Chapter 219: Returning to Iron Bar Town Again

Having reached the Imperial rank, filled with excitement, Rod packed up everything and set off toward Collins Forest with joy and enthusiasm. At a normal pace, it should take only about fifteen days to reach Iron Bar Town. As for what would happen once there, Rod didn’t need to worry—Hori would surely have made all the arrangements.

Touching the human skin mask on his face to ensure no flaws were exposed, Rod channeled his combat energy and rushed forward. As he entered this realm, abundant combat energy filled his feet, allowing him to feel the thrill of speeding. With a loud shout, he realized his current speed was far greater than that of his Golden Warrior days. Recalling the battles at the Continental Tournament, where he had been severely outmatched by Ciel due to speed, Rod sighed. If he had had this speed back then, the outcome would surely have been different!

Then there were those assassins. Thinking of them, his gaze turned cold. Much of why things had escalated to this point was because of those damned assassins. If he remembered correctly, their names were Silver Wing, Nightingale, Viper, and Crow! With a cold murderous intent in his eyes, he resolved to find these guys and make them pay double for all the pain and consequences they had caused him.

“Let others not offend me, and I won’t offend them. But if they do, I’ll make them pay double”—this was Rod’s principle and belief. Now that he had reached the Imperial rank, his strength had risen to a new level, and his bloodline had also awakened. Rod was confident that if he encountered those guys again, things wouldn’t end like before! Mutation was his greatest asset now. Since his identity was known and exposed to the world, he saw no problem in using this power to help himself achieve his goals.

“Perhaps Hori and the others know something about these guys’ origins and whereabouts!” Rod murmured to himself. If those guys could find him, they could surely find those four as well. With his own awakening, he put this matter aside for now and continued moving at full speed.

This time, he paid even more attention to controlling his combat energy and cultivating his mental strength, constantly refining himself. The formation of his combat energy avatar revealed many flaws, and now was the perfect time to use this period to train hard, strengthen his weaknesses, and improve his strength—after all, that was the true path to greatness.

“Tielan Town! Have we finally arrived?” Rod stopped in his tracks and murmured to himself as he gazed at the towering city walls ahead.
Indeed, after all these days of travel, he had finally reached the outskirts of Tielan Town today. It had taken seventeen days—two more than he had expected! The main reason for this was that Rod had spent a great deal of time cultivating.
Over these seventeen days, he had achieved much. First, he stabilized his strength after reaching the Imperial level, calming the combat energy within his body completely. Meanwhile, through relentless training throughout those days, his control over combat energy and mental strength had reached an entirely new level, far beyond what it was before.
Beyond the improvement in strength, Rod also found that his mental strength had improved significantly. Coupled with the repeated cultivation and extreme challenges these past few days, he was now incomparably stronger! Although he hadn’t tried to form a true body again, Rod knew that if he did so this time, it would be even more perfect and powerful than before. He was steadily moving forward.
Shouts from ahead pulled Rod back to reality. Looking at Tielan Town, he was filled with mixed emotions. Everything that had happened here the last time was still vivid in his mind. The three most memorable events were being chased in the forest, where he managed to fight back and succeed; then encountering the Earth Bear; and finally, the most exciting moment—stealing the Fire Dragon Egg. Without that egg, there would be no Furnace Sky today. Tielan Town could be considered both a blessed and a cursed place for him. Since then, his already chaotic life had become even more chaotic and tense, with not a single day of peace.
“I wonder if Hori and the others are still here!” Thinking about it, it had been twenty-one days since he was chased in Blackstone City and met Hori. Would they still be waiting here after such a long time? He doubted it. But he still believed that someone would come to rescue him.
After some hesitation, Rod decided to enter the town using his current appearance. Although this appearance had already been exposed, and even a portrait of him had reached Tielan Town, making him a target for pursuit, Rod couldn’t care less anymore. He had no choice but to act this way. Otherwise, how could he enter?
It was obviously impossible to infiltrate unnoticed. Otherwise, how could Tielan Town, known as the first great challenge on the continent, live up to its reputation?

A glint flashed in his eyes. Seeing the dirt by the road, he came up with an idea. He simply picked up a handful of dirt and dust and smeared it on his face. After applying this “makeup,” his appearance changed significantly. With the cover of night, unless someone took a close look, it would be hard to recognize him; they would likely think he was just a poor, miserable mercenary.

After confirming he wouldn’t be recognized, Rod took a deep breath, mustered up his courage, and headed toward the city gates, ready to turn and run at any moment. He wasn’t a saint, nor a fool. With hundreds of thousands of troops stationed in this Iron Bar Town, it would be foolish not to flee if discovered—nothing but seeking death. Even a lowly imperial-level warrior like him couldn’t stand against a god-level being.

As he approached the city gates, Rod’s mood grew increasingly uneasy. With each step, his heart tightened further, and he remained in a state of tension. Yet, he still forced on a harmless smile and continued forward.

“Hey, unlucky mercenary! What’s wrong? What happened to you? Did you get robbed? There are a lot of bandits around these parts lately!” A voice suddenly called out in front of him, nearly making Rod’s Dark Dragon react defensively. His nerves were already on edge, and he couldn’t afford such a joke. He resisted the impulse—impulse was the devil. Looking at the mercenary who had turned to speak to him, Rod gave a bitter smile but didn’t reply. At that moment, an idea struck him.

“Damn it, not that? Then maybe you ran into an enemy? Or… no way. Could it be you met that devil? A demon! Good heavens, if you’re still alive to tell about it, you’re lucky. I heard he’s a merciless killer!”

“Fortunately, the church has issued a proclamation to hunt this scourge. Fifteen Rose Knights and eight archbishops are leading the pursuit. Tsk tsk tsk… With such a lineup, that demon is doomed! Over twenty holy-level warriors and dozens of imperial-level ones! Even if that demon reaches holy level, he’s still a dead man.”

Seeing that Rod hadn’t replied, the man shouted loudly, his voice instantly drawing the attention of all the mercenaries and passersby waiting to enter the city. Everyone’s gaze focused on the two of them.

It was as if a stone had been thrown into a calm lake, causing ripples that spread far and wide.

“Damn it!” Seeing this, Rod cursed inwardly. It was now impossible to pretend nothing had happened and stay low-key. At that moment, Rod really wished he could crush that talkative guy—could dying come from staying silent?

Yet his words weren’t entirely useless. At least the last part gave Rod a lot of information, such as the Church’s actions of excluding fifteen Rose Warriors and eight Archbishops—such formidable forces! Thinking of this, Rod felt a chill and shame. Which damn fool claimed to have reached the Holy level?

Frowning, Rod immediately thought of the three novices he had dealt with that day. It was very likely them. To cover up their embarrassing situation, they must have fabricated lies!

“Bastards!” Rod cursed silently. They really were a bunch of troublemakers.

“You two, stand still!” Footsteps sounded, and Rod realized that he and the other guy were now surrounded. The pedestrians and mercenaries who had been queuing to enter the city had all taken cover. Now, hundreds of soldiers surrounded the two of them.

“You… we… what do you want to do? Why…?” Seeing this, Rod wasn’t as anxious as the troublemaker, who asked anxiously first.

“What did you just say? Who are the demons? Where did you see demons?” An officer stepped forward, his face stern, and asked Rod and the other guy coldly. Clearly, he had heard what the other guy had said.

“Demons! We… we’re not demons. I… I meant this guy. We’re friends, planning to meet here. We didn’t expect him to be late. He said he was chased by demons and managed to escape by luck, which took a lot of time. Look at his disheveled appearance—there’s no mistake. Brother, where are the demons? Tell this lord quickly so he can send people to chase them! Hurry up!” The man’s eyes flickered as he pushed Rod, urging him with his fabricated story.

Hearing this, Rod was slightly stunned. He gave him a smirk, realizing he knew this trick. He probably wasn’t a good person, otherwise he wouldn’t be so nervous. But this was perfect—it actually helped him.

“Mm, I encountered that Knightrod in the small village ahead. He was fighting against a group of people there, and I got pulled into it just by passing by. I barely managed to escape just now. That guy is probably still among you. Hurry up and go—make sure to kill that evil demon!” With a guilty conscience, Rod turned his head slightly to avoid being recognized, speaking loudly while complaining and lamenting. His pitiful expression and disheveled appearance made most people believe him, as they looked at this lucky guy with pity and sympathy.

“A village? The Kebil Village?”

“Mm, yes, it’s over there. Hurry up and go!” Rod had no idea what the Kebil Village was. Since the officer said so, he just went along with it, relying on luck.

“Oh, poor Brado, you’ve finally arrived. I thought you wouldn’t come. What happened to you? Damn it, the great Light God will avenge you. Come in quickly—the captain is still waiting for you. The beast invasion happens tomorrow. Hurry in and join us. We can’t do without you as reinforcements!” Strange things were rare, but there were many today. Before the officer could say anything else, a man suddenly ran out of the city, rushed up to Rod, hugged him, and spoke loudly, leaving Rod completely confused.

“Are you the reinforcements? Then there’s no doubt about it. As expected. Someone, quickly gather the troops and get ready to set off. I’ll go report to the general! You guys, hurry in. The beast invasion is coming tomorrow. Reinforcements are our greatest strength. Rest well—just leave this matter to me!” Hearing Rod’s reply, the officer hurriedly spoke, patting his chest to assure him. Of course, he believed Rod’s words right away, partly because he thought those who were reinforcements couldn’t lie to him!