As a medium-sized stronghold of the Adventurer’s Alliance, Luojie City sat on the edge of the Kana Plain, built against gentle hills. A river, barely potable after purification and filtration, was diverted to the city’s edge to provide a water source for its residents.
The city had over three thousand permanent residents. This included Alliance Guards responsible for maintaining order, clerks handling paperwork, twelve Senior Mages taking turns to operate and maintain the Demon-Extinguishing Array, Professional Blacksmiths responsible for equipment maintenance and crafting, Alchemists and other processors of demonic materials, resident vendors and their families selling daily necessities and food, traveling merchants of all kinds peddling loot, and the adventurers themselves, who made up the largest proportion of the total population.
Towering white city walls were stacked from massive bricks cut from the white stone of the Kana Plain. Simple yet durable sentry booths and crossbow pillboxes stood atop them. The surfaces of the bricks were heavily scarred by the wind erosion and dust of the wasteland.
It was daytime. The charred wooden gates of Luojie City were left wide open. Adventurers returning to hand in quests or heading out, along with freight merchant teams, came and went. They formed into loose crowds, as busy yet orderly as the entrance of an anthill.
Two Alliance Guards stood at the gate holding sharp spears. They wore light armor on their chests and shoulders, and lightweight leather armor studded with copper plates over their limbs and joints. They wore steel helmets, hung short swords at their waists, and carried crossbows and quivers on their backs. Their blue surcoats bore the iconic emblem of the Alliance:
It depicted iron-cast hands crossed in an X shape alongside a massive eye. This symbolized indestructible hands that dared to explore and create, as well as an aggressive, enterprising gaze forever watching the unknown path ahead.
"Those bandits... they should be quiet for a few months," Guard One said, gazing at the distant wasteland. "The bodies were heavy as hell. We spent all morning just hoisting them up into the trees. I didn’t feel tired swinging a spear, but hanging corpses sure wears you out."
"They’re just stupid and evil. Hiding in the wilderness to live like wild dogs is one thing, but they actually dared to rob the supply merchant teams of the Adventurer’s Alliance stronghold," Guard Two snorted. "A bounty quest has already been issued for around 5,000 Ederic Gold Coins. They can just wait for their camp to be trampled by adventurers and Bounty Hunters. We didn’t bother dealing with them before because it was too much hassle, and they actually thought they were some kind of tough guys."
"Good morning, Uncle Robin, Uncle Carlisle," a young adventurer carrying a Longsword called out. He was returning from the wasteland and greeted them in passing through the crowd at the gate.
"Oh, good morning, kid," Guard One said, looking up.
"Good morning, Randall... Were you out on a quest?" Guard Two greeted him.
"No, just went scouting." The young adventurer smiled, squeezing through the crowd to chat with the guards at the gate. He was clearly quite excited.
"Our team just snagged the quest to wipe out the bandits. It’s a huge haul. I went out to the wasteland early this morning to check for traces of their activity, so I have a pretty good idea of what’s going on." He lowered his voice. "Judging by the direction of the footprints and the tracks, their camp is probably south of the Beast Bone Hills."
"What? How did your team get it? I thought... I thought more experienced veteran adventurers and fierce Bounty Hunters would handle it," Guard One said, hesitating.
"Hey now, how did a kid like you manage to snatch such a high-level quest? Does the receptionist at the Alliance quest hall have a crush on you?" Guard Two frowned. "These kinds of bandit-extermination quests usually prioritize level five and above adventurers and Mercenary Corps."
"No, it’s not that. The recent ’Kana Dungeon Mass Assault’ multiplayer quest offers a huge payout and fantastic loot. There’s no limit on the number of participants, but it requires adventurers level five and above. All the Advanced Adventurers have rushed deep into the Kana Dungeon to push for the Inner Ring. The battle reports say the outer ring maze has already been conquered, and the Inner Ring is full of treasure. The value of biological materials there is seven or eight times higher than on the outside." The young adventurer, Randall, shrugged. "Ah, if only my level was high enough. I really want to go... Haven’t you uncles noticed there are way fewer people in the city? Almost all the Advanced Adventurers have moved straight to the temporary camps deep within the Kana Dungeon. It’s only because of this timing that we could snatch such a high-paying gig."
"But you’re only level three right now, and a bandit-extermination quest is still..." Guard One hesitated. "I mean, can your team even handle a job like this?"
"Don’t worry, don’t worry! We’ll be fine!" Randall chuckled. "We’re considered veterans around here now. You can’t keep treating us like reckless rookies."
"Robin doesn’t mean it like that. He means that although you guys are the cream of the crop among the rookies—with plenty of experience in exploration, hunting, survival, and gathering demonized resources—you’ve never faced bandits head-on," Guard Two reminded him. "Bandits can be even more dangerous than Demonized Creatures. Better to be careful."
"Got it!" Randall replied cheerfully.
"Is your team still those same five people?" Guard One suddenly asked. "You, the dimwitted Swordsman, that level four old thief, the rookie Alchemist, and the Mage Apprentice?"
"Yeah."
"You’re lacking frontline units. Go find a fierce Warrior skilled in close combat, preferably a Heavy Armor Warrior," Guard Two advised. "If you’re determined to do this, we won’t stop you, but you need to know your own capabilities. Your team composition is specialized for exploration, hunting, and gathering materials. To fight packs of bandits, you absolutely need a strong Heavy Armor Warrior who can fight on the frontlines."
"Isn’t Glad skilled in close combat?" Randall gestured. "His Two-Handed Greatsword is as long as a person..."
"Close combat, my ass!"
"What the hell is the use of that!"
The two guards cursed loudly at the exact same time.