Chapter 583 - Blackblade Guards
Chapter 583: Blackblade Guards
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Of course, Rhode couldn’t care less about the treatment that the pathetic man had received in the dark cell. On the second morning, Dasos left the Land of Atonement with his team hurriedly and returned to the Alchemist Association. Rhode knew clearly that the pitiful senior would have a hard time convincing the association to hand over that much material. However, he wasn’t worried at all. Their agreement had been reviewed and confirmed by the Church and if the Alchemist Association breached the contract, their reputation on the entire content would reach rock bottom.
Although it was an ‘unexpected calamity’ for Rhode that the Alchemist Association had come to his doorstep, this served as a reminder to him that his care for the fortress wasn’t enough. The matters regarding Lapis especially made him realize what he wasn’t doing enough. He was considering appointing an assistant for Lapis, which would be essential for her. Lapis had a reserved and bashful personality which not only reflected in her daily life but also on her job. Lapis required a lot of material to create alchemy equipment, but she was always too embarrassed to request from Rhode and would rather think of other solutions. It was also due to this reason that Lapis was won over by that bunch of idiots from the Alchemist Association. If there was someone by her side to guide her and communicate with Rhode during times of necessity, it could prevent similar incidents from happening.
Things were easier said than done and it wasn’t easy to find someone suitable. Firstly, the person must be trustworthy and would be best a female. Apart from that, she must possess great communication skills and could sharply detect Lapis’ true thoughts. At the same time, she must have a certain level of battle strength to protect Lapis in times of dangers. Finally, the most important point—Lapis must accept her. And it definitely wouldn’t be easy for her to open up her heart to trust someone.
After listing out the conditions, Rhode realized that there were no members who fitted the requirements. Starlight was still in its early stages and everyone had their own position. Although Canary and Bubble were around in the fortress, they weren’t suitable to stick around in the alchemy workshop the whole day. Besides, Bubble had to train the mercenaries and also lecture the Clerics on PVP battle techniques. Canary had to stand in for Marlene to ensure smooth operations within the fortress. As for Anne and Lize, they had to follow Rhode for missions and couldn’t possibly remain in the fortress. Gillian might be idling around, but considering her personality, perhaps she would treat Lapis as her puppet rather than be her assistant.
Although Christie and Lapis were close, she wasn’t well physically and she didn’t have the capability to protect Lapis and herself. Although Celia met the requirements, it was a pity that she wasn’t a Core Card. As a high-level summoning card, Celia would drain a high amount of spiritual energy from Rhode. It was still possible for Rhode to maintain her presence like in Fiat for up to five days, but if he had to do it 24/7, it would apply a lot of pressure to his body. The Holy Sword Card Deck didn’t contain created spirits like Snow and they consumed a large amount of spiritual energy for their summons. For safety’s sake, Rhode couldn’t possibly diminish one-fifth of his spiritual energy every day to maintain Celia’s presence. Moreover, the amount of spiritual energy consumed had a direct relation to their physical distances. If Rhode had headed into the Golden City and left Celia in the fortress, the amount of spiritual energy that he needed to consume would perhaps leave him insufficient for other purposes.
Rhode couldn’t help but think of Marlene.
Although Rhode had been spending most of his time on the reorganization of the Guild after he returned to the fortress, he didn’t block himself out from the happenings in the outside world. The reports from the intelligence net of Old Walker and the ‘Silent Blade’ had been delivered to Rhode’s desk daily.
The internal war between the North and South hadn’t ended. The Reformist Party’s army arrived at Callenbach ‘peacefully’, so the members were elated. On the other hand, the Northern King’s Party allied army didn’t have any large-scale movements after forming a half encirclement apart from carrying out besieging exercises. Outsiders might even misunderstand that they were there for military drills.
Rhode was sure that the fish had taken the bait.
Frankly speaking, John was still doubtful about Rhode before he came to this place because there must still be a limit to a young noble’s strength. If not, Rhode wouldn’t have stooped so low as to lead mercenaries into the battle himself. However, this massive fortress left John dumbfounded. Moreover, Canary and Bubble’s presence in the Legendary Stage had convinced the young man to give his all to work for Rhode. A noble who owned such a massive fortress and had that many powerful subordinates must have a bright future ahead.
At this moment, John had also experienced the benefits of being Rhode’s henchman.
“It’s great, Sir.” John revealed an excited smile and he knocked on his body armor proudly. Unlike the light-weight, half body armor Cavalrymen were usually clad in, this full body armor was incomparably sturdy and every inch of their bodies was completely protected. Not only was there a prismatic shield on their arm which allowed for the tip of a pike to poke through the front, the back of the shield also had two cone-shaped tips like razor-sharp teeth extending out. This design made the Cavalrymen look like monsters with teeth all over their bodies.
“Frankly speaking, I thought this armor would be really heavy, but I didn’t expect it to be almost as light as the leather armor. I don’t feel burdened by it at all! Not only that, but this strange weapon is also extraordinarily great to use. Sir, I didn’t know you could create such equipment!”
It wasn’t without reason for John’s excitement. He grew up in a noble family so he wouldn’t be as naive as ordinary soldiers. After putting on the equipment, he immediately realized that they weren’t ordinary at all. They were alchemy equipment—extremely rare in the market and almost impossible to provide in batches to the soldiers. John remembered that even the top elites of the Southern Legion didn’t have such a great treatment!
But now, he had just arrived and this generous young man had given him such a precious gift, which further assured him that his choice wasn’t a mistake.
Rhode nodded slightly as he observed John’s blissful expression. He knew why John was that excited. This set of alchemy equipment wasn’t imagined by Rhode. Instead, it was invented by the future Country of Darkness. Not only were they light, but the weapon also had strong damage output, which had a relation to why the Country of Darkness was able to breeze their way through all the enemies on the continent during the war. During the creation of the equipment, Rhode and Lapis had considered the differences between the Undead Spirits and Humans and modified them to be more suitable for human usage.
“This set of equipment is still under modification. If you feel there’s anything wrong when using it, feel free to let me know and I will get Lapis to fix it… By the way, I told you to think of a name for this team. Have you done so?” said Rhode.
“Of course, Sir Rhode.” John pushed out his chest proudly. “I’ve decided to call us the ‘Black Rose’. What do you think?”
“…”
was surprised to see the corner of Rhode’s mouth twitch and his expression seemed to have become somewhat complicated.
“Black Rose?” Rhode lifted his head and shot a strange look at John. He sized up John and the group of Cavalrymen in full black armor behind him. Argh. I understand why the word ‘black’ was used. But… Why do I feel this uncomfortable with the word ‘rose’?
The thought of going into battles with this ‘Black Rose’ made him shudder. He scanned John from head to toe peculiarly and muttered inwardly.
Could it be that this young man is also gay like Garcia? If not, why did he choose the word ‘rose’ out of so many possible names in this world?
Rhode was suddenly reminded of some impure memories… What a shocking discovery. If I knew he was a gay, I wouldn’t have brought him back from Paphield. I should’ve just left him with Garcia and let them rub out some sparks with each other.
“… Sir Rhode? Is anything wrong?” John asked with some doubts.
He felt that the name was actually decent. Or perhaps, this was the only name that he came up with after so many days of racking his brain. Although John had gathered his men to brainstorm for, the suggestions he received weren’t all that favorable with names like ‘Black Whirlwind’ or something… John didn’t dare to mention such names to Rhode.
“Uh…” Rhode let out an awkward cough. Then, he calmed himself down and looked at the group of Cavalrymen. “I think this name feels rather weak. In future, you are going to be the first line of attack to charge and break through the enemy lines. ‘Rose’ is a little too… Alright. Let’s name you guys ‘Blackblade Guards’, how about that?”