Chapter 57

Rod stood up.

In front of him, the once arrogant and invincible necromancer was now (or rather, had once again become) a cold, lifeless corpse.

However, this did not bring Rod any joy. He had a grim look on his face as he stared at his left hand.

Although the angel's wings had deflected most of the negative energy attack, the level difference between the two was too great, and the necromancer's attack was not completely blocked. At this moment, Rod's left hand, up to the elbow, was a sickly blue, and a bone-chilling cold was spreading through it, causing his entire hand to tremble involuntarily.

If Rod's constitution had not been superior to that of an ordinary person, this arm would have been useless.

"Huff..."

Rod sighed, but then he focused his attention on the ring on his finger. The originally milky white gemstone was now pitch black and shiny. Upon closer inspection, one could even see the darkness inside, swirling and moving as if it had a will of its own.

The soul binding was successful.

Although the process was somewhat unexpected, it was finally done. However...

Thinking about this, Rod felt a surge of anger. When he chose this mission, he was very confident. The reason Pavel's Cemetery was rated as a four-star mission was not because the boss was particularly strong, but because undead creatures had a significant advantage over the living. Before the Night Kingdom's invasion, the people under the Light Dragon Soul had very limited experience in dealing with undead creatures. Moreover, the natives were not players who could respawn repeatedly, so missions involving undead creatures were generally of a higher level in the Mercenary Association. However, Rod believed that with Lijie's help, the positive energy's strong suppression of undead creatures, and the addition of Marlin, his "adopted daughter," as long as he commanded properly, victory was almost certain. The previous victories along the way also confirmed this. Undead creatures had a clear advantage against melee classes, but they were tragic when facing spellcasters. According to this trend, sweeping the area was just a matter of time, but...

Rod shook his head, put away the soul-binding stone, and turned to walk back.

When Rod returned to the group, the scene had become somewhat chaotic.

Lijie was treating Shana's wounds, who had fallen heavily injured. The idiot who caused the trouble was watching intently beside her. Old Walker was clearing the battlefield, and Marlin stood coldly nearby, looking at the others with disdain. The other members of the Red Eagle Mercenary Group did not look good either; they were gathered around Shana, worried about their leader's injuries.

"I'm sorry, leader, I'm sorry, leader, I didn't mean to, I didn't..."

Barney knelt beside Shana, pale-faced. He could feel the cold, angry gazes of the people around him. This was something he had never experienced before, making him feel both terrified and wronged. He had clearly seen that the leader and the others were in a tough battle, and that cunning nobleman was hiding nearby, not moving to help. So he wanted to lend a hand. Why were these people making things difficult for him? Didn't they see how dire the situation was?

Just as Barney was in a panic, footsteps came from behind him. He turned his head and saw the "culprit" walking towards them at a leisurely pace.

This made the young man even angrier. Our leader is injured, and you don't even care. Nobles are truly a bunch of cold-blooded bastards!

Thinking this, Barney immediately jumped up, pointed at Rod, and started to curse.

"It's all your fault, if it weren't for you..."

Barney's words were cut short because at that moment, a fist appeared in front of his face.

"Bang!!"

Rod mercilessly punched the young man in the face, and Barney let out a scream, rolling to the ground. He lifted his head, glaring angrily at the man standing in front of him, not even noticing that his nose was broken and bleeding.

"Why didn't you follow my orders?"

Rod's voice was calm, but everyone, including Lijie who was treating Shana's wounds, was stunned.

The reason was simple: Rod was smiling.

Anyone who had interacted with Rod knew that although he was very handsome, he was always very serious and had never smiled in front of them. This made many people feel a bit sorry, and even Old Walker had once teased him that if he smiled more often, he might attract more people.

But now, Rod was really smiling, and it was very charming, yet everyone felt a chill down their spines.

"Answer me."

Rod flexed his wrist, walked to Barney with a smile, and then lifted his left foot, stepping hard on the young swordsman's chest, forcing him back to the ground.

"Ugh!!"

"I remember I made it very clear before the battle started. We were to keep the necromancer occupied, and no one was to act without my orders... Are you stupid, or are your ears broken?"

"... Spit."

Although seeing Rod's smile made Barney tremble all over, as if bound by a giant python, his youthful arrogance did not make him surrender. Instead, he spat viciously.

"Don't think I didn't see it. You were just hiding on the side, letting our people go to their deaths! How could I follow your orders? Can you say you didn't do it on purpose? I think everyone saw it, right, Henry?"

The Henry Barney mentioned was the other swordsman who had been attacking the necromancer with Shana. Barney thought Henry would definitely speak up for him, but when he turned his head, Henry simply turned away, not even looking at him.

In fact, Henry was quite annoyed with this kid's sudden intrusion. Although they looked quite desperate at the time, they were mainly adapting to the methods Rod had described—how to avoid the necromancer's casting blind spots and prevent him from locking onto them for attacks. These were very useful techniques and guidance for mercenaries. Just as they were getting into the rhythm, this damn kid ruined everything!

It was like two people practicing tango, spending so much time to master the rhythm and steps, and just as they were about to perform, a drunkard suddenly crashed into them, ruining everything.

Anyone would feel frustrated in this situation.

However, for the sake of Barney being his teammate, Henry restrained himself from saying anything more. But from his attitude, it was clear he didn't mind letting Rod take out his anger.

"Henry... Henry..."

Seeing his companion's expression, Barney gritted his teeth. He didn't think his companion was silent because he was angry with him. No, they must be afraid of this young noble! That's why they didn't speak up, but he was different! He would never submit to authority and would never give up.

"Hmph, say what you want, pretty boy, I will never... aaaaaahhhh!!!"

Before Barney could finish his sentence, a shining blade pierced his hand. The sudden pain forced the young man to swallow his words, replaced by a scream of agony. But before he could finish, Rod pulled out his sword and kicked Barney in the waist, sending the poor young man flying and rolling on the ground, unconscious.

Hearing Barney's scream, Marlin couldn't help but shudder. She naturally remembered what Rod had said when she first approached him. It was laughable that she didn't take Rod seriously at the time. Fortunately, after that duel, Marlin no longer doubted Rod's strength and followed his instructions wholeheartedly. If she hadn't adjusted her attitude then, she would probably be the one lying there screaming now.

Recalling that duel, Marlin was certain that Rod had no problem with holding back.

After doing all this, Rod simply clapped his hands, completely ignoring the surprised or frightened gazes of the people around him. He retracted his smile, returning to his usual cold and serious face.

"Clear the battlefield."

This time, Rod's harvest was abundant. The necromancer had been operating in Pavel's Cemetery for many years and had accumulated quite a bit. The magic crystals alone filled a bag, not to mention various gems and plants. Rod finally got what he wanted.

Bending down to pick up the dusty, ancient holy book from the wooden box, Rod nodded in satisfaction and then turned to wave Lijie over.

"Mr. Rod, is there something?"

Seeing Rod's gesture, Lijie hurried over, but her expression was somewhat complicated. She had planned to treat Barney's wounds, but Rod's "don't bother with him" left her awkwardly moving away. Although, to be fair, Lijie was also very dissatisfied with Barney's actions, but as a spirit master, she couldn't ignore someone's life just because of personal preferences.

"Here, take this."

"This is..."

Lijie curiously took the holy book from Rod and, after flipping through a few pages, immediately showed a look of pleasant surprise.

"This is the Holy Book?"

"Yes."

Rod patted the girl's shoulder.

"With your abilities, I believe you can learn the spirit techniques in it. Good luck."

"Of course, I will work hard. Thank you, sir!"

Lijie, holding the holy book, smiled excitedly. She knew the value of this holy book. In the church, only those chosen had the right to learn high-level spirit techniques, while other spirit masters could only learn the most basic ones. This showed how precious a holy book containing high-level spirit techniques was. Lijie was sure that if she could learn even half of what was written in it, her strength would significantly improve.

At this moment, Marlin also came to their side, but compared to the excited Lijie, her expression was clearly pained—because just now, Rod had given her a strict order to clean up the necromancer's corpse. This was undoubtedly a difficult test for Marlin, who had never done such a thing in her life. Although Marlin also protested to Rod, in the face of his "as a member of the mercenary group, you must follow orders," the talented young lady had no choice but to surrender and pinch her nose to carry out the order.

"I've completed the task, Mr. Rod."

"Oh?"

Hearing Marlin's words, Rod looked at her curiously.

"Did you find anything good?"

"It's all here."

In response to Rod's question, Marlin replied somewhat unhappily and then extended her palm, offering the equipment she had found.

However, she didn't expect Rod to not take it immediately. Instead, he stared blankly at a ring lying quietly in Marlin's hand, saying nothing for a long time.

"Mr. Rod?"

Seeing Rod's reaction, Marlin reminded him somewhat discontentedly. At this point, Rod seemed to come to his senses and nodded.

"Yes, I know... Good job, thank you for your hard work."

As he spoke, Rod curiously examined the young girl in front of him.

To be able to find a Dark Soul Ring with a 0.1% drop rate, this talented young lady must have incredibly good luck...

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