Chapter 177: Strange Premonition

Until the ship finally landed, Rhode felt a strange feeling.

He didn't know why, but he had a bad feeling ever since the floating ship departed. It was different from a life or death situation—it felt more like the uneasiness a student felt due to the anxiety of maybe having a pop quiz tomorrow.

Rhode wasn't a person who believed in intuition. He prefered to obtain information by analyzing the status quo. He believed that so-called intuition was simply nonsense. The reason why human reacted to this was merely because their brain was unconsciously analyzing past memories and coming to the conclusion. For example, a person who once saw an airplane suddenly explode would inadvertently scanned an airplane's wings before boarding it. If there was a damaged, even if he didn't notice it, his brain would reach the conclusion that the airplane might be dangerous, and so the body responded by reminding the brain that there's danger. If he carefully recalled the circumstances, he might have been able to find the source of this feeling. However, the body's response was not necessarily correct. Solely relying on intuition was a very dangerous thing. After all, intuition was a judgement people made unconsciously and was not the result of rational thinking.

That's why, unlike Anne, Rhode only used his intuition as a reference when making a judgement rather than relying on it entirely. He thought that there might have been something wrong with the ship or they might encounter a sudden attack just like before. But it was completely different from what Rhode has imagined. The Fly Air was sailing smoothly, without any potential threats or attacks. The wind was fast, and the sun hadn't gone down yet when they arrived. No matter from what point of view, this was definitely considered smooth sailing.

However, where did the inexplicable uneasiness come from?

He turned around to look at the Fly Air before him and shook his head, trying to toss this matter aside. Human beings were intelligent creatures; they should rely on their intelligence to find the answer rather than relying on unclear instincts to live. However, not everyone would agree with him.

"Leader, Anne is hungry..."

Standing on Rhode's side, Anne looked at him pitifully while pulling at his clothes. She blinked, showing a begging look.

"... If I remember correctly, you just ate two hours ago, right?"

Rhode lost his appetite whenever he remembered that meal. He had never expected that seeing a person eat would be that disgusting. It wasn't not because the way Anne ate was unpleasing to the eye. Her way of eating was indeed a little bold, but it was almost the same as other mercenaries. However, the amount she ate was totally unbearable. The first class cabin came with unlimited food, so Anne didn't have to limit her intake like she usually did in the stronghold. However, Rhode did underestimate her stomach; while Anne was eating steak, Rhode had also felt a little bit hungry, but when she ate the 30th plate, then 31st plate, Rhode finally couldn't take it anymore... He looked at the huge pile of bones and the plates beside her. There had seemed to be about 20 pieces of grilled meat steak there. Rhode couldn't help but shifted his gaze toward the scenery outside. When he imagined such a pile of food was brought into his stomach, he couldn't help but want to vomit... According to the earthly way of saying it, he was scared to eat.

Looking at Anne now, beside being speechless, he also thought about the feast from two hours ago. It was better not to think about it anymore; if he thought about it once more, he might not be able to eat his dinner.

"But..."

Anne knew, but she still bit her finger and look at him pitifully.

"You've eaten a total of 50 steaks; where have they gone to?"

Having said that, Rhode looked at her slender, flat belly. He asked this question with a very scientific attitude. Those weren't small dumplings—they were palm-sized steaks.... There wasn't the slightest sign of fat on her belly; did it work like a Doraemon 4D Pocket?

More importantly, she was still hungry?

Seeing the way Rhode looked at her, Anne only stuck her tongue out. She no longer said anything, but clearly hadn't given up yet.

However, Rhode didn't seem to want to answer her question anymore.

"Let's find an inn now and depart in the next morning."

Although Deep Stone City was located in central Paphield, it was not a lively town. On the contrary, it was a quiet and remote place. The products here weren't too good; the only thing worth mentioning was their wine. Looking for an inn in this kind of quiet, small city wasn't too difficult.

When Rhode entered a tavern, it was really crowded inside. The people who finished working were sitting at a table, enjoying the food and wine. Commoners sat in the corner laughing loudly while the adventurers sat on the counter while whispering to each other.

Rhode and Anne arrival's attracted the attention of many people. Most people didn't focused on Rhode, who was wrapped in a cloak. Instead, they seemed to enjoy Anne's arrival. After seeing this beautiful girl, there was a hint of a smile on their faces. They raised their glasses and invited her to drink. There were even people whistling nearby, trying to get her attention.

If it were Marlene, she would have already taught them a lesson for being disrespectful toward her. As for Lize, she would have acted like she didn't hear anything and try to escape from this situation as soon as possible. However, Anne, apparently, was different from them. Seeing the strangers who welcomed her, she responded very enthusiastically, just like an idol participating in a fan meeting.

"Yeah... Hello everyone, hahaha. Anne's name? Anne's name is Anne. Uncle, you want to invite Anne for a drink? Hahaha, you can't, the sun hasn't even set yet; drinking is no good..."

Following Rhode all the way to the counter, Anne looked very familiar with the people around her and chatted for a while. The people were also entertained by her and laughed. Of course, they didn't actually have any bad intentions from the start; they were just simply drinking and having fun. Moreover, these people were also unthreatening to her. Otherwise, she wouldn't have reacted this way.

Soon, two seats in front of the counter were reserved for them. Rhode sat and politely greeted the adventurer beside him by nodding his head, then smoothly placed a gold coin on the counter.

"Two rooms, two more glasses of wine, and lastly..." Having said that, Rhode looked toward Anne, who stood not far from him, and shook his head. "Give that young lady a dinner."

"Okay sir, please wait!"

After taking out the gold coin, the owner showed a warm smile. He greeted Rhode attentively and quickly leave. Anne had also come to Rhode's side. She sat down and smiled, then she stretched her left hand to put the gold shield down on the ground.

Boom!

The ground shook, the sound making the entire tavern quiet for a moment. People looked at each other, not knowing where the sound came from. The adventures who intended to take this opportunity to strike up a conversation with this beautiful girl immediately turned around and ran away. They were not blind, of course; they could see the fine gold shield beside her. They definitely wouldn't be able to move that thing, but the girl in front of them single-handedly placed it beside her... Right now, they knew what it meant for no rose to come without thorns.

Seeing their reactions, Rhode only laughed in his heart. He wasn't the kind of person who like to attract attention, but clearly, Anne was good at dealing with this kind of situation. If it were Marlene, she might have argued with them. Since she was a noble, she would feel disgusted with commoners trying to flirt with her, which made her think that they actually regarded her as one of the tavern's dancers. That would be very insulting to her. However, Anne obviously didn't think so; she always felt that it wasn't a bad thing for everyone to be friendly with each other. She had always been a friendly and fun person, and also liked to take part in others conversation. Her action would often reduce potential enemies to them, and seeing that those guests didn't look at them with scrutinizing attitude like before, it meant that Anne's approach was very effective.

"The wine is coming." The owner's attitude was also very friendly, since they both paid satisfactorily and didn't cause any trouble.

Seeing the sweet, fragrant toast and honey in front of her, Anne screamed excitedly and stretched out her hands immediately. Rhode could only look at her eat and feel helpless about it. He picked up a glass of sweet wine and drank it, then said, "Owner, I want to ask you a question."

"Can I help you?" The owner busily picked up the remaining jugs from other guests while responding to Rhode's question.

"It's like this." Having said that, Rhode paused to consider his wording, then continued. "As you've seen, we are both adventurers. Currently, we're planning to go to the Black Pine Ruins; do you have any suggestions for us?"

"Black Pine Ruins?" Hearing Rhode's words, the owner frowned and rubbed his chin. After thinking for a while he nodded and said, "Hm... It's been so long since someone went to the Black Pine Ruins. I don't really know the exact situation, but I heard that two days ago, there was a mercenary group that went there."

"Oh?" Hearing until here, Rhode furrowed his brow.

"Mercenary group? Do you which mercenary group?"

"I'm not sure about that, but they're not from here. They came from White Mountain City, far from here." The owner spread out his hands, shook his head helplessly, smiled, and apologized to Rhode. "I'm sorry I couldn't answer your question, but please be careful. Because I served them before, and they didn't look like good people. The girl beside you is very beautiful, and I'm afraid it will lead to trouble should you run into them."

"I'll be careful; thank you for your reminder." Hearing the owner's words, Rhode nodded and finished his glass of wine.

"I hope you can prepare more food for this young lady and give us hot water. We've been journeying for an entire day, so we want to have a bath..."

"Of course! No problem, dear distinguished guest. We assure you that we'll give you the best service."

Hearing Rhode's order, the owner straightened his chest and said proudly. Rhode also no longer said anything. He stood up and planned to leave, when he suddenly saw a young adventurer walking toward him, warmly smiling.

"I'm sorry; I've overheard your conversation just now. You want to go to Black Pine Ruins?"

"That's right."

"Then..." Hearing Rhode's answer, the young man smiled with excitement.

"Do you want to go with us?"