Summoning the Holy Sword

Witnessing the golden fields of Grosso Plain engulfed in thick smoke and a sea of flames meant that Rhode’s mission was completed. This incident no longer had anything to do with him.

And this was the start of a nightmare for the Reformist Party.

Even though the Sulfur River had lasted less than half an hour, it had spread across the entire farmland with the accomplice of dry autumn wind leading the flames on. The entire Grosso region had been shrouded in billows of thick, gray smoke and spreading wildfires demolished everything toward the surrounding forested hills for the next four days. The hard-pressed Reformist Party spent large sums of gold to hire Mages to extinguish the flames, but it was all for naught. The conflagration continued for 15 merciless days before being thoroughly washed away by a rainstorm that came late.

At this point, the Reformist Party was devastated.

In the gruesome 15 days, not only had the foodstuff reserves been completely destroyed, but the neighboring regions had also been dragged into the calamity. Thousands including the villagers that escaped from the Necromancer became homeless as they huddled in the city, facing a hopeless future in despair. These refugees posed a huge problem for the Reformist Party and it wasn’t all there was to it. They were also notified of a grievous news. Perhaps due to the long conflagration, the soil in Grosso Plain had turned dry and infertile. In other words, the fertile foodstuff source of the South had been completely crippled and they would face a food shortage six months later.

As the saying, ‘it never rains but it pours’, goes, the Reformist Party would be too naive if they thought that this was all to their sufferings.

Frightening rumors had been spreading among the civilians. Most were criticizing the Reformist Party’s detrimental measures in dealing with the Necromancer. It wasn’t a secret anymore that the reinforcements crumbled entirely to the Undead Army’s raid when they headed into Grosso Plain. Many of them were aware of the truth that the soldiers were thoroughly defeated without putting up a fight. If it weren’t for a brave Battle Angel who fought for them and perished along with the enemies, perhaps the South would have been reduced to a devastated land for the Undeads.

The Reformist Party had taken precautions to prohibit soldiers from spreading ‘false’ rumors. However, the miscellaneous troops had no dignity to begin with, and many of them were pissed at the Reformist Party for sending them straight to hell purposely. Even though the Reformist Party had put up prohibitions everywhere, the civilians from the surrounding regions were notified of the truth quickly. Moreover, the dazzling, silver-whitish light column was the best proof in their eyes.

Besides, the first worrying signs of a situation for the Reformist Party had finally emerged after the conflagration.

Rhode would usually be extremely pleased to welcome anyone for a fight. After casting the [Sulfur River] card that belonged to the [Spell of the Red Lotus], his EXP had dipped to the initial stages of level 40 and even the values at the end of the EXP were filled with a string of irritating zeros. Rhode had no doubt that if he cast [Sulfur River] again or [Seven Hells], he would surely fall under level 40… And it would be totally undesirable.

It was a pity considering that Fiat was part of the Munn Kingdom’s territory and he shouldn’t take matters into his own hands. If Fiat belonged to him, he wouldn’t mind killing those idiots for EXP. But now… He had to rethink this through.

In fact, he did come up with a great idea after leaving Grosso Plain.

‘Mama Goose’s Liquor Pot’ was a pub situated by the Southern Port’s periphery and this pub was no different from other pubs on the surface—a two-story lonely building located in the embrace of the forest, serving as a hub to receive travelers. However, the place had been rather unfrequented perhaps due to the recent unrest in the South and the battle between the Reformist Party and the King’s Party. In fact, when Rhode opened the entrance door, there was only a middle-aged man sprawled on the bar counter, casually basking in the warmth of the afternoon sun with narrowed eyes. There was no one else other than him and the tables were wiped spotlessly clean. Rhode pulled down his hood to cover his face in shadow and strode toward the man, knocking on the counter in three short and one long rhythm.

“Hmm?” The man enjoying his afternoon nap widened his eyes in surprise. “Ah. Welcome, sir. Is there anything that you would like to have?”

Rhode tapped his right index finger on the counter four times, in three short and one long taps. The man squinted semi-consciously at Rhode’s finger and looked at his face as though he hadn’t woken up from his sweet dream.

“Ah. Welcome, sir. Is there anything that you would like to have?” He said again.

Rhode lowered his head and glanced at the surroundings, retrieving a bag of coins and placing it on the counter. He loosened the opening and dazzling golden radiance glowed under the bright sun.

“I want someone,” Rhode said.

The man finally responded. He took over the bag of coins, hugged it in his arms, and retrieved a parchment from under the counter, as well as a feather pen, placing them before Rhode. Rhode scanned the parchment and scribbled over it swiftly before sliding it back.

‘Mama Goose’s Liquor Pot’ was widely known as simply a pub and only a handful of players knew its secrets. It was classified as a mysterious organization known as the ‘Masquerade’. Unlike the ‘Dark Brotherhood’ who went to the extremes with their bad deeds, murder organizations, or the Thieves Guild, the ‘Masquerade’ operated along the grey areas. Counterfeit bills, fake identities, clearing one from troublesome matters, and getting in touch with the dark, evil forces that were usually uncontactable. As long as you paid them enough, they could even contact the Dark Spirit hidden deep in the underground.

No one knew its true organizational structure, but its vast network had proven its capabilities. Since this organization seldom deal with atrocious matters, they were more of a useful NPC force for the players. Rhode had once researched about them during his free time in the game, but he gave up after failing to gather any information.

Of course, Rhode didn’t come here to continue his unfinished business in the game.

He had other motives.