It's so hard being a hero!

He turned around to face the knights behind him.

"Let's go back to the city first and report to the Earl."

Harris and his knights rode swiftly back to Kyle City, and it was already evening.

The number of pedestrians on the street gradually decreased, and the shops began to close.

Vlad is in his fifties, of medium build, with a small, neatly trimmed beard on his chin.

He sat in the study chair, a glass of red wine in his hand, and listened to Harris's report. His face was as gloomy as the sky before a storm.

"What did you say?"

He slammed his glass down on the table with a dull thud.

"You want me to stop mining in the Black Mountain region?"

“My lord, it’s not about stopping, it’s about stopping the digging deeper underground.”

Harris quickly corrected him.

"The Spider Queen means that she will not attack humans as long as they stop venturing deep underground."

Vlad sneered, stood up, placed his hands on the desk, and looked down at Harris.

"Harris, tell me, how much longer can the surface veins in the Black Mountain mining area be mined?"

Harris opened his mouth, but did not answer.

Because he knows the answer.

Surface veins can be mined for at most two or three more years; the real rich mines are deep underground.

If they stop digging deeper, the Black Mountain mining area will be ruined.

"Say something."

Vlad's voice rose.

"At most three years."

Harris lowered his head.

"What about three years from now?"

Vlad walked around the desk, stood in front of Harris, and patted him on the shoulder.

"Three years from now, half of Kyle City's fiscal revenue will be gone. How will I support the army? How will I pay the officials' salaries?"

“My lord, but…”

"But what?"

Vlad interrupted him, his voice clearly showing impatience.

"It's just a spider monster. So what if it's a silver-level monster? Does the Empire think it can't even handle a silver-level monster?"

He turned around, walked to the window, and looked at the sky outside, which was gradually darkening.

"Send someone to the capital first thing tomorrow morning and ask the Imperial Knights to send experts to wipe it out. I refuse to believe that a mere spider nest can cause any trouble."

Harris's expression changed.

“My lord, the Spider Queen said that if humans continue to invade, she will not talk to anyone again next time.”

"Then let's not talk about it."

Vlad turned around and looked coldly at Harris.

"A monster is a monster. What's the point of talking to it?"

Harris opened his mouth, wanting to say something more, but seeing Vlad's cold eyes, he swallowed the words back.

He lowered his head.

"Yes, Lord Count."

"Okay, let's go down."

Vlad waved his hand, sat back down in his chair, and picked up the glass of red wine that had gone cold.

Meanwhile, Sophia followed Surott back to her home in Kel City.

As Bisis stood at the door looking around, she saw Sulot's figure appear at the alley entrance, and tears instantly streamed down her face.

"husband."

She stumbled over and buried her face in Sulot's arms, clutching his clothes tightly as if afraid he would run away again.

"You scared me to death, you know? I thought you..."

"It's alright, it's alright."

Surroth gently patted Bisis's back, his voice as tender as if he were soothing a child.

"I'm perfectly fine, aren't I?"

Bisis looked up and examined Surott from head to toe, making sure he wasn't missing any parts before letting out a sigh of relief.

Then she turned to look at Sofia standing to the side, her eyes reddening again.

“Baby, you.”

She released Surlot and pulled Sofia into her arms, holding her tightly.

"You are truly Mommy's darling."

Sophia was struggling to breathe from the tightness, but she didn't struggle; she simply patted Bethys's back gently.

"Gently, gently."

Bisis held her and cried for a while before letting go, wiping away her tears, and taking Sophia's hand to walk into the house.

"Come in quickly, are you hungry? Mom will make you some food."

Sophia was pulled into the house by her, and glanced back at Sulot, who was still standing at the door.

Surott smiled at her, a smile with an indescribable meaning.

Chapter 38: Right and wrong are more important than position.

After finishing her meal, Sofia returned to her room.

The sky outside the window had completely darkened, and the night in Kyle City was as quiet as a stagnant pool.

A few barks occasionally drifted from afar, and insects chirped in the nearby grass; everything seemed no different from usual.

But Sofia knew that the calm was just an illusion.

The matter in the Heishan mining area will not end here.

She reached up and rubbed her temples, her mind racing with all sorts of thoughts.

She wasn't familiar with Count Vlad, but she could tell a thing or two from his governance of the city of Kyle over the years.

He couldn't possibly give up his annual income of millions just because of the threat of monsters.

"Given that guy's personality, he'll definitely call in reinforcements to wipe him out."

Sophia muttered to herself, her brows furrowing even more.

She knew these nobles all too well.

In her previous life as Su Lan, she had seen far too many similar cases.

A monster's lair was discovered in a lord's territory. Instead of seeking peaceful coexistence, the lord immediately requested the empire to send powerful warriors to wipe it out.

There is only one reason: self-interest.

The monster is blocking my path to wealth, so the monster must die.

Whether monsters possess intelligence or whether humans invaded their territory first is irrelevant.

In most people's minds, monsters are monsters, enemies, and beings that should be eliminated.

Sofia leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes, and the image of the Spider Queen Amelia's deep red eyes appeared in her mind.

Those eyes held no bloodthirsty madness, no hatred for humanity, only the instinct to protect his territory and his people.

"I promised her."

Sophia opened her eyes, a determined glint in her blue pupils.

Amelia released her father; this was an act of kindness.

It is a fact that humans invaded the spider kingdom first.

She couldn't just stand by and do nothing.

But if Count Vlad really brings in powerful figures and an army from the Empire, and she confronts them head-on, that would be making an enemy of the Empire.

So she had to change her approach.

Sophia stood up and paced back and forth in the room, her mind racing.

First, the military strength of Kyle City itself was insufficient to wipe out the Spider Kingdom.

Harris's Knights Order, the strongest among them is Bronze level, going in is just suicide.

If Vlad were smart, he wouldn't have sent his soldiers to their deaths.

Therefore, he will definitely request aid from the Empire.

The empire can only send at least silver-level experts, and possibly even gold-level ones.

With her current Bronze-level strength, if she were to go all out regardless of everything, she would be no weaker than a Silver-level opponent, but she wouldn't be able to handle a Gold-level opponent.

But what if she brings up Frey's name?

Sophia stopped and tapped her fingers lightly twice on the table.

Frey is a Saint Realm expert, an Imperial Duke, and a high-ranking member of the Holy See.

If she were to intervene, not only Count Vlad, but even the imperial family would have to give her some face.

But the question is, what gives Frey the right to speak up?