Chapter 1302: Unexpected Partners

Chapter 1302: Unexpected Partners

Facing Karin's words, Rhode paused and subconsciously turned to his younger sister and Marlene. But it only took an instant before he diminished that thought. Of course, if he chose Marlene, who was one of the seven deity wardens, and his younger sister, who was the former Void Dragon, to help him, the three holy sword spirits would definitely be crushed no matter how strong they were. After all, they were just card spirits of the holy sword deck and weren't beings as powerful as the seven deity wardens and Void Dragon. But... This wasn't what he hoped for. The goal of this battle wasn't just to be victorious, but to gain the recognition of the holy sword card spirits instead. If he used power to overwhelm them, not even he would be convinced of that win. That was why he gave up the idea of picking his younger sister and Marlene.

But it was also at that moment when he realized that if he didn't choose his younger sister and Marlene, he would be in real trouble for this battle!

Even though there were only three of them as his opponents, they represented the light, darkness, and elements respectively, which included almost all of the major common attributes in the Dragon Soul Continent. Although he didn't know anything about their battle skills, whether they were experts in long-range or close-combat, just their attributes alone were tough enough for him to handle. Same elemental attributes would cancel out each other and counteract a whole lot of power. If he didn't rely upon his younger sister, Marlene, as well as Canary and Mini Bubble Gum, who else could deal with the three holy sword spirits?

Anne? Yes, she was strong and had great instincts in battles. However, she possessed the wind elemental attribute and if Rhode wasn't mistaken, Dona should be a type of the berserker class, which was least afraid of violent assaults. Her beast form was even stronger than Anne's and judging from this point, it was obvious that Anne wouldn't be able to resist her power. Even if Rhode didn't assign Anne to deal with Dona, the other two holy sword spirits, Catherine and Eleanor, were also ones not to be trifled with. Anne's wind elemental attribute was definitely no match for the penetration from light and darkness attributes.

As for Lize... She only possessed some skills that she learned from Mini Bubble Gum, so he couldn't count on her too much. If Nell were here, perhaps she would be rather useful. But it was a pity that she was miles away in the Dark Region, so he couldn't rely upon her for any assistance...

Who should I pick then...?

At this thought, Rhode scanned the crowd from Canary, Bubble, Icy Snow, to Marlene, Alice, and Cassidy... He had a hard time picking out anyone.

At that moment, he spotted the cowering silhouette of a young girl from the corner of his eye. She hid behind everyone and peered out at him with wide-opened eyes. She presented an anxious and uneasy expression, and at a glance, she looked just like a shivering squirrel. Looking at this young lady, a thought cropped up in his mind. He reached out his hand and gestured to the crowd before him swiftly.

"Lapis, come here."

"Huh?!"

Upon hearing his words, not only did Lapis let out a shriek, but the others around her were also bewildered. They knew what situation Rhode had gotten into and were all wishing that he would pick them to fight alongside him. But they didn't expect him to actually choose Lapis who was seemingly the weakest among them!

"Huh? Sir, me?"

Even Lapis was in disbelief. She looked to the left and right as though she were finding the other person named 'Lapis'. Only when she confirmed that she was the only 'Lapis' did she extend her arm and point at herself in a daze, asking in uncertainty.

"That's right, you."

Looking at her reaction, Rhode didn't speak much, but ordered quickly instead. Upon hearing his command, Lapis nodded and walked out of the crowd hesitantly, before scuttling to his side and gazing at him. She eventually didn't say a word, but stood beside him docilely instead.

"Lapis...?"

Facing this decision, not only was Lapis stunned, but the rest were also flabbergasted. Even though Anne grumbled as to why he didn't select her, as she had a close relationship with Lapis, she was rather worried upon seeing Lapis being chosen.

"Can Lapis do it? Anne has never ever seen her fight. Will she be able to defeat those three strange girls?"

"I'm... not too sure either."

Facing Anne's question, Marlene and Lize exchanged puzzled looks with each other and shook their heads. Marlene and Lize spent the most time with Lapis apart from Anne. But in their impression, Lapis didn't have much experience on the battlefield. Although Rhode brought Lapis along when he sneaked into the Darkness Capital earlier, Lapis only served as a backend technician and basically didn't get the chance to fight. She normally also holed herself up in the workshop like a tech geek. Although the threats of the alchemical weapons she produced were recognized by the rest, her threats as a fighter... Not even Anne believed in her strength.

Of course, the rest surely were more confused about something that not even Anne, Marlene, and Lize understood. Even the younger sister also twitched her brows in surprise and looked at her elder brother curiously. However, she didn't say a word, but withdrew her gaze after looking at him quietly instead. She trusted her elder brother a lot. Since he had chosen Lapis for this battle, she knew that he had his reasons for it.

No matter the discussion of the crowd, Lapis was still the one standing by Rhode's side. This also astonished the other holy sword spirits. After all, they followed him for a long time and more or less knew the capabilities of this alchemical elf. Just that...

"Master, you're not sending her to her grave, right? This fool can't even defeat my demons, so what did you even pick her for? As a meat shield, huh? Well, that isn't a bad choice then. Anyway, the big sisters surely wouldn't be too vicious against her."

It was apparent that Celestina didn't think highly of Lapis. In her impression, this alchemical elf had always been the one rescued by her master and was entirely worthless. According to the sayings of demons, such a life was only meant to be used and thrown away as trash. In other words, not worthy of a mention at all.

Upon hearing Celestina's grumbles, Celia puckered her brows and instinctively tried to rebut. But the moment she opened her mouth, no words left her throat. It seemed like she also didn't have anything better to say.

As for the other partner...

"Miss Stefania, can I ask you a favor?"

After confirming his decision, Rhode turned around helplessly, gazing at the young lady who had little presence. As usual, she was donned in a black and baggy cloak, smiling and watching the bustling scene from afar. She was the plane merchant whom he met in the Seven Fantasy Boundaries, Stefania.

Ever since Rhode brought this unfortunate plane merchant, who couldn't leave this continent due to the existence of Chaos, back to Grandia on his return to the Dragon Soul Continent, most of the time Stefania was missing and no one knew what she was up to. Despite that, she did seem to adhere to the principles of being a plane merchant and never interfered with Rhode's side of things. Even in the face of trouble like Chaos, Stefania seemed to only watch the drama unfold from across the river.

But Rhode also knew that he couldn't force her to do anything. On the surface, even though it seemed like Stefania really couldn't leave, the truth was that she couldn't leave in the 'normal' way. It was just like when one couldn't find the key to the door, the door wouldn't be able to open. But on the other hand, if one were to break down the door, wouldn't the door still be opened no matter if it was unlocked by the key or broken down? However, as the risks were too huge, just like the Creator Dragons opening up the plane channel teleportation door and transmigrating, none of them knew where they would be swept to. And this was Stefania's only trouble.

She didn't belong to this world to begin with, which was why whatever happened to this world had nothing to do with her. By sticking around, she would have the chance to leave this world using a proper channel. If the Dragon Soul Continent were to fall to Chaos, she could simply open up a crack in space and leave right away; it was just that she wouldn't know where she would end up.

So there was no need for her to live and die with the Dragon Soul Continent. In that case, she also wouldn't possibly do anything to help Rhode.

This time, Rhode was left without a choice. The three of them on the other side encompassed all the major attributes of the Dragon Soul Continent. If he didn't consider the power suppression on his side, he wouldn't have many chances of winning. It was the same even for the original selves of Canary and Mini Bubble Gum because even though they came from Earth, their classes were still the native classes of the Dragon Soul Continent. Canary was an elemental mage, so it went without saying that she would be overpowered by their opponents. Meanwhile, Mini Bubble Gum didn't have it any better either. After all, she was just a cleric and would be caught off guard by the light attribute. All the spiritual spells of a cleric were also of the light attribute, so how was it possible that she wouldn't be countered? Perhaps her skill that could smash an entire army would only bring an itch to Catherine.

In order to deal with them, Rhode had to send out surprise troops that disassociated from the three main attributes of light, darkness, and elements.

In that case, Icy Snow would actually be a good fit because her time and space abilities coincidentally fell under none of the three main attributes. But unfortunately... She was one of Rhode's Phantom Guardians and wasn't available.

That was why Rhode could only do the very opposite and find someone who basically didn't participate in battles for help.

Anne and the rest didn't know what Lapis's abilities were, but Rhode knew. As a matter of fact, he didn't witness her fights before, but within the system itself, he scanned through her specializations, attributes, skills, etc. Judging from the data, he believed that Lapis would do just fine in battles.

However, Rhode never dared to send her into battle, not even in the Darkness Capital. The reason was simple. He was afraid of death. Not the death of Lapis, but if he were to be swept into her attacks, it wouldn't be worth losing his life at all.

But now... With the younger sister, he wouldn't die that easily, right?

So then, the other partner would have to be Stefania. She was just like him. They arrived at the Dragon Soul Continent from another world. Besides, according to Rhode's observations, Stefania had an odd battle style. As a solo plane merchant, she definitely had some tricks up her sleeves. Moreover, she also seemed to be almost on par with his holy sword spirits in terms of strength. With her assistance, there shouldn't be any issue. But...

"Sure, but Your Majesty Rhode, you should know that we, plane merchants, don't do business at a loss. How about this? Let me choose a young lady here to bring back with me..."

"I will need to refuse that. Name another."

What gave Rhode a headache was that Stefania was fine as a person, but she tended to be a little bothersome to handle at times. She seemed to have a special fondness for cute girls. Every time Rhode planned to make a deal with her, she made the same offer, which left him entirely helpless. Frankly speaking, if that condition of hers didn't exist, Rhode wouldn't even need to be so nervous in defending against Chaos. Stefania had everything, even Star Destroyers[1]. If Rhode could get his hands on them, what could Chaos even do to him? Chaos would undoubtedly be blasted to bits.

But if he had to exchange his harem for them... Forget it.

"In that case, how about that crystal with unlimited spiritual powers? With one of that size, I can make do with it and let you hire me for half a day. Of course, for the record, I'm only here to help you fight, Your Majesty Rhode. If you want me to go elsewhere with you for any other 'activity', you'll have to excuse me."

"... Do you have to guard against me so tightly?"

"This is Grandia, Your Majesty Rhode. I don't think anyone needs to say much about your romantic affairs."

With a plane merchant's signature and passionate smile, Stefania accepted the finger nail-sized Illusion Crystal that Rhode passed over and swept a subtle glance at the crowd. Looking at this scene, Rhode was speechless. Indeed, he had so many young ladies in his harem. It would be impossible for her to not guard against him as a woman.

But come to think of it, upon hearing Stefania's words, her harem itself also wasn't small in size...

"That is why I know exactly what you're thinking, Your Majesty Rhode."

"Ugh..."

Facing this statement from her, Rhode was at a loss for words.

No matter what, his partners were finally decided. It was just that no one understood the reasons behind his decision except for him. Stefania was a mysterious being and no one was familiar with her. As a matter of fact, she rarely showed up before everyone. She spent most of her time roaming the Dragon Soul Continent, gathering interesting and unique treasures before the continent was eliminated by Chaos. However, some had witnessed her strength in the past, which wasn't considered weak at all. As for Lapis... Would she be fine?

""Three-on-three, huh? So what are your plans, Your Majesty Rhode?"

Stepping to Rhode's other side, Stefania asked casually. It seemed like she didn't regard the three holy sword spirits highly at all.

"Choose your opponent first."

"In that case, I shall pick the angel lady. Also for the sake of nostalgia."

"Nostalgia?"

"Yes, her name is similar to someone I once met who was also an angel. But... Sigh, the thought of it breaks my heart. I wonder how she's doing nowadays. Miss Caroline was a really difficult master to work for."

While Stefania sounded completely incomprehensible, she reached out her fair, jade-like right hand, turned it gently, and lowered it back into her pitch-black robe.

"What about me, Sir Rhode?"

Lapis gazed at Rhode with some anxiousness and asked softly. Facing her question, Rhode pondered and as if with great determination, he spoke.

"I will lure the attention of the remaining two. Then... Fight all you want. Protect yourself and remember to attack with all you've got and don't worry about anything else, got it? It doesn't matter even if it hurts us, so just use your strongest attacks!"

It wasn't too challenging for Rhode to take on two opponents alone. Even though he didn't know what fighting styles Eleanor and Dona had, he was a veteran player, after all. After looking briefly at their clothes and equipment, he guessed their fighting styles pretty much to a tee. Even if he took both of them alone, he was confident that he wouldn't lose.

"Will it be alright, Your Majesty Rhode?"

Upon hearing his words, even Stefania was a little surprised. Facing her question, Rhode nodded sternly.

"Don't worry, Stefania. Lapis will do just fine... You need to be careful too. And watch out for their attacks."

"... Okay then."

Stefania knitted her brows dubiously. She felt like there was another meaning to his sentence. But she didn't read too much into it and nodded instead.

Then, under Rhode's lead, the trio stood before the three holy sword spirits.

The dagger in his hand was the one that Lapis gave him for self defense. Even though he could also summon card spirits in this battle, the holy sword cards were unavailable and he didn't have any more handy weapons in his possession. He wouldn't go into battle empty-handed because without a weapon, his battle strength would be weakened by half.

On the other hand, Stefania displayed a warm smile beside him. She was as calm as usual as if she didn't regard this battle highly at all. Meanwhile, Lapis hid behind them. According to Rhode, he and Stefania were going to be the main tankers of the battle, and were also in charge of luring the opponents' attention while Lapis only had to focus on attacking... Although Rhode's description sounded a little odd to her, she understood what he meant.

... I just have to fight with my all, huh?

At that moment, only the three holy sword spirits, Rhode, Stefania, and Lapis occupied the entire plaza. The others had already stepped far away. In an instant, the atmosphere became heavy and serious. However, Karin swept a glance and announced as though she didn't notice the change in the atmosphere.

"Alright then, let's begin."

As soon as she announced, the dagger in Rhode's hand unleashed its power as he dashed forward and struck at the Grim Reaper, Eleanor!

[1] Capital ships in the fictional Star Wars universe.