Silver Seal One

In his past life, during his time playing the game, Rhode deeply understood the crucial importance of intelligence. Whether for business or combat, sufficient intelligence was needed to support any plan before it was finalized.

Perhaps it was the influence of the Thieves Guild selling information, but everyone in the game understood a principle: intelligence itself had value and could not be obtained out of thin air.

To obtain intelligence, one either had to spend time and effort investigating themselves or spend gold to buy it from those who knew.

Of course, besides the Thieves Guild, the information sold by others was not necessarily correct; it was more likely to be completely wrong, but it would more or less be mixed with some useful information.

If Rhode had been unwilling to pay gold for information, he certainly wouldn't have been able to get it from the maid, only some basic circumstances.

After receiving Rhode's gold, the maid provided intelligence about the merchant group's internal affairs. For Rhode at this moment, it undoubtedly gave him a direct understanding of this merchant group's strength.

Not long after, led by the maid, Rhode and the Vampire arrived at the Silver Seal Merchant Group's encampment. The maid went ahead first, spoke a few words to the Guards stationed outside the caravan, and then turned to leave.

After the maid left, since the Guards already had a general idea of Rhode's intentions, they led Rhode towards the interior of the encampment.

While passing through the entire encampment, Rhode observed the situation inside.

Inside the encampment, most of the members were busy loading goods onto empty carriages.

At a glance, most of the goods were sealed in wooden boxes, making it impossible to see what was inside. The merchant group members appeared to be struggling greatly while transporting the wooden boxes. Rhode listened carefully and could hear the sound of metal clashing from within the boxes.

Nearby, several individuals who looked like overseers also noticed Rhode's arrival, but they didn't say much. They merely watched the Guard leading Rhode and continued their work.

Just as Rhode was observing his surroundings, the Guard led him to the largest tent within the encampment.

The Guard asked Rhode to wait outside the tent, went inside to report, and then came out, signaling Rhode to enter.

Rhode, leading the Vampire, stepped into the tent.

As soon as he entered, Rhode keenly sensed something was amiss. It wasn't a feeling of danger, but rather the surrounding aura felt very familiar to Rhode.

The Vampire also felt the same and began to stir restlessly. Rhode used his Mental Mark to calm it down, then observed the environment inside the tent.

The tent was furnished with some miscellaneous items and was generally tidy. Perhaps because it wasn't a permanent residence, there were no tables inside, only a few chairs.

At this moment, a person was sitting on the chair directly facing the tent entrance. Rhode looked at him.

This person was dressed in plain clothes, but the clothes couldn't conceal his sturdy build. His face was resolute, with several scars from sharp weapons on his face telling tales of past deeds. He exuded an aura at all times.

Rhode knew that according to the intelligence provided by the maid, this person should be the leader of the merchant group, Yusuf.

The leader mentioned by the maid possessed the strength of a veteran Warrior, which, according to Rhode's understanding, corresponded to the third tier. High-tier Warriors were equivalent to formal Mages, corresponding to the fourth tier.

Seeing Rhode enter the tent, the leader gestured for Rhode to sit on a nearby chair.

After Rhode sat down, the leader spoke to him first, "I am Yusuf, the leader of the Silver Seal Merchant Group. I've already heard from the previous Guard about your purpose for coming here; you wish to become a traveler and accompany the merchant group to the City of Wailing, correct?"

Seeing Rhode nod, Yusuf continued, "You should already be aware that besides our merchant group, not many others are heading to the City of Wailing recently, right?"

Rhode continued to nod. Yusuf then said, "So, you are both Necromancers, aren't you?"

Rhode had no intention of hiding his identity as a Necromancer. It was better for the other party to know from the beginning than to be discovered by a spellcaster halfway. However, Rhode was puzzled. Both the old soldier at the entrance and the current leader of the merchant group could tell he was a Necromancer at a glance without using Mana detection. He asked, "How could you tell we are Necromancers? Based on appearance alone, our attire should be no different from that of thieves."

Yusuf chuckled, "The hood and the hem."

Without waiting for Rhode to ask further, Yusuf continued, "Although thieves also wear black robes, for the convenience of combat, the hem usually only reaches the knee. It's unlike your black robes, which almost drag to your feet."

"As for the hood, thieves more often conceal their identity by wearing masks and don't particularly rely on their hoods. The hoods on Necromancer robes are wider, and besides Dya, this style of black robe isn't sold anywhere else. These are things that can be observed with experience."

"Moreover, you possess an aura... one that thieves cannot have. Considering these factors, isn't your identity as Necromancers obvious?"

Rhode was stunned. He hadn't expected that a simple black robe could contain so much hidden information. Since he wasn't a Necromancer in his past life, his previous gaming experience hadn't made him notice these details.

His past gaming experience also didn't cover all the Knowledge in the game. This undoubtedly reminded Rhode that if he had paid attention to the differences in the black robes, he might have been able to observe them, but he had overlooked these details due to his over-reliance on past experience.

What surprised Rhode even more was that his question was initially just a test. He had expected Yusuf to brush it off casually, but instead, he revealed all this information.

Even if it was just intelligence gained from experience, it held immense value for those who didn't know.

Rhode knew that the reason Yusuf revealed this information was either because he wanted to gain a psychological advantage over Rhode and thus increase the travel fee, or because he was simply a person who didn't care about such details.

However, Rhode didn't believe that someone who had reached the position of a merchant group leader would casually reveal information. Therefore, his motive could only be to increase the travel fee.

Seeing Rhode seemingly lost in thought, Yusuf continued, "Although I often deal with Necromancers, my subordinates may not necessarily accept them. Two Necromancers wanting to travel to Dya, it seems somewhat suspicious... so..."

Yusuf didn't finish speaking, but looked at Rhode, awaiting his response.

Rhode understood that if he didn't say anything, this merchant group wouldn't take them unless they paid an exorbitant price.