It is not difficult to imagine how the inhabitants of the fortress would react to such a magical and beautiful crystal statue the next day, they had no idea that such a beautiful statue would appear in the empty square the day before, just one night's work, and this kind of thing that can only happen in the wildest dreams is simply shocking to everyone. It is rumored that the first person to see the statue was even frightened, yelling and rushing into the guild stronghold to ask for help from the mercenaries, and the mercenaries who got the news were also shocked when they saw the statue. In less than half an hour, rumors about the statue had spread to every corner of the fortress, and many people came to see the excitement. It wasn't until Marlene, on behalf of the guild, came forward to claim that the statue had been built by them, that everyone was reassured. But because of this, it makes people feel even more shocked and unbelievable.

It only took Rhodes half a day to build the Fort of Atonement, and almost no one in the fortress knew about it, because it was something to be proud of and proud of Starlight. But in fact, not everyone believes such rumors, even within the Starlight Guild, there are many mercenaries who think this is too exaggerated, after all, the mercenaries who followed Rhodes to clean up the Land of Atonement were only a small number of people, and most of them didn't see how this fortress was built, so it is inevitable that there will be some places in the rumors that cannot withstand scrutiny. It is also natural that others do not believe it.

But this time, after witnessing such a miracle with their own eyes, even those mercenaries finally began to change their minds. Having lived in the fortress for such a long time, they can be sure that yesterday there was still nothing, a blank slate, but now. The twenty-meter-tall crystal statue stood tall in the square, and the base carved with beautiful patterns blended with the heavy bluestone brick floor of the square, and there was no difference at all, as if it had been there all along, but he and others had not discovered it.

But this is not possible.

Marlene didn't say much, but almost everyone knew it. This must have been done by Rod.

How exactly did he do it?

For the whole night, they did not even hear the slightest movement, and when they opened their eyes the next day, they found such a statue in front of them, and they were surprised ——— even in awe when it was impossible to believe that something that could only be seen in those exaggerated myths and legends really appeared in front of them.

Rhodes is a very mysterious and serious existence in the minds of most mercenaries, but because he is too young, there will always be mercenaries who maintain a little contempt for Rhodes. In fact, in the Starlight Guild, there has always been such a mood. Not every mercenary was convinced by Rhodes, and many of them joined the Starlight Guild in the first place just because of Starlight's development potential and strength, not because of Rhodes. Most of these people are newcomers later, they have strength, potential and ambition, but for Rod, most of them are only superficially respectful, and in fact they don't really take Rhodes in their eyes.

As for others. Including Shanna, Joey, and Lando are all people who have been following Rhodes since the very beginning. They have seen with their own eyes that Rhodes has done many things that no one can imagine or even do. Therefore, these mercenaries are naturally loyal to Rod, they know Rod's strength, and they also understand his strength and fear. Therefore, their reverence for Rhodes was from the bottom of their hearts. And seeing those newcomers who didn't know whether they were alive or dead expressed disdain for Rhodes, these old people were naturally unhappy. They felt that these newcomers were too arrogant and lacked respect for Rhodes. The newcomer felt that the old man's story about Rhodes was too exaggerated. Although they also admit that this young man is indeed very strong, looking at what those old people said, it is simply too legendary to believe it. Therefore, many people think that this is just an exaggeration by the old man or simply a story made up to scare them.

What could it be to build such a fortress in less than a day, and look at the scale of this fortress, almost half of a small city. How could this scale be built in a day? What about taking us for fools?

But now, these people are shaken.

Because they couldn't find any reason to explain what was happening in front of them, it was really happening in front of them, without any blindfolding, not only did they not hear the slightest wind before, they didn't even notice the slightest movement, but now, this statue appeared in front of them!

Could it be that what those old mercenaries said before was true?

This thought appeared in the minds of those newcomers, and they couldn't help but shudder, the Holy Soul is above, if this is true, then what else can't that adult do? Thinking of this, those mercenaries who were originally arrogant suddenly became much more honest, they are not fools, if those old mercenaries are not making up stories, but the truth, then they still don't want to be stupid and continue like this. I heard that the young adult ——— his temper was not very good.

Rhodes didn't expect that the statue of the Holy Maiden he had built would help him consolidate his prestige and status in the guild, but he didn't have time to worry about these things now, although after he returned, most of the things were handled by Marlene, but many important things still had to be nodded by Rhodes.

First of all, there is the question about the Alchemist Association, after half a month of arguing, the Alchemist Association finally put down face and sent the alchemy materials he needed before according to Rhodes' request. And Rhodes also kept his promise, not only allowing Labis to create an antidote, but also returning the idiot Thomas who led the alchemist team to sneak up on him. However, after the poor creature was released from the black prison, his spirit had completely collapsed, and he had completely become a madman, and the genius of the Alchemist Guild had completely disappeared and was never to be seen again.

And the progress on Labis's side is also going well, at the beginning, the alchemy apprentices brought by Marlene were a little contemptuous of Labis, a girl younger than them. But after Labis showed her master-level alchemy skills and knowledge, the alchemy apprentices immediately put away their contempt and began to work for Labis wholeheartedly. As people trusted by Marlene, these people have good conduct, so they get along very well with Labis. And with the addition of these people, Labis's work is much easier, at least she doesn't need to do everything by herself like before.

In addition to this, Rhodes also got the news ——— that is, the girl who was rescued from the convent by them before. Finally regained consciousness.

“………………… Woo........."

The girl opened her eyes, and the dazzling sunlight shone in through the window, which made her frown, and then, the girl felt the incomparable pain in her body sweep from her limbs, as if every vein was poured into the hot magma, which made the girl moan instinctively, and then she opened her eyes.

What catches your eye. High ceilings, clean glass windows, crisp white linens and curtains, and a breeze blowing in through the half-open windows make people feel cosy and comfortable.

"This is ..............."

The girl stared blankly out of the window, the blue sky, the soft sunlight, the green leaves, everything seemed to be full of life and vitality. And until this time. The girl remembered everything that had happened before——— by the way, she had been kidnapped. Take them to a terrible place deep in the mountains, where they are full of horrible and terrifying adults, who lock themselves up and want to ............

“…………！！！”

Thinking of this, the girl was suddenly startled, and she hurriedly sat up. But soon, the sharp pain in her body made her lie down on the bed again, and at that moment, a slight voice came from the girl's side.

“……… I think...... It's better for you not to move............"

"Huh?"

Hearing this voice, the girl was stunned for a moment. Then she turned her head, and soon saw a girl sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at her worriedly. Seeing her gaze, the girl smiled softly and reassuringly.

“……………… You're finally awake........."

"Who are you? What a place is this..............."

Looking at the petite, slender and thin girl in front of her, the girl couldn't help but ask with some curiosity. The girl smiled slightly, then stood up.

"My name is Christie......... Here it is......... Stronghold of Rhodes......... Rest assured, here it is... No one will hurt your ........."

Perhaps it was because Christie's soft voice moved the girl, or perhaps because she realized that her current situation was not as bad as she thought, the girl gradually quieted down, she leaned against the head of the bed, and looked curiously at everything in front of her. Indeed, even if Christie herself does not say it, if the girl looks closely, she will find that this room is completely different from the cold, old dungeon she had brought with her. The décor is not luxurious, but it is very elegant and comfortable, giving it a sense of peace of mind. Could it be that I came out of that terrible place? And how did it come out?

Just as the girl's mind was in a mess, there was a knock on the door, and then a young, aristocratic man walked into the room.

“………… Rhodes ..............."

Seeing the man enter the room, a soft smile appeared on Christie's face, who had been sitting next to the girl, and she stood up and trotted all the way into the man's arms. The girl's eyes widened in surprise, looking at the girl who threw herself into the man's arms, and then raised her head to look at the black-haired man in front of her——— which is no wonder, after all, except for the factor of age, the two of them are exactly the same. Could it be that this gentleman is the girl's brother?

"Hello, this young lady."

While the girl was thinking, Rhodes was already stroking Christie's hair, then turned to look at her, he nodded to the other before he spoke.

"Let me introduce myself first, my name is Rhodes. Elant, the lord of Glenbel, is also the president of the Starlight Guild. May I ask your name? ”

"I............ My name is Ann. ”

Although the young man's expressionless face looked a little nervous, she quickly answered.

"Hello, honorable lord, my name is Ann. Clarke. ”

"Hello, Miss Clark."

Hear Ann's answer. Rod was silent for a moment, then continued.

"I know that you must have a lot of questions in your mind now, but before that, I hope to be able to tell me what happened to you in the Prophet Dao, and what you remember before this?"

"When. Of course..............."

Although Ann hesitated a little in the face of Rod's inquiry, she quickly nodded, and then the girl began to tell Rhodes what had happened to her. And the whole thing started a few days ago. The girl was out shopping with her companions, but they were spotted by a few thieves, and they found an opportunity to knock Ann unconscious and take her back to her lair. At first, Ann thought they had kidnapped her to get her father's property, but she soon realized that something was wrong. Because the thieves kidnapped the girl and took her out of Cole City. Came to a relatively remote mountain forest, and handed the girl over to a group of men in armor who looked extremely terrifying. And what happened after this stunned Ann——— the men not only killed the thief who had kidnapped her, but also took her to a terrifying place deep in the mountains, and then imprisoned the girl in a dungeon. And it was only at this time that Ann learned that she had been captured as a sacrifice for a terrible monster. This naturally frightened the girl, although she tried her best. But there was no way to escape. She could only stay in the cold, damp dungeon, despair and fear of each day. I don't know how long it took, but at last, the door to the dungeon opened, and the girl saw a nun in a bright red robe with several terrible men walking in, telling her that the ritual was about to begin. And the girl naturally struggled desperately, trying to resist. But soon, she was knocked unconscious, and what happened after that was ......... Ann has no memory at all.

While the girl was telling, Rhodes didn't say a word and kept looking at her. This made Ann feel a lot of pressure. But she still managed to finish telling the story that happened to her. After listening to the girl's words, Rod nodded. At this time, he suddenly remembered the little episode he had before going to the Holy Spirit Monastery, and after a long time, the little ghost who was the same as the little bubblegum and the mercenaries were looking for her?

But they are really good, a group of mercenaries less than level twenty dare to fight fifty or sixty level dungeons, no wonder players see the corpses of mercenaries in dungeons......... If this is not fully understood, it will be unreasonable.

After Ann stopped, Rhodes also briefly introduced the situation after that, of course, he didn't tell the truth, just said that as the lord of Glenbel, he learned that there was such a group of cultists wandering in the Glenber Mountains, so he took someone to deal with it, and then found Ann who was placed on the altar in the process, and then brought her back.

"I can understand your feelings, this young lady, you have just woken up, and your body has not fully recovered. I think you can rest here for a while, and at the same time, I will send someone to inform Ling Zun, and then send someone to send you home when you are well, is this okay? ”

"Of course, my lord."

Hearing Rod's inquiry, the stone in peace of mind suddenly fell to the ground, and she hurriedly smiled, and then replied. After hearing her answer, Rod nodded with satisfaction, but his expression still did not change in the slightest.

"Then please rest in peace, I will let Christie be by your side, if you need anything, you can talk to her, then, I still have something to do, I will leave first."

"Ah...............h

Seeing Rod turn around and leave, An couldn't help but be a little dazed, she looked at Rode's back blankly, but couldn't say anything. Although the two sides met for only a few minutes, Ann was already deeply impressed by Rod at this moment, and even in the eyes of the girl who escaped death, Rod was simply the most ideal gentleman in her mind, he was gentle, polite, and considerate of women——— only flaw was that the young nobleman didn't seem to like to smile............

However, Rod obviously doesn't care what others think of him, because with the approach of winter, another very important thing also appeared in front of Rode.

That's the Mercenary Association's Winter Festival.

In the Dragon Soul Continent, winter is the season when everything sleeps, and for the mercenaries, it is also a day to rest after a busy year, due to the harsh winter climate, accidents are prone to occur. Therefore, most mercenaries do not go to the mountains and forests to explore the missions in the winter months, but instead take a break for a month or two until the coldest period has passed. The Mercenary Association also took this opportunity to evaluate the mercenary guilds in each region, and determined the ranking of the mercenary group and the mercenary guild, those mercenary guilds that were not qualified and did not complete the task would be demoted to a mercenary group, and the mercenary group with outstanding performance would be promoted to the mercenary guild.

The previous Burning Blade was upgraded and downgraded every time at the Winter Festival, tossing back and forth between the Mercenary Guild and the Mercenary Group, so that the mercenaries in the Parfield area could not be lifted in other places, until Rod's starlight suddenly appeared, which finally stabilized the Parfield area. And this time, Rhodes led the mercenaries to complete two five-star missions excellently, so naturally there is no need to worry that they will be disbanded like the Burning Blade. However, Rod also knows very well that this time to participate in the Winter Festival is also of extraordinary significance to him.

Because Rhodes had already heard a lot of rumors that were not good for his guild. (To be continued.) )