Late night.

The World Scar.

The night sky here looked a little different from other places.

Darker, and even the stars seemed to be blocked by clouds and something else. Dim light flickered on and off; the night here was darker than elsewhere.

And also quieter.

A campfire flickered in the darkness.

Around it, there were several campfires of various sizes, with people from the convoy sitting in twos and threes beside them.

Twelve vehicles used for transporting goods formed a ring, enclosing everyone in a circle.

They could block the night breeze, and in case of danger, they could also be used as a makeshift city wall.

After all, the truck beds and the supplies inside had all been treated with various kinds of Protective Spells.

Alka sat on his sleeping bag, staring at the campfire in front of him.

Around him, some people were grilling meat over the fire, while others sat cross-legged, seemingly engaged in Meditation.

Because of their conversation during the day, Putuo and his Mercenaries squad had gotten acquainted with Alka, so they were gathered together around one campfire.

The way people shared campfires around them was mostly like this, gathering in such small groups.

Putuo looked at Alka and said, "Aren’t you going to rest a bit? After today, chances to rest will be rare."

Alka poked the campfire with a wooden stick, then lifted his head and asked in confusion, "Why?"

"Because the distance we’re covering today is still relatively safe, since we’re close to the port city, right?

Most of the newly trained recruits will come out from the city to train regularly, clearing out the monsters in the surrounding area.

But the farther forward we go, the less safe it becomes. At night, we won’t be able to rest like this anymore. Instead we’ll be marching day and night without stopping, taking turns resting in the vehicles." Putuo patiently explained.

After all, he had already learned during the day that this was Alka’s first time coming to the World Scar.

"Isn’t traveling at night even more dangerous?" If it was for the sake of safety.

"Traveling at night is of course dangerous, but if you stay in the same place too long at night, you become a very conspicuous target and it’s easy to get attacked."

As Putuo spoke, he picked up the small wooden stick in his hand, waved it, and pointed at the people and cargo vehicles around them.

"Don’t be fooled into thinking we have a lot of people, because you know how it is. The aura of the Abyss infects animals, plants, and all kinds of things.

And those monsters from other damned places—most of them don’t have any brains. They don’t care whether this place is dangerous or not. They just charge in, trying to kill everything. So the longer you stay in one place, the easier you are to become a target for attack."

As Putuo spoke, another soldier sitting by the campfire nodded.

"He’s right. The safe passage is too long. Every certain distance there’ll be a small watchtower or a camp. These camps are basically under constant attack, and casualties happen from time to time." As he spoke, the soldier’s expression turned nostalgic, clearly someone who had served guarding such places.

It was said that the soldiers in these camps were made up of transport escorts, new recruits from the front line, and wounded soldiers mixed together.

Alka nodded, having more or less understood.

"By the way, what’s your destination this time? The transport convoy only stops at the rear logistics camp on the front line." The guard looked at Alka and asked.

Their cargo would stop roughly a few dozen kilometers outside the city walls, and all supplies would be unloaded there.

Every place where a safe route connected led to a logistics camp.

The wounded, new recruits, soldiers who needed rotation and rest, and all kinds of supplies would be stored there.

From there, the logistics camp would distribute and transport them to various parts of the city walls.

"We’re heading to the Kavas defense node," Putuo said.

On top of the wall, there were one defensive node after another, interconnected, some large and some small.

A so-called defensive node was a rally point that controlled a long stretch of wall on both sides. Specifically, it was equivalent to a kind of fortress. Inside were soldiers, supplies, and the command post for that sector.

"I’m going there, to the Demon Hunting Fortress."

And the fortress nodes on the wall were equivalent to larger-scale defensive nodes. They were where the greatest number of soldiers were gathered, like a small castle.

They were also the locations that most needed guarding in every region, because they were the easiest to break through.

Launching an attack from there also made it easiest to invade the rear.

"The Demon Hunting Fortress." Hearing this, Putuo gave Alka a strange look.

"Don’t tell me you’re going there to look for someone?"

Alka nodded. Just from Putuo’s gaze and the looks from the people around him, he could tell that this place was clearly somewhat unusual.

"What’s special about that place?"

The soldier who had spoken earlier looked a bit awkward, not quite sure what to say at first. After thinking for a bit, he still said, "That place is regarded as the main base by the Demon Hunters, you know that, right? Those rather gloomy, not-very-talkative types.

Aside from that, it’s also a very important node, a stronghold. For places like that, we call them meat grinders.

Demons attack there every day, and every so often there’ll be a massive demonic siege. You could say it’s a place like a giant meat grinder.

For the vast majority of ordinary people, that place is no different from Hell."

"Those Demon Hunters are the remnants of this continent’s former inhabitants, or people whose homes were destroyed by Demons and who now have a blood feud with them," said a Mercenaries sitting by the campfire nearby.