Chapter Twelve: Kiro’s Arrival

“You… Brado, I hate you!” Seeing Rod about to leave, Shirley became upset again and shouted at him loudly, with a hint of a fierce tiger in her demeanor.
“What do you actually want, miss? I don’t have time to waste on you. There are many things to do. You know exactly what’s going on in Iron Bar Town right now—so stop causing trouble here! Go back to where it’s safe! This place is too dangerous for you!” Rod couldn’t understand how such a person could come to a dangerous place like Iron Bar Town. Perhaps only her so-called amazing grandfather could bring her here! Rod said to her with a bitter smile.
“You… forget it. I’m too lazy to deal with you! I’ll repay you for the two times I owe you, huh! Go on, you busy person, famous hero! We mere girls dare not disturb you any longer!” Perhaps angered by Rod’s words, Shirley shouted at him before turning and heading back to her tent.
Watching Shirley leave in anger, Rod smiled slightly, shook his head, and stopped paying attention to this stubborn girl. With a sigh, he turned and headed to his own tent, his gaze cold. That damned beast had actually gotten away from him. Of course, Rod wasn’t willing to accept that. He had a feeling that things might go wrong because of this guy someday.
When he returned to the camp, it was already noon. Most people had finished resting. After all, those present were no ordinary people—they were warriors, all strong ones. For them, rest wasn’t that important. They could even restore most of their energy just by practicing, so a morning’s sleep was sufficient for them.
At that moment, Skora and Keroth were organizing the people to start training. When Rod arrived, they were assembling the team. The battle the previous night had made them realize many of their shortcomings, so everyone looked serious, approaching training with unprecedented seriousness.

“Boss, are you back?” Skora greeted Rod with a smile when he returned. Soon, everyone else also greeted him. Although this group was formed voluntarily with no mandatory requirements and wasn’t as strictly organized as an empire’s forces, over time and due to various factors, they had become something akin to an army—even more disciplined than ordinary mercenary teams! Naturally, Rod became their supreme leader in their eyes.

“Mm, train hard. If the situation over there isn’t critical today, there’s no need to go. Focus on training first! We’ll discuss further after we’ve improved our coordination,” Rod said in a low voice after pondering for a moment while looking at them.

Yesterday’s battle also revealed many shortcomings—lack of coordination and inadequate tactical application were serious issues. Fighting in the current state would only result in unnecessary casualties.

“As the saying goes, to do a job well, one must first sharpen one’s tools.” Training was indeed the top priority. It was a good opportunity to train hard while theWorld of Warcraft legion was slightly less active. Perhaps battles would intensify again in a day or two.

Today marked the fifteenth day since the beast invasion officially began. Half a month had passed, and based on past experience, this process would last between 35 and 40 days! So far, only half of that time had gone by.

Rod knew the saying, “It takes ninety percent effort to complete a task after only half the distance has been covered.” This was just the beginning—there was still a long way to go. As the end neared, the magical beasts would become even more frenzied, and the vampires and werewolves would grow even more savage and bloody. Even the demons would appear then—only then would the real battle begin. For now, it was just training, which was why this beast invasion was different from previous ones!

“Alright, don’t worry, boss. We’re leaving first!” While Rod was deep in thought, Skora and Keroth had already organized their teams. After saying that to Rod, they led their teams to start training.

Leaving Rod alone, he stood there for a while before also organizing his own team to prepare for training.

The entire afternoon was spent immersed in training. After last night’s actual combat, almost everyone had realized their own shortcomings, so today’s training was particularly targeted, especially for the mages. Although there weren’t many mages in their team, these few were of utmost importance—their performance could determine the final outcome. Thus, Rod set extremely high standards for them, asking them to use different combat strategies according to the overall situation. The results of the training were satisfactory; they had indeed made significant progress compared to before, with improvements in many key areas!

The combination of theory and practice was fully utilized at this moment.

By the time of the next break, it was already late in the evening. Seeing how late it was and the fatigue evident after an afternoon of training, Rod decided to stop and lead everyone back to the camp for rest.

The next day would be night. If the battles there weren’t too intense, they might use the evening time for further training. They would fight again the next day; if not, they would just have to continue fighting. There was nothing wrong with that—at least it would allow them to identify more of their shortcomings.

Within moments of returning to the camp, Skora and Keroth had also arrived. Seeing their excited expressions, Rod guessed that, like him, they must have gained a lot from the afternoon.

“Boss, you know what? We’ve made quite a bit of progress in today’s training. How about you?” After dispersing the team, the three gathered again. The room had originally been a tent, but since no one else was using it, they turned it into the meeting room for their Death Scythe Squad.

“Not bad. We need to hurry up these days—things might not be as favorable in a few days. We can’t tolerate any troublemakers in the team. If we hesitate, chaos will ensue. Just remember that!” Rod nodded and gave his orders in a serious tone.

Although he hadn’t encountered such people in his own team yet, Rod believed that with so many new members brought in at once, some who were trying to take advantage would inevitably be among them. Such people definitely couldn’t be tolerated, otherwise, everyone would suffer in the end.

“Yeah, we know,” the two replied, stunned by Rod’s words but understanding with solemn expressions. They already knew what Rod meant.

“Boss, there are people outside looking for Brother Skora and Brother Krod, saying it was you who sent them!” The three of them were sitting together, reflecting on yesterday’s battle and discussing the problems they had encountered. At that moment, Curly Hair suddenly entered the room and said to Rod with a puzzled expression.

“Me?” Rod was also surprised by these words. Then, as if he remembered something, he frowned and said, “Hmm, I see. Lei Ao, have them come in!” He then gave instructions to Curly Hair.

“A few people sent by the Holy Light Academy. After the continental competition started, the Holy Light Academy led the formation of a team of fifteen people who came to Iron Bar Town. We encountered a few of them this morning; they said they suffered heavy losses, with only nine left. Six of them said they wanted to join our Death Scythe Squad today. They seemed sincere, so I had them come to see you two!” Rod then turned to Skora and Krod, who still looked confused, and explained.

Inside, he secretly smiled bitterly. They really came. Living under one camp and fighting in one team—seems like there will be fun ahead. He sighed to himself, wondering if he wasn’t playing with fire.

“Hmm, let’s take a look then. Could Boss’s judgment be wrong?” Only then did Skora and Krod understand. They looked at Rod and teased him.

“Yeah, these people are the hope of the continent! The future strongmen. I can’t believe Boss managed to trick them into coming here,” Krod even joked, which was rare for him.

Indeed, in the eyes of ordinary people, these individuals were truly outstanding. Each of them could be considered the best of their age group across the continent—future leaders in this region!

A moment later, they saw a few people enter the room led by Curly Hair.

“Brother Brado, Brother Skora, Brother Krod!” Upon entering, they greeted them politely.

“You’re here? On time! Hehe, I’ve talked to Brother Skora and Brother Krod about this, and they have no objections. You can decide for yourselves. We have three teams here, and you can join whichever one you want!” Rod said with a smile, looking at them, especially Kiro, Viski, and Sayer. Deep down, he hoped that at least Kiro and the other two would join Skora and Krod’s team, as that would be better for him.

“We’ve discussed it. Following Brother Brado is the best choice—we’re around the same age, it’s easier to get along with him, and we can learn more from him. So we hope Brother Brado will approve!” To Rod’s surprise, Kiro immediately voiced their plan, which was exactly what Rod was most worried about. He never expected the very thing he dreaded to happen.

“Hmm, that works. You take these people with you. After all, your group has the fewest members! And the tasks in the west are the most demanding! You’ll be fine leading them!” Hearing their words, Skora and Keroth had no objections and agreed right away, leaving Rod feeling utterly helpless.

After hesitating for a moment, he could only sigh. “Alright then. Move in tonight and integrate into our tactics as soon as possible!”

And so, the matter was hastily resolved under Rod’s frustration, ending amidst the excited cheers of the trainees. Rod knew his days ahead would be tough! It seemed that whatever he feared would indeed happen. Looking at them, Rod smiled bitterly to himself.