I Became a White-Haired Loli 48

Chapter 48: Self-Deception

“The Nightmare Legion of the Abyssal Demon Realm is marching south and will reach the Saint Noyes defense line within days.”

“Saint Noyes’ supply lines have been cut. The garrison can only hold out for seven days, but reinforcements will take at least a month to arrive.”

“Furthermore, retreating to the next defense line and rendezvousing with reinforcements will take another two weeks.”

“The North Empire is vast, but we have nowhere left to retreat.”

Lugner, sitting at the head of the table, remained silent.

The fall of Saint Noyes was inevitable; the Garrison Knights were facing annihilation.

“I recall… the Sharp Assault squad is still in the Abyssal Demon Realm, aren’t they?” Glaimond’s voice broke the silence. “They’re the Empire’s elite, each member worth a demon squad.”

“…What do you propose?” Lugner asked, his cloudy eyes fixed on Glaimond.

“They should push deeper into the Abyss,” Glaimond said with a smile. “Ideally, they would encounter the legendary Abyssal Lord—though, realistically, they’ll likely run into the Nightmare Legion…”

Lugner instantly understood Glaimond’s plan. He opened his mouth to speak, then looked down.

“That’s a suicide mission.”

“Indeed, but their sacrifice will buy the Empire time,” Glaimond said seriously. “I believe Commander Xu and his squad would gladly lay down their lives for the Empire, to protect humanity.”

The surrounding knights remained silent. They knew this was the only way to save the Garrison Knights.

The elite Sharp Assault squad, though not widely known, was composed of hand-picked individuals who had completed numerous dangerous missions without casualties.

Their loss would be a heavy blow to the Empire.

But… it was better than the entire Garrison being trapped and annihilated in Saint Noyes.

After a long silence, Lugner sighed.

“Inform the Garrison Knights. Prepare to withdraw from Saint Noyes.”

He had made the most difficult and regrettable decision of his life.

This decision had aged him within a year, transforming him from a valiant commander into a frail old man, his life force ebbing away.

But no one saw the faint smile that touched Glaimond’s lips.

…

…

“Die! Die! Die!”

Glaimond’s composure shattered, his face contorted in a mask of rage and fear.

“Why… why are you still alive…? Why have you come back…?”

“I alone am enough for the Empire’s rise!”

Although Glaimond seemed more powerful than ever, his erratic attacks were less effective, his power unfocused.

Xu Bai deflected his attacks with ease, forcing him to rely more heavily on the Authority, desperately trying to kill her.

As the destructive power of [City Breaker] raged unchecked, the Clock Tower finally succumbed, its walls cracking and crumbling, debris raining down.

The entire structure collapsed, thankfully after everyone inside had evacuated. Lin Yan had been carried away by Uncle Lin, but several bystanders were injured.

This battle was beyond human comprehension; even the Demon Hunters didn’t dare approach.

Sasha, despite possessing her own power, wasn’t a skilled fighter and could only watch from a distance.

“Lockner.”

Xu Bai’s fighting style shifted abruptly, her figure appearing behind Glaimond as if by magic, her dagger aimed at the back of his neck.

Once the Empire’s deadliest assassin, Lockner’s strength wasn’t just his skill in killing, but the fact that no one even knew he existed.

His assassination techniques had no name, nor did they need one.

He had fallen on the first day of the Saint Noyes siege, taking the Nightmare Legion’s second-in-command with him.

Glaimond, caught off guard, felt the dagger graze his neck.

But before Xu Bai could strike deeper, Glaimond unleashed the full force of the Authority, an indiscriminate wave of destructive energy.

“Ugh…” Xu Bai staggered back, wiping the blood from her lips.

But she didn’t stop. As Glaimond’s power raged, she sheathed her dagger and drew a small pulse pistol.

“Victoria.”

The only member of the Sharp Assault squad without psychic circuits, her ingenious devices were the Empire’s most destructive weapons, aside from the Authority.

This pulse pistol was her masterpiece.

She had fallen on the sixth day of the Saint Noyes siege, having single-handedly repelled dozens of demon attacks, her body finally giving out.

Bang!

A pulse of energy pierced Glaimond’s heart, leaving a clean, cauterized wound.

Before he could even register the pain, blood spurted from his chest.

“It’s you… it really is you… I didn’t expect… it to be you…” Glaimond chuckled weakly. “You’re going to use it now, aren’t you? That technique…?”

His expression suddenly turned frantic.

“No! I won’t lose to you again! Not again! Not even once!”

“Look at yourself! You’re no longer a knight! You’ve fallen! Just like Deli! You’re corrupted!”

“What’s the difference between living like this and being dead?!”

Xu Bai paused, then said softly, “There is no difference.”

Like Deli, who craved power and embraced the demons, she had abandoned her past, her identity, her honor. She had become something else, an outcast, perhaps even an enemy of the Empire.

“But I have to live.”

She had to live, so that someone, somewhere, would remember the knights who had fought and died at Saint Noyes.

“…Xu Bai.”

She whispered the last name, and dozens of sword slashes materialized around Glaimond, striking with blinding speed.

[Sever]

Severing all ties, severing the past.

From this day forward, the young man named Xu Bai, and his comrades, would remain buried in the ruins of Saint Noyes, forever frozen in that final battle.

Standing here was only “Bai.”

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Glaimond’s body, almost severed by Xu Bai’s attack, collapsed, a mangled, bloody mess.

But then, he laughed, a chilling, mocking sound.

“Xu Bai, you’re only deceiving yourself…”