Chapter Twenty-Nine: Just Asking

The crowd only saw him raise his hand one moment, and the next his figure vanished instantly. The snow-white, gleaming blade flashed with a sound that tore through the air, stabbing directly at Orland's right hand.

So fast!

Facing Rhode's sudden attack, Orland was inwardly shocked. Although he had prepared himself mentally beforehand, what his eyes saw and what he actually experienced were completely different. He only felt a blur before his eyes, and then saw Rhode's blade already stabbing towards his right hand.

Facing the attack, Orland had no choice but to retreat, forced away from Helen. At this point, he no longer held any hope of completing the mission. The gap in strength between them was too great; the only option now was to flee. With this thought, Orland no longer hesitated. He rolled backward to evade Rhode's attack, then sprang up and lunged towards the nearby bushes.

However, Rhode clearly had no intention of letting him have his way.

Rhode, whose sword had missed, did not choose to retreat. Instead, watching the rapidly departing figure, the corner of Rhode's mouth curved up, a barely perceptible smile flashing across his face. Then, the long sword that had missed its mark paused slightly, and moved forward again.

The Shining Beam, which had been ready for a long time, erupted from the sword body, spiraling and splitting as it whistled forward, shooting towards Orland not far away as if it had been prepared long ago.

Rhode's sword strike was clearly a bit strange. The Shatter Blade did not shoot straight towards the figure not far in front of him as others had expected, but instead angled upwards, seemingly missing. This thought was held not only by Ben, who stood at a distance, but even Lize and Mace, who had poked their heads out of the carriage, shared the same idea.

But in the next moment, they widened their eyes in surprise.

Because at this very moment, Orland, who had been sprinting backward, suddenly jumped up, actively moving to meet Rhode's attack.

In fact, as soon as he jumped, Orland had already sensed something was wrong. This was a habitual action of thieves; when retreating, to avoid attacks from pursuers, they instinctively performed evasive maneuvers. Orland jumped precisely to avoid Rhode's attack. But he hadn't expected Rhode to predict his actions in advance. This jump not only failed to dodge the attack but instead threw him right into the path of the blade!

At this moment, Orland was inwardly greatly alarmed. He wanted to change his position, but it was already too late.

With Orland's "selfless" cooperation, the Shatter Blade struck precisely at Orland's right shoulder and the back of his heart. The poor thief only managed to let out a scream before flying straight out, crashing into the bushes.

Only then did Rhode sheathe his sword and slowly walk towards Orland.

"Ugh... ah..."

Lying in the bushes, enduring the pain from his shoulder and back, Orland gritted his teeth. Hearing footsteps, he instinctively wanted to escape again, but before he could even stand up, the white blade flashed through his right hand like lightning.

"Aiyaiyaiyai!!"

Orland's heart-wrenching screams made everyone inwardly tense. In contrast, Rhode remained calm, as if this was nothing. This also caused everyone's evaluation of Rhode to change again. It was clear that this young man's composure in such a scene was definitely abnormal.

However, Rhode didn't think so. He wasn't acting cruelly on purpose, but was purely following his habits from the game. After all, in games, players' sneaky and shameless sneak attacks were even more professional and malicious, and in games, these people weren't afraid of the pain of injury. Therefore, the only way to keep these guys from escaping or logging off was to keep them in a state of combat at all times. Rhode's sword strike was merely a continuation of his habit from online gaming. Seeing the opponent about to run, he instinctively thrust out his long sword to prevent the opponent from "forcing a log-off."

However, after the sword was out and he heard Orland's scream, Rhode finally realized this was reality, not a game—but it didn't matter.

Pushing the boring thoughts in his mind aside, Rhode approached the man in black, then reached out and grasped the hilt, slowly pulling it out.

"Ahhh... ahhh!!!!! "

Orland was in so much pain he was almost rolling his eyes. His right hand, unable to withstand the extreme pain, began to twitch uncontrollably. Even his free left hand could no longer stop Rhode; he could only instinctively pound the ground. This scene sent a chill through the onlookers. They had never witnessed such a brutal scene before. Although the man was an enemy attacking them, seeing him end up like this was truly terrifying.

Lize stood at a distance, quietly watching Rhode, who remained unfazed. A complex emotion flickered in her eyes. At this moment, she recalled what Rhode had told her in the inn before.

"I'm not saying this to repay your life-saving kindness, Lize. I've brought you out, and in that regard, we owe each other nothing. You don't owe me anything, and I don't owe you anything. I can tell you, my purpose for doing this is not to repay a debt of gratitude. I have my own goals, and I need power. That's why I made this proposal. I can guarantee you that within two years, I will develop it into a powerful mercenary guild. But I also have to warn you, I might resort to methods you find unacceptable. Therefore, I hope you will consider carefully, Lize. If you are willing to accept my proposal, you must first be mentally prepared for the consequences. I will not allow anyone to interfere with me, nor will I allow anyone to obstruct me. I have my reasons, but you don't need to know them now... I understand your feelings, so I won't force you to agree, but I must remind you of the consequences of agreeing—it might exceed what you can bear."

At that time, Lize didn't fully understand Rhode's words, but she admitted that she was indeed shocked by his speech. On the other hand, deep in the girl's heart, there was also a small sense of relief. After all, Rhode had openly told her that he had ulterior motives. While it sounded difficult to accept, it was more convincing than him helping them unconditionally. However, she still didn't understand what Rhode saw in a mercenary group that was on the verge of disbandment. But since Rhode was unwilling to explain, she couldn't ask further.

And now, seeing this scene, Lize's heart began to waver. His previous attack on Helen had surprised not only Ben and the others but Lize herself. Her ability to quickly cast Shield of Protection on Helen was purely a flash of inspiration in Lize's mind, not a product of tacit cooperation with Rhode. And because of this battle, deep in Lize's heart, she finally seemed to understand Rhode's intentions.

She had previously thought very simply: just recruit more people, grit her teeth, and take on missions to save the mercenary group. But was it really that simple? Lize had been a mercenary for more than a year or two. She knew how cruel the mercenary world was; everyone was fighting for survival. Moon Bow Mercenary Group had once been a medium-sized mercenary group, but now it had become like this. She had personally witnessed how the mercenary group, which was like her home, had declined.

Could she do it? Rebuild the mercenary group?

Lize asked herself that she couldn't. Even the original leader, Carter, although usually easygoing, would occasionally reveal a cold and resolute side. But Lize felt she couldn't do it. She lacked the ability and was unwilling to do so.

Thinking of this, Lize involuntarily turned her gaze back to Rhode.

He hadn't told her what he wanted, but his expression was so firm, without a trace of confusion or doubt.

Then what about herself? For her dreams, for her goals, what should she do?

With this thought, the girl bit her lower lip tightly and clasped her hands.

And as Lize was deciding her future, Rhode had already leisurely drawn his long sword. He glanced at the bloodstains on the blade, flicked them off casually, and then looked down at the man in black writhing in pain.

"Although I think you should understand what I want to ask, to avoid you playing dumb, I'll ask one more question: Who are you, and what do you want?"

"Ugh... ugh..."

Orland curled up. The pain from his pierced right hand made it almost impossible for him to form a complete sentence. He looked up at the young man before him, unable to comprehend why he was so unlucky as to provoke such a person.

"I... I... I am..."

The fear of the enemy, coupled with the physical pain, had already worn down Orland's will. He was now almost completely incapable of resistance, only able to answer Rhode's question in a low voice. But before he could finish, the intense pain from the back of his right hand made him gasp. However, in Rhode's eyes, this seemed to have a new interpretation.

"You don't want to say? Then forget it. I'm not that interested anyway."

"I, I am a subordinate of Vice President Clete!!"

Hearing this name, Orland was so frightened that he forgot the injury on his hand and quickly shouted. He could accept dying with his integrity intact, but to be killed by the other party for not saying a word would be truly unjust... He didn't want to report to the other world this early.

"Vice President Clete?"

Hearing this name, Rhode's sword paused slightly.

"Merchant Association?"

"Yes, yes."

"What was your objective?"

"To kidnap Miss Helen. That's all I know..."

The sharp, white blade of Star Trace pressed against Orland's face. The cold touch made him involuntarily swallow. He had completely lost his composure, only hoping that this young man would show mercy. At this moment, he saw Rhode nod, then say, "I understand."

Orland felt a chill across his neck, and as the cold air rushed in, darkness completely swallowed his world.

Rhode withdrew his longsword and turned back toward the carriage. The way the others looked at him now was entirely different; Helen sat to the side, supported by an attendant, her expression complex as she watched him. Ben cleared his throat, then braced himself and stepped forward.

"This... thank you for your assistance, sir."

Although Rhode's actions hardly qualified as "assistance," the outcome was favorable nonetheless.

"No need for thanks. It was merely a trivial matter."

Rhode gave a slight nod and said nothing more. Ben, however, hesitated for a moment before speaking up.

"May I ask... who were they?"

"They claimed to have been sent by Vice President Clete to kidnap Miss Helen."

"What?!"

Hearing this, Ben turned pale with shock. As the captain of the guards for a merchant family, he understood the implications all too well.

"Are you saying these people were sent by the Merchant Association?"

"That is what he said. Whether it is true or not, I do not care."

Rhode waved his hand dismissively and turned away.

"Besides, I was only asking out of casual curiosity."