Learning that there was an Extraordinary Monster territory in the valley had not been enough to break him completely, until General Warden talked about taking four of the outpost’s best fighters.

That had made his heart sink completely, because he did not know what the odds would be.

Facing even the lowest ranked monster in an Extraordinary territory was already a serious challenge, much less having to deal with the rest of the vast hierarchy within it.

Unlike Ordinary Monsters, some Extraordinary Monsters had up to five, six or even seven ranks within their territory, and even though they were not as populated as most Ordinary territories could be, a single one was capable of causing significant damage. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

That was why when an Entrant reached E rank, they were urged to join a hunting group. The most promising or well-performing Entrants could be invited to join Adventurer Guilds, and it was widely understood that those in Adventurer Guilds were far more likely to succeed and even become well known.

For the Entrants in Blood Trial Outpost, not only could they not get the privilege of joining Adventurer Guilds, they could not get even a single slice of recognition, because most Entrants there were of very low or average Academic Standards.

And the two Entrants they had just discovered to have graduated with First Class standings were currently both away. One had been captured by messengers of the Steel Empire, while the other was hiding somewhere unknown.

And the one who had been proving that anyone could rise against the odds? He was also held captive.

*God, no.* Sylvester thought.

But there was nothing he could do about it. This was a direct order from the Mayor of Citadel City, who was also the legal and general governor of Blood Trail Outpost.

He did not want to think about what his punishment would be if he refused.

That same day, Sylvester had asked Norman to gather the best people available, and the General urged them to join his team and begin preparing for the mission.

As one of the significant figures of Calvary Guild, the Citadel’s main Adventurer Guild, Warden was already a seasoned Entrant who had been rising steadily through the ranks, and he was confident in his ability to prepare them.

But how ready could they possibly be when the mission was scheduled for the very next day? Even though most of the people made available were D rankers, that alone did not assure their success.

The people Warden had brought with him were mostly E rankers, and sure, Entrants from cities like the Citadel generally had strong potential and high Academic Standards, but that did not make them invincible.

Sometimes potential alone could not save a person from dying.

That was simply a fact, and even Warden knew it. He was the only C ranker on the entire team, and no one could honestly say that was enough to guarantee anything.

Whatever they were going to face out there, the gap in experience across the team would almost certainly cause some setbacks.

---

The next morning, four Entrants from the outpost had joined Warden’s five-man team, making nine figures in total heading toward the far end of the valley.

Three men and a woman from the outpost, and five from the Calvary team.

They had all prepared themselves for what was clearly not going to be a one-day task, and the Head had done everything within his means to provide whatever resources he could for his Entrants.

To the Entrants themselves, it felt like an exciting challenge and a chance to experience a higher level of hunting. To Sylvester, it was a dangerous trail with too many unknowns and not enough assurances.

In the end, all he could do was hope they came back safely. That alone would be a deep relief.

******

After over a day of travelling toward the Heartlands, Rena had decided to make a stop at one of the nearby cities after almost clearing the Grand Passage.

She was only a few miles from the Bridges and had decided to divert into Standard City to pick up supplies, because once she crossed into the Heartlands, reaching the Steel Empire would be another long journey on its own.

She was already running low on resources, and she needed to restock before pushing forward, because once she was in the Heartlands she did not intend to stop for anything.

As the most prominent and strongest region of the Reach, and the place where she was most likely to be recognised, she could not afford to let her plans unravel before she even reached Roman.

She arrived at Standard City shortly after and made her way into the market district, and she was browsing through one of the grocery stores in a side lane when a conversation nearby pulled her attention.

"Did you hear about the three brave newcomers in Citadel City?"

"Yes, I did actually. I heard they tried to stand up against three A rankers from the Steel Empire. It sounded so reckless until I heard that their target managed to escape because of one of them."

"That is true. Although the two guys ended up being taken by the messengers, and just when everyone thought the story had died down..."

This was the part that made Rena stop moving entirely.

"They escaped."

"Seriously?"

"I am not making it up. Traders arriving from Strength City just confirmed it. Apparently the messengers passed through Strength City to avoid the traffic on the Grand Passage. The Mayor offered them hospitality, and somehow, giant monsters came out of their caravan and attacked the guards watching it. By the time they dealt with the situation, the captives were nowhere to be found."

"That is insane. So they are still somewhere in Strength City?"

"Most likely. Strength City is heavily secured and getting out of it is not easy. The general belief is that they are still inside somewhere, lying low."

Rena grabbed whatever items were nearest to her, paid at the counter without counting properly, and walked straight back to the runner.

She could not have been more relieved hearing that they had found a way out, because it had not only spared her the trouble of figuring out how to pull them from her father’s custody, it had also put them in a safer position than she had feared.

She started the engine, tapped her fingers on the wheel for a moment, and looked at the road ahead.

The decision was obvious.

"We head to Strength City then," she said, and pulled out of the parking lane.