Chapter 95

Chapter 94: Annie Verroca's Hesitation

Rod put down the longsword in his hand. At this moment, another bone giant in front of him howled and turned to ashes, and at this moment, Serrek stood up and let out a long sigh of relief. With his strength, he was not incapable of defeating the bone giant, but to do so cleanly and decisively within a limited time was very difficult. After all, no matter how great the strength gap, the struggle of a dying enemy was indeed a headache. After all, he was only a master swordsman, not yet at the level where a wave of his hand could turn enemies to ashes.

Done!

Looking at the experience points that popped up before his eyes, Rod finally confirmed this. He now realized that the system prompt was not entirely useless. At least with this thing in front of him, it would be very difficult for enemies to pretend to be dead and come back to life. However, he did not have time to think about these things because...

"Thud... thud thud... thud!"

At this moment, a low, rhythmic knocking sound came from the distance, breaking the silence.

A war drum!?

Hearing this rhythmic knocking, Rod was greatly surprised.

He was truly shocked.

What is Annie doing?! This is not his order!

Many people believe that only knights engage in duels, as they think such battles are more spectacular and passionate. Many believe that only knights have pride and honor. However, in reality, this is not exclusive to knights.

There is a type of person who can pull them down from the pinnacle of glory.

That is the shield warrior!

Spear and shield, this is an eternal confrontation. Either the sharp spear or the sturdy shield will win. The war drum is the symbol of the shield warrior challenging the knight. Rod once remembered seeing a battle record from long ago in a ruin in the game. It was a glorious confrontation between a powerful nation and a weak one. The former had a formidable cavalry that dominated the continent, while the latter had nothing. They had no horses, no swords, and in their despair, they forged shield after shield with all their might. This was their last struggle in despair. They had no weapons, but they at least hoped to use these shields to resist the ambitions of the invaders.

Soon, on the battlefield, the two armies faced each other. The former was full of spirit, riding tall horses, clad in heavy armor, and the intimidating knights formed a dense black mass, making people shudder. The latter, however, could only cower behind their shields, trembling, timid yet brave, facing this terrifying attack.

At that time, looking at their pale, frightened faces, no one would have believed they were going to war; they would have thought they were going to their deaths.

In fact, at that time, they themselves believed it.

At that moment, a knocking sound suddenly came from somewhere.

"Thud, thud thud..."

The dull sound suddenly rang out and gradually spread. Upon hearing this sound, those who were originally panicked and frightened calmed down. As if guided by something, they began to strike their shields forcefully. As the sound grew louder, their expressions became increasingly resolute!

That day, the sound of the war drum echoed across the entire battlefield. The once invincible cavalry of the continent felt at a loss for the first time. What was before them was not a piece of tofu that could be easily bullied, but an incredibly hard wall!

In the end, they were defeated and returned in disgrace.

After this war, the shield warrior finally became a recognized profession on the continent. The sound of the war drum became the pride of the shield warriors and the humiliation of the knights. They were once so proud, even believing that only they could defeat themselves. Whether it was mages or powerful rangers, they only dared to attack from a distance. In a frontal charge, they believed they could not be defeated by anyone!

Anyone... hey, now that's a joke.

Since then, knights and shield warriors have become eternal enemies. The knights believed that the shield warriors shamelessly stole their pride, while the shield warriors felt honored because they finally broke the myth that no one could defeat a knight in a frontal charge.

Since then, the war drum has become the signal for shield warriors to challenge and provoke knights. In the words of the players in the game...

"Hey, little knight, your shield grandpa is here. Come and see if your little toothpick can pierce grandpa's shield!"

This was an insult that no knight could tolerate.

But when Rod heard the sound of the war drum, he was inwardly alarmed!

What is Annie doing? This is a declaration of war. He clearly wanted her to just keep the death knight occupied, but now, Annie was actually provoking him in this way...

Forget it!

Rod quickly gave Sylia an order through telepathy, then turned to look at everyone and waved his hand.

"Kudra, take everyone and evacuate immediately, follow the direction I told you, quickly, now, as fast as possible! Liss, come over!"

As he spoke, Rod did not waste time. He immediately threw out a black card, and soon, a heavily armored centaur appeared out of nowhere, causing many to gasp in surprise. Rod had never shown his summoning abilities to them on the journey, and now the mercenaries looked at him with more suspicion.

However, Rod clearly did not have time to waste on them. He leaped onto the centaur's back, then pulled Liss onto the centaur's broad back. Fortunately, the centaur was tall and strong, and sitting two people was not a problem. He immediately patted the centaur's shoulder, and soon, the centaur galloped forward.

"Set out immediately!! Quickly, don't delay!"

Serrek was also somewhat surprised by Rod's actions, but he did not say anything more. He gave Kudra another order and then followed.

"Mr. Rod, what's happening?"

Huddled in Rod's arms, Liss asked timidly, her heart pounding. She had never been so close to Rod before, but Liss understood that Rod was not taking advantage of her; something very important had happened!

"That idiot...!!"

Rod did not answer Liss's question. He was frowning, his face dark. Annie's actions could indeed distract the death knight, but it would also put her in greater danger. If she had just been trying to keep him occupied, there would not have been such a risk. So what was it that forced Annie to make this decision?

The pride of the shield warrior?

Rod did not believe for a moment that Annie cared about this. That lady's personality was such that she did not take such simple pride seriously. So why did she make this nearly suicidal move? Rod could not understand, and in fact, he had not expected it. After all, this was the first mission Annie had gone on with him, and it was her first mission after joining the mercenary group. While he thought Annie was a nice kid, he did not believe she had a strong sense of belonging to the Starlight. If it had been an old mercenary group and Annie had felt as attached to it as Liss did, Rod would not have found it hard to predict the outcome.

But now, this was completely unscientific!

While mercenaries generally follow orders, they are not soldiers. Soldiers do not need to protect themselves; they just need to complete the mission. But mercenaries cannot do that, and generally, they do not!

Just as Rod was anxious, the centaur had already galloped out of the valley. Then, Rod immediately saw the scene before him!

Annie gritted her teeth, the usual smile on her face completely gone. In its place was a deep seriousness. She tightly gripped the mithril shield in front of her, her body covered in thick, hard rock layers. Clearly, this was the effect triggered by the Heart of Rock when it detected an attack. In front of her, the death knight held a long spear, which was firmly pinned to the center of the shield, sparks flying in all directions, a terrifying sight.

Sylia, who had arrived earlier, did not participate in the attack but floated quietly in the sky, watching the scene below.

"Damn!"

Looking at the scene before him, Rod cursed under his breath. He knew what Annie was doing. This was the most terrifying skill of the shield warrior—Counterblock!

In simple terms, when a shield warrior uses this skill, they will cling to the opponent's weapon like a magnet, forcing the opponent into a one-on-one duel. If the opponent tries to withdraw their weapon, they will be smashed by the shield. So the opponent can only persist until they collapse, at which point the shield warrior can easily finish them off. In the players' words, this is essentially a forced taunt that cannot be avoided.

This is a very unphysical attack method, and Rod did not know the principle behind it, but all professions that engage in close combat with shield warriors fear this move the most. Once used, it means either you die or I die.

Sylia did not intervene for this reason. Indeed, the death knight was currently defenseless, and with her angelic power, a full attack would either kill or severely injure him. But this could also affect Annie, who was completely focused on the duel. If she were distracted, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"This, this is..."

Walking to Rod's side, Liss stared in shock at the bizarre scene before her, where time seemed to have stopped yet was still in motion, not knowing what to say.

"Liss."

After a moment, Rod, with a dark face, spoke to Liss.

"Listen to my command. I will count down, and once I reach one, you immediately cast the Shield of Protection on Annie, then heal her!"

"Yes, I understand."

Liss clenched her fists tightly, watching the battle with great concern, biting her lower lip and holding her breath. At this moment, Rod drew his longsword, squinted his eyes, and focused on the death knight, his gaze occasionally passing over the vital and hidden parts of the death knight's body. Rod knew that now both sides were competing in strength and concentration. With the death knight's abilities, he would certainly notice Rod's gaze. If this could distract him, Annie's chances of winning would be much greater. After all, it is not a pleasant thing to have someone constantly looking at your weak points.

At this moment, Serrek also arrived. Seeing the scene before him, he was also stunned, but quickly, the master swordsman calmed down, gripped his longsword, and began to carefully examine the death knight. Clearly, he had the same idea as Rod.

After that, Kudra and the others also ran out of the valley one after another. Seeing the scene, Kudra's face also changed, but he did not stop. Instead, he gestured to his subordinates to quickly lead the spirit masters to the other side, following Rod's instructions. As long as they left the depression, they could leave the boundary line and the Silent Highlands and return to the world of light.

Time was running out.

Rod's gaze became more serious. He saw Annie's hand trembling slightly, large beads of sweat appearing on her face. She could not hold on much longer. This was understandable; the opponent was a death knight! Under normal circumstances, even a shield warrior in a defensive stance would be knocked back by him. Now, Annie had been holding out for so long, which was already quite impressive!

But unfortunately, she would ultimately lose.

What Rod was thinking about now was not how to win. The death knight's attention was scattered, while he, Serrek, and Sylia were well-rested. The death knight was doomed, and the biggest problem now was how to save Annie's life!

"Clang!!"

At this moment, the frozen scene finally returned to motion.

Annie's shield was heavily knocked away, and the next moment, the thick knight's spear whistled towards the girl's body!

...