Chapter 50: The Three-Year Agreement

“What’s wrong?” Seeming to sense Rod’s unusual state, the man in black asked doubtfully as he looked at him.
“Nothing, really! I just didn’t expect to see you again so soon. I wonder if it’s time for you to tell me your true identities, so I can understand why you want to work with me, what I can offer you, and what you can offer me in return.” Hearing this, Rod was shocked, as if his feelings had been exposed to others. His face turned red, and he quickly sat up straight, speaking to the man in black.
“Hehe, it seems this is your true thoughts. But now isn’t the time to reveal everything to you. As I said before, we won’t harm you, so there’s no need for you to be wary of us. We’re comrades on the same ship, aren’t we?” After hearing Rod’s words, the man in black stared at him intently. Though he wore a mask, the eyes visible and his gaze made one feel uneasy, causing a chill to run down their spine. Realizing this, Rod felt helpless—he had never had the upper hand in confrontations with this man; he was always held back. This time would be no exception.
“Alright, let’s talk about the reason we came looking for you. We’ve already heard that your identity has been exposed, but we haven’t told you because, in our view, it’s not a bad thing for you, right? At least you won’t have to waver in your stance, and at least you won’t have to kill your future comrades just to deal with potential enemies! Also, at least now you know who among those around you truly follows you and who are the traitors. You’ve seen that now, and that’s enough, isn’t it?
Our goal has been achieved, which at least saves you over a year of trouble in the future! So we think it’s worth it. Your training in Tielan Town has truly made you grow a lot. You don’t need to feel disappointed about Tielan Town—no one will forget your achievements, not now, and certainly not in the future! Just wait and see; everything isn’t over yet. This is just the beginning, and things will only get more exciting!” With a faint, eerie smile on his face, the man in black spoke calmly to Rod.

The more Rod listened to him, the more alarmed his heart became. The more he listened, the more he realized things were far from simple. It seemed as though some unseen force was steering the entire situation, and the master of this force was this mysterious organization—so mysterious that no trace of it could be discerned.

What was more, he had no way to refute their words. Indeed, at first he had secretly complained about these people for not telling him about this matter, for not passing on the information. But upon further reflection, wasn’t it actually a good thing that they hadn’t told him? Many things didn’t need to be faced; there was no need to struggle and agonize in a situation that wasn’t his own, nor to question his actions every day. In a sense, it was indeed as the man in black had said—it saved him a great deal of time by taking the shortest route, without any detours. Since they had hidden things from him, perhaps he should even say thank you? This made Rod feel like crying without tears. To achieve such a level of skill was truly extraordinary and unfathomable—now he understood why they were so powerful.

At the same time, he wondered secretly—was this just the beginning? Could there be even bigger things to come? What could those be? With these thoughts, Rod grew increasingly worried and puzzled.

“What do I need to do? What can I gain?” Taking a deep breath, Rod looked at the man in black and simply asked, a hint of bitterness on his lips. Since he couldn’t escape, he might as well accept it. Being direct was far better than beating around the bush.

“You’re smart! Someone will tell you your task. This time, someone will accompany you to handle it. Once you complete this task, you’ll know all the secrets you want to know. As for your teammates and brothers, they must carry out another task. A strong person needs helpers who match their status and strength. It’s impossible to succeed alone; one must have powerful allies. You’ll understand this better in the future.” The man in black glanced at Rod appreciatively upon hearing his words, revealing a slight smile. Rod understood faster than he had expected—talking to smart people always saved a lot of time.

“Where are they going? Is it dangerous?” Frowning, Rod parted from them, not expecting that the first thing upon arriving here would be to separate from these people. He felt a mix of distress and reluctance. More importantly, he was worried—these people had all followed him here, and now they had to part ways and follow strangers’ orders right away. Rod feared they might object, and even more, he worried they might cause trouble.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of this. As for danger, nothing is without risk. There’s no such thing as free food in this world; you must pay a price to get it. Rewards always come with risks. Survival of the fittest is the rule of this world,” replied the man in black, seemingly sensing Rod’s concerns.

Hearing the man in black’s words, Rod’s brows furrowed tightly. How could he not know this? Taking a deep breath, he looked up at the man in black and said, “I hope you can take care of these people. They’re all my brothers. I’ll go see them in a bit!” In the end, Rod accepted the man in black’s arrangement.

After dealing with this matter, Rod quickly left the man in black’s study and headed toward the small courtyard where his group was staying. With a heavy heart, he entered the courtyard only to find Hori following another mysterious man in black, having just left.

Upon entering the courtyard, Rod immediately sensed that something was wrong. All the dozens of people who had followed him were gathered there, their expressions showing that something had happened. Everyone was silent and solemn.

Rubbing his head, Rod inwardly groaned. It seemed Hori must have already told them. Otherwise, this wouldn’t have happened. Rod, who had been thinking about how to explain things when he returned, could only sigh. These people were indeed fast.

“Leader!” The group respectfully addressed him upon seeing him return.

“Do you all know what happened?” Taking a deep breath, Rod asked directly.

“Well, Lord Hory has already told us. He wants us to follow him on missions in the coming time to train ourselves! Boss, don’t worry. We’re all grown-ups now—what could possibly go wrong? We’ve been to Iron Bar Town and fought our way through the Collins Forest. What are we afraid of now? Lord Hory is right—you’re not an ordinary person. Your goal isn’t ordinary either. To achieve it, relying on our current abilities alone won’t suffice. So we must improve ourselves as quickly as possible. Only then can we be more confident. It’s better to die from training than to die at the hands of the enemy!
Boss, really, these aren’t big deals. We brothers now understand. Now that we have a goal and something to do, it won’t be as easy as before. It’s just training. Although it’s a bit dangerous, it’s still better than waiting to die! You don’t need to worry. Go do your thing. We’ll take care of this. Just don’t be too surprised when we meet again!”
As Rod finished speaking, Skora’s bold voice came through.
“Well, boss, don’t worry. These aren’t big deals. What difficulties have we never faced? If we can’t even handle this, how can we follow you in the future? How can we continue?” That was followed by Curly’s words.
“Boss, don’t worry!” Then came everyone’s voices.
Hearing their words, Rod found his eyes slightly reddened. There’s a kind of emotion called brotherhood. There’s a kind of tear called gratitude! He knew very well that they were saying these things to comfort him. Turning his attention to Nightingale, who had remained silent, Rod gazed deeply at her.
“Three years, at most three years, before we can reunite. See you in three years! Take care of yourself! Following Hory, we won’t be in any danger. It’ll be much better for you!” Seemingly sensing Rod’s gaze, Nightingale also suddenly turned to look at him and said,
“Three years? Really?” Rod murmured after hearing Nightingale’s words. Then his eyes suddenly brightened. Looking at the people in front of him, he said, “See you in three years! I don’t want to miss a single person. In three years, we’ll change the world together!” Rod spoke with great ambition and vigor.
“Change the world together in three years!” Inspired by Rod’s words, everyone shouted loudly as well. In an instant, the entire courtyard was filled with their shouts.

“Young folks! Hehe, it seems we’re really old now! Old man, are you really confident enough to leave that kid to me? You treat him like your precious treasure and never take him with you. With you around, no one on this continent can hurt him, right?” At that moment, not far from the courtyard where Rod and the others were, two masked men in black fought side by side. Hearing the shouts in the distance, one of them smiled. Upon closer inspection, the two of them were surprisingly similar—same clothes, same masks. Anyone could tell they belonged to the same organization and likely held similar ranks.

“These young people are stronger than we were back then! Hori will train them well. As for Rod, a fledgling must fly high and needs to go out and gain experience; his training isn’t enough yet! Number Six, I’m leaving him to you. Please take good care of him. In three years, I hope he’ll have transformed completely! I’ll rely on you for these three years! I can’t keep him with me forever—he still has many things to do. You know, in the future…” The other man in black didn’t continue. Instead, he sighed, his gaze turning extremely gentle as he looked into the distance, devoid of its usual indifference and sharpness—replaced by a kind expression.