There are gains and losses, and Christi has a very deep understanding of this truth.

Now she can finally follow Rhodes again, and take a leisurely walk in Deep Rock with him, out of concern for the girl, Rod does not recommend that she go out alone. In fact, after so many years of miserable life, the girl is also quite wary of crowded places, she longs to go out to see the wider world, but she is worried that she will be harmed, only by following Rhodes's side, the girl will feel completely safe.

And now, she's doing the same.

Rhodes held Christie's hand and walked on the lively Deep Rock Market, where the sun was shining brightly, and it was morning, and people were full of energy to start their day's work and life. They sell their wares and shout to customers.

The combination of Rhodes and Christy didn't stand out in the crowd, as they both chose to cover their faces with cloaks when they went out to avoid unnecessary trouble. This time the shopping was a result of interest for Rhodes, of course, mainly to buy Christy something she liked. The girl's distress Rhodes was not unaware, but frankly, he had no clue how to solve Christy's troubles, and if the two met on Earth, then Rhodes could still find some way for her to pass the time, such as reading books and surfing the Internet. However, it is a pity that there are not as many ways of entertainment and leisure in this world as on earth, and people's greatest entertainment is nightlife——— which of course Rhodes does not plan to take Christy to try.

The girl followed Rod's side, holding his hand tightly while looking around curiously. For Christie, who had never left the town, the impact and attraction of the sprawling Deep Stone City was strong, and she looked in amazement at the houses built on the stone walls, the huge bottomless pits not far away, the floating boats suspended in the mountain harbor, and the lively bazaar. Even the heavily armed and hurried guards made the girl feel very fresh.

The only regret is that the sisters who are very good to her are now unable to accompany the girl to visit the scenery here, since Rod came back, Christy rarely sees Lijie and the others again, they leave every day with a solemn expression, and then in the evening they return to their rooms with a pale face, looking as if they have done some heavy physical work, and sometimes they don't even want to eat.

"What the hell are the sisters doing?"

Christy once asked Rhodes this question, but Rod's answer was stranger than the girl had imagined.

"They want to be stronger."

Christy didn't quite understand the meaning of the phrase. But she thinks that since Rod said so, then there should be nothing wrong...... It's just that what are the sisters doing now?

Thinking of this, Christy couldn't help but turn her head and look in the direction of the stronghold.

"Whew!"

Marlene let out a long sigh and sat down against the wall. There were beads of sweat all over her forehead, and beside her, Lijie was also kneeling there, while Anne was lying on the ground in a large shape, without the slightest reserve that a girl should have. Not far from them, Lando and Joey were even more miserable, fainting and still not waking up.

And standing in front of the three of them was the virtual image summoned by Rhodes before. Memories summoned in Phantom Space can always be present, and can move with the wielder's mind. So now Rod doesn't need to go to the training ground every time. As long as Marlene awakens the Orb of Mysteries through her own strength, she can take others into the space to train. "No, not at all." ”

Marlene shook her head, biting her lip and looking across from her, where the girl in the blue robe was smiling at her, as if she were her old friend. But Marlene will never forget that she completely killed herself in less than three seconds.

Thinking of this, Marlene gritted her teeth. A burst of unwillingness came to her heart. Fortunately, the girl has always maintained cautious self-discipline. Only then did her proud self-esteem not collapse because of failure. If she, like everyone else, is complacent because of the name of a genius. And if she is extremely proud, the current Marlene may have already found a place to hang herself because the blow was too big.

However, strict self-discipline did not improve Marlene's strength, no matter how much she prepared in advance, she would completely collapse under the opponent's attack, and taste the bitter fruit of defeat again within five seconds. And what frustrated Marlene the most was that the girl on the other side showed a spell comprehension that was far beyond her own. There was a time when Marlene thought that she had found the key to defeating the girl, because she only specialized in the two elements of wind and fire, and she had the five elements of protection, so the girl's skills should not change much, as long as she could hold on to all her spellcasting methods, then she could make a targeted counterattack. After all, he can use more elemental spells than the girl, and he is also more powerful.

Relying on her own efforts, Marlene did remember the girl's fighting skills, and in fact, just as Marlene imagined, the limitations of elemental magic made the girl's fighting skills lack too many changes.

Unfortunately, she did not taste the fruits of her victory.

Because Marlene forgot that it doesn't really matter how many skills you can have in actual combat, what matters is whether you can release them in the most suitable time. The girl is indeed only specialized in the two elements of wind and fire, but because of this, she doesn't need to think about it, she chooses, as long as she uses it directly. But on the other hand, because Marlene has too many elemental attributes, she doesn't know how to combine these attribute magic, but she falls into a confused situation, so the result still hasn't changed. Although Marlene's early efforts caused her to resist the girl's attack in the first second, she was still directly blasted out of the second second, and failed again without the slightest suspense.

Be calm, calm down...... Consider the words of Mr. Rhodes.........

Biting her lip, Marlene began to recall Rod's words again, and he now gathered them together every night to summarize the techniques and lessons learned about the battle. These things are very useful, especially for mercenaries who lack actual combat.

"You've seen for yourself how they fight, and I think you've discovered the secret of their technique——— using a wonderful time lag to ensure that your attacks don't have any gaps that can be exploited and blocked, and that you can attack continuously in an instant. Of course, offense, defense, these are just means of fighting. And there is only one core of the battle, control and counter-control. If you are able to control each other's movements, then the next battle will not be difficult for you at all. Conversely, if you are controlled by the other person, you will already experience the outcome. ”

Control......

Marlene muttered to herself. She could feel the meaning of the word, and in fact it was, no matter whether she started the game offensive or defended, she felt that the whole battle did not go according to her own intentions at all, she was like a small boat swimming against the current, unable to help herself in the midst of raging storms and stormy seas. Eventually out of control.

Thinking of this, Marlene frowned, she realized that she had gone into a misunderstanding, and until now, she was still focusing on how to stop and interrupt the other party's spell casting. But on the other hand, these are just means of fighting, she can try to stop the other party from attacking like this, but she can't stop the other party from attacking like that, she does not take back control of the battle. Everything was still in the hands of the other party, so her resistance had no effect. ..., that is, instead of focusing on how to defend and counterattack the opponent, you should first figure out how to break the opponent's control of the battle and pull the control to your side?

But in this way, don't you also have to defend and resist the other party's attack?

What's the difference between the two?

Unlike Marlene, who was frowning and contemplative, Lijie was now silently remembering the fighting skills she had learned from that girl. She knows how to use the techniques that girls use, and she knows the principles very well. But Lijie never thought to apply these skills to her attacks. And now, she is like a traveler who has discovered a new continent. is greedily observing those strange things that have never been seen before.

Although they are also special training, the mood of the five people towards training is also different, Lando and Joey are both rookies, they don't have their own style and persistence, so they are eager to learn how to fight from those strong people. Marlene, on the other hand, already has enough combat skills, and now what she needs is how to put them together perfectly, and at what level to use them. Anne, on the other hand, is more eager to gain the battle itself, hoping to improve herself in the battle against stronger enemies. Lijie is thinking and understanding the meaning of the technique itself to ensure that she can use the same combat methods that have the same effect.

Rhodes didn't expect them to be able to defeat each other, they were members of the top 10 top players in the game world, even if these people had a certain talent, it was absolutely impossible to have the strength to fight each other in such a short time. But his purpose is not this, he only hopes that Marlene and the others can personally experience the fighting skills and terrifying things of the strongest, these experiences are very helpful for their future growth——— step-by-step learning is indeed desirable, but it is meaningless when encountering unexpected situations, just like Marlene, with her strength, there is no pressure to bully the goblin giant or something, but if you put a hydra lizard in front of her, then Marlene will immediately be dumbfounded and don't know what to do. This is not only because she has never come into contact with similar monsters, but also because she lacks the experience to fight beings who are stronger than herself.

Now Rhodes is nurturing them with such an experience. At the Midsummer Festival, they will encounter a lot of powerful enemies——— at least they are strong enemies, and if they don't develop enough confidence and experience, then even if they practice their skills, it will be useless to make a mess in actual combat.

The only thing that worries Rhodes is that they don't have much time, only two months away from the Midsummer Festival, and in a few days, the ban on the Mercenary Guild will be lifted, and at that time, they will be back on the mission. Although according to the current situation, Rhodes no longer needs to ensure that his mercenary group is upgraded to a guild through mission points, but he needs some battles to help him gather his subordinates, and those new mercenaries do not know enough about themselves, and only by uniting in battle can they truly integrate into this mercenary group.

However, in this case, you have to choose a task that is a bit dangerous and not so easy to complete. People will always fight separately when they are easy, only danger and threats to their lives can unite them, Rhodes does not intend to find those ordinary tasks to run in the team, so in his heart, he is currently choosing those tasks that are not far away, but the danger is not low——— only by letting those mercenaries fully realize their strength, they will be convinced.

It's just that before Rhodes could get an answer, his thoughts were interrupted.

Christy tugged at the corner of his coat, which made Rhodes retract his thoughts and look down at the girl.

"What's wrong? Christy? ”

“… Rod... What is that? ”

The girl asked curiously, as she reached out and pointed forward.

ps: The latest update time is uncertain because I'm trying to see if I can find an early time to update.........