Chapter 170: Sending the Goods Over

Rhode closed the door and tidied up his clothes, turning around to look at Sereck. Sereck looked at Rhode and smiled bitterly. Behind the door, a person's angry shouts and smashing sounds could be heard.

"Don't you think that's too much, Rhode?" Sereck shook his head.

"No matter what, this..."

"Well, Mr. Sereck, you don't have to play the victim here. I know that the Mercenary Association doesn't really care about this." Rhode waved his hand. "My request isn't too much, right? Even the President accepted it. I think it's also not much of a burden for you. Indeed, if the HQ abolished the quota for a mercenary guild in the Paphield area, it will be troublesome, but it's not really too serious right..."

Although this matter was really serious in reality, but Rhode still acted as if he didn't really care much about it. Letting the opponent know his limit in the middle of negotiation wasn't really something smart.

"Alright, I won't say anymore." Seeing Rhode's firm attitude, Sereck also didn't continue to say anything. "About the people that you requested for, I will help you ask them. But I need to tell you first that I cannot make the decision: they will decide it for themselves. That's right, since yours member still aren't enough, do you have any other plan?"

"Let's just see what will happen." About this problem, Rhode still hadn't found a way to solve it. There weren't many talented NPCs in Deep Stone City, and especially ones that could be hired by a player. In the Paphield area, there were some NPCs who weren't too bad, but to make them follow him wasn't going to be easy. In the game, a player must complete the quest from an NPC to make the NPC follow the player and the time spent on the quest also wasn't short. Especially in reality now, just how much time did he need to waste? Even looking for the NPC itself was already a problem. Now, he only had 2 months time; not only did he need to recruit people, he also needed to train them. Just like in a PVP battle, the player need to go through more than ten battles to become familiar with it. It was basically impossible for a newly joined member to get familiar with the entire group immediately. Fortunately, the skills they used weren't complicated like a player's, which was very complicated as everyone's skill and talent was different. This would at least give him the advantage of being able to judge the opponent in the battle.

"If you don't mind, I can help you find some other mercenaries. They were forcefully dissolved before, and are now is still in the prohibition period, but haven't found any suitable members yet. I don't think they're not too bad; actually, they're quite strong. If you want, I can help you contact them."

"No problem, but I need those four Clerics now."

"Now?" Hearing Rhode's answer, Sereck was a bit surprised. He carefully observed him then said. "Mr. Rhode, forgive me for saying this, but the girls in our Mercenary Association are still very pure; I hope you won't think about anything improper. About this matter, I can't help you out, you know? Moreover, the girls around you should already be enough, right?"

"I need them to help me heal someone." Rhode didn't want to say more to Sereck, so he directly stated his purpose. "She has a very heavy injury and it's difficult for Lize to heal her alone, so I hope they also can examine her."

"Oh?" Hearing until here, Sereck was a little bit surprised, after which he quickly nodded without hesitation. "No problem, I'll let them prepare and go now."

The four Clerics didn't reject his invitation. After the previous battle, they already had a good impression of him. After Rhode said he needed their help, they quickly agreed. They packed their belongings and followed Rhode to the Starlight stronghold.

Just like the other Starlight members, the four girls were surprised after seeing Christie. They thought that Christie and Rhode had some sort of relationship. However, as a Cleric from Mercenary Association, they behaved professionally and didn't ask Rhode any questions. Quickly, they began to help heal Christie with Lize.

"Christie is going to be okay, right?" Standing in front of the entrance, Marlene uneasily looked at Christie while tightly clenching her hand by the wooden door. She frowned and said.

"There should be no problem." Rhode didn't say anything more and only frowned. He began to think about some things. Honestly, the Old President really brought him a big problem. In his opinion, in the entire Starlight mercenary group, the only one qualified to fight with a mercenary guild's elite group was Marlene. But she still lacked experience. Mercenaries weren't like knights, who cared more about their pride more than their life. Some of them would show an embarrassing part of their body in order to attract the opponent's attention. Rhode could be sure that if Marlene's opponent suddenly took off his pants in front of her, Marlene definitely wouldn't know what to do.

As for Lize, although she was considered an elite in support, she was still lacking experience in battle. This was the reason why Lize's personality was a bit soft. Moreover, it was also difficult for a Cleric to win a PVP battle...

Anne's quality and talent weren't bad, but as a defender, she wouldn't be able to utilize her role as defender in a PVP battle. Shauna had enough experience, but due to the gap in strength, she couldn't really do much. As for Randolf and Joey... Sigh, those two. Even though it had just been two years since they became mercenaries and they could beat a group of undead creatures, it was still impossible for them to beat an elite group with just ten years of experience.

Thinking until here, Rhode felt that it was impossible for him to win the Midsummer Festival competition with the people around him. Although there was no problem for him, with these subordinates, he would still lose... Should he look for a mission to fight some mountain bandits to let them experience the cruel side of humans?

If not, then Rhode could only rely on himself to solve these problem. The summoned spirits could still be of some help. But it still made Rhode quite disappointed with his own teammates because he had worked very hard to create the mercenary group and didn't only do it for show. If it was only for that, he wouldn't have created it in the first place.

On the other hand, this matter was also a test for him. If the mercenary group could cross swords with figures at the level of elites, it would be very favorable for their growth. Rhode didn't want them to show off their skills; it was best to pretend to be a pig to prey on a tiger. There was no problem in them losing a little in the beginning; as long as they gathered enough experience, there would still be a chance to get back in the future.

"You seem to be troubled, Mr. Rhode." Marlene looked at Rhode with a worried expression. She hesitated for a little then said.

"A little. We will face a big problem after this... but saying it right now is meaningless. I will prepare for everything. Don't you want to go to rest, Ms. Marlene?"

"There's no need." Hearing Rhode's inquiry, Marlene only shook her head. She turned around and continued to look toward the wooden door.

"I'll wait here."

"Where's Anne?"

"She's in the kitchen. She said that she wanted to cook something delicious for Christie, but I think she'll help herself first..."

When the two of them were talking, Shauna walked toward them, paid respect to Rhode, and then said. "Report, Sir. Mr. Sereck has arrived with three people."

"Eh?" Hearing Shauna's report, Rhode curiously frowned.

"Who?"

"They're all leaders of a mercenary group. According to Sereck, they seemed to want to join your mercenary group."

"Is that so..." Hearing until here, Rhode nodded and patted Marlene on the shoulder. After that, he followed Shauna downstairs.

When they arrived at the hall, Rhode could see Sereck with three fully-armored men.

One of the men attracted Rhode's attention.

He was burly and almost 2 meters tall. From afar, he looked like an iron tower. His skin was tan and he had a bright smile. He was laughing loudly with Sereck beside him, unlike the other two men beside him. He was wearing a heavy armor, and behind him was a huge, two-handed sword. He was chatting with Sereck happily, as if he didn't care about what would happen next.

The other two mercenaries also has their own unique characteristics. One of them was aplump middle-aged man, listening to Sereck and the other mercenary's conversation. His white face looked more like a merchant than a mercenary. But even so, Rhode could tell his true strength from the fluttering dagger in his fingers. The other had a serious expression on his face. His posture was straight and he was looking forward. It could be seen that he was of military origin and had received formal military training.

It seemed Sereck really put in a lot of effort.

Thinking until here, Rhode's eyes narrowed. He was calculating something inside his heart.