The fog lifted.

The town that had been dusty for many years reappeared in the light of day, and with the death of the shadows, the shadows that had bound them all this time dissipated.

Rhodes put away his sword and stared at the pile of white dust on the ground in front of him, which was left behind by the shadow. They shine softly in the sunlight. Rhodes was silent for a moment, then crouched down and took out a translucent, milky white gem.

The core of the soul.

It's not surprising that boss-level creatures drop soul cores, after all, creatures that can qualify as boss-level have a certain degree of powerful magic power, and over the years, their bodies are easier to condense soul cores than ordinary monsters, and now, this has also become Rhodes' trophy.

But Rhodes didn't waste much time on these things, he hastily cleaned up, then turned around and walked towards the entrance of the square with somewhat tired steps, although the battle with the Phantom did not consume much of his physical strength, but he was very mentally exhausted. Although there was no expression on Rod's face, his slightly heavy steps showed it.

Seeing Rod's figure reappear, Lijie and Mace finally breathed a sigh of relief, and they hurriedly ran forward and asked about his situation with concern. But unexpectedly, Rod's mood didn't seem to be very high, he just coped with a few words very calmly, and then pulled away from the topic, not wanting to talk about it more.

Seeing Rod's performance, Lijie and Mace glanced at each other curiously, but they didn't ask any more, they could see that Rod's mood didn't seem to be very high, although they didn't know what happened to Lu Dao in the face of the shadow in the thick fog, but it was obvious that Rod didn't plan to talk about this topic more.

Lijie is a smart and clever girl, and Mace is also a businessman who is used to seeing scenes, and since Rod is in a bad mood, they are also very familiar with each other and keep their mouths shut and don't ask more about this topic.

In fact, the doubts about the shadow did not stay in their minds for long, because soon they focused their attention on something else——— they were finally leaving this hellish place!

Frankly speaking, it took only two or three days from the crash of the floating boat to the three of them walking out of the mountain pass, but because of the hardships and dangers along the way, they all felt as if dozens of days had passed.

Because of this, when the three of them saw the town at the foot of the mountain, even the usually calm Rhodes showed a relieved expression, not to mention the fat merchant who was as excited as if he had escaped death, and Lijie, who was excited.

Located at the foot of the Parfield Mountains, the town of Creek is a very peaceful place in the border region. In the game, due to its proximity to the Dusk Forest, it has always been a gathering place for novice players. Rhodes also stayed here for a while, and he was naturally very familiar with the grass and trees here. He could even casually call out the names of most of the people here——— but walking down the quiet streets, looking at the characters who originally belonged in the game were now turning into living humans, Rhodes still felt a little strange.

Although there is still a lot of work to do, a soft and comfortable bed and delicious food are the main focus for them right now. After filling their stomachs in the town's inn, the three of them eagerly plunged into the soft beds, and then fell into a deep dream.

When Rod opened his eyes, it was already the afternoon of the second day.

The sunlight outside the window is soft and warm, and the wooden windows shine on the floor, bringing a cozy, lazy atmosphere.

"Hoo ............"

Rhodes breathed a sigh of relief, he reached out and looked at the scar carefully as he moved his body. There was still a faint pain in his left chest, which brought Rod's originally vague consciousness back to reality.

This is not a dream.

For the first time, Rhodes had a real, real sense of living in this world.

The life of the previous few days was chaotic and dangerous, giving people a vague sense of unreality, and several times Rhodes woke up from his dreams, thinking that he was still dreaming, those battles, those monsters only ** after fighting too much subconsciously reflected in the dream. But now, when the danger is gone, and a peaceful life reappears before his eyes, this real sense of reality is even stronger. …,

So, where do you go from here?

"Knock knock."

A slightly muffled knock interrupted Rod's thoughts, and he looked up at the door.

"Please come in."

With Rod's voice, the door slowly opened, and then, the blonde girl walked in, holding a clean bandage in her hand and carrying a basin of water. Seeing Rhodes sitting on the bed, the girl first showed a gentle and lively smile, and then asked.

"Mr. Rod, how is your health?"

"It's okay, no problem."

Faced with the girl's concern, Rod nodded slightly and returned the salute. Although his performance was not very enthusiastic, Lijie was obviously used to Rod's reaction, so she just smiled lightly, and without saying anything more, she came to Rod's side and began to prepare for the work of changing the bandages.

And looking at the girl who lowered her head, Rod also smiled bitterly in his heart. In fact, it's not that he doesn't want to show enthusiasm, it's not interesting to put on a poker face, and he's past the age of pretending to be cool and handsome, which is not fun.

But Rhodes couldn't change it, because of his deep-seated habits——— when he was still very young, because of this face similar to his sister, he was often ridiculed by his friends and classmates as "like a girl", which is obviously not a compliment for a man. Rhodes has always cared very much about his face, so when entering the Dragon Soul Continent, he did not choose the advanced "Scan and Reproduction" technique like many players, but chose the character image that comes with the game. At that time, the young Rhodes had little to do to fight against him, so he could only try his best to pretend to be cold, and rarely smiled to show that he was a man, not a weak woman.

This is the second phase of secondary school that everyone has, and as he grows older, Rod no longer sticks to such small things, but unfortunately, he soon found that this seems to have become a habit, and there is no way to change it. And in addition, he later became the president of the most powerful online game guild in the entire Dragon Soul Continent game, which also made him have to choose a calm and restrained way to lead and govern the guild, and now that his character has been formed, it is not so easy to change it.

But these are just minor issues.

The pain in the wound made Rod retract his thoughts, and he looked at the girl who was gently wiping the scar on his chest, but he remembered something else.

"Lijie."

"What's the matter? Mr. Rhodes? ”

"What's next for you?"

Hearing Rod's question, the girl's body trembled slightly, and the movements in her hands also stopped slightly, and then, she sighed lightly and lowered her head helplessly.

"Frankly, I don't know, Mr. Rhodes."

"What about your companions? Don't you have a place to go back? ”

"Even if I go back, I'm the only one left............"

Speaking of this, Lijie's tone was a little low.

"Moreover, the mercenary group is about to be disbanded."

I see.

Hearing Lijie's story, Rhodes finally understood her situation.

In the Dragon Soul Continent, the group of mercenaries is divided into three levels, the lowest level is the mercenary team, most of them are a group of five or six adventurers, and there will be no more than ten people at most. This kind of organization is very loose, and there are no special rules, as long as they are registered with the Mercenary Association, anyone can organize such a team.

And then there is the mercenary group, the minimum number of people is more than ten people, compared with those mercenary teams that are good to gather and disperse, and the stragglers are brave, the mercenary group has entered the regular track, they not only have to fill in the formal information and report to the mercenary association, but also get some help from the mercenary association, and even be able to have their own stronghold.

And further up is the mercenary guild, their number is more than 100 people, these mercenary guilds are not only powerful, with their own strongholds and fortresses, and even get direct support from the official or chamber of commerce, and some huge mercenary guilds even have their own territories and cities, and their influence is also quite prominent.

The class division of these mercenary groups is not only reflected in strength and prestige, but even affects their evaluation when they take on missions. It is impossible for a mercenary team to receive a guild-level task, even if they want to take it, they will be directly rejected by the mercenary association, even if they finally complete the task, they will not be recognized——— of course, ordinary mercenary squads do not have the strength to complete the guild-level task. …,

Although mercenary groups and mercenary guilds enjoy many privileges, they are not without pressure——— mercenary guilds will score each group according to the danger and completion of the tasks they take, and after one year, if the mission completion points are insufficient, then the mercenary guild will forcibly disband those mercenary groups that have not been able to reach the passing line, even those mercenary guilds will be forcibly demoted to mercenary groups.

Lijie's depressed behavior is also related to this, her mercenary group was originally only a dozen people, small and medium-sized groups, and now because of this mission, only one survivor is left, and even the head of the group is dead. In this way, there is no way for the mercenary group to sustain at all, although it is still spring, and there is still a long time before the end of the year, but Li Jie has no way to support a mercenary group by herself, not to mention that she is just a spirit master, and she has no combat effectiveness at all, even if she wants to do it alone, she is just more than enough and not enough. From the current point of view, Lijie's mercenary group can only be obediently disbanded, and with the special auxiliary profession of spirit master, it is not difficult for the girl to join other teams.

But now it seems that Lijie has no intention of leaving.

"You don't want to leave?"

In the face of Rod's inquiry, the girl nodded very affirmatively.

"Yes, Mr. Rhodes, after all, they were the first to take me in, and, here, I have a relationship with you like family......... I, I really don't want this mercenary group to go away. ”

Saying this, Lijie's eyes turned red, but she bit her lip, but she didn't waver.

"They're gone, at least......... At least I hope that the proof they've been working so will stay. ”

"But as things stand, if you can't find enough manpower, it's only a matter of time before the mercenary group is disbanded."

"Yes."

Lijie didn't shy away from this, she herself knew what the problem was, but the girl didn't mean to give up.

"But I still don't want to give up, Mr. Rhodes. As you said to me before, since I am alive, I must do something meaningful, and although I don't know how far I can do it, I still hope to give it a try. ”

Looking at the girl's determined expression, Rhodes suddenly thought of an idea, he was silent for a moment, and then spoke.

"In that case, I have a proposal."

"What proposal? Mr. Rhodes? ”

Hearing Rod's words, Lijie hurriedly raised her head and looked at him nervously. Although he had only been in contact with Rhodes for a few days, his erudition and great strength left a deep impression on Lijie, whether it was a wind snake, a silver wolf or a ghost, they were all monsters that Lijie had never encountered or even heard of. Not to mention her, Lijie was sure that many mercenaries had never seen these monsters, but Rhodes knew their weaknesses and habits well, which was unimaginable. She didn't have the boredom of guessing who Rhodes really was, and there was no need for adventurers, as long as she knew that he was very powerful, it was enough.

Although Li Jie thought that she was mentally prepared enough, Rod's next words still made her eyes widen in surprise and she was speechless.

"If you want, give me the mercenary group."