After the Black Tulip team's encounter with the bandits and the woman, their group didn't meet any other danger.

Although they were attacked a couple of times by beasts that had bypassed the humans' defenses at the border and entered the Empire's hinterland, they suffered no casualties.

After all, the beasts that managed to bypass the defenses were not very powerful.

In fact, the only reason that they were even able to get here was because of their relative weakness.

The soldiers stationed at the border didn't care enough to chase them down, knowing that the beasts would be unable to cause much damage to the Iron Armor Empire.

Facing no danger and riding on carriages, the remaining journey was smooth and quick.

Before long, a large city appeared on the horizon, and the series of carriages slowly approached them.

When the carriage she was in came to an abrupt stop, Liora understood that they had finally arrived at their destination.

With a leap, she exited the carriage and gently landed on the ground.

Immediately, her eyes focused on the city in front of her.

Though she had visited many cities throughout her two lives, she had to admit that this one was quite special.

Not because of its large size nor because of the precious materials used to build it.

Instead, what attracted Liora's attention was the many signs of battle remaining on the city's stone walls, as well as the old, almost black, blood splattered all over them.

The city radiated a supreme fighting momentum, as if tens of thousands of Knights were stationed in it and were ready to battle against any invader.

"Such a city would be rare to meet even in the Crucible. Perhaps Devils are stronger than humans. But for a race to survive and spread throughout countless planes, it has to possess something unique.", Liora sighed.

Turning her head and looking at the guard team at the entrance, which was investigating the identities of the people entering the city, she turned to Eleanor and spoke:

"You should go. Alpha, you follow the team. We will separate for now.", she said.

Before Eleanor could say anything, Liora's figure had already vanished.

Despite being a True Knight, Eleanor failed to catch her traces, as if her existence had been erased by an invisible hand.

In shock, Eleanor couldn't help but turn to Alpha, only to find that she remained calm despite her master's disappearance.

Seeing this, she subconsciously relaxed.

Forcing herself to suppress her shock, Eleanor motioned the rest of the team to line up in the queue and prepared to undergo the guards' investigation.

At times like these, even her identity as a noble would not help her.

--

While Eleanor and the Black Tulip team were trying to enter the city, Liora had unknowingly already entered it.

Using Shadow Manipulation and shuttling through the darkness, she easily bypassed the city's tight defenses without anyone discovering her.

"Death, fear, hatred, and even some faint hope...", Liora couldn't help but whisper as she glanced at the faces of the pedestrians around her.

In fact, these people were not truly the city's residents.

Rather, they were Knights and soldiers of the northern part of the Empire, summoned by Duchess Lobelia to fight against the beasts.

This city was not the only one with such a mission.

There were hundreds of such cities scattered throughout the northern border of the Empire, guarding against the beasts' march.

"But among these cities, this one is quite special...", Liora realized as she raised her head and looked at the purple insignia painted on a high tower at the city's center.

Coupled with the powerful aura emanating from that place, she understood.

This is where Duchess Lobelia, a Great Knight renowned throughout the Iron Armor Empire, was currently staying.

That's right. As a noble of the Empire, Eleanor would of course not come to a random border city.

Just like the rest of the nobles, she was requested to come here, assisting Duchess Lobelia to calm down the beast waves.

Thinking of this, Liora followed the sounds echoing from the distance.

The loud cries, the painful moans, and the sounds of metal clashing reached her ears.

Clearly, a large-scale battle was taking place over there, with thousands of participants on either side.

It didn't take Liora long.

In the blink of an eye, she had arrived at the other side of the city.

Throughout her journey, she had seen many injured Knights and soldiers, with many of them carried on the shoulders of their companions and brought towards the city's center.

Reaching the wall, Liora didn't take the normal route. She pushed against the ground with her feet and launched herself up, soon landing elegantly on top of the stone wall.

Immediately, the battle that she had been hearing all this time materialized before her.

On one side were the Knights and soldiers standing on the stone wall, while on the other were thousands of bloodthirsty beasts, which galloped towards the city with red eyes.

The humans held bows, crossbows, and other mechanical contraptions, firing at the beasts and preventing them from getting close.

Liora noticed that thousands, if not tens of thousands, of corpses were already lying on the outer side of the wall, stacked on top of each other and creating a gruesome scene.

The metallic smell of blood and the countless negative emotions assaulted Liora's senses. As a Devil, her senses were acute to such things.

If a Devil's will was not strong enough, such an atmosphere would awaken their instincts and make them go crazy for blood.

But Liora suppressed those feelings.

Her attention remained on the scene around her.

Though the beasts charging towards the city were not very strong, their numbers seemed to be endless.

Each time one of them was shot down, another would pop up from behind, stepping on its companion and swiftly taking its place.

Still, despite this terrifying sight, the soldiers on the wall continued firing.

None of them chose to put down their weapons for even a second, much less flee and abandon their companions.

Liora could hear their whispered voices in between their tired breaths.

"Behind us stands the Iron Armor Empire. How can we allow these beasts to invade and harm our friends and family?"

"With Duchess Lobelia as our support, we will surely emerge victorious."

"The human race shall prevail!"

Their voices were low, and no one but them could hear them, but they seemed to provide these soldiers with power.

Numb, they continued firing.

Just when Liora was about to grab a soldier and ask a few questions, a sudden change caused her movements to halt.

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