Ring of Will

Dark shadows wove through the forest, separating and regrouping from time to time.

"Did you find them?"

"There are lingering traces to the east. It is highly likely to be the target. Judging by the time, it shouldn't be more than a day old."

"They are fast. Continue the pursuit, but be careful. The other party is someone capable of taking down a Wind Serpent Lord; do not underestimate them."

"Understood!"

After the three shadows finished their exchange, they once again dissolved into dark silhouettes and vanished into the depths of the jungle. Their movements were silent, not even disturbing the birds perched in the trees.

It was only after the shadows had departed that a verdant bird, which had been standing quietly on a branch, finally spread its wings and took to the sky.

Someone is tracking us?

Hearing the report from the Soul Bird, Rhode's expression darkened slightly. At this moment, the translucent, greenish-blue Soul Bird was perched quietly on his shoulder, occasionally tilting its head and stretching its wings. It looked no different from an ordinary bird. Only its translucent body and the elemental radiance surrounding it betrayed the fact that this creature was not a living being.

Summoning the Soul Bird for surveillance was a method Rhode had improvised while on the road. Most players would equip scouting classes like Thieves or Rangers when forming a party to venture into the mountains to ensure there were no dangers ahead. Rhode clearly lacked such luxuries, so he had to settle for using his summoned creature to scout the path. Fortunately, the Soul Bird not only had a superior field of vision, but its innate ability as a soul-elemental creature to sense souls also gave Rhode peace of mind. Originally, Rhode had only intended to patrol their rear as a precaution to see if they had stirred up any trouble after killing that level ten giant wolf, but he had inadvertently stumbled upon a much larger problem.

Although the soul-sensing ability could not reveal the specific form of the targets and could only judge them by the intensity of their soul radiance, Rhode felt something was amiss from their speed. In the forest, those capable of moving with such agility were generally Rangers, Scouts, or the like—in any case, all professions that preferred to stay in the shadows. Furthermore, the orderliness of their actions made it hard to imagine they were ordinary adventurers.

Were they just passing by? Or were they specifically targeting them?

Rhode dared not take the risk. If they were approaching openly, it would be one thing, but these shadow-dwelling professions were the hardest to deal with. Coupled with Lize's earlier warning, he felt there was something suspicious about this whole affair. If these guys harbored hostility, the situation could spiral in unimaginable ways.

However, when Rhode looked at Lize beside him, his eyes lit up.

He had an idea.

"Mr. Rhode, where should we go next?"

Lize asked as she handed a water canteen to the fat merchant, who was sitting to the side with a flushed face and drenched in sweat. Although Rhode hadn't said much, the job of looking after this fat merchant had been handled by Lize the entire way. According to the girl herself, since her mercenary group had accepted the commission to protect this gentleman, she had to see it through to the end, even if she were the only one left.

Mace was naturally extremely grateful for this, but looking at him panting like an ox, he probably wouldn't last much longer if they kept walking like this.

"Mr... Rhode, I'm... I'm exhausted. Let's... let's take a break!"

The fat merchant, who had collapsed to the ground the moment Rhode stopped, clutched his handbag as if it were a treasure. With his other hand, he pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his face, leaving his chubby cheeks shining with grease, even gleaming like a giant lightbulb under the sunlight.

"By the Holy Soul, I... I haven't walked... walked... cough, cough...!!" At this point, the fat merchant couldn't catch his breath and coughed violently, his facial fat shaking along with him. It took a long while for him to recover. "Walked... walked such a long way, I think... I think I'm going to die!"

"Five-minute break."

Rhode glanced at the sky, calculated the remaining distance and time in his mind, and issued the order. Upon hearing this, the fat merchant, who had been sitting on the ground, let out a howl and flopped over. Lize also let out a soft sigh and sat on a nearby rock.

They hadn't encountered any particular danger since then. With the Soul Bird leading the way, Rhode had successfully guided them around many hazardous areas. Although they had missed out on some opportunities to obtain rare equipment, Rhode didn't feel the pinch. After all, there weren't players everywhere in this world, and ordinary adventurers wouldn't just go trekking through mountains and forests on a whim. He could always come back to retrieve them after escorting these two out of the mountains and resting up. However...

Rhode looked up at the mountain range not far away and stood up.

"Lize."

"Yes, Mr. Rhode? Do you have any instructions?"

"I'm going ahead to take a look. After you rest for five minutes, take Mr. Mace up the mountain. Do you see that white rock? Go there, then head into the shadows, and you will find an abandoned mountain path. Wait for me there; I'll be there shortly."

Lize looked up, followed the direction of Rhode's finger, and quickly spotted the white rock on the hillside. She turned to look at Rhode, puzzled as to how he knew about this. However, the girl just opened her mouth but didn't ask. After traveling together for these few days, she had come to understand that the man before her was someone highly reliable. Though she didn't know what he was planning, she nodded and watched as Rhode turned and left.

Rhode naturally had his own plans. That rock was the entrance to the Zenar Mountain Path. It had once been a glorious trade route; the ancestors of the northern people had exhausted their life's strength to carve this road through the mountain range, connecting the plains to other regions. It had once brought about a period of prosperity. But with the development and utilization of wind currents, the unobstructed sky was clearly safer than the perilous forest, so the trade route was gradually abandoned. Those who relied on it for survival had long since left to seek better lives, abandoning their homes until the area returned to desolation.

The progress of civilization always renders past miracles meaningless; it is the same in any world.

However, Rhode wasn't here for a sightseeing trip or to contemplate the philosophy of life.

He stopped in his tracks. At this moment, before Rhode's eyes, appeared a scene of desolation.

And corpses.

Bleached bones were almost buried in the dust, with only tattered leather armor and corroded weapons scattered about. This was a mercenary group called "Tiger Fang." They had been ambushed by bandits during their adventure and had died here, both sides suffering heavy losses. In the game, Rhode would have needed to accept the quest from the Mercenary Guild, investigate their final commission based on clues, follow the markers on the map to find this place, and finally return with the token and treasure. But that was a game, and following the steps was a mandatory procedure. Even so, many veterans wouldn't make it so complicated; they would rather just grab the token and return directly to the Mercenary Guild to turn it in. This not only saved time but was also convenient and quick, avoiding so many troublesome steps. Why wouldn't they do it?

But Rhode wasn't here just to save those few steps.

Walking deep into the battlefield, Rhode immediately spotted a skeleton lying against the cliff wall. It wore a suit of corroded steel armor, and a pitch-black, rusted iron sword lay by its hand. That was Rhode's target, the leader of this mercenary group.

He crouched down before the remains, took one look, and reached out. He quickly fished a mercenary badge from within the skeleton—this was the token of the "Tiger Fang" mercenary group and the item required to complete the commission. Rhode carefully placed it in his pocket, then lowered his gaze and quickly found his true objective.

It was a ring, worn on a finger bone, already filthy and covered in grime.

Rhode carefully removed the ring. On the surface, it appeared to have no use at all, no different from the scrap metal in a trash heap. But the system prompt that appeared before him told Rhode otherwise.

Black Iron Ring, unrefined, magic fluctuations detected

"Resonate."

Rhode closed his eyes, gripped the ring in his right hand, and whispered, then channeled his soul power into it.

The ring in his hand trembled slightly. The originally faint magic fluctuations became clear. When he opened his eyes again, what he held was no longer the scrap metal from before. Instead, a pitch-black ring engraved with archaic patterns lay quietly in his palm.

Ring of Will, refined, can activate Will Shield, lasts five minutes, immune to mental attacks, recharge time—three days

Done.

Rhode put the ring on his right finger and finally let out a sigh of relief. He looked around for a moment, and after confirming there was nothing else of value, he turned and returned to the hillside.

There, Rhode could clearly see Lize and Mace struggling as they walked toward the white rock. The fat merchant clearly had no experience in mountain climbing, following timidly behind Lize. Looking at him, he probably would have been crying and begging Lize to carry him if not for the social constraints between men and women.

What a waste.

Rhode shook his head helplessly and was just about to go down to meet them when, at that moment, a warning from the Soul Bird suddenly rang out deep within his mind.

"—!"

Rhode was startled. He hurriedly looked toward the forest, and soon, he saw three black shadows darting out from within.

This is bad!