Though the female knight Mavis seemed to have sensed something amiss in Escor City, it was mere suspicion. They had come this far; there was no turning back now. The next day, they set off once more.

  Mavis rode out alone early in the morning, fully armed as always, carrying her enormous silver sword, which no one knew where she hid it when not in use, to scout ahead for Escor.Leoric knew she was still uneasy. Indeed, the strange, bluish-green flame they had seen in the sky the previous night was too unusual, unlike any ordinary fire. It resembled the sinister flames of the Lower Planes – the Nine Hells or the Abyss.

  However, due to the planar barriers and the intervention of the gods, it was exceedingly difficult, though not impossible, for devils from the Nine Hells or demons from the Abyss to enter the material plane. It usually required a massive sacrifice.

  At noon, Mavis returned on her horse, having found nothing suspicious.Leoric breathed a sigh of relief. As evening fell, they entered Escor City.

  Escor was once a city of the ancient Netherese Empire, later inhabited by the Netherese refugees and the Bedai, and eventually taken over by thesphinx demons. Fortunately, though thesphinx demons were evil monsters, they possessed higher intelligence and lived much like humans. They needed houses for shelter and walls to fend off the wind and sand. Thus, the buildings of Escor City remained relatively intact.

  According to the peace agreement, thesphinx demons had withdrawn to the city of Harlaugdas, leaving Escor City completely empty – but it seemed a bit too empty, with not a soul in sight.

  Where were the other Bedai tribes? Could it be that none had arrived yet, andLeoric's tribe was the first? That seemed unlikely.

  Something was definitely off. But, as they say, they had come this far; there was no reason to turn back. It was getting late, so they decided to spend the night in the city.

  For safety's sake, they found an open square and set up tents as if camping. Mavis was still uneasy. After frowning in thought for a while, she stood up, grabbed her silver sword, and prepared to take another look around.

  "I'll go with you,"Leoric said. "Maybe I can help, and it's better to have someone with you."

  Mavis looked atLeoric. Through her helmet, her green eyes were expressionless, as if she hadn't heard his request. But eventually, perhaps becauseLeoric's help the previous night had improved their relationship, she nodded.

  "Fine," she said. "Just don't stray too far from me."

  She briefly explained to her three priest companions that she was going to scout the area and told them to be careful. The priests nodded in agreement.Leoric noticed that there seemed to be an odd strain in Mavis's relationship with the priests, a deliberate distance, or perhaps a mixture of respect and faint fear.

  Mavis was a "Chosen One," so it was natural for the priests to respect her. But the faint fear in their respect was puzzling. Perhaps it was because of her cold demeanor, making others hesitant to approach her.

  Indeed, she never seemed to smile, always with a cold expression, looking at everyone as if they were lifeless puppets. A typical ice queen. Except for lechers likeLeoric, most men would keep their distance. However, their brief conversation the previous night had givenLeoric a strange feeling: he felt that the female knight Mavis wasn't as cold as she seemed on the surface.

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  Of course, that didn't mean she deliberately pretended to be cold. More accurately,Leoric felt that Mavis was just habitually indifferent because she seemed to have few interests, and others interpreted this "indifference" as "coldness" and "aloofness," which wasn't entirely true.

  If someone asked her a question, she would probably be willing to answer. If someone engaged her in conversation, she wouldn't refuse. She would just choose to remain silent if she felt there was nothing to say. If she found the topic boring and meaningless, she would bluntly stop talking.

  But this was justLeoric's impression.

  They left the square and turned into the street.Leoric reached into his chest and pulled out the small shield from his dimensional bag, holding it in his left hand. Mavis glanced at it, seemingly a bit surprised. She wondered why a wizard would carry a shield, hindering his spellcasting, but she didn't ask.

  They walked side by side, searching along the way, but found nothing unusual. As night fell and the sun set, the ancient city was shrouded in a somber twilight, exuding a sense of desolation and sadness.

  After a full circle, they still found nothing.Leoric gradually felt relieved. They had reached Escor, and the agreement with the old chieftain had been reached. After tonight, he would set off early tomorrow morning, and it wouldn't be his problem what happened to the Bedai afterward. Just parting ways with Mavis was truly regrettable. He hoped they would meet again someday.

  As he was thinking, they turned into a street. Mavis suddenly stopped.Leoric, a bit distracted, took a few steps before realizing it and turned back. "What's wrong?" he asked.

  Mavis stood still, silent, wearing her helmet so her expression couldn't be seen, as if waiting for something.Leoric found it strange and asked again, "What's going on?"

  Before he finished speaking, a silver flash appeared before his eyes. Mavis had somehow twisted and lunged, sweeping her sword horizontally at an empty space.Leoric was puzzled until he heard a choking grunt, like someone gasping their last breath, and blood splattered as a figure stumbled out of thin air. Its upper body resembled a human man, handsome with flowing blond hair, but its lower body was a majestic brown-furredLeoric.

  Asphinx demon.

  Blood sprayed from its throat. The wound wasn't deep, but it had severed the trachea. Mavis's sword strike was precise and ruthless, wasting no effort, a lethal blow.

  Thesphinx demon's throat made a gurgling sound. It glared at Mavis and then collapsed, dropping its curved blade with a clang.

  Two moresphinx demons emerged from the air, both wielding curved blades, growling lowly as they rushed at Mavis.

  Leoric prepared to help when he suddenly heard a rush of wind from behind his side. In the nick of time, he raised his left hand's small shield to block. A loud thud echoed as a tremendous force transmitted through the shield, knocking him off balance. He stumbled and fell to the ground. He hurriedly looked up and saw anothersphinx demon rushing at him, wielding two curved blades, its four claws pounding the ground.

  "Leovena!"Leoric shouted the command, hurling the small shield. The dragon-scale shield floated on its own, emitting a rainbow glow that momentarily dazed thesphinx demon. It stood confused for a few seconds before snapping out of it, roaring, and lunging again. The dragon-scale shield met it head-on, protectingLeoric. Thesphinx demon swung its blades frantically, slashing at the shield seven or eight times with all its might, knocking it away.Leoric seized this gap, rolled to his feet, and gained some distance. He reached out and pointed at thesphinx demon.

  Thesphinx demon, having knocked the shield away, was about to pursue when it suddenly felt as if heavy weights had been placed on its limbs, or invisible chains bound it in the air. Its movements became stiff and sluggish.

  The dragon-scale shield swirled back into position, blocking in front ofLeoric. He pushed off the ground with his right hand, jumped up, and reached into his chest to retrieve materials for a spell to kill thesphinx demon. A cold flash passed by his side, plunging into thesphinx demon's chest – it was Mavis's enormous silver sword.

  Leoric turned to see Mavis running over, with threesphinx demon corpses on the ground behind her. She ran pastLeoric, yanked her sword out of the demon's chest, and said gruffly, "Let's go!" Without stopping, she dashed through the street towards the central square.