The victorious cavalry returned to the city of St. Nicholas amidst the cheers of the citizens.

"Long live the holy knights!"

"Long live the Grand Commander!"

"Long live the Hospital Knights!"

......

Charlotte rode at the forefront of the procession.

Contrary to the joyful atmosphere around her, a cloud hung over the girl's heart.

Today, I killed so many people again.

When I cut through their bodies with my sword, I didn't hesitate for a moment.

It was like cutting wood or vegetables.

Have I really become such a person?

Someone who takes lives without feeling any guilt.

Like a killing machine.

"Charlotte," Pierre whispered in the girl's ear, "as the Grand Commander, you have to respond to the people's cheers."

Charlotte forced a smile, waved her hands stiffly, and responded to the citizens along the road.

Back at the Grand Commander's palace.

Charlotte didn't attend the regular military meetings or have dinner.

Instead, she went straight to her room, citing physical discomfort.

The moment she closed the door, the girl collapsed.

Weak and helpless.

In fact, her stamina had been depleted after using those two Holy Knight techniques.

She had relied on sheer willpower to keep going without collapsing.

"I have reached my limit."

Charlotte murmured weakly to herself.

The girl was still clad in heavy and blood-stained armor, but she no longer had the strength to take them off.

Charlotte closed her eyes.

Scenes of the hellish battlefield played like a slideshow in her mind.

Knights with severed limbs, soldiers wailing, grimacing heads, exposed intestines, blood scattered everywhere...

The girl didn't feel fear.

Because at this moment, her body and soul were already numb.

......

When the girl woke up again, the first light of dawn had already risen on the distant horizon.

Charlotte stood up wearily, and the joints of her armor creaked.

There was a knocking sound coming from outside the room.

"Who's there?"

Charlotte asked weakly.

"It's me, Pierre."

The girl opened the door.

Pierre walked into the commander's office with a worried expression on his face.

"Since you came back yesterday, you locked yourself in your room and didn't eat... I was really worried."

"Don't worry, I'm fine, just... tired."

"Charlotte, don't push yourself too hard."

Pierre pleaded earnestly.

"I told you, call me the Grand Commander here. Don't use that name."

Charlotte's voice lacked the firmness it used to have.

"But..."

Pierre wanted to say something else.

Boom!

Suddenly, there was a loud noise from the sky.

An artillery strike!

"Watch out!"

Pierre shouted and quickly pushed the girl down to the ground.

The next moment, a shell hit Charlotte's bedroom with pinpoint accuracy!

As the dust settled, the girl rubbed her eyes and struggled to sit up.

She found Pierre, his flesh and blood mangled, lying on top of her.

Clearly, the Marshal had used his own body to protect her.

"Uncle Pierre!"

The strong-willed girl couldn't hold back the tears in her eyes any longer and let them flow freely.

The last time Charlotte cried was when her grandfather passed away, and the man in front of her resembled her father.

"Don't cry." Pierre weakly reached out a hand to wipe the tears from the girl's face. "You're the commander of the Hospital Knights."

"...Sniff... Uncle Pierre..."

The girl tightly held the marshal's rough hand.

"Marshal!"

People who were alarmed by the loud noise rushed into the commander's room. They were stunned as they looked at the bloodied marshal.People hurriedly ran over, trying to lift the injured marshal and take him away.

Boom -

Just at this moment, a deafening sound came from outside!

"What happened?"

Seeing the movement, Charlotte had to force herself to calm down and deal with the situation in front of her.

"Holy... Holy... Holy Nicholas... Nicholas Tower..."

A soldier ran in, out of breath.

"What happened to the Holy Nicholas Tower?"

Charlotte pulled the soldier over, but the soldier was trembling and couldn't say a word.

"Damn."

Charlotte let go of the soldier and ran straight to the rooftop of the captain's palace. Everyone followed her.

On the rooftop, Charlotte looked towards the direction of the loud noise.

What she saw shocked her.

The Holy Nicholas Tower that stood tall on the island reef just yesterday had turned into ruins.

Turkish warships approached the island reef.

Soldiers boarded the shore with rafts and planted the Ottoman crescent flag on the ruins of the castle.

Just as people had not yet recovered from this shocking scene.

Another bad news came!

"Report! The Turkish army is gathering in front of the Saint Peter's Gate!"

The enemy attack bell rang loudly over the skies of Rhodes.

"All knights, take up arms and follow me."

Charlotte's eyes turned cold, she knew it was not a time for sadness now.

...

The knights, along with Charlotte, once again ascended the Saint Peter's Tower.

What they saw was the neat formation of the Turkish army.

Roughly estimating, there were about thirty thousand soldiers.

The Turkish army formation split in the middle.

Dozens of horses, dozens of cows, and some donkeys dragged a massive cannon forward.

"Oh my God! What is that?"

Soldiers of the knight order on the city wall exclaimed.

The cannon reached the forefront of the formation, and the soldiers herding the animals ordered them to stop.

Hundreds of engineers and artillerymen arrived and began to set up a firing position for this terrifying weapon.

When the artillery position was set up.

Meshi Pasha rode his horse to the side of the giant cannon.

He proudly flicked the slightly hot barrel with his hand and loudly addressed the knights on the wall:

"I am the commander of this army, Imperial Lord Meshi Pasha. I believe you have all witnessed the fate of the Nicholas Fortress just now."

Meshi Pasha pointed in the direction of the Holy Nicholas Tower.

"I guess you have all guessed, it is all thanks to this 'big guy' here."

As soon as he said that, the soldiers of the knight order on the city wall were in an uproar.

"To destroy a castle with just one shot?"

"Oh kind lord, this is too terrifying!"

Seeing the reaction of the defenders, Meshi Pasha was very satisfied.

"Now that you all understand the power of this 'big guy', I advise you to be rational. If you surrender now, the conditions offered by the Sultan are still valid."

"If we want war, then let's fight, we don't need so much talk."

The girl responded coldly.

"No, no, General Loxha, there is no need to answer me so hurriedly. In fact, this 'big guy' here is currently running a 'high fever'," Meshi Pasha said, touching the cannon barrel and pretending it was hot.

"Unfortunately, the next shot will probably have to wait until the afternoon. So General Loxha, you have a whole morning to think carefully about this question. But..."

Meshi Pasha intentionally paused.

"I kindly request you, General Loxha, to consider it quickly. You see, this 'big guy' has a bad temper. If it gets impatient, you won't be able to stand so peacefully on the city wall and talk to me."

After speaking, Meshi Pasha rode back to the Turkish army camp.At this moment, the hospital knights on the gates of St. Petersburg fell into a deadly silence.

"Oh, heavenly angels, protect us... and help us overcome this calamity..."

Charlotte prayed silently.