife in his hand.

Seeing that the other party's target was himself, the knight commander slashed at his neck with his sword. The flying head, now exposed, revealed a head of silver hair.

"The Arameans..."

He wasn't the only one hiding in the house; four or five demons who had been hiding there also rushed out.

"what!"

The knight commander gripped his sword with both hands, roared, and swung it horizontally. A crescent-shaped arc of light surged from the blade, repelling all the demons that charged forward.

"Protect His Highness..."

The knight commander turned and loudly reminded his companions, but seeing more demon warriors pouring out from other houses, he immediately changed his mind. He leaped back to Natalia's horse, pulled on the reins to turn the horse around, and then slapped the horse's rump hard.

"Your Highness, run! Don't stop!"

The horse was startled and ran off. Natalia could only crouch down, hug the horse tightly, and look back.

Several demons chased after her, but the knight captain, his body radiating golden light, caught up even faster, slashing down one of them with a single sword stroke, thus eliminating them all.

"Your Highness, just keep heading south and don't look back!"

As the knight commander charged and shouted, Natalia's vision quickly blurred on the fast-moving horse.

"Run, run!"

Golden light and blood-red light emerged together, only to be swallowed up by the eternal wind and snow.

"Yela, for the love of—"

"Stop them!"

"kill!"

Soon, all she could hear was the howling of the wind and snow.

"Ah—" Natalia cried out, trembling uncontrollably as she lay on the back of the galloping horse, filled with despair, fear, and anger.

She has to survive.

She had to return to Lutia.

She must eliminate all the demons on the continent.

Natalia sat up straight again and gripped the reins tightly.

She must take the fate of the empire and even humanity into her own hands.

The wind and snow blowing from the north pushed her forward relentlessly. Natalia galloped on her horse without stopping until night fell, when her horse gradually slowed down and could run no more.

"..."

Natalia dismounted, grabbed a handful of snow, stuffed it into her mouth, and then led her horse on foot through the snowy night.

The cold seeped in, and her legs quickly lost all feeling. She didn't know how long she had walked; she just kept moving forward, one step at a time, the other step deeper and the next shallower.

Along with the cold came an increasingly pronounced hunger; she hadn't eaten for almost a day.

Natalia reached for the sword at her waist more than once, and looked back at the horse she was leading more than once, her intense hunger and reason taking turns in control of her.

"If I kill the horse, I'll really be unable to leave this icy wasteland." She spoke these thoughts aloud to remind herself, especially since she wasn't even sure she had the ability to kill a horse.

The most desperate moment for her would be when the horse got scared and ran away.

After riding for a while longer, Natalia climbed back onto the horse, lay down, pressed her abdomen, and stroked the horse's head.

"Keep moving forward, go as far as you can..."

She was completely exhausted and could feel her body heat rapidly draining away.

The horse trotted on the snow, only slightly faster than her unsteady steps.

Amidst the constant shaking and jolting, Natalia's consciousness grew increasingly faint. Gradually, she felt neither hunger nor cold, and she no longer heard the hurried hooves of horses galloping past her nearby.

She didn't know how much time had passed, but in a hazy state, she felt her body warming up again.

Along with it came an indescribable smell.

What is this smell...?

The more Natalia cared and thought while she was in a deep sleep, the clearer her consciousness became.

Over the past year, she had rarely had the opportunity to look back, but this moment was an exception. She searched her memory for the source of this indescribable yet familiar scent, until one moment she recalled the winter of her sixteenth year, when the royal family went on a trip to a small town not too far north in Northria, and the unique features of that place…

It's a hot spring.

It smells like hot springs.

Natalia found the answer and woke up to find that it was already daylight. She was still lying on the horse, and under the horse's belly was a hole that was constantly spewing white mist. All the sulfur smell she could smell and the heat she could feel were coming from the hole.

...underground hot spring?
Natalia looked up and realized that she had arrived near a small town.

Recalling her experience in the previous town, she immediately became alert, dismounted, but lost her balance and fell heavily to the ground.

"..."

She hadn't eaten for a day and a night, and her strength was almost completely exhausted.

Natalia was in excruciating pain all over her body. After lying down for a while, she got up and realized that someone was watching her from not far away.

A short while later, another figure appeared behind that person. After glancing at her, the two went back into the house together.

She continued to observe for a while. People were coming and going in the town from time to time, so it seemed that the demons had not yet invaded this place.

Only then did she feel relieved enough to enter the town, find a place that looked like a tavern, and order some food.

"You're starving," the tavern owner muttered as he watched her wolf down her food. "You came from the north? I heard they're already fighting the demons there."

Then he saw her suddenly start to cry.

The tavern owner stopped talking and poured her a small glass of strong liquor, which was the only kind he had.

After they had eaten enough, Natalia took off a red agate ring from her hand. "I don't have any money, use this to pay for it. Also, prepare some dry food for me to take with me."

The boss took the ring, rubbed it with his fingers a couple of times, and his eyes immediately lit up.

"No problem. I definitely won't let you suffer any losses."

The tavern owner prepared a large bag of dry food for her, including dried fish, dried meat, and wheat biscuits.

When he came out, he found the generous female guest staring at his horse that was tied outside.

“This will cost extra,” the tavern owner said immediately. “Although someone found it and sold it to me, I’ve been feeding it for over half a year. I usually ride it when I go into town; it can go very fast.”

“I’ll trade you my horse,” Natalia said, pulling over her warhorse. “Plus the ring, you won’t lose out.”

The tavern owner glanced at the two horses as they returned and asked, "Is there something wrong with your horse?"

"No, I've just been running all day and I'm exhausted. I need to hurry and keep going."

He stroked the well-fed warhorse, but couldn't see anything wrong with it. After thinking for a moment, he agreed, "Alright then."

Natalia packed the dry rations into the saddlebag on the horse's back, took it for a test ride, and was quite satisfied. She just didn't quite understand why there was a Lille warhorse here, one that even Lutia had difficulty buying.

She returned to the tavern and reminded them, "The demons have already moved south. Let the people of the town find a way to take refuge."

The tavern owner was taken aback, but she swung the reins, stopped, and rushed back into the snowstorm.

Natalia continued south alone, and in order to avoid the demon army on Hero's Road, she had to take a detour.

The journey back to Lutia became even longer, especially as she strayed from the main road and occasionally lost her way. Fortunately, her Lille horse possessed incredible stamina, and no matter how perilous the situation, it always managed to carry her away successfully.

After more than ten days, with the help of villages, towns and even monasteries along the way, she finally left Northria and arrived at the burning pass north of Lutia.

"..."

Blood flowed everywhere, and there were mutilated corpses all around, mostly belonging to the demon race.

However, victory did not belong to the side that suffered less loss; the territory had already fallen.

(End of this chapter)