<h4>Chapter 301: This Isn’t What I Expected</h4>


    A fantastical sight was currently taking ce in the Minster Mansion.


    With her hand still tightly holding onto Roel’s, Lilian turned to the disciples of the Salvation Brotherhood and spoke with a cold but calm voice. One couldn’t even sense murderous intent from her at all. Yet, there was no doubt that the army that had just barged into the mansion was under hermand.


    Under the loud rumbling sounds, all of the windows and doors of the Minster Mansion were shattered into fragments. Blue heavy-armored mounted knights wielding shields and spears rushed in from all directions and encircled their enemies. gs bearing the symbol of a pale blue spear fluttered amongst them.


    The moment they entered the mansion, the panicked crowd immediately escaped in all directions while shrieking in horror.


    As for Roel, he couldn’t help but narrow his eyes upon catching sight of the gs.


    That symbol... That’s the Ancient Austine Empire’s Blue Knight Order!


    The sudden appearance of a valiant military force that had left its mark in history more than a thousand years ago bewildered Roel. However, this turned out to be nothing more than a sample of what was toe.


    While pandemonium was unfolding in the mansion, another deep war horn sounded, and this time, it came with a weird resonant thumping noise.


    Bam, bam, bam...


    This weird noise was growing louder with each passing moment. The flustered disciples of the Salvation Brotherhood immediately rushed to the closest window to take a look and their faces turned pale right after. Eventually, the noise grew loud enough for everyone to figure out what it was.


    It was the sound of an army of soldiers marching in unison.


    The Minster Mansion had already been encircled by countless soldiers at some point in time. The formation of shieldbearers outside caused the ring rays of the noon sun to be reflected into the mansion through its shattered windows, causing those inside to squint.


    The sea of hoisted gs, the continuous ring of war horns, and the loud organized footsteps of the approaching army gripped the hearts of those inside the mansion. They couldn’t help but feel a strong sense of foreboding.


    Lilian gazed upon Sartoni and the others with eyes so cold that she might as well have been staring at corpses.


    It was true that Origin Level 2 transcendents were powerful, but to Lilian, that single level of difference could be easily bridged through her overwhelmingly powerful abilities.


    For the renowned warriors who were once important pirs to the prosperity of the Ancient Austine Empire, an Origin Level 2 transcendent like Sartoni was nothing more than a slightly more difficult opponent.


    And as fact had it, Sartoni didn’t dare to move at all.


    Just in the mansion itself, there were already nearly a hundred Origin Level 4 Blue Knights.


    At this point, Lilian was practically no different from a walking fortress. It might look as if the Salvation Brotherhood was in control of the venue, but that was no longer true from the moment Lilian arrived here.


    The disciples of the Salvation Brotherhood in the mansion were horror-struck by the army. They trembled fearfully on the spot, and some of them even got onto their knees and begged for mercy.


    However, Lilian had nopassion for them.


    She couldn’t forgive anyone who dared to insult her younger brother, though after some consideration, she decided to entrust the decision to Roel.


    It was also then that Roel finally snapped out of his shock from witnessing the legendary armies he had read about in historical records being materialized in reality. Noticing Lilian’s enquiring gaze, he gave the matter some thought before shaking his head.


    “It’s still too early,” he said.


    He squeezed Lilian’s hand in hopes of cating her, but thetter surprisingly didn’t reveal any discontentment toward his decision to back down here. Instead, her face turned even redder, and her eyes were filled with affection.


    “Forget it then.”


    With a light wave of her hand, the deep war horns finally stopped ring and the knights lowered their weapons. The tense atmosphere inside the mansion calmed down a little. Sartoni heaved a sigh of relief.


    However, this didn’t mean that it was all over yet.


    “Mister Sartoni, I’m thankful for your goodwill. I’m satisfied with the banquet you have prepared for me, but I don’t think that it’s the right time for us to negotiate with one another. What do you think?”


    “... Perhaps so.”


    Sartoni nced at the tall knights around him as he replied with an awful look on his face.


    He wasn’t certain where these knights hade from, but he knew that they hadn’t appeared in this war before. In other words, a third party had joined the fray.


    Any side that suddenly received additional reinforcement on the battlefield would make sure to fully disy its prowess so as to gain more leverage before proceeding into negotiations.


    Both Sartoni and Roel understood that, so they decided not to waste their time here.


    “I’ll be taking my leave. I hope that you have fun with this little party of yours,” said Roel with a brilliant smile.


    With that, he turned around and walked out of the mansion with Lilian. The knights swiftly parted into two rows to grant them passageway.


    Sartoni gritted his teeth furiously at those two departing silhouettes, but he soon thought of something that broughtposure to him. A disdainful smile formed on his face.


    “Laugh while you can. Your days are already numbered!”


    ...


    Shortly after they left the mansion, Lilian’s army began to dissipate.


    Roel was still having troubleing to grips with the current situation.


    All of the armies that had appeared earlier, be it the mounted knights or foot soldiers, were all aces that had left their mark in the history of the illustrious Ancient Austine Empire. These warriors existed in different eras, but they hade together to protect their queen.


    While he already had an inkling of Lilian’s great prowess, this far exceeded what he had imagined.


    If Roel was someone who had surpassed others on the foundation of his Ascart Bloodline, Lilian would be the chosen one who had managed to strike a harmonious bnce between the Ascart Bloodline and the Ackermanns’ Kingdom Origin Attribute.


    In some ways, what she had achieved could be considered to be a miracle.


    This notion excited Roel so much that his body began trembling slightly, but Lilian misunderstood the meaning behind his bodynguage. She gripped his hand tightly and consoled him gently.


    “Don’t worry, my soldiers will never hurt you. I promise.”


    Roel knew that Lilian had misunderstood, but he didn’t want to touch too much on it since they were still in the presence of the disciples of the Saints Convocation.


    The two of them got onto a carriage and left the area.


    Now that they were finally getting some alone time, Roel asked her how she had fared over thest few days.


    It turned out that Lilian was already in the southern city area by the time she woke up. There weren’t many evil cultists there, but the area would be overrunned by the ck-armored soldiers at night. In fact, Lilian was awoken by the sphemous whispersing from one of them.


    The absence of Roel by her side plunged her into a state of confusion. She thought that the monsters had harmed Roel and went on a massacre. Her actions ended up rming the Salvation Brotherhood.


    The reason why the Salvation Brotherhood didn’t attempt tounch an attackst night was due to her rampage, so they had no choice but to divert their forces to curb her.


    She was intending to continue her rampage till Roel finally got to her, but earlier in the morning, she happened to overhear his name from one of the evil cultists. Grasping onto this lead, she headed to the northern city area, where she heard about the negotiation that was ongoing in the Minster Mansion.


    So, she immediately headed over and cleared off all of the guards in a single breath. She thought that her bloodsoaked clothes looked awful and was worried that she might embarrass Roel at the banquet, so she looked for a fresh set of clothes in the mansion.


    It was also around then that she happened to overhear Sartoni mocking Roel.


    Roel was a little speechless after hearing the full story. Lady Luck was really looking after them.


    To be honest, what happened wasn’t really of importance to him. The important thing was that they had managed to reunite with one another, and it was clear that Lilian shared the same thoughts.


    Following that, it was Roel’s turn to share his encounters with her.


    However, upon hearing all of the risky moves Roel made along the way, Lilian felt a strong urge to harshly berate him for his recklessness, but at the same time, she couldn’t bear to scold him either. In the end, she could only express her dissatisfaction through her silence.


    “Senior?”


    “...”


    Roel blinked his eyes in iprehension before realization struck him, and he burst intoughter. He took Lilian’s hand and ced it on his chest.


    “There’s no need to worry. Look, my heart is beating as lively as ever.”


    “...”


    Lilian’s expression alleviated a little after hearing his gentle words, but she was still persisting with her silent protest. An idea suddenly popped into Roel’s mind, and he spoke with a forlorn voice.


    “Big sis, don’t be angry at me anymore, alright?”


    “!”


    The instant Roel said those words, Lilian’s body jerked as if she had been struck by a bolt of lightning. She stared at him with eyes widened in disbelief.


    “W-what did you just call me?”


    “Big sis,” replied Roel with a smile.


    He didn’t think that it was wrong for him to call her that given their bloodline ties, and the intimacy he felt with her emboldened him. Little did he know that he was ying with fire here.


    Lilian’s trembling hands reached out to touch his cheeks, and somethingpletely unexpected happened right after.


    She leaned in and kissed him.


    “!”