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Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
In Rhode's eyes, the Diamond Mercenary Group didn't even meet the professional standard for site-clearance. They only blocked the entrance and sent people to patrol around; this was also considered site clearance to them. However, this kind of site clearance was totally meaningless to a player. They knew that although these ruins looked huge, there were only a few entrances. As long as they could find a place to block it from inside, outsiders wouldn't be able to come in. Of course, if they wanted to be more evil, they would act weak in front of the enemy and deliberately place a gap in their formation and lure others in, then finish them...
Compared to players, the Diamond Mercenary Group could only be considered as fierce but inexperienced soldiers...
Rhode didn't have to waste much time to bypass their guard line. Soon, he found another entrance to the ruins. There were six entrances to the Black Pine Ruins in total, and they were located in the periphery. This place was just like a strange labyrinth, but its center wasn't located in the deepest part of ruins like any other labyrinth. At the center of the ruins, the six entrances represented six different labyrinths. Although the bosses and monsters weren't much different in these six labyrinths, their centers weren't linked to each other. In the game, players could even get an achievement by reaching the core as quickly as possible.
The Mystery Ball was located at the core.
That's why Rhode didn't have to worry about being bothered by the mercenaries. As long his pace was fast enough, he believed that he could complete the quest before those idiots reached the core.
It didn't take too long for Rhode to enter the underground passage. He was sure that the mercenaries absolutely never walked this passage before because the Goblin under his feet used the remainder of its life to tell him that it had been a long time since people used this passage...
"Let's go!"
Although the mournful cry of the Goblin echoed through the empty underground ruins, Rhode didn't have to worry about it being heard by others. He was extremely familiar with the labyrinth. These six labyrinths were completely unrelated with each other. Even if the Diamond Mercenary Group heard a scream, they would still be unable to come here and see what happened. Rhode also doubted they would do it because it was a taboo for adventurers to scatter themselves in a dangerous place like this. Even players rarely did that; except when they needed a person to scout and explore the threats ahead, they would never choose to leave the group. The reason players did that was because they would still be able to respawn and tell their companions what happened and what he saw, but here, death didn't come with that privilege...
As a low level dungeon, the Black Pine Ruins weren't too dangerous. The most common monster here was those short, ugly Goblins. The troublesome ones were the Four Clawed Lizards; they were more than four meters long, with heavy scales on its back, and spat venom. The last one was the Golems; they were rarely seen and were the guardians of these ruins. Although they lost their master, they still protected this place in silence. They were also the most threatening opponent in these ruins.
However Rhode was confident in defeating them. He even hoped to encounter them. It would be even better if he could get some Gargoyle's Hearts like he did before in the Fog Ruins. Of course, the most important thing was still the Mystery Ball. If he couldn't get it, everything he did until now would be useless. Although the Diamond Mercenary Group arrived before Rhode, he wasn't worried about this. After spending so much time in this world, he already knew how the mercenaries here worked; their efficiency was absolutely not high.
If he didn't have much time, he would make it up using speed. It was just like competing for the dungeon record.
Unfortunately, wishes were called wishes precisely because they weren't easy to grant.
Cold light flashed.
The Goblins wielded wooden sticks and retreated. Cold light rolled up like a storm from Rhode's sword, just like layers of whirlwinds, tearing them apart one by one. The blood spurted onto the wall, emitting a stenchy smell.
When Rhode stopped his sword's movement, the Goblins also hit the wall and they were paralyzed like a doll that was hit by by a van and no longer moved.
Rhode put down the sword in his hand and walked forward with the help of the flame. The Goblins no longer attacked as bravely as before; they were secretly hiding in fear of this terrible, fierce god. They looked like they lost the will to fight and only wanted to escape from here.
However, Rhode didn't let them go because of this.
He glanced at the dark hallway and swung his right hand. A dark card flew out of his hand, and the huge body of a Centaur Knight appeared and howled, rushing forward like a heavy tank.
Creak!!
"Aa!!!"
Followed by chaotic screams, the passage shook for a while, but Rhode didn't pay any attention to it and only glanced at the scene before him, which was the increasing of his EXP points. It meant that the troubles had been mostly exterminated. After that, he immediately rushed forward again.
Anne was carrying her fine gold shield while following Rhode from behind. However, she was no longer laughing and joking like before. She bit her lips and looked very pitiful. Although the monsters here weren't a problem for her, after entering the ruins, most of them were wiped out by Rhode. She was only responsible for following him from behind. She wasn't used to this because Rhode moved too fast.
Mercenaries were usually cautious during missions—even those who were already familiar with the places. When facing enemies, they were also very cautious. They would take a break after the fight finished and then move on.
However Anne had never seen speed like Rhode's. Before, he had led the mercenary group on missions several times, but although his speed wasn't too slow, it was also still within an ordinary range. But this time, Rhode's performance completely exceeded Anne's expectation.
Just like the previous battle that happened in the middle of the underground passage; there were about eight Goblins blocking their way. Anne thought she was supposed to come forward to block their attack first and ensure that those Goblins wouldn't rush to them. Then, Rhode would wait for an opportunity to finish them all. She didn't expect that Rhode was even faster than what she had imagined. When facing those Goblins, Rhode didn't stop and just kept rushing forward. Anne only heard him coldly snort after he stopped for a moment. A sword flashed and whirlwind filled up the entire passage. The Goblins fell to the ground, he stopped, and then continued to run forward. When Rhode moved forward, he glanced to the side and summoned the Centaur Knight. After that, he continued to look forward and speed up again.
Throughout the process, Rhode didn't stop at all. He only slowed down his pace from running to walking. When he made sure there were no threats around, he immediately accelerated his speed in an instant and continued to move.
This pace made Anne a little bit panicked. She didn't have any problem keeping up with him, but she had never tried running like this. It was as if they came here not for an adventure, but to escape. It was just like there was a terrible monster behind them; if they slowed down even a bit, they would be swallowed whole by the monster.
Usually, Rhode never showed this side of him. What made Anne even more curious was that he wasn't nervous even the slightest when he did all of this. He was still indifferent as usual; there was no panic or hesitation on his face. Anne could only saw an absolute confidence and the enjoyment of the challenge.
She suddenly felt that Rhode was actually quite fascinating like this.
Rhode slowed down.
He looked down to compare the scene before him with his memories. Facing the three-way fork before him, he chose the left side without hesitation. At the same time, when he turned, a huge figure jumped down from the ceiling above. It roared and rushed toward him.
Four Clawed Lizard!
Facing the huge monster before him, Rhode still didn't plan to stop. He didn't even looked above and just kept looking at the front. Until that monster arrived on top of him, Rhode suddenly swung the sword that was hanging beside him, and red blood spurted out in the darkness. It gave off a strange feeling. After that, Rhode fiercely moved to the left, dodging the dripping blood from the Four Clawed Lizard and continuing to move forward. The Four Clawed Lizard hadn't even showed its final struggle when it heavily fell to the ground and was no longer breathing.
At this moment, Rhode had already gone far. He didn't even looked back to see whether his enemy was still alive or not.
The reason Rhode had such confidence was because his level was high enough and he was confident in the power of his sword.
The reason he rarely summoned Star Mark was because the Blood Tears that Mr. Keller had given to him was really good. It wasn't a magical weapon with a permanent magical effect, but it had the effect of becoming sharper when it absorbed more blood.
Judging from its special effect, any player would know that it was a very good artifact. However, Rhode rarely had time to improve it because most of the missions he took were related to undead creatures, so it couldn't absorb much blood. However, today, it finally showed its effectiveness. There were a lot of living enemy along the way, so it helped the Blood Tears to increase its sharpness. Although it was exaggerating to say that it was able to cut down anything it touched, it was at least good enough to cut down some monsters.
Just take the Four Clawed Lizard that launched a surprise attack on him before as an example. Usually, it would take more than one strike for Rhode to kill it, but just now, when cutting it, Rhode felt as if he was cutting through a layer of thick butter and not a thick-scaled monster. The sharp blade pierced through its scales, bones, and muscles. However, it still felt light and there was almost no feeling.
This was certainly a good thing for him. The stronger the weapon meant the more he could save up on soul power.
"———!!"
At this moment, Rhode suddenly heard a noise from the front. He furrowed his brows and remembered those arrogant guys with outdated equipment who might be waiting for him ahead. However, Rhode wasn't hesitant because of this. To the contrary, he lowered his body, turned around, and leapt to the corner. The sword in his hand was already ready to attack.
However, this time Rhode didn't directly attack like before. Instead, he stopped for the first time. Then, he looked at the scene before him with a puzzled gaze.
The place was a very spacious stone hall and looked no different than the rest of the ruins. Just as Rhode had expected, there were a dozen Goblins waving their weapons back and forth, but the only difference was that they weren't blocking Rhode's road, but surrounding the two people standing by the wall.
Two people?
Seeing this scene, Rhode couldn't help but feel surprised.
How could anyone be here?
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