A violent tremor forced the mercenaries to halt .
What happened?
While the mercenaries looked at each other in confusion, Rhode’s expression turned gloomy . A system prompt appeared informing him that Lapis was in grave danger .
Due to the mercenary group system, Rhode was able to receive information of important members of the group, especially when they were in danger or close to death .
When Rhode was configuring his Stronghold settings, the first member he chose to monitor was neither Lize, Marlene, nor Anne . Instead, it was Lapis . Compared to the three, Lapis’ ability to protect herself was almost nonexistent . Rhode even believed that even if she were given a knife to fight a defenseless enemy, she would end up injuring herself instead .
Nevertheless, disregarding her combat ability, Lapis’ importance to the mercenary group was indisputable . She was an expert in manufacturing — a rarely seen trait among mercenaries .
For Rhode to build a top-rate mercenary group whose goal was to become a guild, they must strive to be self-sufficient . Starlight would naturally be expanding, but the Paphield Region wasn’t able to provide enough talents in the manufacturing field, and therefore Rhode was exhilarated when he met Lapis .
Rhode had always been looking out for her to prevent any mishaps . If it was possible, Rhode would rather keep her inside a cage to stop her from contacting the outside world — after all, Starlight had made quite a few enemies .
Thankfully, Lapis was a female ‘geek’ who preferred to stay in the Stronghold . Unless absolutely necessary, she wouldn’t leave the safety of the Stronghold . Even if she had to leave, she would bring her friends like Randolf or Anne along . It could be said that the woman’s introverted character had been her best protection, yet now…
Rhode frowned . Although he did consider the possibility of danger when he brought her here, he relented to her endless pestering in the end . Initially, he felt somewhat glad as Lapis would trigger her personal quest, and if he assisted her in the completion of her quest, perhaps she would upgrade her strength substantially .
Alas, Rhode miscalculated when he thought that Gillian and himself would be able to prevent Lapis from falling into any grave danger…
Rhode looked at the flight of stairs .
He knew where the path led to . At the end of the stairs, they would enter a room filled with Golem Guards who hid within thirty suits of armor . They had to clear these mobs before entering the control room where another major battle would occur . This was when Rhode realized that he had to make changes to his plans .
“Kavos . ”
Rhode hooked his finger and beckoned Kavos to come . Kavos quickly made his way towards him and was shocked when he saw Rhode exhibiting a never seen before grave expression .
“Order everyone to get ready, we are going in!”
“Yes, Sir!”
Kavos didn’t understand why Rhode would do this, but he swiftly followed his commands . Meanwhile, Gillian suddenly appeared with her iconic smile on her face . Her twitching ears indicated that she was also starting to get serious .
“Are we starting, Master?”
“Of course . You know what to do . Let’s move!” Rhode replied Gillian with a cold expression .
He swung his sword and quickly transformed into a shadow . Then, in a blink of an eye, he disappeared up the flight of stairs with both Celia and Gillian following closely behind, leaving a trail of flames and holy light which illuminated the dark cave .
Kavos stared blankly at the trail of flames and light for a moment . Then he took a deep breath and shouted at the mercenaries who were equally astonished .
“Ready your weapons and move it you idiots! It’s time for battle!!”
Rhode once again realized that things were out of his expectations .
In the game, the Golem Guards would only move after detecting trespassers in their territory . But when Rhode was dashing up the stairs, he realized the Golem Guards had already been activated and were advancing towards him .
Another unforeseen circumstance .
But so what?
Rhode didn’t care about these changes . He extended his arm and summoned the Black Hound who leaped out from flames and rushed towards the aggressive Golem Guards . At the same time, Rhode opened his right palm and swung his hand to the side . Two additional cards shot out and smashed into bits, following with a screech and a loud roar . The Spirit Bird and Centaur Knight appeared once more!
Rhode quickly used all his strongest cards so he could instantly clear all these obstructions . When Spirit Bird and Centaur Knight arrived on the field, the poor suicidal dog sacrificed its life once again and kicked the bucket with an explosion .
Boom!! When the Golem Guard’s sword pierced into the Black Hound’s torso, a huge explosion erupted and rocked the whole cave . This time, with the help of the fire element lord, Rhode could contain the blast to a specific radius . Finally, Rhode could now freely utilize the Black Hound’s self-destruct ability without injuring his own men .
The impact of the shockwave tore apart a few Golem Guards like an invisible hand sweeping through . However, it still wasn’t enough to stop the other Golem Guards from advancing . Unlike humans, they were devoid of fear and thus, the rest of the surviving Golem Guards commenced their primary goal to eradicate any intruders .
Rhode, Celia, and Gillian finally arrived in melee range .
Rhode chose to use Fury Trial instead of his recently acquired Shadow Dance . The Crimson Blade lost its agileness, but instead gained a huge increase in range as the condensed beam of light at the tip of the sword swept through the Golem Guards . Along with a loud bang, a heavily-armored Golem Guard was sent flying . The massive force left a deep depression on the Golem Guard’s thick metal armor, and when it crashed into the wall, its body split into half .
Gillian’s battle was equally as exciting .
Compared to Celia who used a sword, the fire elemental lord had no interest in using weapons at all . The fox-eared lady made a few gestures with her hand, invoking countless of tiny fireballs in the air . She lined them up in front of her, creating a ‘fireball minefield,’ and when the Golem Guards mindlessly rushed towards her, it was the start of their tragedy .
Hundreds of fireballs exploded at the same time, engulfing the pitiful Golem Guards . While Gillian couldn’t single-handedly clear out all the obstacles here with her current strength, her innate powers of a fire elemental lord were sufficient to create hundreds of tiny fireballs to form a minefield .
Perhaps one or two fireballs wouldn’t be able to damage the Golem’s thick armor, but when a hundred exploded at the same time, even the strongest Golem of them all wouldn’t be able to come out unscathed . After the series of explosions, what was left in the smoke were unrecognizable broken parts that had once been part of a Golem Guard .
As for the Centaur Knight, these Golem Guards didn’t pose any threat to it at all . The Golem Guards could attack all they wished, but the Centaur Knight would just sweep them with its long spear . The sturdy Golem Guards lost the battle of durability when faced against the Centaur Knight and were eventually smashed into bits .
At this moment, the mercenaries finally arrived .
Of course, they couldn’t fight a Golem Guard one-on-one like how Rhode, Celia or Gillian could, but these mercenaries could utilize team-based tactics to overwhelm the Golem Guards . For experienced mercenaries like them, it wasn’t too difficult of a task .
Bam! Another Golem Guard slammed into the floor and smashed into pieces . Rhode took in a deep breath and lifted his head towards the big door in front of him .
The BOSS fight was just behind this door .
If he didn’t guess wrong, Lapis should be in there somewhere .