Chapter 209 Blackrock Depths Continued (1/2)

The Blackrock Depths entrance was situated within an underground mining cavern in the northern side of Deep Stone City. Legend told that a long time ago, it was the historical remains of a Dwarven Kingdom. However, in the eyes of everyone now, it was merely a large cave. Rhode led his men towards the entrance of the underground tunnel and saw two men dressed like mercenaries leaning lazily on a table with one elbow. They were playing cards and drinking beer, clearly not interested in doing their duty.

When Rhode let out a soft cough, their ears perked up and turned their heads sharply towards the sound.

”Mr. Rhode! Y-you've arrived… we are—”

One of the mercenaries quickly addressed Rhode nervously.

”I'm here to follow up on our bet. Have they returned to the surface?”

Rhode pointed to the underground entrance, and the two mercenaries looked at each other awkwardly and shook their heads.

”No, they haven't, Mr. Rhode. We can assure you that no one came out.”

”Alright, so can I go in now?”

”Yes Mr. Rhode, as you wish.”

The mercenaries let out a sigh of relief. One of them swiftly retrieved a key from his pocket and opened the steel gates to the underground tunnel. Then, he waved a torch in an arc, confirming the status of the route and then nodded towards Rhode.

”Mr. Rhode, since they aren't back yet, according to the rules, you can enter.”

”Good. It'd been tough for you guys these days.”

Rhode walked to the front of the mercenaries and tapped on their shoulders. Later, he fished out two gold coins and planted them sneakily into their palms. The mercenaries lit up in joy. Although guarding the entrance was a relaxing job, doing absolutely nothing was just incredibly boring. Rhode's arrival meant that they could end their monotonous duties and report back to the association.

”You're welcome, Mr. Rhode. We are just following orders. Do you need our help for anything else? If there is, please let us know.”

After receiving a generous tip, the mercenaries' became incredibly passionate. They swiftly tidied the cards and swept the beers off the table. However, Rhode didn't have any requests for them. Sensing his intention, as though their thoughts were in synchronization, both of them stopped talking at the same time and left immediately after packing up their stuff.

When the two men were out of sight, Rhode turned back and scanned his group.

Marlene, Anne, and Lize were standing by his side. Behind them were Joey, Randolf, and Kavos. The other mercenaries split themselves into two teams, quietly lining up behind the trio appropriately. Only Kavos knew how difficult his men were when Rhode instructed them to look for magic herbs in Twilight Forest. From their perspective, this order was akin to slapping their faces; if it was only gathering herbs, why would he employ mercenaries to do that? He should just get himself an alchemist.

However, when Kavos and his brothers unveiled the wooden chest filled with equipment bestowed by Rhode, the mercenaries' attitudes instantaneously flipped 180 degrees. Never in their mercenary life had they seen a group so generous. Exquisitely crafted equipment? Magical weapons? Where on the continent would they find such a reward for picking up magic herbs? Previously, they could only drool while looking at these equipment from afar, but now they could actually get a hold of one!

Generous people were always popular no matter the era. Rhode's 'benevolence' instantly transformed the views of the mercenaries. Initially, when the mercenaries joined Starlight, they had an inkling that Rhode was arrogant and cruel. After all, his 'fearful name' had spread far and wide. But now, at least if he was arrogant or cruel, at least he was a generous boss.

But that wasn't the end of their jubilance; Kavos dropped another bomb on them just like what Rhode did to him — their rights to retrieve magical potions!

Magical potions! If the mercenaries could only dream of these luxurious gear in their dreams, then these magical potions belonged to an even higher tier! Now that these things were already in their possession, they couldn't feel anything less than joy.

If the previous impression of Rhode was 'favorable', then now it would be 'worship.' A leader that could provide such expensive equipment and magical potions would be a leader worth fighting for.

If Rhode could prove his abilities in leading the mercenaries, then they wouldn't mind formally accepting him.

Of course, Rhode didn't know what was going on in their minds, but he didn't care either way. Since the mercenaries were willing to listen to his command, then all is well. Now that his group had grown rather big, it appeared rather impressive, but under the veil, it was much easier for the situation to turn chaotic. Starlight used to be lacking members, but under pressure, everyone still cooperated hand-in-hand to work things out. Now that they've expanded, even though the weight on each individual decreased, who knows if they could perform as splendidly as before?

Back in the game, guilds were the same. When there were lesser members, cooperation was much simpler. But once they grew in size, small issues could snowball into more significant problems. Thus, if the mercenaries were at least willing to listen to his commands, it would certainly be enough.

”I think that all of you must be anxious for battle.”

Rhode flicked his finger towards the fully-armored mercenaries.