Although for Rod, not being able to heal Christie's body made him feel bad, but except for this incident, everything went well, and after the banquet, the president of the Mercenary Association, Thorn, also officially admitted that Rod's Starlight Mercenary Group was ——— wrong, and now it should be renamed the Starlight Guild, which is officially responsible for mercenary affairs in the Parfield area.

"Rhodes. Mr. Elante, on behalf of the Mercenary Association, I would like to officially announce that starting today, Starlight will be promoted to the Mercenary Guild, and I hope that you will inherit the will of the mercenaries and move forward bravely. ”

With his hands leveled, Thorn raised a beautifully crafted longsword in front of Rod. And Rhodes bowed slightly, and respectfully took the exquisite decorative sword, which is a sign that a mercenary group has been promoted to a guild, and it also means that from now on, Rhodes and his team will officially become the target and leader of all mercenaries on the Pafield Plains.

And after becoming a mercenary guild, Starlight's status and power will be greatly improved, first of all, as a guild, Starlight will have power second only to the mercenary association in the Pafield area, including when performing some relatively important and dangerous tasks, the mercenary guild can gather those small mercenary groups to fight together with the permission of the association, not only that, when the guild perceives that those mercenary groups may threaten the mercenaries and local security, as long as the evidence is conclusive, They can even demand the forcible disbandment of the mercenary group, the most radical of which is that if necessary, the guild can use force to completely eliminate it.

This is the relationship between the Mercenary Association and the Guild, as a large organization across borders, the execution of the Mercenary Association itself is actually not sufficient, after all, this is a work on the table. Most of them are also civilian personnel, which also makes the association's deterrent effect extremely reduced. Even if there are some strong people in charge, they are only one person, and it is impossible to pull out a handful of hair like Sun Wukong and divide himself into hundreds or thousands of people to maintain the order of the mercenary group. And after uniting with the guild, the mercenary guild's strong combat ability can make up for the association's lack of execution. And through the permission of the association, the mercenary guild can also obtain a part of the power, and both sides take what they need, which is naturally a happy cooperation.

"I assure you. President Thorn, I will lead the starlight and move forward, we will not turn our backs on our fellows, we will not rush to death and danger, we will be with the glory of battle, and we will fight for glory and faith. ”

Taking the sword, Rhodes replied in a low voice. And I heard Rod's answer. Thorn nodded with satisfaction, although in the previous Midsummer Festival competition, Rod's behavior made the guild elder a little dissatisfied, but at this moment, hearing Rod's moderate answer, he had a lot of good feelings for this young man. Not to mention, Rod also objectively helped Thorn eliminate a threat, otherwise if he lost the game and let the waltz win, then Thorn probably wouldn't have the leisure to stand here and hold any ceremony now.

Thinking of this, Thorn couldn't help but smile a little friendly. Then he coughed, and unfolded a map in front of Rhodes. This is a map of the Duchy of Moon, and the most striking thing is the four markings on it——— which are the insignia of the four mercenary guilds, which are located in the four corners of the map, which look very prominent.

"If you put in the effort, you deserve the glory and reward of victory."

Thorn said, reaching out and pointing at the map in front of him.

"Now, it's time for you to claim your reward. Mr. Rhodes. ”

Hearing Thorn's words, Rhodes looked up, he looked carefully at the map in front of him, and then sighed inwardly. ..., compared to those written provisions, this is really the actual preferential treatment——— after the mercenary group is upgraded to a guild, they have the right to build a fortress in their own area, at the same time. The maximum number of recruits for a Mercenary Guild can reach 700.

This kind of fortress is not comparable to the kind of stronghold built by Rhodes before, in the Dragon Soul Continent, in order to prevent those who possess force from causing harm to civilians. At the same time, to prevent these people from gathering to threaten the power of the rule, all countries have clear regulations in the mercenary guilds, non-mercenary guilds can only build ordinary strongholds, and their number cannot exceed a hundred, and these strongholds must not have offensive buildings. Once a mercenary group is found to have violated it, then the local authorities can "forcibly demolish it in accordance with the law". This is also the reason why when Rod built the mercenary stronghold before, there were only poor walls and gates, and it was not until he was upgraded to the mercenary guild that the system unlocked buildings such as sentry posts and towers.

And in terms of area, strongholds and fortresses are also different. The Mercenary Guild's stronghold is not allowed to exceed the range of a small manor at most, but the maximum area of the Mercenary Guild's fortress can be the size of a small town. Of course, it is not up to them to decide where the Mercenary Guild wants to build the fortress. They must first submit an application, and then get the approval of the authority and the mercenary association before they can officially start construction. In return, the Mercenary Guild enjoys a certain degree of additional immunity in their own fortresses, and they can make their own local decrees that do not involve and violate the laws and regulations of the state, and of course, if there are provisions that threaten the ruling class, then they will also be hit.

"I've made my decision, Elder Guild."

Without much hesitation, Rhodes quickly held out a finger and pointed to the northeast corner of the Pafield area on the map. Thorn followed Rod's finger and looked at him for a moment, then he immediately frowned and looked at Rhodes with some surprise.

"It's ............ A place of atonement? Are you sure? Mr. Rhodes? Do you know what kind of place it is? As the president of the association, I shouldn't have a biased opinion, but frankly, I don't think it's a good place to be. ”

"I've decided, Elder Guild."

In the face of Thorn's tactful dissuasion, Rod only shook his head politely, but did not change his opinion. Of course, he knew very well what the place of atonement was, but it was precisely because of this that Rhodes chose to be there——— only in that place. He will be able to make the most of all the resources he currently has.

"Now that you've made your decision, I'm not going to say more."

Seeing that Rod was obviously not going to follow the advice, Thorn did not say anything more in this regard, he took out his pen, circled it in detail, and then solemnly put away the map.

"Then Mr. Rhodes, I will report your choice to Your Highness, just wait for her approval. Then you can set off for the Land of Atonement and establish your own stronghold. However, I still hope that you can do what you can, after all, the mercenary guild is very bold. ”

"I will take your advice to heart, Elder Guild."

Hearing Thorn's advice, Rod nodded slightly. He knew what Thorn meant. Although on the surface, the mercenary guild is very beautiful, with its own territory and its own power, it seems that it can run rampant in the countryside. But in fact, on the contrary, because only one mercenary guild is allowed to exist in each region, and because of the cooperative nature between guilds and guilds, the mercenary guild has to a large extent become the guardian of mercenary order in the entire region. You must know that there are nearly thirty mercenary groups in one area, and these mercenary groups are distributed in various parts of the region, and they want to ensure that nothing happens in each place. It is also very difficult for an ordinary guild to ensure that mercenary groups do not conflict between various regions, and at the same time to ensure their absolute authority and influence in this region. …,

This is also one of the reasons why those guilds will eventually seek the power agencies and the big chambers of commerce to back them up——— you have a group of mercenaries who only know how to shout and kill all day long to suddenly transform from free-spirited rangers to guardians of the entire region, which is also a little too difficult for most simple-minded mercenaries. What's more, the mercenary industry is originally an industry where input and output are not proportional, and if you mix it well, if you are lucky, you can make a lot of money and don't worry about it. It's not good, it's almost lucky, at least it's the level of having no home to return to.

Unfortunately, the natives are not players. You can run away infinitely after death, so for them, it is naturally a very common thing to have nothing to return home and die or something——— just look at this "undead incident" in Parfield, you can know that just one mission has made many long-established mercenary groups finally have to choose to disband and forcibly disband, precisely because they have no strength to resist this risk at all.

The strength of the Mercenary Guild is stronger than that of the Mercenary Regiment, so it is generally at a small risk. They have nothing to lose, but they can have the same problem if they run into those big risks.

But this risk is unavoidable for the Mercenary Guild. Because according to the regulations of the Mercenary Association, each Mercenary Guild must complete at least two five-star (the highest level) mercenary missions a year, otherwise it will be forcibly disbanded, and no failure or delay is allowed. Shearer's Burning Blade is stuck in this hard rule, and he has been planted three times and twice, so every year his Burning Blade rises and falls, falls and rises, and rises and falls.

Because of this, although Rhodes' Starlight has now been officially promoted to a guild, many people are not very optimistic about his future. But in any case, this is at least the first step he has taken.

After leaving the Mercenary Association, Rhodes soon saw two people in the hall who were not strangers or familiar with each other.

"Frankly, I think that's a bit too much for you kid."

Battle slipped his wine and patted Rod on the shoulder, and Ha Lu Ha Da said with a smile.

"Although it is said that there is still half a year between now and the winter break, the kid ......... How are you going to complete two five-star mercenary missions in half a year? These missions are no easier than the ones you picked up in the mercenary group......"

"It's a big loss to underestimate him, Battle."

Victor stood on the other side, looking at Rhodes with his usual elegant, calm smile.

"It's like the two old guys Mobis and Waltz......... At first, we didn't expect to lose the game, especially the old Waltz guy, but even Lawson moved out, and the result? ”

"yes, Lawson..............."

Hearing the name, Battle restrained the smile on his face, he put down his glass, and sighed with emotion.

Speaking of which. I don't really have a crush on this old bastard, it's just ...... Hey, forget it, there's not much to say. ”

"Don't talk about me, aren't you two the same?"

Although Rod is not in a very good mood because of Christie's affairs, fortunately his poker face gives Rod the biggest cover, so even if Rod is expressionless now, others will not notice that he is not in a very high mood. And Rhodes didn't complain about anything. He also figured it out, things are already like this, and it is useless to sigh again. Since Lydia can't help Christie, she can only take one step at a time, no matter what, life always has to go on. Just because one or two things don't go your way, acting like the end of the world is not Rhodes's philosophy of life. …,

"Huh? What are you referring to? ”

"Mission, of course."

Hearing Battle's confused rhetorical question, Rod couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

"It's true that we weren't prepared for a five-star mission. But you are too, Mr. Battle? For this midsummer festival, I don't think you have the time or mood to prepare for the mission, do you? ”

Hearing Rod's rhetorical question, Victor and Battle couldn't help but be stunned.

In fact, what Rhodes said was right, not only them, but for the victory of this midsummer festival, the four major mercenary guilds have not made any preparations for this year's five-star mission. They put all their energy into the competition of the Midsummer Festival, and at this time in the past, the major mercenary guilds should have started preparing for the mission a long time ago. Because five-star missions are not easy to do, put them on the player's side. Those are all hero-level copies, and it is not uncommon for teams with poor skills and consciousness to go in and kill them ten or twenty times.

That's still the player, and you can be resurrected when you die. Put it on these aborigines, don't say that they will be destroyed ten times, but they will be completely finished if they are destroyed three times.

Because of this, the major mercenary guilds are very cautious about five-star missions, and will even make the most perfect preparations several months in advance, and at that time, even if a hundred of them go out on a mission, only fifty or sixty people will come back at the end. It's already a big win——— and this is a point where the aborigines are stronger than the player, and the dungeon has a limit on the number of players on the team, but not for the aborigines. Because of this, many dungeons require players to have 50 people and 100 people to enter, and it is not surprising that players enter and find hundreds or thousands of NPC corpses inside.........

"But we're not like you, boy."

Battle shook his head and patted Rod on the shoulder. At the same time, he took a bottle of wine from the table next to him.

"To be honest, we weren't prepared, but we're not afraid to tell you the truth. We have people, boys, in the past, in order to avoid too much trouble, we used to send a hundred people at most to carry out the mission, and now it is a little troublesome, but I believe that with our strength, as long as we send another hundred people, then we will definitely be able to do it. But what about you? Brat? How many mercenaries are there in your group so far? ”

Speaking of this, Battle couldn't help but smile.

"Or are you going to go into battle yourself? Isn't that easy? I'll admit you're really strong, but boy, this five-star mission......... You can't do it alone. ”

Of course I understand that.

Hearing Battle about his depression, Rod rolled his eyes angrily, how could he not know this? However, what Battle said is also true, with the strength of the Rhodes mercenary group, it is indeed quite difficult to do five-star level tasks now, after all, Rod is a legendary player, he has done almost every five-star mission, and because of this, Rhodes knows very well how difficult these five-star missions are. It's not just that the boss is powerful——— it's the elite mobs all over the mountains that are the most headache. In the face of that kind of scene, what exquisite skills, coquettish movements, and elegant techniques are all scum, and it is the most practical to use people to resist.

Unless...............

Thinking of this, Rod suddenly rolled his eyes and had an idea.

"So, Mr. Victor, Mr. Battle, do you want us to make a bet?"

"Bet?"

Hearing Rod's words, the two immediately raised their heads and looked at the young man in front of them curiously and suspiciously.

"What a bet."

"If we have a Starlight Guild, we will be able to complete these two five-star missions before the two of you......... Then I hope that the two of you can fulfill my small request. ”

"Hey, you kid, are you serious about telling jokes?" Hearing this, Battle's eyes widened in surprise.

"This ..............."

However, before he finished speaking, Victor, who had been standing beside him, suddenly stretched out his hand to stop Battle's speech, and then he looked at Rod in front of him cautiously and asked.

"So, Mr. Rhodes, ............what do you ask for?"

"It's simple."

Saying this, Rod spread his hands.

"I only hope that the two of you will be able to help me open up a small commercial trade channel within your respective jurisdictions."

"What do you want that thing for?"

Hearing Rod's request, Battle frowned and muttered a little boredly. Victor, on the other hand, lowered his eyes and began to think. Soon, he looked up again and looked at Rod.

"But even if you lose that bet, it won't do us any good, will it? Mr. Rhodes, there's nothing we want in the Parfield area. ”

"That's right."

Hearing Victor's answer, Rod nodded very calmly, and then he glanced at Battle.

"Frankly, I'm just angry that some people are so sure we're going to be out of luck."

"Hahaha, are you still angry? Why didn't I see it? ”

Battellha laughed, he reached out, pointed at Rod's expressionless face, and laughed to his heart's content.

"Look at your dead face, boy, don't laugh when you should laugh, don't cry when you should cry, who knows what you think psychologically. Is it fun to do this all day? I think you might as well learn from those killers and find a mask to cover your face, it's better than what you look like now, isn't it? ”

With that, Battle slammed his fist hard.

"Okay, I'll take this challenge, boy, but in case you lose, I'll ask you kid to put on women's clothes and pour wine for Lao Tzu with a smile on his face. Hey, hey, he looks like a woman, and I really want to see what you kid would look like if you were really dressed as a woman. ”

“……………”

Hearing this, Rod's brows moved slightly, although there was still no expression on his face, but at this moment, a cold chill had been slowly released from Rod's side.

"Very good, Mr. Battle......... In that case, if I win this bet, I also expect you to be able to pour me a drink in women's clothes...... I think it must be something I'll never forget. By the way, I'm going to specify the costume myself. ”

"I don't have a problem either."

Victor nodded slightly.

"But I don't need this kind of boring bet, Mr. Rod, if you can really complete two five-star missions before the two of us, then ..............."

Speaking of this, Victor did not finish his words, because at this time, an attendant came to his side and whispered something to Victor, and when he heard the attendant's words, Victor was slightly stunned, and then he raised his head and nodded slightly to the two.

"I'm sorry, Battle, Mr. Rhodes, I have something to do, so I'll go first......... Battle, I'm not going to take part in that boring bet. ”

With that, Victor turned and left.

"It's boring."

Looking at Victor's distant figure, Battle shrugged his shoulders helplessly, and then he put down the empty wine bottle in his hand, picked up another bottle of wine from the table next to him, and shook it at Rod.

"Then, your bet is also next, if Lao Tzu really loses, it doesn't matter what you want me to wear. But if I win......... Hey, hey, I'm looking forward to that. But forget it, it's a happy day, and it's boring to talk about these boring topics, how about it? Do you want to have a competition between men? Looks like a girl, doesn't drink like a girl, right? That's a laugh to death. ”

“…………………”

Hearing Battle's words, Rod did not speak, instead, he just raised the wine glass in his hand in silence. (To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to (.) to vote for recommendation, monthly pass, your support is my biggest motivation. )