Within the camp, everyone was preparing to depart.
In the end, only the young girl Aoi remained behind at the guild.
A portion of the veteran adventurers also stayed to maintain the basic operations of the various camps. All other adventurers capable of fighting had basically all signed up for the battle.
The Ten Great Adventurers’ Guilds covered all the bonuses and compensation for the adventurers, administered uniformly by the Adventurers’ Guild. This ultimately organized an adventurer army of thirty thousand.
Thirty thousand might not sound like much, but in this sparsely populated Otherworld, it was already a force powerful enough to destroy small nations.
Of course, combat power in this world couldn’t be measured simply by numbers.
After all, there existed powerhouses capable of fighting one against a thousand, or even one against ten thousand.
The Royal Capital Garrison Army only had about a thousand knights, yet it was enough to pacify an entire region.
And for this battle, there were six S-Rank Adventurers joining the expedition—they were the true core combatants.
It was important to know that there were only a little over twenty S-Rank Adventurers on the entire continent. Half of those were semi-retired old legends who normally wouldn’t lift a finger.
In the end, the Adventurer Allied Army decided to split into three routes, with the First, Second, and Third Guilds each leading an army to advance.
But this wasn’t a case of splitting up to fight separately.
Originally, the Three Great Guilds intended to depart from different directions and at different times, essentially having nothing to do with each other.
However, after many days of discussion, the three sides finally reached a unified strategy.
The three armies would maintain a distance from which they could support each other and were equipped with “Forest Great Echo Cannons” for emergency communication. If they encountered a powerful enemy, they could request reinforcements.
The guilds had always been like fire and water, incompatible. That they could reach this level of cooperation now was itself a miracle.
Especially with the existence of the “Sword of the Hero,” a direct conflict of interest, it was almost impossible.
Until—
That day, a priest girl arrived from the south.
She might not have been the strongest, but she was definitely number one on the southern “Subjugation Ranking.”
She single-handedly suppressed the Three Great Guilds and facilitated the alliance of the Ten Great Guilds.
This alliance offered almost no benefit to the guilds themselves, but for the countless ordinary adventurers, it was an immense blessing.
Everyone owed her a favor.
—Tomorrow was the day of the expedition.
The world was silent.
Camp No. 20, the super-giant camp, was unusually quiet, lacking its usual clamor.
Everyone had rested early, but many tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
And Samimi finally waited for an opportunity.
—The women’s bathhouse.
A group of beautiful young girls met each other in complete honesty.
However, Samimi had no interest in those “underdeveloped little bean sprouts.” Instead, she stuck close to Miss Meihua to exchange magical insights.
“Shalum, can you tell me about Close?”
The Hero of the Gale suddenly spoke.
She also reached out to stop Samimi’s “groping hands,” strictly prohibiting any lewd behavior.
“Close? Why bring her up?”
Samimi instantly grew irritated.
The number of people in the world who could earn her hatred was probably just this one.
After finishing their bath, they returned to the weapon workshop.
Since the Hero had asked, Samimi also became interested and poured out everything that had happened in the Royal City.
Of course—
Embellished, with truth and falsehood mixed.
And taking the opportunity to slander Close.
She said she had taken Close through the Crimson Court dungeon, but the other had repaid kindness with betrayal, shooting an arrow to ambush her from behind.
Luckily, she was tough and had something cushioning her chest, so she wasn’t killed.
She also said Close was an extremely twisted freak, with a deep obsession, insisting on gathering everyone back together to rebuild the Hero Party.
She had even tried to forcibly drag Samimi back to the team.
Forcing Samimi to flee the Royal City.
This story—most of the process was true, but the ending was entirely false.
After hearing it, the Hero of the Gale’s expression darkened.
“It’s my fault… If I had left the message in a more obvious place back then, there wouldn’t have been these misunderstandings.”
“I took an arrow to the chest, you’re half responsible for that,” Samimi snorted coldly.
The Hero of the Gale was silent for a moment, then said:
“I will protect you. Even if I die, I won’t let you get hurt.”
“Pretty words, anyone can say them,” Samimi cut her off directly. “Right now, I’m the Captain. You’re the vanguard, the one who charges into enemy lines.”
“I don’t need your protection. Just protect yourself properly.”
Her tone was cold and severe.
“…Alright, Captain Shalum,” the Hero of the Gale replied softly.
Samimi sneered:
“I said it before, what you had was just ‘Adventurer Playing House.'”
“What does ‘Dubi’ mean?” Serina suddenly interjected.
“You’re here?” Samimi retorted. “‘Dubi’ is the kind of person who only cares about showing off their own skills, completely disregarding whether their teammates live or die.”
“All my former teammates were that kind of person.”
The Hero of the Gale and Bemore fell silent.
They couldn’t refute it.
“Since it’s a temporary team, let’s give it a name,” Samimi said.
Everyone looked at each other.
Some lacked education, some didn’t want to speak, some couldn’t think of anything.
And someone was just focused on eating.
“Then let’s call it the ‘New Hero Squad,'” Samimi said offhandedly.
“That’s too corny!” Serina protested.
“I object,” the Hero of the Gale also stood up. “That’s a desecration of the past.”
“Who said we’re friends?” Samimi sneered. “You’re just mercenaries.”
She gave Bemore a meaningful look.
Bemore immediately turned her head away.
“I cannot accept this,” the Hero of the Gale insisted.
She was now in “Tragic, Enduring Protagonist Mode,” but there was a faint trend of resistance brewing.
Samimi quickly analyzed in her mind.
—Can’t provoke her.
Need to let her vent her frustration, not let emotions accumulate.
“Then you come up with one,” Samimi casually passed the buck.
Bemore went straight into meditation.
Having just been suppressed by Samimi, she had to double down on her training.
In the end, only the three close-combat professions remained.
Two illiterates and one young lady.
What good name could they possibly come up with?
In the end—
They still used the name of the Second Guild.
The squad name was decided as:
[Radiant Squad].
And it was a six-person team.
Aoi, who was staying behind, was also counted as a member.
The young girl Aoi had been sitting to the side, listening quietly.
She knew—
The next time they met, it might not be with everyone present.
During this time, she had already sharpened and maintained everyone’s weapons.
Doing her best to contribute.
Next, she would be alone, continuing to adjust the “Radiant Knight Armor.”
To guard this final base.
To ensure everyone had a retreat, a place to return to.
—The next morning.
The five members of the Radiant Squad set off fully equipped, bidding farewell to the young girl Aoi.
“Goodbye, Aoi. Wait for us to return.”
Aoi sat in her mana wheelchair, gently waving.
“Have a safe journey. You must come back.”
Watching the figures of the others depart, she felt a sudden emptiness in her heart.
So it turned out—
It wasn’t that she was used to loneliness.
It was just that she had never experienced liveliness before.
But she quickly pulled herself together.
She had her own mission too.
—Perfect the armor, guard the rear.
The Radiant Squad arrived at the main gate of the super-giant Camp No. 20.
Over a hundred adventurer teams had already gathered here.
The number exceeded ten thousand.
This was the main force of the Radiant Guild.
At the Left City Gate was the army of the First Guild, led by the Twin Heroes.
At the Right City Gate was the army of the Third Guild, commanded by the Hero Sword Saint.
The three military forces—
Gathered together for the expedition.