Chapter 117: Encounter in the Forest

“Ugh…!!”

The fierce, wild wolf rushed forward. The hidden trap in the bush activated and trapped its paw, but the wild wolf didn’t back down. To the contrary, it roared and kept rushing forward, its sharp claws passing through Randolf and the others, heavily scratching the ground.

Randolf rolled to the side to dodge the attack and then shot an arrow towards it.

The wild wolf that had already been trapped simply couldn’t escape as the arrow flew towards it. It struggled to dodge, but the arrow still shot its leg. This made the wild wolf feel even more pain and it stopped struggling, opening its mouth to vent its anger. However, a second arrow that easily pierced through its head completely sealed the incoming howl.

“Haa…”

After pulling the Fire Blade out from the last wolf’s body, Shauna wiped the sweat off her forehead then turned around.

“Is everyone okay?”

“There’s no problem.”

“I’m okay.”

Faced with Shauna’s question, everyone raised their hands to show that they were safe. After making sure that everything was normal, Shauna nodded. She continued to lead them inside. As Rhode had expected, this test wasn’t too difficult for them. Even without the skills that Rhode had just taught them, they still could deal with the wild beasts just by relying on their ability. However, they knew that the reason they came here wasn’t to finish a mission, but to improve their skills and standard. If they were just going to muddle along, they definitely wouldn’t succeed.

Randolf reached out to remove the claws from the dead wolf to make an exquisite metal clip. Looking at Andon and Joey, he could see traces of joy and surprise on their face.

At first, their attacks didn’t seem strong because their training opponent was just the air, but in a real battle, it was completely different. After they gradually began to get familiar with the pace of the battle, they also began to realize their improvement. Before, they were thinking similarly to Old Walker: worrying about whether this kind of training could be used in real battles. After all, even newbie mercenaries knew the ever-changing situation in the real battles. It was impossible for everything to go according to plan, so they were also a little bit puzzled. But after they did it, they finally found the effectiveness of the skill Rhode has taught.

Indeed, real battles were ever changing and couldn’t be predicted, but by using the skills Rhode taught them, they basically didn’t have to think about how to deal with the opponent because the opponent wouldn’t have the time to react.

Although their professions and skills learned from Rhode differed, everyone finally noticed a similarity after battling for a while. The skills Rhode had imparted allowed chaining without being easily disrupted. At the same time, it was also dangerous. Whether it was a thief who could move as fast as lightning, a swordsman, or even heavy swordsman, it was all the same. When they attacked, the next attack would make the enemy completely powerless to fight back, regardless of whether they were in a defensive or healing position. That way, they minimized the risk of being attacked back in the fight. This feeling also made them feel excited and thrilled.

They thought that overwhelming and high pressure attacks could only be done by highly skilled people. But they never expected that they could actually do the same thing. The wild wolves and dogs in the bushes and forest turned into their practicing target. Although the wild beasts were not easy not deal with at first, now the mercenaries beat them until they couldn’t get up, which made them feel satisfied from the bottom of their hearts. Even later, the beasts didn’t even dare provoke them again. But these mercenaries didn’t stop until there; they were like goblins that began to look for enemies.

However, Shauna quickly stopped their reckless act. Before the departure, Rhode told them that the skill he taught them was only a basic combination skill. Even though it was effective, it was not invincible. Currently, he only hoped that they could master those skills to develop their own attack power instead of just relying on it like an amulet. If they kept on doing that, it would be very dangerous.

Shauna obviously understood what Rhode meant. Indeed, although this combination could improve their strength, but it still wasn’t completely reliable. The reason their actions looked so mighty was because the enemy wasn’t strong. If they encountered a stronger enemy, then no matter how perfect their skill combo, the opponent would still be able to send them flying into the heavens. After all, the level gap was already very clear, and strength couldn’t be replaced just by using these skills.

As a former mercenary leader, Shauna was very sensitive towards the changes in the team. When she saw that everyone was overly high, she immediately threw cold water at them to wake them up.

“Be serious. We haven’t yet passed the test, so don’t get too excited. Stay vigilant: the end is already in the front!”

After hearing Shauna’s shouts, the others were finally awake. They reassembled and walked forward under Shauna’s leadership.

Soon, without feeling any pressure, they came towards the spring that Rhode mentioned. The spring was located under the cliff, and the water looked very clear and transparent. Inside, there were transparent gems reflecting the sunlight. They were Ice Stones, a low grade stone produced inside water. It was also the reason Rhode chose this place. Not only he could let his subordinates train, but he could also collect the stones for Lapis’s alchemy material. If he could kill two birds with one stone, then why not?

As a mercenary, Shauna had collected this stuff before. She took out a jug from her waist and poured out the water inside. After that, she told the others to take the jug and pour the water and stones inside together. After filling two large jugs and making sure that there was no problem, Shauna gestured for everyone to leave.

“Wait!” Suddenly, Randolf yelled. He frowned and twitched his nose.

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“There’s the smell of blood here.”

“Smell of blood?”

Everyone was surprised for a moment. After that they immediately took out their weapons and formed a circle back-to-back to watch the surroundings. After the crazy killings from before, the wild beasts were already completely scared and didn’t dare look for more trouble. That was why no one got attacked when they arrived at the spring. Did a boss finally appear?

Feeling uneasy, they were trying to calm down and listen to the surrounding sounds closely. Shortly afterwards, a low voice was heard through the wind.

“Ughh..aaa…”

“There’s someone!”

Shauna immediately jumped and ran to where the voice located while holding her sword. The others also followed from behind. Soon, in the bushes not far from them, they found an injured mercenary.

He looked like a swordsman, but there’s no weapon inside his sheath and his body was covered in wounds. Judging from the heavy injuries on his back, it looked like the mercenary had fallen from the cliff. If not because of the thick bushes, most likely he would have already become a wild beast’s meal.

“What should we do, Big Sis?

The mercenaries that surrounded the man were all worried. They quickly looked at Shauna. After all, she was the current commander of the team.

Faced with their inquiries, Shauna didn’t answer immediately, but took a closer look at the mercenary. After looking at the badge on his chest, Shauna’s eyes lighten up.

“Bring him back. Maybe Lize could save him.”

Shauna no longer hesitated and quickly gave an answer. After that, another person walked forward and carefully carried the injured man for the journey back.

Shauna silently stared at everyone’s back, then lowered her head to look at the badge in her hand.

It was exactly the badge that she took from that mercenary.

They could only imagine just how surprised Rhode was when they brought back an injured person from the forest. He wasn’t clear on what happened: why did they bring a person back, instead of what he had asked for? However, Rhode still told Lize to heal that man. After that, he walked towards Shauna and asked.

“What happened? Who is he?”

“I’m also unclear.”

Facing Rhode’s question, Shauna shook her head.

”We followed your instructions and arrived at the spring. We found him nearby, and it seems that he had experienced a very violent battle. If it’s not because of his luck, he wouldn’t be alive until now. And… I found this on his body.”

Shauna stretched out her hand and gave Rhode the badge.

After he took the badge, Rhode’s eyes narrowed.

It was a red-colored badge. On the top, there was a round, burning flame symbol and in the center, a blade as if born from flame.

Rhode was familiar with this badge. A few days ago, he had seen something similar at the Mercenary Joint Meeting.

It was “Burning Blade” mercenary group symbol.