Chapter 49: Ideal and Reality

  A green card flew out of Luo De's hand and quickly transformed into a winged spirit bird, flying towards Malin's back.

  Marlene, however, was completely unaware of this abnormal change. In her view, the Storm Guard she had deployed could absolutely withstand any sudden attack. She didn't believe that Rode wouldn't take the initiative to attack, and once he did, she would be able to immediately turn defense into offense and kill him off guard.

  It was precisely because of this that when the bird's cry suddenly came from behind Marlene, the girl's first reaction was bewilderment and helplessness.

  What happened? What thing?

  The girl instinctively wanted to turn around and take a look, but as soon as she turned her head, a huge gust of air rushed over.

  BOOM!!

  The Storm Guardian can indeed block most attacks, but unfortunately, Rod took the simplest and deadliest approach - for a spirit composed of wind elements, even a raging storm is nothing more than a fish swimming in the ocean, without any hindrance.

  Under the massive impact, Marlin was knocked to the ground without any defense, and the intense collision made her vision go black, almost unable to catch her breath. However, at this moment, when she encountered an external force attack, Marlin's robe also flashed immediately, and soon, several golden light lines appeared out of thin air, surrounding the girl's body, forming a solid multi-faceted crystal shield. And Marlin, suppressing the turmoil in her heart, turned around, and soon saw Rod standing behind her.

  When did he appear there?

  Marlin was a bit flustered in her heart, but she still pretended to be calm, raised her staff and tried to attack Rode again. However, this time, Rode didn't give her any chance at all.

  The older sister is quite capable, unfortunately, she lacks experience.

  After seeing Marlin's response to the Soul Bird earlier, Rod had already given up on the idea of continuing to entangle with her. The girl didn't go to find out what was attacking herself, but instead put her gaze on him, which shows that Marlin's combat awareness is quite unqualified. In that case, Rod doesn't mind using a crushing defeat to make this proud young lady sober up. Anyway - thinking of this, Rod took the opportunity to sweep a glance at the surroundings.

  Anyway, Lijie is there.

  Thinking of this, Luo De's mouth corners rose, and then his right hand slightly moved.

  The green card reappeared in his palm and suddenly flipped over, turning into a fiery red.

  The green whirlwind also changed color at the same time.

  For the maiden, everything that was happening before her eyes completely exceeded her imagination. In just a blink of an eye, suddenly a bright red flame mixed with the howling wind came down, colliding with the shield. Under the impact of the tremendous force, the solid crystal body shield let out a low hum that could not bear the weight. And just as Marlin was about to take countermeasures, suddenly a sharp claw stretched out from the flames and heavily slapped against the shield.

  "Bang!!"

  It was originally just a low-level shield spell, and it couldn't withstand the long-term powerful attack at all. Under this claw, the girl's last line of defense completely collapsed, and then the black hound flew out of the flames, opened its sharp teeth and claws, and pounced on the girl.

  Marlene was really scared this time.

  This battle was completely beyond her expectations from the start, and she didn't have the upper hand as expected. Instead, she was passive throughout the match and couldn't guess what the young man wanted to do. Although Marlin hadn't practiced such battles and duels in the academy before, when facing Rode, all her previous experiences seemed useless.

  Should the monk protect himself first and then launch an attack?

  Strive to use the strongest attack at the first opportunity to intimidate and harm the enemy?

  I certainly know, but what should I do now!!

  Facing the black hound's attack, Marlin was almost on the verge of collapse, but at this moment, her noble pride finally allowed her to barely shake off her confusion. The girl almost subconsciously raised her hand to point at the ferocious shadow pouncing towards her, and then let out a loud shout.

  “Jir！”

  A whirlwind condensed on the ruby at the tip of the staff, then rotated violently and shot forward. In response to this sudden attack, Luffy's body suddenly stopped in mid-air, and then flew backward with a scream, which made Marlene feel slightly relieved. She calmed down and raised her staff.

  At this moment, the card in Rode's hand had turned white.

  Glory flashes.

  Marlin only felt a chill on her wrist, and she subconsciously diverted her attention, glancing at her wrist, but then the girl immediately felt icy all over.

  Originally luxurious and noble, the law robe now had a tear in it, revealing the girl's snow-white arm inside. However, at this moment, on top of the snowy white skin, a bright red color was slowly seeping out, spreading to all sides.

  It hurts so much.

  This was Marlene's first thought, and her second thought was...

  Am I hurt?

  Am I hurt?

  I'm hurt!?!

  At this moment, the girl only felt her mind going blank, and in her eyes, there was nothing except for the bright red liquid dripping from her arm. As for the defensive plan she had thought of earlier, as well as her counterattack against Rode, they were all completely thrown to the back of her mind by Marlin. She even reflexively threw away the staff in her hand, tightly grasping her wrist. At this moment, what fight, what showdown, she had already completely given up on. In her eyes, only her own injury was the most important thing!

  How did I get hurt? Why am I hurt? I'm hurt now, what should I do?!

  It has to be said that Marlene, although a very resilient rose, is still a greenhouse flower. A genius like her, who is usually so self-disciplined and full of confidence, is naturally being carefully nurtured, and has hardly ever encountered any setbacks. But now, she has encountered something she has never experienced in her life before.

  A chill ran down the girl's spine, bringing her back to reality. As she regained her composure and looked forward, the first thing that caught her eye was a long sword radiating a cold glow, its pure white blade untainted by any impurities.

  Whoosh!!

  A star-shaped mark scratched against the girl's neck and then inserted into the ground.

  It wasn't until then that Marlene was like a wooden puppet with cut strings, her legs softened and she knelt on the ground, her eyes staring blankly at the sky, completely unaware of what to do.

  "Being able to fuse multiple elements into a spell indicates that your understanding of magic is indeed very profound."

  Luo De's flat voice sounded, as he spoke, he raised his right hand, and soon the white card disappeared from his palm, while the white long sword that was originally inserted into the ground beside the girl also vanished in an instant.

  "But in actual combat, your performance is like this... If you perform the same way on a mission, I'll definitely give up on you. Lije, go help her treat her wounds and take her to rest. It seems that this young lady won't be able to recover for a while."

  "Ah, yes!"

  Lilith, who had been anxiously waiting by the side, heard Rod's command and hastily ran forward to start treating Marlin's wounds. Marlin herself sat on the ground, looking as if she had lost her soul, staring blankly ahead, unable to utter a single word, like a lifeless puppet.

  As he saw Marlene like this, Rode furrowed his brow but didn't say anything more. He still had confidence in the girl's mental quality after all; if she could be called the "Queen of Mercenaries" later on, then her mental quality wouldn't be too bad. It was up to her now. After all, if this young lady went with this state of mind, a party wipe was almost guaranteed——Rode had no interest in sending people to their deaths.

  As Rod said, Marlin has a thorough understanding of magic itself, but these are completely useless in actual combat, which is a common problem for many people, including players. It's like when you're doing an instance, everyone looks at the strategy, and everyone knows the BOSS's weaknesses, but what happens when you actually fight? If you can adapt to your own development, that's fine, but what if something unexpected happens? The small monsters start early, the BOSS makes a burst attack, and the position is not good enough. At this time, if you don't respond properly, it will be a tragic team wipeout. Rod is very sure that if the battle starts according to this lady's idea, she can definitely perform like a legendary god descending from heaven. Unfortunately, real combat is not a CG animation, and as soon as something unexpected happens, it becomes unstable, which is the biggest hidden danger.

  After instructing Lijie, Rod turned around and walked back to the old mansion. On the other hand, Old Hanke was stunned, his face full of colors. He had not expected that this young man would be so strong. The magical genius who was given high hopes in the Golden City was defeated by him without even completing a move, and he couldn't find his way north. On the other hand, he was also surprised that this young man was really so ruthless, able to lay hands on such a beautiful lady. However, now it was Old Hanke's turn to be miserable. He helplessly watched Rod leave, then looked at Marlin, who slowly got up with Lijie's support, her face pale like a small bird that had gone through a storm, completely unaware of what she should do next.

  Marlene sat quietly on the soft bed, staring silently at the window.

  After that, she was taken to her own room by Lige and finally calmed down. It has to be said that for Marlin, this is absolutely the biggest blow in life. This is like an idol who was worshipped by people, suddenly being pulled from the top to the ground with great force, and then kicked hard on the face several times, shocking.

  Marlin heard Rod's words, although she was not convinced, but she had no way to refute. Indeed, she could complain that the man's fighting style was too strange, too sinister and too shameless, and also lacked elegance. But now she understood that this was a real fight, where both sides were fighting for their lives, and being able to stay alive was victory. Putting herself in Rod's shoes, if he were really her enemy, then by now she would probably have been killed by him already. And at that time, who could she go to complain about his shamelessness and sinister ways?

  "How are you feeling now, Marlene?"

  Lijie placed a cup of hot tea in front of Marlene and asked softly.

  "Much better, thank you, Lijie."

  Marlin forced a somewhat stiff smile, although it was indeed a great pleasure to run into her old friend unexpectedly, but the impact of this battle on her was really too great. She hadn't never lost before, but she had never been so defeated and humiliated. Moreover, battles between mages were mostly very civilized, and it was rare to see blood in their exchanges... Marlin shook her head, finding herself acting too weak.

  "To be honest, I was thinking too simply."

  She let out a soft sigh.

  "I originally thought that with my abilities, completing these mercenary tasks wouldn't be difficult. But... now I'm even doing poorly in ordinary battles. Clearly I know what to do, but my body just won't listen to commands, and later on, I even forgot what I should be doing."

  Marlene smiled wryly at this point.

  "I used to often mock those incompetent fools, but now it seems that my performance isn't much better than theirs, is it?"

  "It's not like that, Marlene."

  Lijie stood up and grasped her hand, gazing intently at the girl's crimson eyes.

  "The real battle and what we imagine are different, I am the same. Marlene, before joining the mercenary group, I was also full of fantasies, I wanted to be able to rely on my own abilities to help everyone get rid of injuries, they took me in when I needed their help the most, at that time, I also hoped to be able to help them."

  At this point, Lijie's eyes flashed a hint of sadness.

  "But when I first really participated in the battle, looking at everyone's flesh and blood flying everywhere, I was almost scared silly. I didn't even have time to treat anyone, and many people were seriously injured. Although the captain did not blame me, but everyone looked at me with deep disappointment in their eyes. I knew they needed my help badly, and I had the ability to give it to them, but I retreated at the most critical moment... The captain told me that everyone will face such a test, without exception. And after that, I tried hard again and again, until finally..."

  "I understand………"

  Marlene lowered her eyes, and in her beautiful eyes, there was a hint of complex emotions.

  "I understand what you mean, Lijie. Just like that gentleman said, if I performed as poorly in the task, it's no wonder he'd want to give up on me, but..."

  At this point, the girl clenched her fists.

  "I still want to give it a try, I know I'm inexperienced, and I also understand that the things I was proud of before didn't bring me any gains. But I won't run away with my tail between my legs like a coward, because I am Marlin Xanthea, I carry the honor and pride of my family on my back, and I absolutely will not allow myself to retreat like this, no matter how difficult or hard it is, I'll grit my teeth and hold on, I've already made up my mind."

  "Glory of the family..."

  When Marlene heard Lijie's words, her face darkened, but she didn't say anything else. Marlene also seemed to notice that something was wrong with the other person, and she quickly raised her head, looking at Lijie in confusion.

  "By the way, Lijie, you haven't told me yet, why did you come here to be a mercenary? Why did you leave Golden City? I wasn't there at the time and didn't know what happened. When I got back, you were already gone, and I looked for you everywhere but couldn't find out where you went. Why did you leave?"

  But upon hearing Marlene's inquiry, Lijie's complexion turned somewhat sorrowful. She bit her lower lip tightly, but in the end, she still spoke up.

  "It's because... this is the decision of the family council."

  "Have you been expelled?!"

  Upon hearing the words "Family Council", Marlin stood up in disbelief, gazing at the girl sitting beside her with a mixture of shock and anger.

  "How can that gang of old die-hards do such a thing! They actually dare to expel you! Didn't Mr. Dreikman stop them?!"

  "The father agreed with the opinion of the parliament."

  "This..."

  Upon hearing this, Marlene seemed to have been drained of all her energy, and her previous vigor vanished suddenly.

  "How could he...?"

  "That's not strange."

  Lijie smiled self-deprecatingly and shook her head. She stretched out one hand and fiddled with her golden ponytail.

  "After all... I'm different from them now. I'm no longer Lise Kallian Bellried, but Lise Novele... This is who I am now."

  "That group of self-righteous old fogies!"

  Marlene raised an eyebrow and sat back down coldly, but soon she looked at Liche with concern.

  "So, you from now on......"

  "It's just like now."

  Lijie answered quietly and gently.

  "I'll stay in the mercenary corps, living this kind of life. It's dangerous, but for me, there's nothing wrong with it. Mr. Lode promised to revitalize the mercenary corps, and I think that's more meaningful than attending those parties and banquets dressed up in fancy clothes, don't you?"

  Marin gazed at the girl in front of her with a mixture of surprise and curiosity, who was smiling gently. Marin felt that her emotions were somewhat complicated.

  That little girl who used to cry a lot... has also grown up now.