Chapter 53

The girl once had a dream.

Heroes, wielding weapons, would slay the evil monsters that stood in their way, breaking through thorns and forging ahead, ultimately achieving victory and glory—except this did not include the heroes rolling up their sleeves and squatting before the corpses to pick up trash.

Unfortunately, reality is often more cruel than dreams.

Watching as Rod and the others skillfully peeled open the already rotten corpses, shaking out a few gold coins and other odd items, Marin could only stand by with a darkened face, unable to do anything. The only thing she could do was protest.

"This, this is a desecration of the dead!"

However, unfortunately, Marin's indignant protest was like playing the lute to a cow.

"Don't joke, Miss."

As Rod picked up the few gold coins and gems that had fallen to the ground and put them in his pocket, he responded nonchalantly.

"We are mercenaries, they are our enemies, and now that we have won, we naturally take the spoils of war, which is what we deserve. Besides, if desecrating the dead is a concern, these poor creatures have already been desecrated once by that necromancer. I doubt they would mind being desecrated a second time."

"You are just making excuses! Liss, you should say something, you... ..."

Seeing the girl carefully removing a silver necklace from the corpse's neck, Marin's words trailed off, unable to continue.

"Ah, this..."

Noticing Marin's gaze, Liss blushed and gave an awkward smile. She was not unaware of Marin's thoughts—after all, when she first joined the mercenary group, she had the same attitude. But now...

"Our income as mercenaries is very limited, so..."

Although Liss's expression was awkward and her tone apologetic, the speed at which she collected the spoils did not slow down at all.

"But, but don't we have a reward for completing the mission?"

"Do you think that money is enough to fill our teeth, Miss?"

Compared to Liss, who was still somewhat reserved, Old Walker behaved like a full-fledged bandit. He grabbed a mangled arm, forcefully pulled off the ring, examined it closely, and then put it back in his pocket. He then cut open the corpse's head, digging out a large chunk of thick corpse fat—just the sight of it made Marin want to vomit her dinner from the previous night.

"We only get a few hundred gold coins for completing a mission, sometimes even less. This boy's mercenary group is small, so it's not obvious, but a regular mercenary group has at least a dozen people. Each person, after risking their lives, only gets about ten gold coins. What can you do with that money? We need to repair our weapons and armor, drink, eat, do you think these things are free? Besides, we only get a reward if we complete the mission. If we fail, should we go hungry?"

Hearing Old Walker's retort, Marin opened her mouth but ultimately said nothing. She just stood to the side, watching the three of them "loot" the corpses, then continued forward.

Although they encountered multiple attacks along the way, under Rod's command, they all passed through the dangers unscathed. Despite being only four people, Rod and Walker's rich adventuring experience, Liss's ability to counter undead creatures, and Marin's large-scale destructive spells made it easy for them to penetrate deep into the mine, quickly reaching the deepest part.

The deeper they went, the darker it became. Liss's holy light seemed to be eroded and compressed by the darkness, almost becoming faint and indistinct. Rod walked at the front, holding the Star Trace, vigilantly watching the deep, ink-like shadows ahead. He believed the necromancer had already sensed their approach, after all, they had killed many undead creatures along the way. The necromancer, having lost contact with his minions, would certainly realize something was wrong and be on guard. If Rod had enough manpower, he wouldn't mind a full-scale assault, but now he only had three people, and this world had no corpse-running or resurrection spells for him to use.

Rod pressed his left hand down, signaling the three following him to stop. He scanned the surroundings again, then lowered his voice to address the group.

"We are approaching the necromancer. Now, I will tell you what you need to do in the upcoming battle. Remember this, because I won't be able to give you orders during the fight. I want you to remember my words. If anyone forgets... I don't think I need to punish you, because corpses can't hear my complaints."

Hearing Rod's usual calm and sharp words, the three immediately became alert. Even Marin, who had initially been skeptical of Rod, was now fully focused. During their journey, Marin had greatly benefited from Rod's commands. Although she had learned about the techniques and insights of mages in battle at the academy, it was only under Rod's orders that she truly understood the hidden meanings behind these techniques and insights. After casting spells according to Rod's commands, the girl suddenly realized how to apply certain insights she had learned before. This made the eager-to-learn Marin no longer doubt Rod's commands but instead begin to trust and understand them.

As for Old Walker, although he was still unhappy with Rod, he at least didn't want to become a martyr just yet.

"Liss."

Rod first looked at the spirit master behind him, who was the most important person in this battle.

"I will be responsible for engaging that guy. You should first focus on casting protective shields on the others. Unless I specifically request it, don't waste your strength on me. Necromancers have strong resistance to magic, so I will have Marin responsible for dispelling their magical shields. After that, you can attack. Otherwise, it would just be a waste of strength."

"Yes, I understand, Mr. Rod."

Seeing Liss nod in understanding, Rod turned to look at Marin on the other side.

"Miss Marin, your main task is to dispel the protective spells on that necromancer. I don't think the level will be too high. If it exceeds your capabilities, tell me immediately, and I will handle it. Additionally, I will draw most of the necromancer's attention to me, but it won't abandon harassing you. During the gaps in dispelling the spells, I need you to watch out for any threats from undead creatures around the others. If there are any, you must deal with them immediately. Unless I give the order, do not attack the necromancer."

"Okay, no problem, please leave it to me."

After fighting undead creatures along the way, Marin's response was clearly more confident. After getting her answer, Rod turned to Old Walker.

"Mr. Walker, your job is simple. There is a gem on the necromancer's forehead, which is very obvious. I don't think it will be hard to notice. Your job is to shoot that gem when the necromancer is about to cast a spell. Although with your strength, you may not be able to destroy the gem, just delaying its casting will be enough. Also, I want you to pay attention to the two ladies and alert them if they are in danger."

Although Rod explained in detail, Old Walker did not respond immediately. Instead, he frowned and his expression changed slightly.

"Boy, there seems to be a sound over there."

Saying this, Old Walker raised his hand and pointed to a tunnel.

"Over there?"

Following his gesture, Rod's expression immediately darkened.

At this moment, the group was at a fork in the mine, with one path leading directly to the necromancer's location, another being a dead end, and the third being the path they had come from. The last path was a sloping tunnel leading to the main entrance, meaning that if they had not taken Rod's "back door" but instead chosen the most direct route, they should have come down this path.

And now, Old Walker had detected movement there.

Rod signaled the group to be quiet, then closed his eyes. Soon, he also sensed the faint sound of weapons clashing from the other side of the tunnel. Clearly, someone was fighting, and it seemed they had the same goal as the group.

What should they do next?

Rod frowned and glanced at the three people behind him. The necromancer was not too difficult, but with four people, it would take a considerable amount of time, and during that time, anything could happen. If they were ambushed while fighting, it would be a big problem.

Anyone who has played online games knows that the worst thing during a boss fight is for someone to pass by. In dungeons, it's one thing, but for a boss in a quest, it's a different story. These wild bosses are like public buses, with no sense of propriety. Whoever kills them gets the credit. Fortunately, in games, bosses respawn after a certain time, so people with some manners can wait for the next chance. But if it's a unique boss...

The bloodshed would be unimaginable, and even a battlefield strewn with corpses would be a light description...

As a legendary figure who had led a guild from the first generation of games to the present, Rod was very familiar with such situations. He immediately abandoned the plan to kill the necromancer and instead focused on the unexpected visitors. However...

Rod turned and carefully examined the three people behind him.

Liss looked somewhat panicked, clearly understanding that encountering others at this time was not a good thing. Marin, on the other hand, was indifferent, but that was understandable, as someone who had never been a mercenary, she naturally did not understand the implications. Old Walker, however, was calm, clearly very familiar with such situations, or he wouldn't have spoken up.

What should they do? Deal with those people?

"We'll go and check."

Rod did not hesitate for long and quickly made a decision. If the other party was strong, they would take advantage of their battle to eliminate them from the shadows, completely removing the threat. If the other party was on the verge of defeat, they would quietly wait for their annihilation. In any case, he had to see the threat disappear with his own eyes.

The distance to the battle site was not too far from Rod and his group, but the situation of the other party was much worse. In fact, when Rod led the three to the battle site, the other party was only a matter of time before being wiped out.

It was also an abandoned mine, with dozens of undead creatures surrounding and attacking the intruders in the center of the mine. Although the number of the other party was clearly more than Rod's group, in terms of the battle situation, they were completely at a disadvantage. This was not surprising, given their composition.

Three swordsmen, one shield warrior, and two rogues.

With just one glance, Rod confirmed the composition of the other party and then shook his head helplessly. These melee classes might be somewhat threatening in other situations, but against undead creatures, they were just a meal. Undead creatures do not fear injury or death, and melee classes pose little threat to them. These swordsmen looked to be only around level ten, not even able to use condensed sword energy. It was a miracle they had made it this far.

But it could only go so far.

A rogue dodged an attack from an undead creature and, in a swift and agile move, plunged a dagger into its throat. If it were a living person, they would have been dead long ago. But for an undead creature, this was nothing. Soon, the zombie raised its hand and smashed down heavily.

"Ugh!!"

The poor rogue was unable to dodge in time and was sent flying, landing heavily on the ground. Before he could get up, cold, foul-smelling hands reached out.

"AAAAAAAAAAH!!!"

With a blood-curdling scream, a stream of blood flowed from the pile of undead creatures, and then there was silence.

The formation of the mercenaries loosened, and with the loss of a helper, their pressure increased. At this moment, a burst of fire suddenly appeared in the crowd of zombies, forcibly dispersing the undead creatures. Then, a red-haired woman emerged, her face pale, covered in blood, and her leather armor torn and bloodstained.

Seeing the woman, Liss was suddenly startled.

"Sana-nee!!"

At this moment, Rod also made his decision.

"Marin, move."

PS: I went to get the wallpaper and measure the area today, so I came back a bit late, and the update is a bit late. There will be another update tonight. Yes, that's it...

PS2: The background wall is really expensive, it cost me two thousand dollars for one wall...

C

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