Chapter 160
Chapter 160: One Choice
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Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
“Ah—-!!!”
A sudden, shrill scream caused the mercenaries to panic slightly . They quickly turned their heads to glance at each other, trying to find the poor soul that met their demise . But a while a while, to their surprise, the mercenaries found out that none of them were missing .
So then, where did that scream came from?
They started to scan their surroundings cautiously . Rhode frowned and turned his attention to the nearby little residences of the villagers .
It served as a reminder to them that there were other people around . The village which had fallen into darkness and silence previously, suddenly awoke . Under the chilly night, a mixture of painful screams, high pitch screams, angry growls and sharp sorrows could be heard vaguely . This confused the mercenaries even more . They looked towards Rhode, hesitant of their next course of action . At this moment, even idiots would recognize that the undead were targeting the villagers now .
What should we do?
Rhode only stood in the center of the defensive zone and observed the surrounding village; his stoic expression revealed that he didn’t actually care about what was happening to the villagers .
“Sir, those people…”
After a brief moment of silence, Randolf finally couldn’t take it anymore and spoke . But before he could complete his sentence, Rhode gestured with his hand to interrupt him .
“I know . Let them be . ”
“Let them be?”
“The undead’s target isn’t the village, don’t be fooled . And don’t forget our mission…”
“Our mission is to take them down . Don’t get tricked by them . ”
“But, those villagers…”
Shauna also said with hesitation .
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“No matter what, the villagers are still outsiders . I don’t wish my men to return as lifeless zombies . Compared to all of you, it’s much easier for me to cut those guys up into pieces . ”
Rhode’s casual answer left all the mercenaries stunned . Their jaws hanged loose, thinking how odd can their mercenary group leader’s attitude be . Of course, most of the people here were veterans . Thus, they were able to understand Rhode’s meaning . The undead’s ‘strategy’ was clear . After they realized that they couldn’t break through the mercenaries’ defense, they decided to divert their attention to force the mercenaries to scatter their defense . And once the mercenaries scattered, they would be easier to be dealt with . If Rhode sent some of his men to check on the situation, maybe the undead already prepared to ambush them . If so, it would be a huge loss for Rhode’s team .
On the other hand, if Rhode used his elites to help the villagers, then his current defensive position would be compromised . In other words, no matter the choice, there is a high chance of falling into the enemies’ trap . This tactic was commonly used by bandits, especially when mercenaries were required to escort merchants through dangerous routes . If the bandits weren’t able to penetrate their defenses, then they would use more underhanded means such as holding family members captive to force the mercenaries apart . Once the defensive line broke, they would charge in and eliminate the weaker members .
Rhode was 80 to 90% sure that his enemies were coming for Christie . The little girl was too weak for them to escape while fighting against the undead . Celia and Rhode were the strongest members of the group, and if he went into battle himself, he couldn’t oversee the entire operation . In the case of an emergency, he did not have enough trust in the other three maidens to command the mercenaries individually . However…
“Master, I’ll go check it out . ”
Celia turned around and reported softly to Rhode .
“You don’t have to worry about me…”
“…”
After hearing Celia’s request, Rhode went silent for a moment . Afterwards, he tapped on Anne’s shoulder, indicating that he wanted her to protect Christie . He walked out from the circle to Celia’s side and drew his sword from his waist area .
Rhode’s expression turned solemn and said, “You have five minutes . ” Then, he spoke softly, “If you’re not back after five minutes, I will summon you back by force . ”
“Yes, Master . ”
Celia answered softly and hurriedly spread her wings, flew into the night skies .
“Mr . Rhode . ”
Looking at the angel maiden who flew away, Marlene was a little uncertain .
“Will Miss Celia be okay by herself? What if there’s big trouble…”
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“I only sent her to check on the situation . Not for her to resolve the issue . ”
“But…” Lize said timidly .
“Our mission is to protect the village…”
“No, Lize . ”
Rhode shook his head gently .
“Our mission is to get rid of the undead creatures . Don’t be mistaken . Our duties do not cover the protection of the village . Strictly speaking, their lives and deaths got nothing to do with me, and whether I will rescue them or not, will depend on my mood . But a pity, until now, my mood isn’t too good . ”
“What he means is that those baddies in this village aren’t worth to be protected . ”
Anne grumbled while swinging her little fist around .
“Anyway even if we rescue them, they would turn around to blame us . After all, these people don’t understand what gratitude is, so they’re better off dead!”
“Alright, this isn’t the problem that all of you should be concerned about . ”
As if detected something, Rhode readied his hand and a crimson blade slashed a bright light in the air .
“We have company, again . ”
“…”
Along with Rhode’s words, deep growls sounded within the darkness . Dozens of dark figures stood up on the roof of houses surrounding the square . Wrinkled skin, lifeless eyes, holding onto broken weapons, some bones could be seen in the rotting bodies, releasing a putrid smell .
“Everyone, get ready to carry out our second strategy . ”
Rhode raised his sword and commanded .
And at this moment, accompanied by the monstrous-like growls, the ghouls jumped right toward them .
—
Celia spread her majestic wings and flew in the night skies . Borrowing the brilliance of her aura, she quickly spotted the source of chaos . In front of a little house, many villagers collapsed in a pool of blood, and beside them were shivering militias gripping on the flame torches as if it was their last lifeline .
“What happened?”
The angel maiden landed gracefully and questioned .
“Those damned undead!! They attacked Beck and even captured their son!”
One of the militia waved his flaming torch angrily . Because angels were highly regarded, he didn’t reprimand her directly he still displayed a strong sense of unhappiness in his voice and expression .
“What are those mercenaries doing, aren’t they here to protect us?”
“That’s right, that’s right . So what in the world is going on!”
“My son, my son…!!!”
Many cries of terror and uncertainty flooded the village .
Facing the chaotic situation, Celia didn’t comment much . She scanned the surroundings briefly, and as if sensed something, she began to frown slightly .
“Immediately run . Now . Hurry up . ”
Celia quickly gave an order to the mass .
“Why do we need to listen to you? We are going to find that child because he’s definitely alive! Not sure what those damn undead will do to them . If we don’t go…”
Before the militia finished his sentence, at this moment, Celia opened her eyes wide and swung her sword forward with her right hand . The overflowing holy flames started erupting in all directions, with Celia as the core . This sudden change shocked all the villagers that they screamed and raised their hands in the air, attempted to defend themselves from the holy flames .
But the silver flames didn’t cause them any harm . Instead, the fire felt like a gentle wind blowing past their bodies . And at the same time, the undead spirit hidden in the darkness screamed and revealed their original identity . It quickly flew away to avoid the silver flame, and at the same time, it growled angrily .
“…”
Celia stared coldly into the undead in front of her . The villagers were also stunned and stared at the undead that unknowingly appeared beside them . Their mind went blank, not knowing what to do .
“Ah… ah… ah…”
And at this moment, a deep and sinister voice sounded .
“I’ve already locked on the position of my prey… but to my surprise… an angel? This is a big harvest . Your soul must be so beautiful . My master will definitely reward me hugely!”
“… So you are the depraved devil worshipper?”
Celia raised her sword and retracted her wings . She observed the surroundings attentively, but the voice suddenly laughed, as if he felt that was a stupid question .
“I am not depraved, Miss Angel . You angels will never understand humans… but this isn’t weird . We humans have our thinking and goals… I don’t treat this as ‘depraved’… ”
“Maybe I should put it this way . This is my battle for hope . For this, I don’t mind using my soul as a transaction just for the person who is more important than my own soul . I think, Miss Angel, you wouldn’t understand my thinking . ”
“… I don’t intend to understand . ”
Celia replied coldly .
“Besides, under the brilliance of the dragon soul, no matter what ambitions you or your master have; eventually everything will turn to nothingness —- because those are things that aren’t supposed to be in this world . ”
“Well said . But it has got nothing on me . ”
The voice paused, before continuing with a sarcastic tone .
“But since you’re here, then we can just cut the chatter… I have my job to do . As for these children… they will properly serve you, so you’d better not leave okay Miss Angel . If not, today will be the end for these innocent people —- So then, how many of these people can you save?”