The Situation

Upon returning to the caravan, the old man warmly invited Starlight into his carriage and began chatting with him about various topics.

After a round of introductions, Starlight learned that the old man’s name was Tara, a merchant who specialized in trading goods between the eastern and western ends of the continent.

His hometown was actually the Egret City-State at the far eastern edge of the continent. His journey to the Violet City-State in the west was to procure a shipment of rare goods from the elven territories.

For ordinary people, traversing the entire continent was no easy feat. To complete such a long journey, Tara’s caravan had to begin preparations before the spring snow even melted and would not return home until the last of the autumn leaves had fallen.

Consequently, very few caravans truly attempted such a trek. Although it was grueling work, Tara was quite satisfied with both the profits and the journey itself.

Now nearing seventy, Tara planned to retire completely after this trip and hand the caravan over to his descendants. As a result, the goods they carried this time were exceptionally plentiful.

In response to Tara’s inquiries, Starlight vaguely explained that he had been living in seclusion with his master and was now planning to travel the continent, with his first destination being the Violet City-State.

Learning that Starlight was beginning his journey alone, Tara couldn’t help but look at him with admiration and approval.

While he wasn’t entirely sure of the boy’s specific strength, seeing how easily he had handled the bandits, Tara knew the youth before him was a rare genius. At the very least, he had never encountered such a young and powerful mage in all his years.

Just as Starlight finished his introduction, there was a soft knock on the carriage door. With Tara’s permission, the guard captain nimbly hopped onto the carriage, nodded to the two of them, and began his report.

“Master, based on the items we recovered from those bandits, they belong to the gang. Given their usual methods, I fear they will return for revenge. Therefore, I suggest we increase our pace and enter the Violet territory as soon as possible.”

Tara stroked his short goatee and frowned. “The ? That is indeed a bit of a problem. Then do as you suggested; notify everyone to move faster and leave this place immediately.”

“Yes, Master!” The guard captain said nothing more, quickly hopping off the carriage to give the orders. Moments later, the carriage’s speed noticeably increased.

“Uncle Tara, if they are only at the level of those men from before, you don’t need to worry no matter how many of them come,” Starlight said, noticing the old man’s lingering unease.

“Haha, Starlight, you don’t understand. That bandit group known as the has quite a lot of people. The ones who appeared just now probably weren’t even a tenth of their number. If they all came out in force, our caravan would be in grave danger!” Tara shook his head with a bitter smile.

“A tenth... Doesn’t that mean they have at least a thousand men?” Starlight was surprised by the news.

“Indeed. And I’ve heard their leader possesses the strength of a Swordmaster, and they even have several members who can use magic. If they really come looking for us, it will be a disaster. Sigh... With the situation on the continent so tense, I don’t know why people would still choose to be such blind thieves.” Tara sighed, his tone full of dissatisfaction and helplessness.

“The situation on the continent is tense? What do you mean?” Starlight asked, scratching his head. He had absolutely no concept of such things, and he figured now was a good time to learn more.

“Have you really not heard anything? That’s strange... Well, I’ll tell you about it, though this is just my own perspective...”

Looking at Starlight’s attentive expression, Tara was somewhat speechless. Just how secluded of a place did this boy come from to know nothing of the continent’s affairs? And could such a backwater really produce such a powerful mage?

However, Tara did not pry further into Starlight’s origins. After all, Starlight had just saved their lives. It was only right to show such a powerful individual the respect they deserved, even if he was just a teenager.

After organizing his thoughts, Tara began to slowly describe the current state of the Leon Continent.

Fifteen years ago, a great war with the Demons swept across the entire continent, dragging every region into the fires of conflict. Although the allied forces successfully drove the main Demon army back to the Death Desert in the west, all factions suffered heavy losses. It would be difficult to recover without decades of rest.

While it was unlikely the Demons would return in the short term, the major races were still far from returning to their peak states. At this time, the massive surge of magical beasts across the continent had become the greatest threat to civilians.

Many were forced to abandon their homes and gather near the major city-states for protection. Even caravans like Tara’s had become a rare sight.

Yet in this situation, the attitude of the human kingdoms had become somewhat strange. They seemed to be intentionally distancing themselves from other races, not only reducing foreign trade with the dwarves but even having occasional small-scale frictions with the elves.

Furthermore, the Demons had not been completely defeated, and one could say that aside from a few large city-states, the rest of the continent was still in a state of chaos.

Under these circumstances, the kingdom’s army simply had no time to ensure the safety of every region. It was in this climate that bandit groups had quietly grown and flourished outside the major city-states, now becoming a serious threat to public safety.

The bandit gang they encountered today, the , was a well-known group entrenched around the Violet City-State. There were several other bandit groups, large and small, in the surrounding areas.

The authorities of the Violet City-State had launched several campaigns to wipe them out, but with little success.

True to their name, they were as cunning as a pack of wolves. They had more than one base, all hidden deep within the mountains and forests. It was difficult enough for the kingdom’s army just to find them, and with magical beasts frequently appearing to cause trouble, bandit suppression had become exceptionally difficult.

To make matters worse, those bandit groups often had quite a few powerful individuals among them. They thrived in the dense forests using guerrilla tactics, while the official troops suffered significant losses every time they moved against them.

Over time, the authorities became unable to manage all areas and could only delegate bandit suppression tasks to the Adventurers Guild as long-term commissions. However, this move unintentionally emboldened the bandits, making life miserable for those in remote areas and for traveling caravans.

Normally, according to Tara’s plan, if they encountered a large bandit group, they would have no choice but to abandon part of their cargo and retreat. Although Starlight’s appearance had helped them keep their goods, it had also caused them to form a deep grudge with these bandits.

“So, we need to pick up the pace and try to reach Violet as soon as possible. Once there, we’ll need to slightly modify the caravan’s transport tools and overall appearance to prevent them from seeking revenge later.” Tara rubbed his slightly thinning forehead in frustration.

Starlight didn’t respond, instead silently digesting the information he had heard. He was still quite lost regarding the current situation and felt it would be safer to discuss it with Noah before making any decisions.

Thus, he made an excuse, claiming he was a bit tired and hoping Tara could find him a quiet place to rest for a while.

Tara didn’t refuse and immediately helped him find a covered wagon used for cargo not far behind, letting him go inside to rest. He promised that no one would disturb him unless it was something important.

Starlight expressed his sincere thanks to Tara, slung his fur backpack over his shoulder, and nimbly jumped onto the wagon. He sat down comfortably in a corner of the carriage and gently unfastened Noah from his waist.

“Noah, Noah! Wake up. You’re not sleeping, are you?” Starlight whispered, tapping the brilliant rose-red gem on the book.

The book in his hand seemed to wake up, trembling slightly. Then, Noah’s face made of paper appeared again, asking with a hint of sleepiness, “What is it? Did you run into more trouble?”

Faced with Noah’s nonchalant attitude, Starlight quickly and concisely repeated the information Tara had told him.