The pure white angel swooped down with a shining holy light and went deep into it.

For a moment, the demon fell silent, but then a terrible scream erupted. The twisted, shrill screams sounded dizzying, as if thousands of souls were tormented in the flames of hell. The fat flesh began to tremble and burst irregularly, and with filthy blood spurting out, a holy and dazzling light shining from the demon's interior.

"It's now!"

Rhodes, who had lost his weapon, did not hesitate when he saw this, and with a sudden wave of his hand, he summoned the Flame Slayer, and before the poor black hound could figure out what was happening, he was kicked hard in the back of the ass by Rhodes, and fell down the clump of demon flesh into the mouth of the demon flesh that could not bear the pain of the holy light. Rhodes took the opportunity to quickly retreat, flapping his wings and quickly retreating towards the edge of the cavern.

“————！！！”

And it was at this moment that the most terrible explosion occurred.

A bright and hot pillar of fire rose from the ground and burst out of the demon's mouth into the sky, the earth began to tremble, and the rubble fell downward, and the huge stalactites burst under the action of the shock wave and smashed to the ground. For a time, dust was everywhere, and the dust covered the entire cave.

"Ahem...............

After a long while, Rhodes fell to the ground with a disgraced face, although because of the wind element of the soul bird, but after all, manpower is sometimes poor, in the face of this huge force that is almost out of control, even Rhodes has to temporarily avoid its edge. However, fortunately, the mercenaries did not suffer much damage, and thanks to Marlene and Lijie's quick reaction, they called everyone together in the shortest possible time and quickly released a wide range of protection spells, which was able to escape.

Rod, who landed on the ground, waved his hand. Soon, a gust of wind flew through the hollow. Dispersed the dust around them. And it was only at this time that the tragic situation of the entire cave resurfaced in front of everyone.

The land that was originally covered with a carpet of flesh and blood has long since disappeared, and everywhere is covered with rubble, and it is no longer visible to the original. And the demon in the distance had already collapsed to the ground at this moment. From a distance, it looks like a smashed watermelon. It's disgusting. Sunlight poured down from the top of the cavern, bringing a hint of brightness to the otherwise gloomy cavern. However, this scene made Rod gasp. It seems that he still underestimated the explosive power of the Flame Slayer after he was promoted, if it weren't for the fact that the demon itself had a certain resistance to flames. Coupled with the rough skin and thick flesh, the power of the explosion was limited. Then I'm afraid that I won't be able to please anyone else. You must know that this place is almost 100 meters deep from the ground, and it is really unscientific that a hole can be blown out of ———— ground that goes straight to the ground.

Thinking of this, Rod couldn't help but secretly scream that he was in danger, and then he folded his wings and walked towards the demon's corpse.

At this moment, the demon has long been out of resistance, and the double blow of the holy light and the explosion makes it unbearable. The demonic body that had lost its life also began to melt rapidly, dissolving under the power of the Holy Light. The blackened sewage flowed in all directions, then quickly dried up at a speed visible to the naked eye, and in the blink of an eye, the huge demon corpse in front of him melted like a cake heated in the microwave oven, and then disappeared into thin air, completely gone. Aside from the slightest stench, there was nothing to prove its existence.

But in Rod's eyes, he clearly found something better.

Where the demon's corpse melted, only two things remained unaffected, a scepter carved with gold flowers and white jade, and a soul core the size of a fist. The former is exactly what Rhodes is looking for in this mission, while the latter is the remnants of the demon's loot. ..., that's a good thing.

Walking forward, Rhodes picked up the scepter and the soul core and carefully observed them, from the scepter, Rhodes could feel the surging positive energy, it was rumored that this originally belonged to the archbishop who came here last time to seal the demon, and it was also one of the secret treasures of the church. After a cursory glance, Rod could see that the attributes of this scepter were very good. Not only can it increase the amount of soul power of the holder, but it even comes with an anti-evil aura and an automatic reaction shield, if you can give this scepter to Lijie, then it is certain that the girl's strength will be further improved. However, for Rod, this is not the best choice, considering that it is very likely to deal with them in the future, Rod does not want to cause any trouble because of temporary selfish interests, and it is very necessary for players to maintain a certain degree of favorability with the church, and there is no need to lose a big one. What's more, Rhodes is also very clear that this scepter is called "justice", and it belongs to a kind of weapon with self-awareness. It can determine whether the wielder obtained it by proper means, and if it deems it to be improper, the scepter will retaliate against the wielder.

Of course, it is not without players in the game who get this scepter as loot, but they are all spirit masters and are basically responsible for the last blow of the demon. Because according to the rules of the game, the scepter will only recognize the person who took it out of the demon's body, that is, whoever gives the demon the last blow may be recognized by the scepter. However, Lijie is still very weak now, and she is not yet qualified to launch the most critical blow against the demon, so it seems that she is fated.

But more than the quest weapon that came with it, Rhodes cared more about this soul core. This is the core of the soul from hell, which is quite rare in the main plane. It is also a great treasure for summoning swordsmen. Different from the soul core of the main plane, the soul core from hell will add extra power and blessings to the elves when awakening them because of their own attributes, and even due to the level distinction of the hell plane, the elves awakened by the fusion of the soul core from hell will basically not appear level inversion. In other words, only the soul core from hell can guarantee 100% awakening of high-level elves.

But......... These elves are generally dark attributes.

Rod didn't mean to use the soul core here, he just pondered for a moment, and then withdrew the huge soul core into the space bag around his waist. Then he turned his head, and although the battle was over, he looked at the mercenaries. Apparently not very excited. Their nerves had almost been numb in the previous battle, especially the landslide-like explosion at the end of the battle that frightened the mercenaries. At one point, they even thought that their destiny was buried deep underground. to be the bones of a corpse that will never see the light of day.

This made the mercenaries not react for a while, they held their weapons and stared blankly around, looking at everything in front of them with pale faces. This includes the broken pieces of meat that emerge from the crevices of the rubble. Smelly, bloody corpses. and some bugs that are still slowly dying.

Even a man as lively as Anne was now standing on the sidelines, leaning on her shield and gasping for breath, and it looked like she had lost a lot of time in battle. Not to mention Marlene and Lijie. In the previous battles, they were firing on all cylinders. In the explosion that followed, they had to protect the other mercenaries surrounded by flames, shocks, and rocks, and now the two of them were already exhausted and slumped on the ground.

"Is it over? Mr. Rhodes. ”

"It's over."

Feeling the eyes of everyone looking at him, Rod nodded slightly, and then he raised the scepter in his hand. ...,"Our mission was successfully accomplished. ”

Hear Rod's answer. The mercenaries did not cheer immediately, on the contrary. They looked at each other, as if they didn't know how to face this fact.

Did they get the job done?

The Holy Soul is on top, and they really killed all the way to the inside of the Black Stone Abyss, and then destroyed a huge demon?

Thinking of this, many mercenaries began to tremble. Ever since they entered the Abyss of Blackstone, thanks to Rhodes' orders and fierce battles along the way, they had not had time to think about how unimaginable what they were doing. They were like a group of long-distance runners, gritting their teeth and instinctively sprinting forward under the urging of the ghost coach, at that time, their brains had no other thoughts to keep going, and it was not until they reached the finish line that they were surprised to find that they had set a record that they had never imagined.

You must know that it is a demon!

In all the legends of the Dragon Soul Continent, demons are one of the most terrifying beings, they hover underground, always ready to fight for the destruction of all living beings on the ground, and ordinary people are not their opponents at all. In legend, only the heroes of the brave knights and poets were able to achieve such a feat.

And now, their group of mercenaries actually did it?

"Yay!!"

"Roar!!"

It was only at this time that a loud cheer erupted among the mercenaries, who whistled and shouted loudly to express their excitement. Defeating the demons was a great honor, and even if they didn't achieve anything for the rest of their lives, the victory from this mission alone would be enough for them to brag about for the rest of their lives! After all, they are not some knights who have been taught in the church temple since they were young and received the gift of the soul of the holy dragon with the mission of eliminating demons, nor are they those brave people who are destined to save the world, they are just a group of mercenaries! Damn, they can't wait to get back to the surface, to the tavern, to brag about what they've been through to the envious and hateful gazes of their drinkers and colleagues!

The joy and satisfaction of completing the task enveloped everyone, even Marlene, who had been outside the team, and she sat quietly on the sidelines, looking at the mercenaries who seemed to have forgotten their fatigue and were excited with an imperceptible smile on the corner of her mouth. Although Marlene has always looked down on these people, after so many battles together, it is impossible to say that there is no emotion at all.

Although many of the mercenaries were very excited to take some of the demon's bones back for loot, they were invariably stopped by Lizzie and Celia (the latter was recalled by Rhodes before the explosion and later re-summoned). After all, these things are the product of evil, and they are likely to affect your soul and spirit when you are not aware of it. And don't look at these things as small and inconspicuous, the vitality of the insects is also very strong, and if any of them bring the eggs that may remain on the surface to the surface, then it will be a problem.

For this reason, the angel girl even wrapped everyone's body with the angel's unique probing fire, so that all the demonic traces that may remain on their bodies were burned clean under the abundant positive energy, although those mercenaries did not feel good, but for the safety of their own lives, they still endured.

"I didn't expect that we actually defeated a demon."

Even Kavos. At the moment, he is also sitting on a rock, looking at the hollow not far away. whispered. He has been a mercenary for so many years. Killed people, killed beasts, and even killed monsters, but demons? The Holy Soul is above. It was never on his task list. …,

"Yes, the head of the regiment is really powerful."

Joey leaned in. With a grin, he glanced around and greeted Kavos.

"Frankly. I don't know how I managed to beat this guy. You must know that if I meet a demon on weekdays, I will definitely run away without saying a word............

"Me too."

Kavus smiled and nodded. It is undeniable that Rod's performance has been recognized by the new members led by Kavos along the way. Although it was not without casualties, then only three or four people were almost negligible losses for this operation. Even if it is to encircle and suppress the bandits, the mercenaries must be prepared to lose one-third to one-quarter of their manpower. Not to mention facing demons, even if it is a group annihilation, it is a matter of course. Now only four or five people have died. It's already a holy soul blessing.

"Come, a toast to our wise captain."

said. Kavos removed the wine bag from his waist, and Joey smiled as he pulled a small metal flask from his bosom.

"That's right, a toast to the regimental commander———— although the regimental commander strictly forbids us to drink alcohol during the mission, but now that it's over, it's okay for us to drink a little once in a while, right? Really, if the head of the regiment could be a little softer than he was on the outside............... After doing so many things, I'm already hungry and crazy, and although it's not yet time to have a good meal, it's okay to drink some wine. ”

"What are you talking about?"

At this moment, Rod's voice suddenly remembered, and when he heard him speak, Joey's face froze, but when he turned around, he maintained his original enthusiastic smile.

"It's nothing, Captain, we're just lamenting how well you've commanded."

"Oh....................."

Hearing Joey's answer, Rod nodded, and then he stretched out his hand with a blank face. Joey looked at Rod's hand, and then he couldn't help but shudder, he stared blankly at the charred black worm in Rod's hand, which had been dead for a long time, and didn't know what it meant.

"My lord, this ..............."

"Aren't you hungry? Give it to you, remove the head and eat it, taste it, the chicken flavor, crunchy. ”

Joey looked at the half-burned insect with a blue face, hesitating to reach out for it, and finally he swallowed his saliva and stretched out his hand tremblingly, and just when Joey's fingers just touched the bug, I don't know why the worm suddenly twitched.

"Wooh!!"

Joey retracted his hand with lightning speed, and then the whole person jumped backwards like a spring, and then quickly disappeared into the crowd.

"I'm sorry, Captain, I was wrong!!"

Looking at Joey's back in the distance, Rhodes shrugged his shoulders, and then he withdrew his gaze and looked at Kavos. Under Rod's gaze, a smile forced a smile on Caworth's stiff face, and then he slowly stood up.

"I'm sorry, my lord, I'm going to see those guys............ These bastards are so uneasy, I don't look at them for fear that they will overjoyed and make something happen..............."

With that, Kavos turned around and quickly left.

Rhodes watched as Kavos's figure vanished, then lowered his head and glanced at the bug in his hand. Once again, I was sure that I really didn't have any talent for telling jokes.

After this episode, the mercenaries quickly cleaned up the battlefield, but in fact there was nothing to clean up. Almost everything here was contaminated by the devil and could not be brought out, and Celia took the sacred flame and strictly grilled the surroundings again, and it was finally done. However, although the mercenaries did not get any spoils of war this mission, they were not annoyed at all, after all, the church was very well paid, and it was completely able to fill these vacancies. And after signing the agreement, these mercenaries don't need to determine how much they should get through the mouth cannon like before, and everyone can get their own portion. Coupled with the fact that they had defeated the demons, this glorious deed was already quite a good honor for the mercenaries. So they didn't complain about anything, but quickly set out on the return journey. …,

Two days later, Starlight returned to the ground. Upon arriving at the Mercenary Society, Rhodes quickly handed over the scepter to the members of the Church who had been waiting there.

"Thank you for your selfless assistance, noble sir."

The priestess, who was covered in a white robe and showed only a delicate face, carefully took the scepter handed by Rod, then bent down and bowed deeply to him.

"May the power of the Holy Spirit bless you forever, brave warrior, and may you find the right path, both in light and in shadow."

Hearing the priestess's answer, Rhodes nodded, then pressed his right hand to his chest and bent down slightly.

"The turbulent river will eventually return to the right path, the storm cannot blind my eyes forever, I am deeply honored to be blessed with justice, and under all things, only order will always exist."

Hearing Rod's answer, the priestess looked at him with wide eyes in surprise, and only after a moment did she smile softly and warmly.

"Pardon my rudeness, sir, I almost thought it was a true paladin standing before me."

"It is my pleasure, the guide of order."

Rhodes didn't have much reaction to this sentence, after all, since the middle of the game, he has been in contact with the country of law and the church the most, and he naturally knows everything about the communication between them. Although these few short sentences are unlikely to bring financial benefits to Rhodes, they are still necessary to increase the goodwill of the church.

After saying goodbye, Rhodes left the Mercenary Association, and when he walked out of the door, he was greeted by Lijieying.

"Good work, Mr. Rhodes, is everything going well?"

"It went very well."

For Lijie's concern, Rhodes is not surprised, after all, she is also a spiritual master, and she is half a member of the church, so she is also very attentive to this mission.

"What about the others?"

"After receiving the payment, everyone disbanded on the spot, and Marlene said that she was going to buy some supplies......... Are we going back to the base? ”

"Nope."

To Lijie's surprise, Rod shook his head.

"You go back first, I'm going to find someone."

As he spoke, Rhodes reached out and looked at a ring in his hand. This is exactly what he had brought with him in the backpack he had taken out of Barney, who had already been parasitized. Originally, Rod didn't plan to bring this broken thing back, but an unexpected gadget found inside made him have to bring the matter back to his heart.

"I really didn't expect them to get involved?"