Silver Seal Four

Rhode boarded the carriage prepared by the Silver Seal Merchant Group with the Vampire.

The carriage had two rows of seats on either side, but the space was not spacious, clearly only prepared for a small number of people.

After entering the carriage from the side, Rhode sat down in a seat within the carriage.

Looking at some of the decorations inside the carriage and the windows that could be opened on both sides, Rhode realized that this carriage was originally prepared for transporting passengers.

Rhode guessed that because the reward for transporting passengers was generous, the Silver Seal Merchant Group itself would choose to bring some passengers, but not too many. If the number of passengers became too large, things beyond the control of the Silver Seal Merchant Group might occur.

For transporting passengers, large organized merchant groups would definitely be cheaper. Travelers who wanted to go to the City of Wailing had already left with the previous large merchant groups. This resulted in the Silver Seal Merchant Group not finding any passengers until two days before departure.

This was also why, at the beginning, Yusuf did not directly refuse Rhode's request to become a passenger because of his identity as a Necromancer, but instead negotiated the travel expenses with Rhode.

Initially, Yusuf intended to suppress Rhode verbally and make him pay a high travel fee. However, Rhode, through his own observation, discovered the true cargo being transported, forcing Yusuf to waive Rhode's travel fee as hush money.

After determining that the Silver Seal Merchant Group was truly transporting Soul Crystals, Rhode only requested to become a passenger and did not take the opportunity to extort the merchant group, which was also due to his own considerations.

As Rhode had said, passengers who followed the merchant group would inevitably receive care from the merchant group along the way.

The fact that the Silver Seal Merchant Group was willing to waive all travel fees for Rhode and his companion in exchange for his silence was itself a sign of weakness. If Rhode had truly pushed his luck, the merchant group was not to be trifled with.

Along the way, Rhode could not constantly guard against retaliation from the merchant group. With several experienced Practitioners and a spellcaster, under reasonable arrangements, it might not be impossible to kill Rhode and the Vampire.

In the current situation, although the merchant group could not get travel fees from Rhode, they would not forcibly kill Rhode, whose strength was unknown, and incur losses for themselves. Rhode could also travel with the merchant group to Dya, which could be considered a mutually beneficial arrangement.

"Soul Crystal..."

Sitting in the carriage, Rhode recalled the previous situation. He took out the Soul Crystal from his Space Ring, examined it, and then handed it to the Vampire beside him.

The Vampire immediately received it as if it were a treasure, clutching the Soul Crystal tightly in its hand and holding it close to its body.

The Soul Crystal constantly released Death Energy, which could help Necromancers transform Undead Creatures and also help Undead Creatures advance.

Therefore, in Dya, Soul Crystals were highly sought after by Necromancers, but in other places, they were often only used as jewelry and were far less valuable than in Dya.

Based on Rhode's perception, the Vampire's advancement in the previous crypt was likely triggered by this Soul Crystal.

At this moment, since he had decided to follow the merchant group to the City of Wailing, Rhode did not know how long the journey would take. Giving the Soul Crystal to the Vampire to hold was also to hope that it could increase its strength by absorbing Death Energy.

Although the Vampire could not advance again in a short period after its advancement was interrupted, it could maintain its strength at the peak of the third tier by relying on the Death Energy released by the Soul Crystal, waiting for the opportunity for its next advancement.

At this time, the sky outside the carriage had completely darkened.

Watching the Vampire peacefully absorb the energy emanating from the Soul Crystal, Rhode also had his own plans.

Rhode did not choose to meditate. Rhode's Mana had already reached the upper limit corresponding to his Knowledge attribute. Ordinary meditation, apart from accelerating Mana recovery, would have no other effect.

At this time, only deep meditation could improve Rhode's strength.

However, the conditions required for deep meditation were harsh, and moreover, Rhode himself had some thoughts.

Since arriving in this world, the continuous battles had left Rhode no time to rest. Even when he had a little free time, he was preparing for the next battle, and the only way to rest was meditation.

Until now, Rhode had not slept a single night. Through meditation, even though physical fatigue could be recovered, the mental exhaustion from battles could not be eliminated.

In this state, Rhode did not believe he could enter a state of deep meditation. His experience from his previous life told Rhode that instead of engaging in useless meditation, it was better to spend time adjusting his state to its best before attempting deep meditation.

Therefore, Rhode chose to adjust his mental state through sleep.

Since the space inside the carriage was not spacious, Rhode could not lie down completely. He could only sit in his seat, cross his arms, lean his back against the wooden board at the back of the carriage, close his eyes, and begin to try to fall asleep.

As for whether the Silver Seal Merchant Group would take this opportunity to surround and kill him, Rhode was not worried.

A merchant group with a large amount of Soul Crystals would be more cautious than Rhode imagined, fearing that any abnormal action might attract the attention of other forces. To surround and kill a traveler within their stronghold, was there anything more outrageous than that?

A long time passed.

Perhaps due to the subconscious vigilance, even in sleep, Rhode could not fall into a complete slumber but remained in a semi-conscious state.

The surrounding noisy sounds, combined with the vibrations from under his feet, caused Rhode to wake up from his sleep in time. The Vampire, however, seemed to have felt nothing and was still absorbing the energy emitted by the Soul Crystal.

Instantly, Rhode pushed open a gap in the nearby window and looked outside.

The sky was still dim, emitting a dark blue light. The entire merchant group had finished their preparations, with numerous carriages gathered around, preparing to move in one direction.

"Awake?"

As if sensing the movement in the carriage, a hoarse voice came from the front of the carriage.

Rhode pushed open the window and peered forward. It was the thief he had seen yesterday, sitting in front of the carriage he was in, cracking a whip at the horses in front.

"You should feel honored. The merchant group changed its departure time for you."

After specifically conveying this to Rhode, the thief said no more and simply drove the carriage from the front.

Rhode didn't say much either, closed the window again, and sat back in the carriage.

Rhode understood the thief's meaning. Due to the uncertainty of whether the information had been leaked, after a night of preparation, the merchant group chose to depart a day early, this morning.

As soon as the sky began to brighten, the merchant group's convoy formed a long line, leaving the Free Professional Merchants Guild's stronghold and heading towards the town gate.

At this moment, under the dark blue sky, several figures dressed in black robes were staring at the departing merchant caravan, foreshadowing that the journey ahead would likely not be peaceful.