Raise Joan of Arc to be an empress, then discard her.

The ancient, unchanging longsword remained firmly planted in its place, without the slightest ripple.

When Roman died, the army had completely collapsed. Only a few soldiers remained on the plain to resist, while most others had long since fled. The nobleman saw that the army had shrunk from a legion of thousands to a few scattered fleeing points in just half an hour, and he felt a sense of the impermanence of life.

*

High cliffs and valleys.

Footsteps echoed through the valley. Charles turned around in surprise and saw the man in black robes return to the valley. He carried a sword in his hand, the blood on the sword already dried. What surprised Charles was the man's face. His clothes were torn, his hair was dirty and messy, and his face showed an indescribable weariness.

“Daria is dead. She committed suicide. I didn’t bring her back,” Aaron said.

Charles nodded, not surprised. It would be very difficult to stop a superhuman of this level from committing suicide.

"How are things in the other places? Do I need to go there?" Aaron asked.

"I just received news that Lister and Levante are safe. The riots there were suppressed within half an hour. The towns are still on high alert, but I think everything is fine now."

"What about the mine? Have all the enemies been captured?"

“We’ve caught them all.” Charles looked somewhat embarrassed at the ravine leading to the mountains beside him. “It’s just that the giant is buried a bit too deep, and we haven’t been able to dig him out yet.”

Another Obsidian Knight carried over a huge object that looked like an insect egg: "We found this down in the mine."

"what is this?"

"When we found the item that created those monsters, it was covered with many unhatched insect eggs. It looks like they threw it into the underground river, polluting the forest and other creatures in the river, thus creating the monsters."

"Items of this caliber are practically national treasures to them. They really went all out for this operation."

"But we ultimately held onto the mine and prevented the high cliffs and valleys from falling into enemy hands," Charles said.

Aaron, however, did not share Charles's excitement and joy. After a moment of silence, he said, "Several people have died."

Five people.

“Take me to see them.”

Charles led Aaron to the corpses. All the bodies had been wrapped in body bags, leaving only their faces exposed so that Aaron could identify them. The moment they became Obsidian Knights, they had signed an agreement that after their deaths, their bodies would be sent to Asgard or back to their respective hometowns, receiving the treatment of heroes.

“This was a necessary sacrifice,” Charles said, standing with Aaron before the body. Behind them, all the Obsidian Knights stood silently, as if in mourning.

Chapter 43 Joan of Arc's Correspondence

“They all sacrificed themselves here for the glory of Lucert. After they die, their souls will return to the heavens where the all-knowing god resides,” said one of the Obsidian Knights, who had also worked as a priest.

“Take their bodies back,” Aaron said wearily. “I’ll leave the rest to you, is that alright?”

Aaron saw that Charles's hand holding the sword was bandaged, and a bandage was hanging around his neck, making him look like a wounded soldier. He felt a little reluctant to hand the task over to him like that.

Charles blinked and waved to Aaron with his bandaged hand, saying, "The biggest problem is solved. Leave the rest to me. I can handle this."

Aaron nodded, his body enveloped in black light, and he left the high cliff valley.

Aaron hadn't flown far when he saw cavalrymen fleeing in panic on the plain. He caught one of them, asked him about the situation, and learned about Lister's predicament.

Knowing that the Griffin Legion had been destroyed, Aaron was no longer in a hurry. He breathed a sigh of relief as dusk fell. At this moment, his Omniscient Stone emitted a blue light. Aaron looked at the sun behind him. It was already dusk, the time Aaron and Joan of Arc had agreed to communicate.

Aaron casually held the Stone of Omniscience to his ear and said, "Hello?"

Esgard, Sacred Heart Cathedral.

As evening fell, a young girl in a nun's habit walked along the corridor of the Sacred Heart Cathedral, with the enormous sunset over Esgard beside her.

"Can you hear me, teacher?"

A girl's gentle voice rang in his ears. The girl was clearly not very skilled at using the Omniscient Stone yet, and her voice seemed to come and go within the Omniscient Stone, making Aaron's ears itch and causing him to smile involuntarily.

Joan of Arc was always clever in some things, but clumsy in others. For example, she showed a natural incompetence when it came to supernatural objects, appearing awkward and clumsy, which made Aaron, who was far away, unable to suppress a smile.

“I can hear you. If only you had held the Stone of All Knowledge closer,” Aaron said with a smile.

"Hmm... is it better to hold it closer like this?"

He heard the girl's soft murmur and the rustling of clothes beside him, then her voice rang in his ears again: "How about this? Can the teacher hear me clearly this way?"

It wasn't just that he could hear clearly; it was as if Joan of Arc was speaking right next to his ear, as if he could smell the girl's fragrance with just a slight sniff. Aaron knew that Joan of Arc had held the Stone of Omniscience too close again, but he was too lazy to correct her: "Hmm, this is fine."

"That's good. Has the teacher arrived in Lister? Has he seen them?" Joan of Arc asked.

"Yes, I've seen them. Don't worry, the matter has been resolved. They're all fine. We discovered that Dylan was a spy for Chernobog and have captured him. All we need to do now is bring him back with the convoy."

Aaron's tone was relaxed, as if everything was a piece of cake, but Joan knew that things were definitely not as simple as her teacher made them out to be. Before leaving, Aaron's tone was very serious, and he even called her over specifically to give her some instructions. Joan also knew that her teacher might have to confront the army in Lister, which was definitely not an easy place, so she was very worried.

She knew her teacher was very strong, but she was still worried that he might be secretly injured by the enemy. However, Joan of Arc knew that her teacher was speaking in a light tone to avoid making her worry, so Joan of Arc also said, "Teacher is so amazing. I know that as long as you take action, you can solve the problem."

"Alright, don't worry, the matter has been resolved. We're on our way back now and should be back in five to seven days," Aaron said gently.

"It will still take a long time, even though Teacher Ming only took two days to set off."

"Because I need to come back with the team in case something goes wrong on the way," Aaron said.

In fact, the best course of action would have been for Aaron to linger in the high cliff valley for a while longer to prevent an enemy counterattack.

But Aaron was certain the enemy wouldn't dare return. Aaron wasn't exactly a very responsible leader, so he planned to send someone back to handle things here after he got back. This back-and-forth would reduce efficiency, but it would make things easier for him…

"How is Carol? My classmates from the Holy Academy and I heard about her situation, and many of them are very worried about her."

"She's fine... just a little shaken up. She should be alright once we get back to Esgard."

"When you see Carol, please give her my regards," Joan said. "Will you be returning with Carol then?"

"Ah."

"Okay, I'll wait for the teacher at the station."

Aaron smiled. He wouldn't tell Joan of Arc not to bother waiting, because he knew that even if he did, Joan of Arc would do the same. Young girls can be stubborn in some things, but he didn't mind. Knowing that someone was waiting for her in Esgard was a happy thing.

Has anything happened recently?

"Nothing special has happened. I've been at church these past few days, taking care of the homeless and the injured with the nuns. We're safe, just a bit busy."

"Okay, keep looking for me around this time. We'll keep in touch, and I'll end up right in front of you."

"Okay, I'll miss you during this time."

The Omniscient Stone's energy was almost depleted, and the voice from Jeanne's side slowly faded away. Aaron carefully put the Omniscient Stone back on his chest.

As the sun sets, it casts its magnificent afterglow upon the earth, bathing everything in golden light—a sight rarely seen by city dwellers, usually only by travelers.

Back on the ground, countless corpses lay on the golden earth, flames burned across the plains, some of the bodies still held flags in their hands, and lingering smoke rose into the sky, but the earth was now silent, with only golden blood and broken limbs piled together.

The crows and wild beasts haven't had time to arrive yet, and once night falls, this place will become a terrifying sight, but at least for now, it's still beautiful.

Aaron stepped over the corpses lying scattered on the ground, passed through the forbidden zone of life bathed in the golden light of the setting sun, and came to the long sword stuck in the center of the convoy. Aaron picked up the long sword and made a gesture of sheathing it, and the long sword disappeared in his hand, leaving only a pile of corpses on the ground, as if everything before had just been an illusion.

Seeing that the corpses were all enemy bodies, Aaron breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he had assessed the strength of the Griffin Legion before leaving, Aaron could not be 100% certain that Bai Yue could protect the caravan's safety while leaving Bai Yue behind. If any of the Griffin Legion members possessed any cunning or strange abilities that could bypass Bai Yue's defenses and directly affect the people in the caravan, they would still suffer heavy casualties.

Chapter 44 is being updated three times in a row! Requesting monthly votes, investments, and donations! Those who are waiting to read this can start reading now!

At 11:10, upon seeing comments saying the author's writing was short and weak, the author became extremely angry and furious, releasing three more chapters in a row to silence the readers.

Okay, enough joking. It's true that the comments section says the author's writing is weak and lacking in substance, and it's also true that updates are frequent. I recently noticed that the popularity rating is pretty good; it's entered the top 76 of the light novel new book chart. As we all know, the light novel section is the most popular section on Qidian, and the number one new book in the light novel section is the number one new book on the overall chart. If this book's popularity is a little higher and it can get higher, it might even make it onto the overall chart.

The number of investors has reached 66. When the number of investors reaches 100, we can get a small-scale promotion.

So please vote for me, invest in me, comment on my posts, and a tip would be even better...

By the way, I just found out that monthly tickets on Qidian aren't worth any money... I didn't get a single penny for the first two months of my new book... I was so happy to see so many monthly tickets before, but I'm still begging for more with tears in my eyes...

I'll try to maintain three updates a day and see if I can boost the popularity. That depends on the readers' support. I'll see how high it goes, until I'm completely exhausted...

Chapter 45 Heartbreak Part 1

Although he judged the Griffin Gang to be a rabble before leaving, things are never certain, and Aaron could not be 100% sure that Bai Yue could protect the convoy.

If any member of the Griffin Legion possesses any cunning or bizarre abilities, or if there is an unknown superhuman who can bypass Bai Yue's defenses and directly attack the convoy, the convoy may not be able to avoid annihilation.

Aaron was also gambling, betting that they couldn't break through his defenses, and he was right. But he knew it was still a gamble and didn't want to face that choice again.

Aaron sheathed his knife and looked up, suddenly surprised to see a drop of blood dripping on the grass about a few dozen steps away from Bai Yue.

Whose blood is this? How did it get here? If it's from one of our own, that's incredibly careless. If it's from an enemy, how could it have dripped so close to Bai Yue? This means he was very close to Bai Yue at the time, almost touching the line he drew.

Aaron stared at the drop of blood, then slowly looked away. He had killed too many people today; his nerves were already numb, and this kind of thing could no longer arouse his interest.

As Aaron stood there sheathing his longsword, many people in the caravan stared at him with a mixture of fear and reverence. They surrounded Aaron, neither daring to stray far nor approach him.

Aaron sensed the atmosphere around him and knew that this was actually a golden opportunity. All he had to do was step forward, act like a leader, assure them that they were safe, and say some encouraging and comforting words to them. This would turn their fear into a sense of security, and he would gain the affection of the nobles.

But Aaron said nothing and did nothing; he simply left the crowd and found Damian, who was inspecting the condition of the convoy.

"Where's Mary? Didn't Valery keep saying he wanted to save her? Has she been found?" Aaron asked bluntly.

Damian didn't say much, and led Aaron directly to the red carriage. The carriage door was not closed, but slightly ajar, and Aaron could see what was inside through the crack.

Young Master Valéry, who had fought bravely in the battle to protect the convoy, was leaning against the wall, personally feeding porridge to a girl whose body was wrapped in bandages. The girl was seriously injured and ate very slowly, but Valéry was very patient, and a special atmosphere filled the two of them.

“Valery found her on the bandits’ horses,” Damian whispered to Aaron. “They initially seemed to want to use Mary as leverage, so they didn’t kill her. But then the bandits collapsed and fell into chaos, and no one cared about her anymore. When Valery saw some bandits trying to escape, he grabbed her, immediately mounted his horse, and chased after them, rescuing Mary from the bandits and becoming a hero in the eyes of the beauty.”

Damian continued, "Mary was in relatively good spirits after being rescued, so we told her what had happened. After hearing about you, she said she wanted to thank you properly..."

After saying that, Damian glared at him, the implication being clear: you decide what to do.

"Don't disturb them, let them rest well," Aaron said. "By the way, how is Carol?"

“Miss Carol…” Damian was clearly hesitant to speak.

"Go ahead and say it, it's okay."

“Miss Carol is still a little sad, and the maid is comforting her,” Damian sighed. “This is between you two, and it’s not really my place to ask, but I still have a question to ask.”

"You said."

“Miss Carol says you are her fiancé, and you are engaged…”

"Yes, that's true. Her parents told me about it, but I didn't agree to it at the time."

Damian sighed: "You'll still need to comfort her; there's nothing we can do to help you."

"It's alright, leave it to me."