When Henrietta arrived at the battlefield, the situation had already become incredibly dire.

The Albion Fleet held an absolute advantage, with those gigantic warships leisurely flying through the air, mercilessly firing shells at the ground below. Facing Albion’s aerial bombardment, Tristain’s soldiers could only hide within the crevices of the mountains, while using magic to construct barriers in resistance.

Of course, this resistance held little significance.

"The enemy’s army has already regrouped completely, I fear they will immediately take action after one round of bombardment."

The Minister of Military Affairs spoke, while Henrietta looked at the battle in front of her, her face pale.

"What are our chances of victory?"

"Probably less than fifty percent."

"......"

As she heard this, Henrietta fell into silence. In fact, she was very aware that holding off the attack here wouldn’t be of much use. Now that Albion had officially launched an attack on Tristain, Germania wouldn’t bring up the matter of forming a military alliance, and her wedding was completely ruined. Even if they held off Albion’s attack here, they couldn’t expect reinforcements from elsewhere.

"Lord Mazzaliani."

"Her Royal Highness?"

"I’ve been hesitant."

As she spoke, Henrietta opened her hand, revealing a round red gemstone in her palm.

"Her Royal Highness, what is this?"

"This is the tool for summoning a deity."

"Summon......a deity?"

Faced with Henrietta’s words, the Minister of Military Affairs was somewhat puzzled.

"What do you mean by this?"

"It’s exactly what I’m trying to convey. I can summon a deity, pledging to offer all I have in exchange for divine protection to defeat the enemy. However...... it’s an otherworldly deity, and if I offer it everything, then this country..."

"Her Royal Highness, you wouldn’t be saying you want to change the national religion!"

Hearing this, Mazzaliani was taken aback.

"Do you know what kind of consequences that would entail? Romania would not sit idly by!"

"I won’t change the national religion, but I will inform the people that we were saved by an otherworldly deity, who does not require churches to be built or doctrines to be spread."

"Is there such a deity?"

Upon hearing this, Mazzaliani was even more puzzled, while Henrietta shook her head.

"The specifics will be discussed then, but the question now is...... should I do this...... Frankly, I’ve been very hesitant. But now, I’ve made my decision."

"Her Royal Highness......"

"Given that we can choose to intermarry with other countries to protect our own nation, seeking help from an otherworldly deity isn’t too big of a deal, is it?"

"But......!"

"Lord Mazzaliani, my mind is made up. I know the consequences of such actions, but if Tristain ceases to exist, then none of this would matter, would it?"

"......"

This time, the Minister of Military Affairs said no more. He simply lowered his head deeply, bowing to Her Royal Highness. Henrietta then took a deep breath and proceeded forward, as she walked to the frontline, the generals and soldiers on either side were taken aback, trying to persuade her otherwise. However, Henrietta shook her head, signaling them to step aside, then she looked at the soldiers ahead.

"I’m so sorry, everyone. I know the situation is dire right now. Frankly, I think everyone understands what we are about to face......"

"We are not afraid, Her Royal Highness!"

Upon hearing this, a soldier shouted, and the general beside him also raised his hand.

"That’s right, we are loyal to Tristain. Even if Tristain is destroyed, we would never flinch!"

"Fight for Her Royal Highness and Tristain!!"

All at once, the surrounding soldiers shouted, and seeing their faces, smeared with gunpowder and blood, smiling, Henrietta’s eyes couldn’t help but become moist.

"I’m sorry, everyone, but I don’t wish for Tristain’s demise no matter what. This is our country...... As a princess, I must protect this country, and its people."

".........?"

Hearing Henrietta’s words, everyone exchanged puzzled looks. They were not fools but seasoned warriors. The current situation was apparent to all. They knew the final outcome. Yet even so, they chose not to give up. They have decided to live and die with this country.

But Her Royal Highness said......

"Your Highness, you’re not thinking of surrendering, are you?"

At this moment, a young soldier suddenly spoke up, though theoretically, he had no right to speak to the princess. However, no one cared about such trivial matters right now.

"Of course not."

Henrietta shook her head.

"If kneeling down to kiss their shoes could make them change their minds, stop killing our people and invading our country, then I would do it. But it’s useless; we are too weak. Everything we do, everything we hope for, means nothing to them. So our only choice is to become powerful. And now......"

At this point, Henrietta raised the gemstone in her hand.

"Please grant me...... power!"

As Henrietta spoke, the gemstone in her hand cracked like an egg with a gentle sound, and then unmatched flames burst forth, rapidly enveloping Henrietta and transforming into a pillar of fire shooting straight into the sky!

"Your Highness!"

Seeing this, everyone was startled; they rushed forward trying to pull Henrietta out of the flames, but the soul-searing heat prevented them from getting even half a step closer. They could only watch as the pillar of fire soared into the clouds, turning the originally azure sky into a sea of red.

"It seems Henrietta has made her decision."

Watching the distant pillar of fire, Red Ponytail snorted lightly, then turned to look at Louise.

"Alright, Louise, you know what to do now, right? This is your debut as the Void Inheritor; don’t mess it up."

"I certainly won’t, don’t worry, SABER! But...... what are you going to do?"

"Ugh, I wasn’t planning to make it this troublesome, but alas, mortals won’t understand unless you show them a little color."

With that thought, Red Ponytail sighed helplessly, then grabbed Louise.

"Alright, let’s go."

The next moment, flames erupted from under Red Ponytail’s feet, shooting up.

At this moment, the pillar of fire emerging from the front line of Tolisstin also attracted the attention of the Albion Fleet. They quickly turned their cannons, firing at the location of the pillar of fire. Although they didn’t know what it was, it was undoubtedly Tolisstin’s counterattack, so it was best to deal with it first.

"Watch out for the shelling!!"

At this moment, seeing the incoming shells, the crowd also shouted and quickly opted to dodge.

And just when those shells were about to hit Tolisstin’s position, suddenly, the pillar of fire expanded fiercely, transforming into a burning flame barrier, standing outside the position. Those shells were directly stopped, having no effect at all.

"Your Highness?!"

At this moment, everyone turned to look back, their eyes widening in surprise.

They saw Henrietta standing before them now was no longer in her previous attire; instead, she wore a divine, luxurious white dress resembling a Queen, holding a golden scepter in her hand. On Henrietta’s forehead, a mysterious and wondrous rune glowed with fiery red light.

This is...... the contract......

Henrietta looked down in amazement, staring at the scepter in her hand and the power surging throughout her body. She had heard from Red Ponytail about the contract ceremony, but Henrietta never expected it could grant her such power......

Henrietta raised the scepter in her hand, without needing to chant, and the clouds in the distance began to churn, followed by thunder crashing heavily into the Albion Fleet. Those warships, clearly unprepared for such a long-range attack, were completely caught off guard and immediately hit by lightning, several warships bursting into blazing flames at once.

"Long live Her Highness!!"

Seeing this, the soldiers shouted in unison. They had clearly seen what Henrietta had done just now, evidently, this was her power!

But it’s still not enough!

Although the cheering and jubilation from the soldiers below were constant, Henrietta saw clearly that those lightning bolts had only had a limited effect on the ordinary warships, but did not harm Albion Fleet’s largest flagship...... this is still not enough!

"Great Deity, I beg you to grant me strength! Destroy these enemies invading us!"

Shouting loudly, Henrietta raised the scepter in her hand once more.

As she moved, the clouds in the sky began to swirl and rotate continuously. The dark clouds, which seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, covered the entire firmament.

Then the entire layer of clouds seemed to ignite, transforming into a bright red expanse.

Soon after, a gigantic shadow emerged from within.

It was a massive dragon, hundreds of meters long, entirely fiery red. It had golden eyes and a body spanning the entire sky. But unlike ordinary dragons, this dragon had a slender snake-like body, and on its back, there were similarly fiery red wings. It descended spirally from the sky amidst the flames.

Seeing this, everyone was stunned.

What...... is that?