Why Am I a Priestess When I Reach the Maximum Level? - [Vol. 5] Chapter 204

[Vol. 5] Chapter 204: The Empty City

However, even after the light sword shot skyward and the sound wave spread for more than half a minute, the city remained completely silent.

No Knight Templars appeared on the city walls to verify Edwina’s identity or open the gates, and there were no signs of an impending demon attack. It was as if… this place had become a ghost town.

“……”

After waiting for a moment, Edwina furrowed her brow and exchanged another glance with the white fox girl. She made up her mind.

“No choice, given the urgency… My apologies!”

“Boom!!!”

The massive light sword descended from the sky, slashing down with a deafening roar and sending a cloud of dust billowing.

It turned out that this sword wasn’t merely a gesture of intimidation.

When the dust settled, the city gate of Sacchino, which stood only a few meters tall, had been reduced to rubble, shattered into pieces and collapsed, revealing the wide road leading into the heart of the city.

*Swish-Swish-Swish-Swish-Swish-Swish!*

With a single gesture from Miss Holy Knight, dozens of lightly armored agents from the Arbiter’s division darted out from the Knight Templars, rushing through the newly opened gate. A few particularly agile figures even used grappling hooks to scale the relatively low city walls, flipping over and disappearing from sight.

They waited in silence for about another minute and a half.

Two Arbiter agents emerged from the city and approached Edwina, who stood at the front with her sword sheathed, kneeling on one knee.

Though it was a small detail, Violet immediately took note of its significance. The core doctrine of the Holy Empire and the Goddess Church is equality. Even as the acting commander of the army and deputy leader of the Holy War, the Knight Templars are not obligated to kneel before Edwina. After all, while she is one of the divine descendants, she is not a Saintess or divine representative like Yuna or the Pope.

For these agents to kneel indicated that they were likely close confidants of Edwina, personally trained by her or part of the Cecilia family’s inner circle. Sending her own people to face the first wave of unknown risks was a selfless gesture, showing her fairness.

This was further confirmed by how they addressed her.

“Second Lady, the entire district near the west gate is empty, no residents, no demons… it’s strange.”

Edwina maintained her composure and responded with a slight nod.

“Any signs?”

The middle-aged Arbiter agent reporting didn’t hesitate.

“There’s no evidence of large-scale invasions, destruction, or battle. However, the residents’ doors and windows are tightly shut, as if they were preparing to leave their homes in an organized manner. Per your instructions, we did not force entry or proceed further, so we cannot confirm the situation in other areas, particularly toward the east.”

“Maintain the perimeter. Proceed.”

“Yes!”

The two Arbiter agents returned to the city, and Edwina, instead of taking immediate action, turned her gaze to the white fox beside her.

“What does Miss Dawn think?”

In response to Miss Holy Knight’ inquiry, Violet merely smiled, offering no clear answer.

“This battle, you are the commander after all.”

Seeming to have anticipated such a response, Edwina wasn’t surprised. She gave a slight smile and nodded.

“You’re right. No matter what, we should enter the city first. My unit was sent as the vanguard to clear the way for the main forces. If there are any risks, it’s our duty to face them.”

“~”

Thus, under the command of the Holy Knight, Edwina, the well-prepared elite forces of the ?Scales of Judgment? formed ranks and orderly marched through the shattered west gate of the city. They quickly took control of the deserted western city walls and nearby defensive positions.

For caution’s sake, Edwina only brought half her unit, which was 1,500 Knight Templars, into the city. For a small city like this, such a number of elite forces was more than sufficient to maintain basic defense and control within the scope of one gate.

Given the unknown situation within the city, it seemed Edwina was holding back part of her forces, showing a clear intent to stay cautious.

This was a wise decision.

Based on prior intel, the structure of Sacchino City was very simple. The city was divided into four main residential districts: east, south, west, and north. At the center was the Temple, which in the Holy Empire held a similar status to a lord’s manor. There weren’t even fully developed military barracks.

It was indeed quite a rudimentary city.

Once inside, apart from the portion of forces stationed on the city walls for defense, the remaining ?Scales of Judgment? knights spread out through the western district. Under Edwina’s orders, they kept a formation that left enough distance between units to allow mutual support if needed, as they began searching the empty area.

During this process, the Saintess, as the supreme commander and strongest among them, did not remain idle. Instead, she led a squad of personal guards along with the two members of the Miss White Fox group to knock on the door of one of the tightly sealed houses.

*Knock knock knock.*

After the sound echoed for a moment, they who had been standing in front of the door waiting patiently, once again encountered the same treatment as she had outside the western gate.

“No one here either?”

The triangular ears on top of Miss White Fox’s head seemed to twitch reflexively.

“It seems that way. At least, I don’t hear any heartbeats or breathing from inside~”

“If even Miss Dawn says so…”

The vice commander turned her head and gave a signal with her eyes to the Holy Knights standing behind her.

“Yes!”

Without needing further instructions, the well-trained elite clerics immediately understood their superior’s intentions. Three of them stepped forward in unison, positioning themselves on either side of the heavy wooden door. They exchanged a knowing glance…

*Bang! Bang!*

The swords struck the door lock, breaking it. At the same time, two pairs of steel-armored boots kicked the critical points of the door. The immense force shattered the door’s structure from the inside. With a loud crash, the door was kicked open, and the three Holy Knights rushed into the house, drawing their swords and vigilantly scanning their surroundings.

“Wow… they’re so skilled at this…”

While secretly muttering to herself, Miss White Fox made sure to follow closely behind, joining the other girls and the rest of the Knight Templars in searching the small two-room apartment.

“Second Miss, no traces of humans or demons! This place is empty!”

“As expected…”

Looking at the neatly arranged bowls and chopsticks in the cupboard, the unused stove, and the well-made bed, the golden-haired girl, who was in charge of the operation, fell into brief contemplation.

“What do you think?”

The same question, but asked in a different direction this time. Yet, when Edwina was asked by Violet, she did not hesitate or deflect the query.

“It seems this western market area is truly empty,” Edwina speculated in a low voice.

“Based on the observations we made from the hillside earlier, there should have been signs of human activity in this city. Although it didn’t match the scale of its population of over a hundred thousand, it definitely wasn’t as unusually desolate as it is now… Also, we didn’t witness any large-scale attacks from the direction of the stars, which contradicts the intelligence we received.”

“From the time we descended from the hill to the moment we arrived here, it’s only been about an hour. Even if the city had fallen, demons couldn’t have evacuated over a hundred thousand residents in such a short time without leaving behind obvious signs of battle or destruction.”

“Therefore, there are only two possibilities left.”