In the morning forest, a carriage moved forward slowly, with the sound of hooves tapping on the path, echoing crisply through the entire valley.

The carriage moved along gently, surrounded by lush green trees, with pine branches occasionally brushing past the window, filling the air with a refreshing fragrance.

The verdant forest, the morning sunlight, and the drifting mist intertwined beautifully.

A creek flowed gently between the valleys, with the occasional chirping of insects, awakening the sleeping forest and stream.

Herag had long finished his meditation, sitting in the carriage with a map in hand.

Reese was asleep, leaning against him.

David drove the carriage towards Nightfall City.

Five hours later, the silhouette of a city emerged on the horizon.

The three of them, under the guise of adventurers, entered Nightfall City.

Upon arriving in Nightfall City, Herag first sought out an inn.

Despite Reese's strong insistence on booking only two rooms, Herag booked three rooms anyway.

Herag also needed to test the state of the Bloodline Mark, which was crucial to their subsequent plans and couldn't yield to Reese's whims.

After some persistence, Reese gave up, thinking, "Just because it's booked doesn't mean it has to be slept in."

"Next, we'll go register at the Adventurers' Association and then find a way to enter Miracle Valley," Herag explained his plan.

They planned to disguise themselves as adventurers and then join a caravan heading to Miracle Valley.

Subsequently, they would join the caravan, pretending to be adventurers escorting it.

Once they reached Miracle Valley, they would find an opportunity to set up a transitory passage.

This was the most secure choice.

After arranging matters at the inn, the three went to the Adventurers' Association in Nightfall City.

Nightfall City is an independent city that doesn't belong to any country, already outside the borders of the Noen Kingdom.

Nightfall City has stood alone for so long, backed by formidable strength.

Some say the City Lord of Nightfall City is actually from the Noen Kingdom's royalty, planted here as a force.

Others say that the Elf Race is behind Nightfall City, to monitor the Noen Kingdom's movements.

There are various sayings, but no one can confirm them.

However, one thing is certain: the strength of Nightfall City is formidable.

No adventurer would cause trouble here, as it would be suicidal.

Due to its formidable strength, the order within the city is stable.

Many people who have committed offenses in other kingdoms come here to settle.

It's easy to reside here long-term; one just needs to pay to become a resident of Nightfall City.

As long as you don't cause trouble, no one will bother you.

Those who settle here behave properly, abiding by the rules and not causing trouble.

Upon arriving at the Adventurers' Association, Herag found that the hall in Nightfall City was even larger than that in Oberstein.

The flow of people here was also clearly much higher than in Oberstein.

Oberstein has always been a border city, with fewer tasks, so naturally there were fewer adventurers.

Nightfall City, due to its unique geographic location and status, attracted especially many adventurers.

Many tasks that were inconvenient to publish in other kingdoms were sent here.

The bounty for tasks here is generally higher, attracting many adventurers to take tasks.

With more people involved, the overall strength increased.

Pier's Wind Sword Adventurer Group wasn't even among the strongest, only slightly known.

"Hello, sir, what business do you need?" a lady at the counter inquired.

"Register as an adventurer." Herag replied concisely.

"Alright, just fill out this form."

Registering as an adventurer had no threshold requirements and wouldn't verify your identity, as adventurers were mixed with a wide variety of people, and the association had no time for thorough checks.

Herag quickly filled out the information for the three of them, though most of it was false.

The lady at the counter received the form and was somewhat surprised by the information.

A Great Knight and a Knight.

Though only three people, this was already considered strong for adventurers.

"Mr. Herag, for a Great Knight and Knight, a strength verification will be needed," the lady at the counter stated.

At the Great Knight and Knight levels, information had to be verified. You couldn't just claim the rank and be believed.

"No problem," Herag smiled.

The verification method was simple—testing power.

For both Knights and Great Knights, power was the simplest standard.

The three came to a small room in the Adventurers' Association, where there was a wooden dummy standing upright.

Leading them was a young staff member of the association, named Rick.

Rick respectfully explained, "Gentlemen, this is a caster-made power dummy. The test is simple: strike it with a punch. If it trembles, it indicates Knight-Level power; if it sways side to side, it indicates Great Knight-Level power."

"David, you give it a try first," Herag instructed.

David nodded, approached the dummy, and delivered a punch, causing it to tremble slightly.

Rick immediately noted it in his book and nodded, "Indeed, Knight-Level power."

After David stepped back, Herag approached the dummy, looking a bit troubled, "I need to control my power, or I'll break it with a punch."

Herag controlled his strength, estimating what Great Knight-Level power should feel like, and then punched.

The dummy began swaying violently side to side; Herag frowned, "Seems I used a bit too much strength."

He had been trying to control his power, to use less force.

But it seemed like he still used too much strength.

Rick was stunned, "A-amazing strength! Mr. Herag, you're truly remarkable. Even among Great Knights, you're considered very strong."

Herag nodded without speaking, satisfied as long as it didn't break.

After verifying their strength, the three of them began wandering around the hall.

The Adventurers' Association hall had a row of task panels, displaying various tasks.

After looking around, Herag and the others didn't find any tasks that matched their expectations.

He inquired discreetly with Rick and learned that tasks heading to the Elf Race's territory were rare, only appearing occasionally.

Unable to do much about it, the three of them decided to wait and stay in Nightfall City for a few days.

They planned to look around for a few days, and if there were still no suitable tasks, they would have to consider alternative methods.

Nightfall descended.

As soon as Reese returned, she slipped into her room, asking the inn attendants to heat up water for her.

Her room was right next to Herag's, and he could hear the water running, knowing Reese was bathing.

He wasn't planning to peek; his focus was on verifying the most crucial matter: the complete activation of the Royal Elf Bloodline in the Bloodline Mark.

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