Chapter 141: The Mage Who Fights in Close Quarters (Part Two)

Watching Pepero gnash her teeth in fury, Rodin could only shrug helplessly and ask with a wry smile, “My lady, what exactly do you intend to do?”

“Hmph!”

Pepero snorted coldly. She planted both hands on her slender waist, a hint of unruliness and arrogance appearing on her face. After glancing at Rodin and lightly biting her lips, she answered him word by word:

“Of course, we do things the Pepero way!”

“Your way?”

A strange expression suddenly appeared on Rodin’s face. Before he could say anything, a mass of scarlet flames erupted around Pepero. Two soft, sinuous tails of fire appeared around her legs, winding tightly about them like little snakes. With a sudden bend, the tails slammed their other ends into the ground with a sharp crack, splitting the earth. Pepero herself transformed into a ball of flame and shot straight through the gates of the Rotten Wolf’s headquarters.

“Boom!”

That was clearly the sound of Lady Pepero blowing the gates apart.

“Crash!”

That was clearly the sound of Lady Pepero already tearing the place apart inside.

And that sound… yes, Lady Pepero had begun fighting.

Hearing the chaotic clamor from within, Rodin and Rossidy sighed helplessly at the same time, then spoke in unison:

“Just as expected!”

Rodin’s original plan had been to use the darkness to quietly eliminate the members of the Rotten Wolf one by one, thus avoiding unnecessary trouble. But after Pepero had thrown everything into chaos, there was obviously no longer any need for an assassination attempt.

Little Rodin and Old Rossidy exchanged a glance, then immediately circulated their soul power to its limit. With a single flash, the two of them transformed into a pair of black shadows and sped toward the Rotten Wolf’s stronghold.

………………………….

When Weil rushed into the Rotten Wolf’s headquarters, he found the place already in complete disorder. Dozens of mercenaries had surrounded Pepero, but the difference in strength between them was simply too great. Only a handful were capable of posing any threat to her; the rest were sent flying before they could even take a few steps forward.

Pepero was fighting dozens of opponents alone, yet she showed not the slightest sign of being at a disadvantage. On the contrary, she had beaten the Rotten Wolf mercenaries so thoroughly that they could barely defend themselves.

The mercenaries standing around the battle merely shouted abuse at the tops of their lungs, or cheered on the two Great Soul Masters currently fighting Pepero. None of them, however, made the slightest move to help.

Pav and Sman were furious. The two of them were already no match for Pepero, and now, surrounded by their own men, they could not even evade or retreat. To make matters worse, the endless cries of encouragement from behind them only added to their misery.

Sman glanced at Pav, his eyes filled with desolation and grief.

This was no cheering section. They were driving the two of them straight toward death!

Seeing this, Weil could not help but give a couple of cold laughs. Every mercenary in the Rotten Wolf behaved in exactly this manner. No wonder the entire mercenary group had accomplished nothing. They possessed a certain reputation, but it was nothing more than infamy. At best, they were a band of bandits who had hung a mercenary emblem around their necks.

“Looks like we won’t even need to lift a finger!”

At that moment, Rodin and Rossidy rushed in through the doorway. Seeing the scene before them, both wore amused expressions.

Rossidy swept his gaze across the room before finally fixing it on the two Great Soul Masters fighting Pepero.

“Looks like I overestimated the Rotten Wolf’s strength. At first, I was quite concerned about these two Great Soul Masters guarding the den. I wondered what kind of threat or trouble they might cause for us. But now, looking at them, one has no heart for battle and the other has no courage for it. There isn’t the slightest understanding or cooperation between them. If the two of them combined their strength, they might have been able to restrain Pepero while the lackeys behind them took the opportunity to launch a few dangerous attacks. But judging from the situation now, that clearly isn’t going to happen.”

“Indeed.”

Rodin nodded in agreement. After taking another look at the battle and confirming that Pepero truly did not need his help, he turned to Weil.

“By the way, Weil, I heard Pepero say that you had done something to prevent people elsewhere from noticing what we are doing here. Is that true?”

“Mm.”

Weil nodded. He had naturally seen the worry in Rodin’s heart, and before the latter could ask anything else, he immediately explained:

“I set up something around this area. Anyone more than two hundred meters away cannot see anything happening here, nor can they hear any sounds coming from this place. There’s no need to be surprised. I’m a mage. Distorting other people’s sight and hearing isn’t particularly difficult for me.”

“Oh, so that’s how it is…”

Rodin nodded, but his mind continued to replay the astonishing abilities Weil had displayed. After carefully considering them, he found himself thinking about recruiting Weil into the Moon Slayers.

Healing, long-range attacks, support, and the ability to confuse a person’s sight and hearing—if used properly, those abilities would undoubtedly raise the entire mercenary group’s combat strength and survival rate by a considerable degree.

The thought suddenly made Rodin want to give it a try. He opened his mouth, intending to sound Weil out, but at that moment, Weil’s expression abruptly changed. He hurriedly turned toward Rodin and Rossidy.

“A group is approaching from outside. They’re moving very quickly and have just passed through my barrier. There should be between ten and thirteen of them, and their leader is extremely powerful.”

“What?”

Rodin froze slightly and glanced at Rossidy. The two exchanged a meaningful look, reaching a decision without a word. They immediately went outside to investigate.

The three had only just stepped through the gates when they encountered the approaching group.

Their leader was an extremely burly man. His upper body was bare, and his wheat-colored skin was covered in countless wounds, both fresh and old. Most had been wrapped in thick bandages, yet even so, Rodin and the others could still smell the heavy stench of blood and the nauseating odor of rotting flesh emanating from him.

Clearly, his injuries were severe.

His left eye appeared to have been stabbed blind only recently. A scar ran from his forehead, across the ruined eye, and all the way down to his cheek. Though he covered it with one hand, fresh blood continued to seep through his fingers.

Despite suffering such grievous injuries, the man did not utter so much as a groan. But when he happened to see Rodin and the other two emerging from his den, a flush suddenly appeared on his deathly pale face.

The veins on his forehead and cheeks bulged violently. His right eye widened as he glared at Rodin and Rossidy with such ferocity that it seemed he wanted to swallow them alive. He ground his teeth and spoke in a voice that was almost terrifying:

“Kill them!”

………………………….

The instant Rodin and Rossidy saw the man’s face, their expressions became extraordinarily strange. Rodin was so shocked that he actually retreated half a step, then drew a trembling breath.

That man was none other than the leader of the Rotten Wolf Mercenary Group—the Gray Bear, Barik!

But wasn’t he supposed to be in the north? How had he returned to Como? And if he was back, what had happened to their leader and the others?

In an instant, Rodin’s thoughts became a tangled mess.

Fortunately, Rossidy had spent half his life as a mercenary and had witnessed every kind of storm. He quickly regained his composure, quietly tugged at Rodin, and spoke in a deep voice:

“Don’t let your thoughts run wild, Rodin. You and Weil retreat inside immediately. Take Pepero and escape from another direction. According to Weil’s arrangements, you’ll be safe as soon as you get two hundred meters away. This is Como. Barik wouldn’t dare act recklessly here.”

“But what about you? Are you planning to stay behind and hold Barik off? Forget it, Old Ross! I won’t let you do that!”

Rodin practically shouted the words, but Rossidy’s answer was a punch.

“Are you an idiot? Do you know how strong Barik is? Do you know how strong we are? All of us together wouldn’t be a match for him! I’ll hold them off. You and Weil take Pepero and run!”

The moment he finished speaking, Rossidy shoved Rodin toward Weil. Then he flashed forward, his soul power erupting throughout his body in an instant, and shot toward the approaching Rotten Wolf mercenaries.

These mercenaries were entirely different from the useless men left inside the den. Every one of these dozen or so fighters was an elite of the Rotten Wolf. The weakest among them had already reached the seventh rank of Soul Warrior.

With more than a dozen of them surrounding him at once, even Rossidy, despite his overwhelming momentum, could only grit his teeth and defend himself with all his strength. He had no opportunity to counterattack.

When Rodin saw this, his eyes immediately reddened. He had no time to worry about Rossidy’s earlier orders. With a furious roar, he charged straight into the dozen Rotten Wolf mercenaries.

Rodin had already reached the second level of Great Soul Master. The moment he joined the battle, Rossidy’s disadvantage was immediately reversed.

Rossidy was furious, but this was hardly the time to argue. He could only release his soul power to the limit. Blades formed from his aura flew wildly through the air as he and Rodin fought the Rotten Wolf mercenaries in a chaotic melee.

The two of them were facing more than a dozen Rotten Wolf mercenaries, yet at a glance, they appeared to be fighting to a barely even draw.

Watching the scene unfold, Barik’s eyes instantly blazed with fury. Almost instinctively, he glanced behind himself.

There was not a single person standing there, yet the flames of rage in his eyes burned hotter and hotter.