Chapter 74

Rod slowly regained consciousness.

It had to be said that this was the most comfortable sleep he had had since leaving Deepstone City. Not having to worry about danger and being able to fully relax was indeed a pleasant experience. Especially the softness behind his head, which emitted a fragrance, was a great enjoyment.

Opening his eyes, the first thing Rod saw was Marin's face. The young girl was clearly exhausted as well. Her hands rested on her knees, her eyes closed, and she was dozing off, leaning against the side. The magical glow had long since dissipated, leaving only the faint light of the torches flickering in the dark palace. However, it now seemed to add a touch of tranquility.

Rod sat up, and the unusual sensation in his left hand made him feel a bit strange. When he turned his head, the scene before him left him speechless.

Thick bandages completely wrapped his palm and forearm, and each finger was wrapped as thick as a carrot. If the white bandages were painted black, they would look like the armors worn by heavily armored warriors... but for Rod, this clearly had no protective function.

The young lady is indeed a young lady.

Faced with this scene, Rod could only shake his head and sigh.

After removing the bandages, the wound on his palm had almost healed. Regardless of what bloodline he possessed, at least his healing ability was top-notch. If he were human, it would probably take ten days or half a month to recover.

At this moment, Marin also opened her eyes.

"Hmm......"

The young girl groaned drowsily, then lifted her head, her eyes unfocused, staring blankly at Rod as if looking at something that didn't exist. Rod didn't avoid her gaze but watched the young lady with a slight amusement. After a few days of interaction, he had come to understand her quite well—such as her low blood pressure.

For a mage, this was certainly not an advantage.

To be honest, the first time Rod encountered this, he was quite surprised. He tried to wake Marin from her sleep without knowing, but instead, she hugged him tightly like a doll. The seemingly weak Marin displayed astonishing strength at that moment—if she hadn't suddenly let go because of a dream, Rod might have been strangled half to death... Even more frightening was that after waking up, the young lady had no memory of her bold actions and even thought Rod was daydreaming.

Since then, Rod decided to keep his distance from her—especially before she woke up.

Marin was the same now. Her eyes were blank and lifeless, making her look like a doll under hypnosis, completely obedient and unable to resist. Her beautiful face was very likely to arouse a man's desire to press her to the ground and indulge in his passion and burning desire.

But Rod knew this was definitely not the best choice.

Marin's body began to sway like a pendulum.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Then she steadied herself and blinked.

"Ah, Mr. Rod, you're awake?"

It seemed she was truly awake.

"Good morning, Miss Marin."

Rod raised his hand and greeted Marin.

"It looks like you had a good dream."

"Alright... I guess it wasn't too long."

In response to Rod's greeting, Marin squinted her eyes in confusion and glanced around. However, the dark underground world was clearly not suitable for telling time. She tried to stand up but her legs gave out, and she sat back down.

"Ugh, I feel so bad..."

Sitting half on the ground, Marin supported her body with one hand and pressed the other on her leg—maintaining a position for a long time was very uncomfortable, especially with something pressing on it.

Rod didn't say anything, just shook his head and extended his hand. Marin lowered her head and, with Rod's help, finally managed to stand up and steady herself. She stomped her feet, but from her expression, it seemed she still hadn't fully recovered.

"Get ready, we're leaving here and returning to Deepstone City."

"Okay."

Hearing Rod's command, Marin didn't say anything more. She just lowered her head and softly replied, then slowly and awkwardly walked to the side, picked up the gemstones and crystals that formed the protective barrier, and put them back in her pocket. At this moment, Marin suddenly remembered something and walked to Rod's side, taking out some items from her pocket.

"Right, these..."

"What are these?"

"According to your words, spoils of war."

The young girl had finally returned to her usual manner. She frowned, seemingly not very willing.

"I found these on the people who tried to assassinate us. I thought you might find them useful..."

"Oh?"

Hearing this, Rod looked at Marin with curiosity and surprise. Since the last time she touched a corpse, Marin had been deeply repulsed by such things. Rod had heard her say more than once that she would never do it again. So what was this? Breaking a promise wasn't Marin's style. Had the young lady been so stimulated that she had changed her nature?

Marin didn't notice Rod's questioning gaze, or perhaps she was deliberately ignoring it. She just took out the equipment and handed it to Rod, trying to look as if "it's all yours, it has nothing to do with me"—a classic case of "the more you deny, the more you reveal."

Prideful.

Rod sighed inwardly but didn't say anything more. He just reached out and took the equipment from Marin.

It had to be said that although Marin said she didn't want it, her body was quite honest... or perhaps her judgment was very keen. From the three spies, Marin had found four pieces of magical equipment. Most were of the ordinary type, enhancing perception and dexterity, but for Rod, they were quite useful. The mercenary group was in the construction phase, and these pieces of equipment could be used to arm subordinates or sold for money, both good options.

The dagger of the female assassin caught Rod's attention. It was enchanted to break medium-level magical protections and was equipped with a powerful paralyzing toxin, made of mithril and cold iron. It was truly an essential item for travel, murder, and cover-up. Unfortunately, Rod's team didn't have a suitable thief, and Rod's sword skills weren't suitable for dagger combat, so it was somewhat useless. However, Rod estimated that if he auctioned it on the black market, it would still fetch a decent amount of pocket money. The only concern was whether this item would cause any trouble if it got out.

Satisfied with his inspection, Rod unceremoniously put all the equipment into his spatial bag.

Only then did their mission finally come to an end.

When they left the palace, Rod found the remaining two unfortunate spies' bodies at the entrance of the secret passage. They were now bloodied and mangled, lying under the statue, clearly long dead. As soon as Rod and Marin left the secret passage, the stone door that had been used to conceal it immediately closed, sealing the entire palace once again.

If possible, Rod absolutely did not want to come back a second time.

When the two returned to Deepstone City, exhausted, it was already dusk two days later. After entering the mercenary guild, Rod and Marin first went to Old Hank to turn in their mission—the magical plants they needed to collect had already been gathered, so there was no problem. After that, Rod also turned in the mercenary group emblem he had obtained in the Twilight Forest, earning some points and a reward. After completing these three missions, the Starlight Mercenary Group now had five points and ranked sixth from the bottom, finally pulling back from the brink of dissolution.

"Kid, to be honest, you did a great job."

After recording the completion of the mercenary missions, Old Hank patted Rod on the shoulder with a mix of emotions.

"In just half a month, you completed three missions and earned five points. Hey, I should show those lazy bums how you did it, to give them a good kick. If they don't work harder, they'll have nowhere to cry when the guild dissolves!"

"That's not much."

Rod shook his head. In fact, he didn't really care about these small matters. On the contrary, he was more worried about other aspects.

"How is Lise? Has she had any trouble?"

"Lise is fine, no problems, but..."

At this point, Old Hank frowned in confusion.

"The girl has been very hardworking and diligent lately, locking herself in her room all day, saying she's learning some new spirit techniques. I have to bring her meals three times a day. Otherwise, she might forget to eat. I don't know why she's working so hard. She's still young, with plenty of time. If she overexerts herself and ruins her health, it will be counterproductive. Young man, help me persuade her. I think she'll only listen to you now..."

"Sure, no problem."

Hearing this, Rod nodded. He didn't want Lise to collapse from overworking, as she was the only healer in the group. If she fell ill, the next trouble would be significant. With this in mind, Rod didn't say anything more but politely nodded to Old Hank and then looked at Marin standing beside him.

"Let's go."

"Um..."

At this, Marin's face showed a strange and complex expression, but she quickly slapped her face and regained her usual confidence and pride.

Just as the two were about to leave, a voice suddenly rang out.

"Hey, kid, you're finally back!"

The two turned to see Old Walker, his face flushed, pushing through the crowd and waving excitedly at them.

"I thought you two might have been eaten by wolves out there. Looks like you did a good job!"

"Mr. Walker."

Rod raised an eyebrow.

"Why are you here?"

"Me?"

Hearing Rod's question, Old Walker first took a big sip from the flask at his waist, then squinted his eyes and looked at the young man in front of him with a smile.

"Thank me, kid. I did what you asked and got that person for you!"