Chapter 326 The Match against Purple Lily (1/2)

The bustling crowd filled the arena.

Barter leaned against the chair while crossing both hands. He closed his eyes as he heard the noise that echoed beside him. His subordinates were sitting around, drinking, and laughing. It looked like they didn't even put this sacred competition in their eyes. Seeing his subordinates' behavior, Barter also didn't plan on stopping them. He only closed his eyes, waiting for the next battle.

Although Barter was a crude person, as a veteran mercenary that had experienced life and death many times, he had never underestimated his opponents. Even if the audience was cheering on them, saying that Starlight only won because of luck, Barter still couldn't fully agree with this statement. Indeed, the arguments that circulated in those taverns seemed convincing, but he believed his instinct more. When he met Rhode the first time, he felt a strange and dangerous aura around him. Rhode was like a lofty, proud, and powerful wolf lurking in the dark, waiting to unleash a fatal blow on careless prey. That kind of person definitely didn't win just by relying on luck.

Let me have a taste of your strength.

The horn sounded. Barter opened his eyes and stood up.

”Alright guys, keep your spirit up! This is Purple Lily's first battle; if those b*stards eliminate us, I shall pound you guys into minced meat! Understood?”

”Yes, Boss!!”

Hearing Barter's words, the others immediately raised their hands and replied loudly. From their actions, it was really hard to imagine that they were the elites from one of the strongest mercenary groups. Judging from their performance, they looked more like a group of bandits who were going to be mobilized for robbery.

Only the ugly girl who quietly stood behind Barter didn't answer him. She took a white mask and put it on her face. After organizing the daggers and knives on her waist, she followed Barter quietly like a shadow and left the lounge.

Barter originally thought that this battle would be a very difficult and decisive battle.

At least, he thought so.

But when he walked out to the ring and saw the lineup, he immediately frowned.

Rhode, Anne, Lize, Joey, Lapis, and Randolf who were standing before him. Even though they didn't express it, but almost everyone could discern the problems.

Gillian and Marlene weren't there.

What happened?

Barter frowned. Everyone knew just how important those two mages were in this competition. If it wasn't because of Marlene and Gillian, then Starlight would have been eliminated from the start. That's why when they were training, he warned his subordinates to be careful of those two girls. But now, they actually weren't participating? What happened?

Are the two of them exhausted because of the first battle?

Barter shook his head. This statement wasn't too convincing. He watched their battle against Sky Sword, they looked as if they had defeated those elites easily. Especially Carter—he seemed to have been fooled by that wolf-eared girl and got played around like a puppet. He was defeated so easily, there was not even any chance for him to struggle.

So what's going on here?

At this moment, not only Barter, but the audiences also noticed the oddity. Various loud noises immediately enveloped the entire arena. Many of these people had not been able to watch the first battle. They only heard the story of Gillian and Marlene from their friends. They also wanted to witness their magnificent magic battle with their own eyes.

Reality was indeed cruel. Gillian and Marlene's absence had made them felt disappointed. It was as if the audience was expecting famous stars at the concert, but the ones who appeared were third-rate stars.

Such a disappointment wasn't a very good experience for them.

Of course, Rhode noticed their dissatisfaction, but he couldn't do anything about it. He also didn't want this to happen, but the incident Marlene encountered yesterday had destroyed his plan. Although they had arrived safely yesterday, Marlene was still unable to unleash her power stably. In addition, she just recovered, so it was not a good thing to force her to fight.

As for Gillian, she didn't come because she was guarding that pair of scums. The truth, when he had castrated that b*stard, he had already figured out his identity. That person couldn't be easily provoked, but what made him surprised was that he actually dared to harm Marlene.

It seems that they can't wait anymore.

Thinking until here, Rhode finally realized why Marlene's personality was different from hers in the game. Carefully thinking about it, if the same incident happened and no one saved her, then Marlene would have fallen into their trap and it would be naturally unacceptable for her. So it would not seem strange if she set a mercenary group with only female members and discriminated against men.

But if so, then the potion should have controlled Marlene's body and soul. How did she escape from that? There's no way that there would be another person like him who was able to get the antidote from a high-level demon, right.

Well, he was only curious about it.

Although Rhode made them drink a potion made by Lapis to put them asleep until tomorrow, he still told Gillian to guard them for insurance. Since they were the biggest culprit of this incident, as long as they were in his hand, everything would be alright. However, if they escaped, it was going to be a big problem.

Between conspiracies and competition, Rhode naturally knew which one was more important.

Now, he couldn't help but face the current awkward situation.

Even though Rhode's main goal was the Liberty Wings, but it didn't mean that he didn't put Purple Lily in his eye. Barter's 'Executioner's Greatsword' was very powerful and couldn't be blocked by just anyone. He couldn't even guarantee that he could block it in short range battles because his swordsmanship style wasn't fit for melee attacks. In addition, his subordinates, the 'Snow Woman', Paris and the 'Storm', and Hayman weren't easy to deal with either. Without Gillian and Marlene, this battle was basically a gamble for him… and that was naturally not something that he liked.

Frankly, even Lize and Anne couldn't concentrate on today's battle. Yesterday, Rhode came back really late, and Gillian helped him hide some part of the truth. Everyone only knew that someone wanted to harm Marlene and Rhode had saved her. As for the details, they weren't clear about it. Even so, they still couldn't let this matter go. Lize was Marlene's childhood friend and best friend, after all. They both had a good relationship; naturally, she was really worried about Marlene. Although Anne only knew Marlene for a while, the relationship between them was also good. When she heard that someone wanted to harm Marlene, she was really furious and even wanted to pound the other party into minced meat. Lapis also felt uneasy and didn't know what to do. Everyone felt a bit panicky. Even if Rhode himself was calm, there was no way everyone could be like him. Moreover, the second battle was in the morning, so he also couldn't find the time to resolve this matter. He could only bite the bullet and act according to the flow.

Damn it.

Thinking until here, Rhode clenched his teeth. His head hurt thinking that he needed to abolish his original plan and come up with a new plan. Fortunately, it was not his first time encountering such a problem. There were many times where he had to work hard in order to organize and cooperate with the team in order to successfully conquer a dungeon. However, on d-day, there were always people who couldn't come because of various reasons, forcing him to modify the original plan. So for him, it was not much of a trouble,

As for the results, he could only see how it would turn out.

Right now, there was a lot of discussion on the sidelines. However, the horn sound echoed without any disturbance. As it sounded, the original noisy arena turned quiet. Then, the mercenary who served as the referee raised his hand and gestured both sides to start.

A burly, eye-catching figure walked onto the stage and everyone couldn't help but catch a glimpse of him.

Barter strode to the ring. He was holding a huge sword and smiled as he walked to the center. He waved his hand and his greatsword suddenly flew up to the sky, heavily landing in the ring. At the same time, Barter held the hilt with one hand and raised his head. With a proud smile, he looked at Rhode. Then, he turned his head to the referee.

”I want to change the rules… I want a brawl!”

Hearing his words, everyone was shocked, but soon, they understood Barter's intentions. Rhode also frowned; naturally, he knew what Barter was thinking about. Clearly, he must have investigated Starlight beforehand. From the time he walked to the ring, Rhode already figured out his intention. He wanted to gain the upper hand and win this competition.

Not to mention now, Marlene and Gillian weren't here. As for the others… Lize and Anne weren't even Barter's opponent, let alone the others.

Then…