Chapter Twelve: The Precepts of Will

  Dark shadows darted through the forest, occasionally separating and then reuniting.

  "Found it?"

  "There are residual marks in the eastern direction, which is likely to be the target. From a time perspective, it should not exceed one day."

  "They're really fast, keep moving, be careful, they're the kind of guys who can take down the Wind Snake leader, don't underestimate them."

  "Yes!"

  After the three black shadows finished their conversation, they turned into a few black shadows and disappeared in the depths of the forest. Their movements were silent and stealthy, without even startling the birds perched on the trees.

  And just after the dark shadows left, the green bird that had been quietly standing on the branch finally spread its wings and flew into the high sky.

  "Is someone following?"

  Upon hearing the report of the Soul Bird, Rod's expression sank slightly. At this moment, on his shoulder, the semi-transparent cyan-green Soul Bird from earlier was quietly standing there, occasionally shaking its head and stretching its wings, looking no different from an ordinary bird. Only its semi-transparent body and the elemental glow surrounding it revealed that the bird before him was not a living creature.

  Calling upon the Soul Bird for surveillance was a temporary measure that Rode thought of on his way. Generally, players would equip themselves with thieves or rangers who have scouting professions to ensure there were no dangers ahead when adventuring in the mountains. However, Rode didn't have such good conditions now, so he had to use his summoned creature to explore instead. Fortunately, the Soul Bird not only had an advantage in terms of visibility but also possessed a skill that allowed it to sense souls, which made Rode feel more at ease. Originally, Rode was being cautious and wanted to see if they had stirred up any trouble after killing that level 10 giant wolf, so he let the Soul Bird patrol behind them, but unexpectedly stumbled upon an even bigger problem.

  Although the soul sense can't reveal the target's specific appearance, it can only be judged by the strength of the soul's light. However, Rode felt something was off from the opponent's speed alone. In the forest, being able to move so quickly and freely is roughly limited to wandering knights or spies - in short, professions that can't see the light of day. Moreover, the opponent's actions are quite orderly, making it hard to imagine they're an ordinary adventurer.

  Is it just a coincidence passing by? Or did they come specifically for them?

  Roderick didn't dare to take risks. If the other party came openly, it would be fine. But this profession hidden in the dark was the most difficult to deal with. Moreover, Lijie's previous reminder made him feel that this matter itself was somewhat suspicious. If these guys had hostile intentions towards them, then the development of the situation would be unimaginable.

  But when Rode saw Lijie beside him, his eyes lit up involuntarily.

  He has already made up his mind.

  "Mr. Luo, where should we go next?"

  She handed the water bottle to the plump merchant who was sitting next to her, his face red and sweating profusely. Lisha asked him a question. Although Rode didn't say much, it had always been Lisha's job to take care of this plump merchant on their journey. According to the girl's own words, her mercenary group had taken on the task of protecting this gentleman, so even if she was the only one left, as long as the mission wasn't complete, she would have to keep going.

  Mays was naturally grateful for this, but looking at his current state of gasping for air like an ox, he probably wouldn't be able to survive for much longer even if he continued on.

  "Lord... sir, I'm exhausted... I... I did, let's take a break!"

  The fat merchant, who had already sat down on the ground as soon as he stopped at Rhodes, held his bag in one hand like a treasure, and with the other hand took out a handkerchief to wipe away the sweat beads from his face, making his chubby face shine brightly like a lantern under the sunlight.

  "Saint, saint soul protect me, I...I haven't walked...walked...cough cough!!" By the time he said this, the fat merchant was out of breath and had a violent coughing fit, even his facial fat shook. It took him a while to regain his composure. "Walking...walking such a long way, I feel...I feel like I'm going to die!"

  "Take a five-minute break."

  Rod looked up at the sky, then calculated the route and time in his heart, and gave orders. When he heard his words, the fat merchant who was originally sitting on the ground let out a loud cry, and then fell to the ground. Lisha also took a light breath and sat down on a nearby rock.

  After that, they didn't encounter any particularly great dangers. With the Soul Bird leading the way, Rod brought them through very smoothly, avoiding many dangerous areas. Although this also meant missing out on some opportunities to obtain precious equipment, Rod wasn't heartbroken about it. In this world, players weren't as common as cow's hair, and ordinary adventurers wouldn't casually venture into the mountains either. At worst, they could just bring the two of them out of the mountain first, rest for a bit, and then come back to retrieve the equipment later. However...

  Luo De looked up and glanced at the mountain range not far away from him, then stood up.

  Lily.

  "Yes, Mr. Lord, what instructions do you have?"

  "I'll go ahead and take a look, you rest for five minutes then bring Mr. Mais up the mountain, see that white rock over there? Go there, then into the shade, you'll find an abandoned mountain road, wait for me there, I'll be right back."

  Lijie raised her head and followed Rode's pointing direction, soon discovering the white stone on the side of the mountain waist. She turned back to look at Rode with a puzzled expression, wondering how he knew about this matter. However, the girl only opened her mouth but didn't ask any questions. After these few days of traveling together, she had already understood that the man in front of her was someone quite reliable, although she didn't know what he wanted to do. The girl nodded and watched as Rode turned around and left.

  Rod certainly had his own plans, that stone was the entrance to the Zener Mountain Road, which used to be a magnificent trade route. The ancestors of the northerners exhausted their lives to open up such a road across the mountains, connecting the plains and other areas. This place also created a temporary brilliance. However, with the development and utilization of the wind, the unobstructed sky was obviously safer than the crisis-ridden forest, so this trade route was gradually abandoned, and those who relied on it for survival had long since left here to find a better life, abandoning their homes until this place became desolate again.

  The progress of civilization will always make what was once a miracle meaningless, and it's the same in any world.

  However, Luo De is not here for sightseeing and contemplating life philosophies.

  He stopped in his tracks, and at this moment, a desolate scene appeared before Rod's eyes.

  And corpses.

  The white bones of the forest were almost buried in dust, with only tattered armor and corroded weapons scattered on the ground. This was a mercenary group called "Tiger's Fang", who had been ambushed by mountain bandits during their adventure journey and died here after being severely injured. Originally in the game, Rod needed to receive the task from the Mercenary Guild first, then investigate their last commission based on clues, follow the map marks to find this place, and finally return with the token and treasure. However, that was just a game, and following the steps was necessary. Nevertheless, many veterans would not make it so complicated, they would rather take the token directly and hand it in at the Mercenary Guild later, which was also acceptable. This way not only saved time but also convenient and fast, and could save so much trouble, why not?

  But Luo De came here not for saving those few steps.

  As he walked deeper into the battlefield, Rod saw a white skeleton lying against the mountain wall. It was wearing a suit of corroded steel armor and had a black iron sword with rust spots lying beside it. That was Rod's target, also the leader of this mercenary group.

  He walked up to the corpse, squatted down, and first gazed at it for a moment. Then he stretched out his hand and quickly retrieved a mercenary badge from within the corpse - this was the token of the "Tiger's Fang" mercenary group, and also the necessary item to complete the mission. Rod carefully placed it in his pocket beside him, then shifted his gaze downward, soon finding what he was looking for.

  It was a ring worn on the phalanges, already dirty and filthy.

  Rod carefully picked up the ring, which appeared to have no use from its surface, and was no different from the scrap copper in a garbage dump. However, the system prompt that appeared before Rod told him otherwise.

  Black Iron Ring, Unidentified, Senses Magical Fluctuations

  "Resonance."

  Roth closed his eyes, grasped the ring on his right hand, and muttered in a low voice, then infused his own soul power into it.

  The ring in his hand trembled slightly, and the originally weak magic fluctuations became clear. When he opened his eyes again, what was in his hand was no longer the scrap metal of before. Instead, a black ring with ancient totem patterns quietly lay on his palm.

  Will's Seal has been identified and can activate Will Shield for 5 minutes, immune to mental attacks, cooldown time - 3 days.

  Got it.

  Rod put the ring on his right hand finger, and then heaved a sigh of relief. He looked around for a moment to make sure there was nothing else of value, then turned back and returned to the middle of the mountain.

  There, Rod could clearly see Lize and Maisie struggling to walk towards the white stone. The fat merchant obviously had no experience in climbing mountains, trembling with fear as he followed behind Lize, looking like he was about to cry out for Lize to carry him up at any moment if not for his male pride.

  What a waste of resources.

  Roth shook his head helplessly, just about to go down and join them, when the warning from the Soul Bird suddenly echoed deep within his mind.

  “———！”

  Roden was startled and hastily looked in the direction of the forest. Soon, he saw three black shadows flying out from it.

  Something's wrong!