In the demihuman army, all the living members of the Demihuman Ten Elites, as well as the leaders of each demihuman race, looked at Keralt, who was seated at the head of the table.

Recently, all contact with Jaldabaoth had been lost, causing many demihumans to consider retreating. However, Keralt claimed she could still communicate with Jaldabaoth and even stated that the orders she received from him were to launch a full-scale assault on the Holy Kingdom's forces.

Many demihumans believed that Jaldabaoth was dead, but they dared not act rashly. If he was still alive, disobeying his orders would mean certain death—not just for the individual, but for their entire race. Jaldabaoth had, after all, exterminated three demihuman races single-handedly before becoming their leader.

Keralt had her own plans. She intended to command the demihumans to fight and sacrifice themselves to resolve the crisis in the Holy Kingdom. Then, she would seek an indirect path to her true goal: assassinating Peroroncino and rescuing the Holy Queen.

Although some still followed her orders, Keralt commanded the demihuman army to split into two divisions, aiming to encircle the Holy Kingdom's forces from the front and rear.

That was the official plan on the surface, but in reality, the demihuman army was already severely outnumbered compared to the Holy Kingdom's forces. Splitting their troops would only ensure that one division would be overwhelmed by the humans through sheer numbers.

Many of the demihumans failed to notice the flaws in this strategy, but Keralt didn't give them a chance to voice their concerns. She simply turned and left.

"Commander, this plan will put our troops at—"

Swish!

The foxfolk leader who spoke out had one of his arms severed.

"Who gave you the right to question me?" Keralt's expression was fierce, her gaze sharp and intimidating.

(More ruthless. Be even more ruthless. I need to scare them into submission.) This was Keralt's inner thought.

It was her first time acting so harshly, but she knew that dealing with demihumans required such ruthlessness. Otherwise, they would never accept her authority.

The other demihumans, who had been on the verge of speaking up, fell silent, too afraid to continue.

They had no choice. Keralt had been placed in command by Jaldabaoth himself, and without seeing his corpse, none of them dared to defy her orders.

After all, defying Jaldabaoth could lead to the annihilation of their entire race.

Reluctantly, the demihumans dispersed to make preparations.

But one of the Demihuman Ten Elites, the Beastman General, called out to Keralt.

"Commander, wait. Is your plan just to send us to our deaths?" The Beastman General had been waiting for someone to speak up.

But no one else stepped forward, so it fell to him to do so. After all, someone had to make the sacrifice.

Keralt stood with her back to the Beastman General, feeling deeply uneasy. She wasn't sure if she could kill him in one strike. Moreover, this man had a sterling reputation among the Demihuman Ten Elites.

If Keralt attacked him, she couldn't be certain whether the others would come to his aid.

"The Demon Emperor Jaldabaoth personally appointed me as the supreme commander, and that means you are to obey my orders. Or do you intend to defy Lord Jaldabaoth's will?" Keralt forced herself to adopt a sharp and commanding expression.

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But she couldn't pull it off. Her gaze ended up looking more like that of a harmless young girl. There was nothing she could do about it—she wasn't a born actor, and back in the Holy Kingdom, her expression had always been the same.

"That's not what I meant, I just—" the Beastman General began to explain.

"You have two choices: obey or die here!" Keralt's expression and gaze didn't convey much pressure to the Beastman General.

But her words sent a chill down his spine.

The Beastman General weighed whether it was worth gambling his entire race.

After a moment of deliberation, he made his decision.

"I choose a third option: I'll lead my people away from the Holy Kingdom."

Without hesitation, the Beastman General turned and walked away.

"I'll be sure to report this to the Demon Emperor, Jaldabaoth!" Keralt called after him.

(Maybe this isn't so bad. After all, it might still help resolve the Holy Kingdom's crisis, Keralt thought to herself.)

The other demihumans waited anxiously, wondering if the Beastman General would be killed by Jaldabaoth.

But at that moment, the Holy Kingdom launched an all-out attack.

Under Yulia's command, the Holy Kingdom's forces advanced like an unstoppable tide. Five powerful members of the Demihuman Ten Elites, including the Snake King Rokesh, joined forces to attack Yulia simultaneously.

After clashing with her, they quickly realized they were no match for her. Yulia's speed completely overwhelmed them. Even with all five of them working together, they couldn't land a single blow on her.

Yulia's speed was on an entirely different level compared to theirs.

Even after exhausting all their strength, the group couldn't even touch the hem of Yulia's clothes.

In the end, they could only die with regret under Yulia's blade.

The demihuman army was utterly crushed by the Holy Knight forces led by Yulia.

This victory greatly boosted the morale of the other soldiers.

The demihuman forces suffered defeat after defeat, unable to hold their ground against the Holy Kingdom's army.

With their leaders gone, the demihuman army completely collapsed and began to flee.

Yulia, leading a group of soldiers, tracked down Keralt, who had been observing the battle from a distance.

Keralt had only intended to watch from afar and hadn't expected Yulia to come for her.

By now, Yulia had reached level 50, with a speed nearly hitting 2000,

While Keralt was only level 40, making her much slower by comparison.

Without hesitation, Keralt spread her wings and took to the sky.

With a single leap and dash, Yulia effortlessly closed the distance to Keralt and struck her down from the sky.

Keralt crashed to the ground and was about to get up when Yulia's blade was already pointed at her.

"What are you trying to do? I'm your master's woman," Keralt said.

"Don't overestimate your worth. Whether you're here or not makes no difference. Besides, do you really think the master doesn't know about the things you've done?"

"What do you mean?" Keralt feigned ignorance.

Yulia had no interest in wasting time with her excuses. She tied Keraltt up without hesitation.

Keralt tried to resist, but her strength was nowhere near Yulia's. Moreover, a group of Holy Knights was following Yulia and approaching rapidly. If they recognized her…

Keralt had no choice but to lower her head and stop struggling, allowing Yulia to bind her.

With no leader, the demihuman forces fell into disarray, scattered like sand, and were quickly defeated by the Holy Kingdom's army.

Yulia brought the bound Keralt back to the Holy Kingdom's army, where many people immediately recognized her.

"Isn't that Keralt, the High Priestess who was always by the Holy Queen's side? How did she become a demihuman?"

"Could it be that the Holy Queen has turned into something like this too?"

"No way. If it were me, I'd rather die than turn into a demihuman."

"Maybe she was a spy sent by Ainz Ooal Gown to infiltrate the Holy Kingdom."

Voices rose one after another, filled with suspicion and disdain.

Keralt's heart churned with a mix of emotions.

She had worked tirelessly for the future of the Holy Kingdom, yet it seemed none of these people recognized her efforts.

Remedios also spotted Keralt and immediately strode over, ignoring Yulia entirely.

"Keralt, where is Her Highness Calca?" Remedios demanded, her expression murderous as she stared down at Keralt, pressing her for answers.

Seeing the cold and indifferent look in Remedios's eyes, the last emotional barrier in Keralt's heart crumbled.

"She's my prisoner. You have no right to interrogate her," Yulia said calmly, looking at Remedios.

Remedios glanced at Keralt, then at Yulia.

"She must tell me right now—" Remedios began, but before she could finish, Yulia's sword was already at her neck.

Remedios fell silent and didn't finish her sentence.

Instead, she turned and stormed off in anger.

Yulia's strength was overwhelming, and Remedios knew that if she kept pressing, not only would she fail to get any answers, but she'd also end up severely beaten.