227-236

Chapter 227: Storm Slaughter

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

The four of them didn't know what Rhode was going to do, but clearly, it wasn't something good. The surrounding air became heavy, making it a little hard to breathe. An invisible wind started condensating. To the Druids, the scene before them didn't seem strange because the wind had always been strong, horrible, and frightening.

Woo!!

This was the instinctive struggle before death. The remaining two Druids reacted quickly. Their bodies were trembling and distort, shrinking and expanding. Their muscles contraction and expansion became irregular. In a blink of an eye, the two people before him transformed into a meter tall wild wolf and leopard. The cloak that they used to cover themselves became one with them. This was also one of Druid's mysterious powers—or the upgraded version, to be exact.

"————!!"

The Druids who finished their transformation immediately rushed toward Rhode. They had no other choice; the only thing they could do was to suppress the storm before it broke out. That was the only thing they could do now.

Unfortunately, a storm never stopped just because there were obstacles.

When the giant wolf and leopard arrived in front of Rhode, the storm broke out.

The sharp claws hit empty air, and the only thing left was a shadow. Rhode's body moved like a storm, reaching toward the surrounding area. An icy, sharp sword passed the surrounding area wildly. As the strongest large-scale killing technique in the Dark Dance swordsmanship, Storm Slaughter was able to increase the user's speed to its limit. When using this move, the user speed would surpass human speed. In one second, the user would be able to appear in any corner of any space, attacking everything that was swept by the storm. Everywhere—no one could escape.

This was the horrifying part of the storm.

The bright red sword flashed and pierced through the wild wolf's head. At the same time, the leopard jumped to the side like lightning and opened up a distance of five to six meters from the giant wolf. Unfortunately, the giant wolf was still unable to escape from death. When the leopard landed on the ground, the bright red sword easily cut along its spine and pierced through its body. After leaving a deep visible wound on the leopard, the sword disappeared without a trace. At that moment, the leopard body fell onto the ground while blood flowed out from his wound. Soon, he lost his strength and transformed back into a human.

Everything escalated extremely fast.

As the female Druid's groaned, Brown Bear once again opened his eyes. The only thing he saw was two icy bodies, as well as Rhode, who sat beside them expressionless and indifferently.

"You killer!"

Brown Bear struggled to get up and glared at Rhode angrily, but Rhode did not react toward his accusations. He just looked at his hand and shook his head. With his current strength, Rhode could just barely maintain the Storm Slaughter for a while; if he could maintain it just a little more, then not only would it be a double kill, but also an overkill.

給与計算ミスを防ぐ60のチェックリスト - 給与計算ミスの発生を防ぐため,雇入れ直後・異動直後などのシーン別に確認すべきポイントをチェックリストとしてまとめました.

Well, it didn't really matter; sharpening a knife was also an art.

"I'm not interested in your accusation."

Rhode put his sword back into the sheath. He walked toward the female Druid while answering Brown Bear without looking at him.

"After all, you attacked us first, Druid. We are just defending ourselves. Well, now I want to know; why did you attack us and what do you want to do?"

Upon hearing Rhode's inquiry, Brown Bear's mouth twitched. He looked toward the female Druid lying by Rhode's feet while groaning. Then he clenched his teeth, but suddenly, he saw a trace of anger and perseverance in her eyes.

"Don't...!!"

The Brown Bear hadn't yet finished his speech. At this moment, the female Druid who was painfully struggling on the ground finally jumped out and tried to attack Rhode's throat with her right hand. This female Druid had been holding her murderous intent all of this time, and now the battle was over and Rhode put back his weapon, there was no reason for her sudden attack to not succeed.

Out of nowhere, a red light mercilessly pierced through the female Druid and pinned her body to the ground. Rhode was holding the hilt of his sword with his right hand while looking at the female Druid indifferently. She reached out her hands, trying to pull out the sword from her chest. However, Rhode gently turned the hilt in his hand. Soon, her body trembled and she spurted out a mouthful of blood. She lost consciousness with her eyes wide open...

"Life is so fragile ... So we have to cherish it."

Rhode pulled out the sword. The female Druid's body parts dripped down his sword like mud. Then he turned around to look at the Brown Bear.

"Maybe you have a different opinion? Mr. Druid?"

Watching Rhode's black eyes, Brown Bear couldn't help but tremble. He clenched his teeth and said nothing. He shouted loudly; after that, he lifted his left palm and heavily hit his own head. Although human heads were not vulnerable, if it still wouldn't be able to resist such a heavy hit. Soon, the Brown Bear was left with half of his head crooked to the side. There was no longer any movement or reaction from him.

Seeing this scene, Rhode twitched his mouth.

Suicide?

This was definitely not a good choice for a Druid. They upheld a lot of things, but they definitely didn't uphold suicide. Life was the most important part in the Druid teachings. They could tolerate their own death in combat, but they absolutely couldn't tolerate suicide because, according to them, it was a betrayal of nature.

But now, this Druid actually committed suicide?

This was a bit illogical.

Rhode originally thought that those Druids were merely obeying Druid's teachings to destroy their enemy who "disturb the peace and harmony of nature" like what they did in the game. But it seemed that they had another goal; otherwise, how could this not-human-nor-beast creature, who always respected those teachings, suddenly commit suicide on his own?

Thinking until here, Rhode put away his sword and began to explore their bodies. Suddenly, a lively voice echoed in his head.

"Master, have you finished there?"

"Something happened; I'm still looking for the cause, but there should be no danger."

Rhode, who never had any respect for the dead, pulled out the Brown Bear's cape and looked into it. Apparently he was a very orthodox Druid; there were no artifacts in his cloak. Besides a few grains, dried fruits, and dried meat, there was nothing. Rhode also searched the remaining three, but there came up nothing.

"A Druid who committed suicide? Master go and sell it; it will make a lot of money for sure... However, I don't think you'll be able to find anything on those small fries."

"That seems to be the case."

While answering Gillian, Rhode stood up and looked toward the mountain peak not far from the forest. He still remembered that a Druid race once lived there. If his guess was correct, then the people who attacked him tonight should be them.

However, from the way they dressed, they should be very low-level Druids because the highest level Druids reverted completely back to nature. In other words, they roamed around the forest naked.

"There should be no danger in this area, but to avoid any trouble, tell Shauna to be cautious. How's the situation over there?"

Hearing Rhode's question, Gillian didn't immediately answer. She chuckled and slowly replied, "There's something interesting over here. Oh, and Lapis fainted."

Oh?

When he heard the news, Rhode frowned.

"I'll rush back right away."

When Rhode arrived there, everything had ended. The mercenaries were cleaning up the battlefield. They threw out the wild beasts and insects to prevent any unnecessary danger. Those Ophenians were used to these kinds of scenes, which was why the elder also only talked a bit with Rhode and found out the ones attacking them were Druids. After hearing that Rhode exterminated them, they also no longer said anything and continued to rest. Clearly, as scholars, they also knew about Druids.

After that, Rhode entered the first layer tent under Gillian's guidance.

"It's really strange, Master. I can swear that I made sure that nothing hurt her, but she actually still fainted. This is my first time seeing this kind of weirdo; even the greenhouse flowers aren't as fragile as her... Although I really want to say something like that, I have to tell you: she has entered a psychic state."

"Psychic state?"

Rhode was surprised when he heard it. After that, they entered the next tent.

Chapter 228: Behermes

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

While walking toward the tent, Rhode could already see Lapis, who was unconscious. She was currently clenching both of her hands in front of her chest. Her eyes were closed and she was murmuring something. If not because of the shining green words above her head, it looked as if she was just having an ordinary nightmare.

On the center of her forehead was an green inverted triangle. It glimmered constantly, sometimes shining dazzlingly and other times faintly. It changed with Lapis's speech. As long as she spoke, the light would weaken, but when she no longer spoke, the light would turn bright and dazzling again.

"When did this happen?" Rhode looked back and asked.

"I'm not very clear either; probably after we were attacked."

Gillian shrugged her shoulders, feeling helpless. As she told Rhode, Gillian immediately protected Lapis using her skill after she was aware of the attack. Lapis was extremely scared at first and crouched on the ground. Gillian was sure that she didn't suffer any injury. When everything ended, Gillian had planned to pull her up, but her consciousness was not there anymore and she didn't know where her soul went.

At this moment, Lapis, who was lying on the ground, finally revealed her true face that was hidden under the cloak. The most eye-catching part was her pair of ears. They stretched out from her long hair and slightly moved. Carefully looking at it, there was a golden thread circling them like an accessory.

This was the reason Lapis always used a cloak to cover her face.

However, Rhode was not surprised at all. In fact, he already knew Lapis's true identity. After all, when he upgraded the stronghold to the second level, the race information of mercenary group members told him so. Lapis was also no exception.

Lapis

Race: Behermes (Unfinished)

Talent Reward: Sensitivity, Integration strength

Talent Penalty: Low HP

Job: Alchemist / Ranger Apprentice

Hidden Attribute:??

Alchemy Skills LV3

Proficient:??

Physical Condition: Healthy

Frankly, the first time he read Lapis's information, he was indeed a little bit surprised, but soon he felt relieved. As a player, he had seen many races, including Behermes. He was also very familiar with them.

Behermes originated from the elf race, but they weren't ordinary elves. Followed by mankind's scientific development, many people began to try to use mechanical and scientific forces to transform the human body and acquire power. In ancient magical times, there was also a group of elves who tried to transform elves into the most powerful creatures on the continent by using the powers of magic and alchemy. In the past, the Five Creator Dragons fought each other endlessly; naturally, the elves were involved in it, but their weaknesses made the beautiful creatures very miserable in war. As for strength, the dwarves were stronger than the elves. As for fertility, the elves did not reproduce as fast as humans. As for agility and archery skill, the elves couldn't be compared to the angels. Their fragile constitution also made them have no resistance toward the Devil's flame. Although the elves were good at magic due to their longevity, they were unable to grasp new things as well as humans. In fact, while the elves still stubbornly used ancient magic, human magicians had already created and improved a lot of magical spells. The elves back then were very passive. That's why, in search of the continuity of their race and victory, the elves were divided into three groups.

One of them held a notion "since we can't defeat the enemy, just follow the enemy" and became the foe of the devils who lived in darkness, later becoming known as the famous Dark Elves. Another group still maintained the ancient notion. They believed that they wouldn't become extinct just because of this war. As long as they could use their power, they would be able to persist until the war ended.

However, there was a group that thought that just persisting until the war ended would not be enough. If they survived just to become the slave of other races, then everything would be meaningless. Although there were flaws in the elves, they still believed that they could still win without the aid of the Devil's power.

That's why they decided to change the elf's constitution. They wanted to have the strength stronger than the dwarves, fertility better than the humans, and magic more powerful than Devils and Angels.

Behermes existed because of that.

Whether lucky or unfortunate, the elves' attempts eventually failed. Those transformed elves either lost their long lives or became very strange, and some even turned into an mutated existence. Such reformation also caused an uproar among elves. Although some of the elves volunteered their bodies after the failure in battle, most elves still considered it blasphemous and unconventional. Eventually, under the protest of the majority of elves, the Elven Queen had to expel those elven mages and they brought their experiments to another territory. They didn't know where they were going, but they said that if they succeeded, they would return to their homeland.

In the end, the elves didn't go extinct in that war. They stood before the twin dragons and protected their races and territory. As for the elven mages, they seemed to have disappeared since they never appeared for centuries. Behermes were regarded as a different species and a taboo in elven legend, just like the Dark Elves.

However, Rhode knew that in the game, this "Elf Transformation" race did not actually disappear; they even built a huge alchemical city under the marsh in the South and all the Behermes had a strong ability to manipulate and produce magic props, but were weak in melee combat. They had low strength and agility; some were simply frail or sick. Almost every Behermes was a natural scholar, and, unlike Ophenian scholars, Behermes prefered to stay at home and enjoy the comfort. Rather exposing themselves to danger, they usually commissioned adventurers to collect a variety of specimens or animals for them.

In other words, they were lazy.

Now that he thought about it, Lapis's character did really match the Behermes race description. Low individual combat capability, lazy to go out, having a strange understanding toward alchemy. However, just based on that, Rhode wouldn't believe that she was a Behermes since her alchemy level was really quite bad.

Rhode also knew that Randolf and Lapis lied to him, saying that they were siblings. The information regarding Randolf said he was clearly a human. He wasn't a transformed human, nor a clone, but a pure human. It seemed like they didn't tell the truth about each other's identities.

Of course, Rhode was also curious as for why she, as a Behermes, decided to leave her own comfortable home and go into the human world since she didn't seem to be special other than being a Behermes. The reason he agreed to Lapis's request was because he wanted to know what she was trying to do. Looking at the current situation, it seemed like there wouldn't be any problem though.

The "psychic state" Gillian said was just a slightly more complicated term. In fact, this was just like people in sci-fi movies with built-in chips or artificial nerves and were receiving an electrical signal. Now, Lapis was "accepting" a signal, but they didn't know where it was coming from or where it was going.

"Then, what should we do next, Master?" Gillian smiled and said while waving a hammer that suddenly appeared in her hand. "If I hit her with this, maybe she'll wake up?"

"Forget it." Hearing Gillian's inquiry, Rhode stayed silent for a moment, then he shook his head to stop her action. He narrowed his eyes and looked closely at Lapis, who was still unconscious. "Let her sleep; inform me immediately if anything happens. I will temporarily stop the journey. Anyway,s nothing will happen from delaying a day or two."

"Master, you are really gentle; shouldn't you take this opportunity? She won't find out about it anyway..." Gillian excitedly rolled up her tail. "In my opinion, this is an incredible opportunity, Master. If you want to do it, I can help you cover it up ah ah it hurts it hurts... !!"

Rhode grabbed Gillian's dangling tail, preventing her from speaking delusionally. It made this poor fox girl cry and shout. She quickly stood up and pulled her tail out of Rhode's hand, then stroked it softly.

"Really, Master. You should be really gentle; this is my life."

"Next time I hear you talking nonsense, I'll cut it off to make it into a fox fur scarf. In any case, we no longer have to worry about those environmentalist fanatics anymore."

After he said it, he patted Gillian's head and left the tent, leaving the girl standing there while stroking her tail.

Chapter 229: Unicorn Peak

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

In the end, Lapis didn't make them wait for long. When the sun had risen, she had already woke up; naturally, she didn't tell Rhode what had happened to her. While explaining the reason she fainted, she looked very panicked. Even she herself was also aware that she was unable to explain it properly, and besides saying sorry, she couldn't say anymore...

However, Rhode did not intend to spend much time on such a trivial matter. The most important reason was that they almost reached Unicorn Peak; no matter what kind of secret it was, Rhode was sure that he could find the answer once he arrived there.

The Unicorn Peak was located on the southwestern border of the Paphield Plain. It was a desolate place where wild beasts lived. Certainly, just like others inaccessible places, the Unicorn Peak also hid ancient ruins, which were common throughout the Dragon Soul Continent. Especially in this magical era, cities that were destroyed by magic or because of an explosion would sink into the depths of the earth and someone would dig out the icy stiff dead bodies there to get what they needed.

They were called tomb raiders.

Walking through the bottom of Unicorn Peak, he looked up toward the steep peak and then deep down. It was a sharp, beautiful peak, like a unicorn ready to fly through the sky from afar. That's why it was called Unicorn Peak. However, to Rhode, it was no different from a coffin. Every time he explored the underground ruins, it would be as if the ruins itself were a decayed corpse and they were gravediggers who opened the coffin to look for buried objects. From this point of view, it could be seen that players were even worse than Ophenians. At least Ophenians would try to protect these ruins, but for players like Rhode, the fantastic frescoes and ancient writings on the pillars of the walls were clearly not worth as much as magical equipment.

"Sir."

As Rhode started to doze off, a voice pulled him back to reality. Rhode turned around and looked at the Ophenian elder who was looking at him.

"We have reached the destination, you see..."

"Let's keep going."

Rhode answered without hesitation. He knew what the elder was worrying about. If they were usual mercenaries, they would have set up a camp in here first to rest and send people to investigate the surroundings. However, Rhode didn't need to do that. These Ophenians were too eager to get what they want—as was Rhode. It wasn't like he had never been to Unicorn Peak before; he knew this place like the back of this hand. It was just that he wasn't too sure if the Composition Adornment had something to do with these ruins, since players wouldn't waste their time here like an NPC to look at every fresco and the ancient writing in here.

If he came here alone, even if there was information regarding the Composition Adornment here, he still had to consider whether he had time to look for it. Since there were so many free laborers here, he certainly didn't mind laughing at their hard work. The sooner they found it, the better it would be.

"I will divide my people into two groups. I will lead one of the group to investigate the ruins first since it might be dangerous, and the another group will protect you. You can do whatever you want here, but I will say this in advance: if the situation gets too dangerous, I will definitely retreat. No matter what valuable things you find, it still isn't more valuable than your life, right?"

"Thank you for your understanding, Mr. Rhode."

Rhode's answer clearly exceeded the old scholars' expectations. They had brought their student across the continent and met lots of mercenary groups before. However, those mercenaries clearly didn't realize just how important their job was. Even when exploring the ruins, old scholars needed to work really hard to ensure that their research could proceed smoothly. Those mercenaries didn't even understand what those ancient languages and frescoes meant. They even looked at them in disdain. Holy Spirit above, just thinking about it made the old scholar felt sad. The history had given them so many treasures, but those mercenaries actually didn't know how to cherish or respect it.

At first, the elder thought that Rhode would be hard to talk to like those other mercenaries. After all, standing from each other's point of view, there was nothing wrong with Rhode's decision. They were risking their lives to complete the mission, but it didn't mean that they would sacrifice their lives so easily. Facing these unknown ruins, it would be strange for them not to be cautious. However, the elder just didn't expect that Rhode would actually be so considerate of himself and agreed to their conditions, which made these scholars feel relaxed. It was rumored that Rhode was a noble; at first, he didn't really believe in it, but seeing it himself now, he agreed. Only those knowledgeable nobles would understand the significance of those frescoes and ancient words, but...

Thinking until here, the old scholar began to feel a little uneasy, but soon he shook his head and threw aside his thoughts.

Their most important priority now was to complete their own duty. He would have time to think about it later.

After answering the old scholar's question, Rhode turned around and waved his hand toward his mercenaries. Soon, Shauna and Kavos arrived before him.

"Leader, what can we help you?"

"Let them tidy up. We need to keep going."

"Keep going?"

Hearing Rhode's words, the two of them couldn't help but feel surprised. They glanced at each other and Shauna decided to spoke first.

"But... Leader, isn't it too risky? This is the first time we've come here, and we still don't know what's inside. We should send some people to investigate first and see what happens..."

"That's fine too, but we'll waste too much time and I've already made my decision. You just have to follow my command."

Hearing Rhode's answer, Shauna and Kavos glanced toward each other once again. If Rhode were talking to other people, this kind of answer would have made them feel extremely dissatisfied. However, judging from their experience in fighting alongside Rhode, they decided to shut their mouth. No matter what, Leader once brought them to Blackrock Depth and killed the Devil; there's should be no problem here.

Because of that, Shauna and Kavos no longer said anything, even though they felt a little bit uneasy.

"Very well."

Seeing that both of them no longer questioned his order, he began to assign their duties.

"Kavos, lead your team together with me. We will investigate the ruins. Don't worry, I know the Unicorn Peak very well; there is no special or troublesome monster..." Having said that, Rhode paused for a moment, trying to remember the monsters in this ruin. Ah yes, there was no special or bothersome monster. Well, at least for him.

"Shauna."

After recalling his thoughts, Rhode quickly turned to the other side.

"You are responsible for leading the rest of the mercenaries and protecting those people. After we finish investigating the ruin, they are allowed to enter it. But you should be careful; don't let your people touch something that should not be touched. If you have any questions, you may ask Gillian. I will let her go together with you and if she orders anything, just follow her and think of it as my order.

"Yes, Sir."

Shauna just simply couldn't refuse Rhode's order. She was very clear that Rhode was very familiar with Gillian even though she had just entered the mercenary group. It wasn't just Marlene—everyone in the mercenary group felt that Rhode was more intimate when he was with her. He would sometimes laugh and joke with her, which something that he had never done with other people besides Christie.

Not only that, Gillian was also extremely strong. Seeing her fight last night was enough to make people respect her. Remembering those burning flames, Shauna couldn't help but shiver. Holy Spirit above, since she was born, she had never seen such a terrifying sight. The fire broke out and spread to every corner of the camp mercilessly, burning and turning everything into dust. Followed by Gillian's intensifying movements, the fire that seemed to burn the entire forest suddenly dissipated, as if the flames returned to her body and disappeared completely. Not even the slightest warmth was left; people couldn't help but to feel a chill down their spines.

Remembering that moment, Shauna couldn't help but shiver.

"Very well."

Rhode didn't know what they were thinking about. After making sure that there was no problem, he clapped his hands. "Now, let's get going."

In the meantime, he secretly issued an order toward Gillian on his mind.

... Remember, pay attention to those guys and Lapis, report to me immediately if something happened.

Of course, Master. Please rest assured; everything is under my control.

As usual, Gillian's reply was full of confidence.

Chapter 230: The Wind Clan

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

Deep in the forest.

Several naked people stood on the slippery grassland. The cold rainstorm seemed to have absolutely no effect on these people. They just looked down towards the four dead bodies that were lying on the ground with a pained expression. Rhode didn't have any respect towards the dead bodies. In the game, he usually left after searching the body for loots and the rest would be taken care of by the system. Ever since he came to this world, he had never changed that habit. He searched inside the bodies, and after making sure that there was nothing he needed, he turned around and left. As for their bodies? Wasn't leaving them there to feed the wolves the best choice?

The silence lasted for a long time. Finally, a Druid slowly sighed. He lowered his body to close the female Druid's eyes. He also stroked her hair and straightened her body. The people around him looked at him, and nobody spoke. They knew what that dead woman meant to this man.

So they had nothing to say.

After a long time, someone spoke out. "Don't be too sad, my friend ..."

"Sad!?"

Hearing these words, the man suddenly stood up and glared at the Druid who spoke and clenched his fist.

"Sad? No! I'm not sad! I'm angry!"

He opened his arms and roared aloud. The birds, who had been quietly resting in the forest, were frightened by the sudden roar and flew away. They were chirping and circling in the sky. This scene made the rest of them felt a little dissatisfied, but looking at the man's distorted expression, they chose to stay silent and say nothing.

"Whoever did it, I'll definitely kill them. I swear by my name and soul—I have to kill those *ssholes myself!"

"Calm down, my friend."

And at this time, another Druid spoke. His voice was as low as the billowing thunder in the sky. It echoed through everyone's chest and could not help but make everyone tremble. The Druid who had gotten angry and emotional was also stunned for a moment. He closed his mouth, but the burning anger in his eyes clearly showed his dissatisfaction.

"Anger is a poison; calm down. Don't let it affect your emotions. If you cannot see reality clearly, then your oath is no more than a joke. Now you have to calm down, and only after you have can you move on. "

Hearing these words, the man went silent for a moment. He bowed his head, clenched his fists, and went back to the crowd. Until then, the Druid who had spoken previously walked out towards the four bodies that had been neatly arranged by his twin brother and carefully observed them for a moment. Then, he spoke.

"What do you guys think?"

"The opponent's speed is very fast."

Soon, a Druid answered.

"We have checked the bodies; except for Brown Bear, everyone here was killed through their vital points. There's no sign of resistance or struggle at all..." Having said that, the Druid paused as if he was worried about someone, but he soon continued. "Even Red Hawk was immediately knocked down by the opponent and killed without any resistance."

"It doesn't seem to be a surprise attack." Hearing until here, the Druid that was observing the body shook his head.

"And judging from the wound, they were killed by the same weapon. The one who was attacked first should be Brown Bear, and the three of them were attacked not long after. I found Brown Bear's wolves dead nearby, so the opponent must have come in contact with Brown Bear first, and Brown Bear used the wolves to block the opponent so he could escape. At this time, the three of them came and were killed..."

Having said that, that Druid stood up and came to the side. He stretched out his hand and soon, the wild grass and vines grew and enveloped the four of them in. After doing that, the man lowered his right hand and continued.

"The opponent is only one person, but he has the ability to kill three Druids instantly. It's very rare to see such strong warrior. It seems that our previous judgment is incorrect. Among the Oriole's protectors, there's a Master Swordsman."

"And the opponent is very cruel and evil," another Druid said. He looked at the ground. It might have looked just like an ordinary ground, but no one would have thought that four dead bodies were buried underneath. Druids upheld their teachings to not commit suicide, but Brown Bear actually chose suicide. It meant that he would rather violate his own beliefs than get tortured by his opponents. It could be seen just how terrible the situation was.

No one spoke; they just looked at each other. The severity of the matter exceeded their expectations. Originally, the Druids thought capturing the Oriole wouldn't be a difficult task. But reality didn't go as they planned. So what should they do? Continue? Or stop here?

In fact, these people were well aware that the threat they encountered might more than just this. They also investigated the terrible fire that occurred in the camps nearby. Seeing it, they couldn't help but tremble. They couldn't understand why the fire seemed to have naturally dissipated, which was not normal. Even powerful mages could only release the spell—not control the spell. They could cast a fireball to set fire to the forest, but they wouldn't be able to take back the fireball they released. Logically, it was absolutely impossible. However, the traces that were left behind told a different story. Judging from the traces of the burning fire, it was huge enoughton burn half of the forest were there no interference from an external force. However, looking around, they couldn't find any trace of fire or ash.

To these Druids, this situation was extremely weird.

A strong master swordsman and a mysterious mage. This was enough to make the Druids fell cautious.

Because of that, they also felt indecisive. Besides the Druid who was angry because he lost his loved one, no one wished to move forward. Although it was their mission to track down the Oriole, if they couldn't figure out the situation and rashly moved forward, it might be them who would get buried next.

That possibility also existed, right?

"Egret, bring your clan to continue tracking down the Oriole. From these traces, they must have gone to the Unicorn Peak. I'm afraid they are aiming for the seal below the ruin. I want you immediately bring your people to follow them and prevent them from entering the ruin. However, don't go head-to-head with them."

"Yes, Elder."

A Druid replied immediately. Upon hearing his response, the man who was known as the 'Elder' nodded with satisfaction. Then, he walked towards the Druid who was shaking in anger while clenching both of his fists. The Elder reached out his hand to pat his shoulder and said in a low tone.

"Calm down, Vulture, my friend. Anger can't bring her back alive. We also suffer the same loss as you do, just rest assured. We will avenge her. Our companions' deaths won't be in vain. Our Storm Clan will surely destroy those who try to destroy us. Regardless of whether it's the 'distorted' or those with an evil mind, everyone will be punished. "

"I... I understand what you mean, Elder."

Hearing the Elder's words, he lifted up his head. His eyes were filled with anger.

"But, I beg you, please let me join Egret's team. I want to kill the person who killed my loved one myself. I promise that I won't disobey your order. I only... I only want to know... who killed my lover!"

Having said that, the man seemed to have gotten more emotional

"Elder, please agree to my request; I promise there won't be any problem."

"This..."

Hearing the man's words, the Elder hesitated. After thinking of a while, the Elder shook his head in the end.

"I can't agree to your request, Vulture."

"Elder!?"

Hearing this sentence, the man stepped forward as if he wanted to say something. But soon, he looked towards the Elder's hand, which was holding his right shoulder, in surprise.

"I understand your feelings, Vulture. I have always thought of her as my daughter. I know you are angry, but do you think I am not? I swear to the Holy Spirit above: I really want to kill the person who killed her immediately and let him taste my fury! But I can't do that now. Because I'm afraid; I'm afraid that once I find that person, I won't be able to contain my anger and end up attacking him. I don't have this confidence. That's why the only thing I can do now is to wait for news and hold my anger until the time for revenge comes... Do you understand now?"

"... Yes, Elder."

Hearing the Elder words, the man looked bitter and answered.

"I... understand."

"Very good."

Hearing the man answer, the Elder released the man's right shoulder. He clenched his fist and lifted it into the air.

"My companions, my friends! No one can ever go back after killing the people of our Storm clan. We will let them die under the Unicorn's Peak! But we can not forget our mission—we must not let anger cloud our mind. We must catch the Oriole to end the curse of our clan! Now... "

The Elder waved his right hand.

"Let's go!"

Chapter 231: The Sealed Place (1)

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

Splat!

Dark green blood spattered, falling on the ground as white smoke bursted up.

"Clean it up and get going."

Rhode put away his sword and calmly ordered. He completely ignored the mercenaries who looked at him. The mercenaries were stunned for a moment, then began to clean up the corpse in panic.

Originally they thought that they would only meet a group of goblins in these ruins. But when they entered, they found out that they were facing monsters they had never seen before. There were no goblins, no huge underground spiders, but rather creatures they had never seen before. They looked like a lizard, but the difference was that they were human-like, bipedal and could even use some basic weapons.

If it was just that, then they wouldn't be too surprised since there were so many strange creatures underground here. This kind of lizard perhaps was also one of them. However, the precious stones on their forehead clearly showed that they were not a natural-born existence.

When the mercenaries first encountered them, they received a little damage because they were unprepared. These lizards were more than two meters tall, with a strong and powerful body. Even though they were not wearing armor, their smooth scales were enough to block the mercenaries' swords. That was why these mercenaries weren't able to react until Rhode quickly issued an order to change the way they fought. Their group became a lot more balanced.

Even so, the thing that surprised them the most was Rhode. Facing a monster that was more than two meters tall, Rhode was flying in the middle of them like a shadow. Many mercenaries felt their visions turn blurry. After a while, those lizard fell to the ground just like that. Strangely, when they checked the corpses, they couldn't find any injuries on them. They didn't understand just how did Rhode killed those monsters.

"Kavos?"

"Ah, yes, Sir!"

Hearing Rhode call his name, Kavos finally stopped dazing off and quickly reacted. Soon, those mercenaries took out their knives and daggers and walked towards those huge corpses. Rhode asked them to take out the gems on those lizard's foreheads. Although they looked crappy, the gems on their foreheads seemed to cost a lot of money.

Rhode stopped looking at his subordinates and began to examine the ruin.

Unlike the Black Pine Ruins, the Unicorn Peak looked old and shabby. Besides some stone stairs, no artificial remains could be seen. Even the frescoes and sculptures looked extremely dusty. This made Rhode feel a little bit worried. If it was really as he had guessed, then wouldn't it take quite a long time to reach his goal?

If that was the case, then the loss really outweighed the gain.

But to his surprise, according to Gillian's report, the Ophenians weren't recording the ruins after they entered. Although they still did occasionally, according to Gillian, the Ophenians seemed to be looking for something.

This news made Rhode feel quite surprised. Did he guess wrongly? That the information regarding the Composition Adornment wasn't hidden in these frescoes, but in some kind of treasure chest? But this was too illogical. Rhode had gone to the sealed underground ruins on Unicorn Peak eighty to a hundred times. He was well aware of the loots here. If there really was a Composition Adornment design there, he wouldn't have needed to kill everyone in Ophenia back then.

But these Ophenians definitely wouldn't come to this ghostly place if there was really nothing.

However, there was still another possibility that the design of the Composition Adornment was never meant for players. According to game time, this time period should have been during the beta test. The majority of the players weren't yet familiar with the Dragon Soul Continent. There was no way for them to come to these ruins, located in the depths of the forest. At that time, the Dragon Soul Continent was the only online game that was based on "real-time", meaning the NPCs in the game lived just like ordinary people. They would go to work, live, and adventure when no one noticed. Of course, most of the NPC would be resurrected even if they died as consideration for the players.

It was possible that an NPC had come here for adventure and brought back the Composition Adornment design while players were still busy familiarizing themselves with this continent. It wasn't impossible since there were many NPCs that gave props and quests.

But if it were like that, Rhode had to change his plan. Originally, he was still worried about the Ophenians and didn't walk too far from the team behind them. But now, if they were actually "searching" for something, then he didn't have to wait for them and clean up all the monsters here. Afterwards, there should be no more problem.

In addition, Gillian also reported another thing to him. She said that Lapis was getting even stranger than before. When she entered the ruins, she seemed to have lost her consciousness and walked around like a controlled puppet. If not for Gillian taking care of her, she might have already wandered off somewhere.

As for Lapis's condition, Rhode couldn't really do anything about it. Since he wasn't a robot, he didn't understand the three laws of robotics. Since Lapis was an alchemist race, he wasn't too clear on what was happening to her. There was no other way besides asking Gillian to pay attention to her since he still had a lot of things to do.

"Keep going."

As Rhode was recalling his thoughts, the mercenaries finished taking all the gems from the lizards' foreheads. Rhode took a deep breath and issued another order. He pulled out his sword and continued to move forward.

Besides the torches hanging on the mercenaries' waists, the glowing plants that grew along the passage also emitted an icy light. Of course, Rhode did not forget to remind his subordinates to stay away from these glowing plants. According to the common sense of people on Earth, something that could shine without electricity was definitely not a good thing...

Save for the sound of the mercenaries' footsteps, everything was quiet.

But Rhode didn't miss the hissing sound hiding in the darkness.

"Kavos, get ready! To the left!"

Following Rhode's instruction, Kavos waved his hand. The mercenaries threw out several torches and retreated. With the help of the firelight, they could see the shadows of huge lizard men that had been hiding previously.

"Attack!"

The sudden light surprised the lizard men. They didn't expect that they would be found out by the enemy in this kind of situation. As a creature that had been living in the darkness, they, of course, couldn't stand such a strong light. They stretched out their hands to cover their eyes while hissing. Kavos took this opportunity to bring his men forward. In the beginning, Kavos used crossbows to entertain these monsters, but after receiving Rhode's instructions, he quickly realized that crossbows couldn't damage lizard scales. It was better for them to attack their weakness—their lower abdomen—at close range. After the lizards were plunged into turmoil, Kavos immediately took out a pair of knives and gave a signal to his men. Then, they rushed over towards the group of lizard lightning speed.

But Rhode was faster than them.

Kavos only felt a shadow flash from the corner of his eye. In the next moment, Rhode had already appeared at the lizards' feet. He raised his sword and thrust forward. The lizard failed to attack with its wooden stick and lost its life. Its body heavily fell to the ground.

This could be regarded as a very impressive scene for Kavos. Rhode's speed was so fast that even Kavos, who was a professional thief, was speechless. There was no way for him to keep up with Rhode's actions. He couldn't even accurately judge Rhode's position at that time. Whenever Kavos saw Rhodes, all he could find was the afterimage, not where Rhode was.

There were about thirty lizardmen lurking in the corner, waiting to ambush. However, in just an instant, Rhode had managed to exterminate the ten of them. The rest of the lizard men were still waving their wooden sticks to fight with the mercenaries. Their monstrous strength and slender tails were very dangerous weapons. Moreover, these cold-blooded reptiles were much smarter than the mercenaries had originally thought. They actually even know the basics of defense and offense, which made it hard for the mercenaries to easily succeed.

"Ha!!"

A mercenary shouted and swung his two-handed sword forward, but before it could pierce through a lizardman's lower abdomen, he was blocked by a wooden stick. His body shook as the strong impact of a sword made him unable to react. Suddenly, the sound of the wind passed through his ears. In the next moment, the lizard tail heavily hit him and sent him flying.

"Woah!!"

The defenseless mercenary heavily crushed the wall. The excruciating pain made him almost spurt out blood. As he forced himself to get up, the lizardman arrived before him, lifting the wooden stick in its hand.

Is this the end?

As he looked at the lizardman, his heart felt cold.

A shadow flashed.

Rhode leaped towards the lizardman's shoulder like a bird while waving the Crimson Tears sword in his hand. The translucent sword instantly cut through the lizardman's neck. The whole process did not even take two seconds, and Rhode had already turned around and assembled with the group.

The lizardman who had just been attacked threw his wooden stick towards the mercenary just before it fell to the ground. The wooden stick heavily hit the side of the mercenary and pulled him back to reality. Soon, after realizing what had happened, he immediately jumped up and rushed toward the lizardman that had attacked his comrades.

The battle was still far from over.

Chapter 232: The Sealed Place (2)

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

"Respond to our call... Lapis..."

In the void, the sound echoed and disappeared. In waves, the voice kept repeating.

"You are the future of the Behermes. You are our..."

"No... I..."

Lapis held her head, which was aching. The hazy voice kept echoing, making her feel uncomfortable. She never thought such a thing would happen. Ever since she arrived at Unicorn Peak, she found the voice on her head getting worse, ringing endlessly and ignoring her psychological defense. It entered her mind like a surging wave. Those emotions made her feel uneasy. She never felt so much emotion before. It was as if a lot of people surrounded her were shouting at her. There was fear, joy, anger, and sadness. It made her almost go crazy. She wanted to scream and stop those voices, but she couldn't.

Lapis knew her mission was very important and she had to persevere, but she felt drowsy and couldn't think straight. The voices were so chaotic, ringing in her head and making her almost go crazy...

"Little Lapis~~~~"

"Ah!"

When Lapis felt that she couldn't take it anymore, a gentle body hugged her from behind. Lapis subconsciously screamed in surprise. At the same time, the chaotic voices in her head seemed to get reduced, as if blocked by something.

When Lapis turned around, the first thing she saw was Gillian's beautiful face. Gillian was currently hugging Lapis from behind while shaking her tail.

"Why are you dozing off here? Everyone has walked to the front. If you continue to stay here, you'll get lost."

"Ah, I, I'm sorry, sister Gillian."

Lapis shrugged her body, trying to get out from her embrace, but soon, she stopped. She realized that when Gillian was by her side, those voices were suppressed and even completely disappeared. This made Lapis couldn't help but choose to rely on her. Just like a person who was about to freeze to death—they wouldn't mind if it was a volcano or dragon cave as long as they could find a warm place to avoid the cold.

"You don't have to apologize to me."

Gillian only grinned. After that, she let go of Lapis and held her hand.

"Let's go."

"... Okay, sister Gillian."

Lapis stayed silent, then nodded her head as she heard it.

The truth was, Lapis really envied Gillian. She was very clear just how humans looked at other races besides them—an artificial race. Ever since she was young, Lapis often got hurt because of this. It was the most painful memory of her. Since then, she had never shown her true self in front of anyone else, including Anne.

But Gillian was different. Although she had a distinctive feature that clearly differentiated her from human, she still revealed herself in front of everyone. She never seemed to mind and think about this issue. This made her felt really envious. She hoped that one day, she would be able to muster the courage to take off her cloak and show her real self in front of everyone. However, every time she thought about it, she felt afraid, remembering past memories, which made her felt uneasy.

She didn't know what she was supposed to do.

"It's here..."

Suddenly, a cold voice penetrated her mind and pierced through her heart. At the same time, those chaotic voices also seemed to have disappeared.

"My child, it's here. Come with me..."

"Ah..."

Lapis lightly shouted as she turned around to look at the dark, empty tunnel. At this time, Lapis finally realized that the surroundings were a bit too quiet. Originally, she was still able to vaguely hear the mercenaries' voices. In this kind of place, they usually called to each other to confirm the other party's safety. But now, there was no sound. Everything was silent.

"Sister Gillian, what happened? Si———"

When she turned around to look at her surroundings, her voice stopped. She was surprised that there was no one around her and didn't know what to say. What happened? Sister Gillian had been besides her. How did she disappear all of sudden? Lapis began to feel uneasy. She took a few steps back and leaned against the icy wall while anxiously looking around. She took an alchemical potion in one hand and a dagger in the other. Although she wasn't able to use them properly, it was still better than nothing, right?

Unfortunately, Lapis still felt insecure. She knew that she wasn't good at fighting. Even if she had legendary magic equipment, she wouldn't get. Lapis's fighting ability belonged to the absolutely harmless level.

To a mercenary, it was a very low evaluation.

"Come... my child... it's here..."

The voice sounded again. This time, Lapis hesitated for a while. She looked at the surroundings, but she couldn't find anything. The voice should have come from the depths of the tunnel. Should she go over there or stay here?

She had always been indecisive. She wasn't good at making decisions—it would be better if someone decided and she just had to follow it. This was the reason she thought Starlight was very comfortable. She didn't have to think about what should she do. She just had to follow Rhode's orders.

Now was also the same. Seeing this strange scene, Lapis actually wanted to look for someone to give her advice. Should she go there? Or just stay here? Was it a trap? What if something happened? Where did everyone go?

This question kept running around in her head. At this moment, the voice suddenly deeply sighed. "What are you waiting for, my child?

"... I... I don't know you..." Lapis shook her head, looking at her empty surroundings.

"This is your last chance, Lapis. As the descendant of the Behermes, you have to fulfill your mission."

"I... am here for that." Lapis finally mustered up her courage and answered. "But, but... who... are you? Why do you know... and where are the others? I was together with my comrades just now..."

"Comrades?" Hearing Lapis's answer, the voice's tone suddenly increased. But apparently, it did not intend to say anything about it. Instead, it sighed and skipped this topic. "You have disappointed us, Lapis. Have you forgotten? We are the Behermes; we are the forgotten. We can only trust ourselves. Do you understand this fact? Don't trust others; it's meaningless if you can't stand up for yourself and make your own decisions. "

The voice paused.

"... This your last chance. You are very important to us, but if you keep holding this attitude, then there is no need for the Behermes to continue... Now, you can make your choice. Come here or leave. This is your problem; you have to make your own decision. No one can help you. Either you choose your comrades or us—they are all the same.

"..."

Lapis didn't notice that the voice was slightly aggravating by the word "comrades". She only hesitated and thought for a moment.

Finally, Lapis looked up. She was firm, but still slightly timid. Why did she come here? Why did she abandon her beautiful days in Deep Stone City to suffer in this ghostly place? Wasn't it just for this moment?

For Father and Mother's last wish: the Behermes' revival.

Then there was only one choice she could make.

Thinking until here, Lapis took a deep breath. She could feel the smell of the muddy air enter deep into her body. She bit her teeth and clenched hands. She carefully turned around and walked towards the other side of the passage.

Her footsteps reverberated in the corridor. Soon, she was engulfed by the surrounding darkness. Lapis smoothly arrived at the end of the corridor, then turned around.

At the same time, a white light broke out and completely wrapped her in...

Chapter 233: The Sealed Place (3)

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

Something happened to Lapis again?

Hearing Gillian's report, Rhode frowned but said nothing. Since he had left everything to Gillian, he wouldn't change the original plan unless something big happened. Another reason was that he didn't have the time to handle it.

"Boom!!"

The fireball whistled and smashed heavily onto the ground, bursting open with a searing blast. Not far away, the lizardmen were shooting the arrows to the side. Although these lizards looked stupid, their skill with the crossbow was strong. Moreover, there were a lot of them. This large, high platform seemed to be a part of the ruins that was used for a ritual, but now it became a gathering place for the lizards. There were more than a hundred lizards here, and they were blocking the way of Rhode and his men. Not only that, there was also a more troublesome existence.

"Tch."

Rhode looked at the ugly-looking guy that stood in the middle of the lizards. It was the only lizard that wore clothing. It was dressed in a tattered robe and there was a crooked crown on his head. It looked like cheap cosplay, but the long stick in his hand was remarkable equipment. It was a shiny metal stick full of gears and traps. On top of the stick, three triangular stones were inlaid, emitting a soft magic glow as if they were interacting with each other. Even people who didn't know what it was could see that it was something that couldn't be underestimated. In addition, it was now showing its strength.

This was the first magical lizard they encountered ever since they arrived at the Unicorn peak.

Of course, they weren't technically able to use magic. If Marlene were here, she would be very dismissive. Obviously, this lizardman had a unique talent and was able to cast a little bit of magic, so it was possible for him to use magic equipment. But that didn't mean it was smart enough to learn magic. In fact, the lizard was only using the stick to release a magical bomb to attack them.

Although it was such crude attack, no one was able to lift their heads.

There were too many lizards, which was why even if their simple crossbows were enough to suppress Rhode's team of 30 people. Right now, the mercenaries were hiding behind the surrounding walls and corners to avoid the lizards' attack. They also occasionally raised their crossbows to counterattack. However, because the enemies were on the high platform, they had a distance and height disadvantage, so their attacks didn't do much.

It wasn't that Rhode had no other way; he actually could attack them head-on and rely on his commanding skill to ensure that the team would have the smallest loss with the maximum results. But he did not make that decision.

Reality and game were different, and this limited his movement.

In the game, he could command other players regardless of the consequences of the battle. As long as they won in the end, the people who died could be resurrected. However, it was impossible to do that in reality. If NPCs died, there would be no way to revive them. Rhode also had to take this factor into account when he was commanding. That's why Rhode usually stood at the forefront in every battle, As long as he had most of the pressure, his subordinates were less likely to be threatened and their chances of dying would be lower.

And this was one of the reasons why Rhode was trusted and loved by many of his mercenaries in such a short time. No one would be unwilling to follow a brave man who would always stand at the front and fight for his subordinates. Of course, they wouldn't have expected that the real reason Rhode did so was because of this.

"Sir, let's just attack." Kavos slipped to Rhode's side using his thief's skill and said. "We have already talked about it; we are willing to fight for you. We are no cowards!"

"To die for a group of idiot lizards?" Rhode wasn't satisfied with Kavos's answer. He frowned and stopped him. "What a joke. Your life is not that worthless. Continue to guard the surroundings and let them wait! It's not like we can't hold on!"

According to Gillian's report, those Ophenians were still deliberately trying to dig up some archeological excavations, but of course, Rhode had already taken them. He wanted to see what those Ophenians could get. But this was not a question he should care about.

"But Sir..."

Rhode's answer made Kavos a little moved. He was also very clear that mercenaries were human; even if they died, they would rather have a heroic death. It's not like they wanted to die in the hands of these stupid lizards, but now the situation was really tight. If Rhode didn't do anything, no one knew what might happen. Keep waiting? Holy Spirit above, only God knew how many arrows and magic these damned lizardmen had!

If Marlene and Lize were here, they wouldn't be this embarrassed. With their magic and spirit power, they would be to handle them easily. However, it didn't seem like Rhode regretted his choice. Since they were mercenaries, they needed to learn how to win in all kinds of situations instead of complaining. Even in the game, he asked the same thing of his comrades. Even if the Tank and Healer died early, as long as there was a last glimmer of hope, Rhode would never allow them to give up. It was not because he wanted to struggle, but because he wanted them to maintain such a mentality. Otherwise, they might lose some battles where they obviously should have win. Rhode had seen similar things. At that time, Starlight's second front-line team lost the battle because they were not familiar with the environment, resulting in the death of three Clerics. At that time, if the other members were willing to attack more, they might have still gotten a chance to kill the boss. But because of the death of these three Clerics, the other players became afraid that they might die because no one could heal them, so they chose to retreat. In the end, the boss that they suppressed went on a rampage and dealt great damage to them. The other two Clerics were unable to heal completely. It was only a matter of time until the entire team got destroyed.

Looking at Kavos's face, Rhode knew what his men were thinking about. In this kind of time, they needed to be patient. But if he didn't give a clear command and just let them blindly wait, the mercenaries' morale would soon reduce to the extreme. By that time, even if they wanted to attack, they still wouldn't be able to attack properly. Although it was okay to keep them waiting, it was also not the best choice.

"Tell the others that I will launch a counterattack in ten minutes. All of you have to follow my orders, and unless I issue another order, you are not allowed to attack. Understood?"

"Understood, Sir!" "

Sure enough, after getting a clear command from Rhode, Kavos's morale seemed to be heightened. Kavos quickly nodded, then turned away. Rhode turned his head and looked carefully at the lizardmen that stood on the platform. The lizardman that was standing in the middle twisted his body as if he were folk dancing. After that, he once again recalled the strategy that he used to conquer these ruins and he finally settled down.

He was still waiting.

Waiting for the best time for himself.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes.

Five minutes...

The rain of arrows began to lighten. Although the lizardmen were strong, they weren't robots. After attacking for a long time, their movements became slower. Many lizardmen were no longer shooting as wildly as they did before, and they began to choose to rest and regain their strength.

For Rhode, this was the best chance!

Now!

Another fireball was thrown and it heavily hit the floor. Rhode suddenly jumped out. He stretched out his right hand. Soon, a green card appeared in Rhode's hand and then, it suddenly shattered!

"——————!!"

Along with a crisp chirping, the Spirit Bird emerged from the sky. At the same time, the wind also roared violently.

"!! "

Facing this sudden attack, the lizardmen didn't have time to react. The wind whistled and the lizardmen staggered. The lizardmen that were not affected by the Spirit Bird attack quickly picked up their bows and arrows to attack the Spirit Bird. However, their arrows passed through the Spirit Bird and disappeared into the distance.

At this time, thunder emerged from the sky.

Boom!!

A lightning flashed and heavily hit the lizard crowd. Although they were physically strong and the Spirit Bird's lightning didn't inflict much damage to them, the deafening roar, vibration, and wind dust still made the lizardmen panic.

They had been shooting arrows intensively and paused at the same time.

Meanwhile, Rhode, who had finished his preparation, activated Shadow Flash and quickly rushed in!

Chapter 234: The Sealed Place (4)

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

The storm and thunder that the Spirit Bird released instantly suppressed the lizardmen's wild and offensive attacks. At this time, Rhode immediately activated Shadow Flash and Thousand Shadows. In just a blink of an eye, he arrived at the high platform. The red sword in his hand flashed in the air and he attacked the lizardman before him with the Blade of Destruction. These lizards were not very intelligent, and the Spirit Bird's sudden appearance was enough to make them panic. In addition, facing Rhode's ambush, they felt extremely scared. Rhode's Blade of Destruction actually had no effect on them, but upon seeing the sword attack, they immediately screamed in panic and scattered to the side, trying to avoid this attack. At this moment, these low-level animals began to get disorganized. They no longer cared about protecting the important figure that stood in the center and directly ran away.

Rhode flew past the lizardmen like a breeze.

He thought he might need more strength to get these annoying guys off, but he didn't expect that these lizards were more incompetent than he thought. Of course, this was better. No one would want their enemy to be strong and smart, right?

When Rhode arrived before the lizardman with the magic stick, it was jumping to the ground while holding its stick. It waved its stick while twisting its "slender waist" as if performing a folk dance. Seeing Rhode's appearance, the lizardman was clearly startled. It flicked its tail and was going to jump backward. However, how could Rhode miss such a good opportunity?

As the lizardman jumped down, Rhode swung his sword towards it. Seeing the sharp sword in front of it, the lizardman felt a chill. At the same time, it rolled back instinctively. This lizard man was really unscrupulous; it actually threw the stick at Rhode in order to save its life!

Rhode felt a little surprised as he saw this strange scene. He had never seen a boss who threw away their weapon in battle... Was it a trap? Anyway, this kind of question was meaningless to him. He dodged the stick and continued to thrust forward.

"Whoa!!"

However, the lizardman was quite lucky. It actually stumbled as it retreated, making it lose its balance. Once again, Rhode's sword passed him by.

What the heck is this?

Rhode was a little surprised to see that his attack failed. He had never experienced such a thing before. Fortunately, as an experienced player, Rhode had been accustomed to all sorts of unexpected situations. Though his sword failed to hit the target, he immediately rushed forward and kicked the lizard's belly with full force. The poor lizard shouted and fell unconscious.

Right now, he had no time to check whether it was dead or alive because, at this moment, the other lizardmen heard the lizard mage's scream. They immediately reacted and swung their weapons towards Rhode.

No matter how powerful he was, he still didn't want to be surrounded by so many lizards.

Facing the lizardmen encirclement, Rhode did not hesitate. He once again stretched out his right hand and a white card appeared in his palm. In a moment, a dazzling white light emerged. At the same time, he swung the sword in his hand towards the group of lizardmen. With a touch of red light, several lizardmen fell onto the ground. After seeing the death of their comrades, the other lizards also immediately slowed down.

However, that still didn't make their situation any better.

Celia suddenly appeared from the light. She spread her wings, raised her sword high, and immediately announced the fate of these lizardmen with her action.

"Now!"

Seeing the beam light before him, Kavos immediately reacted. He put his finger to his mouth and blew a whistle. Hearing this sound, the mercenaries, who had been waiting, immediately rushed forward from their hidden place!

The angelic maiden waved her swords, emitting sacred flames. The lizards, who had been besieged, were forced to retreat. At this moment, the lizards were shouting and jumping towards Rhode and Celia. They completely forgotten about the rear. The mercenaries, on their way to the platform, proceeded smoothly and arrived at the scene. There, they could see the lizardmen exposing their back towards them...

The next action was simple.

They actually dared to expose their backs toward the enemy. Although they had the advantage in number, their low IQ was a mishap. In addition, they were also unorganized. As long as the lizard mage fell to the ground, they were completely at loss, not knowing what to do. For the mercenaries, a group of panicked, helpless enemies weren't threatening at all ...

Soon, the battle was almost over.

The platform was filled with lizard corpses. They were lying on the ground and their blood was flowing out. The mercenaries picked up their bodies and dug up the gems on their foreheads just like before. As usual, they also sneakily turned around to look at the angelic maiden who stood beside Rhode.

It wasn't their first time seeing Celia, but seeing her suddenly appear at this place startled them. They knew that Celia wasn't a member of their mercenary group, but rather Rhode's subordinate, unlike Gillian. As an angel, she was also really mysterious and everyone rarely saw her. This time was also the same; they were sure that they didn't see Celia along the way here. So how did she suddenly appear here?

The mercenaries were baffled, but they had begun to get used to it after following Rhode all this way. People were just like this; if they always saw strange things, even if they did not understand the truth behind it, they also wouldn't think about it. On the contrary, they usually scoffed at new mercenaries who were surprised when they first saw them even though they had no idea what was going on either.

The reason these mercenaries were peeping at Celia wasn't because they were enticed by her beauty, but because they were worried about whether the Holy Angel would think bad of their actions just now. Although the lizardmen weren't human, digging up the gemstone on their foreheads wasn't a very good thing to do. The mercenaries were trembling and afraid of causing trouble. Luckily, Celia didn't seem to have any opinion towards their actions. She just stood beside Rhode quietly while closing her eyes. Obviously, she understood the principle of what remained unseen was deemed to be clean....

....

However, the look on Rhode's face at the moment was somewhat complicated.

Although he managed to get rid of the lizardmen, he did not feel relaxed. Instead, he was frowning while standing in the center of the platform. He was looking at the tall stone wall before him. It was about eight to nine meters tall. It looked very ordinary, and nothing seemed strange. However, he thought that this place was quite strange.

He remembered clearly that this group of lizards on the high platform was the boss. After the player killed these guys, they continued to move forward through a cave that led to the ruins below and continue fighting. But... the stone wall before him remained intact.

What about the cave? Where's the five-meter-high cave?

Rhode was baffled, but it confirmed his speculation that these ruins had been excavated by the NPCs before the players. But... where did that cave come from?

In the game, the passage looked very well-made, so the players didn't really feel strange. They only thought the platform was connected to the second layer of the ruins. But now it seemed really strange. Did those Ophenians dig a way out themselves? Wasn't that illogical? They weren't dwarves. Even dwarves, who were known as underground moles, needed a few years to dig a cave like that...

Rhode circling around the platform for half a day, wanting to find the hidden gear in here. But soon, he realized the problem and felt a little disappointed because the platform had been completely ruined by those lizards. It was really dirty despite still looking somewhat majestic and domineering from far away.

"Everyone, spread out and check the surroundings."

Thinking until here, he quickly issued an order. When the mercenaries heard his orders, they quickly nodded and scattered around. At this time, Rhode looked at the dark passage not far away from him and used telepathy to communicate with Gillian. Ever since she manifested, their telepathy had been limited to the normal level. If Gillian had something to say to Rhode, Rhode would be able to sense her mental fluctuations, similar to a ringing phone. This was also one of the reasons why Rhode chose Gillian as his Core Card. He couldn't stand her suddenly harassing him anytime and anywhere. Although she usually seemed quite clever and sensible, after interacting with her for some time, he could be sure that if he flirted with a woman or did something beyond that, Gillian would definitely jump out of nowhere and give him a surprise. Judging from her character, she would definitely do something like that.

Since he couldn't find any access to the entrance, he decided to give up. He informed Gillian to let those people come in. Since he couldn't find it himself, he wanted to see whether those Ophenians could find it or not. After all, players were only good at killing monsters and digging graves, not archaeological research...

Soon, the remaining mercenaries under Shauna and Gillian entered the podium.

The Ophenians, who saw the lizardmen corpses, clearly felt somewhat uncomfortable. Many of them frowned and showed their discontent, but were clever enough not to say much. At this moment, the grizzled old scholar came to Rhode's side.

"This... Mr. Rhode. "

"What's the matter?"

"It's like this. " Facing Rhode's inquiry, the old scholar hesitated repeatedly. At the same time, he looked at the angelic maiden who stood behind Rhode. The Ophenians thought angels held a special significance, but now was not the time for him to ask this question.

"This... I know it's a bit presumptuous of me to ask, but... if I may, could you have your subordinates clean up the podium and put the tattered bodies ... aside? Is it okay?"

Oh?

When he heard the old scholar's request, Rhode tilted his eyebrows. Then, he withdrew his gaze and began to look at the platform surface for the first time.

In his opinion, this circular podium was just an ordinary ritual platform, carved with mysterious patterns and symbols. It seemed disorganized and not some kind of magical array. But since the old scholar actually made this kind of request, his real goal was ...

"No problem. "

Rhode did not think for too long and soon nodded in agreement with the old scholar's proposal. After that, he waved at Shauna.

"Shauna, go tell the others to clean up the platform and everything, okay?"

"Here?"

Shauna was surprised upon hearing Rhode's request. But soon, she nodded and turned around. Seeing this scene, the old scholar no longer said anything besides a word of thanks to Rhode, quickly going back to the crowd to start his own work.

However, that didn't mean he had the leisure to rest.

Now, the most important thing was to figure out what happened to Lapis.

Chapter 235: The Sealed Place (5)

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

Rhode quickly found Gillian and Lapis. When he saw Lapis, he finally understood what Gillian meant by trouble.

At this moment, Lapis had totally lost her consciousness. The light in her eyes disappeared too, and she looked just like a dead person. If not for the fact that she was still breathing, Rhode would even believe she turned into undead or something similar.

"What happened again?"

"Her consciousness fell into a deep sleep. In other words, there's a virus in her system. But, in here, there's no firewall or a similar software that can kill the virus and protect her..."

It was really convenient to communicate with someone who had knowledge of his world. There was no need to use mysterious and complicated magic spells. The example that Gillian gave made him quickly understood what happened to Lapis. But why? He knew that the Behermes was a race that used alchemy and magic to improve their power. With the magical skills of this world, they should not have yet reached the point where they could injected a chip into the brain to control and stimulate the body, right?

"Although this is only my speculation..." While saying this, Gillian was currently touching Lapis's chest softly from behind like a pervert... But because Gillian herself was a beautiful woman, this scene would make some people get lost in thought. Of course, Gillian was using this opportunity to take advantage of Lapis while she was sleeping.

"I think that Lapis might not be an ordinary Behermes. You know that Soul Alchemy is a very high-level skill, right?..."

Hearing until here, Rhode nodded. Indeed, he had heard such a rumor before. It was said among the Behermes race, there was an ultimate alchemical prop called the Soul Crystal. However, unlike an artificial soul like the Gargoyle's Heart, the Soul Crystal was used to seal the soul of living person into a crystal. The crystal would be placed into the body afterwards. This was the core idea of Behermes research, which believed that a formless soul wouldn't be able to strengthen one's power. On the other hand, a soul with a form could be trained and transformed. So in other words, the Behermes had the idea of integrating CPU functions into the motherboard. It would be easy to increase the memory, replace the advanced graphics, or do whatever they want, as long as the motherboard was still inserted. It was easy, quick, and convenient.

It was the Behermes' idea to crystallize one's soul so they could attach it to more advanced alchemy and equipment. They could change their bodies at their own will and make themselves more powerful. They could also possess control and affinity for certain elements like elemental creatures.

This was once a rumor among a lot of players in the forum. If the rumors were true, then an alchemist would also have the power of a mage, the strength of a barbarian, the speed of an elf, and the wings of an angel with this new enhancement. Finally, a support class had enough power to roam around and create a new era of online games. Unfortunately, gossip was gossip, and after the players' painstaking efforts to find the original Soul Alchemy of the Behermes, they finally found out that only the royal family could understand the secret. There was no use in increasing the reputation among the Behermes because the secret of this alchemy was not perpetrated orally or in writing, but rather relied on the inheritance of blood and soul.

The players had no other choice but to give up this idea. Players started to live down-to-earth lives since they couldn't select the Behermes race when creating the character.

But that also meant .....

"Is this little girl a royal?" "

Looking at Lapis' slightly pale face, Rhode felt somewhat incredulous. He couldn't believe that this weak girl, who was wrapped in a cloak all day long, was actually Behermes royalty. Frankly speaking, there wasn't the slightest royal aura in her. It wasn't even close to Marlene's

However, now wasn't the time to evaluate whether Lapis had a royal aura or not.

"What's next?" "

"I tried to exert a psychological barrier before, to avoid her soul from getting invaded, but the opponent's force seems to have exceeded my expectations. Because my power is suppressed, I have no way to block the opponent's psychological attack, so she became like that...

Gillian no longer said anything. Rhode also noticed that her stopped wagging like usual.

"But let me remind you, Master. Whatever invaded Lapis's spirit is certainly unfriendly towards us..."

I see.

Looking at Gillian's right hand, which was placed on Lapis neck, Rhode finally realized that Gillian wasn't taking advantage of Lapis, but feeling the spirit that invaded Lapis's mind. The spirit seemed to be unusual, so Gillian deliberately wound Lapis around her. If Lapis suddenly became another person once she woke up from the coma, Gillian would be able to break her neck. Rhode had no doubt that Gillian would do it, but he did not know whether it was the right decision or not.

"Leaderl!"

When Rhode was still feeling confused, Shauna and Kavos suddenly called him from behind. Seeing their arrival, Gillian twitched her mouth and her tail floated to the front to block Lapis's body from being seen. Rhode turned around and saw that the originally messy platform had become a lot cleaner. The Ophenians were taking some odd things out of their backpacks and placed them in the hollow near the podium. Their expressions also looked very serious.

"We finished your order... but what the hell are those guys doing? "

Kavos and Shauna did not notice Gillian's strange behavior. They were just looking at the Ophenians who were walking towards the platform and placed a cone on it with a puzzled and surprised look.

"They told all of our people to leave and not to disturb them in their experiments. Did we come to this hellhole just to see them put on bricks? "

Kavos's expression clearly showed his dissatisfaction, and although Shauna didn't say anything else, it was clear from her expression that she thought the same

"Do not complain. We have taken their money, and let's not forget that we work for money ..." After saying until here, Rhode fell silent. He quickly recalled the passage to the second floor in his mind. Then, he lowered his voice.

"Inform everyone that they should stay vigilant, reorganize their formation, and guard the surroundings. These guys are definitely not here just to to put on bricks. Something unexpected usually happens in such an ancient ruin. I hope you are well prepared so there won't be any mistakes. "

"Yes, Sir." "

Hearing Rhode's order, Kavos and Shauna glanced at each other and nodded. After that, Kavos turned around to leave while Shauna stayed by Rhode's side as she looked at the podium.

"Have the Ophenians done anything strange, Shauna?"

Although he had gotten the information from Gillian, out of concern for his subordinates, Rhode still decided to inquire about this issue. Otherwise, it wouldn't be a good thing to give his subordinates the feeling that he wasn't valuing them. Since he left the matter to her, he should ask her for the results.

Sure enough, after hearing Rhode's question, Shauna showed a stiff expression. She slightly bowed, and then answered.

"Everything is going well, Sir. These Ophenian have not stayed too long in these ruins, but I feel like they are familiar with this place because I once saw their leader come up with a map and talk to the people around him. I didn't see it clearly, but I thought it was a map of the ruins. "

"Oh?" When he heard Shauna's answer, Rhode frowned. "What else did they do?"

"As for the other things... It doesn't seem to be a big deal, Sir. These Ophenians seemed to be very keen on collecting slate. They dug up a lot of slates along the way and collected them in their backpacks. It seems to be very important to them. "

"I understand."

After he heard Shauna's report, Rhode only nodded and fell into deep thought. This time, after giving the report, Shauna didn't stand in silence as usual. To the contrary, she worriedly looked around, then looked back at Rhode and said.

"Sir... I don't know if it's just a delusion or not, but I keep feeling that this place is not too safe. Not just this area, but I feel like there seems to be some danger approaching..."

Shauna's words were not yet finished, when the Ophenian who had finished placing the bricks shouted at them, telling them to leave the platform. The mercenaries quickly moved aside. The old scholar, who had been observing and commanding from the side, slowly came forward to the center of the high platform. He stretched out his hand and took a round, crystal ball from his bag.

Everyone, including Rhode, was watching this scene. After the old scholar took out the crystal ball, he placed in the center of the high platform. When the old man loosened his hand, the original crystal ball did not fall to the ground, but instead, it remained floating.

A chant sounded.

The old scholar spread his hands and shouted as if he were calling for something. Followed by the sound his voice, the round, crystal ball emitted a soft glow and shone through the surroundings. The light was focused on the top of the cone the Ophenian had placed on the platform. After that, the light beam began to move slowly. Like a searchlight, it flashed at the stone wall. These lights overlapped at the center and formed a dazzling light.

At this time, the crystal ball also emitted a sudden, dazzling light, pointing towards the center of the stone wall.

...

...

...

A minute passed.

Two minutes passed.

Five minutes passed.

Nothing happened.

What the hell is this?

The mercenaries glanced at each other, while the Ophenians showed a puzzled expression. Even Rhode felt surprised. Was there a delay?

No one noticed that, at this moment, Lapis suddenly opened her eyes and countless strange runes emerged in her eyes.

Then, she raised her right hand and pointed at the crystal.

Golden runes flew out from the tip of her finger and hit the crystal ball.

Chapter 236: The Sealed Place (6)

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

Countless rays of light instantly spilled out of the crystal ball.

The light caused everyone to squint. At the same time, they panicked because they heard a low growl. As they couldn't see, they didn't know what was happening, after all, the greatest fear was always the unknown. Whether it was the mercenaries or the Ophenian Researchers, everyone retreated slowly while shielding their eyes from the blinding light.

The bright light only lasted for a minute and everyone could soon see their surroundings once again after rubbing their eyes.

The mercenaries were evidently shocked while the Ophenians had a tiny glint of success in their eyes.

In front of them was a five-meter tall cave. Within it was a flight of stairs that extended upwards into the darkness. Oddly enough, the cave felt like a gigantic monster's mouth; the stairs were akin to its teeth, waiting to swallow its prey whole.

That's the tunnel.

Compared to the rest, Rhode was calm. From his perspective, the previous platform was the abnormal one whereas this was merely ordinary. Just when Rhode was about to give a command, Gillian's voice rang in his ears.

"Master?"

Rhode shifted his attention to the fox-eared lady by his side. Gillian spread her arms and made a helpless expression. While she didn't say anything, her gestures told Rhode everything he had to know.

Lapis had disappeared.

"What should we do?" asked Gillian as she maintained her usual expression.

If Rhode was recognized for his poker face, Gillian's smile was her iconic trait.

Although the situation had taken an odd turn for the worse, Gillian still displayed a warm smile as if it was just a minor concern.

Rhode scanned his surroundings again, but he couldn't find Lapis. It was weird though; it should be literally impossible for him not to know if Lapis managed to escape from Gillian. Furthermore, even if it were just Gillian alone, Lapis wouldn't be able to escape either.

While the fire elemental lord's level was adjusted to Rhode's level, her strength was still above level 20. Lapis was roughly around level 10, and for her to escape from Gillian without her knowledge was impossible.

However, Rhode wasn't dumb. He knew that the beam of light had something to do with her disappearance. Thus, the only place where she could have gone was...

Rhode lifted his head and faced the dark cave.

The answer was to his front.

–

Lapis opened her eyes.

"Where am I...?"

The woman observed her surroundings groggily while attempting to overcome the dizzy spell that came as a side effect after her 'disappearance.' Ever since she had been caught up in the beam of light, an intense headache wrecked her mind as though she was suffering from a terrible hangover.

After some time, Lapis finally gained control of her body and she soon began to think of her situation.

Where is this place?

Around her were dozens of sparkling crystal balls which floated in the air, releasing a colorful brilliance. Also, the space she was in appeared to be cube-shaped and was covered in black tiles which gave off a magical feeling. When she stared closely at the black tiles, streams of magical lights seemed to be flickering within, vaguely revealing pieces of strange writings. After a while, the writings suddenly disappeared.

"This is the central control room of the Behermes family. You're finally here, Lapis."

A low voice sounded once again, but this time it was different, the owner of the voice had finally revealed itself.

Dim rays of light emerged from a floating crystal ball and condensed into a human figure. The figure was roughly two meters tall and had slender arms and legs which concealed its gender.

"I represent all Behermians to welcome you here, Lapis."

Lapis stared at this figure of light and took a few steps back before asking carefully, "... You, you are..."

The figure of light appeared unaffected by her question and made a hand gesture while taking a few steps towards Lapis.

"I am the Great Spirit of Behermes, Rafah."

"Lapis, I know I am a stranger to you, but to me and us, you are a very familiar being. You must have known your fate and now, the time to fulfill your mission is here. Come, accept our powers and trigger your core. Today, the continent's first ever perfect Behermian will be born. The long tragedy of our family lineage will end now!"

Lapis felt uncomfortable after listening to Rafah. She gripped her necklace nervously, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath before suddenly revealing a serious expression.

"I am not here for that, Mr. Rafah."

"Oh?"

Rafah was somewhat astonished after hearing an unexpected answer from Lapis.

Lapis took two steps back subconsciously in nervousness. However, she eventually picked up enough courage to ask, "I want to know what will happen to me after I become a fully completed Behermes?"

"You will become the most beautiful being on this continent."

Rafah gave a smooth reply.

"You should know that this was the goal since the birth of the Behermes family, Lapis. Can't you feel the Spirit Crystal resonating within your body? It had been waiting for this moment — the moment to return to perfection."

"But, e-even if I complete the Behermes' Spirit Crystal, I am still alone."

If Rhode was listening to this, he would be extremely surprised because the woman who wouldn't even dare to raise her head and look at others actually dared to argue for what was right.

"And how can I revive the whole Behermes Family?"

Rafah didn't immediately answer her question. Instead, he stared at the woman with his cold, profound eyes. There wasn't anger, doubt, or curiosity in his gaze; rather, it was an icy-cold glare that suggested that he didn't have human emotions.

After a moment, Rafah let out a laugh.

"And this is why we chose you as the Behermes' Spirit Crystal. Lapis, you will become the first perfect Behermian woman and procreate a new generation of Behermian offsprings. Our Behermes Family will prosper because of you and our new generations will be able to revive our hopes!"

"Then... you mean you will give those people up?" Lapis inquired worriedly.

Rafah nodded without hesitation.

"That's right. Their time is done. Those defects can't give us what we want. But luckily we still have you, Lapis. You are the most perfect being within the Behermes Family. Now come forth, accept our powers and fulfill your destiny."

The figure of light extended its right hand.

However, it didn't grab onto Lapis.

"... I... I reject..."

"Huh? What did you say?"

"I said... I reject becoming perfect!"

Lapis lifted her head proudly and stared right into the figure of light for the first time.

"I'm not here to become perfect. I'm here to destroy it! Mr. Rafah, no matter who all of you are and what you want to do, I will not let you have your way. We are not your playthings or experimental tools. I am also not your so-called 'perfect woman.' The reason I am here is to eradicate the whole core!"

Lapis tore the necklace off her neck and lifted it high up in the air. Suddenly, dozens of lines filled with magic runes erupted and wrapped the woman. The figure of light's expression changed when he saw the necklace.

"Myriad Locket?! Lapis, you...!!"

"I, Lapis Behermes Filian Stanblanca, now summon the sacred being that had been protecting our family for the ages to destroy the core that had been restricting our family!"