Chapter 330: Aftershocks

That was the end of the match.

From the beginning to the end, not even twenty minutes had passed. This seemed to be the shortest match in the long history of the Midsummer Festival. However, this time, the audiences did not complain as they did before. Instead, they excitedly left the holy arena as they discussed today's match.

Although from the first day of the Midsummer Festival til today, there were a lot of good matches, but none were comparable to today's match. Not only did they see Barter, the leader of Purple Lily, display his full power, they also saw that young man's true strength. All of this made them awestruck. Just a day before, people were gossiping about Starlight's victory against Sky Sword being pure luck instantly changed their view. Most of the experienced swordsmen and mercenaries among the audiences understood and saw the strength differences between the two. So, from their point of view, since Rhode was able to beat Barter without any injuries in just one hit, his strength probably had almost reached the legendary level or had even already reached the legendary level.

As soon as this statement was spread, everyone was shocked. The people who lived in Golden City weren't ignorant villagers. Naturally, they knew what a legendary level meant. At this time, Starlight's reputation had kept increasing. Barter's strength was known as one of the strongest among the four major guilds. Of course, he was only considered one of them because Rosen still existed. Although it had been a long time since Rosen appeared in the mercenary world, everyone had still heard of him. 'Rosen, the Berserker' was a name not only well-known in the Munn Kingdom, but almost the entire Dragon Soul Continent.

Originally, many people thought that the last battle would be the most worthwhile. The strongest warrior among the younger generation, Barter, vs. Rosen, who had enjoyed his fame for long. This battle would determine who was the strongest warrior in the Munn Kingdom. But now, another person suddenly appeared and abruptly changed the outcome.

However, they weren't disappointed with the current outcome. To the contrary, they really looked forward to seeing it and felt really excited. After all, compared to Barter, who had been known for years, this young man was obviously more attractive and was a better gimmick. Although there were no reporters in this world, a human was born with the instinct to gossip; there was no need to provoke them into doing so.

They were currently guessing Rhode's real identity. No matter what, it was impossible for this young man to be an ordinary mercenary. He seemed to be just in his early 20s, but the fact he was able to reach a legendary level at that age meant that his identity wasn't simple.

Some people who speculated that he might be from an ancient noble family that came to Golden City for something. Perhaps, after the Midsummer Festival, the major authority and power holder in the Golden City would change once again. There were also some people who thought that he was the disciple of a legendary master that came out to travel and see the world. Otherwise, with such a powerful force, why did he choose to form a mercenary group? There was an even more ridiculous rumor that said that Rhode was the guardian of Lydia and might even be her fiancé. It was not hard to understand; the fact that Lydia liked beautiful things was known to everyone. Rhode's beautiful face was enough to be the talk of the town, and now he actually had legendary level strength. These talks had escalated to another level.

Everyone had their own ideas. Now that the battle was over, they couldn't wait to find someone to share their opinions with. Because of this, no one felt disappointed that the match had ended early. To the contrary, they felt really fortunate because it would give them enough time to talk about and speculate what they had just seen. According to the usual schedule, the match would have lasted at least until noon, and by then, there would be less than two or three hours for them to talk before the group battle started. Obviously, the time was not enough for them to talk about this topic. Now that everyone had left the field, naturally, they also didn't have to wait any longer and could leave immediately.

"Really interesting."

In the crowd, Waltz frowned as he looked at Rhode figure, which had already disappeared. Currently, his mood was not good at all.

Of course it wasn't good. The fact that Mobis had lost in the previous battle was already embarrassing enough for the reformist party. The reason he came here to check on Barter was to find out whether he would be a threat to the reformist party. He didn't expect that he would actually encounter a bigger threat.

Legendary level.

Thinking until here, Waltz shifted his gaze towards the old man beside him. He also wasn't clear what level Rosen had reached. He had reached the peak of master level swordsman when he retired, so he should have reached legendary level too. He was also clear that although there was only a one level gap between the master level and legendary level, the gap was like unreachable sky. There were a lot of swordmasters who were unable to surpass that gap in their entire life. Although when one reached the master level, they would be able to live up to hundreds years of age, even they used their whole life, they would still be unable to overcome it.

That's why Waltz was also unclear of whether Rosen had reached the legendary level or not. Out of courtesy, he chose not to ask this question. Since Rosen had a strange personality, it was not wise to provoke him. Although he was a loyal reformist, his beliefs were quite different from the current reformists due to his age. Those reformist nobles knew that they couldn't win over Lydia's authority. Therefore, they tried to use the power of the Country of Light in order to achieve their goals. However, Rosen always scoffed about this. He didn't trust the Country of Light, and he only wanted to gain more authority through the reformist party. It was also the foundation of reformism. They wanted to overthrow the current system and create a whole new country like the Country of Light, where they could have their own liberty. But now, their fear and weakness had overwhelmed their desire for power. They were now more like a slave of the Country of Light, where they felt content receiving their leftovers.

This was naturally intolerable to Rosen. In his point of view, the weak actions of the reformists had tarnished the ideals they had originally created. One person was not supposed to determine the fate of a country—everyone should decide together. But now, these garbages had abandoned their ideals and turned their heads to ask for the Parliament for protection? How was this different from asking them to surrender in front of that cocky little girl?

In the end, they still couldn't become the master of their own lives.

Although Rosen was rather dissatisfied with the softening side of the reformists, under the plea of ​the reformers, he still showed up in the end. He knew very well what this Midsummer Festival meant for the reformists. If they lost here, then it meant they lost everything. That moody Archangel was likely going to take this opportunity to thoroughly uproot the reformist party and this was something that Rosen couldn't tolerate. Even if the reformists were weak and incompetent, but it was once and is still his ideal. As long as the reformist still existed, he believed that there would be someone competent in the future. Even if this was a barren mountain, as long as the rain arrived, green grasses would grow.

That's why Rosen eventually came here.

"Mr. Rosen, it seems like we have encountered a strong enemy."

Waltz clenched his teeth and said. He did not really pay attention to when Mobis was defeated. After all, Mobis only knew how to play petty tricks and his strength was the worst among them. So it was not really surprising that he was defeated. At that time, Waltz was only a bit surprised to see Rhode's strength, but he still felt that it was only so-so. As Viktor had thought before, people like Rhode could be seen everywhere. Only small unnamed nobles would be scared off by a swordmaster in his early twenties. In his eyes, he was just a gem of a slightly better texture.

But it was a completely different story when the gem turned out to be a diamond.

Legendary level.

Thinking of this, Waltz could not help but finally understand why that young man had actually dared to threaten him in the public. With his strength, surely it was not a difficult thing for him to kill Waltz at that time. Luckily, his luck wasn't bad... But what should he do next? Should he just gamble?

Not only that, judging from his actions, he seemed to be a part of the King's party. This could be a big problem. A strong legendary level warrior. Even the Country of Light wouldn't dare to provoke him upfront. Did the heavens really want to destroy the reformists?

These past two days, unlucky things kept happening one after the other. That b*stard Edward was also missing. At first, he wanted to send someone to find him. But now, it seemed like there were no other ways besides reporting it now... Ah what have I done? Why do bad things keep happening to me?

Thinking of this, Waltz bit his teeth and wanted to say something more, but Rosen sat beside him suddenly stood up.

"Hmph, interesting."

He only said this sentence, then he walked towards the exit, leaving Waltz sitting still. Seeing Rosen's figure, he did not know what to say. Interesting? What does this mean? Is he sure? Or not sure? At least give me a more reassuring answer!

Forget it, he couldn't rely on Rosen too much.

Thinking until here, Waltz shook his head. He also stood up, looking towards the empty passage.

It seems like I can only rely on myself to solve it.

Thump!!

Rhode fell to the ground. The cold arena was filled with blood. Beside him, Lize and Lapis were rushing to help him.

"Mr. Rhode, Mr. Rhode, are you okay??"

"Sir Guardian, are you still alive?!"

It's no wonder that the both of them were so flustered. After he walked down from the ring, he immediately fell to the ground. Everyone saw that blood kept spewing out of his mouth without any end. His eyes, nose, and ears were also bleeding. This scene made everyone look pale. Lapis was scared and almost fainted. Fortunately, Lize reacted in a timely manner and quickly reached out to cast several healing spells on Rhode and managed to stabilize his injury.

"Sigh... don't worry, he won't die."

After he vomited turbid things that condensed into black blood clots, he finally felt a lot better. The Self-breakthrough ability was really crazy; just now, he thought he would really die like this. Forcibly increasing his level was more than what his body could endure. He could even feel that all of his internal organs had been injured. If he were in his previous world, he would have died if he wasn't sent to the hospital as soon as possible. He could have even died after being sent to the hospital and could only give in to fate. However, in this world, the Cleric healing ability was stronger than hospitals in his former world.

In fact, if it wasn't because he was forcing himself to suppress the injury and let the side effect occur immediately after the [Self-breakthrough] effect disappeared, his injury would not be so serious. But Rhode did not do that. He was keenly aware of the gazes among the audience. He didn't want to reveal his weak side in front of his enemies.

"Cough cough..."

Although Lize's current spiritual skill had also improved following the improvement of her level, but the effect of her healing spell was not very good. Rhode could still feel the blood in his internal organs condensing into blood clots, which made him feel uncomfortable and want to spit out the dirty stuff. Well, it was still much better than death.

Anne looked unusual. She put her hands on her chest and her face was extremely pale. She still jokingly hit Rhode's body and complained that he had stolen her chance to fight, but she didn't expect that he would have such a reaction. Anne stood there and didn't know what to say. She only stared blankly at Rhode, who was accepting Lize's treatment, while next to her, Lapis was desperately trying to help him wiped off the blood with a handkerchief. On the other hand, she couldn't do anything.

It wasn't only Anne—even Randolf and Joey were scared. Rhode had always been indifferent in front of them. They never thought that there would be a day where this young man would actually be injured. Holy Spirit, when he killed that demon, he wasn't even injured.

Is that person so powerful?

"Sigh... I'm okay, thank you."

Rhode stretched out his hand and wiped off the blood on the corner of his mouth, then he drank the healing potion Lapis handed him. The cold and sweet syrup instantly flowed through his body along with the effects of the healing magic. He stood up and felt a little bit dizzy; at this moment, Lize hurriedly moved forward to support him.

"You need to rest, Mr. Rhode!"

"Don't worry, it's just a small injury."

Looking at Lize who was concerned, Rhode patted her shoulder and comforted her. He could feel that his body was recovering very quickly. If everything went well, he should be restored to his original state by tomorrow morning.

Rhode's understatement made Randolf and Joey feel in awe. A small injury? He was bleeding everywhere but still said they were minor injuries? Our leader is really not a human ah...

However, now Rhode's skepticism towards the [Self-breakthrough] skill was getting higher and higher. The reason he used the Composition Adornment at first was to complement his swordsmanship, so he only noticed [Spatial Displacement]. As for [Self-breakthrough], he only kind of guessed the skill effect, but never really experienced it. It was a passive skill and could only be triggered once the requirements had been met. There was no one in Deep Stone City that could give him 50% damage. But after using this skill for the first time, Rhode felt that [Self-breakthrough] was a more powerful skill than the [Spatial Displacement]. But according to the Composition Adornment characteristics, his vitality was even higher than the agility that he had worked hard to increase. And not just a little higher?

As the former leader of a player's guild, Rhode naturally also knew about MT attributes and gears. Although he was responsible for the damage, he certainly had to understand the attributes and skills of other players. The vitality of MTs was very high. However, even among them, no one once possessed skills such as [Self-breakthrough]. After all, this skill was too OP. If the game really had such a skill, then an MT only needed to strike the boss once and could immediately kill the boss afterward, letting the healer restore his HP back. If such a cheat-like ability existed in the game, it was impossible for him to not have any news about it at all.

So there were only two possibilities. Either his vitality had exceeded the vitality of all the MTs in the game, or this skill had never existed in the game. Although both were possible, but...

They didn't make any sense!

Thinking of this, Rhode couldn't help but cry inside. He wondered if it was really alright for him to choose agility when he first advanced. However, this idea quickly flashed through his mind. He didn't regret his choice. After all, even if he had a strong vitality, he still wasn't good at MT-like melee combat. It was not the battle mode he was familiar with and good at.

Even so, Rhode could not help but wonder; if he had chosen to strengthen his vitality, would he have gotten an even more abnormal skill than [Self-breakthrough]?

After a moment, he finally felt relieved. Even though he felt powerless right now, but at least it was not as severe as before, where he couldn't even stand still.

After that, Rhode wore a cloak to cover the blood on his body and gestured everyone to leave.

"Alright, let's go."

"Go?"

Hearing these words, Lize was stunned.

"Mr. Rhode, you should rest a little more..."

"No, we have to go back quickly. I have something to do."

Rhode frowned. His thought drifted back to the pair of shameless people in the prison guarded by Gillian. That man's identity wasn't ordinary; he should have gotten enough information from him. If he delayed it and the other party noticed something was wrong, then he would be in a big trouble.