It's so hard being a hero!

Page 21

Laila regained her footing, gripped her sword with both hands, and golden battle aura condensed on the blade, growing increasingly intense.

"Well, you've finally escaped your uncle's tricks."

Vic also stopped joking around, gripped his sword with both hands, lowered his body slightly, and assumed a standard defensive stance.

In the stands outside the stadium, a group of people were cheering and shouting encouragement.

Sophia shifted her gaze from the ring, sweeping over the familiar faces.

In the front row of the stands, a group of middle-aged men and women sat together; they were all long-time members of the Knights of Dawn.

Sitting in the very center was a middle-aged woman wearing a fiery red dress and with long, wavy hair.

She is Xilinna, the former logistics manager of the Dawn Knights, and also Su Lan's financial steward back then.

Sitting next to her was a bald man who was as big as a small mountain.

The man was wearing a sleeveless leather armor, revealing two thick arms covered in scars.

He is Gideon, the vanguard captain of the Knights of Dawn, a berserker.

In terms of pure strength, he is undoubtedly the number one in the Knights of Dawn.

To the side was a handsome young man wearing a green robe, with slightly pointed ears, a characteristic of a half-elf.

He is Lynch, the scout captain of the Dawn Knights, and the fastest man in the entire order.

Because elves have long lifespans, this guy hasn't changed much.

Almost all the acquaintances are here.

There were also many faces that Sophia was not familiar with. Judging from their appearance, they should be new members of the Dawn Knights or the offspring of the older members.

Sophia's gaze lingered on each of the faces before finally settling on Vic.

Twenty-two years ago, she left this continent as Su Lan and was killed by Lilith.

Twelve years ago, she was reborn as Sofia.

In a sense, she hadn't seen these people for twenty-two years.

Twenty-two years is enough for an infant to grow into an adult, enough for a young person to enter middle age, and enough for a middle-aged person to grow old with gray hair.

But these people don't seem to have changed much.

No, it has changed.

They've all gotten old.

However, these people are all at a very high level, especially Vic, who is a Holy Flame Swordsman and is known as one of the Empire's Twin Stars along with Su Lan.

"what happened?"

Frey's voice rang in my ears.

Sophia snapped out of her daze and realized she had been standing there in a daze for quite a while.

"Oh, it's nothing."

She shook her head, suppressing the emotions welling up inside her.

"It's the first time I've seen so many people, so I'm a little nervous."

Frey glanced at her.

"Let's go over and say hello."

The two walked down the steps of the stands.

Halfway there, a middle-aged woman sitting in the front row turned around and saw Frey.

"Hey, Frey, you're back."

Xilinna's voice is still the same as it was back then, giving people a feeling of great charm.

As soon as Xilinna spoke, everyone outside the arena turned to look at Frey.

However, just as Shirina was about to say something, her gaze suddenly passed over Frey and landed on Sofia.

"This kid, is this the student you took on?"

Frey was taken aback.

"Huh? Kid? Haha, you're mistaken. This is a little girl who just doesn't like wearing women's clothes."

Frey explained.

Xilinna then quickly took another look at Sofia.

"Oh, it's a girl. Apart from being pretty, I really can't tell."

Frey immediately introduced Shilina to Sofia.

“Sofia, this is my good sister, you can call her Aunt Xilinna.”

Sophia immediately called out obediently.

"Hello, Aunt Xilinna."

Xilina stared at Sofia for a few seconds, then suddenly reached out and pinched her cheek.

"Hmm, she's quite cute."

Sofia was speechless as she was pinched, but she still maintained a polite smile.

Gideon, who was standing nearby, also came over, his burly body casting a shadow in front of Sophia.

He looked down at Sophia, a smile spreading across his honest face.

"Little girl, what's your name?"

"Sofia."

Gideon nodded, but for some reason, he felt that the unfamiliar little girl in front of him had a familiar look in her eyes.

Xilinna, standing to the side, also had a rather strange look in her eyes.

It was a feeling like seeing an old friend, but they couldn't quite place where that familiarity came from.

Lin Qi, who was standing nearby, had also come over at some point, and his emerald green eyes lingered on Sophia's face for a long time.

"Little girl, have we met before?"

This made Sophia give an awkward smile.

"Huh? Really? I don't remember."

Lin Qi scratched his head and looked at Frey.

Frey didn't say much, but calmly introduced each person to Sophia one by one.

However, the atmosphere outside the venue suddenly became serious after Sofia arrived.

Just then, the battle on the arena reached its climax.

Lyra's greatsword slashed down with unstoppable momentum, golden battle aura transforming into a massive sword shadow that pressed down on Vic.

This time, Vic didn't dodge.

He took a deep breath, and the longsword in his hand glowed with orange battle aura before he swung it upwards.

"boom!"

The two forces collided, producing a deafening roar.

The magical barrier trembled violently, rippling out in dense waves.

As the smoke cleared, Leila took three steps back, her breathing slightly rapid, fine beads of sweat on her forehead, but her blue eyes burned with an indomitable fighting spirit.

Vic remained calm and composed.

"Why!."

Vic patted the dust off his shoulder, his tone carrying a hint of approval.

"If we were at the same level, I probably wouldn't be able to beat you."

"You can't beat me right now."

Leila retorted without any politeness.

Vic laughed, a laugh that seemed to invite a beating.

"Little girl, confidence is a good thing, but overconfidence is not."

"Then let's do it again."

Laila raised her greatsword, and golden battle aura condensed once more.

"Alright, alright."

Vic waved his hand and sheathed his longsword.