Translator:AtlasStudiosEditor:AtlasStudios

The ground trembled.

Cracks spread out from the middle of the fountain and the clear spring water turned turbid and slimy, it even released an incredibly pungent stench. The silver-white flames mercilessly rolled over, quickly cleansing all the filth.

Scorching steam started to emit from the gaps, the escaping air made screeching noises.

Everything had ended.

Hu

Rhode breathed through his mouth and fanned his nose from the stench. The violent trembling began to show signs of stopping, and in front of him, Franks body had already become a puddle of nasty-looking water.

Once the shaking stopped, the underground mine which seemed to be collapsing, regained its earthly tranquility. Rhode lifted up his head and observed his surroundings, noticing cracks, broken rocks and strewn sand all around the underground mine. The fountain that Celia wrecked was also in pieces.

Then at that moment, a familiar system prompt appeared in front of Rhode once again.

[Mission <<Demons Whisper>> completed. 8000 EXP gained. 3 Skill Points awarded. Random reward.]

Accompanied by the system prompt, an obscure card immediately appeared in the air and spun slowly in front of Rhode. At first, it resembled the back of a mirror, but slowly it became clearer and clearer and eventually transformed into a pitch-black card, quietly floating in Rhodes eyes.

Is this the random reward?

Rhode frowned as he reached out his hand to grab the card.

The card appeared to be pitch black in the front. Dark aura swirled at the top of the card where a large iii text was located at. This represented the status of the card. Instead, Rhode focused on the bottom of the card instead. He spotted two values, 1 and 10. These numbers defined the offensive and defensive ability of the card respectively.

He immediately realized this was a defensive card.

Seems like Im in luck.

Rhode nodded with satisfaction. His stash of cards lacked a defensive card. In Rhodes collection, the strongest card was of course Gillian. Both her offense and defense points were more than 20, but Rhode couldnt help but feel disappointed when his ace card had limited summons. As of now, the only defense cards he could afford were Celia and Centaur Knight. However, their defense wasnt very high. They could only withstand average or slightly superior enemies. Against very powerful opponents? They wouldnt be able to last.

A card with an initial 10 points for the defence was considered very good. In the game, a monsters strength was represented by the amount of offense and defense points:

1~4 points Normal beasts;

5~8 points Behemoths;

9~12 points Monsters;

13~16 points Elites;

17 points & above Lords

While the initial attributes dont specifically dictate the future potential of the summoned spirit, there are some spirits with high growth potential that had the chance to gain several levels at once when obtaining the same amount EXP. Whereas there are some spirits looked great in the beginning, but after evolution, their growth scaled badly.

In Rhodes deck, other than Gillian, the Star Mark sword current attributes were 9 in offense and 7 in defense. It fully displayed the high growth potential of an angel. As for the Spirit Bird, its growth rate was disappointing. Although it was one of first few spirits that spent the most time with Rhode in this world, both its attributes were just at a measly 4 points, even at level 9. This was solely because of the lack of experience in its future battles. Apart from using its Shadow Follower skill which provided a buff that allowed Rhode to fly, it had no other usage.

Comparing to the Spirit Bird, the Black Holds attributes seemed to be more outstanding. Maybe it was because of Rhodes frequent usage as a bomb during battle. After gaining lots of EXP, it had reached level 16, increasing its original 5 offense and 3 defense points to 7 and 3. The growth in offense points seemed great, but its defense was equally weak. Rhode was satisfied with its low defense, though. Besides, who would use a bomb that wouldnt explode when thrown?

As a new member of Rhodes deck, the Centaur Knight had a minimal increment in its attributes. Currently, it was level 8 and the attributes merely increased to 6 offense and 5 defense points only. Rhodes deck was painfully obvious that it focused mainly towards offense. Despite owning two defense cards, they were still more attack-oriented compared to other purely defensive cards.

The new card had the lowest offense, but its defense was only second to Gillian. 10 defense points meant that it could take more than one full attack from a Death Knight, or even Sereck, without dying. This brought Rhode unimaginable benefits.

Anne did her job well. All the pressure on her considered to be overwhelming. When the Starlight Guild grows bigger, the pressure on Shield Warriors would grow as well. On top of that, this role required talent and experience, not to mention it was the most dangerous job. Rhode couldnt foresee himself meeting another genius Shield Warrior like Anne anytime soon, not to mention she was with a half beast descent, and was unafraid of death.

Compared to Anne, a summoned spirit seemed much more convenient. It could appear and disappear as he wished. Even if the spirit falls in battle, re-summoning wasnt too difficult.

Rhode flipped over the card. Details of this card were clearly written on the back.

[Received Abyss Corps 2/5, Nether Tentacles]

[Nether Tentacles(Dark Element Attributes): Ground-type non-fusion spirit, Skill Binding (Prey that fall into the trap will be disarmed, unable to retaliate) level 9.

Triggers self-healing if damage received is not over its limit. Recovery characteristic.

Hidden trap in darkness will not be discovered. Shadow characteristic.

Upon approaching prey, certain chance to limit preys movement. Paralysis characteristic]

[Offence: 1, Defence: 10]

Hmm Pretty good.

Rhode nodded with satisfaction. He knew these data were merely data. In order to truly understand it, he needed to test it

Rhode lifted his head and glanced silently at the angel.

Celia, give this new card a test.

Yes, Master.

After Rhodes command, Celia nodded her head and drew her sword. She took two steps back and gestured to Rhode. After confirming Celia was ready, Rhode lifted his hand and summoned the Nether Tentacles.

Nothing seemed to happen.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then without any notice, Rhodes shadow suddenly grew longer. If Rhode wasnt in control of his card, then perhaps he would miss this creepy incident.

Seemed like its concealment was indeed good.

Can you feel it?

Celia frowned and tilted her head slightly at Rhodes question. She then carefully observed Rhodes surroundings and shook her head lightly.

Im sorry, Master. I only can feel something is amiss but I cant detect the exact location where.

Excellent.

After hearing Celias answer, Rhode nodded with satisfaction. Attack me without mercy.

Yes.

Celia raised her sword without hesitation and struck towards Rhode. The silver-whitish brilliance burst out from her sword, filling the area with white light

When Celias sword was about to hit Rhode, the shadow from beneath his feet immediately extended and formed a semi-circle shaped chasm in front of him. Countless of pitch-black tentacles shot out from within and flew toward Celia, blocking her attack.

The tentacles were as thick as a human arm, about 2 meters long. It created the impression of two huge-like earthworms popping out from the ground. The movement of these tentacles would shock anyone if they werent prepared.

Despite being slightly surprised by the sudden appearance, she was able to calm herself down quickly and attempted to slash the tentacles apart. The tentacles moved as if it reacted to Celias attack. Once they locked their sights on her, it split and flew in all directions, rapidly closing towards Celia.

Celias ability wasnt weak either. Her sword sliced several tentacles apart, but it didnt seem to be effective as new tentacles immediately took its place, it could be said to be as thick as a forest. Because of this, Celia appeared to be struggling slightly against the endless grove of dense tentacles.

Seems like its working well.

Rhode thought to himself. The Nether Tentacles had strong defenses and there were no problems with blocking attacks. Moreover, with it being 3 meters wide and 2 meters tall in diameter and height, normal attacks wouldnt threaten it much. With Rhodes exquisite control, this tentacle wall could cover the length of a basketball court in the least. It could also provide defense within 180 degrees. Based on this experiment, the tentacles flexibility would give opponents surprising threats

Yes! Thats the way! Bind her! Strip her off!! Gillian cheered gleefully with a slight smirk on her face.

This shocked Rhode as he went deep in thought. He subconsciously turned back to the fight and the sight almost gave him a nosebleed.

He was unsure when did Celia manage to get herself caught within the tentacles. Her sword was already on the side. Both of her hands were tied up high with her long, slender legs spread wide apart. The smooth tentacles were slowly slithering up the gaps in her armor and went into her skirt, executing a skillful removal of the maidens armor. Of course, during this period of time, Celia was struggling to escape as she flapped her wings with all her might. Unfortunately, the tentacles were like a spider web, binding her even tighter when she struggled. Now, almost half of Celias armor had already been removed, revealing her thin inner clothes that emphasized her curvaceous body. A slight tinge of pink could almost be seen from the front.

Celia blushed with embarrassment. She tried to yell, but could only make muffled sounds as a tentacle shoved itself into her mouth.

!!!!

The squirming body of the angel maiden gave off the temptation of innocence and lust. Her slim waist and the torn clothes gave everyone a visual feast

Yes! Right there, take it down! Use more strength! Just a little more!

Gillians fearless goading triggered a reaction from Rhode. He quickly made a hand gesture and those tentacles binding Celia disappeared in an instant, returning to Rhodes shadow. As for the angel maiden who fell hard to the ground, she hastily recovered and grabbed her fallen armor, re-equipping all of them completely.

I- Im really sorry, Master, I

No, you did well

Rhode paused for a moment, not knowing what to say. So he coughed and decided to change the topic.

Now that the mission is complete, lets pack up and leave.

Yes, Master. Ill go now.

Maybe Celia thought her actions were too embarrassing, so she hurriedly but rigorously bowed to Rhode. She then turned around and left quickly. Looking at her back view, Rhode shrugged his shoulders and let out a sigh.

Such a pity. Just needed that little bit more. Gillian said with genuine disappointment in her voice.

But Master, this card seemed to be a good choice isnt it?

Yes indeed.

Rhode nodded solemnly. With this card, I can relax a little on my defense.

Not only that, theres other benefits arent it? Hehe~ Gillian giggled as she teased Rhode.

For some reason, Rhode felt that Gillian was exceptionally happy.

Master, dont you feel excited at all? Tentacles are mens fantasy, arent they~?