The maid squad is too strong, what use is there for me, the Demon King?

"This is Emerald Valley... isn't it...?"

Philippa's surprised voice rang out.

Taric frowned slightly, looked down at the map for a while, and then gestured with his hands for a long time before looking up.

"According to the map, we haven't gone the wrong way... So, is there something wrong with the map itself? But the Cuifeng Mountains and the Silver Moon River area are all correct on the map..."

Sofia also frowned, feeling a sense of unease.

Following the map, the three arrived at the entrance to Emerald Valley, and were astonished by what they saw.

The entrance to Emerald Valley, which should have been a place of blooming flowers and lush greenery, now seems to be shrouded in darkness.

The mountains on both sides of the valley entrance appeared as if draped in a dark veil, somber and eerie. The leaves that were once as green as jade were now withered and fallen, swaying in the wind.

The air at the mouth of the valley was extremely murky, filled with a nauseating stench.

The stream was filled with dark green sewage, and occasionally a few black bubbles would rise to the surface, bursting and releasing an even stronger stench.

The sunlight seemed unable to penetrate the dark veil that shrouded Emerald Valley, plunging the valley entrance into a gloomy gray.

The occasional strange roars made the surrounding environment even more oppressive.

The style of Emerald Valley is not exactly the same as that of Emerald Peak Mountain Range and Silver Moon River; in fact, it is completely unrelated.

It's no wonder the three of them wondered if they had gone to the wrong place.

After confirming several times that we hadn't gone the wrong way and that the map was correct, the conclusion was obvious.

What strange change occurred in Emerald Valley that turned it into what it is today?

“An unsettling aura…” Taric murmured.

Sophia instinctively gripped her staff tighter and looked around.

She had a bad feeling...

Philippa felt similarly to the two, sensing a constant stream of dark and evil energy emanating from the valley. As light-attribute talents, they were the most sensitive to such things.

What does this aura represent?

Monsters... or demons?

No, there is definitely a demonic aura, but it's different... or rather, there's something extra...

It didn't seem to have any aura close to that of the demons...

Although she disliked it, Philippa felt that the aura was somewhat familiar. She was sure she had encountered it before, but where was it?

Ordinary monsters have been ruled out, as have demons...

All that's left is...

“The Demon Order!” Philippa exclaimed in astonishment.

Upon hearing this, Sofia and Tarik's pupils dilated suddenly.

I recalled and compared the aura of the cultists during the Holy Light Pilgrimage...

They are exactly the same, and even more so than some cult members.

Without a doubt, this is the aura of a demon!

"What evil scheme is the Demonic Order plotting now?" Philippa asked, beckoning the two to follow. "Let's go in and take a look!"

"Wait a minute." This time, Taric did not blindly follow Philippa's instructions; a serious expression appeared on his face.

Philippa thought Taric was being cautious and wanted to discuss a strategy first, but Taric said instead, "Our hero team's mission is only to defeat the Demon King and repel the demons. The Demon Cult, that kind of cult, isn't under our jurisdiction, is it? We should report matters related to the Demon Cult to the Church of Holy Light. They are the ones who deal with cultists. It would be better to go back and report with Sophia..."

Philippa frowned slightly: "You mean, we should go back first and find the Church of Holy Light to handle this?"

Taric nodded: "We're a heroic squad tasked with defeating the Demon King; we don't have time to get involved in the Demon Cult..."

Opinions diverged, and Philippa was unwilling to listen to Tariq's suggestion to leave it alone.

They disagree with Taric's statement that "the mission of the hero's party is only to defeat the Demon King and repel the demons."

Anything that involves fighting evil falls within the duties of the Hero Squad.

"Of course we have to deal with it! What kind of hero only takes responsibility for killing the demon king and turns a blind eye to cultists!"

Philippa's stance reflects her understanding of her responsibilities; Taric simply doesn't want to meddle...

Unable to reach an agreement, the two had no choice but to seek the opinion of a third party...

So their gazes turned to Sophia, who had been silent since earlier.

Although Taric didn't expect the saintess to support him, she wouldn't blindly follow Philippa's lead on such a significant matter; as long as she remained neutral, that would be fine...

Sofia noticed the look in Philippa's eyes and knew this was a good opportunity to win her favor, but she hesitated.

Sophia also didn't want to get involved in the Demon Cult's affairs...

But going against Philippa here will cause her to plummet in popularity...

Sophia gave each of them a deep look, then sighed softly, "Personally, I don't want to meddle in other people's business..."

In an instant, Sofia sensed disappointment in Philippa's eyes, which stung Sofia.

"Does this mean none of you want to go in?" Philippa's voice was no longer as cheerful as usual.

It gives people the feeling that "if you two don't go, I'll go alone."

To be honest, based on Sofia's impression of Philippa, she really is capable of doing something like that.

This princess, the heroine, is exceptionally devoted to her righteous duty as a hero.

"Let me finish..." Sophia said helplessly, "Taking things out of context is bad..."

That's when Philippa was finally held down.

Then, Sophia slowly spoke: "You seem to have some misunderstandings about the Church of Holy Light..."

Philippa looked at her intently, indicating that she was all ears.

As a saint of the Church of Holy Light, Sophia should not speak ill of the Church of Holy Light from her standpoint. However, coincidentally, this saint is arguably the saint in the history of the Church of Holy Light who has the least sense of belonging to the Church.

Without any high-ranking members of the Holy Light Church present, I'm just sharing my personal views on the Holy Light Church.

Sophia convinced herself of this and said, "The Holy Light Church has always taken a passive approach in dealing with the Demon Order. At least during my years in office, I have never heard of the Church fighting a large-scale war with the Demon Order, not even a small skirmish. The Church has only publicly stated that heretical organizations like the Demon Order are targets that the Church will definitely eliminate."

How many years has this slogan been chanted? Throughout the history of the church, in which year hasn't there been a call to fight against the evil cult?

In reality? They don't even bother to investigate the whereabouts of the cult members or stop their actions, let alone fight the evil cult.

Even after being provoked like that during the Holy Light Pilgrimage, that old geezer didn't get so angry that he wanted to fight the Demon Order to the death.

In short, what I mean is that reporting to the church is pointless; not ignoring it, sending a few people to patrol the secret area a couple of times is considered taking it seriously..."