June 11th, early morning.
After the explosion of the ruins, Roddy's team camped in the nearby forest and rested for the night. Due to the death of their comrades, the morale of the whole team was inevitably low.
Reality would never be the epic stories told by the bards about heroes overcoming all obstacles. The Grim Reaper would always be floating above everyone's head. Even this once invincible team was shrouded in an indescribable sense of oppression at this moment.
For Roddy, this was the first time he felt helpless against the enemy. He couldn't sleep for the whole night.
There were many reasons for insomnia, but Roddy would never toss and turn because of despair and helplessness. That night, he only had one question in his mind:
How should I deal with such an enemy again?
The real world was not a card game made up of data. From Rody's experience, whether it was the humans, the Orcs, the undead or the dragons, there was no such thing as a 100% 'crushing' victory.
This could be seen from Earthbreaker's definition of "Critical Hit". Even the Dragons, who stood at the top of the pyramid of strength, would be blinded and scream in pain if a dagger pierced their eyes. Could he, who was not even level 10, really not be able to defeat an enemy that was level 50?
The team's next goal was to continue searching for crystals. But as the team leader, Roddy also had to consider the importance of "mending the pen after the sheep is lost". If they encountered the "Holy Assembly" again, would he have to run away or wait for death?
There was only one answer in Roddy's mind: Never.
When the first rays of dawn shone into the campsite, Roddy, who had been sitting in front of the campfire the night before, suddenly clenched his fists. He stood up and exhaled. He twisted his body a few times, and the sound of his joints rubbing against each other was particularly loud in the quiet campsite. He strode to his luggage and began to rummage through the scrolls and potions he had brought with him when he left Erza Village.
Before his rebirth, when he had reached Level 25, he had successfully assassinated three enemies who were Level 45 by himself. Because of that battle, he had become famous. The title 'Shadow Hunter' wasn't just given by the game. In the later stages of the game, when he reached Level 59, it was also the name that the players gave Roddy.
After the initial depression, Roddy immediately regarded the "Holy Assembly" as a feasible goal and began to plan. He was not afraid of failure and setbacks because Roddy had never lost hope.
The soldiers gradually got up and began to eat breakfast. Sodelor, with two dark circles under his eyes, obviously did not sleep well last night. He ran back and forth in the campsite, not forgetting to encourage the morale of the soldiers in a low voice. Natha's figure occasionally appeared in the campsite, but she always quickly disappeared into the forest on the periphery. She seemed to be on guard against all movements …
Akasha, who slept in Roddy's tent, was haunted by nightmares all night. When she woke up, there were still traces of tears at the corner of her eyes. The first thing she did after getting up was to rush out of the tent to confirm Roddy's position. When she saw him not far away, the little priest's rapid breathing gradually calmed down.
Then she found that Roddy was discussing something with Sodelor, Natha, and more than ten soldiers in a low voice.
"Don't think about approaching. Everyone, raise your shields at all times and take turns to move forward and block …"
"At this time, Natha, pay attention …"
Halfway through his words, Roddy noticed Akasha's gaze. He turned his head and continued, "You just woke up. I'm talking about some tactical arrangements. You can cooperate and demonstrate."
"Ah? Oh, okay … "
Akasha hurriedly wiped her cheeks. When she looked up, she found that Roddy's gloominess from last night had been swept away. At this time, there was an indescribable sense of calmness.
This was fundamentally different from the youths who would jump up and down in anxiety at the slightest setback. This kind of calm and steady aura seemed to subtly calm her heart.
"Akasha, cast all your buff spells on me."
As Roddy spoke, everyone listened to his explanation for half an hour. After that, they went through a "drill" in the morning. At noon, Roddy wiped the sweat from his forehead and announced that the whole team should continue forward.
"The combat team will advance with me. The engineering team will follow behind. We must hurry."
Roddy did not want to bet everything on the last ruin. So he let the five Wood Elf hunters explore the other five ruins that had a lower probability of finding crystals. This way, if they did not find anything in the final target, he would still have some leeway.
But now it was already the 11th of June. If the transportation from the last ruin to Elsen City was counted, the time left for Roddy was …
He was afraid that there were less than fifteen days left.
The traces left behind in the temporary camp were not cleaned up. The ruins not far away from them still seemed to have a burnt smell. Time passed … Two days later, the place had completely cooled down. Everything that was left seemed to have disappeared in the high temperature of the explosion.
In early summer, the temperature in the forest gradually rose after the sun rose. In the afternoon, it was the hottest time of the day. At this time, in the center of the ruins, a figure wearing an ice blue robe suddenly appeared.
The man who seemed to have appeared out of thin air stood on the crystallized sand and stone. His face was unusually handsome. His ears had a sharp curve like those of the High Elves. He was slightly taller than the average person, slender and well-proportioned. His dark blue hair was bound by a silver crown. Although his face was expressionless, there was an indescribable arrogance about him because he did not fit in with everything around him.
His cold eyes slowly swept across the surroundings. The pervading majesty scared away all the birds and beasts in the nearby forest.
He just stood there quietly. A layer of white frost gradually spread on the scorched ground around him. Some stones even cracked because they could not withstand the intense temperature difference.
But he did not care about it. He just lightly inhaled, closed his eyes and carefully identified the "smell" in the air. After a few seconds, the corner of his mouth finally curved slightly.
"Finally … found you."
*****
16th of June.
Elsen City finally welcomed a team of people who came all the way from the Silent Forest.
Under the orders of the Dukes Of Angmar, the territory nobles had to fully cooperate with Roddy's long-distance transportation this time. His reputation for killing was there, and no one dared to slack off. So after the first batch of crystals was transported to Erza Village, they immediately took turns to transport the crystals to Elsen City.
Up to this day, ninety-three Recharged Crystals had been transported into the inner city, not a single one missing.
However, as the center of the city's defense, Camilla did not immediately check the purity or quality of the crystals. Instead, she went directly to Buffon who personally escorted the crystals and asked aloud, "Did Roddy not come back?"
"Lady Camilla, Lord Roddy is still in the forest. The total amount of goods this time is —"
"He's still in the forest? When was the last time he received any news? "
Buffon did not expect Camilla to interrupt him without even asking about the number of crystals. But seeing her anxious face and worried look, he paused and hurriedly replied, "This batch of crystals should be obtained around the first of June. Before the first, everything was normal with Lord Roddy's team. There were no losses or accidents. But as for what happened after that … we have no definite news."
He knew that the woman in front of him could be regarded as half the owner of this city, so he answered everything truthfully.
However, hearing this, Camilla's expression became even more gloomy. Her gaze swept across the team behind her, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she still suppressed the emotions in her heart and said in a low voice, "Thank you, everyone. Just unload the crystal stones under the magic tower. Food and accommodation have been arranged."
"Thank you, Lady Camilla."
Buffon led the team and left. After a few steps, he saw a little girl not far away running cheerfully to Camilla's side. Then he heard the voice of the little girl calling "Mother". He was a little surprised. Camilla's appearance was too young. She did not look like a mother who had given birth to a child …
However, he did not have a deeper understanding of Camilla's identity. After saying a few words, he looked at her for a few moments and left with the team.
On the other side, Naifei looked at Camilla's haggard face and worriedly asked, "Mother … you don't look well."
Because she was not clear about Camilla's physical condition, Naifei only thought that her mother was worried about Roddy, so she explained, "Brother Roddy is very strong. It only took him a few seconds to defeat those guys."
Camilla forced a smile. She gently stroked Naifei's red hair and said in a low voice, "I've heard you say so many times. Your brother Roddy is the best."
Although she said that, she kept praying in her heart that the large-scale explosion of the crystals had nothing to do with Rody. However, logically speaking, who else but Rody would have something to do with the explosion of the 'charged crystals'?
Could he have already …
"Mother?"
"Hmm?" Camilla suddenly woke up. Seeing her daughter's worried expression, she tried to suppress the panic in her heart and changed the topic. "What have you been reading these few days? Tell me about it. You can't be lazy. "
"I'm reading 'A Conversation with Dragons' that big sister left behind." Naifei pointed at the sky. "I didn't know there was such a magical race in this world. They can actually transform into human form and communicate with the High Elves!"
"Dragons?" Camilla was not interested in this topic. At the moment, she was not paying attention. She casually asked, "Then let me test you on some common sense … What was the name of the first High Elf to kill Dragons?"
"Uh …"
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