New Era of Xin, 21 years prior
Central Countries · City of Weilai
By the time they arrived in this city, six days had passed since they had left the small town.
During the journey, the four of them had also crossed Bakru Valley and passed through Fortress City Val.
There, the group received a warm welcome from everyone, from the city lord to the common residents.
The enthusiastic people had kept the Hero there for a full two days before finally letting him leave.
After the four left Fortress City Val, Himmel repeatedly apologized to his companions for delaying their journey because of himself.
However, the three who had gotten plenty of rest did not mind it at all. As juniors, Guter and Milo instead wanted to know why the Hero was so popular within the city.
Under their persistent questioning, Himmel had no choice but to explain what had caused this situation.
The story itself was not particularly complicated.
Fortress City Val lay within Bakru Valley. As the boundary between the Northern Countries and the Central Countries, it faced the assaults of Demons and Magic Beasts all year round.
Every so often, the Magic Beasts would gather a massive force in an organized manner and attack Val. Scattered Demons would also mingle among the beast tides, wantonly reaping human lives.
Whenever a beast tide erupted around the city, Himmel would rush over in time to help, greatly reducing the casualties among the defenders.
On top of that, the Hero possessed formidable strength and an impressive record. After several such reinforcements, the Magic Beasts had not only failed to breach Fortress City Val, but their accumulating losses had also greatly reduced the number of Magic Beasts in Bakru Valley.
The safety of passing caravans had improved dramatically, and even