Watchtower II

Standing at the top of the watchtower, Rhode could see far into the distance. Rhode estimated that the height of this watchtower should be around sixty or seventy meters.

Arriving at the edge of the watchtower's summit, Rhode looked downward.

In Rhode's line of sight, the bonfire originally lit by the merchant group now looked like only a tiny dot, and the crowd surrounding the bonfire also appeared extremely small at this moment.

Through Eagle Eye, Rhode could count the number of people by the bonfire. Because Eagle Eye was only at the basic level, things still looked a bit blurry. If it were expert-level Eagle Eye, he could even clearly see the expression of everyone by the bonfire from here.

For melee classes, Eagle Eye was essential in order to observe all situations happening in battle. Especially for scout-class professions, Eagle Eye appeared particularly important.

Rhode looked in a certain direction. The surroundings of the watchtower remained a forest, but the number of trees began to decrease, and their height was completely incomparable to what Rhode had seen earlier; plains had already appeared in the distance. Even without Pathfinding, Rhode could tell something was abnormal.

Dya...

Gazing at the distant plains, Rhode understood that the location where the watchtower stood should be the border of Eri, the place intersecting with Dya. As long as he walked a little further ahead, he could enter Dya.

Rhode finally understood why the merchant group had stopped here; they probably wanted to take the opportunity to rest well while still within Eri's borders, recovering from the fatigue brought by several consecutive days of marching, and set off to enter Dya's territory early tomorrow morning.

Knowing that the merchant group had reached the border, although he could not tell how many days deep meditation had taken through the system log, Rhode knew that the time he spent on deep meditation was longer than he thought.

Having undergone deep meditation for several days, even though his own consumption had been reduced to a minimum, Rhode still felt hunger at this moment.

Rhode sat down at the edge of the watchtower, and at the same time took out the carried dry rations from his Space Ring, brought them to his mouth, and bit down hard.

Part of the dry rations in Rhode's Space Ring came from the initial tomb, and part was originally stored inside the Space Ring. The quantity was enough for Rhode to use, and Rhode had been eating these all along.

Because they had been kept in the Space Ring all along, Rhode didn't have to expend much effort chewing before he could swallow them down. Although they lacked flavor, they could restore stamina.

Suddenly, Rhode, who was eating the dry rations, noticed something, stood up in an instant, put the dry rations back into the Space Ring, and looked behind him at the same time. He moved from the edge of the original watchtower platform to a position near the center.

Rhode heard heavy footsteps coming from the stairs inside the watchtower behind him. The owner of the footsteps did not intend to conceal them either, and perhaps even deliberately increased the force of the footsteps.

Not long after, as the footsteps slowly approached, Rhode also saw the figure behind him—it was none other than Yusuf, the leader of the merchant group who had originally been by the bonfire.

Yusuf's figure appeared at the entrance of the top platform of the watchtower. Rhode saw that in Yusuf's hand, he was holding a large piece of roasted lamb leg, and waves of roasted meat aroma drifted outward.

Just before Yusuf appeared in Rhode's field of vision, and during the time the footsteps were heard, Rhode had not smelled any scent. This steaming roasted lamb leg was clearly taken out by Yusuf from a Space Ring.

Yusuf climbed the watchtower surely to look for Rhode, but he stopped in his tracks at the entrance of the top platform.

Perhaps Yusuf's original intention was just to use the excuse of sharing food with Rhode to observe whether Rhode had any abnormal actions. But at this moment, Yusuf obviously also noticed the environment of this top platform.

Originally, due to not knowing the strength of the two necromancers within the merchant group, although Yusuf was extremely wary, he would not actively provoke them.

At this moment, what surprised Yusuf was that the two necromancers in the merchant group had actually separated on their own initiative. He just didn't know whether the one who previously underwent deep meditation was indeed the person before him.

Yusuf quickly weighed the states of both sides. He himself was still wearing armor, and coupled with the weapons in his Space Ring, it could be said to be his strongest state without spell enhancements. In this kind of environment right now, even an official necromancer might not necessarily withstand a surprise attack from him.

In an instant, violent struggles began in Yusuf's heart. The original idea of merely coming up to observe the necromancer began to shift.

Although the necromancer was willing to show weakness, upon seeing this favorable opportunity, Yusuf was unwilling to let it go easily.

Even though he guessed that these two necromancers might not really be here for the Soul Crystal in the caravan, Yusuf still dared not rest easy.

Based on their previous performance, Yusuf had about seven tenths of certainty that these two necromancers would not make a move to snatch the Soul Crystal. But if he killed them right here at this moment, then those seven tenths would become ten tenths, completely eliminating the hidden troubles of the merchant group.

For Yusuf, at this moment, with him occupying the geographical advantage, dealing with a necromancer should hold no suspense.

Finally, as if thinking of something, Yusuf made a decision in his heart.

Rhode similarly felt something, yet made no movement. As if due to the illumination of the light, Rhode's eyes narrowed slightly, just looking at Yusuf on the stairs like that.

The afterglow shone across, stretching Rhode's shadow long on the platform.

Even if Yusuf struggled internally, he was able to control his face very well without showing it. Under Rhode's gaze, Yusuf still maintained calmness.

"I haven't seen you come out the whole way. This is the first time I've seen you step outside the carriage. The merchant group has some extra food, and I wanted to share it with you," Yusuf said, squeezing a trace of a smile on his face in an attempt to make himself look slightly more normal.

Saying just that, Yusuf extended the lamb leg in his hand.

Seeing Yusuf's expression at this moment, Rhode sneered in his heart, and likewise understood that this battle had to be fought.

Most of the time, even if one repeatedly showed weakness and repeatedly stated one's own purpose, others would still not believe it. The words spoken and the intentions expressed could never be as substantial as one's own strength.

"Then I thank the merchant group leader."

Finished speaking, Rhode reached out his hand, preparing to take the lamb leg.

During the process of Rhode extending his hand, Yusuf's gaze remained focused on that extended hand of Rhode's.

Years of combat experience made Yusuf understand that an enemy's bodily movements could reflect their thoughts to a certain extent. Especially in a situation like the present, as long as the enemy's extending hand had the slightest tremor, he could follow up with an attack and seize the upper hand.

Yet, under Yusuf's careful observation, Rhode's hand reached out steadily, finally gripping the leg bone of the lamb. During this process, Yusuf could not find any opportunity to strike.

Yusuf was startled in his heart, seemingly realizing something, and raised his head to see Rhode's cold gaze staring at him from beneath that black robe.

Immediately, the lamb leg held in the hands of the two people vanished instantly, though it was unknown which party had stowed it away into their Space Ring.

Weapons simultaneously appeared in the hands of both as they slashed toward each other.