It's so hard being a hero!

"Don't be so formal, have a seat."

Lilia sat down on the stone bench in the courtyard, but her eyes couldn't help but curiously survey the small courtyard and the blonde woman in the courtyard who had a very special air about her.

Sophia quickly packed her things. Actually, she didn't have much stuff—just a few changes of clothes and a few bottles of medicine. She just stuffed them into her storage ring and that was it.

She came out of the house and said to Frey, "I won't be home for dinner tonight. I'll be eating with my classmates."

Frey looked up from the book and said, "Go."

Sophie-Asia added, "I reckon I'll be spending the next few days with them."

Frey nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

After that, Sofia led Lilia out of the courtyard and headed towards the east of the city.

Halfway there, Sophia suddenly stopped and turned to Lilia, saying, "You go ahead, I need to go and say hello to the Knights of Dawn, I'll be right back."

"Okay, we'll wait for you. Hurry up!"

After Lilia finished speaking, she ran off towards the east side of the city.

Sophia, on the other hand, turned a corner and headed towards the Dawn Knights' encampment in the west of the city.

She easily navigated the streets and found Leila, who had just finished training, on the training field.

Lyra was wiping her greatsword with a cloth, her golden hair sticking wetly to her face.

She stopped what she was doing when she saw Sophia walking over and wiped the sweat from her brow.

"What's wrong? Is something the matter?"

Sophia sat down on the steps next to her and explained the situation: "My classmates from my academy have arrived. We're in the same team, so I probably won't be patrolling with the Dawn Knights anymore."

After hearing this, Layla paused slightly while wiping her sword, then put down the cloth and let out a long breath.

She turned to look at Sophia, her blue eyes holding an indescribable feeling—a sense of relief mixed with a hint of reluctance.

"To be honest, it's better that you left."

She spoke, and her tone was much more relaxed than Sophia had expected.

“You come with me on patrols outside the city every day, and I’m always on edge. You’re only fourteen years old. To be honest, you shouldn’t be spending all your time in places like this.”

Sophia opened her mouth as if to say something, but Lyra waved her hand, interrupting her.

“I know you’re very good at fighting, and I know you’re much better than your peers, but even though I know that, I still worry. You’re still so young, and I feel uneasy having you out with me every day in the wind and sun.”

She paused after saying this, then tugged at the corners of her mouth and smiled, a smile that carried a hint of relief.

"Now it's great, you have your own teammates. You can follow them and do some things that people your age should be doing. At least you don't have to run around in fear every day."

Sophia didn't speak. After a while, she smiled slightly and didn't refute anything.

"Alright then, I won't stand on ceremony with you."

"You are welcome."

Lai stretched out her hand and patted her shoulder, the force as heavy as before, unchanged.

"Go ahead, you can come find me anytime if you need anything or have free time, anyway I live in the west of the city."

Sofia stood up from the steps, dusted off her trousers, and walked out of the training field. After taking a few steps, she turned back to look at Lyra.

Lyra had picked up the cloth again and was wiping her sword with her head down. The evening light outlined a soft contour of her face.

Sophia withdrew her gaze, said nothing more, and turned to walk towards the east of the city.

The eastern part of the city was much quieter than the western part, with most of the houses on both sides of the street being two-story buildings. It didn't take her long to find the place the academy had arranged for her to stay, a two-story stone building with a small courtyard.

Olivia's mount was parked in the courtyard, along with other people's luggage, and the sounds of Lilia and Noah laughing and talking could be heard from the entrance.

Sofia pushed open the courtyard gate and went inside. Lilia was the first to see her and immediately waved to her.

"How is it? Is everything arranged?"

"Well, all right."

Sofia walked into the courtyard, glanced around, and saw Olivia standing under the porch talking to Merkel. When Olivia saw Sofia enter, she simply nodded.

"The room on the left on the second floor is empty. You can stay there; it's right next to Lilia's room."

Sophia nodded, picked up her things and went upstairs to the room arranged by the academy.

From the window, you can see the layers of rooftops of the City of Heaven's Wrath, and the outline of the city walls in the distance.

The setting sun bathed the entire city in a warm, golden hue, and even the distant gray skyline appeared much softer.

Sofia put her things down and then sat on the edge of the bed for a while. Downstairs, she could hear Lilia and Noah arguing over water.

Chapter 144 Mission Begins

Sofia sat in the room on the second floor for a while.

She stood up, opened the window, and looked out.

The twilight in Tianqian City is beautiful. The setting sun dyes the city walls a warm orange-red, and the dark horizon in the distance seems less glaring in the twilight.

When she came downstairs, Olivia was in the yard taking stock of supplies.

Merkel leaned against a pillar, holding a cup of hot tea, looking quite relaxed.

"Sophia, you've come at the perfect time."

Olivia looked up at her.

"Tomorrow we plan to go to the Adventurers' Guild to pick up a quest. Now that the six of you have formed a team, it's time to officially start practicing together."

"I'm fine."

Sofia sat down on the stone bench.

"The missions in Tianqian City are mostly related to the demon race, which is perfect for practicing."

Lilia poked half her body out of the kitchen, holding a carrot in her hand.

"Sophia, what level of quest should we take? Is it still Gold level?"

Let's see what the guild has to offer.

Sophia thought for a moment.

"There should be quite a few gold-level missions in Heaven's Punishment City, after all, the demon race's infiltration has never stopped."

The next morning, the six of them, led by Olivia, went to the Adventurers' Guild branch in the City of Heaven's Wrath.

The guild hall was several times larger and had several times more people than the branch guild at Tianxing Academy.

There were quite a few people queuing in front of the counter, most of them mercenaries and adventurers dressed in various kinds of equipment.

Noah stood in the line, looking around.

"Are all the missions here dangerous? I see those guys over there with tattered equipment, like they just came back from a battle."

"Nonsense, this is the front line."

Baron patted him on the shoulder.

"You're not only scared now, are you?"

"Who's scared? I'm just preparing in advance."

Sophia ignored their bickering and glanced at the task board hanging on the wall of the hall.

The list of various tasks was densely pasted on it, most of which were related to the demon race: clearing out infiltrated demons, patrolling the guard line, escorting supplies, and scouting the movements of the demon race. There was a wide variety of tasks.

When it was their turn, the staff behind the counter looked at the team badges they handed over, then glanced up at the six young faces.

"Silver Light Squad? Gold-level team certification?"

The staff checked it again.

"Yes."

Sophia nodded.

The staff member flipped through the logbook, then pulled a task sheet from the drawer and handed it over.

"This mission is suitable for your level. There is an abandoned outpost about 20 miles south of the city. Recently, patrols have reported seeing unusual firelight at night, suspecting demonic activity. The mission objective is to scout and eliminate the demons. The reward will be calculated based on the number of demons."

Sophia took the task sheet, glanced at it, and then turned to look at her teammates.

"How about it?"

"Answer it."

Noah was the first to speak out.

"Perfect for practicing."

The others also nodded.

So they accepted the task.

After leaving the city, we traveled south along the official road for about two hours, and the scenery along the roadside gradually became desolate.

Farmland has turned into wasteland, and occasionally one or two collapsed farmhouses can be seen, with wild grass growing in the cracks of the walls.

"That outpost should be just ahead."

Merkel walked at the front of the group and pointed to a gray stone building in the distance.

The outpost was small, only two stories high, with obvious signs of repair on the walls and several tiles missing from the roof.

Scattered on the ground were some wooden barrels and old tools, indicating that the place had been abandoned for many years.

Sofia stopped about two hundred meters from the outpost, signaling her teammates to spread out, and at the same time released her magical perception.

"There are the auras of three demons inside, all of them Shadow Demons, with strength between Bronze and Silver."

Sophia said in a low voice.

There were no other ambushes.

Noah's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this.

"Bronze to Silver? I could easily take on one."