Summoning the Holy Sword

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

"Woo———!!"

Looking at this scene, whether it was Lize who hasn't yet stood up, or Marlene who was watching on the side, or Celia and Sereck who had just pulled out their weapon from the Death Knight dead body. Even Kudla and the others were all stunned.

Rhode was also not an exception. He stood up and stared at the giant wolf that was wailing in the wilderness; he was shocked.

Right at this moment, he found out Anne's real identity.

Half beast!

Like an angel and human, human and elf, demon and mixed human breed, they all would produce offspring. A high-level demonic beast was also the same; they could transform into a human form to copulate with humans and give birth to the next generation. For races like the half angel, half-elf, or half demon that could be readily accepted by people, the half beast was considered to be a very rare race. Since demonic beasts and human were different, only high-level demonic beasts were able to transform into a human.

Comparing it using the phrase from Rhode's native country, it could be said that an animal needs to cultivate at least thousand years to able to transform into human form. High-level demonic beast were very rare and strong. Even an ordinary level 40 swordmaster like Sereck was nothing to a high-level demonic beast; it doesn't matter if there's ten of him, it will still be nothing. Not to mention, although they could transform into a human, their real body remained as a wild beast. Unless they lived in the human society for a long time, it basically wouldn't choose a human as a mate. Like a house dog, no matter how good it was to its master when it is aroused, it would still look for another dog… Hmm, but this example somehow isn't too appropriate.

It wasn't like Rhode never seen a half beast. In the game, some strong warriors belong to half beast race. But beside her incredible strength, there's nothing different about Anne. That's why Rhode didn't think about it, but now, what should he do?

Staring at the giant black wolf, Rhode's heart sank.

"This is… really unexpected…"

Sereck also took a deep breath and came to Rhode's side.

"This fellow actually hid this kind of secret. What should we do now?"

What should we do?

Rhode frowned but didn't answer. He was currently thinking about his knowledge regarding half beasts to solve the situation. According to his experience, the reason Anne transformed was that she was heavily injured and could no longer maintain her human form. This also meant that she has completely lost her consciousness and only beast part of her was left.

Then…

Rhode shook his head, he stopped thinking and sighed.

"Leave it to me."

He waved his hand then walked towards the giant black wolf.

"Mr. Rhode?"

Seeing his action, Marlene and Lize subconsciously called out to him. Frankly, right now they were feeling rather complicated since it's hard for them to accept that the girl that has been living with them for these few days could suddenly turn into a wolf. Although as a mage, it wasn't like Marlene didn't know about this kind of thing, but reading it in a book and actually witnessing it using her own eyes were totally different. Not to mention, it was someone that had been interacting with her for quite some time…

Right now Marlene was looking at the giant black wolf, and her heart was feeling complicated. She didn't know what Rhode was trying to do. But she knew that there is no place for a half beast in human society. Although logically speaking, they came from noble birth, whether it's half angel, half-elf, or even half demon, they still appeared in human form and they were born that way. However, the other half of a half beast was a real demonic beast. Judging from the strength, anyone who was born half beast were stronger than other races, but maybe because of how the human mind works, they couldn't fully accept half beasts even though they could accept other mixed races.

Marlene has read in quite a lot of book that people who were born half beast usually live just like a human being before their identity was found out. But once their identity was exposed, they were rejected. Some of them were even caught and beaten to death or burned to death…

What will Rhode do?

Watching Rhode walking towards the giant black wolf, Marlene didn't know what to say or what to do. Although the time she has spent with Anne wasn't long, she didn't hate Anne at all. Moreover, in the Magic Academy, there were a lot of half beast; hence, she wouldn't feel unfamiliar or fearful towards it. However… she didn't know what kind of decision would Rhode make.

She didn't think that Rhode would kill Anne because of fear. But now, facing this giant black wolf, what will he do?

As if aware of Rhode's arrival, the giant black wolf stood up and stared vigilantly at him. In its glittering green eyes, there was not even the slightest friendliness.

Ahh… this will be troublesome.

Aware of the black wolf eyes, Rhode frowned. He was sure that Anne's consciousness was still 'sleeping' the Anne before him completely move based on her instinct. If he could, he didn't want to take this risk, but Anne has risked her life to protect them, she sacrificed herself to protect all of the people here. It wasn't something to be entirely proud of… she did not follow his command and acted on her own.

But now…

Rhode shook his head and didn't say anything more.

"Lize, cast a healing spell on me later."

Rhode didn't turn back and gave a strange command to Lize. After that, he walked in front of the black wolf and stretched his right hand.

"——!"

As if following its instinct, the black wolf opened its mouth and bit Rhode's hand.

This sudden change made Sereck expression turn grim, even the angel gloomily gripped the sword in her hand. Lize was shocked, she bit her lips to force herself not to scream.

So heartless!

Feeling the pain from his hand, Rhode clenched his teeth. He could feel the giant wolf's sharp fang pierce through his hand. If it used more power, maybe his whole hand might even tear apart! But he didn't back down or make any sudden movements. He was betting, betting whether Anne would think of them as the enemy or not.

If Anne was an intelligent person, then Rhode definitely wouldn't bet on it. This is because most smart people like to hide their feelings. Except for themselves, no one would know what were they thinking. Imagine if this kind of people lost their sanity, it isn't strange if they dared to do anything. But Anne was different; she always lived her life by her instinct, Rhode could feel that she was genuinely fond of Lize, Marlene, and himself. So, this kind of feeling might be connected to her instinct… It would be better if it's like that because if not, he would just hit her until she loses her consciousness. Since no matter what, there's no way for him to kill her.

Because she already did so much to this mercenary group.

Rhode endured the pain, he reached out his other hand and patted the black wolf head.

"———!!!"

Feeling Rhode's movement, the black wolf roared. But soon, it narrowed its eyes and began to loosen its jaws that tightly clenched on Rhode's hand.

It's working!

Feeling the change in black wolf's attitude, Rhode was relieved. He was still softly patting the black wolf head; then he moved his hand down to touch its face and its nose. The black wolf didn't dodge his touch, on the contrary, it nuzzled Rhode's fingers affectionately. Then it carefully opened its mouth and backed down. It stretched out its tongue to lick the wound on Rhode's hand, it tilted its head and stared at him uneasily, then it slowly sat on the ground. He didn't know whether it was trying to apologize or was afraid, but when Rhode stroke its head continuously, it satisfyingly shook its head, closed its eyes and finally fell into a deep sleep.

Soon, the huge body shrunk down, the thick fur and tail also slowly disappeared. After a while, a naked woman appeared before Rhode, but now the wound was no longer there and she was sleeping soundly.

"Sigh…"

Until now, Rhode finally relieved. He put down his right hand and turned back looking at Lize who was walking towards him in a hurry.

"Please heal me."

After going through this unexpected accident, everyone finally relieved.

The Death Knight had been killed and there were no undead creatures left. Only after getting out of here would it be considered a victory. The only thing that made Rhode depressed was the Death Knight's equipment. Although the Death Knight had multiple good pieces of equipment, for example, the 'Curse Ring' could add a poison effect or the 'Death Gaze' that allowed the holder to possess night vision. Unfortunately, these equipment had been contaminated by evil, when Celia used her holy flame, they were already burned into ashes. Looking at the messy corpse, Rhode was simply helpless. Even so, he still tried to be optimistic and asked Marlene to clean the battlefield, hoping that her lucky hand could bring something…

Have to say, Marlene's hands were really lucky. It seemed a bit wrong to say it like this, but she actually found a space bag from the Death Knight armor. As a magical item, naturally, it wouldn't get burnt by the holy flame. It's also the only thing that Rhode obtained, as for the stuff inside, Rhode didn't plan to open it in front of everyone, since it wasn't too late to check it after they went back.

After that, Rhode, Lize, and the others gathered with everyone. When they walked towards Kudla, a shadow stepped out from the crowd and blocked in front of Rhode.

"What does that mean!"

"The half-elf girl glared at Rhode angrily.

"What do you mean by what does that mean?"

Facing the girl inquiry, Rhode replied expressionlessly.

"That woman!"

The half-elf stretched out her hand and pointed towards Anne who was covered in a cloak while sleeping soundly behind Old Walker's back.

"You actually employed a mixed half beast to protect us, what are you doing! Don't you know, that b*st*rd was very dangerous?! What if the beast inside of her attacked us, you definitely did this on purpose!"

Upon hearing her accusations, Lize's and Marlene's face darkened. Behind the half-elf girl, those spirit master from the Mercenary Association also showed unhappy expression. Although they only interacted with Anne for a short time, along the way, it had been Anne who was protecting them. Although her identity as a half beast did shock them a little, but these spirit masters didn't think that it was something that couldn't be accepted. That was why when they heard the half-elf girl insult their savior in front of them, they were feeling miserable. Sereck and Old Walker also turned serious and looked at the half-elf girl in dissatisfaction.

"Hey, you!"

Even Kudla also grunted awkwardly. Not only him, but the mercenaries beside him were also the same. No matter what, Anne was their lifesaver, and having half beast in their group was their own problem. Why do you even bother to bring that up?

"Dangerous?"

Rhode didn't say anything. Instead, it was Marlene who coldly snorted. At first, she didn't want to bother with herself with these boorish mercenaries but hearing the elf girl words; she couldn't help but become angry.

"If it weren't for Anne, you wouldn't be able to walk here safely. Not only you aren't thankful; you are even blaming us? Boorish people like you make me want to throw up."

"You… don't you think that I will be afraid of you just because you're a mage."

Facing Marlene's insults, the half-elf girl stood frozen but soon recovered.

"Moreover, she didn't really do anything; she just hid behind like a coward. What was she doing? Hmph, I think this b*st*rd just…"

Rhode didn't let the half-elf girl finish her sentence when he punched her in the face.

Naturally, since she did not expect an attack, she was sent to the flying to the ground, but Rhode didn't wait for her to say anything. Rhode followed up with a kick to her stomach causing the half-elf girl to curl up in a ball as a subconscious reflex and began to throw up. Rhode finally stopped and patted his hands emotionlessly. This made Kudla couldn't help but feel awkward.

"Mr. Rhode…"

"Because she kept insulting my subordinate, I'm not happy. That's why I wanted to hit her, but now I have hit her, I'm happy. Now we're all even, that's why you don't have to apologize to me, or else I will think that I owe you something."

Rhode interrupted Kudla. After finishing what he wanted to say, he turned around and walked towards his comrades.

"The mission is complete. We should leave this ghostly place."