It's so hard being a hero!

Beatrice put the cup down on the table, her tone carrying a hint of disdain.

"But thinking about it, what you said on the way makes some sense."

She tapped her finger lightly twice on the table.

“There’s really no point in me going back to the Holy Realm. I’ve lived there for ten thousand years. I remember exactly what every stone looks like. I could walk from one end of the world to the other with my eyes closed. Besides, my power has long since reached its limit. Staying in the Holy Realm is no different from staying on the Starfall Continent.”

She glanced at Sophia and added, "Besides, you're right. What if the demons suddenly become unreasonable again? I can't let them come knocking on my door at the entrance of the Holy Land again, can I? It'll be more convenient if something happens if they stay down here."

Sophia grinned, feeling a great weight lifted from her shoulders.

"Sister Beatrice, where do you plan to stay? Should I have Frey arrange a place for you in Heaven's Curse City?"

No, no, no.

Beatrice quickly waved her hand.

"I can't stand being stuck in this city all day with a bunch of soldiers and stern-faced old men."

She rested her chin on her hand and thought for a moment, then stood up as if she had made a decision.

"I'd better wander around by myself. Come to think of it, it's been over ten thousand years since I've properly explored the Starfall Continent. Although this continent is completely different from what I remember it from back then, it's still a place I lived in when I was young. I might as well take this opportunity to walk around and take a look."

She walked to the door, glanced back at Sophia, and spoke casually.

"Don't worry, I'll come over as soon as possible if anything happens here."

Sofia did not stop

"Okay, have fun then."

"know."

After saying those two words, Beatrice had already walked out of the courtyard gate.

Her figure flashed briefly at the street corner before disappearing completely, as if melting into the afternoon sunlight.

Sophia stood at the gate of the courtyard, looking in that direction. She remained silent for a while before turning around and walking back into the house.

Frey sat at the table, holding the silver-white hair crown in her hands, still looking at it.

Seeing Sophia return, she put down her crown, looked up and asked, "She just left like that?"

"Yes, he said he'd be traveling around the mainland and would come back if something came up."

Frey nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

She carefully put away the hair ornament, then stood up and walked to Sofia's side, following her gaze to the street outside the door, which was bathed in sunlight and appeared white.

The streets were bustling with people, just like any other ordinary afternoon.

"What's next? What are you planning to do?" Frey asked.

Sophia thought for a moment, then looked beyond the walls of the City of Heavenly Punishment towards the western horizon, which had quieted down.

"Let's see how things go first. The demons shouldn't make any big moves for the time being, so we can take this opportunity to catch our breath."

Chapter 139 Patrolling the Surrounding Area

After Beatrice left, the atmosphere in the City of Wrath became noticeably more relaxed.

But no sooner had she left than Leila burst through the gate and rushed in.

She had clearly come from the new camp of the Knights of Dawn, and hadn't even had time to change out of her armor.

"Hey, I heard that Lady of Light has come down from the Sanctuary?"

Leila exclaimed as soon as she entered, her bright blue eyes sparkling with regret for missing out on the excitement.

"What happened? I didn't hear a thing! Where is she? I didn't even get a chance to see what she looked like before it was all over?"

Sophia was a little stunned by her barrage of questions. Before she could even speak, Frey came out of the house with a cup of tea, glanced at her daughter, and said indifferently, "She's gone."

"gone?"

Leila's face fell instantly, like a cat that had just missed its prey.

"Where did they go? Will they come back?"

"They said they were going to travel around the Starfall Continent, since they hadn't been down there for over ten thousand years."

Frey sat down on the stone bench in the courtyard and took a sip of tea.

"You don't need to get so excited. She won't be returning to the Holy Land for the time being. She plans to stay a while longer. You might just bump into her on some street someday."

After hearing this, Leila's frustration lessened slightly, but she still couldn't help but mutter something under her breath.

"How come I didn't run into it? I rushed back as soon as I got the news."

"You didn't arrive too late."

Sophia patted the stone bench next to her, gesturing for her to sit down.

"It's just that she leaves quickly. She's a free spirit and can't stay in one place for too long. Who knows, she might get tired of wandering around one day and come back. It's not too late to see her then."

Leila sat down with a pout, slamming her helmet on the table with a thud.

She crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, looking unwilling, but she didn't press the matter further.

She turned to look at Sophia, then at her mother, and changed the subject.

"You guys have it easy, but I'm exhausted in the camp. The demons aren't making any big moves, but they've been infiltrating in small groups non-stop. Just last night, we caught three groups of succubi who had sneaked in outside the city."

Sophia's eyebrows twitched slightly when she heard the word "succubus".

"The succubus is here too?"

"They've arrived, quite a few of them."

Leila's tone turned somber.

“Succubi used to not do this kind of dirty work much, usually gathering intelligence or inciting people in the rear. Now they’ve been sent to the front lines, which means the demons really don’t dare to launch a large-scale attack anymore, but they’re not idle either. They want to wear us down through infiltration, so we can’t rest in peace.”

Frey put down her teacup and continued, "The military held a meeting and said that more than a dozen villages and towns around Tianqian City have reported traces of demons. Shadow demons are the most troublesome, as they can sneak into the shadows and are difficult for even ordinary patrol teams to detect. Human demons are easier to deal with, as they can disguise themselves as refugees to infiltrate, but they can be identified by checking their identity documents."

"Our mission as the Knights of Dawn is to patrol and clear areas outside the city."

Leila took over the conversation, her voice tinged with weariness.

"I leave early and return late every day, and sometimes I have to work an extra shift at night. I'm so busy that I don't even have time to eat properly."

After listening, Sophia thought for a moment and said, "I'll go out with you guys too. I'm just killing time anyway."

Leila paused for a moment, then turned to look at her: "You really want to go?"

"Go ahead, otherwise what am I supposed to do here? Water the flowers for your mother?"

Sophia pointed to the few wilted plants in the corner that had been tended by Frey.

"Besides, I have some experience dealing with those infiltrated demons, which is better than just staying cooped up in the city and waiting."

Leila opened her mouth, then reached out and patted Sophia on the shoulder with such force that Sophia swayed forward.

"Okay, then you'll come with me first thing tomorrow morning. But let me make this clear: you have to follow my instructions and you're not allowed to rush off on your own."

"I know, I know."

Sophia pulled her hand off her shoulder, rubbing her sore shoulder as she glared at her.

Frey sat to the side, watching the two bicker back and forth, a faint smile appearing on her lips. She didn't interrupt and continued drinking her tea.

The next morning, Sophia changed into the dark gray outfit that Frey had prepared for her, with a silver rapier hanging at her waist and a small bag on her back containing several bottles of emergency medicine and dry rations given to her by Evelyn.

When she stepped out of the courtyard, Lyra was already waiting outside with Twilight, accompanied by seven or eight young knights from the Order of Dawn.

The leader was the short-haired young man who had stopped Sophia at the camp gate last time. He greeted Sophia when he saw her come out.

"Miss Sophia, are you coming with us today?"

"Yes, lend a hand."

The short-haired knight didn't ask any more questions, nodded, and mounted his horse.

Lyra flipped herself onto Twilight and reached out her hand to Sofia, who grabbed her hand and used it to leap onto Twilight's back.

The group left the city and headed west along the official road.

A thin mist shrouded the plains in the early morning, and the air was still damp with dew.

The distant horizon was still that gray color stained by the ravages of war, but at least it wasn't as dark and gloomy as before.

The patrol route is a circle around the outer perimeter of Tianqian City, covering an area of ​​about twenty miles.

Laila said that the recent infiltrations by the demons all came from the northwest, where there is an abandoned village with complex terrain, which is very suitable for hiding.

Sure enough, as they approached the abandoned village, Sophia's magical senses detected a faint fluctuation, not a human aura.

She raised her hand to signal, and Lyra immediately slowed down, and the others stopped as well.

Sophia listened for a moment and whispered, "There's something in that half-collapsed house on the east side of the abandoned village. It's barely breathing, but it's definitely moving."

Laila squinted and glanced in that direction, then dismounted and signaled the knights to spread out and encircle them.

"Is it Shadow Fiend?"

"No, Shadow Fiend's aura is colder, this one is warmer."

Sofia also jumped off Twilight's back, drew her silver rapier, and a thin layer of white light appeared on the blade.

"Like a demon."

Several people quickly approached, hugging the broken wall and weeds.

The house, which was half collapsed, looked like a pile of broken bricks and tiles, but Sophia noticed a string of fresh footprints behind it. The pattern on the soles of the shoes was different from that of human soldiers' boots.

She gestured to Leila, who understood and led her men to circle around from the front.

Sofia went around to the back of the house and crept in along the wall.

She had just climbed over the low wall when she heard a commotion inside the house.

A gray shadow darted out of the broken window, as fast as a wisp of smoke, but Sofia was prepared. With a wave of her left hand, a wall of wind rose up from the side, intercepting the gray shadow in the middle.

The opponent crashed into the wind wall with a dull thud, staggered and fell to the ground. Sophia had already caught up, the tip of her sword pressed against the back of its neck.

The thing lying on the ground was indeed humanoid, but its skin was grayish-white, its pupils were narrow to slits, and its fingernails and toenails were long and black, clearly not a normal person.