Chapter 136 Triggering Missions (1/2)

It was never a difficult task for Rhode to find members of the Jade Tears Mercenary Group. He carefully followed the trail left behind by them. As for him being all alone in the tunnel, it wasn't anything new to him. Rhode had tracked countless of times and his current situation brought back many of his old memories.

It was not long after the Starlight Guild was formed when Rhode offended a powerful player guild of that time. Rhode had killed many of their players, thus it was natural that Rhode was on their most wanted list. Eventually, that player guild mustered almost all of their strength and manpower to trap Rhode within the tunnels to try and capture him.

However, in the end they did not succeed. Over a hundred elite players were separated as Rhode cunningly led them into his own scheme. In the end, the guild lost more than half of its members and had no choice but to retreat in shame. Of course, he wouldn't let them go that easily. Once Rhode went back to the surface, his newly formed Starlight Guild crippled the player guild and forced them to disband.

As he made his way along this desolate mining tunnel, it brought back some nostalgic feelings to Rhode, as if he was facing that player guild once again.The ”nostalgic” feeling didn't linger for too long. As he made progress in the tunnels, his expression turned solemn.

It wasn't because he lost his way, but rather he realized that the direction that those men were heading towards was all but too familiar.

Returning to the old place was definitely not a good sign.

”Could it be that these guys…”

Rhode frowned as he squatted down at a corner of the mining tunnel. He examined the footprints on the ground and shifted his gaze to the front. The light from the torches seemed to be getting dimmer as it melded into the darkness ahead of him. However, Rhode was still able to sense the dangerous atmosphere hidden within the darkness.

Rhode held his breath and he gripped his Crimson Blade as he quietly followed the path ahead of him.

Soon enough, he spotted a mercenary guarding the mine road entrance.Rhode remembered that he had seen this mercenary before. He was one of those men that was led by that idiot during the fight in front of the Mercenary Association. He should be glad that he had luck on his side that day; otherwise, he wouldn't have lived until now.

The mercenary was wearing an old leather armor, leaning slightly on the wall while looking at his surroundings sluggishly, seemingly with no sense of caution at all.

”Let's see if he is just as I observed.”

Thinking of this, Rhode stepped forward.

Just as the torch flickered and the shadows briefly engulfed the entrance, Rhode pressed his body softly on the wall and quietly sneaked in. The cloak that Rhode was wearing could camouflage itself to its surroundings by distorting and refracting light. It was more than enough to hide Rhode's body. Not to mention that he was also borrowing the element of darkness and the big boulders from the environment to conceal himself as he slowly crept towards the mercenary.

This cloak that Rhode received in the Rock of Lament was finally put to good use.The mercenary did not notice Rhode. His eyes were only scanning around lazily without any intention of spotting an intruder. Well, it wasn't as if he could be blamed. Even those highly trained knights had times when they lost focus, not to mention these lazy bums.

”Now!”

Just as the mercenary lazily drooped his head, Rhode struck out!

Rhode removed his cloak with one hand and leaped into the air as he swung the Burning Blade in a downward arc, straight towards the mercenary's skull.

Facing Rhode's sudden attack, the mercenary hastily raised his head and took a large step backward while quickly unsheathing his dagger and swinging it upwards with the intention of creating distance between him and the unknown attacker.

His reaction was indeed fast!

But Rhode was way faster.

The mercenary was merely able to move his head and didn't even have the time to open his mouth when the Crimson Blade pierced through his skull. His body smashed against the wall, and his dagger was flung to a side. Before it hit the ground, Rhode dashed and grabbed it before shamelessly storing it.

The mercenary's corpse slid down along the wall like a tattered balloon. His eyes were still wide open, maintaining the shocked expression during the surprise attack. Fresh blood slowly oozed out from his eyes, forehead, and nose.

When Rhode pulled out his sword from the mercenary's skull, his face changed slightly and pierced the corpse as quick as lightning.

”—!!”