110-118

Chapter 110: The So Called Training

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

Twilight Forest.

Lize had mixed feelings about this place.

Although they weren't there for a mission, Lize still couldn't relax. The forest brought back bad memories from before. Whenever she walked on the grass, she remembered the deaths of her previous leader and her comrades somewhere within the forest. It was a terrible feeling.

It's no surprise though since it was her first time experiencing a complete wipe. She slung her bag over her shoulders as she walked silently behind the group, her mind preoccupied with the past ordeal.

Even Marlene, the only one who had a good relationship with Lize besides Rhode, was unable to comfort her because she was also preoccupied with something at the moment. The genius Mage was looking rather dull as she dragged her feet next to Lize. Clearly, her mind was wandering somewhere else, and the culprit that made her like this was no one else but the new Ranger Alchemist Lapis, who was not too far away from her.

After that day, Marlene agreed to Rhode's request and tried to teach Lapis about 'standard' alchemy. At first, Marlene didn't think that it would be difficult, but oh my, she was so wrong.

Although she didn't study mysterious creation and construction, at least she knew how to concoct potions. As long as she can teach her on that topic, it shouldn't be much of a problem.

However, when she discussed with Lapis about potions... she finally realized that she wasn't omnipotent. Even though Marlene was confident about her knowledge regarding the topic, Lapis was just too abnormal. Her knowledge regarding alchemy was far beyond ordinary people's comprehension.

Here's a simpler way to describe their conversation:

"Lapis, after we grind an apple into juice, it will still retain its rich nutrients. Then, after altering some stuff, we can create a relaxing and energetic effect..."

"But Sister Marlene, after cutting the apple into pieces, we can also use for beauty purposes..."

"Now, Lapis. We're not talking about beauty. The main point is about the juice..."

"But why can't we use it for beauty purposes after making it into juice?"

"..."

That's just how Lapis' mind works. Marlene decided to give up after bearing with her for two days. Being the genius she was, Marlene rarely puts down her pride. But in the end, she told Rhode that she wanted to quit being her instructor. Rhode could not force Marlene to do something against her wishes, so he could only give in to her request.

As for Lapis, Marlene wasn't sure how her future would be. She acknowledged that Lapis' way of thinking was unique and different from the Magic Academy's teaching style, yet it was also Lapis' greatest weakness.

One must realize that alchemy knowledge had been passed down from generation to generation for thousands of years. It took countless Alchemists to form an effective learning system. Lapis was unable to enjoy the benefits of this learning system and had to create her own path in alchemy. If one division already took hundreds of years to master, what about all three divisions?

Rhode felt differently; he came from the modern world, so he knew that there were many individuals with unique gifts. He read many novels where the main characters were oddballs, and yet they still succeeded in the end. Maybe Lapis was the same?

Still, it didn't matter even if Lapis failed. Rhode had already made preparations to let Lapis become a maid in the stronghold. At least she would be pleasing to the eye and Rhode wouldn't have completely wasted his money he had spent on training her.

"Sister Lize, are you okay?"

Anne, who was as cheery as always, came to find out that Lize was in low spirits.

Lize raised her head and smiled bitterly. Despite the scenery of Twilight Forest in spring to be beautiful, Lize was in no mood to enjoy it. She knew that she was acting strange, but she couldn't control her emotions.

"Nothing, it just that I'm not feeling very well."

Lize didn't explain further. She didn't want to bring her past up. But... why can't she let it go?

Even Lize herself didn't know the reason why.

"Hmm..."

Hearing Lize's vague answer, Anne stared at her for a while and once again revealed her energetic smile.

"Although Anne doesn't know what happened to sister, Anne still think it's better for sister to be happy. Otherwise, the people who care about you will be sad too. If you're happy, everyone will be happy too, isn't that a lot better?"

Anne didn't say anything more and ran to the back in high spirits. Lize looked at the girl who skipped away with complicated feelings. She stretched out her hand to touch her face.

"... Those people who care about me... will be sad too... is that right?"

She said to herself.

Then she lifted her head to look at the sky through the gap between the leaves.

Everyone arrived at the destination before the sun went down.

The site was a clearing along the borders of Twilight Forest and Paphield. A warm and gentle breeze rustled the grass on the flat ground, giving off an aura of tranquility.

Shauna and her subordinates quickly began to set up camp. They were extremely proficient; in a mere ten minutes, they've already managed to set up a decent base camp.

Their base camp was established on a hill with a nearby creek flowing downwards into the forest on both sides. Old Walker and Randolf demonstrated their Ranger skills by setting up many traps around the base camp. Although it was supposed to be a 'leisure' trip, it was still better to be safe than sorry.

While they were setting up traps, they managed to catch some wild rabbits escaping from a hawk. So, it seems like they were going to have meat for their next meal.

The whole journey was rather relaxing from their departure until now. But after indulging themselves in a delicious rabbit stew for dinner, Rhode reminded them that they weren't here for recreation.

"This is the training schedule."

Rhode said while handing pieces of paper to Shauna, Randolf, and the rest. While they were reading the content, Rhode opened his mouth and continued,

"All of you should know what this is. My first requirement of you is to master these skills. Of course, they are not difficult, and you've already probably heard of these skills, but my requirements are stricter."

"Sir, this is..."

At that moment, Randolf and the rest had just finished reading the contents of the paper. They were surprised and looked at Rhode unbelievably.

Randolf's eyes widened in shock. What was on the paper right now, were the various skills belonging to Rangers. The skills were arranged in a manner that was unfamiliar to him. Based on the skill's duration and cooldown, the paper informed him what are the first skills should be used, followed by the second skill, and then the last skill. Moreover, it also showed him which combination of skills to use in different kinds of situations!

However, if a player were to see this piece of paper, they wouldn't be as surprised as Randolf and the rest. If they were a being a burden in the game, they would've opened their browser and searched on the web on 'How to get the highest DPS' — and what they found would be what Randolf was looking at right now.

(ED: In MMORPG terms: Skill chaining/skill combos/skill trains or I believe more commonly known as skill rotations.)

That was the training method Rhode had thought of.

Previously, Rhode had asked Randolf and the rest of their learned skills. Of course, as NPCs, they won't have any 'player abilities' so they weren't as strong as the players. But if he gave them a good skill rotation to use, he could still create a perfect attack plan.

That was indeed Rhode's purpose.

Since these newbies can't figure it out on their own, he should teach them step-by-step on how to use their skills efficiently. No matter how stupid they were, after reading this detailed 'skill guide,' they should be able to improve themselves significantly.

If they are still unable to perform well... at that time, he would consider to let Randolf wear the maid outfit and stand in front of the entrance of the stronghold.

Frankly speaking, in terms of battle experience, Randolf and the rest were complete newbies. But they were still mercenaries who've passed the assessment, so they must at least have some insight on their own skills.

Randolf and the rest were pleasantly surprised to find that Rhode had given them such a valuable gift. One must realize that it was no easy feat to produce something such as this without years of experience, and if they aspire to reach Rhode's level of competency, they would have to sacrifice many years of their life to gain experience.

The difference between the experienced and the inexperienced was akin to day and night. When comparing two Swordsmen using the same skill, if one of them had years of experience while the other was a newbie, the way they used the same skill would result in a completely different outcome.

So, now that Rhode developed a skill rotation for them that maximized their DPS, they were extremely ecstatic.

Thus, the way that Randolf and the rest stared at Rhode somehow turned into admiration.

How does he have the knowledge of so many skills?!

Chapter 111: Flame of Revenge

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

Inside a dark room.

An oppressive atmosphere made everyone unable to breathe.

"That b*stard said that?!"

Frank clutched the bed while gritting his teeth. His formerly handsome face was now warped and distorted.

"Yes, Sir."

A man quietly stood beside the bed with his head bowed down.

"Good, very good..."

Frank gnashed his teeth and said to himself. Then, he shook his fist and slammed it onto the bed.

"That b*stard thinks he's something! Hmph! He's just a low-ranked noble of a barbarian country. How dare he oppose me!"

The man shivered as his master bellowed in anger.

As an attendant who had followed Frank since he was young, he naturally knew of Frank's past. In Barce, although he was the third successor of the top family, he had never received his family's respect. Frank didn't receive recognition because he wasn't as outstanding as his two other brothers. His mother was frail and couldn't even fight for her own authority in the family, so how could she possibly help her son?

After a huge conflict between him and his family, Frank chose to leave. From then on, he swore to himself that he must succeed before going back to claim what was his. To achieve his goal, he forced himself to endure any humiliation and bitterness along the way. In the end, he managed to grasp a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and as long as he can complete his task, he will be able to return to his hometown with his head lifted high.

When that time came, he can do whatever he wanted without worrying about his two brothers. His mother who had always been looked down upon didn't have to suffer like a servant anymore.

That was why he had to come to Deep Stone City and work with these mercenaries.

Similar to most people from the Country of Light, Frank held a deep animosity towards the Munn Kingdom. In his opinion, the Munn Kingdom was full of cowards. They sold their soul just for money. These people were like a Ganon of leeches who had no future or hope. Just like the beggars on the street, they blindly followed the person who threw them the most money, pretending to be deaf, mute or whatever they needed to become to acquire wealth. Pitiful.

However, for the sake of his future, he had no choice but to live with these spineless cowards. On the exterior, he worked hard to mingle with these people, but within the depths of his heart, Frank never felt anything else but contempt towards them. From his perspective, they were nothing more than tools that he had to use to pave the way to success.

According to the plan, he had to acquire Jade Tears mercenary group, which he promptly did and Frank saw himself completing the task within one year as long as everything went smoothly...

But here came someone called Rhode who suddenly appeared out nowhere and destroyed his hopes and dreams.

Frank had never been so close to death as he had been back then. Although he had already worked as a mercenary for close to a year and encountered many dangerous situations, it was not as terrifying as his confrontation with Rhode.

Luckily, he managed to live.

If that person didn't happen to be beside him, he would've already been a corpse.

The thought of his death caused his body to shiver once more. However, he began to be suspicious of something.

That man... Rhode... why would he want to kill me so eagerly? Is it because of the declaration of war? That can't be right... isn't he overreacting?

Doesn't he fear the backlash he will receive from the other mercenary groups if he kills me? Or is he just batsh*t crazy?

Still, the information that I received from Clinton tells me that he isn't a simple person. According to Clinton, he sent his subordinates to kill Rhode, but they ended up being killed by him instead.

Perhaps... he found out about my mission...?

When he thought the about the possibility of his mission being leaked, Frank couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine.

Does that mean that he had already figured out their plan so he decided to counterattack first?

"What's the situation in Deep Stone City? Is there any new information regarding Klautz?"

"The Mercenary Association only gave that notice?"

"Yes."

Frank frowned after receiving his subordinate's report. If that man discovered his plan, Deep Stone City should be making its move. Or were they waiting for him to make a mistake? On the other hand, there was also the possibility that he was overthinking it.

In any case, the Mercenary Association's new regulation would cause difficulty in implementing the next stage of his plan.

What should he do?

"Send some people to contact Wolf's Den and report the current situation to them."

"Yes."

After acknowledging Frank's command, the man straightened his body and planned to leave. But at this moment, Frank once again called him up.

"That's right, is there any news about Starlight?"

"They have left Deep Stone City."

"Eh?"

Frank raised his brow.

"Do you know where are they going?"

"According to the report, they are heading for Twilight Forest. But as for what are they doing there... I don't know."

"Twilight Forest? Wait, I remember..."

A trace of joy flashed past Frank's eyes. After that, he forced himself up and looked at his subordinates.

"Look for Clinton and tell him that Starlight is in Twilight Forest... and I want..."

The last few words were almost inaudible, but the intent was clear from the malicious look on his face.

Meanwhile, Rhode had just begun his 'Basic Training' for Randolf and the rest.

Rhode didn't give them a divine book that would instantly give them cheat-like abilities, but it was still handy for them to improve their strength.

In this era, skill training was still quite vanilla. Although they could learn techniques from the instructor, the ability to combine the skills was another issue altogether. This is because everyone's character and fighting style were different. Thus, the way the instructor teaches also varies.

Everyone was unique; what one would consider perfect could be insufficient to another. Due to that, people would travel far and wide to experience real battles. During that journey, they would gradually master the skill and develop their personalized fighting style. That was the main reason why adventurers must travel as fighting experience from training and life-or-death battles were entirely different.

Perhaps after a few years Randolf and the others would master their skills and develop their fighting style, but Rhode couldn't wait that long for them. Judging from the skill level of these guys right now, it was more likely for them to die at the start of the journey than being successful.

The paper that he passed to Randolf and the rest were 'entry-level' strategies that he developed with the input of millions of players.

Although it was only 'entry-level,' it recorded all the basics on how and when to use the skills. In Dragon Soul Continent Online, if a player wanted to play well, many veterans would tell them to look at a guidebook for beginners. If they understood the concepts and principles well, conquering most dungeons shouldn't be an issue.

If skills were a language, it would be considered as a word. And when combined, these words would form sentences with meaning. If one desired to turn these words into fluid sentences with excellent vocabulary, that would be the same as the challenges of using high-leveled skills.

To put it in context, Randolf and the rest were just like children who'd just begun studying the language and were unable to spell out the words to express themselves. So, how do we teach children languages? By getting them to repeat them over and over again until they understand it of course.

As long as they were able to learn these words, in time, they would be able to form their own sentences. As for whether they could completely utilize the meaning of the words... it was something that Rhode hadn't thought of it yet. Anyway, let's just study it first!

And then that's where the tragedy began.

Rhode didn't give them an explanation on why were they doing this as they didn't require to know the reason. As long as they could read and regurgitate the theory into action, they would naturally understand the reason later on. In Rhode's opinion, this method of training was way better than bringing a group of newbies to enter a dungeon.

The next morning, a strange scene was happening in Starlight's base camp.

Randolf lowered his body and jumped up. At the same time, he pulled his bow and aimed towards the tree in front of him. After shooting, he didn't pause and immediately did a roll backwards. In a quick motion, his left hand nocked another arrow and pulled on the string once again.

As for the heavily armored Swordsman, Andon kept repeating a monotonous set of movements with his sword and shield.

Forward, retreat, swing the sword, block, turn around, swing the sword again.

He repeated the notion again and again under the hot sun, drenching his entire forehead with sweat. Still, his eyes maintained its focus and stared at the empty space in front of him as though a dangerous enemy was waiting to strike him.

Joey was no better. No longer had he had a relaxing smile on his face. At that moment, he was frowning as he dashed around nimbly while wielding his dagger.

"I say, kid. Does this method really work?"

Old Walker said with worry as he looked at the three men training and continued.

"The actual battlefield is ever-changing. How can they expect to use these set of movements for every scenario? If the enemy didn't fight like that, wouldn't they be finished?"

"I don't care how they fight, but they must do as their told. This is my requirement."

Old Walker almost passed out when he heard Rhode's answer. Then he rolled his eyes and shifted his gaze away from Rhode, clearly dissatisfied with his response.

"Ah... that's enough, kid. I'd like to see what you can come up with. It'll be weird if there's no issue with this inflexible way of fighting."

"That's my problem, not yours, Walker. What about the things I asked you to do previously?"

Old Walker shot a glare at him and stood up.

"Well, I've found some places fitting the requirements that you've mentioned. I've also gathered some information since those guys aren't difficult to handle... but do you really intend to..."

Old Walker cut off his speech. When he saw the look in Rhode's eyes, he already knew his answer. He shrugged and didn't bother continuing.

"Anyway, just take it like I didn't say anything. But kid, Lize is in a bad mood these days, if you have the time, you should look for her. You should know morale is a big issue for every mercenary group, especially so for serious individuals like Lize..."

Old Walker stood up and put his hand on Rhode's shoulder before turning around to leave. He believed that he didn't have to finish what he had to say because he understood that Rhode wasn't the dense type of man.

Rhode didn't reply. He only shifted his gaze towards the base camp.

There, three beautiful girls in the mercenary group were leisurely having fun.

Rhode didn't assign any tasks for the three women. After interacting with them for a while, Rhode understood the characteristics of their techniques. Lize was precise; the way she managed her cooldowns was better than players. Rhode was sure that even if the strongest Cleric player, Thousand-hand Guanyin, transmigrated to this world, she would be no better than Lize regarding this aspect.

Marlene wasn't as precise as Lize, but her talent for being proficient in the whole magic system was also something that could be compared to most high-leveled players. Even if Rhode wanted to assign training for her, it would be impossible. While he was familiar with Mage spells, ultimately he wasn't a Mage, so there were things he wouldn't completely understand.

As a 'regular' genius, Marlene comprehension towards a variety of combat skills was quite good. In Pavel Cemetery, Rhode didn't have to spell out what she should do, and Marlene would understand what he wanted. She was slowly changing, and Rhode could see that.

If Marlene was the 'academical type,' Anne would totally be the 'practical type.' Rhode could feel the wildness in her. Violent, unique, irregular, and unstable, but could create an unexpected result. Anne's ability to think on the spot and react was superb. So, he didn't think that there was much to teach her.

As for the pitiful men who hadn't met Rhode's expectations, they trained hard around the base camp.

The world out there isn't kind. Only failure awaits if one doesn't succeed.

Then, Rhode stood up and walked towards the hillside.

Chapter 112: Core Card

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

The three girls noticed that Rhode was walking towards them and lifted their heads in response.

In all honesty, they were Starlight's trump cards because Starlight lacked experienced mercenaries and they were all beautiful females nonetheless.

Some mercenary groups got jealous when they saw the three capable yet beautiful women. They even secretly called them prostitutes when the three were together.

Of course, these things could only be spoken secretly; no one would dare to publically denounce Starlight when they heard news of Rhode beating up Jade Tears into such a miserable state.

Still, it didn't prevent them from being jealous of Starlight.

Among the three women, Lize was the adorable type. Her white Cleric robes matched with her luscious golden hair made her look like a delicate lily. Although she was smiling right now, a trace of gloominess still hid deep within.

Marlene was as prideful as always. She placed her hand on her knee while her white, long hair waved around as she moved. Her crimson red eyes emitted a beautiful gleam, just like a flower that grew on a mountain; hard to reach, but incredibly beautiful.

Anne was much bolder than the lot of them. Even if someone were to scribble the word 'bold' on their head, they still can't possibly rival Anne in revealing her innocence to the world.

Anne yawned as she lay flat on the grass and enjoyed the warm sunshine. Her golden hair was tied up in a ponytail, emitting a youthful and wild charm. Contrasting against Lize's and Marlene's conservativeness, Anne seemed to prefer to show off her figure. The armor she wore right now was tight-fitting and emphasized her slim waist. With her vivacious personality, who knew if she intentionally picked this set of revealing attire.

Randolf and the rest were almost immune to Anne's outfit as they were already used to it. On the other hand, Shauna's subordinates eyes glued onto Anne. This made Shauna angry, and she scolded them for being a group of good-for-nothings that couldn't control their inner desires.

Honestly speaking, Shauna can be considered to be a beauty herself. While she wasn't as striking when compared with the other three, a strong and mature woman like her did attract plenty of men.

If Rhode were an ugly, lecherous fatty, perhaps everyone would've called him a lewd b*stard. But even though they knew that he recruited many beautiful women into Starlight, no one called Rhode lewd. So why was that?

The reason was simple. It was because of his appearance! His looks weren't far off from the rest of them. Saying that he was lewd? Wasn't it better for him to buy a mirror to look at himself if he'd ever felt lustful?

While many were busy with training, the three women chatted about a variety of topics... well, actually it was only Marlene and Lize who was having a chat. At the side, Anne's blissful facial expression revealed that she was having a pleasant dream.

"Ah, Mr. Rhode."

Lize quickly stood up. Marlene also smiled and nodded.

"How do you feel?"

Rhode asked Lize.

"It's slightly weird... the last time we came to Twilight Forest was for a mission and didn't have time to take in the scenery. This is my first time coming here without taking on any mission."

Lize said with a smile as her gaze fell upon the sea of trees not far from her.

沖縄都市モノレール安里駅 徒歩33分 - 1DK／26㎡

"It's really beautiful. I recall that I was so nervous that my head started to spin when I first took on a mission here. At that time, leader and the others would laugh at me..."

Lize stopped speaking and gazed at the forest silently. She knew she shouldn't say these things, but she couldn't help but think of it.

Looking at her gloomy expression, Rhode frowned. It's not like he didn't notice her mood, but her painful memories weren't something that could be erased easily.

If it was a problem in battle, Rhode might be able to think of a solution, but this was a psychological problem, and Rhode's ability to guess what people were thinking was as good as the average person next to him.

Lize looked fine on the outside, but deep inside there was a scar that no Cleric could heal. If a similar accident were to occur, perhaps this scar might once again open up and bring a greater injury to her mental state.

"I will go and check on everyone."

Lize seemed to have noticed something, so she made a faint smile and made her way to the others. Rhode stared at her leaving figure and was lost in thought.

"Seems like that accident left a deep scar."

Marlene, who had been quiet for a while, finally opened her mouth.

"Indeed..."

Rhode nodded.

"Do you have a plan, Mr. Rhode?"

"For now? No."

"Since its something hard to bring up, we can only act according to circumstances. Marlene, can you inform me if anything happens to her?"

"No problem, leave it to me, Mr. Rhode."

Marlene had no reason to reject as Lize was her best friend. Even if she was a genius Mage, she was no psychiatrist either. Other than staying beside her, there was nothing she could do.

Rhode nodded. Then he walked towards a stream by the hillside.

Marlene frowned when she saw Rhode's figure. She felt that it was familiar.

Ah, yes... it was just like in Silent Plateau. He went into the forest and summoned an angel, right?

But what was he doing now? Was he going to summon someone again?

Marlene fell deep into thought for a while before shaking her head. Rhode had too many secrets. It was no point for her to pry his secrets. She believed that he would tell them the truth when the time came.

But when she looked at where Rhode was heading to, she couldn't help but think about the underground palace. The Fascarl era buildings... the strange statues and the trial...

Is he really...?

Suddenly, her eyes flashed a trace of shock. She didn't realize that her heart was beating really fast. An unbelievable thought just hit her. If it's just like she thought, then Rhode is...

She shook her head and threw away the frightening idea.

At that moment, Anne, who was supposed to be sleeping, quietly opened her eyes and peeked at Marlene. Her beautiful and refined face was currently flushed red.

Rhode felt that this forest was somewhat fated with him.

He walked towards a dense thicket, and after making sure that there was no one around, he took out a small Soul Core. It was the second Soul Binding Stone. Inside the stone was the soul of the Death Knight that he previously defeated. Frankly, Rhode didn't expect to bind its soul since he was actually trying to avoid the fight. However, Anne's stubbornness altered the plan. So, Rhode changed his mind and took out the Soul Binding Stone to seal the Death Knight's soul.

Unlike the Necromancer, the Death Knight's soul wasn't pure black; it was grey. Rhode couldn't help but feel nervous when he saw the swirling fog.

The Death Knight was a monster above level 30 and he was currently only level 15. He wasn't even half of its level. A Soul Core from a higher level monster would enable him to summon a high-level spirit. All he had to do now was to suppress its instability to the lowest.

High-level cards were very rare. In the game, the majority of the Summoning Swordsmen players had to fuse three high-level cards to get it. Of course, if one obtained a high-level Soul Core, he or she might acquire a high-level card as well though the success rate of obtaining one was much lower than fusing three cards.

Rhode hoped that the level 30 Soul Core wouldn't turn out to be trash. After thinking for a while, Rhode finally made the decision to go for it.

"... Sigh."

Rhode took a deep breath as he stared at the foggy Soul Core in his hand.Once again, he scanned his surroundings to make sure that no one would disturb him. Then, he closed his eyes and began.

Soon, a stream of mysterious lights appeared from his hand. Like a river of water, it flowed from his body to the ground. After that, with Rhode as the center, it formed into a huge and majestic magic circle!

Then, a deck of cards floated in the air; they were hovering inside the circle, all of them shining with a different kind of light.

At that moment, Rhode lifted his right hand to present the Soul Core to the deck.

This was a method he thought of. Rather than letting the Soul Core form itself, it was better to place it into a card he had. By doing so, he can obtain a higher success rate of getting high-level spirits. That was his conclusion after countless trials and error and research from the forums.

And now, he finally got the opportunity to experience it.

As if aware of the Soul Core, the deck began shining with a mysterious light. The Soul Core began to change color as though it was communicating with the deck. The Soul Core flickered and changed colors rapidly from white to black, to red, and to green. The colors started to change faster until Rhode's eyes couldn't keep up with it.

But suddenly, Rhode's expression changed.

He found out that something wasn't right.

The Soul Core on his palm began to tremble, and the magic circle also began to distort.

What happened? He had never encountered this kind of situation before.

Rhode calmed down and kept his doubts in his heart. He tried to suppress the magic circle, but he didn't expect the feedback was getting even more violent and the formerly stable magic circle exploded with a powerful force.

Crack.

When the Soul Core on his palm broke, his body suddenly felt extremely painful.

There was only darkness before him; he lost consciousness.

Chapter 113: Loss and Gain

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

"Rh... de..."

It's dark.

"... Rhode..."

A faint voice rang in his mind. The pain was intense as though someone pierced a hole in his brain. It couldn't help but made him feel disgusted and wanted to throw up.

"... Mr.Rhode...!!"

The fuzzy voice suddenly became clear, after that a warm light tore down the darkness.

Rhode opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was Lize's worried expression.

"Mr. Rhode, are you okay! What happened??"

Me? Injured?

Rhode shook his head trying to regain his consciousness. He held onto the tree and slowly got up. After that, he looked at his surroundings. He could see that Marlene was standing beside him with expression. Although she didn't look as worried as Lize, she still couldn't hide the concern in her eyes.

"After I felt a surging wave of magical energy, I quickly ran here and saw you lying on the ground. What... did you do? The area around you is completely devastated."

What did I do?

Rhode looked around with a strange expression. He could see that the originally quiet forest was in a mess now. The trees that filled the forest were dead and dried leaves were falling like snowflakes. The grasses have also dried up, it was as though this place had totally turned into a lifeless desert!

What... happened?

Rhode was shocked. He had never seen such a thing happening before. Also, if one thought logically, it was impossible for this kind of thing to happen. As a Summoning Swordsman, he had summoned spirits for countless times. Back when he was still level 50, he had awakened a level 80 Soul Core and there was no backlash like this. So how did such an event happen?

"Mr. Rhode? Are you okay? How do you feel? Are you injured?"

Lize's series of questions woke Rhode from his reverie. He quickly opened his attributes information and was dumbfounded.

He found out that his EXP points had reset to zero!

He had about 5000 EXP points left after defeating the Death Knight and just a little more he could've leveled up to 17. But Rhode found his 5000 EXP points missing! Where did they go?!

The series of events left him even more confused. He had never encountered this kind of thing in the game. Could it be that he hit a bug? If it was the game, he would've easily concluded it as such... but what about now?

Rhode's face darkened. It was strange enough for a system prompt to appear in reality, but since he couldn't understand what caused it to appear, he just threw the thought to the back of his mind. No matter whether he liked it or not, it had already happened.

However, what occurred now made him feel quite uneasy. If it was a system bug in the game, he could request for support from a GM. But what about now? If the bug originated from his body, who should he look for an explanation?

Did he have to write 'Pls fix the bug' on a sign and wave it around in the middle of the street?

...

"Mr. Rhode?"

The flickering expressions on Rhode's face made Lize and Marlene a little bit uneasy.

"Are you okay? Are you feeling uncomfortable somewhere?"

"Mr. Rhode, if there's any problem, I think it's better for you to tell it to us..."

"No... there's nothing wrong with my body."

Rhode finally recovered and waved his hand. He was certain that there were no issues physiologically, and based on what he could see, there seems to be no problem with the system. His attributes were normal and his level was still the same. If there was nothing wrong with his skills, talents, and level, why did his 5000 EXP disappear suddenly?

As he was thinking over the matter, Rhode suddenly thought of something.

Why did he collapse?

What was he doing before that?

That's right! What happened to my card?

Rhode's heart sank. After that, he stretched out his right hand.

With a mere thought, a bright red card appeared on top of his palm. Rhode's eyes widened in shock when he saw the card. In the upper corner of the card, there was a large 'I' symbol on it. An exquisite flower engraving outlined the edges of the card like a creeping flame. This made the card look rather ancient and mysterious. However, what puzzled Rhode was the deep red color in the center of the card that supposedly was the icon of the summoned creature.

It's empty...?

What's going on?

Did he summon air?

He frowned and flipped the card. Soon, a line of text appeared.

[2/10 of Red Lotus Deck has been collected, Seven Love]

[Seven Love (Fire Commander Attribute): Lord Commander Level, Not Available for Fusion]

[Elemental Domination. Able to burn through anything.]

[Special Skill ——— Red Lotus (Causes a sensation that burns as passionately as a flame. Strong enough to cause the entire world to turn mad.)]

[Fire Manipulation (Every element would turn into its Passion)]

[Lord Level Control (Can summon low-level spirits in the deck without limit)]

[Red Lotus (Not yet complete)]

[Warning: The card level exceeds the current commanding limit. Each time the card is summoned, the holder will lose five percent of their EXP.]

[System prompt Summoned number: 1]

So that's it.

Rhode finally felt relieved after looking at the system prompt. His 5000 EXP didn't disappear due to a bug. Instead, it was consumed by this card.

Rhode felt that the loss of EXP was reasonable as the card was above his expectations.

A Commander Level Spirit!!

Those three words were enough to make him feel like what he had done was all worth it.

The so-called Commander Level Spirit was a term that humans used to determine a magical beast's level.

After becoming a magical beast, the creature would possess elemental power. According to the ranking, the magical beast would fall into three levels: Special, Master, and Commander.

Special Level Spirits referred to magical beasts who possessed power but is unable to use it freely. For example, a lightning element cat would constantly generate electricity through instinct as it moves. These beasts were often newly promoted and considered the less dangerous type of magical beast. Rhode's Flame Killer is one such example of a Special Level Spirit.

Master Level Spirits could manipulate and control its power according to its wishes. This kind of magical beast is troublesome to handle because they possess a certain level of intelligence. Combined with its natural talent, it would prove to be a dangerous foe to most adventurers.

If a Master Level Spirit was considered to be dangerous, then a Commander Level Spirit would be every adventurer's nightmare. Commander Level Spirits had the power to command the elements. They were apex magical beasts that ruled over the other living creatures and what was even more frightening was that they could be considered as the five elements proxy in the entire continent.

Not only were they able to bend the elements at their will, they could also manipulate the elements to forcibly alter a low-level creature's elemental property.

This meant that if the target had ice elemental properties, but hadn't reached Commander Level, a Commander Level Fire Elemental Spirit could replace the ice element with fire. Sometimes they could even burn the opponent into ashes in a blink of an eye.

Back in the game, there were only five players that had a Commander Level Spirit, and they were all above level 80. Even Rhode's Starlight only managed to obtain a pyrrhic victory after waging war against them. So a summon restriction was totally reasonable for a card that could summon a Commander Level Fire Spirit.

The strength of Commander Level Spirits was not exaggerated. If it weren't for the restriction, perhaps Rhode could've conquered the entire Munn Kingdom. Not to mention a city as tiny as Deep Stone City. It would be completely pulverized into nothingness in a blink of an eye.

However, Rhode was confused because he had battled against the five different elemental Commander Level Spirits before and the Commander Level Fire Elemental Spirit was supposed to be 'Ragris.' So where did this Commander Level Fire Elemental Spirit 'Seven Love' come from?

He had the sudden urge to summon this spirit and test how it worked, but he had no choice but to suppress his curiosity as he couldn't afford to waste another 5000 EXP just to satisfy his cravings.

If he wasted another 5000 EXP points, he would be forced to downgrade a level.

Rhode couldn't help but put the card back. After pacifying Lize and Marlene, he finally left.

However, before he had the time to slowly think about the card, Old Walker quickly approached him when he was nearing the base camp.

"Kid, I've found something."

The old ranger said with a serious expression.

Chapter 114: Behind The Ambush

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

To Old Walker, Rhode was a very contradictory existence.

Usually, he's always firm, stubborn, even sometimes quite tough, violent, mad, and even brave enough to kill people in front of Mercenary Association. In Mercenary Joint Meeting he didn't even try to conceal his intention of wanting to destroy a mercenary group. This made Rhode looked like a madman, but on the other hand he was also cautious, even a little timid. This time, they traveled to the Twilight Forest and Rhode asked Old Walker to explore the surrounding to see whether if there were any anomalies around them. Clearly, this time they didn't come here to complete a mission.

Old Walker also knew that it was reasonable for Rhode to worry since he completely antagonized Jade Tears during the joint meeting. In Deep Stone City, Rhode had no need to be cautious as the Mercenary Association was watching them, but it was hard to say the same when they were in Twilight Forest. If Jade Tears secretly decides to launch a surprise attack, all of them could die here. Even if the Mercenary Association wanted to investigate, they wouldn't be able to find concrete evidence.

That was why Rhode asked them to stay alert. Old Walker couldn't help but admire this part of him and felt relieved because Rhode's actions proved that he wasn't a reckless b*stard that only cared for himself. If he created enmity with Jade Tears just because he felt like it, it meant that Rhode was just another scum who acted on instinct without thinking of the consequences. If he was truly like that, then things could really be very troublesome.

But Rhode didn't only remind him verbally, he even specifically pointed out several directions to him, so he could be more cautious. This made Old Walker surprised. He couldn't understand how a person in his early twenties could be so skilled in underhanded tactics.

And something really happened from the direction Rhode previously mentioned.

"There."

While hiding in the bushes, Old Walker pointed towards the faint black spot from afar and said to Rhode. Rhode looked towards the direction and after a while, he spoke.

"How many people are there?"

"About six to seven people."

"Have they discovered us?"

"I think they followed the tracks we left behind."

Old Walker said confidently.

Since tracking and counter-tracking was a Ranger's ability, if he couldn't even do that properly then it was better for him to retire and go back home.

"How about other directions?"

"There's no other movement for now."

Old Walker looked at Rhode as he spoke.

"What are you planning to do?"

"What am I planning to do?"

Hearing Old Walker inquires, Rhode only snorted and answered in an 'as a matter of fact' tone.

"Of course I'll kill all of them. Since they all dare to come here I definitely won't let them go back."

Saying until here, Rhode stopped.

"I need your help. Inform Shauna and Randolf to increase their vigilance. Furthermore, tell Randolf to set traps five meters around the base camp."

Old Walker was surprised.

"Just the two of us? How about the others..."

"They don't have to know."

Rhode shook his head. He wasn't planning to let the newbies join the battle. Firstly, they were not strong enough and secondly, Rhode hadn't trusted them yet.

One has to realize that battles between two mercenary groups were different from killing monsters. Most people would feel guilty after killing another human. Perhaps after facing many different trials and dangers would they gradually accept it, but it didn't mean that they would enjoy it. Moreover, they were still in the 'prohibition period' set by the Mercenary Association, so he didn't wish to see a time bomb within his group.

"That's why this matter is only known by you and me."

"I will stay here and observe their movements. You can go ahead and look for Marlene and Shauna. In addition to informing them, I need you to observe other areas. I'm quite certain that Jade Tears wouldn't be stupid enough to think that these people were enough to finish us. I suspect that they are planning something so I'll leave the scouting to you."

"No problem."

Hearing Rhode has assigned him the task, Old Walker nodded solemnly.

"I will go now."

Night fell.

A bright flame lit up the base camp. From afar, one could catch a whiff of a wonderful fragrant aroma arising from a large pot.

The mercenaries who had been tired all day couldn't help but drool when they saw the delicious meal. However, they couldn't help but contain their urges when they saw the person sitting on the rock at the edge of the base camp.

Lize was feeling under the weather.

Her gloomy expression wasn't due to the previous incident, rather, it was because Rhode hadn't shown up yet. Back in the afternoon, Old Walker had relayed Rhode's words to her informing that he wouldn't be back tonight because he had something to do. He even asked Marlene and Shauna to increase their vigilance and also sent an unexpected person to join their camp...

Lize lifted her head and looked at a lonely figure.

The angel girl sat silently on a rock. Her white wings softly fluttered in the night breeze as though she enjoyed basking in the moonlight. Both of her eyes were closed and her face was equally emotionless. She appeared like a sharp sword, giving people a feeling of coldness.

She was familiar with the people who had joined the fight in Silent Plateau and knew that the angel girl was one of Rhode's subordinates. But as for Shauna and Randolf who had yet to meet the angel girl, they felt incredible shock when they first caught sight of Celia.

Angels were noble beings who rarely ventured outside. However, a distinguished being such as Celia was actually a subordinate of Rhode and was commanded to protect them. They couldn't help but feel shocked.

Because of this, many people who acted unscrupulously before calmed down. Although Celia didn't seem to bother the humans around her, they couldn't help but feel an invisible pressure on them as though they were a bunch of crooks.

Legends said that angels were the messengers of the five dragons. Although that era had long passed, the legend still left a deep impression on the people.

Still, the mercenaries were mostly baffled over why a noble angel such as her was under Rhode.

Randolf and the other newbies couldn't help but feel slightly scared. Even Shauna who had interacted with Rhode before also felt shocked. She knew that Rhode was a noble, but she didn't expect that he would be able to recruit an angel as a subordinate.

Just who is this man...?

At that moment, not only were they stunned, they were also feeling relieved of their choice to join Starlight. Although in theory, joining Jade Tears would be more rewarding, but following this unpredictable young man was proving to be more promising.

It just that, different from others, towards Celia, Lize always felt a little bit puzzled.

Lize felt that this girl named Celia showed up too suddenly. She had never heard Rhode mention that he had an angel as a subordinate. So Lize was very curious about her origins.

Where did she come from?

Who is she?

In the mercenary group, only Marlene knew about Celia's real identity but she wasn't a blabbermouth. She knew that Rhode didn't want to spread this matter so she didn't tell the others about it. This matter could be considered as a tiny secret between them...

As for Anne, she was as energetic as always. When she saw Celia again she ran towards her and held the angel's hand. Moreover, she even dared to touch Celia's wings. Many people were shocked and even afraid that the noble angel would get angry, but fortunately, the angel didn't seem to mind.

Lize sliced a few pieces of tender grilled hare meat and offered it to Celia.

"Ms. Celia."

Hearing someone calling her name, she opened her eyes and turned around. She saw Lize standing beside evidently feeling quite uneasy while handing the plate towards her.

"That... are you hungry? Do you want to eat something?"

"I'm not hungry."

Celia shook her head and quickly answered. This made Lize feel a little bit awkward. She stood beside Celia just like that, not knowing what to say. Before, Lize only did it on a whim because she suddenly wanted to talk and understand her better. However, she didn't think that things would turn out this awkward...

While Lize was in a dilemma, Celia suddenly opened her eyes again and stared at Lize.

"I can feel my bloodline run in your veins..."

"Eh?"

Lize couldn't help but gasp and take a step back. She lifted her head and looked at Celia, waiting for her to continue.

Unexpectedly, after saying those words Celia once again closed her eyes to enjoy her 'moon-bathing' as if their conversation has ended just like that.

"..."

This made Lize want to cry.

Chapter 115: Slaughter in The Dark

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

Rhode didn't know what happened at the base camp because he had more important things to handle.

Lurking in the bushes, Rhode vigilantly watched the base camp not far from him. It had to be said that the Jade Tears mercenary group really had done a full preparation. They followed the trace that Rhode and others left behind along the way. They patiently trailed them from far behind; had Rhode not been well prepared from the start to let Old Walker check the key location where they might appear, the group might have successfully passed through them. And if that happened, things were going to get troublesome.

Although he was determined to kill all these worms, Rhode didn't attack immediately. He spent the whole afternoon circling the Jade Tears mercenary group. After he made sure that there was no other reinforcement, he was finally relieved.

Rhode was no stranger to this kind of battle. Although the Jade Tears mercenary group was fully prepared, it was still far inferior to the other players. In the game, when attacking the enemy, a player would use any means to face them. Especially in large guilds like Rhode's, they would very easily become the target of others. It was common for guilds to sneak up, scheme, and even lose decorum against others. Rhode had also been ambushed by others and set up ambushes himself too. After engaging in many years of battle with other players, he had become familiar with these tactics.

But still, after the catharsis of meeting players that were a combination of personalities that were dirty, shameless, and held sinister intent, the Jade Tears mercenary group's ambush was like a woman that was undressed with not a single piece of cloth to cover her. With only a little bit force, she would immediately fall to their schemes.

Originally, Rhode worried that the Jade Tears would also use dirty tricks, but now it seemed that he had worried too much. The Jade Tears didn't even expect that they would be found out—they just dispatched some scouts to patrol outside from time to time. If they were seen by others, they would only think that those people came to the forest just to adventure.

Rhode had lost interest towards these guys. Since they were from the Jade Tears mercenary group, they definitely needed to be killed. The more people dead, the less troublesome it would be in the future. Not only that, if their mercenary group dwindled without a battle, it would deter the other mercenary groups as well. If he could completely finish the Jade Tears using this method, he wouldn't mind at all.

The night was getting dark.

To prevent arousing suspicion, the Jade Tears mercenary group didn't light any bonfire. The surroundings gradually became quiet, with only the sound of insects echoing from time to time, as if the night was playing a lullaby.

It was time to move.

Rhode gestured towards Old Walker, who was beside him. Their figures disappeared in the darkness like that of two poisonous snakes.

Bell walked out of the tent where the cold wind was blowing. "Damn it."

Feeling the chill, Bell cursed in low voice. If not for the generous reward, he definitely wouldn't have come to this haunted place to suffer.

Bell's heart was filled with dissatisfaction, but he didn't say anything. As an old Jade Tears mercenary group member, he had long been swayed by Frank's money. In his opinion, there was nothing more important than money in the world. With money, you could have position, authority, and women. Without money, you would not have anything. Money, he believed, was the supreme existence in this world.

Precisely because of this, he had become Frank's henchmen.

Bell didn't know what Frank wanted to do; he only cared about how much money he could earn. So when Frank sent him and his men to Twilight Forest in order to destroy the Starlight mercenary group, Bell didn't hesitate and immediately agreed. For no other reason than seeing a bag of gold coins on his desk, the warrior made this kind of decision.

After glancing around the tent and making sure that those fools didn't notice him, Bell slowly walked to the edge of the base camp. Soon, he could see the female ranger that he assigned to guard the area. At this moment, she was bored, yawning while leaning on the tree. Seeing Bell arrival, the girl didn't look surprised. To the contrary, she smiled at him.

Bell smiled back and walked to her side. He couldn't wait to reach out to explore beneath her leather armor. He began kneading the two soft, plump peaks on her body. This female ranger had joined Bell's group after being hired by Frank. When he saw her for the first time, he was already attracted by her. After spending a huge sum of money, this woman who originally intended to act prudish immediately fell to his knees and become his intimate companion on the bed. The reason he sneaked out from the tent was to kill some time due to boredom. After all, in this era, it was the only night activity which was mentally and physically a joy without having to waste too much time.

What Rhode said about the Jade Tears mercenary group being a group of trash wasn't necessarily considered wrong, as a person bought by money had no loyalty at all. Naturally, their morals and integrity didn't exist. Frank himself also knew that his men had no other use beside adding more number to his mercenary group's strength. Maybe that's also the reason why they followed him quietly from behind like a thief.

"Hehehe, it seems that you really cannot wait anymore..."

"Leader, you have finally come, I've been waiting for you."

Facing Bell's teasing, the girl smiled and walked forward. She pushed her voluptuous chest towards his, then reached her hands towards his neck and kissed him on the lips.

"Uu...mmm..."

Bell reached out to pinch her chest, then chuckled. Facing the man before her, the woman showed a tempting expression: she lightly smiled and took the initiative to get closer to Bell's arms. She didn't hide her attitude, smiled, then stretched out both of her hands. Facing the temptation, Bell also didn't plan to retreat. He revealed his manhood and couldn't wait to hug the woman. Then the sound of growls and excitement echoed.

Rhode quietly lurked in the bushes, holding his breath while watching the intense movement from the two people before him. Although faced with such an unexpected scene, he didn't feel embarrassed. He was only surprised, but immediately calmed down. He didn't attack immediately, instead enjoying the "Moment of Bliss" before him.

Completely unaware that they were being watched, their movements were getting even more intense. Perhaps, it was because it was even more exciting to do it in the wilderness. They were slowly being intoxicated in it and even began to roar and moan in low voice. As the proverb says, a moment of bliss is worth a thousand pieces of gold. If they didn't enjoy this beautiful night, then there might be no more chance to do it.

In fact, it was indeed too late already.

Because at this time, Rhode gracefully jumped out of the grass like a cat.

His red sword quietly pierced through Bell's chest and the woman's throat, holding them against the tree.

"———!!"

Death always came suddenly—just like that.

Bell instantly stopped shaking and the woman horrifyingly opened her eyes wide. There was not even a slightest hint of anger in their eyes. On their body, yellow liquid mixed with spurts of white, flowing down and falling on the grass. It emitted a disgusting smell.

Rhode pulled back his sword and the bodies that lost their support fell to the ground, breathless.

But to Rhode, it seemed as though nothing had happened. He only glanced around, then once again slinked into the darkness without a trace.

At this moment, the base camp was all silent inside.

Old Walker set down the dagger in his hand. Under his feet lay a man whose neck had been slitted. His eyes were wide open, looking at the starry sky before him. It looked like he wasn't even aware of what was happening. Maybe he also had no need to be aware anymore.

"How was it?" Rhode walked out from the bushes and whispered.

"I finished the people over there, how about you, kid?"

"It was easier than expected. I never thought I would see a pair of wild couple there. They didn't even notice my existence. It looks like the Jade Tears mercenary group is just as unskilled as I thought they were."

Rhode stopped speaking. He looked at the base camp with serious expression, then gestured. "Leave the rest to me."

When the only survivor had woken from his deep sleep, Rhode and Old Walker's cold faces appeared before him.

"Who are you!?"

After clearly looking at the two people before him, he immediately jumped up. At the same time, he quickly reached out and touched his side. But he no longer had any weapon. Instead, he suddenly felt an intense pain.

"Whoa!!!"

The red sword mercilessly pierced through his arm and set him against the ground. His scream echoed through the forest. The birds that had originally fallen into deep sleep were immediately startled awake after hearing the scream. They fluttered their wings and flew towards the sky.

"He-HELP!!"

"I think it's better for you to save some energy, Mr. whose name I don't know."

Facing the man who was trying to struggle, Rhode was still as relaxed and calm as usual. He pulled a chair and sat before that man.

"Your comrades have died; only you are left. If your performance is good, then I might consider letting you live. If your performance is not good enough..."

Rhode didn't finish, but the meaning behind his words was already clear enough.

At this moment, the man no longer tried to resist. He only held his arm while nodding his head. He was not stupid; he screamed very loudly, but no one came to check on him. That probably meant that everyone had already died. No one—including him—wished to welcome their own death.

"Very good."

Seeing that the man had nodded, Rhode clapped his hand in satisfaction. Then, he moved closer towards the man, his eyes showing a trace of coldness.

"Then, next... I have some questions to ask you... I hope you can answer them truthfully."

Chapter 116: Rivalry

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

"Psst."

The blood-stained sword pierced through the man's head and a trace of fear flashed through his eyes, but his expression then turned empty.

Rhode stood up and swung the blood-stained sword. After that, he looked at the surrounding forest with serious expression.

What that man said and what he thought were almost exactly the same. The Jade Tears mercenary group didn't just send one unit here. According to that unlucky worm, this time the Jade Tears mercenary group sent two-thirds of their forces. They were divided into three units to follow and attack Starlight when necessary. Strictly speaking, the team that Rhode attacked wasn't even considered as a combat unit. They were only responsible for reconnaissance. According to the Jade Tears mercenary group arrangement, some were responsible for scouting while the combat unit was supposed to surround their target. The last unit disappeared just after they entered the Twilight Forest; they were reinforcement, but the man Rhode asked didn't know where they were located.

Originally, these two units shouldn't have been too far from each other because if something happened, it would be easier for them to back each other up. However, the situation was completely the opposite. According to the report, the person that led the main force was someone that just recently joined the Jade Tears, and Bell wasn't willing to follow the command of such a person. That was why after they entered the Twilight Forest, two sides became hostile towards each other, so Bell took his own unit and left. Clearly, they weren't planning to meet each other anymore. In Bell's opinion, he only needed to wait until right before the attack began and then send people to notify the main group. If not for him, it was basically impossible for all those fools to find their target all the way out here!

Although Rhode knew from the beginning that the Jade Tears was a group of trash, their extent of trashiness really made Rhode quite surprised. He even began to wonder whether the opponent was deliberately acting weak to lure himself into falsification. Otherwise, didn't that mean that their move was very suicidal?

What caught Rhode's attention wasn't where the main force whose location remained unknown was, but the reinforcements.

No one lived in the Twilight Forest and the only things that passed by were floating airships. Naturally, thieves and bandits didn't exist, since they didn't have wings to fly and snatch goods. That was why from another point of view, it could be said that the Twilight Forest was deserted. Perhaps, there would be some adventurers at times, but no normal people would choose to live here for long. However, to actually seek reinforcements in the forest? Were they planning to talk with those wild beast or something?

As for Rhode's understanding towards Frank, he believed that Frank wasn't an extremely stupid person. Most likely, the so-called reinforcement was the real main force of this attack and these mercenaries were just a pretense. Else, they wouldn't need to wait until the reinforcement arrived to attack.

Although Rhode still wanted to ask about it, the man was only a subordinate and didn't know much about the details of the actual situation. Perhaps the captain would know, but unfortunately he had already died in the woman's arms. Until then, Rhode didn't realized that the man he had easily killed before was the leader of the unit. Holy soul bless, he thought that man was just a normal lonely mercenary looking for fun.

"What should we do now, kid? Should we finish those guys?"

"Just the two of us?"

Rhode shook his head. There were more than 20 people in the main force; although they could both retreat safely after going, they still couldn't guarantee that the enemy wouldn't be startled. Rhode definitely didn't want to wake up a sleeping wolf. His policy was to do it clean or do nothing, and he didn't intend to do anything halfway.

In the end, Rhode made the decision to temporarily retreat.

In any case, without scouts, it would be difficult for them to find him. According to that unlucky worm, the two groups didn't didn't exchange any information. It was likely that the opponent wouldn't be aware of the problem. As long as they could finish everything before the other side found out, the situation was still very favorable to them.

Of course, Rhode left Old Walker behind and let him investigate the direction that captive has told them for precautionary reasons. The poor old ranger had run all night long following Rhode; he just wanted to go back and sleep alone but was instead ordered to stay behind in the forest to suffer. This made the old ranger impulsively want to make a flipping table gesture, but facing his complaint, Rhode didn't even say anything and simply left. The poor old ranger was stunned for a moment, and in the end he just shook his head and sighed. After that, he continued to do the task assigned to him.

When Rhode returned back to the base camp, it was almost dawn.

After hearing from Celia that nothing happened, Rhode took her back. Although she had now reached level 15, his soul power was about the same as lower ranked mage. To maintain Celia's existence, he needed to spend 30 soul power per hour, which was a huge price to pay. This was also the reason that he chose to temporarily retreat. After maintaining Celia for a night, he had spent nearly a third of his soul power. In such condition, he certainly couldn't risk himself.

After greeting Shauna who was in charge of the night watch, he informed the other mercenaries that they were going to start a new training. After that, he walked back to his own tent wearily and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

When Rhode woke up the next day, it was already midday.

Outside the tents, the mercenaries that heard the command had finished the preparation. They put out the fire, recovered the trap, and turned everything back to normal. Marlene and the others looked a little bit bored at the moment. Looking at the beautiful girl who was enjoying the scenery, the others also didn't object to letting her enjoy this rare vacation.

"Sir, everything is ready."

Seeing that Rhode has came out, Shauna hurriedly walked to welcome him. In this moment, her attitude was more respectful than before. Before, she called him "leader" just out of obligation. After looking at Celia, she no longer had that kind of thought. It was just natural to call him "Sir," since he could even make an angel his subordinate.

Rhode also realized that the other newcomers also showed similar changes. Their tones and attitudes were more respectful, and there was a trace of awe in their eyes when looking at him. Even Lapis who was always cautious towards him and always hid behind her brother back had begun to act like a fanatic fan, looking at him with worshipping eyes.

Of course to Rhode, that was a good thing. He used to have to pretend to be a noble by relying on his knowledge, the way he talked, and his demeanor. But now, he seemed to have nailed his noble status. There would be no person who would doubt him. After all, would any ordinary person have an angel as a subordinate? It was basically impossible!

On the contrary, Lize's attitude was rather weird. Several times when she tried to talk to him, she seemed to have something to say. Although Rhode asked whether she had any problem, she only shook her head. Facing this kind of Lize, Rhode didn't know what to do, so he could only let her be.

Rhode obviously was very familiar with the Twilight Forest. Not too long after they left the base camp, Rhode brought them to a valley.

"I think all of you are already familiar with the training before."

Facing Rhode's question, the mercenaries nodded. Since Rhode's training program wasn't too complicated, they could already use those skills in the first place; it was just that they never expected those skills could be used in such a way. Now, they had memorized those combinations. Next, they just needed to see how well they mastered it.

"Very well."

They nodded and Rhode also didn't say anything more and waved his hand, pointing towards the valley ahead.

"This is the second part of training. The content is very simple. I want all of you to enter this valley. At the end of the valley, there is a clear spring and an ice stone that can only be found there. I want you to bring back those stones to me after entering the valley. Of course, I'm not afraid to tell all of you that there's some wild beast that resides inside the valley. They will attack any enemy that invades their area without permission. Be careful, the time limit is 3 hours. I hope you can get back here before dinner. Now, go!"

Although the mercenaries were a bit panicked and felt overwhelmed after Rhode issued his order, they bit the bullet and entered the valley. Soon, their shadows disappeared into the forest. Only Rhode, Anne, Lize, Marlene, and Lapis were left standing outside. Seeing that her brother's figure had disappeared, Lapis was a little bit worried, but she knew that based on her current strength, it was impossible for her to join them, so she could only patiently waiting outside.

Lize also anxiously looked at the valley, and walking towards Rhode, she asked, "Will there really be no problem, Mr. Rhode?"

Anne sat in the big tree beside Rhode, and nibbling the apple in her hand, she asked, "Does Anne need to help them?"

"No need."

Faced with their inquiries, Rhode shook his head. Since he dared to bring those newbies here, he must have already thought about it. This was one of the newbie group quest. Although it was a group quest, but the number of the monsters weren't too many; there were only wild wolves, dogs, and such. It was basically not too dangerous—at least compared to formal dungeons, the danger level of this group quest was a lot lower. If those newbies couldn't even get away from this level of danger, then Rhode would really consider whether or not they were really suited to join his mercenary group.

"It's not too dangerous inside, so there should be no problem. It's said that even a lion will push its own cubs to the abyss and let them climb on their own. If they can't even pass this kind of test, then it is useless to let them stay."

"Leader... That's a lion and its own cubs..."

Facing Anne's grin, Rhode's face was still emotionless. "In my hometown, there's a saying: once a teacher always a teacher. I already can be considered as their half teacher," Rhode calmly answered.

Chapter 117: Encounter in the Forest

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

"Ugh...!!"

The fierce, wild wolf rushed forward. The hidden trap in the bush activated and trapped its paw, but the wild wolf didn't back down. To the contrary, it roared and kept rushing forward, its sharp claws passing through Randolf and the others, heavily scratching the ground.

Randolf rolled to the side to dodge the attack and then shot an arrow towards it.

The wild wolf that had already been trapped simply couldn't escape as the arrow flew towards it. It struggled to dodge, but the arrow still shot its leg. This made the wild wolf feel even more pain and it stopped struggling, opening its mouth to vent its anger. However, a second arrow that easily pierced through its head completely sealed the incoming howl.

"Haa..."

After pulling the Fire Blade out from the last wolf's body, Shauna wiped the sweat off her forehead then turned around.

"Is everyone okay?"

"There's no problem."

"I'm okay."

Faced with Shauna's question, everyone raised their hands to show that they were safe. After making sure that everything was normal, Shauna nodded. She continued to lead them inside. As Rhode had expected, this test wasn't too difficult for them. Even without the skills that Rhode had just taught them, they still could deal with the wild beasts just by relying on their ability. However, they knew that the reason they came here wasn't to finish a mission, but to improve their skills and standard. If they were just going to muddle along, they definitely wouldn't succeed.

Randolf reached out to remove the claws from the dead wolf to make an exquisite metal clip. Looking at Andon and Joey, he could see traces of joy and surprise on their face.

At first, their attacks didn't seem strong because their training opponent was just the air, but in a real battle, it was completely different. After they gradually began to get familiar with the pace of the battle, they also began to realize their improvement. Before, they were thinking similarly to Old Walker: worrying about whether this kind of training could be used in real battles. After all, even newbie mercenaries knew the ever-changing situation in the real battles. It was impossible for everything to go according to plan, so they were also a little bit puzzled. But after they did it, they finally found the effectiveness of the skill Rhode has taught.

Indeed, real battles were ever changing and couldn't be predicted, but by using the skills Rhode taught them, they basically didn't have to think about how to deal with the opponent because the opponent wouldn't have the time to react.

Although their professions and skills learned from Rhode differed, everyone finally noticed a similarity after battling for a while. The skills Rhode had imparted allowed chaining without being easily disrupted. At the same time, it was also dangerous. Whether it was a thief who could move as fast as lightning, a swordsman, or even heavy swordsman, it was all the same. When they attacked, the next attack would make the enemy completely powerless to fight back, regardless of whether they were in a defensive or healing position. That way, they minimized the risk of being attacked back in the fight. This feeling also made them feel excited and thrilled.

They thought that overwhelming and high pressure attacks could only be done by highly skilled people. But they never expected that they could actually do the same thing. The wild wolves and dogs in the bushes and forest turned into their practicing target. Although the wild beasts were not easy not deal with at first, now the mercenaries beat them until they couldn't get up, which made them feel satisfied from the bottom of their hearts. Even later, the beasts didn't even dare provoke them again. But these mercenaries didn't stop until there; they were like goblins that began to look for enemies.

However, Shauna quickly stopped their reckless act. Before the departure, Rhode told them that the skill he taught them was only a basic combination skill. Even though it was effective, it was not invincible. Currently, he only hoped that they could master those skills to develop their own attack power instead of just relying on it like an amulet. If they kept on doing that, it would be very dangerous.

Shauna obviously understood what Rhode meant. Indeed, although this combination could improve their strength, but it still wasn't completely reliable. The reason their actions looked so mighty was because the enemy wasn't strong. If they encountered a stronger enemy, then no matter how perfect their skill combo, the opponent would still be able to send them flying into the heavens. After all, the level gap was already very clear, and strength couldn't be replaced just by using these skills.

As a former mercenary leader, Shauna was very sensitive towards the changes in the team. When she saw that everyone was overly high, she immediately threw cold water at them to wake them up.

"Be serious. We haven't yet passed the test, so don't get too excited. Stay vigilant: the end is already in the front!"

After hearing Shauna's shouts, the others were finally awake. They reassembled and walked forward under Shauna's leadership.

Soon, without feeling any pressure, they came towards the spring that Rhode mentioned. The spring was located under the cliff, and the water looked very clear and transparent. Inside, there were transparent gems reflecting the sunlight. They were Ice Stones, a low grade stone produced inside water. It was also the reason Rhode chose this place. Not only he could let his subordinates train, but he could also collect the stones for Lapis's alchemy material. If he could kill two birds with one stone, then why not?

As a mercenary, Shauna had collected this stuff before. She took out a jug from her waist and poured out the water inside. After that, she told the others to take the jug and pour the water and stones inside together. After filling two large jugs and making sure that there was no problem, Shauna gestured for everyone to leave.

"Wait!" Suddenly, Randolf yelled. He frowned and twitched his nose.

"There's the smell of blood here."

"Smell of blood?"

Everyone was surprised for a moment. After that they immediately took out their weapons and formed a circle back-to-back to watch the surroundings. After the crazy killings from before, the wild beasts were already completely scared and didn't dare look for more trouble. That was why no one got attacked when they arrived at the spring. Did a boss finally appear?

Feeling uneasy, they were trying to calm down and listen to the surrounding sounds closely. Shortly afterwards, a low voice was heard through the wind.

"Ughh..aaa..."

"There's someone!"

Shauna immediately jumped and ran to where the voice located while holding her sword. The others also followed from behind. Soon, in the bushes not far from them, they found an injured mercenary.

He looked like a swordsman, but there's no weapon inside his sheath and his body was covered in wounds. Judging from the heavy injuries on his back, it looked like the mercenary had fallen from the cliff. If not because of the thick bushes, most likely he would have already become a wild beast's meal.

"What should we do, Big Sis?

The mercenaries that surrounded the man were all worried. They quickly looked at Shauna. After all, she was the current commander of the team.

Faced with their inquiries, Shauna didn't answer immediately, but took a closer look at the mercenary. After looking at the badge on his chest, Shauna's eyes lighten up.

"Bring him back. Maybe Lize could save him."

Shauna no longer hesitated and quickly gave an answer. After that, another person walked forward and carefully carried the injured man for the journey back.

Shauna silently stared at everyone's back, then lowered her head to look at the badge in her hand.

It was exactly the badge that she took from that mercenary.

They could only imagine just how surprised Rhode was when they brought back an injured person from the forest. He wasn't clear on what happened: why did they bring a person back, instead of what he had asked for? However, Rhode still told Lize to heal that man. After that, he walked towards Shauna and asked.

"What happened? Who is he?"

"I'm also unclear."

Facing Rhode's question, Shauna shook her head.

"We followed your instructions and arrived at the spring. We found him nearby, and it seems that he had experienced a very violent battle. If it's not because of his luck, he wouldn't be alive until now. And... I found this on his body."

Shauna stretched out her hand and gave Rhode the badge.

After he took the badge, Rhode's eyes narrowed.

It was a red-colored badge. On the top, there was a round, burning flame symbol and in the center, a blade as if born from flame.

Rhode was familiar with this badge. A few days ago, he had seen something similar at the Mercenary Joint Meeting.

It was "Burning Blade" mercenary group symbol.

Chapter 118: Burning Blade in Danger

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

Looking at the symbol on his hand, Rhode was lost in thought.

He was familiar with the Burning Blade; it was a long-established, strong, well-loved, and well-respected mercenary group. Although they were always in the middle of leveling up and down between mercenary guild and mercenary group, it could be seen from their member turnover rate, that the Burning Blade was a very attractive mercenary group. Their leader, Hiller, was also not bad; he was very calm, brave, and smart. From what Rhode remembered, it was Hiller who brought his men, bravely trying to "bring order out of chaos." Unfortunately, they were only a single force. In the end, they still disappeared in the sea of people.

However, that would be a story told in the afterword. Now, what Rhode cared most about was whether or not the injured mercenary really was a Burning Blade mercenary group member. If he was, then why was he in such a bad condition? Since the Burning Blade was that strong, there should be nothing here in Twilight Forest that could threaten them. He even brought his own Starlight to come here for vacation. But the Burning Blade actually encountered trouble?

The first thought that flashed through his mind was that the Jade Tears that attacked the Burning Blade. However, he quickly erased the thought due to the message Old Walker had sent via the Spirit Bird. The Jade Tears weren't yet moving and didn't seem to be in a hurry either. Rhode's group looked like they had came here for vacation, but the group of people that were suppose to come kill them were actually the ones who came here for vacation. It seemed like they didn't give a sh*t about him. They were just a bunch of trash that took money without working. Indeed, a professional person wouldn't betray their own mercenary group because of money, right?

Moreover, the Burning Blade was strong; even if there were ten Jade Tears, they still couldn't be compared to the Burning Blade. So, would they even dare attack the Burning Blade? Weren't they afraid that if they offended the Burning Blade mercenary group, they might get flatten to the ground? Although the Mercenary Association had prohibited the fight, if one of the top three mercenary groups wanted to completely destroy the Jade Tears mercenary group, then even the heavenly king wouldn't be able to protect them. Frank also wasn't a fool; why would he made such a mistake?

He was holding onto the badge while thinking, but in the end, he still couldn't think of anything. According to the current situation, it might be because the Burning Blade's mercenary came here for an adventure, accidentally encountered something, and then fell from the cliff. That sounded more logical. As for what actually happened, he still needed to wait until the injured person woke up.

Rhode quickly commanded everyone to take a break. He had a bad feeling about this deep within his heart; he knew the reason why, but Rhode was still very cautious and once again contacted Old Walker via the Spirit Bird. From the news he had gotten, it seemed that the Jade Tears mercenary group still didn't have any movement.

It seemed the danger wasn't from them.

Then, where did the dangerous feeling come from?

Rhode didn't get the answer immediately as he had hoped. Although the mercenary still managed to escape death, it was only because of Lize's healing spell. According to Lize, he was still injured very badly and wouldn't be awake anytime soon. Besides waiting, there was nothing else he could do.

Of course, he could only hope that nothing bad had happened. There was already enough trouble recently.

But life was always like this; the more you wish for something not to happen, the more it will happen.

Looking at Lize who was standing before him, his head couldn't help but start hurting.

"You want to ask about Celia?"

"Yes, Mr. Rhode."

Lize tilted her head, feeling curious.

"I was really curious about the relationship between the two of you. Is she really your subordinate? And why have I never heard about it before?"

"..."

Rhode scratched his head, not knowing to answer. He was not a magician that never dated a woman before. Whenever a woman mentioned another woman, it usually wasn't good.

At first, he hoped that the other two woman would take the opportunity to stand up and help him, but he was disappointed.

Anne was sleeping on the soft grasses as always. It seemed like there was nothing in her life beside eating, drinking, and having fun. Marlene also seemed to have been infected with the same disease with Lize. Her hands were holding her cheeks while dozing off, and Rhode didn't know what she was thinking of.

In any case, there was no reinforcement.

"She really is my subordinate." Rhode really didn't lie. From another point of view, summoning spirits were indeed his subordinates. "Well... because of a lot of things that happened before, she decided to look after me and help me. It's just like that."

Rhode was very clear: when talking with a woman, he must be vague and shouldn't explain the meaning too clearly. Men were sometimes too logical and wanted to explain everything clearly. However, in a woman's opinion, that would make it seem like he was either underestimating her intelligence or else feeling guilty. Since they both weren't stupid, the matter was already obvious enough and he didn't have to explain it in details like asking her why did she have to use a skirt and such, right?

This was the difference between men and women. For men, they would need a very detailed and clear explanation even if it had happened in the past. That was why men couldn't understand why women still kept pestering them even though they had explained so clearly. However, it was different for women. Especially it was regarding another woman. Since he could even clearly remember the nail polish that she wore and the reason she came here, then if it not because he cared about the woman, why would he remember that much?

He wouldn't repeat his mistake from when he was young... It was really a life lesson.

As expected, after hearing Rhode's answer, Lize nodded. She seemed to have understood what Rhode meant.

Done.

Although she still seemed confused, she didn't continue to ask. Rhode finally felt relieved. Even though he didn't know what Lize thought about his answer, since she accepted it, he knew didn't have to continue thinking about this problem. In this world, it was happier to know less.

At this time, a painful sound echoed.

"Ugh..."

"He's awake!"

After hearing the sound, Lize quickly turned around and ran towards the tent. Rhode's expression turned serious as he followed her. When he arrived at the tent, he saw that the mercenary was gulping a lot of water right after he woke up. It looked like he almost died in the desert and finally found an oasis to satiate his thirst. Lize was sitting beside him, carefully holding the water bag to avoid any trouble.

"Ah..."

After drinking half of the water bag, the mercenary sighed deeply. After that, he turned around and look at Rhode.

"Thank you, thank you for saving me. If not for you guys, I might have already..."

"No problem, it's what we're supposed to do."

Rhode waved his hand and stopped his words. After that he stretched out his hand to hand over the badge.

"This is yours, right... I'm really curious, as a member of the Burning Blade, how could you be so badly injured here?"

"This..."

Looking at the badge, that mercenary was surprised for a moment. After that, he seemed to have remembered something and suddenly jumped up.

"That's right, we encountered an attack! Damn it!! I need to go back quickly, ah..."

But just when he woke up, he could felt an intense pain in his body. His face turned green and sweat fell from his forehead. It could be seen just how severe his injury was. Lize quickly held him and helped him lie down once more.

"You cannot move; you have suffered a very heavy injury which hasn't fully healed yet..."

"But but I cannot waste my time here. I need to quickly go back to the Mercenary Association and ask for their help... Damn it..."

"Did something happen to the Burning Blade?"

After hearing what he said, Rhode frowned. It seems like it was just as he expected. However, Rhode was still very curious. In Twilight Forest, what could injure such a strong mercenary group until they asked for the Mercenary Association for help?

"That's right, Lil—Mister."

After carefully looking at Rhode, the man quickly corrected his sentence, lest trouble befall him.

"If I remember correctly, you are the Starlight mercenary group leader, right?"

"That's right, it's me." Although the sentence from before made Rhode frown, since he managed to quickly rephrase it, Rhode would just pretend that he heard nothing. "Can you tell me what happened? If you need, I think I can help you."

"It's like this..."

After hearing until here, or maybe because he knew that he was badly injured and unable to finish his mission, he could only sigh and quickly started to explain what happened.

After the Mercenary Joint Meeting has ended, Hiller brought his mercenary group to the Twilight Forest. First, because it was on to their way back to Lightwind City, and second, because he has the same idea as Rhode. He wanted to train his subordinates. Although the prohibition was one month, as a mercenary, it was important to keep fighting from time to time.

At first, things went pretty smoothly. However, something suddenly happened, and the Burning Blade entered Wind Snake territory and was attacked. In the beginning, they didn't really care about the Wind Snake, since it was a magical creatures that was often seen. But the things that happened next were beyond their expectations, and the Wind Snakes kept increasing. When they realized it was that bad, they had already been surrounded by the Wind Snakes.

Since it was difficult to escape from that situation, Hiller decided to send a small group to break out of the Wind Snake encirclement and look for help.

However, their luck wasn't very good. No matter how weak ants are, but hundreds or even thousands of them was enough to make people die. Same goes for the Wind Snake; although they managed to break the Wind Snake encirclement, but they were still heavily injured. As the last survivor, this mercenary fell off the cliff when the Wind Snakes chased after him. Luckily, he was saved and survived.

"Encircled by the Wind Snakes?"

After hearing it, Rhode found it somewhat unbelievable. A group of Wind Snakes numbered only in the hundreds; it might be strong enough to attack a small mercenary group. But it wasn't supposed to be strong enough to attack a fully-armed mercenary group, right?

"How much do they number?"

Upon hearing this question, the mercenary that was originally calm exposed a frightened expression.

"Thousands! It's thousands of them!"

After hearing this, Rhode's heart sank.

He lifted his head to look at Lize. At this moment, she was clenching her hand as if she thought about something and glanced towards Rhode.

It seemed that they guessed it.