Chapter 7: Reunion with Acquaintances

By the time all matters were settled, it was already daylight. After a night of fierce battles on the brink of life and death, both physically and mentally exhausted to the extreme, a sense of fatigue overcame them the moment they relaxed.
Under such circumstances, the three of them headed toward their camp to get some rest. There might be even more intense battles waiting for them at night. Of course, if possible, they hoped to gain more time for training, as agreed earlier. All decisions would have to be made based on how the situation developed.
Among the three, perhaps only Rod’s spirit remained most vigorous. He had returned to the camp in the middle of the night and spent most of it training due to his injuries, allowing his body and mind to recover well. With energy to spare, he didn’t intend to rest. After giving instructions to the other two, he headed outside to check on the current battle situation.
Walking toward the city walls through the camp, he felt the bustling crowd during the day. The camp was clearly less lively during the day compared to at night, as the battles were fiercest at night, and most people fought then, with the day serving as their main time for rest.
Only a small number participated in the daytime defense battles, as those battles were mainly fought by the main forces of the Black Tooth Legion.
When Rod reached Camp 14, he couldn’t help but stop in his tracks and look inside. His expression was complex—Kiro and the others must be stationed there. It had been about ten days since they arrived in Iron Bar Town. During that time, Rod had only seen them from afar during a battle a few days ago; otherwise, he hadn’t noticed their presence at all!
“Maybe they’re all fighting during the day!” Suddenly, this explanation came to Rod’s mind. The sudden thought surprised him, and he gave a faint wry smile.
Since when had he started looking for excuses? Didn’t it suit him just fine not to see them? What if he did see them? How would he face them? Standing there, lost in thought, Rod became preoccupied.
Whispering voices came to his ears. Turning around, he saw several people standing nearby, seemingly discussing something while watching him.

Frowning slightly and sighing, Rod still gave up the idea of entering Camp 14 to take a look. Instead, he turned to continue on his way, leaving this place he didn’t know how to face.
“Brother Brado?” Just then, several youths who had been standing in front of him walked over. One of them came forward and asked respectfully—yes, Rod could sense respect in his tone.
“Who are you? What do you want from me?” Clearly unexpecting these people to come looking for him, Rod asked in confusion. But soon he sensed something was off. Narrowing his eyes, he thought these people seemed familiar—had he met them somewhere before?
“We are members of Camp 14. After attending the Continental Combat Tournament at the Holy Light Academy, we were fortunate enough to join the City Guard team to fight against the beast invasion in Iron Bar Town. We’ve long heard of Brother Brado’s fame, and the Death Scythe Squad is even more renowned. We’ve long hoped to join the Death Scythe Squad and fight alongside Brother Brado, so as to learn more and hone our skills. Would Brother Brado consider taking us on?” Hearing this, the three youths blushed slightly. After pondering for a moment, one of them asked.
Soon, Rod learned their identities from their self-introductions: the first was Tru, a member of the Wind God Academy’s elite team; the next was Binda, a member of the Divine Martial Academy’s elite team; and the last was a member of the Holy Light Academy’s elite team!
Only then did Rod realize why he found them familiar—they were all participants in this Continental Combat Tournament. Although he hadn’t paid much attention to the battles of other academies during the tournament at Holy Light Academy, he had still noticed those matches! No wonder he had that feeling.
Two of them already possessed the strength of early Imperial rank, while the third, the student from Holy Light Academy, had reached the late stage of Golden Warrior, just one step away from Imperial rank!

Looking at the three of them, Rod felt an urge to laugh. Thinking that things like this had already happened to Kiro and the others, he hesitated for a moment. All three basically agreed to his demands, especially that magician from the Divine Martial Academy—a light magic user! A mage of the magecraft level; such a magician was undoubtedly a deadly temptation to Rod. With powerful healing abilities and considerable combat skills, they were indeed ideal comrades!

“What about your team? You must have formed a team for this trial, right?” But Rod rationally told himself that they couldn’t join his team!

“Our team was scattered. After fighting until today, we’ve suffered heavy losses. There were fifteen of us when we left, and now only eleven remain. Two are seriously injured and can no longer fight. Only nine of us can continue fighting. We’re scattered and unable to unite. Brother, don’t worry. We truly hope to join the Death Scythe Squad and fight alongside you!” At that moment, the man named Tru became anxious and hurriedly explained.

Hearing their words, Rod was slightly stunned. He hadn’t expected such heavy losses for that team. What about Kiro and the others? Thinking of this, he grew worried. Kiro had settled his grudges in that forest, but what about Viski? He still owed him a favor. If not for him back then, he would have already…

“Hey, Tru! Where are you guys?” Just as Rod was puzzled, a familiar voice came from afar—a voice so familiar that Rod couldn’t help but freeze.

As the others turned around, he also looked ahead. In front of him, three figures were walking toward them. All three were old acquaintances of his—and not just ordinary acquaintances.

Indeed, those three were none other than Kiro and Viski, whom Rod had just thought of, along with Sael. The presence of these three made Rod’s heart race. Watching them walk toward him, his mind became chaotic; he didn’t know what to say or how to face them.

On the other hand, seeing that they were safe, he felt slightly relieved and let out a sigh of comfort.

“You guys came at just the right time, Kiro, Wiski, and Ciel. We happened to meet Brother Brado here. Didn’t we all discuss joining the Death Scythe Squad yesterday? Aside from those four guys, the rest of us have agreed to join. We were actually asking Brother Brado to take us in!” Tru waved to greet the approaching figures before continuing.

“Brother Brado! Hehe, what an honor. I never expected to see you here!” Only then did the three notice Rod standing in front of them and quickly greeted him.

Rod nodded in response to their warm greetings, smiling. After several days apart, these guys had indeed looked quite worn out. It seemed they were still flowers grown in a greenhouse—strong in ability, but unaccustomed to such situations. For them, this kind of environment was a bit too harsh.

Looking at the people across from him, who were also staring at him, Rod felt a bit awkward. It seemed as though they could see through him with just a glance.

“Brother Brado, you resemble someone I know well!” Then, a statement from Kiro made Rod’s body tremble and his expression change instantly. His eyes flickered. If it weren’t for the mask covering his face, everyone would have noticed those expressions.

“Hehe, is that so? That must be fate!” Taking a deep breath, Rod forced himself to smile, trying to appear genuine as he spoke with apparent interest.

“Yeah, a really good friend from before! It’s a shame now… Well, maybe it’s all fate. Perhaps I’m wrong too! It’s a pity we won’t get to meet again!” The group revealed their true feelings, causing Rod to suspect them right from the first encounter, even leading him to uncover his disguise.

Yet he couldn’t figure it out. At least, Rod believed he hadn’t shown any signs of weakness during those brief seconds of meeting. This only deepened his confusion!

At that moment, seeing the expressions and gazes of Wiski and Ciel made Rod even more uneasy. Both of them stood there, staring at him with unsettling looks that gave him a strange feeling.