The Junior Disciple's Background and the Hero's Battle

[New Era of Xin - 21 Years]

[Northern Countries · Count Granat Territory]

In the open-air café.

Miles, with a low voice, continued recounting the merchant guild's past story to Serie and Guter.

In the old days, under the management of the master and mistress, the [Dallamonus Merchant Guild] had achieved tremendous growth, expanding its business far and wide.

The guild's core operation was crossing the [Huyvia Mountain Range], trading goods between the cities on either side, profiting through resource exchange.

Given the natural barrier of the [Huyvia Mountain Range] and the [Count Granat Territory]'s proximity to the [Central Countries], which offered an advantage in supply sources, the guild's profits were extremely substantial.

As everyone grew wealthy, they began to establish the guild's headquarters.

Unlike the master, who wanted to set up the headquarters in the [Count's Territory], most of the guild members hailed from the same village.

The majority opinion was that instead of sinking money into the expensive land of the [Count Granat Territory] for a small foothold, it was better to invest fully in their hometown, building the original village into the [Dallamonus Merchant Guild]'s headquarters.

Moreover, the village's location sat between the [Count's Territory] and the [Huyvia Mountain Range], making it more convenient for the guild's caravans to resupply.

In the end, the master accommodated the wishes of most guild members, built the headquarters in the original village, and moved his family there.

And the Young Lady, Gumi, was born and raised in such a thriving, prosperous village.

As Miles spoke of the guild's glorious past, his eyes couldn't help but reveal pride and nostalgia.

If everything had gone as planned, the naturally gifted Young Lady Gumi would have been raised by her parents as the guild's next heir, leading everyone to create even greater achievements.

But alas, fortune is fickle.

That day, one of the Seven Demon Generals, [Guillotine Aura], personally led her remaining forces to attack the guild headquarters.

Because the headquarters was built on the original village, located in a remote area, even though the master activated warning magic and contacted the [Count's Territory] for reinforcements immediately.

By the time Count Granat personally led the City Knights to arrive, the guild headquarters was already a pile of ruins.

Following the master's clues, the knights only managed to rescue the Young Lady, who had been locked inside a narrow safe.

Since the safe's material contained traces of Demon Sealing Ore that could interfere with magic, the Young Lady evaded the demons' detection and survived.

But

To make a child witness her hometown trampled into that hopeless scene, her parents sacrificing themselves to protect her in the village, and even the master and mistress's severed heads still...

As Miles spoke here, his voice was already choked with tears, trembling uncontrollably.

Guter's mood also sank. So Junior Disciple Gumi carried such heavy burdens from the past. No wonder she harbored such deep hatred for demons.

After recounting the guild's devastating blow, Miles continued with what happened later.

"When the guild headquarters was destroyed, I happened to be in the [Count's Territory] procuring festival supplies on the master's orders, so I escaped harm."

"Afterward, I was entrusted by the Young Lady to manage the severely damaged guild entirely, while she herself set out on a path to seek power, pursuing strength sufficient to take revenge on the demons."

"I've never seen the once gentle Young Lady become so extreme, but I couldn't stop her."

"Because I know that 'revenge' might be the only belief keeping the Young Lady alive."

As Miles spoke, tears unconsciously spilled from the corners of his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away with the handkerchief from his chest.

"My apologies to you both. I've strayed from the topic."

Miles composed himself and began to relay to Serie and Guter what he knew about [Guillotine Aura].

"In truth, over these years, the [Dallamonus Merchant Guild] wasn't its first target, nor its last."

"As this gentleman analyzed earlier, in the [Northern Countries], demons have been lingering around the edges of large human cities, harassing passing travelers and raiding nearby villages."

"Especially someone like Aura, who can turn the dead into her own soldiers, has an even stronger offensive drive."

"Even though Count Granat has gradually deployed the City Knights' forces outward and called for nearby villages to relocate closer to his territory, demon massacres of villages remain common."

"But in these past few months, the demons' activity seems to have suddenly quieted down. There haven't been reports of demons harming people or attacking villages for a long time."

"We initially thought it was just good luck lately, and that Count Granat's defensive strategies were effective, making it hard for the demons to strike."

"But if the truth is as you, sir, described—that the demons chose to withdraw and lie low on their own—then the situation is troublesome."

Miles's expression turned grave as he spoke with some apprehension.

"Could it be that the demons have shifted targets, no longer focusing on the [Count Granat Territory], but attacking other cities instead?"

Guter offered this possibility after a brief analysis, but Miles shook his head after thinking it over.

"That's unlikely."

"Because the guild does business, we frequently travel to towns and villages outside the [Count's Territory]."

"If the demons' plan really was to change direction and launch a surprise attack, with so much time having passed, they couldn't have achieved nothing."

"Especially someone like [Aura], who can turn human warriors into an army of the dead. To gain more troops, she would surely commit countless killings."

"But in reality, a wide range of nearby towns and villages haven't been attacked by undead legions. While there are occasional monster raids, the frequency hasn't differed much from before."

Miles stated calmly, "Unless the town [Aura] wants to attack lies within another demon's territory."

"But demons usually have no possibility of cooperating with each other. Leading one's own forces into another demon's territory is generally seen as a provocation among demons."

"Indeed."

Guter nodded in agreement, but Serie, who had been silent beside him, suddenly proposed a hypothesis far beyond what either of them had imagined.

"What if the reason that guy's gone quiet is simply that someone took him out?"

"Or maybe he got hurt badly and is lying low for now, licking his wounds?"

"Huh?!"

"This—"

Both Guter and Miles were stunned.

One of them was familiar with the future plot, knowing that [Aura] would launch a massive assault on [Count Gulanat's territory] in the days to come; the other was limited by his own strength and perspective—neither had ever entertained such a thought.

"If that's really the case, then it would be wonderful."

After the shock passed, Miles spoke with hope in his eyes.

Meanwhile, in the mountain cabin within the [Huyvia Mountain Range], Milo looked at his idol sitting by the campfire and asked, "Hero, have you faced any more thrilling battles recently?"

"It's become hard to hear new adventure stories about you in the [Northern Countries]."

"Thrilling battles, huh?" Himmel stroked his chin in thought.

"There was one, but not recently—it happened a few months ago."

By the fire, Himmel recounted to his junior how he had charged alone through an army of undead and gravely wounded the Seven Demon General [Aura].

Typed out on the subway and train, bumpy as hell (T_T), my phone almost got stolen.