Chapter 442
Rhode’s guesses were proven to be true after the trio entered the ruins entrance . In the huge underground cave, the remains of the Undead Soldiers were scattered visibly under the burning pale flames . It was apparent that there was a fierce, long battle .
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“Why would there be traces of battle?” Anne curiously asked after noticing the hideous sight . She gripped her shield tightly and scanned the surroundings vigilantly as they progressed . “Did someone come in earlier than us, Leader? What should we do?”
“Let’s see who has the guts to do so,” Rhode answered without turning around . “I think Barter isn’t one who would do such things behind our backs . But I can’t confirm it either . Although adventurers and mercenary groups may have stumbled upon this dungeon, they can forget about snatching this mission away from us . ”
Although Rhode said it confidently, his expression showed otherwise . At this moment, they entered the tunnel through the entrance of the underground city . Rhode was expecting various kinds of undead creatures, however, there were all kinds of corpses instead . This definitely wasn’t something that ordinary adventurers or mercenary group were capable of achieving . Only powerful guilds could deliver such standards: this discovery wasn’t good news . If there really was a guild that entered before them, there would only be two possibilities . The first possibility would be the Purple Lily Guild and the second possibility would be a guild from the other regions . However, Rhode felt that the latter was impossible . The Liberty Wings had been forcefully disbanded and they had no reason to be here . The Sky Sword Guild suffered huge losses in the Midsummer Festival and it didn’t make sense for them to bring trouble on themselves . But, what should I do if it was Cole Falcon or Purple Lily?
Rhode lifted his head and gazed at the city ruins . It was unlike the underground chamber below Eagle City . This entire city had sunk into an underground cavity . The roof over the city was an arc-shaped cave wall, and the pitch-dark, bottomless abyss below the city was clearly evident under the illuminating flames . If it weren’t for the thick stelae supporting the city from below, perhaps the city would have submerged into the darkness of the abyss entirely .
However, this abandoned city wasn’t painted in total darkness . Lanterns hung on the eaves of the buildings and both sides of the main street were lit with flames . Those flames represented the burning flames of dead souls . The flames weren’t warm and were avocado in color . However, even so, this forgotten city was brilliantly lit . Looking from afar, it seemed like this city was functioning normally .
However, there was total silence .
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Rhode slowed his pace as he moved deeper into the city through the granite street . The remains of Undead Soldiers were everywhere . However, for unknown reasons, Rhode was somewhat familiar with the wounds on them .
It was too strange for this place to be this quiet .
Rhode beckoned for the young ladies behind him . He refused to believe that a guild was capable of breaking through the non-stop waves of monster attacks . And if there was such a battle going on, the entire city must have been filled with war cries . Furthermore, Rhode knew about Barter’s earth-shattering battle techniques that could even tear the entire city down . It wasn’t Barter’s nature to act like an obedient child when he entered someone’s home quietly .
“Follow me,” Rhode gestured .
This city ruins weren’t much different from what he recalled . The path to the central area had been buried in the ruins completely and it was impossible to climb over them . The solution was to head towards the supplementary road in the north or the alleys hidden behind in the buildings . With Rhode’s experience, he quickly found the road that would lead to their destination in the shortest time possible . As Rhode led the others around the corner and entered the alley, he abruptly stopped . Anne widened her eyes curiously and exclaimed softly .
A man dressed in a thief outfit laid on the wall with his back towards the trio . Sharp sword blades had pierced and nailed his body to the wall and even death wasn’t able to rescue the Thief from the terrors that overtook his face .
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Rhode sucked in a deep breath and approached the Thief cautiously . More doubts arose in Rhode’s mind as soon as he examined the corpse . “That’s odd . He doesn’t seem like someone from a guild . ”
Rhode searched the corpse from head to toe . The headwear, belt, earrings, daggers, and boots didn’t reveal anything that he wished to see, like a guild badge . A guild badge was mandatory for every guild member . The badge was capable of displaying one’s identity and rank, and most importantly, it strengthened one’s sense of belonging in the guild . Furthermore, almost every badge was unique and this was to avoid identity thieves . Ever since Starlight was established, Rhode had modified the badges . The Starlight Badge was shaped in a quadrilateral star with a white halo around it . Without a doubt, badges came in all kinds of shapes and sizes . Rhode’s badge was a ring on his finger while Gillian’s was a pair of star-shaped earrings . As for Anne, her badge was embedded on the surface of her shield . With these marks, anyone could recognize which guild they belonged to at a single glance .
However, there were no indications of this Thief belonging to a guild at all . His dagger and armor were low-grade equipment purchased from merchant shops and usually, these equipment were common in solo mercenaries or those in small groups of three or four .
A small group of mercenaries who were capable of defeating the first line of defense of the Necromancer and entered the underground maze? Who had such abilities?
“Let’s go . ” Rhode was curious and dubious at the same time as he continued to pass through the alley .
As they advanced, the narrow alley gradually grew dimmer . In an instant, the trio stepped into the darkness once again . However, under Rhode’s lead, they passed through the narrow, gloomy alley smoothly and just one more corner would lead them to the central area .
At this moment, Anne stopped abruptly and widened her eyes . “Leader, I think I heard somebody battling . ”
“Oh?” Rhode stopped his footsteps swiftly while Gillian twitched her ears and nodded . “That’s right, they are nearby, but not too close too… They should be in the depths of the central area… And there’s plenty of them . ”
“Great!” Rhode relaxed as his instincts seemed to be right .
In the deeper central area was the location for the so-called ‘Enforcement Banishment’ . That place was filled with an unending stream of undead creatures and terrifying Constructs . These creatures would patrol all over and launch attacks at any signs of life . In gamer terms, that map was the best for EXP farming . Once a player starts battling the creatures, the other masses of undead creatures in the entire city would swarm towards the player’s location . Furthermore, the Undead Army would be triggered and the player had to eliminate them all before he could move on .
The only solution was to use the ‘equipment’ from the underground chamber to activate a defense barrier in the city so the Constructs would turn their attacks on the undead creatures instead . The defense barriers that the ‘equipment’ activated could also guard against the attacks of the Undead Army and separate Rhode from them completely . This way, the entire dungeon would enter the ‘normal’ difficulty, which made it much easier .
“Let’s have a look,” Rhode suggested .
Perhaps the undead creatures had all swarmed to the central area, which was why Rhode’s group didn’t find any of them on the way here . Without a doubt, Rhode wouldn’t let this great opportunity off since this selfless person had taken the initiative to attract the attention of all the creatures . Soon, the trio arrived at the public square on the central area .
As the three of them glanced over, they spotted the masterminds . They were in battle and as expected, their enemies were the terrifying undead creatures . The undead creatures howled unbearably as they flooded towards their enemies, seeming to want to shred these intruders into bits . Rhode widened his eyes curiously at the pathetic group struggling to fend off the undead creatures .
The group was less than ten people and was clad in armor no different from ordinary adventurers . Perhaps these pitiful humans would be dead even before taking down this first wave of attacks . However, someone was the reason why they were able to stand there .
That man stood in front of his group . He held his sword with both hands and silver-whitish flames were surging on the blade, shaping into a thin layer of barrier that kept the undead creatures away . It was apparent that this barrier was on the verge of disappearing as the flames began to fade .
To Rhode’s surprise, he noticed a pair of extended, white wings behind that man’s back: Battle Angel .
No wonder Rhode was familiar with the wounds that were inflicted on the Undead Creatures . Battle Angels were experts in annihilating Undead Creatures with their holy flames .
A corner of Rhode’s mouth lifted . “Let’s go, Anne, Gillian . Go according to plan . ”