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Chapter 345: Deciding Match (7)

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

The collision resounded in the arena.

The ice-cold shield struck her chest, which mercilessly ripped apart her skin and pierced into her.

Anne flinched.

But she stomped her foot forward to support herself. Then, she straightened her body.

Rosen knitted his brows and retracted his shield using the steel chains.

But what left him baffled was that the instant his shield came back into his hand, he felt an enormous strength that pushed him back. The shield also trembled non-stop and he even felt his left hand numbed.

She's so powerful?

Rosen dubiously scanned her from head to toe. Although he was exhausted from the continuous matches, he didn't think that he was weaker than a young lady in terms of individual strength. But now, this counterattack from her actually left his hand numb?

On the other hand, Rhode knitted his brows as he remembered ordering Anne to consume the 'Life Guardian Mixture'. Within 30 minutes, this potion would grant her invincibility as long as her brain or heart weren't lethally damaged. This was also specially prepared for Anne as he was aware of her insane fighting style. However, that potion was only used to guarantee her safety and wouldn't lead to her bursting with strength. How did this happen?

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At this moment, she lowered her head and concealed her face with her golden long hair. Although her expression couldn't be seen, a wild, dangerous aura exuded on the arena for some unknown reasons.

"Grr...."

She let out deep growls and her body trembled.

This is...

Rhode sulked and hurriedly turned to Lapis.

"Lapis! Did you give her anything else?!"

"Ah!"

As though electrocuted, Lapis jumped and gestured with her hands out of fear.

"N-Nothing, Leader, I didn't..."

"What did you give her?"

Rhode disregarded her explanations. After all, she was too bad in lying as her panicky reactions exactly gave her thoughts away. He didn't even waste a second trying to expose her and asked instantly. Facing his ice-cold stare. Lapis shuddered, lowered her head, and said softly, "It's... the Awakening Potion... Leader."

Crap!

The Awakening Potion was an extremely potent potion. In the game, this potion was treated as both an angel and demon due to the certain percentage of luck involved when consuming it. The description of the Awakening Potion was to 'Arouse and Awake the Hidden Strength of the Consumer', which meant that it would provide the player a certain chance to upgrade their level.

Of course, this certain chance wasn't high and after continuous experiments, the players dictated that the success rate was less than 10 percent. Furthermore, the amount of increased levels were also randomised. Some grew from between three to five levels and the most one player grew was ten levels, which was unprecedented.

However, this potion also had a side effect, which was similar to russian roulette; if one missed, the other would rejoice. Otherwise, not only would it not raise one's level, but it would also add an 'Enrage' buff that lasted for ten minutes. Within ten minutes, the player's attributes would multiply manifold and break through their limit. But, after the ten minutes were over, the buff would be replaced with a 'Weakness' debuff, which would lower the player's attributes to 10 percent of their original stats. There were only two ways if they wished to remove this debuff. The first way was to commit suicide and respawn, and the other was to get it cured by a High Priest. But that wasn't all. After the player successfully removed the debuff, their avatar would instantly drop from between five to ten levels!

Even the most masochistic player wouldn't choose this method to gain levels. With an abysmal success rate of less than 10 percent, and a 90 percent rate of dropping levels, one must be insane to use this method. Moreover, the formula for the Awakening Potion was rare and the required materials to craft the potion differed among players. Originally, Rhode never thought of allowing Lapis to concoct such a risky potion. However, never did he imagine that it was actually invented by the Alchemist Elves. Therefore, when Lapis first concocted this potion and showed it off to Rhode, his first response was to get her to throw it away. But, in the end, he allowed her to keep it as he respected her work and warned her to not give the potion to anyone under any circumstances without his permission.

But now...

To hell with it!

Rhode glared at Lapis for a moment before shifting his attention to the arena. At this moment, all he could do was to hope that Lapis' alchemy techniques would yield a higher chance of success. Alas, Rhode's heart sank after he discovered an irregularity in Anne's behavior. As an experienced player, he recognized the symptom one would face when the potion was about the fail.

A terrifying atmosphere enveloped the arena and not a single sound was heard. The trembles on her body turned violent and even Rosen twitched his brows in astonishment because he sensed a dangerous aura.

It's time to end this monkey show!

Rosen clutched his shield handle. After clicking on the mechanism, the embedded thorns were revealed and shimmered in ice-cold radiance. Then, he threw his shield out.

He gave all his might in this attack. Almost in the blink of an eye, the pitch-black shield arrived in Anne's face. But, it was this moment that Anne did something which left everyone dumbstruck.

She straightened her right arm and stopped the spinning shield.

"—!"

The shield stopped spinning and the sharp thorns pierced her palm. However, she didn't seem to be in any pain at all. To the contrary, she tightened her grip and clamped onto the thorns.

Then, a pair of furry ears emerged on her head. At the same time, a fluffy, big tail emerged from her back.

Right now, her pretty face appeared sinister while the crazy smile plastered across her face left everyone frozen. Her expanded pupils emanated a glaring, green radiance.

"Aowuuuu—!"

She looked up to the sky and let out an ear-deafening howl. She stooped over with her right hand tightly gripping the shield and tugged.

"This is...!?"

Anne's sudden transformation left everyone flabbergasted. Rosen took two steps back subconsciously to tug his shield back from her hands.

"Full of tricks!"

Rosen came back to his senses quickly. Anne seemed to have turned into a totally different person. Without any hesitations, she pulled her palm out from the steel thorns, somersaulted twice in the air, and landed steadily on the edge of the arena.

"Aowuuuu—!"

Anne looked at herself and let out another chilly howl. She lifted her right hand, extended her tongue, and lightly licked off the bloody wound. Her pair of green eyes emanated increasingly brighter. Not only that, but everyone also witnessed a green whirlwind emerging around her.

This is... the half-beast form?!

Rhode was baffled.

A half-beast was a mix between the human and beast bloodline, and because of this, they were in their human forms most of the time and would only transform into beasts after experiencing certain traumatic events. The reason was that when they faced danger, the beast bloodline would be stimulated and generally, beasts which could mate with humans and give offsprings were high in their levels and humans could never withstand the strength of the beasts' bloodline. Therefore, when the beast bloodline was stimulated, the half-beast would lose its human form and transform into a beast. This incident happened to Anne before where she became a huge wolf. However, this was normal as it was impossible for the human bloodline to be more powerful than the beast bloodline and it was only a matter of course for the latter to overpower the former.

However, in her case, to only reveal a portion of a beast's traits and maintain her human form was totally unimaginable. In a half-beast bloodline, the human bloodline had always been weaker than the beast bloodline as the human body couldn't withstand the powerful strength of the beast, which was why the beast bloodline chose to hibernate in order for the human bloodline to be kept under control. However, once the beast bloodline awakened, there was no authority left for the human bloodline anymore. Both bloodlines would immediately swap out—the human bloodline would hibernate while the beast bloodline took over.

It could be said that they were two extreme ends and there was no point of balance. Only Gillian was able to maintain her half-beast form, which was extremely powerful. She held pure elemental affinity and dominance over those formidable beastials. However, at this current state, Anne actually took on the half-beast form too? Furthermore, judging from the elemental powers surrounding her, did it mean that she could sense the powers of the four elements?

Rhode's suspicions weren't answered because at this moment, Anne struck.

She landed on her four limbs and leapt forward. In the blink of an eye, she emerged before Rosen and brandished her shield.

"Heyah!"

Rosen charged forward with his shields.

Two whistling whirlwinds once again rose from level ground from his shields. It was this particular move that thoroughly beat Anne and injured her heavily before. But this time, would Rosen be successful?

Anne had no intentions of giving up.

"—!"

The sound of ear-deafening friction resonated in the arena.

Anne gritted her teeth and her green eyes emanated even brighter. She forced her way through the powerful whirlwind.

Oh lord! What's with this young lady!?

Rosen never knew that his Storm Shielding technique could be destroyed by brute force.

Rosen's a goner!

Rhode exclaimed inwardly.

Although he wasn't aware of her beast bloodline source, he dictated that it was definitely from a wind elemental beast with elemental mastery higher than Rosen's!

Equally-ranked elements naturally cancelled out one another and now, they needed to compare which side was stronger. It was apparent that Rosen, as a pure human, wasn't comparable to Anne with a beast bloodline and a high-level wind elemental strength! Not to mention, Anne was fully awakened now.

"—!"

Anne dispersed Rosen's whirlwind with her shield and their shields collided. The powerful collision instantly erupted and blasted at him, which he quickly released his shields and retorted with his right fist.

Rosen's punch landed on her cheek and the strong force shook her slightly. But at the next moment, he regretted his decision. Anne glared coldly at him even though blood was leaking from her mouth and nose. Rosen thought that he was thoroughly in the claws of a crazy, dangerous, and bloodthirsty beast.

Indeed, at the next moment, his premonition came true.

Anne turned around and bit his hand. Her sharp fangs punctured through his palm and her green eyes shone.

"Argaaaaaaah!!"

As the saying goes, all ten fingers were linked to the heart, and even Rosen couldn't tolerate the pain as he screamed in horror and kicked her stomach. Then, he retracted his right arm—along with the splashed fresh blood in midair, he lost his index and middle fingers while his palm was mostly torn and revealed a ghastly sight.

However, Anne's aggression didn't stop.

After spitting out his fingers and flesh, she pounced on him and smashed her shield on his shoulder.

"You monster!"

Rosen was infuriated. As Anne tried to pin him to the ground, he reached out for his shield and thrust it into her stomach.

"Go to hell!"

Rosen snarled and pressed a switch on his shield handle.

"—!"

The sharp part of his shield which was supposed to stabilize firmly on the ground punctured her stomach instead and crimson blood spurted instantly. She stopped moving abruptly as though she were dead.

"Damn it!"

Rhode clenched his teeth. On the other hand, Lize and Lapis gawked with ashen expressions.

Is Anne—dead?

"Phew..."

Rosen let out a long breath. He didn't expect her to be so powerful to give him a tough fight —but it didn't matter anymore, since she was already dead.

Rosen let out a sneer and pushed off the corpse before him.

At this moment, Anne lifted her head all of a sudden.

The green radiance emanating from her eyes shone brighter than ever and her face had totally transformed into a beast in his eyes.

"H-How is this possible...!"

Rosen clutched his shield in attempt to fling her off. But this time, he felt that his shield was as though a thousand kilograms which couldn't budge at all. At this moment, Anne lifted the shield in her hand and her pupils abruptly shrunk.

"CraayMedon." (Slaughter Mode)

The shield in her hand split and re-assembled in a series of gear crankings. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a large, mechanical, wide-open mouth of a beast.

She held the shield with both hands and brandished.

"Noooo!"

Rosen put his hands out for defense, but it was all for naught.

Anne's weapon broke them and crushed his skull.

Bam!

Rosen's head ruptured like a balloon. The mixture of bones, blood, and brain splattered across the arena. His detached body shuddered and finally stopped moving after a few seconds.

However, Anne didn't stop. She kept smashing again and again at the headless corpse. Then, she tossed the weapon away and dug through his thick armor and chest with her bare hands. She searched and eventually narrowed her eyes as though she found something that she wanted.

Anne pulled herself away from the shield that punctured her stomach. Then, she stood high and mighty with her right arm in the air.

A bloody heart that had stopped beating was in her hand.

Green radiance emanated from her eyes and she raised her head to the sky.

"Aowuuuuuu—!!"

"—!"

She crushed Rosen's heart into bits and it splattered all around her.

Then, she swayed and collapsed to the ground.

Chapter 346: Deciding Match (8)

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

Silence fell upon the arena.

Death finally claimed its first victim. No one expected Rosen to end in such a gruesome way.

Rosen's mangled corpse laid on the ground. His ribs protruded from his ruptured chest. The place where his head was supposed to be was now a bloody mix of bone and brain juice.

"Eaagh!"

Those who had poor mental strength threw up, and some women even fainted on the spot. The arena turned chaotic, forcing the battle angels to intervene as they swiftly restored order to the masses by sending those who were unwell out of the arena.

Waltz stared blankly at Rosen's corpse. Although Waltz disliked Rosen's stubbornness, his presence was a 'beacon of hope' for both the Reformist Party and Liberty Wings. Now, their 'beacon of hope' laid motionless on the floor.

When Waltz witnessed the fall of Rosen, a throbbing sensation came crashing into his brain. This was the first time that fear overwhelmed the rage in his heart. His son turning into an idiot was one matter, but Rosen's death would shake the foundations of the entire Southern Reformist Party! He had no idea what his superiors would do, but he knew that Liberty Wings was doomed one way or another. Waltz didn't know what would become of the largest Southern guild without Rosen. At this moment, he suddenly felt tired. He was absolutely tired of everything!

Due to this, as Rhode carried Anne off the arena, Waltz still had a blank expression on his face.

"Sir! Are you still in a daze?!"

A young man came out from nowhere and shook Waltz's shoulders as he shouted in Waltz's ear.

"Sir! Sir Waltz! Pull yourself together! They only have one man left. As long as we finish him, we can avenge Sir Rosen!"

"That's right!"

Waltz finally regained his clarity when he remembered that Rosen had defeated three people before his death. It also appeared that the woman beside Rhode was unable to battle. This meant that Starlight only had Rhode left! Once they defeated him, Liberty Wings would still be victorious!

That's right! No matter how strong that young man is, he's only one person!

Hah! They used such underhanded tactics to consume Rosen's strength, and now their despicable tactics are biting them back!

At this moment, Liberty Wings had four more participants including Waltz and Marc who had Master Stage strength. The other two were also at the peak of the Advanced Stage. Even if they hadn't completed their advancement, they still could pose a certain degree of threat towards Rosen. If that was so, perhaps they could defeat Rhode?

The more Waltz considered his chances of winning, the more confident he became. He expressed his gratitude by tapping the young man on his shoulder and said, "You're right Marc." Then his eyes swept over the other two men, "Although Sir Rosen fell, he already helped us to remove several obstacles. We have to show our gratitude to him by showing him that we're not cowards! He sacrificed his life to protect our Liberty Wings' honor, we must do the same! Men! Do not forget our motto! Defy any threats and violence, strive for liberty and justice, obtain everything that belongs to us! This is the foundation of our guild which was passed down by previous generations of leaders. Now, people under the Liberty Wings flag—"

Waltz turned around and stared at his many supporters behind him. Most of them were made up of Liberty Wings members. When Waltz turned to look at them, many lifted their heads in response.

"—I will swear upon my life that we shall continue to uphold the Liberty Wings flag! We shall risk our life and wealth for the glory of victory til our death!!"

"Yeah!!!"

The Liberty Wings members shouted and raised their fists into the air.

"Hmph, useless chatter."

Rhode snorted in disdain. He stepped towards the side of the arena and laid Anne carefully on the ground. After awakening her attributes, the half-beast blood in her body quickly repaired her wounds. Even the terrifying injury on her stomach had begun to heal.

Right now, Anne had already shed her ferocious form and her body curled into a ball as she fell into a deep sleep. The blood stains on her delicate face appeared exceptionally conspicuous. However, the little lady was nevertheless serene and adorable.

"Will Anne be okay?"

Lize asked Rhode softly as she gingerly wiped off the blood stains on Anne's body, but contrary to her expectations, Rhode didn't reply. Instead, he gave a long sigh and silently returned to the arena.

Rhode was gloomy. He could imagine what would happen to Anne after awakening from her slumber. For her, it would be a massive blow to her self-esteem. If it happened to a player, he or she could easily create a new character without much trouble. But as for Anne, she didn't have such an option. So how would she cope with the loss of her strength?

The thought of this gave Rhode a major headache; it was so bad that he didn't even bother to concentrate on the battle which was about to begin. So what if they had four men left? Did they think that they would be able to win?

Meanwhile, a swordsman stepped into the arena.

When the swordsman discovered Rhode's gloomy expression, he secretly laughed to himself. Of course, he had no idea that the reason behind Rhode's expression was because of Anne's situation. He thought that Rhode finally realized the gravity of his plight — that he was outnumbered four-to-one even though he managed to defeat Rosen.

The swordsman sneered as he unsheathed his long sword. Rhode lifted his head and glanced at the man casually as if he was looking at a dead man.

"Alright, let's begin. I don't have time to waste on you."

Rhode stood in the middle of the arena and hooked his index finger, beckoning the swordsman to hurry up. All this while, Rhode had his right hand resting casually on his sword's hilt as though he had no intentions to draw his weapon.

At this moment, the audience finally realized what was happening and began to clamor. Indeed, Rhode had defeated Rosen, but if he failed to clear the other four members, Starlight would still lose in the end. Ultimately, it all boils down to the critical question of whether Rhode could defeat the four of them consecutively.

No one was willing to believe he could, or perhaps they didn't wish to believe in it. It was no surprise that they had such thoughts because after all, Starlight's performance didn't leave a positive impact on them. He used shameless tactics such as sending men to drain off Rosen's strength and then killing him off in a cruel manner. No matter what, Rosen was over sixty years old, how could he even treat a senior this way? Was he still a human?

Of course, Rhode didn't care what they thought of him. As he had mentioned before — he didn't need honor or glory in this midsummer festival as long as Starlight was the final victor. He would utilize any unscrupulous means to achieve his goal, even if it meant throwing away Starlight's honor.

As far as Rhode was concerned, the most threatening opponent from Liberty Wings was Rosen. The others were just cannon fodder. As long as he could defeat Rosen, Rhode was confident that he could take on the other four by himself. This was also why he didn't respond to Rosen's taunts. Rosen's defense was almost perfect, and Rhode hadn't possessed the strength of a Legendary just yet. Even though he could rely on his set effects to weaken Rosen before killing him, the aftermath would leave him without any strength. If that happened, then that would be the end of the midsummer festival for Starlight.

That was why he had chosen to use a shameless tactic. First, he would send out Lize to disrupt Rosen's rhythm. Next, he would send out Randolf and Joey to exploit the weakness of this walking tank. And lastly, he would use Anne to diminish his strength. If she was lucky, she could perhaps finish him off during her turn. Nevertheless, even if she failed, she would've served her purpose. Rhode would then take advantage of his exhaustion to finish him off.

He wouldn't 'respect the old and cherish the young' in such circumstances.

Anne's performance was exemplary and exceed Rhode's expectations by far. As such, he was able to save up more energy, which made his life easier when he had to deal with the remaining four after killing Rosen. Perhaps to Lize and the rest, the remaining four were tricky opponents to handle, but Rhode had never put them in his eyes. They just didn't possess a solid defense like Rosen — which was primarily the reason for Rhode's headache.

The swordsman clenched his teeth when he heard Rhode's provocation. Rosen held a high status within Liberty Wings. Almost everyone in the guild worshipped him in reverence. He was a respected hero and also a symbol of hope within Liberty Wings. However, he was killed by this scumbag with the most despicable method. Furthermore, Rhode had no sense of remorse and no respect for the dead.

I will avenge Sir Rosen. I will let you taste the result for belittling us!

The swordsman's complexion grew ashen; his eyes burned with a scorching flame. He lifted his sword slowly and pointed it towards Rhode.

Then, the swordsman snarled and sprang forward in a flash.

"Go to hell!!"

The audience immediately cheered when the swordsman initiated the first strike. Many of them wished for the swordsman to kill this despicable bastard and reclaim their honor.

Rhode had to agree that the quality of guild members was so much different as compared to mercenary groups.

The sword tip was inches away from Rhode's face, yet he had no intentions of dodging. Instead, he stretched his left arm and swung to the front.

A black card flew out from Rhode's hand.

Clang!! A deep, metallic sound reverberated throughout the arena as the heavily-armored Centaur Knight emerged out of nowhere. Facing the aggressive swordsman, the Centaur Knight roared and brandished his shield.

The swordsman didn't expect that an odd monster would appear right in front of him without warning. In a panic, he quickly thought of retreating. But before he was able to escape, the Centaur Knight's shield came crashing down on him. The swordsman knew that he couldn't dodge it in time, so he had no choice but to use an attack to negate as much impact as possible. He swung his sword with all his might towards the fast-approaching shield.

A bright flash emitted from the sword tip, leaving a long, white mark on the Centaur Knight's shield and the impact forced the Centaur Knight's body to slant to the side. However, as a summoned spirit, the Centaur Knight didn't bother about its injuries. Therefore even though the blade had injured its shoulder, it continued to charge forward with its spear.

"What in the world is this thing?!"

When the swordsman witnessed how the Centaur Knight disregarded its injuries and continued charging towards him, he panicked again and leaped backward to dodge the attack. But before he could land, the swordsman suddenly felt a cold, hard object lodged in his chest. Like a puppet with its strings cut, the body convulsed for a moment before collapsing onto the ground, never to wake up again. Rhode eventually revealed himself behind the swordsman's corpse. He coldly gazed at the body before flicking his sword to a side.

Fresh blood flew off his sword and splattered onto the floor, and at the same time, the Centaur Knight disappeared into a dark mist.

The crowd fell into silence once again.

It was as though someone suddenly gripped their throats — all of the lively cheerings disappeared in an instant. The audience turned and looked at each other in dismay before slowly turning their gaze back to the arena. Their confusion was the same as the dead swordsman. How did a Centaur Knight suddenly appear? And how did it suddenly disappear again?

What exactly is going on?

At this moment, some of them recalled the fight between Rhode and Barter. At that time, it had been a highly discussed topic but was eventually concluded as Rhode having magical equipment to summon spirit beasts. After all, many ancient noble families would have their stash of mysterious treasures, so it wasn't too far-fetched for Rhode to possess a magical equipment to seal spirit beasts and command them as he wished.

But now, the appearance of the Centaur Knight was beyond their expectations. Disregarding the fact that it could ignore its injuries, the audience noticed that Rhode didn't even have to chant a spell to summon it. Many witnessed how the Centaur Knight appeared out of nowhere and blocked the swordsman's attack. Moreover, neglecting Rhode was the last mistake he could make in his life.

Even though it was only in a split second, but it was enough for Rhode.

"Hmph."

Rhode snorted at the sight of the corpse before returning to the middle of the arena. Then the members of the Mercenary Association came and brought the corpse off. After a short while, another man stepped up. It was another swordsman. This time, this swordsman appeared to be in his forties and was equipped with a sword and a shield. At this moment, his face was filled with uncontrollable anger as his comrade had once again failed. That wasn't all, his anger also was due to Rhode's peculiar fighting style. Before the competition, they had never expected Rhode to fight with summoned spirits even though they heard the rumors about the battle between Rhode and Barter.

He didn't think that his comrade's loss was his fault because, in his opinion, swordsmen should settle their fight with honor. And now Rhode was using despicable methods to kill his comrades.

"You... this despicable man!"

He lifted his sword furiously and pointed towards Rhode.

"You only know how to use these treacherous methods. If you have the balls, then fight me fair and square with your sword! And not—"

"Tch."

He didn't manage to complete his sentence.

A huge, shining bird extended its wings to the skies.

A dark hound roared by the side of Rhode.

And the Centaur Knight once again emerged from a black mist, pointing its spear towards the swordsman.

With his summoned spirits surrounding him, Rhode lifted his head and gazed upon the swordsman in contempt.

"On one hand you said I am despicable and shameless, and on the other hand, you want me to fight you fair and square... That's some logic you got there. So, since I'm despicable and shameless... why would I be stupid enough to fight you fair and square?"

Rhode lifted his right arm and snapped his fingers.

"Finish him," Rhode said coldly.

Chapter 347: Deciding Match (9)

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios#

It was totally a one-sided battle.

Before he could touch a strand of Rhode's hair, he was already beaten black and blue. He was utterly suppressed even though he was much higher in level than the three spirits. The Centaur Knight, Spirit Bird, and Black Hound were elemental creatures which held unique elemental abilities, making them incredibly tough opponents.

"Ooahh!!"

The swordsman flew backward. His shield was smashed into pieces and his handguard cracked. However, the man had no time to worry about his arm before a scorching flame shot towards his location. He hastily pushed himself off the ground and flipped backward.

Bang!! Black flames seared the ground and exploded into a series of bright sparks which flew past the swordsman. While the swordsman survived the fatal attack by a hair's breadth, he didn't have the luxury of time to count his blessings. He rolled forward, jumped and slashed downwards immediately.

"—!"

With a screech, the approaching Spirit Bird hurriedly flapped its wings to avoid the swordsman's attack.

Damn it!

After his attack missed the Spirit Bird, the swordsman glanced towards the back where Rhode was. Rhode was still standing at the same place with his hand on his sword hilt, gazing at him without any expression. Although Rhode didn't attack him like what he did to his companion, the pressure on the poor swordsman was still quite overwhelming. After all, summoned spirits weren't afraid of death — even more so for the Black Hound which appeared rather exhilarated that it could self-destruct when it died.

What should I do? What should I do?

This question had haunted the swordsman's mind continuously before he finally saw the light of hope.

Oh, that's right... why don't I just give up?

Yeah... since that bastard is always trying to kill me, wouldn't it be better if I just surrendered?

Didn't those shameless bastards do the same?

Moreover, technically these weird creatures shouldn't be my opponent.

Yeah, that's it.

Excuses flashed through the swordsman's brain as the Spirit Bird retreated. Once again, the fully-armored Centaur Knight charged forward with its spear lunging forward with a sharp, whistling sound.

Now's my chance!

Watching the aggressive Centaur Knight charging towards him, the swordsman's heart sank. He barely dodged by grinding his sword to the side of the spear, using the momentum to bend its trajectory. In one swift motion, he utilized the force to jump back to the edge of the arena.

The swordsman displayed his rich battle experience in one move. He deflected the Centaur Knight's spear and used its large body to block both the Spirit Bird and the Black Hound while he retreated.

It was an ingenious move indeed. Once he landed on the ground, Rhode's plan to kill him would undoubtedly fail.

While it was true that the three summoned spirits weren't able to stop him from retreating, it didn't mean that Rhode couldn't. Suddenly, dozens of tentacles emerged from the swordsman's shadow and bound his limbs tightly.

"Eh?"

The swordsman's expression turned from glee to confusion. He stared blankly at the black shadows emerging from the darkness as it wrapped around his body tightly. His mind was in total disarray. He didn't know what to do and thus, froze in place.

However, there was no need for him to know any longer.

A searing heat emanated from the back of the swordsman's head. He turned around instinctively and saw rows of ferocious teeth clamping down on his throat.

The razor-sharp teeth easily sank into the swordsman's skin and punctured his esophagus. Just like that, the poor swordsman lost his life without a struggle.

The tentacles withdrew into the shadows, and the corpse of the swordsman fell headfirst to the ground — perhaps if he was still alive, the impact might have snapped his neck, but this outcome didn't mean anything to a dead person.

Rhode snorted and tapped onto the hilt gently. The three summoned spirits disappeared into nothingness.

Everyone knew that this match was entirely one-sided as Rhode didn't even move an inch. Rhode just leisurely stood in the center of the arena and admired the performance of his summoned creatures. Rather than a contestant, he displayed a demeanor that was more likely to be similar to a VIP in the audience.

"That's unfair! That's cheating!! Cheating!!"

Some people within the crowd began screaming in dissatisfaction. And in a blink of an eye, the entire arena was thrown into a frenzy.

"That's right! That's cheating! Disqualify him!!"

"He defiled the honor of this holy arena!!"

"Get him off! Get off! Get off!!!"

In an instant, Rhode became the target of insults in the entire arena. Since the start of this competition, his performance was despised by the audience. But as a participant, he had no intentions of having a fair play. Not only did he rely on such schemes to gain victories, he even prevented his opponent from leaving the arena. This sinister behavior left everyone raging.

"This bastard..."

Viktor let out a bitter smile and shook his head. Frankly, Viktor didn't think that Rhode's methods were wrong. Although the midsummer festival limited the matchup as one versus one, it didn't restrict the summoned spirits. Also, mercenaries weren't angels. Their honor wasn't just about fair play — victories were just as, if not more, important to them.

Victories had a significant meaning to mercenaries. Even Rosen did something similar previously. Before Joey and Anne surrendered, he attempted to prevent them from leaving the arena. Therefore, objectively, both sides were just playing the same song with a different instrument. The only difference between them was Rosen failed, and Rhode was successful.

However, Rosen was now dead, and Rhode survived. Therefore the crowd could only pin all their hatred on Rhode. It was apparent that the majority of them were biased against Rhode as they hurled insults one after another, but when they noticed Rhode's nonchalant expression as if he didn't seem to care at all, it made them even more furious.

Humans naturally possessed a strong confrontational psychological trait. Therefore, their insults gradually grew in volume and explicitness when Rhode ignored them. Rhode, on the other hand, merely placed his palm on his hilt and waited for his next victim.

"This kid is so determined."

Barter frowned and cupped his ears as he looked at Rhode. He thought that Rhode was quite worthy of respect. However, he shook his head shortly afterward.

"It's such a pity that we can't be like him..."

"Yeah..."

Victor also shook his head as he agreed with Barter. After all, they were the figureheads of their own respective regions. They carried the hopes and dreams of many individuals. If they didn't appear honorable and chose to act like Rhode, their supporters would be unhappy.

Even though most mercenaries only cared about the results, they couldn't ignore the feelings of the people. Just like Waltz — although he didn't discriminate the determination and cautiousness of Rosen when he faced Lize, the problem lies in the freedom to act independently.

Of course, Rhode wasn't afraid. As a leader of a mercenary group, he didn't have many supporters anyway. Since the start of the midsummer festival, most of the people here were his enemies, so he didn't have to worry about whether his techniques were shameless or dishonorable as he didn't have any supporters — not like he seemed like he needed any anyhow.

Rhode couldn't care less about the insults the audience threw at him. He quietly studied the young man who was wearing a shiny armor with a Liberty Wings Guild Emblem. The young man's handsome face was somewhat frowning when inspecting his companion's corpse. He made a soft prayer and picked the body. Then he made an intense look towards Rhode.

Rhode's brows raised when his eyes locked with this man.

Back in the game, Rhode had fought with this young man before in the midsummer festival. Marc, the rising star of the Liberty Wings Guild was the fourth contestant.

Marc was a young genius who was only in his mid-twenties. He was already halfway in the Advanced Stage. While this wasn't something incredible within the Liberty Wings Guild, still, he would probably reach Master before the age of thirty.

In the game, Marc led Liberty Wings in the midsummer festival as one of the three vice-leaders and caused major headaches for many players in the arena. He handled matters calmly and possessed a superb swordsmanship that other NPC swordsmen didn't have. Just this point alone would prove to be troublesome for Rhode.

Presently, Liberty Wings was supposed to be represented by him. But somehow, due to Rosen's appearance, Marc lost his chance to shine, and he detested Rosen for that.

One trait that young men had was rebelliousness. Although they might be afraid of authority, they wouldn't submit to them. Even though Rosen was a senior and well-reputable, Marc, as a young man, had the capacity for growth. Thus, he didn't wish for an old man to snatch his rightful position and honor. Moreover, Marc did have the qualifications to lead the Liberty Wings. Rhode recalled that after Marc took the reign, in less than a year, he managed to conquer the entire Southern Region. Furthermore, he also became part of the pioneer army between the battle of King's Party and Reformist Party.

If possible, I really want to get rid of him here...

Rhode maintained his composure as his right hand rested on his hilt.

However, to Rhode's surprise, all Marc did was shoot him a few glances and carried his companion back to his team. Then as he left, another mercenary stepped onto the arena which clearly was the next challenger.

He won't be fighting?

Rhode frowned for a moment before quickly releasing his hand from the hilt.

There must be another chance.

Waltz stared blankly at the arena.

At this moment, the arena wasn't as rowdy as before. The audience seemed to have calmed down. Perhaps it was because of them spending all their energy on dissing Rhode who clearly wasn't affected at all.

Rhode once again cruelly finished off the new challenger quickly and efficiently. This time, he didn't even offer a chance for the opponent to escape as he summoned the three spirits to corner him and personally shredded the poor man to pieces.

This time, the audience had no energy to insult Rhode anymore.

The situation appeared to be unfavorable for Liberty Wings.

This time, there was nothing but silence among the remaining Liberty Wings contestants. Waltz's attempt to raise morale had failed miserably. Initially, they were still angry at Rhode for killing Rosen, and they were still optimistic about remaining strength.

But as one comrade after another fell, no one thought this way any longer. After Rosen, Rhode had consecutively eliminated three challengers, and it was clear that he still had energy to spare. Rhode's weird fighting style also made matters worse.

The mercenaries of Liberty Wings wished that they could kill Rhode, but his skills and abilities were unmatchable. They weren't even able to drag the battles to reduce his energy. So what could they do?

The corpse being carried away indicated that the final battle was about to begin.

Waltz tidied his bearings, at the same time, he glanced down at his bracelet. That was his final ace. He was hesitant to use it, but he knew that he had no choice now. He had to use it to kill Rhode.

Only this bracelet could allow them to see the dawn of victory.

Even if they were to pay a significant price for it, Waltz wouldn't hesitate to do so.

Waltz lifted his head and moved towards the arena.

"Mr. Waltz, you're finally here. What a rare sight."

Rhode nodded towards Waltz and said casually. In response, Waltz's complexion slight sunk.

"Hmph, cut your crap Mr. Rhode. You and I know that we're not here to chit-chat."

"You are right, Mr. Waltz," Rhode replied as he drew the Crimson Blade from his waist swiftly.

"I'm here to fulfill what I promised. Now, you're the final one..."

Waltz wasn't agitated by Rhode's words. Instead, he gave a slight smile and gazed towards Rhode.

"You sure are confident. Do you really think you can defeat me?"

"Eh?"

Rhode pricked his brows in response.

Rhode had displayed his strength, and furthermore, Waltz's abilities were inferior to Barter's, so Waltz should know that he doesn't stand a chance. But now, where did his confidence come from?

Rhode scanned the surroundings swiftly, but he didn't discover anything strange.

Is he deliberately trying to confuse me? Or does he have a hidden card?

"That goes without saying, Mr. Waltz? Or perhaps do you have a secret weapon?"

"You'll know soon."

Waltz suddenly roared. He lifted his right arm and drew his sword with his left.

The sharp blade slashed down on Waltz's palm, causing fresh blood to flow out of the wound.

At this moment, Rhode finally noticed the bracelet on Waltz's right wrist which was flickering.

Damn it, could it be...!

Rhode was startled. When Waltz slashed his palm, Rhode charged towards him with incredible speed.

However, it was too late.

A red barrier emitting strange symbols emerged at the tip of Rhode's sword, blocking his attack. Then, an overwhelming red fog started pouring from the skies like a waterfall of fresh blood, shrouding the entire arena.

At this moment, Waltz lifted his head. His eyes had turned completely dark.

"This is only the beginning, Mr. Rhode," Waltz said chillingly.

Chapter 348: Deciding Match (10)

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

The crimson sword tip was only inches away from Waltz but failed to pierce through. Waltz drew back the corners of his mouth as he faced Rhode's aggression.

Damn!!

Rhode alarmingly withdrew his sword and jumped a distance away quickly. At the same time, Waltz opened his mouth and released a sharp and frightening howl.

The slab instantly shattered like scales rising up from living creatures. The shapeless impact passed Rhode and left the audience cupping their ears from the deafening noise. However, even so, that ear-piercing sound left them frantic.

Waltz was transforming.

His muscles began to squirm, bulging like an inflating leather ball. But that wasn't it; scales began emerging from under his smooth skin, mercilessly ripping apart his flesh, revealing fresh streams of blood and stretched taut muscles.

A putrid smell of rotten eggs emerged from Waltz's body.

That was the smell of sulfur.

After dodging his supersonic attack, Rhode unhesitantly extended his arm and suddenly, a ball of flames erupted from his palm. The black hound roared as it appeared, revealing rows of sharp teeth and launching a wave of fire towards Waltz. Then it bawled and leaped forward, but at that very moment, Waltz lifted his right arm.

A hand wrapped with scales easily grabbed the black hound by its neck. It struggled frantically and released flames from its mouth, but it didn't seem to affect Waltz at all. Instead, he sneered and tightened his grip. Along with a crack sound, the black hound howled in agony moments before losing its last breath.

Shortly after, it exploded into flames.

"Bam!!"

The explosion enveloped Waltz as the flames rolled mercilessly towards the blood-stained walls. However, when the smoke and sparks cleared, it revealed Waltz in perfect condition.

Now he appeared even more terrifying. Thick and long bones emerged on Waltz's arms and body, and eerie symbols appeared on his face and neck.

Demon Bracelet.

Rhode raised his brows. He knew what was happening to Waltz's body.

The Demon Bracelet was a new addition to the game after the Holy War. In the past, the people paid a huge price in stopping the demons from invading the surface. Tens of thousands of demons and humans died in that particular battle. During the war, the mages developed dozens of magical equipment to counter the demons, and the Demon Bracelet was one of them. The Demon Bracelet was created with unique magical metals that could seal a portion of the demon's strength. Furthermore, it could even imprison the demon itself within the bracelet. Most of the Demon Bracelets were destroyed after the war, and the whatever remained were scattered in all regions.

And in the game, only one organization could use this equipment — the Dark Brotherhood.

Their predecessors were the corrupted army who worshipped the Demon Lord during the Holy War. After the demons were expelled back to the abyss, these humans who were willing to be bewitched by the demons for the sake of power were all purged. However, a small portion survived and formed an organization, the Dark Brotherhood. They had one goal. And that was to open up the doors to hell once again.

Most of the humans who joined the Dark Brotherhood were failures in society or felt that they were rightfully wronged which led to their degeneration. As these humans curled up in slums and licked their wounds while admiring the warmth of the fortunate people at home, hatred and disparity became the greatest motivation in life. They hoped that everyone in this world will feel their pain, to live in constant fear and surviving on the brink of death as this was the only way for them to be released. Therefore they didn't mind to succumb to evil and become an accomplice of the demons — all for the sake of power.

Such failures existed in every corner of the continent, and because of this, the Dark Brotherhood had never lacked newcomers. In the game, the Dark Brotherhood's influence spread like wild grasses in the field. As the saying goes, even a prairie fire cannot thoroughly destroy the grass.

The Demon Bracelet was a common equipment for upper echelons within the organization. During BOSS fights or when facing the player's relentless assaults, they would activate the Demon Bracelet and release the imprisoned demon to retaliate.

Rhode was extremely familiar with the Dark Brotherhood and Demon Bracelet. However, what shocked him was Waltz being a member of the Dark Brotherhood.

How is that possible?

Regarding the knowledge of the Dark Brotherhood's forces, internal structure and as well as their entire network, Rhode was certain that knew more than the current president of the Dark Brotherhood.

But Waltz wasn't part of the upper echelons that he recalled ever so clearly.

With Archangel Lydia leading the Munn Kingdom, the Dark Brotherhood wouldn't have the guts to reveal themselves in public. However right now, Waltz openly used his Demon Bracelet — was he willing to sabotage the entire Liberty Wings Guild?

Back in the game, Rhode and his members had defeated this guild leader over fifty times, and he never heard that he could transform... So what was going on exactly?

However, no matter the reason, Rhode was in a sticky situation.

Since the beginning, when he discovered the blood walls which shrouded the entire arena, he knew that the demon imprisoned within the Demon Bracelet was at least a Manipulative Lord. After all, not just any demon could cast the spell 'Bloody Devour.' Rhode gritted his teeth at this horrifying thought.

This is getting problematic.

Fatigue slowly kicked in, and Rhode's strength seemed to flow out of his body like water from the gaps between his fingers. Just as the name 'Bloody Devour' suggests, the spell would devour the life source of any living creatures within the Blood Barrier and convert them into strength for the user. During the Holy War, this was one of the primary concerns of the humans when facing the Demon Lord. The powerful demons could use their strength and temporarily project hell onto the surface, creating their own battlefield. It naturally became the most unsuitable arena for any creatures not from hell.

Now, it was the same for Rhode.

Really troublesome.

Detecting his diminishing strength, Rhode frowned. The effects of this spell depended on his levels. If he held physical qualities of 'Master' stage, then such loss of power would be considered a drop in the ocean. But now — oh lord, he merely passed Advancement stage only.

I've got to act fast.

Rhode's thoughts were as quick as his actions.

A rumbling sound rose from the ground as the Spirit Bird flapped its radiant wings. It stared at Waltz and let out a long cry. Thunder and lightning came crashing down from above into Waltz. It was a direct hit, but his black scales deflected the attack like a shield.

"Your struggles are meaningless!!"

Enduring the Spirit Bird's attack, Waltz extended his arm and swung to the side. Along with his movements, a whirlwind erupted from his arm, piercing through the dark lightning clouds, and straight through the Spirit Bird's body. The Spirit Bird let out a sharp cry and attempted to balance its body by flapping its enormous wings.

But at this moment, Waltz was no longer interested in dealing with the huge bird as he swung his right arm downwards. A string of sparks appeared on his arm. Rhode slanted his body to the side to dodge the attack while he held his sword upright. Rhode's expression was icy-cold when his Crimson Blade trembled as it withstood the force of Waltz's attack.

"Is that all you got, Mr. Rhode?"

Waltz sneered and lifted his arm again. A strong tremor shook the ground. Rhode seemed to have predicted it; he withdrew his sword, leaped backward. As a shockwave charged towards Rhode, he suddenly narrowed his eyes and supported his body by pushing against the ground with his palm.

"Shing!!"

The instant Rhode jumped towards the sky, a bunch of bone spikes impaled the spot he previously stood.

"Eh?"

Waltz's expression changed slightly when he saw this

How is that possible?

Waltz gazed at Rhode in astonishment. The instant Waltz used his blood to trigger the Demon Bracelet, not only did he absorbed demon's powerful strength, but he also accepted its techniques and knowledge. An ordinary human could not match a demon in strength, so Waltz was certain that he could defeat Rhode in a jiffy. However, he didn't expect that he could dodge his every attack perfectly.

What's... What's going on?

Waltz was no newbie. And no matter what, he was a human in the 'Master' stage. From his observations, he could naturally tell that Rhode didn't rely on instinct and luck to dodge, rather, he appeared to have already experienced the demons attack patterns as though he had fought them thousands of times!

Where exactly did this guy come from?

Although right now Waltz was the real demon here, the black-haired young man was even more terrifying in his eyes,

I have to kill him!!

Chapter 349: Deciding Match (End)

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

"The Dark Brotherhood?"

Lydia stood by the window and observed the arena below. There wasn't any anger on her beautiful face, but the temperature of the room instantly fell below freezing point.

"It seems the reformist party is aware, hm?"

"Please immediately command the guards to prepare an attack, Your Highness!" Amund frowned, with worry in his eyes.

"That's the Bloody Devour! It will completely consume down the young man! I can feel that Waltz's strength is reaching the edge of Legendary! That young man cannot hold him!"

"Don't worry, Teacher." In response to his concern, Lydia perked her index finger cheekily by her lips and revealed a smile.

"Since you're aware that it's the Bloody Devour, you should understand if this spell is forcefully hindered, it will cause a spatial disorder and that's going to be even more dangerous. Furthermore, now's not the time for us to show up. You see, isn't Mr. Rhode standing there perfectly fine? I guess he won't have any problems."

An incredibly sharp bone pierced through Rhode's afterimage, producing an ear-piercing sound that followed soon after. Soon, Waltz's gigantic frame emerged from the fog.

At this moment, Waltz had already reached two meters tall, and oddly enough, his inflated leather ball-like body didn't obstruct his agility. Waltz no longer used his weapon. The 'Sorrowful Tears' was already split into half and had turned into a pile of scrap. Moreover, his enormous palms would perhaps give him a hard time holding it. But he didn't need it anymore.

"Heyahh!!"

With an intimidating roar, Waltz swung his fist downwards, but Rhode dodged it as though he knew it was coming. Waltz's punch crushed the surface of the ground, leaving a small crater. But he still wasn't able to injure Rhode at all. Just when Waltz lifted his head, he discovered burning meteors hurtling towards him!

The Blade of Destruction exploded from Rhode's blade, sending dozens of random light blades shooting towards Waltz. Although Rhode was only at the Advanced stage, his level of swordsmanship was similar to a Master, so even Waltz, who was buffed by the Demon Bracelet, couldn't simply neglect the strength of his sword skill.

Facing the counterattack from Rhode, all Waltz could do was to deflect them with his excessively huge arms. Then, Waltz suddenly widened his arms and swiftly slammed them together, generating shapeless ripples of shockwaves in all directions. Rhode immediately dipped his body downwards, and the mighty shockwave passed over his head.

Again?!

Waltz began to grow anxious because similarly to Rhode, he was also rushing for time. Although the 'Bloody Devour' was a high-end spell, the spell duration wasn't that long. Waltz knew the consequences; however, since he'd received this order from those people, all Waltz could do was just to follow through. Like Mobis, he needed to eliminate this growing threat as soon as possible and would not hesitate to put his life on the line. The spell only lasted for twenty minutes, so Waltz needed to defeat Rhode within this time frame. Initially, he thought that it would be in a walk in the park, but the current situation proved otherwise.

The young man didn't seem nervous when confronting his demonic form; instead, his movements were quick and relaxed. No matter how powerful his attacks were, the young man would dodge it as though he had predicted his next move. Demons hadn't officially appeared in this world for many years, yet this young man's reactions were as if he had fought with them on a daily basis!

Waltz snarled as he slammed the ground with both hands, sending two shockwaves towards Rhode. After he had avoided Waltz's previous shockwave attack, Rhode frowned for a while, seemingly contemplating about something. Then, in a flash, he lifted his sword and slashed towards the two incoming shockwaves.

A bright aura coalesced at the tip of the Crimson Blade, forming a faint image of a sledgehammer. Rhode swung it downwards, colliding head-on with the two shockwaves.

"Bam!!"

A deafening explosion sounded, and the ground beneath Rhode's feet instantly swelled before shortly caving in.

"Ah!!"

Many spectators within the arena screamed in horror as the explosion swallowed Rhode's figure. They even witnessed at least one-third of the arena turning into dust, and the remaining was on the verge of collapsing.

"Sh*t! Is Leader okay?!"

Shauna tried to locate Rhode in the midst of the chaos. Although she hadn't seen an actual demon before, anyone would think that Waltz's appearance was anything but ordinary. Initially, Shauna was confident that Rhode would be able to secure the victory. But right now, even she couldn't help but feel anxious.

However, Shauna didn't notice that Christie was quietly observing a certain area of the chaotic battlefield.

Her mystical eyes were flickering with a muddled radiance.

The smoke and dust settled.

Rhode stood by the edge and gasped for air. Even though he had experience when dealing with demons, the adverse effects of the Bloody Devour on Rhode's body were unavoidable. As time passed, he felt more of his strength slipping out from his body. If he couldn't think of a way to defeat Waltz, the one going down would possibly be him.

Rhode caught in a deep breath to calm his senses.

It looks like I need to resort to that.

"Seems like you have nowhere to hide now, Mr. Rhode?"

Waltz lifted his head and stared at the young man with his cold, fiendish eyes while the corners of his mouth drew back, revealing a sinister smile.

However, what happened next surprised Waltz.

Cha. Rhode stabbed the Crimson Blade into the ground and raised his head towards Waltz.

"Mr. Waltz — I've got to admit that you did exceedingly well. To be honest, it was above my expectations! But it's a pity that... you made a grave mistake—"

"Oh?"

Waltz raised his brow as he waited for Rhode to continue. Rhode did not keep him waiting and courteously gave him the final answer.

"... You shouldn't have converted to a demon."

Rhode straightened his arms to his chest, and a blinding light from countless of summoning arrays began gleaming on his palms. Then, the light began spreading towards Waltz.

Sh*t!

Waltz's heart sank. Waltz didn't know what was Rhode up to, but he knew that it wasn't something good. He lifted his arms, causing the spurs on his arms to transform into sharp razors and swept towards Rhode, creating a gigantic whirlwind.

Black and White. Both cards rotated on Rhode's palms in tandem.

Rhode suddenly clenched his hands.

Crash! The sound of glass breaking burst out.

Just one more step and Waltz's attack would reach him. However, before he could land the final blow, a mesmerizing and alluring voice echoed in his ears.

"Halt, you lowly race!"

The moment the charming voice spoke, Waltz immediately froze on the spot. He saw dozens of shadows rushing past him, sending chills down his back, and suddenly, before he knew what happened, he realized that a thorny whip had wrapped tightly around his massive body.

Waltz turned his head towards the source of the thorny whip in terror. Standing beside Rhode was a twin-tailed woman dressed in a black-laced mini skirt. She lifted her chin proudly and revealed an expression of disdain when she looked at Waltz. Her right hand held the thorny whip which was constricting his body, while the other rested on her hip.

Beside her was an expressionless battle angel. Her holy sword was lifted up towards her chest, emanating a cleansing aura that caused Waltz to feel nauseous. He tried to escape the thorny whip but was unable even to budge an inch as if his body wasn't listening to him.

"This... This..."

Waltz opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Celia's sword had already pierced through his skull.

In an instant, a raging pillar of holy flames erupted and devoured Waltz.

"What's this?"

"Oh, my god! What did I just witness?!"

This scene forced the audience to their feet as they screamed in horror. They stared blankly at the two stunning women by Rhode's side. Their hearts were filled with the same doubts and confusions as Waltz — where did these two maidens come from?

"This is...!"

No one noticed that Lydia, who was relaxing on the sofa comfortably, suddenly shot up and approached the window in astonishment. When Amund saw Lydia's reaction, he turned towards her and asked, "Is anything wrong? Your Highness?"

"No... Nothing... Nothing at all..."

Lydia shook her head and narrowed her eyes, thoroughly scanning the two women before mumbling very softly.

"... Lady Celia and... Her Highness Celestina?"

Chapter 350: Rhode's Accomplice

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

"And the winner is... Starlight!"

The president of the Mercenary Association lifted both of his hands high, grandly announcing the winner of the competition. During such an occasion, normally, the crowd would be cheering wildly for the winner. However, the entire arena was in utter chaos — Waltz's monstrous appearance was naturally their primary concern, and the two beautiful women that appeared beside Rhode were as equally eye-catching. Although the Spirit Bird and Flame Killer attracted most of their attention in the beginning, their presence wasn't all too surprising since summoning spells weren't rare on this continent. Therefore, when Rhode summoned a few odd creatures, it was still within their expectations.

But... It was a whole new ball game to summon a humanlike individual. These humanoid creatures held strong powers and intelligence that weren't inferior to humans. Unlike the spirits that acted largely on instinct, these creatures were naturally harder to summon and would consume a considerable portion of energy where only the top summoning masters were able to afford.

Furthermore, as everyone knew, the summoning spells were cast using one's resonance of strength to summon beings from another plane of existence. However, at this moment, the two women standing beside Rhode didn't seem to originate from another world! For an angel like Celia to appear in this place... it raised an uproar in the entire arena!

Almost everyone knew that an Archangel governed the country; thus, the term 'angel' was a sensitive word. Not only the normal civilians were left utterly speechless, but even the company of battle angels guarding the arena were also ineffably stunned by the fact that a battle angel could become a human's summoned creature.

Furthermore, the spectators were doubly surprised when the company of battle angels flew down and surrounded the Liberty Wings Guild after the Mercenary Association's speech. The angels immediately demanded the rest of the guild members to drop their weapons and surrender, causing further unrest within the spectators. Thus, what was supposed to be a joyous occasion, turned into this awful, chaotic hodgepodge.

Fortunately, the closing ceremony would only be held two days later after the group battles, and side-events concluded. Therefore, this disturbance didn't affect Starlight much. And as a matter of fact, Rhode wasn't concerned by the commotion at all. After getting rid of Waltz, Rhode stepped down from the arena and beckoned the rest to follow him to the exit. Unlike many others, Rhode's expression was as calm as ever; it was as though winning the tournament was something insignificant.

Indeed, there was a reason for Rhode not to celebrate.

Currently, he was troubled by Anne's condition, and he didn't know how to tell her the truth when she woke from her coma. Not only would the weakness effect from the Awakening Potion harm Anne's body, but it would also even reduce her fighting prowess drastically. Moreover, her she might end up even worse than Lapis after the expulsion of the debuff — and that would be a real tragedy.

Right now, Rhode's only hope was to entrust it to Lydia. Fortunately, the Royal Highness had personally guaranteed to grant a wish for the winner. As long as Anne requested Lydia's assistance, she would be able to get rid of the debuff. It was not a difficult task for an Archangel. Rhode could only hope that Lydia would also be able to remove the residual effects of the debuff with her power.

Once they exited the arena, Rhode swept his eyes over the group. Then, as if reminded of something, his eyes lit up, and he turned his head to Lize.

"Go and gather with the rest before returning to our encampment. There may be unrest within Golden City after this tournament, so make sure they stay alert... Lize, I want to know how many members are left in our mercenary group. I'll need you to inform Shauna and Kavos to gather these stats. I will analyze it when I get back."

"Okay, Mr. Rhode."

Lize nodded in acknowledgment, "What about you, Mr. Rhode?" she asked out of curiosity.

"I have something important to attend to."

Rhode pulled down his hood and nodded towards the rest of his group before quietly vanishing into the crowded street.

After making his way out, Rhode arrived at a secluded alley. Old Walker leaned on a wall, rubbing his hands in glee, waiting for Rhode's arrival. From the old man's flushed expression, it was evident that he enjoyed the matchup. Indeed, when Rhode appeared in his view, Old Walker immediately waved his arm.

"Yo, Leader. Well done. Oh Holy Soul, I thought I was dreaming... Are we really the champion of individual matches?"

"That's right." Rhode nodded.

Old Walker punched his fist into his other palm and burst out in laughter.

"Hahaha, great...! That's excellent! I've never thought this day will come. Now those bastards in Paphield can shut their traps! Hahaha, I can't wait to see how will those bastards kneel down and welcome us back!"

After a moment, Old Walker suddenly sighed and said, "But... Kid, even though we've won but your methods were kind of... unpopular."

"Oh?" Rhode pricked his brows, "Is it that bad?"

"Of course it was." Old Walker frowned as he spread his arms out in a helpless manner. He should've been 100% excited about the victory, but his mood dampened instead.

Throughout the entire tournament, the spectators beside Old Walker had been criticizing Rhode and Starlight which made him annoyed. However, he could see that after the tournament, many people eventually had the same sentiments... Old Walker didn't take these people seriously as he didn't think that Rhode's method was wrong, but after hearing incessant complaints about his mercenary group, even he couldn't tolerate it.

Furthermore, he understood that having a negative reputation could impact Starlight in the long run. No matter if it was a mercenary group or guild, reputation was extremely important. Although Rhode emerged victoriously, the spurns from others led Old Walker to think that this wasn't the right method after all.

However, Rhode waved his hands, assuring him that it was nothing.

"Don't worry; it won't last long."

"Eh? Kid, you..."

Old Walker raised his brow and prepared to retort, however, he quickly thought of something which surprised himself.

"Kid, could it be that you have a good idea?"

"Of course, why do you think I called you here for?"

Rhode sneered at Old Walker's doubt.

"How are your men doing?"

"Good. I've been secretly observing them. These people are loyal, and they don't ask redundant questions when they are given their missions. Heh heh, you don't have to worry at all, Kid. These men were handpicked by me, so if there are any problems with them, you can look for me directly!"

"Are they aware who they are working for?"

"Most of them didn't care, but some seems to have guessed it..."

"Good. Bring those trustworthy ones to me after the mission ends."

Then Rhode beckoned Old Walker to come closer with a soft tone, "I know what those people will say after our victory. But don't worry, they have nothing to fear. I need you to act accordingly like what you did, and continue with the next mission..."

Rhode's voice became softer as he continued to whisper something to Old Walker.

After several minutes, Old Walker had an odd expression on his face. It was an expression mixed with shock, delight, then astonishment, and even with some fear. After nearly half an hour, Rhode moved a few steps back before speaking in his normal voice.

"Do you understand everything?"

"Ah, uh... I understand."

From the moment Rhode started whispering until now, Old Walker stared at Rhode as if he was a monster and trembled before wiping off the beads of sweat on his face. He already knew that Rhode wasn't a saint, but after hearing his plan, Old Walker realized that this man was a hundred times eviler than he thought!!

"Is... Is this really fine?"

"It will mostly be fine and I'll leave the details for you guys to decide. However, remember to avoid sounding too closed up as it will not be beneficial for us. Also, remember to swap all the members to avoid detection — In other words, do your best and go with the flow."

"Okay..."

Old Walker nodded in a daze. He couldn't figure out what kind of brains this young man had. In the end, Old Walker stopped probing and let out a long sigh.

Nobles are indeed ruthless people.

Old Walker shook his head and departed listlessly.

Chapter 351: Capricious

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

Just as Rhode expected, merely within three hours after the end of the midsummer festival individual tournament, various rumors with similar content spread across the entire Golden City. Most of the people criticized Starlight mercenary group as shameless and despicable for defeating Rosen using the vile 'time-dragging' tactic and even showed no mercy in killing him afterward. It was a humiliation for the midsummer festival and Sacred Arena to have such a ruthless winner; it could even be considered the most shameless victory in the midsummer festival history!

Some radical members even called for a joint alliance to present a petition to Royal Highness Lydia in hope to remove the qualifications of Starlight. Many of them grudgingly denounced Starlight's bold actions, screaming for the Mercenary Association and Lydia to step out to uphold a fair and justified battle environment. If a mercenary group like Starlight managed to win the championship with such a despicable method, it would eventually set a bad example for other mercenary groups in the future!

Shortly after the event, Starlight became a 'rat' with Rhode being regarded as what others referred to as a sinner. Only after pinning him to the Hall of Shame would it bring satisfaction to everyone.

But amidst the intense storm of criticisms, some new viewpoints quietly arose.

Unlike those who condemned Rhode and his Starlight group, the 'new viewpoints' were from people who took a neutral stand. They believed Rhode and Starlight didn't commit any serious crimes and were gravely misunderstood.

Their rationale went like this, "You said they dragged the time in order to defeat Rosen, but you also have to think from another perspective. After Rosen was defeated, Starlight only had Rhode left, right?"

"Rosen faced four opponents, and so did Rhode. The participants of Liberty Wings Guild were much tougher than Starlight members. Other than Rhode, the rest weren't even at the Advanced Stage. Since Starlight could maintain their advantage and defeat Rosen, why couldn't Liberty Wings do the same?"

"Isn't it perfectly normal not to show mercy to your enemies? Since both sides had accepted a life and death challenge, naturally they had to try their best. It is one matter if the opponent can't bear to kill, but it's also another matter if you can't escape, right? Also, wouldn't it be better if they didn't agree with the life and death challenge?"

In the beginning, this new logical approach didn't garner much attention, but in time, it gradually spread like wildfire. This was as expected as only ten of thousands of people witnessed the afternoon tournament which didn't even count to one-fifth of the total population of Golden City.

The people who weren't able to watch the match could only learn what happened through hearsay. Rhode's performance was very much controversial — to the extent that the moment the audience exited the arena, they began cursing and swearing. And for the people who didn't manage to catch the match firsthand, they initially thought that these arguments were all incomparably accurate.

However, the audience tones were overly aggressive and mostly exaggerated. After all, Rhode had previously fought Barter on the Sacred Arena face-to-face, so everyone thought since this man had the guts to fight Barter, he shouldn't be despicable and shameless enough to do such a thing to Liberty Wings. Therefore, many began to grow doubtful of the stories from the audience.

It was at this moment when the emergence of the neutral 'new viewpoints' spontaneously erupted, immediately claiming many agreeable sentiments for Starlight. Most importantly, these discussions weren't as aggressive as the initial rants from the audience. Instead, they seemed to calmly explain to the 'obscure masses who didn't know the truth.' Of course, this entire process made no progress towards the agitated audience. However, they won the masses with their calmness, reasonable explanations, and less hatred.

On one hand, they presented themselves like innocent, bashful children and on the other hand, there were a steady and reasonable bunch of adults. Furthermore, the entire process didn't differ much from those explained by the audience, so it naturally became more convincing and acceptable.

A portion of the angry audience began to calm down after hearing the explanation. However, there was still a dismissive handful who had wholly regarded Starlight as Dark Brotherhood rats, on which only hating on them was the proper way, and it was a sin if one defends them!

These bunch of staunch haters began to deplore those who believed the new rumor, thinking they were misled by their imaginations and in turn, retaliated by spreading statements such as, "You guys didn't watch the tournament so how will you know how shameless those people were?"

This time, the majority of the people who didn't watch the final matchup were upset by this claim. Humans were considered to be a contradictory lifeform. No matter what, there will always be an existing contradiction within them. Many of them flaunted themselves as calm, detached and rational individuals. This way, they could maintain a level higher than the others. So how should they express this side of them? Of course, they had to refute with public opinions! Since ancient times, this method was universal no matter which world in the vast multiverse.

Therefore, the people no longer remained silent after facing the insults. They stood against the other party's passionate opinions, stating they were too extreme in their methods. Right. Even though one didn't watch the match, it was evident that both sides didn't do anything wrong. Just like what was previously mentioned, the conditions for both parties were equal. Rhode sacrificed four of his men to defeat Rosen, and he equally faced four opponents by himself to secure the win. Since that was the case, why shouldn't he receive the recognition that he deserved?

In response to this, many retorted that Rhode was someone with legendary strength, so why couldn't such a powerful person fight Rosen fairly instead of resorting to such trivial schemes?

However, some refuted by questioning whether the rumor of Rhode's legendary strength was true. Nevertheless, even if it was true, the other members of Starlight didn't have similar strength. Thus, it didn't seem to be a problem if Rhode resorted to this choice, right? What if he fought Rosen face-to-face and was defeated? Wouldn't Starlight lose because of this? As a leader, one should always maintain his composure and Rhode did nothing wrong! As the summoned creatures? The rules had never banned the summoning of creatures and therefore why are you people still being sore over it?

These people thought that Rhode's decisions were reasonable. Moreover, Starlight didn't break any rules, and his choices as the leader led his relatively weak mercenary group to a decisive victory. Rather than a disgrace, this unprecedented outcome could've been said to have unveiled a new page in the tournament's glorious history because it broke the illusion of powerful guilds being undefeatable by anything below them!

This explanation caused those against Starlight to clench their teeth in fury as they continuously denounced that these people couldn't differentiate right from wrong and were irrational to trust the words of others even without witnessing the tournament with their own eyes.

This dull rebuttal was akin to beating the dead horse, and it was no surprise that it resulted in further unhappiness among the masses. Was it our fault that we can't enter the arena due to its full capacity? Again, your explanations are similar to theirs, and they are even more reasonable than you, so why must we listen to you?

Eventually, the string of events led to another new viewpoint which appeared out of nowhere: "What an honorable way to end the tournament. How could the winner be under such abusive accusations?"

The answer was simple because most of the people within the audience were supporters of Liberty Wings!

This new viewpoint ignited like a bushfire in summer, and the masses were immediately in an uproar.

As mentioned previously, the guilds represent the benefits and reputations of the various regions. There had been conflicts due to certain reasons within these regions. Thus, those who supported the guilds were mainly people from that respective region, and Liberty Wings was situated in a somewhat prosperous area in the Southern Port, second only to Golden City.

Because of their standing, they've always treated civilians of other regions as beggars and country bumpkins, so they weren't well-liked anywhere else. As the saying goes, the enemy of your enemy is your friend. Starlight helped them wipe out this bunch of arrogant Southern scum, and many were delighted. From their perspective, those who criticized and insulted Starlight were the sore losers.

It was no surprise why these people were exasperated. They heard that Royal Highness Lydia was there to observe the tournament personally and if things had grown ugly, would that beautiful woman who adored beautiful things not care at all?

These people couldn't tolerate it any longer as they felt that they were the conscience of this country which represented fairness and justice. Yet, their rightful accusations had been treated as a sore loser's harassment?

How can we permit this?

What do this bunch of uneducated Northern poor bastards even know!!

"This is getting bad..."

"It's starting... The chaos is starting..."

Standing by the edge on the second floor, Old Walker gazed over the railing at the chaotic pub with a cup of wine in his hand. Many patrons were exchanging insults and even began throwing punches. Frankly, Old Walker had never expected such a scene.

He thought Starlight was done and dusted. After experiencing the storm in the arena, Old Walker began to worry about Starlight's future. Even though he understood Rhode's plans, but deep in his heart, he couldn't help but feel dubious. Could a few words really change the people's perspective on Starlight? Could his men of utterly inadequate measures be able to spread the words and create the effects that Rhode wanted?

Now, he was absolutely convinced.

The crowd who had insulted Starlight had been divided. Many even threw their fists in the air, screaming Starlight's name for support while struggling against those who were anti-Starlight. They seemed more loyal than the craziest supporters. Some even announced that they would start supporting Starlight in getting rid of those Southerners!

As Starlight continuously defeated the Southern representative guilds, Sky Sword Guild and Liberty Wings Guild, many Northerners had accepted Starlight as their companions. Not to mention that Starlight even showed respect in their fight with the Purple Lily Guild.

Since that was the case, they didn't care if Starlight was shameless and despicable. As long as Starlight could get rid of those pretentious and arrogant bastards of the South, then it doesn't matter if they were more shameless!

Such happenings didn't only occur in the pub that Old Walker was in. According to his intel, there were similar uproars in other areas, and what surprised him even further was that the people who went against Starlight had become the minority! Furthermore, various Northern nobles and influential mercenary group leaders announced their support for Starlight and labeled those that avoided supporting them as heresy!!

Various rumors mingled and grew so twisted that it made people unable to differentiate this from that.

However, even so, many had the tacit understanding of not mentioning Waltz's transformation and the actions taken by the battle angels. Anyone could tell that Waltz's transformation was definitely something odd and after the troop of battle angels surrounded the Liberty Wings Guild, no one wanted in on the matter. If anyone revealed any pitiful thoughts towards Liberty Wings, they would probably have a hard time in future — which was why they focused their energy towards insulting Starlight's schemes.

However, no matter how Old Walker thought about it, he couldn't understand — How did Rhode manage to think of all these consequences?

Chapter 352: Sleepless Night

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

(ED: Yet another NSFW warning nearer to the end....)

"Dong!"

Rhode slammed his fist on the table and gritted his teeth after reading the system prompt.

He had been praying hard for some sort of difference between reality and game while on the way back, but the harsh truth presented otherwise.

Under Anne's status was the 'Weakened' debuff.

"Hu..."

Rhode calmed himself down before sitting on the chair and closing his eyes. For a brief moment, he attempted to collect his thoughts, but after a few seconds, he stepped out of his room and made his way towards the guest room at the end of the hallway. Without hesitation, he extended his arm and knocked.

"Ah, Mr. Rhode."

Lize, Marlene, and Christie answered the door. Lapis wasn't amongst them as Rhode had sternly ordered the poor alchemist to reflect on her actions in her room.

"How's Anne doing?"

"Not good..."

Lize shook her head helplessly.

"The side effects of the potion is too strong. Almost all of Anne's energy had withered away. All I can do now is to preserve what's left of her strength within her body. Mr. Rhode, do you know how long will the side effects last?"

"Anne's performance was baffling indeed."

Marlene remarked in her usual tone as though the effects of that incident had disappeared. She frowned and twirled her hair with her finger before continuing, "I have no idea exactly what that potion was, but its immediate effects instantly raised the strength in Anne's body... and the side effect was equally frightening... I will seek guidance from my teacher about this matter."

"Yes please."

Rhode nodded towards Marlene and shifted his gaze towards the other two.

"It's getting late now, go and rest. Leave her to me."

"Mr. Rhode?"

Lize widened her eyes in surprise, whereas Christie hooked her tiny finger onto Rhode's sleeve.

"... Can Christie stay with Rhode and Anne...?"

"You should rest too, Christie."

Rhode got down on one knee and revealed a warm smile.

"It's already very late now... and you should also take care of your body."

"En..."

A trace of reluctance flashed across her face, but it disappeared as quickly as it came and the little girl left the room obediently with Lize in hand. At this time, only Marlene, Rhode and the sleeping Anne was left in the room.

The atmosphere instantly turned awkward.

"Mr. Rhode, you don't seem very happy that we had won the tournament?"

Marlene quietly observed Rhode's expression. Her red pupils were glistening with warmth and a gentle radiance that even she wasn't aware of.

"We certainly should be happy over our victory, but it is a pity that we sacrificed too much."

Rhode shrugged his shoulders before dragging a chair from the side.

"Although I know there's no use in regretting now, I still have to say that I wished I didn't send her up."

"But Anne will eventually still fight, and we all know that's for certain."

Marlene revealed a bitter smile whereas Rhode nodded in agreement. Although Anne appeared childish on the surface, she always did things with determination. However, this may be a good and bad thing at the same time. It was no easy task to 'train' Anne's character because — after all — humans weren't made out of numerical data that one could modify whenever they please...

Rhode pressed his hand against his forehead — Within his summonable spirits, there was also a troublemaker.

"So... Marlene? Do you have anything else for me?"

Lize and Christie had already left, and only Marlene chose to remain. Rhode didn't believe that Marlene was here to admire Anne's sleeping posture.

"Well..."

Marlene hesitated for a moment before handing a letter to Rhode.

"It's regarding the matter of the Alanic Foundation... We, the Senia Family, are currently supervising the foundation of which my father had fully taken over. This is an invitation letter that my father asked me to present to you. It is an invitation to our Senia Family's Central Magic Ring after the midsummer festival. He wants to thank you in person."

"Understood."

Rhode nodded and asked, "How's that woman now?"

"I don't know..."

Marlene's expression turned rather sour as she looked down and shook her head.

"I don't know what Ellenson will end up as... I heard that her parents will be sending her to a monastery for a period with hopes that... there will be some changes..."

Marlene intentionally trailed off, but Rhode knew that she was aware what would happen to Ellenson. A noble young lady who had been 'stained' couldn't continue to live in the family any longer.

"This isn't your fault, Marlene. But I know such shallow consolation is useless to you right now."

Rhode turned around and looked into the maiden's eyes.

"That man came for you, but he dragged your friend into it. I can understand how you feel. But no matter what Marlene, you must toughen up as this is one of the challenges you must face — at the very least, I can guarantee that you have my support."

Marlene was slightly surprised and revealed a bright smile.

"... Mr. Rhode, this must be the first time I've heard you speak such sweet words to a lady... I've got to admit that it's not too shabby..."

"Are you done with your nonsense? Give me that."

Rhode chided jokingly as he pricked his brows slightly and held out his palm. Marlene on the other hand, obliged and smiled wryly before passing the invitation letter to Rhode.

In the process of passing the letter, their fingers gently brushed against each other, causing Marlene's body to stiffen instantly.

"Eh?"

Rhode looked at Marlene dubiously. At this moment, the lady's white and snowy cheeks were smeared with a red blush and her eyes looked entranced. However, Marlene soon brought herself back to her senses.

"Sor-Sorry, Mr. Rhode... It's late now and I should go back and rest... well then, goodnight."

Marlene quickly spun around and left in a hurry, leaving behind a trail of fragrance.

–

"Hu... Hu..."

After returning to her room, Marlene immediately shut the door and plunged right into her soft, wooly bed. At this moment, her face was bright red, and her breathing was abnormally deep.

Why is this happening?

Marlene placed her hands on her chest, feeling the intense pounding of her heart. She thought that she could calmly face everything by now. However, the truth proved otherwise.

The instant their fingers met, Marlene was immediately reminded of that night. Although she was semi-conscious, these blurry emotions seemed to reflect most clearly in her memories more than anything else. Marlene was once again reminded of Rhode's body temperature, fingers and... that intense and thrilling pounding.

"En..."

Marlene restlessly writhed on her bed as her body temperature slowly rose. Her slender fingers unbuttoned the collar before she clumsily fondled herself with her eyes closed. Soon enough, Rhode appeared in Marlene's mind yet again, repeating the scene of that wild and shameless night. At this moment, her fingers seemed to coincide with Rhode's image as she brazenly caressed herself. It was a mixture of rough and wild actions, yet it was an incredibly comfortable sensation as if she presented all of herself to him.

"Mm... Rhode..."

As Marlene reminisced the memories of that night, she twisted and turned under the intense sensation. Although she had never done this before, she inconceivably knew her way around it. Her slender fingers rubbed instinctively, caressing her beautiful and slim curves. As her actions became increasingly intense, her ragged breaths became shorter and faster. In the end, Marlene let out an alluring moan as her right hand entered deep between her legs while her left hand gripped onto her soft, ample chest. The maiden's body convulsed for a few seconds before finally relaxing.

As her short breaths slowly stabilized, Marlene's bewildered eyes gradually regained its sharpness.

"W-What... What am I doing!"

The maiden blushed yet again and screamed before pulling the quilt over her head.

That's just a dream!

That's right... it's just a dream...

The maiden murmured to herself repeatedly like a mantra and shut her eyes, gradually falling into a deep sleep.