Chapter 448: Undead Keeper
There wasn't a single sound along the quiet corridor.
Rhode sighed at the sight of the corpses because he heard that clearing this mission according to the mission flow would be easier. Now, it seemed that it wasn't only easier, it was extremely easy!
In the game, when Rhode's group first arrived at Castel Plateau Ruins without the 'equipment' from the chamber, their experience told them that this dungeon was between the range of level 55 to level 60. It was too difficult to handle the never-ending stream of undead creatures and Constructs and if it were another player group, they definitely couldn't eliminate them. After receiving the 'equipment' from the chamber, it seemed that this dungeon was filled with creatures at only about level 50. Furthermore, the Construct Guards fought against the undead creatures in their respective areas. Without a doubt, there was still an abundance of undead creatures roaming around; however, this was considered very little compared to the never-ending swarm of them. Rhode thought that there would be similar ambushes from the undead creatures like before. In the end, they had traveled all the way from the central area to the administrative district and didn't meet any attacks of a large scale. What remained were very ordinary undead creatures which normal player groups could defeat... This finally cleared a doubt that had been on Rhode's mind. Initially, when Rhode reclaimed the Castel Plateau Ruins in the game, they received high-level equipment. However, ever since the other players cleared the Castel Plateau Ruins, Rhode wasn't able to obtain equally high-level equipment. It seemed that due to the difference in levels and difficulties, the dungeon had a different range of equipment drops.
A Castel Plateau Ruins without its defense system activated wasn't able to threaten Rhode. And now, this Castel Plateau Ruins with a lowered difficulty all the more wouldn't pose any difficulty to Rhode at all. The undead creatures had lessened and Rhode wasn't by himself. Anne advanced with her shield on hand while Celia and Celestina followed behind her closely. Every time Anne crushed the undead creatures, Celia and Celestina would eliminate these chaotic creatures immediately without leaving any remains. On the other hand, Rhode walked leisurely as though he were strolling in the windy spring weather because apart from casting Taboo Halo and Soul Territory occasionally, he didn't need to do anything. Gillian follows suit as she chatted wittily with Rhode. However, this wasn't because Gillian was lazing around. Instead, Rhode stopped her from attacking as a safety precaution. After all, the Necromancer was the most difficult target in this entire Castel Plateau Ruins.
However, on the other hand, it was a totally different scenery for some others.
"This... This..." Metzel widened his eyes in disbelief.
Although this mercenary team captain had decided to move on to search for his companions, he knew that he wasn't capable of dealing with the undead creatures by himself. Even though he had mentally prepared himself for possible death, this scene still exceeded his expectations.
Anne was fearless as hundreds of undead creatures presented themselves before her. It was as though the young lady had found rare treasures every time she encountered these disgusting creatures as she bounced forward. Metzel was concerned for this adorable young lady who leaped into the swarm of undead creatures by herself. But Metzel realized that his worries were totally unnecessary.
Every time Anne darted towards the creatures, it felt as though she were a gigantic boulder crashing from the mountains. All Metzel heard was a loud bang and the undead creatures were blasted away. Then, the angelic and demonic young ladies would charge forward while flapping their contrasting wings. In the blink of an eye, the undead creatures were wiped out cleanly.
"So powerful..." Shirley couldn't help but mumble as Anne once again charged into the undead creatures.
Although this Ranger slapped Metzel furiously for his foolish decision, she eventually stayed to support him. At this point, Shirley and Metzel were equally flabbergasted. After all, they were still inexperienced mercenaries compared to Rhode's group, which belonged in the ranks of the guilds. Furthermore, even though these mercenaries knew about Rhode's Starlight. as they also hailed from Paphield, they didn't expect Rhode's guild to be this powerful. In addition to Rhode and Gillian, there were only five of them, but the five of them had defeated more than a thousand undead creatures together! Oh lord, are we dreaming? Or are the guilds really this powerful?
Although Metzel could argue that Rhode had the help of an Angel like Celia, his group was defeated miserably even when they had Delno with them. When they detected the trap that they were about to fall into in the central area, they had considered massacring their way out of the underground city. But their strength wasn't enough to allow them to, which they were eventually trapped by the undead creatures. On the other hand, the three of them fought the undead creatures so comfortably as though their enemies were just ordinary wild monsters.
Delno was equally astonished. However, he wasn't astounded by the strength of Rhode's group. Instead, this tall and sturdy Battle Angel had been dumbfounded ever since he heard Celia addressing Celestina as "Sister". Perhaps as humans, Metzel and Shirley would feel curious about the relationship between Celia and Celestina. However, for a Battle Angel like Delno, this came as a bolt from the blue because he had never thought that he would ever see an Angel and an evil Demon addressing one another this intimately.
Could it be that she is a fake Battle Angel? This possibility was excluded because Delno had seen for himself the Divine Judgement that Celia had cast. That was definitely a Battle Angel's technique and it was impossible for a Demon to possess such powerful holy powers. But if she is really a true Battle Angel, why didn't she eliminate the evil Demon?
He shifted his attention to Rhode. Although this man never attacked even once ever since they had met, Delno realized that both Celia and the evil demon were addressing him as "Master"... What exactly is going on? Demons are always proud and mighty, so how is it possible for her to acknowledge a human as her master? As for the Battle Angel, shouldn't her master be the Light Dragon? Why did she abandon her beliefs to devote herself to a human?
What is so worthy of this human for them to do this?
Almost there.
Rhode gazed at the ruins before him and advanced according to his memories — The remains of the undead creatures and Construct Guards were getting lesser, which meant that they were getting closer to their destination. However, this wasn't the problem Rhode was worrying about.
As he scanned both sides of the dilapidated buildings, a few deep crashes sounded out of the blue.
Boom! The resounding crashes echoed throughout the quiet city ruins. Anne hurriedly erected her shield and began to scan the surroundings vigilantly. Celia readied her sword for the incoming enemies while Celestina squinted with a nonchalant attitude.
As Anne was about to charge forward, suddenly, a hand pressed down on her shoulder. The young lady turned around curiously to find Rhode beside her.
"Leave this to me, Anne." Rhode drew out his twin daggers.
At this moment, a gigantic figure emerged from behind the buildings slowly.
This is...
Facing this terrifying monster, even Anne held her breath. This large monster was three meters tall, with an obese body made with countless corpses. As the monster turned over, its two skulls exposing revolting, scorched brains. The muscles on its face contracted along with the movement. Meanwhile, its four thick, enormous arms each held a heavy sword while repulsive green liquid oozed from its body.
"W-What is this thing, Leader?" Anne exclaimed.
"That's an Undead Keeper. We're getting closer to our destination." Rhode stepped forward while lifting his chin at the monster before him. "Anne, leave this to me."