Chapter Thirty-Four: The Appraisal Comes to an End

  What is this thing?!

  Serac was shocked in his heart, he asked himself that his swordsmanship barrier had no problem, but this green light shadow came directly from the smallest gap, and Serac had to choose to put away his sword and block it with his body. At the same time as he withdrew his sword, the Soul Bird spread its wings and flew towards him, hitting him squarely on the chest.

  BOOM!!!

  A fierce gust of wind suddenly rose, and the surrounding mercenaries were unable to withstand the raging storm and retreated in disarray. Even Serrek stumbled back, although the Soul Bird's attack power was not particularly high, the storm it brought was still not to be underestimated. Serrek narrowed his eyes and swung out his long sword, a brilliant light tearing through the wind that made it hard for people to keep their eyes open, but what he saw was not Lord's figure, but a bright red lotus flame.

  Luo De's left hand turned over, and a bright red card suddenly appeared in his hand. He then grasped the card, squeezed it hard, and threw it forward.

  “—！”

  Accompanied by a crisp shattering sound, the scarlet card burst into flames, sweeping across the ground like a wave in the midst of a raging storm. A low growl sounded as a black hound emerged from within, baring its sharp fangs and claws, pouncing towards Serrek. At the same time, Rode's figure flashed, his shadow reappearing as he charged towards Serrek's flank with his long sword.

  "What is this thing!!"

  Seeing the scene in front of him, the mercenaries around him suddenly burst into an uproar. They stared wide-eyed and discussed it in a flurry, everything before their eyes had completely exceeded the range that everyone could understand. Even if they were veterans who had experienced countless battles, they couldn't help but waver when facing this scene.

  Serek is also the same.

  Unlike the mercenaries beside him, Serrek didn't have the mood to think about where these ghostly things came from. The crisis in front of him was more important. Although it was unlikely that such a thing could kill him, as a master swordsman and a strong warrior, being forced to this point was also extremely humiliating. So when faced with Rod's sudden attack, Serrek just let out a cold snort, grasped his long sword, and immediately charged forward.

  A wall of sword light appeared once again, stubbornly blocking the black beast's attack. However, this did not make the killer born from flames show any fear. Facing Seric's attack, it only slowed down its speed, arched its body, and suddenly jumped to the side, then opened its large mouth.

  BOOM!!!!!

  The fire of the red lotus shot out from the hunting dog's mouth, burning everything around. Serak no longer hesitated, for a strong person, dignity is more important than life, if he was beaten by a little ghost that couldn't even see his face here, then his decades-long reputation would be ruined in an instant. At this moment, Serak finally put aside his original pride and began to treat the enemy in front of him as a true opponent.

  Suddenly appeared in glory.

  Just a flash.

  For the raging flames, this flash was like a lightning bolt in a stormy rain, dazzling but not lasting, and it disappeared into the flames in an instant.

  But this is enough.

  The raging flames suddenly went out.

  Without any warning, not even anyone saw what happened clearly, many people only saw a flash of light in the flames, and then the flames disappeared instantly. Except for the charred floor and the sparks flying everywhere in the air, it was as if the terrible eruption had never existed.

  Here!

  Roth raised an eyebrow, he knew that the other party was no longer just playing around like before. Now, Serak had finally put down his strong pride and was ready to have a real match with him.

  And this is also what Luo De meant.

  Although Seric managed to stop the Flame Reaper's advance, he was unable to prevent Rod and the Soul Bird from circling around and launching another attack. At this moment, Rod, who had sensed the change, did not intend to retreat at all, but instead gritted his teeth, withdrew his long sword, and stabbed forward again.

  Fragments of Blade, activate.

  The swirling light blade shot out again, attacking Serrek. The Soul Bird also received Rod's command at the same time, flapping its wings and flying low to the right side of Serrek. Meanwhile, the black hound that missed its first attack retreated once more, crossing paths with the Soul Bird as it pounced towards Serrek's left side. The flames' aura spread through the air, leaving behind a trail of four bright sparks on the ground where the hound's paws had been.

  Like a fantasy.

  At this moment, the mercenaries no longer spoke. The only thing they could do was to stand quietly in the distance and watch the battle. This was an unprecedented scene for them. No one had ever seen such a way of fighting, nor had anyone ever seen Serrek, the shining swordsman, go all out. Now, they finally saw it.

  If it were an ordinary person, facing Rode's three-pronged attack would definitely leave them at a loss or choose to shoot the horse before shooting the man and launch an attack on Rode. However, Sereck's choice was completely different.

  He didn't go find Rode first.

  When Seric raised his sword, almost everyone felt that time seemed to slow down to its extreme at the moment he raised his sword. They saw Seric raise his long sword and then swing it diagonally towards the back, just hitting the Flame Killer who was trying to sneak up from the side. The brave hunting dog's performance was like being hit by a heavy hammer, howling downwards. Then, Seric's sword in his hand borrowed the force of the backlash to rise again, almost unconsciously sweeping through the air, thoroughly sealing off the Soul Bird's attack. Just as the Soul Bird, which had been attacked, was unstable and falling down under the sword wind, Seric's sword finally counterattacked, pointing at the shattered light blade that flew in.

  This moment was extremely short, yet it seemed extremely long. Almost everyone saw clearly, but it seemed like they didn't see clearly at all. It was as if the previous scene was just an illusion in their minds, rather than a real-life scenario.

  But Rod didn't stop there.

  He could feel the intense, massive impact force transmitted directly along the sword body, tightly pulling his own body. In the blink of an eye, it seemed as if his internal organs and body were about to change positions completely. Even his health value, which had originally been displayed in a pale green color, turned orange-red in that instant. At this moment, the longsword, which could no longer withstand the massive impact force, finally shattered thoroughly in a head-on collision with the opponent, breaking into several fragments flying everywhere. The Dou Peng on his body also thoroughly shattered into numerous pieces at this time.

  Just then, Seric launched a counterattack, his long sword flashing once more as he stabbed straight at Rode's chest.

  However, Luo De was not nervous at all. He simply raised his right hand and made a grasping motion in the air, then his mind stirred.

  "Ahhhooooo!!!!!!"

  The black hound let out a howl and suddenly charged forward, its entire body engulfed in flames, pouncing towards Serrek. This time, Serrek was no longer polite, he coldly snorted, his wrist slightly moving, the light reappeared, and with a flash before his eyes, the flame condensed by the black hound was split in two.

  But this is not the end.

  Born in destruction, perish in destruction.

  Sensing the massive energy fluctuations coming from the sword tip, Selic's eyes slightly opened, but it was already too late.

  The flames, which had been split in two, were completely out of control, roaring and sweeping over, enveloping Seric. However, even so, the flames still could not block the raging wind that roared out.

  At this moment, a red card appeared in Roderick's hand and flipped over instantly.

  But in the next moment, Luo De reversed his hand and grasped the card in his hand.

  Clang!!!!!!

  A pair of pure white wings suddenly appeared in front of Rode, closing together like a shield to block the dazzling light.

  The flames have gone out.

  Serac halted his movement, the Phantom Sword in his hand mere inches from Rod's chest. However, the thin yet hard wing-shield blocked his attack, while Rod's long sword, emitting specks of light dust, also stopped right at Serac's neck.

  "Elemental spirits, magical weapons, and mastery-level swordsmanship."

  After a long time, Serak slowly opened his mouth.

  "Not bad, kid, you did great."

  "Thank you for your advice."

  Roth nodded slightly, then put down the long sword in his hand. He made a gesture and soon the Soul Bird circling in the air came to his side, perched on Roth's shoulder, silent and motionless.

  "Don't be polite, I haven't had such a great time talking with someone in a long while."

  A gentle smile appeared on Serak's face, he sheathed his sword and then asked.

  "What's your name?"

  "Road, Road Ailanthus."

  "Alright, Rhode, good name, I like you, kid. You're the first one to get the better of me in Deep Stone City!"

  Upon hearing Rod's answer, Seric patted his shoulder and burst out laughing.

  As for Seric's praise, Rode just nodded slightly in response, then turned around and looked at the old man standing beside him with a somewhat unsightly expression.

  "So, old man, did I pass the mercenary assessment?"

  "This..."

  When Rod asked, Moby's face was a bit unsightly. In fact, when he saw Rod's movements, he already knew the result. However, now that he was being asked directly, his old face still couldn't be put down, so he cast his gaze to the side at Serrek. Facing the old chairman's gaze, the sword master smiled slyly and blinked his eyes.

  "To be honest, kid, with your talent, it's a waste to become a mercenary... However, since this is your choice, I won't say anything more. I think you've passed the mercenary evaluation!"