A flash of ethereal blue light, and then the glow of a teleportation circle illuminated the area.
Rimuru, leading the people of the Demon Country Federation, appeared at the town's entrance, just in time to confront the Holy Knight Order of the Western Holy Church.
Rimuru's gaze met Sakaguchi Hinata's immediately.
Looking at Rimuru from afar, Sakaguchi Hinata's hand involuntarily tightened around the sword she held.
When she saw Gelda's crystal ball recording, Hinata's heart already had the answer.
But at this moment, upon direct contact, an uncontrollable pang of agony still gripped her heart.
"Shizue-sensei, I will avenge you!"
However, as the captain of the Holy Knight Order, Sakaguchi Hinata was extremely experienced in combat, and her first glance at Rimuru made her sense the extraordinary nature of his team.
And with just a brief observation, a storm surged in Sakaguchi Hinata's heart.
As a summoner, when she traversed the World, Hinata acquired a powerful Unique skill.
This skill possessed two powerful effects: Water and Fire.
And behind these two effects, there was an even more powerful judgment effect.
As long as she could successfully make her judgment, she could completely suppress or destroy the opponent's skills in one fell swoop.
This judgment was a very useful skill, its effect somewhat similar to Rimuru's analysis and appraisal, making it a very buggy ability.
Hinata had defeated a powerful enemy with its help, almost always succeeding.
But among the ten people who emerged from the Demon Country Federation, aside from Demon Lord Rimuru, her skill failed to make a judgment on White as well.
In other words, the Demon Country Federation currently had at least two existences that could be considered formidable enemies to her.
How could this be?
The intelligence provided by Gelda was too inaccurate!
But with the arrow on the string, she had no choice but to let it fly. Hinata had no other options.
What's more, the Falmus Kingdom's Divine Knight Order had also fallen to the Demon Country Federation. If she couldn't come up with effective means, the Holy Church's prestige might be utterly shattered!
The situation was not optimistic; she could only lead the charge to forcibly break through and strike down one of the strong enemies.
However, this possibility was very low.
Facing White and Rimuru two-on-one, she had no chance of winning.
If Sarre and Renard could gain an advantage first, the tide of battle might turn.
But for the position of Holy Knight Order captain, Sarre was very likely to deliberately hold back, leading to her disastrous defeat!
Gelda might also be problematic; the inaccuracy of this intelligence was frighteningly large, too suspicious.
A thought transmission sounded, "Fritz, the situation is not optimistic. Try to contact Luminas."
Fritz: "Senior Hinata, do you sense something?"
Sakaguchi Hinata: "Don't ask too many questions. Just keep contacting Luminas!"
Fritz: "Yes, My Lord!"
Sakaguchi Hinata: "The numbers are basically even, Demon Lord Rimuru. Are you planning to have a one-on-one duel with us, the Ten Great Sages?"
Rimuru: "Not me, but My Lord's subordinates!"
Sakaguchi Hinata couldn't help but show a cold smile, "You're not planning to fight? It seems we're being underestimated!"
However, Rimuru's arrogance was precisely what she wanted.
Since that's the case, let her strike down White with her sword first!
Afterward, she was very likely to incur the wrath of an enraged Rimuru, but for the future of the Holy Church, this was the only way.
Sakaguchi Hinata drew the knight's sword from her waist and said, "The opponents are very strong, don't be careless. Holy Knights, cast defensive magic!"
"Yes, My Lord!"
Accompanying the Holy Knights' incantations, sacred divine power enveloped them, and each of the saints was covered in holy magic that enhanced their defense.
The people of the Demon Country Federation looked on, all feeling a bit surprised.
Earlier, listening to Archbishop Reshim's words, the pressure the Ten Great Sages exerted on them was actually very great.
But looking at them now, the situation seemed somewhat different from what they had imagined!
Is it to guard against Rimuru-sama, or...
"Forget it, let me lead the charge!"
Even though Shion was a female, her fighting style was straightforward and she disliked probing, tentative fighting methods.
Shion transformed into a purple rainbow light and immediately shot towards the Holy Knight Order's position.
Since Shion moved, how could Benimaru, Souei, White, and the others fall behind?
Although the Ten Great Sages were somewhat different from what they had imagined, the Ten Great Sages were still the Ten Great Sages, and they didn't want Shion to suffer any mishaps.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Red, blue, white, green, gray...
Several rainbow lights closely followed Shion's purple rainbow light, surging forward.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Accompanied by impacts like falling cannonballs, the ground stirred up gusts of wind.
The Holy Knights bore the brunt of it; the Ten Great Sages were fine, but the weaker knights were all swept up by the wind and sand, unable to open their eyes.
"What is all this?"
"Didn't they say Demon Lord Rimuru hasn't been a Demon Lord for even a year?"
All the knights were shocked.
For the knights of the Western Holy Church, they had every reason to be proud.
Because under the glory of God, the monsters that once ravaged the West had all been eradicated.
Even hearing that the Demon Country Federation had defeated the Falmus Kingdom only surprised them slightly.
But now, they were somewhat afraid!
Although the confrontation time was extremely short, they had all found their respective opponents.
Shion directly confronted Renard, the Prince of Light, who always wore a smile on his face;
Benimaru sought out Arno Bowman of the Sky;
Gabiru confronted Diris of the Water;
Souei faced Sarre of the Firmament, the former captain of the Holy Knight Order;
orc lord confronted Bacchus of the Earth;
Gobta confronted Fritz of the Wind;
William Adolf sought out Grigori of the Giant Rock;
Shuna confronted Fritz of the Wind;
Dryad Treyni chose Garde of the Fire;
As for White, he had already faced Hinata.
Sakaguchi Hinata: "I never thought I'd encounter an expert of your caliber here!"
White smiled, "It is My Lord's honor to be praised so highly by My Lord Hinata, the leader of the Ten Great Sages."
"Be careful!"
The knight's sword in Sakaguchi Hinata's hand shimmered with colorful light.
She took a step, and the colorful sword in her hand directly pierced through space, aiming for White's neck to decapitate him.
Clang!
A sound of metal clashing rang out. White's sword was held in front of him, drawn out a little more than halfway, just enough to block Hinata's sword aimed at his neck.
"So fast!"
Hinata's and White's eyes simultaneously sharpened; both were shocked by the other's reaction and swordsmanship, but also applauded each other's swordsmanship tirelessly.
Whirring Whirring Whirring~
The sound of swords humming continuously, White and Hinata exchanged blows, their Shadows moving so fast that the eyes couldn't capture them at all.
Only lingering afterimages could be seen, along with streaks of sword light tearing through the sky.
And the aftereffects generated by the clashing sword energy even forced the saints and the Demon Country Federation generals like Benimaru, who were fighting nearby, to retreat and keep their distance.
Amazing!
Everyone was utterly shocked.
And influenced by White and Hinata's battle, the fighting on other battlefields also intensified.
The short-tempered Shion's posture became even more wild; the great katana in her hand was wielded like giant waterfalls of the Milky Way falling from the nine heavens.
Unlike White and Hinata's refined combat, Shion's fighting was one of grand, sweeping movements. With every strike, the entire ground would be cleaved into massive gullies hundreds of meters long.
And Renard, the Prince of Light, who was her opponent, was completely stunned by Shion's savage fighting style.
Shion's fighting style was truly too barbaric; it could be said to have no artistry at all!
But precisely because of that, the amount of magicules in Shion's body was too exaggerated.
Every blow she struck, the storm it unleashed, was almost capable of shattering mountains and breaking peaks.
Crude, too crude!
How could there be such a crude female in this World?
Any man who married such a woman would surely have lost his mind.
But Renard hadn't even had time to mock Shion when Shion's attack arrived again.
Shion, who was circling and charging in the sky, suddenly brought her great katana down. Her great katana, under the enhancement of Fire and Water, had become incredibly powerful.
The void vibrated, the air roared, it was as if a large meteorite was falling from the sky.
The Prince of Light, who always had a smile on his face, no longer smiled.
Boom!
The Prince of Light's rapier and Shion's great katana collided.
Instantly, an incredibly terrifying force poured through Renard's body onto the ground.
The ground immediately caved in and collapsed, even the soil was shaken into dust.
As for Renard, the Prince of Light, his upper garments were extensively damaged.
If he was a noble prince before, he was now disheveled.
Shion, wild and unrestrained, showed a defiant smile on her face, her purple hair falling down her back, looking heroic and formidable, "What? Is this all the strength the so-called Ten Great Sages possess?"
Honestly, before the battle, Shion was quite wary of the Ten Great Sages.
But once the fighting began, she no longer thought so.
They were just all talk; in reality, their strength was only so-so.
Shion, shouldering her great katana, proudly said, "My name is Shion, Rimuru-sama's first secretary. So, surrender or die, choose!"
Renard was furious; as one of the Ten Great Sages, how could he bow to evil monsters?
"You will know My Lord's choice!"
Clang!
The rapier in Renard's hand shimmered with dazzling light, and the divine-attributed magicules rapidly surged.