"Please allow me to go. I am confident I can persuade them."
Hinata truly lacked confidence in the Temple Knights. After all, there were so many people, and she couldn't possibly know all of them.
However, she knew the 111 Temple Knights and her Six Saints very well.
Everyone had chosen to crusade against monsters purely based on their stance.
But if Hinata were to change her allegiance first, others would likely not resist too much.
This was the so-called idol effect.
They trusted Hinata and were willing to follow her to the ends of the earth.
Even if it meant falling into hell and becoming monsters, they would not hesitate.
Compared to the distant Luminous, the Temple Knights and the Six Saints trusted Hinata's judgment more.
Indeed, things unfolded just as Hinata said.
She personally went to persuade them to surrender.
At first, many people doubted whether Hinata was truly herself, or thought she had been controlled by the monsters here.
However, this was the Cardinal World, a world with souls and magic.
Whether someone was being controlled or not could not be hidden.
Hinata easily proved her identity and gained everyone's trust.
After that, she revealed the greatest secret of the Holy Empire of Lubelius: that Luminous was the Demon Lord of the Vampire Clan.
At that moment, the Six Saints and the 111 Temple Knights were all dumbfounded.
From initial shock to doubt, then to anger at being deceived.
"I know everyone is unwilling to accept such a fact."
"However, please let me finish speaking."
Hinata then explained her story with Luminous, and the Vampire Clan's relationship of protecting and peacefully coexisting with humans, one point at a time.
Although Luminous was not a true god,
What difference was there between what she had done for humanity and what a true goddess would do?
"Moreover, the so-called goddess is merely a title made up by humans..."
"It was humanity who bestowed that honorific upon Luminous, who protected them."
Unilaterally, without asking if Luminous was willing, they simply called her a deity.
"..."
Upon hearing this, the previously noisy crowd immediately fell silent.
They began to think seriously.
Putting themselves in Hinata's shoes, what would they have done?
All those who could join the Temple Knights were, without exception, Hinata's trusted confidants, handpicked and personally trained by her.
Both in strength and character, they were top-class existences in the Cardinal World.
They did not blindly blame Hinata for the deception.
Instead, they pondered, analyzed, and made their judgments.
Finally, they reached a conclusion—Hinata had done the right thing.
If it had been them, facing such a situation, it would have been impossible to expose Luminous directly.
If they did, they would die. The humans of the Holy Empire of Lubelius would die. And the Western Nations would also fall apart due to losing a shared faith.
From then on, humanity's ability to resist other races and the Eastern Empire would be lost.
It could be said that Luminous, through her own strength, had upheld the superficial peace of countless human nations.
If even such a Demon Lord, who was friendly toward humans, was forced into opposition,
Then they would be the true sinners of humanity.
"I had an agreement with Luminous."
"If one day she becomes an enemy of humanity," Hinata said, "I will declare war on her and defeat her."
"!!!"
At those words, the entire hall erupted once again.
"So, that's how it is?"
Leonard no longer had his usual brilliance, but beneath his weary expression, his eyes were gradually becoming firm and bright. "Regardless of the process, if we look at the result, Commander, you formed the Holy Knights, and we have truly grown."
They were a force on humanity's side.
No one could deny that.
If Luminous ever fell, Hinata would lead all the Holy Knights to challenge her.
Just like now.
Leonard and the others only obeyed Hinata's orders.
They would fight to the death alongside her for the survival of humanity.
"If this incident hadn't happened, in twenty or thirty years, the Commander would have cultivated even more high-level combatants."
In Hinata's hands, humanity's power would have continued to grow stronger, and they would not obey Luminous's commands, but would instead become Hinata's personal army.
This back-and-forth fully proved that Hinata's decision was correct.
"But why?"
Fritz of the Wind asked in confusion, "Why would the Commander submit to the Lord of the Monster Nation? Is it again..."
He didn't finish the sentence.
After all, pretending to submit was not something that could be spoken openly.
Fritz even wondered if there was surveillance present, and whether Hinata's plan might be exposed.
"Don't worry. I have no such intention."
"Otherwise, I wouldn't have said it so directly."
Hinata wasn't truly a traitor. From the beginning, she and Luminous had an agreement.
As long as Luminous was willing to maintain order, Hinata would obey her without question.
And Luminous was indeed a Demon Lord who was friendly toward humans.
"Then..."
Litus suddenly thought of something. "What if the Lord of the Monster Nation... is hostile toward humans..."
"Don't worry. It is precisely because I already know that great one's character that I came here to persuade you."
According to Hinata's plan, she would persuade these 120 people to surrender, then take them directly to see Rin.
Rin would place them under Artoria's command.
Artoria had the ability to turn humans into Heroic Spirits. (Note: Heroic Spirit Transformation does not mean directly becoming a Heroic Spirit.
It only grants the knights an additional skill called Heroic Spirit Transformation, and by forming a bond with Artoria, they would be integrated into Rin's dependent system.
This allowed the Temple Knights to earn Rin's trust, similar to how Named Monsters did.
There was no helping it. As humans, they could not evolve through naming.
Of course, Rin could also take everyone in as dependents, just like Hinata.
But the problem was that doing so would be wasteful.
Rin didn't have that many slots and couldn't afford to waste dependent positions on a group with low potential.
Among them, only Hinata and the other Six Saints were worth Rin personally recruiting.
(To be continued.)