Chapter 517 Paphield Battle 10 (1/2)

Thon raised his sword to parry Rhode's attack hopelessly. In a blink of an eye, Rhode had disappeared entirely and only a silvery trail of radiance remained. Time had stopped for Thon. His breath hastened and he felt violent pounding in his heart as though an invisible hand had grabbed onto it.

The world before his eyes shattered.

Rhode emerged within the frantically swaying shadow as though it were a part of him. The heavily-geared soldiers stumbled and fell after spotting Rhode behind their Commander. Rhode slashed the Commander rapidly and his severed body parts dropped like collapsing wooden blocks in the blink of an eye.

The soldiers had never seen such an unusual killing technique and they were sure that their Commander was safe within their encirclement from any intruders. But this mysterious man sneaked by and murdered the Commander before they knew it.

Feels good.

Rhode nodded as the final stretch of shadow blended with his body.

Before leaving the Land of Atonement and heading into the Cloud Summit Fortress, Rhode had chosen to input all the Skill Points that he had received from defeating the Duke Fiend into the [Shadow Dance] Swordsmanship. The mastery of the [Shadow Dance] Swordsmanship finally upgraded from Rank 'C' to Rank 'A' and its formidability had broken through the limits of mortals and entered the Legendary Stage. Through this upgrade, he had also received the core swordsmanship skill [Dark Wield].

With the scariest and strongest skill of the Dark Spirit, Rhode could temporarily blend in with the Shadow Plane of Existence and engage in short-distance battle and assault. Furthermore, not only could [Dark Wield] allow Rhode to instant teleport, but there was also a chance to interfere with the enemy's spellcasting and disrupt their defense. To some extent, this swordsmanship technique wasn't purely interfering with physical circumstances but could even affect the Elemental aspects.

Rhode knew that Dark Spirits who fully mastered [Dark Wield] were also manipulation masters of Shadow powers. In the pinnacle of the [Dark Wield] skill, not only could one instantly teleport to assassinate the enemy, but one could also form one's own body shape and summon other creatures living in the Shadow Plane of Existence to engage in attacks using Shadow powers. Once one reached this standard of mastery, one could even be considered as a Mage presence. But it was a pity that due to the class restriction of the Spirit Swordsman, Rhode couldn't upgrade this skill to its peak.

Rhode laughed grimly at this thought. He turned his wrist around and the soldiers witnessed the man before them turning into a shadow once again as though he had lost his physical body and disappeared along with the strong wind.

The soldiers exchanged panicky looks as they couldn't differentiate whether this was reality or just a dream. But soon, they didn't need to consider this question anymore.

”Everyone, get ready…” Marfa raised his sword with an unfazed expression and waved his sword downwards with all his might. ”Attack!”

The Southern Legion's Commander was killed and they had lost their pillar and reason to continue this battle. Starlight mercenaries clustered toward the rear camp like furious bulls and the enemy soldiers fled hurriedly. The frontline soldiers attacking the Cloud Summit Fortress decided to retreat after detecting the disaster at the rear. The bugle-horns for retreat sounded and the soldiers fled in disarray, leaving only the pathetic corpses.

2:15 a.m.

Rhode turned his gaze away from the pocket watch on his palm. The rear camp before him presented a ghastly sight—tainted with blood, corpses and burning in flames. The place had returned to its peace and tranquility. If it weren't for the bright flames, perhaps no one would have known that there was a fierce battle just moments ago.

”What a bore.” Rhode looked down at a corpse by his feet. It was a blonde-haired young man about the same age as himself. His white face had been drained of blood entirely and his neck leaned against his shoulder which revealed his bone and crimson flesh. The young man's widened eyes were as though glass spheres and blood dripped from his gawking mouth. He was nothing more than EXP in Rhode's eyes. Rhode discovered that as long as he was the one commanding the battle, he would receive the corresponding EXP. However, he could only receive limited EXP from enemies who were level 25 on average.

Lize stood behind Rhode silently.

Her impassioned emotions had faded. The young lady gaped at the aftermath and she felt an unprecedented sense of relief. She looked at the same corpse by Rhode's feet and couldn't speak a word. Even though she was used to seeing corpses, the life story of individual corpses were entirely different.

There are reasons for the existence of these corpses, so what's the reason for all of them here?

Who were they trying to protect? It wasn't their personal dignity, desire, or glory. Why must the people of the same country brandish their weapons on the battlefield and kill one another? What is the purpose of this?

Lize couldn't figure out why the Southerners snatched the authority and sacrificed so many lives. This battle would still continue and by then, the people of the South and North would die. But, no matter how many died, they were still the people of the Munn Kingdom. What was the exact purpose of such a massacre?

At this moment, the young lady heard Rhode's response. ”What a bore.”

She looked at the man before her in astonishment and she realized that the way Rhode had disregarded the corpse under his eyes was as if it were nothing more than garbage. His expression was so indifferent that it sent chills down Lize's spine. This wasn't the first time that Lize had this vibe from Rhode. Although Rhode was usually polite, prideful, and confident and would put up an expressionless face most of the time, she had noticed the gentleness hidden behind the cold mask after getting along with him for a long time. But Rhode would show his other side occasionally. It was as though this young man didn't belong to this world at all. He was just a passerby who had no interest in the world and the human beings of this world were simply insects in his eyes.

The young lady felt insecure about this realization because she had consciously sealed this rare side of Rhode in her memories. She shivered as she glanced at his eyes and the corpses on the battlefield.

She discovered that she didn't understand this man at all.