A Casual Question

Everyone had only seen him raise his hand a moment ago. Then, in the next instant, his figure vanished. His bright, snow-white blade flashed into view with a sharp whoosh, stabbing straight toward Orland's right hand.

What incredible speed!

Faced with Rhode's sudden attack, Orland was shocked. He had already prepared himself mentally, but seeing it with his own eyes was completely different from experiencing it firsthand. His vision blurred, and then he saw Rhode's blade thrusting toward his right hand.

Faced with the attack, Orland had no choice but to retreat, forced to leave Helen behind. By now, he had given up all hope of completing the mission. The gap between their strength was far too great; escaping was his only sensible option. With that in mind, Orland didn't hesitate. He rolled backward to evade Rhode's attack, then sprang up and hurled himself toward the bushes nearby.

But Rhode clearly had no intention of letting him get his way.

Rhode's sword missed, but he didn't retreat. Watching Orland's rapidly fleeing figure, Rhode's lips curled slightly, a faint, almost imperceptible smile crossing his face. Then the sword in his hand paused for an instant before thrusting forward again.

The Shining Beam, long primed and ready, erupted from the blade. It spiraled and split as it roared forward, shooting toward Orland in the distance as though everything had gone according to plan.

Rhode's strike was clearly strange. Shatter Blade hadn't shot straight toward the figure ahead, as everyone had expected. Instead, it angled upward, making it look as though he had missed. Ben, watching from afar, thought so, as did Lize and Mace, who had poked his head out of the carriage.

But in the next instant, they stared in astonishment.

At that moment, Orland, who had been sprinting away, suddenly leaped into the air and threw himself straight into the path of Rhode's attack.

In fact, Orland realized something was wrong as soon as he jumped. It was a habitual move for thieves: when retreating, they instinctively took evasive action to guard against pursuers attacking from behind. Orland had jumped to avoid Rhode's strike. But he hadn't expected Rhode to predict his move in advance. Instead of dodging the attack, he had practically thrown himself onto the blade!

Orland was horrified. He wanted to change his position, but it was already too late.

With Orland's "selfless" assistance, Shatter Blade struck him squarely in the right shoulder and the small of his back. The wretched thief barely had time to scream before he was sent flying, crashing headfirst into the bushes.

Only then did Rhode put away his sword and walk toward Orland.

"Ugh... Ah..."

Lying in the bushes, Orland gritted his teeth against the pain in his shoulder and back. Hearing footsteps, he instinctively tried to flee again, but before he could even get up, the gleaming blade flashed through the air and pierced his right hand.

"Ahhhhh!!"

Orland's bloodcurdling scream made everyone's hearts clench. Rhode, by contrast, remained utterly calm, as though this were nothing at all. It changed everyone's opinion of him once again. Clearly, it wasn't normal for a young man to remain so unflinching in the face of such a scene.

Rhode, however, didn't see it that way. He hadn't done this because he was deliberately cruel; it was simply a habit from gaming. After all, in the game, players were far more skilled and vicious when it came to shameless ambushes. And nobody in the game was afraid of being hurt. So the only way to keep enemies from escaping or logging out was to keep them in combat. Rhode's strike had merely carried over one of his habits from online gaming. When he saw Orland trying to run, he'd thrust out his sword on instinct to stop him from "forcing a logout."

But after the sword was already in motion and he heard Orland's scream, Rhode finally remembered that this was reality, not a game—but it didn't matter.

He dismissed the pointless thought and walked over to the man in black. Then he gripped the hilt and slowly pulled the sword free.

"Ahhh... Aaaaaah!!!!!"

Orland was now in so much pain that his eyes were nearly rolling back in his head. His right hand, unable to bear the agony, had begun to twitch uncontrollably. Even his free left hand could no longer stop Rhode; he could only pound the ground on instinct. Watching this, the others couldn't help but feel a chill. They had never seen anything so brutal. Though the man was their enemy and had attacked them, seeing him in such a state was still terrifying.

Lize stood at a distance, quietly watching Rhode's impassive face. A complicated look flickered through her eyes as she recalled what he had said to her at the inn.

"I'm not saying this to repay you for saving my life, Lize. I've already brought you out of there, so we're even. You don't owe me anything, and I don't owe you anything. I can tell you that I'm not doing this to repay you. I have my own reasons, and I need power. That's why I made this proposal. I can promise you that within two years, I'll turn it into a powerful mercenary guild. But I should also warn you that I may resort to methods you can't accept. So I hope you'll think carefully about it, Lize. If you accept my proposal, you need to be mentally prepared for what comes with it. I won't allow anyone to get in my way, and I won't allow anyone to stop me. I have my reasons, but you don't need to know them yet... I understand how you feel, so I won't force you to agree. But I have to warn you about the consequences. They may well be more than you can bear."

Back then, Lize hadn't really understood what Rhode meant. She admitted that his words had shocked her, but deep down, the young woman had also felt a little reassured. After all, Rhode had openly admitted that he had ulterior motives. That might have been hard to accept, but it was more convincing than someone helping her unconditionally. She still didn't understand what Rhode saw in a mercenary group on the verge of disbanding, but since he wasn't willing to explain, there was nothing more she could ask.

Now, after seeing this, Lize was beginning to waver. She hadn't expected him to attack Helen, and neither had Ben or the others. Even Lize herself had been caught off guard. Her quick decision to cast Shield of Protection on Helen had been nothing more than a flash of inspiration, not the result of any tacit understanding with Rhode. But after this battle, deep down, Lize finally seemed to understand what Rhode meant.

She had thought it would be simple: recruit more people, grit her teeth, take on jobs, and keep the mercenary group afloat. But was it really that simple? Lize had been a mercenary for years. She knew how cruel their world was. Everyone was struggling to survive. The Moon Bow Mercenary Group had once been a mid-sized outfit, but now it had fallen to this. She had watched the mercenary group that felt like home to her decline with her own eyes.

Could she do it? Rebuild the mercenary group?

Lize asked herself that, but knew she couldn't. Even their former leader, Carter, though usually easy to get along with, would sometimes reveal a cold and resolute side. Lize didn't think she could do that. She didn't have the ability, and she wasn't willing to act that way.

Thinking of this, Lize couldn't help turning her gaze toward Rhode again.

He hadn't told her what he wanted, but his expression was so resolute, without the slightest trace of doubt or hesitation.

What about her? What should she do for her dream, for her goal?

At the thought, the young woman bit her lower lip and clenched her hands.

While Lize was deciding what to do with her future, Rhode casually pulled out his sword. He glanced at the blood on its blade and flicked it away, then looked down at the man in black, who was writhing in pain.

"I think you know what I want to ask, but to make sure you don't play dumb, I'll ask anyway. Who are you, and what are you trying to do?"

"Ugh... Ugh..."

Orland curled up. The pain from his pierced right hand made it nearly impossible to form a coherent sentence. He lifted his head and stared at the young man before him. He couldn't understand how he'd gotten so unlucky as to run into someone like this.

"I... I... I'm..."

The fear of his enemy, combined with his physical pain, had already broken Orland's will. He had almost no ability to fight back and could only answer Rhode in a weak voice. But before he could finish, a sharp pain in the back of his right hand made him suck in a breath. Rhode seemed to take that as a new answer.

"You don't want to talk? Fine. I'm not that interested anyway."

"I'm a subordinate of Vice President Clete!"

Hearing that, Orland was so frightened he forgot about the wound on the back of his hand and shouted in a hurry. He could accept dying without giving in, but getting killed because he couldn't catch his breath after one sentence would be a truly senseless death... He wasn't ready to go to the other world just yet.

"Vice President Clete?"

At the name, Rhode's sword paused slightly.

"The Merchant Association?"

"Y-yes."

"What were you after?"

"K-kidnapping Miss Helen. That's all I know..."

The gleaming, razor-sharp blade of Star Trace rested against Orland's face. Its icy touch made him swallow nervously. He was completely at a loss and could only hope the young man would spare him. Just then, Rhode nodded and said, "I understand."

Then Orland felt a chill at his throat. As the cold air rushed in, darkness swallowed his world.

Rhode sheathed his sword and turned back toward the carriage. Everyone looked at him completely differently now. Helen sat to one side, supported by her attendants, watching Rhode with a complicated expression. Ben coughed, then reluctantly stepped forward.

"Um... thank you for helping us, sir."

Rhode's actions didn't exactly fit the word "helping," but the outcome had been good, at least.

"Don't mention it. It was nothing."

Rhode gave a slight nod and said nothing more. Ben, however, seemed hesitant. After a moment, he finally asked,

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

"They said they were sent by Vice President Clete to kidnap Miss Helen."

"What?!"

Ben was shocked. As the head guard of a merchant family, he knew quite a bit about this sort of thing.

"Are you saying those men were sent by the Merchant Association?"

"That's what he said. Whether it's true or not, I don't really care."

Rhode waved a hand and turned away.

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