Chapter 44

The progress of things was going very smoothly, but when Rijie returned, she was greatly startled by the completely transformed new base. The poor girl, holding the supplies and items she had bought, hovered at the gate, hesitant and frightened, not daring to enter. If Rod hadn't noticed her, she might have stood outside until nightfall.

As for why such a change had occurred, Rijie naturally had her doubts. After all, although Rod had said he would clean up the mess before she left, according to common sense, it should have been just tidying up the mess, not making it so thoroughly transformed. However, since Rod didn't want to say more, Rijie didn't ask further. After experiencing so much, the girl had basically unconditional trust in Rod. Although such a strange thing was indeed very odd, Rod himself was a very mysterious person, so there was nothing particularly strange about it.

Moreover, Rijie believed that one day, Rod would tell her all these secrets.

Through Rijie, Rod also learned about the situation at the Mercenary Association. Clearly, the old man was quite surprised that they could handle the haunted house, obviously not believing they had the ability to deal with the well-known haunted house in Deepstone City. On the contrary, Serek stood on their side, not only that, but he also hinted to Rod through Rijie to be mindful of his actions and status to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Rod understood Serek's hint; he was very clear that although the haunted house had a bad reputation, Deepstone City was not short of capable hands. Even someone like Serek, a master swordsman, could easily clean up the place even if he didn't know the true nature of the things inside. The fact that they hadn't acted yet confirmed that it wasn't a matter of the monsters' strength, but some other external factor.

After all, this place was in the upper district, within the noble area, so there would definitely be trouble. Now that Rod and his group had just moved in, the haunted house's reputation was still intact, so it was unlikely that anyone would cause trouble for the time being. However, once people realized the haunted house was no longer "haunted," things would get complicated. Spending 600 gold coins to buy such a large house, although the procedures were correct, people would still have their doubts. After all, as the saying goes, there's no such thing as a free lunch.

Rod was well aware of these things, but he was curious why Serek would give him such a warning, considering they had no prior interaction... Could it be that Serek had a fondness for talent after their previous battle?

However, these were matters for the future. The most pressing issue for Rod was the true development of the Starlight Mercenary Group.

The first problem was manpower.

A mercenary group of two people was definitely not enough. Indeed, relying on Rod's familiarity with the area, completing tasks back and forth wasn't difficult. However, the lack of manpower meant they couldn't be flexible. With Rod's current personnel, they could only deal with undead creatures, and encountering living beings would be very troublesome. As for ordinary mercenary tasks like escorting and transporting, no one would be willing to entrust them with such tasks given their limited manpower.

But if they were to hire more people, what kind of people should they hire? The cost-effectiveness had to be worth it... With the current assets at Rod's disposal, he could only hire one or two more people at most. Good steel must be used on the blade; if the wrong person was chosen, it would be too late to cry.

Sitting in the study, Rod frowned in deep thought. The large room seemed somewhat empty, with only a desk, a few chairs, and a bookshelf. Although it was a bit shabby, it would have to do for now.

Closing the book in his hands, Rod fell into deep reminiscence.

In the year of Radiance, August—about a year and a half later—the Kingdom of Light declared that the Kingdom of Night had attacked its border merchant ships. They then quickly sent troops to occupy the Solargon Mountains and controlled the residents there, claiming they were the culprits who attacked the Kingdom of Light's merchant ships and executed them.

Two months later, the Kingdom of Night responded with its army, retaking the Solargon Mountains and completely eliminating the Kingdom of Light's garrison there.

Then, a full-scale war broke out.

The Moon Principality, where Rod was located, was the first to be attacked by the Kingdom of Night. This could have been avoided, but the Parliament of the Kingdom of Light issued an order, forcing the Moon Principality to face the sharp blades and swords of the Kingdom of Night.

This was the most devastating time for players in Rod's memory. The Kingdom of Night sent a powerful army, including vampires and bone mages, with an average level of nearly 80, to launch a devastating attack on the Moon Principality. For players who were at most level 40-50 at the time, this was a disaster. Although many players spontaneously organized to defend their land, their weak resistance was powerless against the Kingdom of Night's powerful army. They died and respawned repeatedly but could not stop the Kingdom of Night's unstoppable advance. At this moment, the Parliament of the Kingdom of Light made a shocking decision—declaring that the Moon Principality had colluded with the enemy and attacked the Moon Principality.

This became the last straw for the already precarious Moon Principality. Under the attacks from both sides, the Moon Principality began to retreat. At this time, the ruler of the Moon Principality, Lydia Pahfeld Mirra Franlica, finally made the decision to send her elite corps, the "Purple Lily," to escort the players and her people to Trisphia Port for evacuation.

Rod still remembered the scene at the time. They stood by the long line of refugees, almost every player gritting their teeth, looking back at the land behind them. It was not just the humiliation of being driven away by NPCs, but also the anger towards the Parliament of the Kingdom of Light.

The residents of the Moon Principality left, wearing tattered clothes, pale-faced, and hurriedly leaving.

The players of the Moon Principality left, their faces red, shouting, "You're playing us, developers!" "The game company should die!" "I'll kill the Parliament members!" and left in frustration.

Only one person stayed behind.

With the power of an angel, a single girl blocked the ten-thousand-strong army of the Kingdom of Night, not closing her eyes until the last ship left Trisphia Port. Until the very end, she upheld her vow—"The king must always stand behind the people, shielding them from the storm, whether they want it or not."

Subsequently, the players' anger erupted.

Rod clearly remembered that this was the largest outbreak in the history of the Dragon Soul Continent. In less than a week, hundreds of thousands of players almost flooded the official forum of the game. Many claimed it was a violation of the players' will. More players expressed their anger through their actions, forming player guilds and raising their vengeful blades against their fellow players and NPCs in the Kingdom of Light. Rod, after this, finally abandoned his casual attitude towards the game and became serious. After gathering several players who had deep-seated hatred towards the Kingdom of Light, he formed the Starlight. This was for their dignity as players, a rebellion against the game system, and a naked act of revenge.

They succeeded.

Under Rod's leadership, Starlight grew stronger, sweeping through the Kingdom of Light, completely destroying the Parliament of the Kingdom of Light. Then, they sharpened their blades and launched an attack on their other mortal enemy, the Kingdom of Night, and succeeded. They even personally eliminated the Dark Night Dragon, one of the five dragons of creation. After this battle, Starlight rose to become the most powerful guild in the entire game, without a doubt.

One could say they succeeded and achieved glory. But in Rod's heart, there was always a small voice.

When they destroyed the Parliament, when they defeated the Dark Night Dragon, Rod had thought, if he had such power at that time, would things have changed? Would everything have been different?

Rod didn't know, but he was also very clear that it was just a dream. The game wouldn't reset, and it couldn't be replayed. He used to think so, until he came to this world... Rod realized he had another chance to change his fate.

He didn't want to taste that feeling again, the humiliation he had experienced as a refugee and a player, which he would never allow to happen to himself again.

Before that, Rod had thought about leaving the Twilight Forest and trying his luck in the Golden City, but when he learned of Rijie's situation, he changed his mind. Since he could once form a powerful guild that could destroy the Kingdom of Light and the Kingdom of Night, even stand against the devils of hell, and ultimately kill the Void Dragon, why couldn't he do it again?

There was still a year and a half, not too long, not too short.

Now, with the recognition of the Mercenary Association and the base, Rod finally decided to make a big move. He wanted to recreate his past glory here, and this time, he would not let that humiliation happen to him again. This was something Rod could not tolerate.

Everything was on track, and it was time for him to start preparing.

Looking at the beautiful scenery of Deepstone City outside the window, Rod began to recall the attributes and skills of the NPCs in the game, and soon made up his mind.

"Rijie."

He stood up, knocked on the table, and soon the girl, who had been reading by the window, stood up at Rod's call.

"We're going to the Mercenary Association."

The Mercenary Association was as bustling as ever, no different from a few days ago. Bored mercenaries sat at tables in the hall, drinking and chatting, while more people crowded at the front to take or submit tasks.

Rod quickly found their name on the stone slab in the hall, which listed all the mercenary groups in the Pahfeld region. There were a total of 32 mercenary groups, and Starlight was ranked last, with a very noticeable zero points.

Seeing this, Rijie's expression was somewhat helpless. Although she had seen it yesterday, the thought of their mercenary group dropping from the middle to the bottom was hard to bear. However, she took a deep breath, tried to calm down, and then spoke to Rod.

"Sir, we are currently ranked last with no points... Other mercenary groups have at least five points. We need to come up with a plan."

"I am very clear."

Rod nodded in response, looked up, and soon saw another name—Red Eagle. If Rod's memory served him right, Red Eagle should be the group led by the female mercenary captain Rijie had met before. They seemed to be doing well, ranked 21st, a middle-of-the-road position.

However, Rod didn't come here today for such trivial matters. He glanced at it and then walked to the other side of the hall.

The Mercenary Association was clearly divided. The left side of the hall was where the various mercenary groups gathered, while the right side was where the unaffiliated, idle mercenaries stayed. These people, for various reasons, had not joined a mercenary group and could only wait here, either taking ordinary tasks or waiting for a mercenary group to recruit them. As a result, this area was much quieter than the hall, with mercenaries either chatting idly or sitting in the corner with a cold, sullen look, as if someone owed them money.

The appearance of Rod and Rijie caught the attention of many. They whistled loudly and greeted the two with laughter. However, Rod clearly ignored these idiots who couldn't even tell the gender of the people they were whistling at, while Rijie, who was already used to the chaos, maintained a polite and reserved smile, keeping her distance and not intending to respond. She knew these mercenaries were just bored and looking for some fun. Whether she was angry or happy, their purpose was achieved, and it would only cause more trouble. It was better to pretend nothing had happened, and they would lose interest and stop bothering her.

Putting those annoying noises aside, Rod turned his head and looked at the corner, then walked over...

The wine in the cup was still as sweet as ever.

The old man put down his wine glass, pressed his slightly trembling right hand, leaned back in his chair, and stared blankly at the ground. He was once a member of the Light Wind Mercenary Group, confident, brave, full of hope and vitality. He had often thought that he would eventually become the leader of the mercenary group, leading his subordinates on adventures and expansions. This was his hope and his goal.

But after the injury, everything changed.

He no longer had the strength he once had, and those who once admired him had abandoned him. Now, the once glorious young man had become a pitiful old man, doing nothing but drinking to drown his sorrows. Thinking of this, the old man couldn't help but feel a deep sorrow. He looked up, his eyes filled with disdain, and scanned the group of young people around him. They were too young, still dreaming of adventures, beautiful women, money, and fame. What did these mean? Everything was meaningless. When they lost everything they relied on, what would these young men have left?

The old man reached out, touched his right eye covered by an eye patch, and raised his wine glass, trying to call the bartender for another drink.

At this moment, he noticed two people sitting down next to him.

"Walker? Walker Dider?"

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