Chapter 521 Dusk in Grosso (1/2)

It was autumn in the blink of an eye.

A sea of ripe, golden wheat in the entire Grosso Plain swayed along with the breeze. Everyone would surely be moved by this picturesque view… However, there was also another meaning for Rhode.

”What a hassle…” He frowned and overlooked the 'ocean' from the hills.

It had been six days since Rhode left the Cloud Summit Fortress. This place was the most important foodstuff reserve base for the Reformist Party and it was Rhode's first target. Got to say, this journey was rather simple for him. He weaved through the trails and secret paths that he was ever familiar with and arrived in this Southern hinterland.

He was able to travel quickly without leading his men, which was extremely convenient. Besides, along with his summoned spirits, nothing could threaten him with his current level 40 Master Stage and Swordsmanship that had entered the Legendary Stage. The only flaw was that the threats were too low-level for him to farm any great equipment.

However, he didn't visit here to clear a dungeon by himself.

”Can you tell me why exactly you came here, Master?” Celestina stepped out of the forest and glared at Rhode fiercely. Her inappropriate manners towards Rhode seemed to have worsened ever since the battle with the Duke Fiend. If it weren't for the contract between the summon spirits and the holder, perhaps she wouldn't even look at this annoying human.

Rhode wasn't expecting anything less from her uncooperative attitude. Even though she was an alluring and charming young lady, he refused to show her deference. Although he knew that this forced her to oppose him, he wasn't mindful at all. Celestina appeared extremely dissatisfied, but Rhode didn't sense any authentic hatred and malice which was rare to find in a Demon. Even though they had an agreement, a Demon's scheming wisdom could torture the other party with a life worse than death through various means. But Celestina was different because, even though she usually shot off her mouth and was exceedingly unreasonable during missions, Rhode realized that she was still much kinder than her Demon companions in terms of machinations.

Besides, her temperament was considered really great for a Demon.

Of course, this didn't rule out another possibility.

”Carrying out a mission?” Rhode shrugged casually.

She snorted in disdain. ”Ah… Only you? Master, you must be dreaming. Yes, perhaps you can annihilate the Commander of a thousand soldiers with your current strength in the Master Stage. But to destroy a town… by yourself?”

Rhode nonchalantly tapped the twin daggers around his waist and Celestina's mockeries were immediately silenced like a tightened faucet. She gritted her teeth and glared fumingly at Rhode as he gazed straight into her eyes. A few seconds later, she dropped her head helplessly as though she had surrendered. ”… How boring. Why must I be concerned about Master's wellbeing? You're better off dead because I've had enough of being ordered about by you!!”

There was indeed always something to conquer another…

Rhode laid eyes on his daggers after observing Celestina's flushed expression. He didn't expect that this arrogant young lady would be this frightful of Gracier and Madaras, like a mouse that had spotted a cat.

At this thought, he realized that his Holy Sword Card Deck had a truly strange counteractive cycle. Angels were afraid of Demons and Demons were afraid of Elves… Perhaps nobody would believe him if he said this.

Celestina's judgment wasn't incorrect. Royal Highness Lydia had ordered him to attack Grosso and Fiat and destroy their foodstuff and mineral reserves. The success rate would surely be higher if Rhode had led his mercenaries here. But how would he approach the mission alone? The Grosso's foodstuff reserve base was massive and the granaries and mills were heavily guarded. Along his way here, he had also detected several patrols. It was apparent that the Reformist Party knew about the critical foodstuff issue after severing ties with the North and they had put up precautions for it.

It wasn't difficult to imagine how the security in Fiat would turn out to be since Grosso was this secure. Although Rhode had no exact numbers of the enemies, it seemed that official military troops were inevitable. He was fortunate that the South was hard-pressed for manpower as they were distributed along the defense borders, battlefront, and the city and regional protection.

Even so, Rhode wouldn't be able to withstand so many enemies at once.

But he wasn't worried about this at all.

”Indeed. Relying on me alone will not be doable. But…” Rhode glanced at her scowling face with a grin. ”I have never battled alone.”

”… Hmph!” Celestina let out a groan. ”What a shameless class. Master, are you even worthy of the pride and glory of the Swordsmen?”

”Such things don't matter to me at all. All I need is victory and not glory,” Rhode gazed at the sea of gold in a distance. ”I'm gonna need your help, Celestina.” Rhode retrieved a white, odd mask from the fold of his clothes.