Summoning the Holy Sword

After noticing the doubt on their faces, Rhode quickly explained, “We simply don’t have sufficient strength to go back that way.”

“Each undead by itself isn’t a problem, but it gets tricky when they rush in a horde. Since our group got bigger, we have to increase our protection radius and that would mean that we have to face more enemies. If we press forward, although the strength of each undead would rise, at least we won’t have to deal with a large number like before. Moreover, high-level undead tends to roam alone and rarely work together which gives us a better chance of survival.”

“But some high-level undead have the power to command low-level undead…”

Apparently Sereck knew quite a bit about the undead.

“Don’t worry, that won’t happen.”

Rhode held his sword and drew a simple map on the ground. First, he drew a circle and then followed by a line.

“We are here. Fortunately, this place is considered to be the along the borders so we should be able to leave quickly as long we speed up a little. Then we will pass through here…” Rhode pointed at the line near the border and continued, “then we will arrive at another area of the plateau. There’s a valley here and as long as we pass through this valley, we can leave this place.”

“How do you know?”

Kudla couldn’t contain his curiosity. He stared at the young man before him thinking that he might just be uttering nonsense.

After finishing his discussion with Sereck and Kudla, Rhode gathered everyone and explained what kind of danger they would face as well as administer their individual responsibilities. This time, the formation was slightly different. Rhode, Celia, and Sereck would lead the main offense while Anne would be responsible for protecting the Clerics. As for the mercenaries, they didn’t bear any heavy responsibilities because Rhode wasn’t familiar with them. Instead, he arranged for them to guard the rear together with Kudla since he was already briefed on how to deal with the Giant Skeletons. Rhode saw that he was a smart person, so there shouldn’t be any problems.

However, there were two significant changes this time.

“What about me? Do I not have to attack?”

Marlene frowned.

“Your large area of effect spells will cause a great disturbance to the surroundings. Our objective is to finish the battle in the shortest possible time without drawing much attention to us.”

“I see…”

After hearing Rhode’s explanation, Marlene nodded. Then, after a moment, she added, “If that’s the case, why not let me cast Silence? That way, I can prevent the enemy from hearing anything.”

Rhode was subtly surprised for a moment.

“You can cast Silence?”

“Of course!”

Marlene nodded as if the sun had always been rising from the east.

“Aren’t you an Elemental Mage?”

“I’m proficient in elemental spells, but I’m also fairly well-versed in illusory and arcane spells.”

“…”

Rhode stared at Marlene who proudly raised her head. Rhode finally understood why the people called her a rare magical genius of a hundred years… No wonder many players complained about not being able to defeat her. This young miss was simply a copy of a BOSS in the making.

“Kid, I know what you want me to do…”

Old Walker fondled his chin and revealed a complicated expression. His previous role was to scout and detect enemies from afar. To put it bluntly, he didn’t participate in battles at all. However, Rhode decided that he needed to contribute his strength this time.

“You want me to attract that monster’s attention, aren’t they very sensitive?”

“That’s right.”

Rhode nodded.

“But don’t worry, I will tell you what to do.”

As for both Anne and Lize, their role didn’t change much. He didn’t even have to tell Lize what to do and merely asked her to master the attack rhythm. Not only was the upcoming battle a test, but it was an excellent opportunity to gain more experience. Lize had been rather consistent in combat, so he didn’t have to worry about her.

Rhode didn’t have to say much to Anne as well. But he finally understood why the vice-leader of Mark White wanted to find an opportunity to kick her out. The way she expressed her thoughts was too direct. Most of the mercenaries were glaring at her right now, let alone the half-elf thief who would’ve killed her if she had the chance.

Still, under this tense atmosphere, Anne had the guts to continue humming a song as though nothing was wrong, albeit unintentionally. Have to say… she truly deserved to be called a tank. The way she pulled and held the aggro was top-notch.

After pushing away the boulder, a cold wind blew in and made everyone shiver.

“Let’s go.”

Rhode said coolly as he walked out from the cave with everyone following closely behind him.

Perhaps lady luck was blessing them as they didn’t encounter an ambush when leaving the withered forest. When they finally left the forest, everyone felt relieved, but before they could relax, they immediately fell upon a new hurdle.

Boom! Boom! Lize immediately snuffed the Holy Light. They were now at the edge of a cliff, quietly looking down at a huge shadow that was moving back and forth in the valley. Everyone could feel a chill when they saw the monster.

Giant Skeleton.

As their name suggested, they were giants without flesh. They towered over three meters tall, and their skeletal structure didn’t seem weak and brittle at all. But all they did was mindlessly wander around the valley, only turning its huge head to look around from time to time. Inside its empty sockets was the Soul Fire that gave it life. It shone like a small sun, emitting a green light that swept around the valley like a lighthouse.

Facing such a powerful enemy, can they really win?

No one had the confidence.

“Okay, listen to me closely.”

Rhode took a deep breath and lowered his voice. He turned around and gestured to Old Walker.

Old Walker quickly bent down and came forward. Two shadows quietly stepped towards a huge boulder near the valley.

“See that?”

Rhode pointed towards the Giant Skeleton not too far away from him. It wielded an enormous bone club as it sauntered back and forth. Old Walker traced the area where Rhode pointed to and nodded.

“Shoot the arrow there. Remember, don’t at shoot it, but near it. About five meters away from it.”

“Yes.”

Old Walker nodded. Then he pulled his bow and aimed towards the target with intense concentration. Everyone else couldn’t help but hold their breath while watching him.

When the Giant Skeleton looked back and walked towards the other side of the valley, Rhode shouted.

“Now!”