Loka looked shocked: "That woman is so strong! She can actually fight Baggs to this extent."
Hehe.
Rhode held the pendant and sent the other wild monsters back: "Summon, Crimson Marked Tree Monster!"
"Hey, what are you doing?"
"Just helping out, this is a team match, did you forget?" Rhode pointed at Erza as a matter of course, "Crown of Embers!"
Red streams of light appeared around Erza, complementing the blue light patterns already there.
Rhode felt the flow of magic power decreasing and recovering, feeling like he was doing an elementary student's math problem of filling and emptying a container.
After some simple calculations, Rhode was somewhat moved, it's not easy, finally being able to integrate this big guy into regular combat rather than as a burst skill!
No, that's not accurate, it's barely integrated into regular combat.
Rhode pointed at Baggs: "Beat him up!"
The Tree Monster sprinted forward on all fours, noticeably faster than the Golem.
Baggs noticed the commotion on this side, surprised: "Loka?"
Loka straightforwardly raised a hand: "Big brother, I lost."
Baggs found it hard to believe. Loka wasn't weak at all; otherwise, he wouldn't have been assigned by the President to assist him.
He was taken down so quickly?
"You better be careful, or Rhode will surprise you," Erza felt the swelling pain in her shoulder fading quickly, and another longsword appeared in her right hand as she slashed toward Baggs again.
"Surprise? You mean that big guy?" Baggs dodged left and right, evading Erza's slashes.
The Tree Monster was already in front of him, its claws sweeping at Baggs with the force of the wind—one way to counter someone good at footwork is to have a wide attack range.
"This kind of creature... Drunken Splitting Palm!"
Baggs's right palm seemed to be glowing with magic power, striking heavily at the palm of the Tree Monster.
Bang!
A thunderous muffled sound echoed, seemingly causing the ground to tremble slightly.
"What?" Baggs's purple arm armor shattered, and he was pushed back a few steps by the Tree Monster's strength, his right arm trembling slightly.
He felt the sharp pain in his arm: "What kind of power... is this?"
"Roar~" The Tree Monster also let out a low growl, with countless wood chips flying from its exploded palm, its left forelimb resembling a tree that took a heavy blow.
The Tree Monster had slightly less defense than the Golem, but its speed and attack power were far superior.
"Surrender, Baggs!" Erza's dual swords chopped down simultaneously from above.
"It's still early!" Baggs raised both palms, magic power gathering in them, seemingly intending to use his bare hands against the blades.
Bam!
The swords struck the palms, making the sound of a blunt weapon impact. The ground beneath Baggs's feet cracked, indicating the force of this strike.
Baggs wanted to say Erza's Flying Armor was fast, but the power was lacking.
However, by this time, the red light on Erza had already clung to the sword blades like flames.
Baggs's hands felt the similar sharp pain as before.
Immediately after, the armor on his left arm also shattered, and the injuries on his right arm worsened, making it impossible to resist Erza's attacks.
The blade stopped just at the tip of Baggs's nose.
Baggs closed his eyes, then gave a carefree smile and sat down on the ground: "Haha, I lost."
Erza returned to her normal attire and smiled: "It's not me who defeated you, it's us."
Baggs found his wine flask, his hand still shaking a little as he drank: "This is troubling, I'll get nagged by the old man when we go back."
Rhode came over and pointed at Baggs before sending the Tree Monster back: "Crown of Embers."
Baggs felt the discomfort in his arm gradually fade: "What is this magic... called again? Whatever."
Unable to recall, Baggs said to Erza: "You have a great partner."
Erza smiled: "I think so too."
"You're too kind." Rhode tried his best to manage his expression, hahaha, a few more praises wouldn't hurt.
Loka walked over, rubbing his swollen face, and complained: "Why not heal me too?"
"Sorry, this type of magic can only be used on two people at a time," Rhode said, "He seemed more seriously injured."
"Alright Loka, since the outcome is already decided, let's head back," Baggs said, "Looking forward to our next match."
Rhode said: "Generally speaking, shouldn't you stay and listen to our command, helping us finish the task before leaving?"
"Huh?" Baggs didn't know if he was really drunk or faking it, "As a penalty for losing, it's not impossible... But do you really want us interfering in this task?"
For Rhode personally, having an extra S-Class fighter wouldn't hurt, but from the Guild's perspective, it's better solved by their own members.
Erza felt the same: "Let's meet again another time."
Eliminating an interference factor should be good for completing the task, right?
It's all the President's fault for stirring up trouble, Rhode decided to plot with Mira to prank him, like adding some chili oil to his drink.
Baggs and Loka bid farewell and left.
Erza and Rhode took a short rest, then resumed their search for clues.
After walking a few steps, Rhode suddenly slapped his thigh: "Oh no, I forgot to ask for compensation!"
"Compensation?"
"Yes, didn't your Flying Armor's shoulder pads, and two Celestial Wheel Swords get damaged?" Rhode said, "Does the mission reward cover the cost of repairing your armor and replenishing weapons?"
"The pure repair cost isn't that high," Erza calculated and said, "Today's loss, a few ten thousand J should be enough."
"That really isn't expensive..." Rhode realized he was floating, his part-time job monthly salary was only 120,000 J, and now he felt that several ten thousand J for repairing armor and weapons wasn't expensive.
Erza's Knight Magic isn't something ordinary people can afford, Receiving Magic is quite good.
The rich rely on technology, the poor rely on mutation, huh.
The sun gradually set, the weather grew colder, and a thin layer of mist rose from the ground.
Slowly, the mist thickened, starting to obscure their vision.
"Rhode," Erza reminded.
"Yes," Rhode nodded in understanding.
The mist felt strange, as if there was an elusive gaze watching them through the dense fog.
Rhode and Erza stuck close together, ready for a potential ambush from either side.
Two River Crabs were summoned back by Rhode, keeping about three meters ahead and behind; further away would be beyond their sight.
The Beaked Birds were spread to the limits of the River Crabs' vision; with limited visibility, only physical reconnaissance and vigilance could work.
Suddenly, two red lights appeared in the dense fog, and a Beaked Bird cried out and vanished.
Erza immediately rushed over, but the attacker had already disappeared.
"Flying Feathers!"
Rhode commanded the Beaked Birds to scatter Feathered Flying Knives around, but received no feedback, only hearing the feathers quietly embed into the ground.
"Caw~" Another Beaked Bird cried out and vanished. With the River Crab's vision, Rhode only saw a shadow flicker by.
"Humanoid, armored outline," Rhode relayed the information he had gathered in the short time.