Swords, magic, and martial arts

"What are you grinning about, kid?" a mercenary said to the smiling Rhodes.

The mercenary group consisted of five people. They seemed to be from the Anu royal court, and they were carrying scimitars commonly used by nomadic tribes.

The mercenaries of the Anu Kingdom are extremely warlike. Their lives consist only of women and battles, and they are all very arrogant. They even believe that the individual bravery of any man in the Anu Kingdom is far superior to that of people from other countries on the continent.

Even though Rhodes had two strong men, Hammer and Baron, they believed that any one of them could at least fight to a draw with any one of the opposing team, and since they had five men more than Rhodes, they were extremely arrogant.

"It's nothing, I just think you guys are cute," Rod replied.

"Don't you want your tongue anymore?" one of the mercenaries asked, pointing a scimitar at Rhodes.

"Of course I want it, why wouldn't I?" Rhodes said with a smile, his already somewhat irritated mood wanting to be vented after encountering this group of arrogant mercenaries.

"If you want it, then shut your stinking mouth and go cook for us." The mercenary said, spitting everywhere.

"Wait a minute, I'll go to the restroom now and make you something fresh. I had your favorite lamb for lunch, I think you'll like it," Rod replied.

"I think you're tired of living." Upon hearing Rhodes's words, a mercenary rushed forward with a scimitar in hand.

Wearing dragon scale armor, Rhodes was fearless and raised his fist, gloved with dragon scales, to meet one of the scimitars.

As their swords and fists clashed, Rhodes's fist shattered the curved blade.

Rhodes punched the mercenary, who was stunned and frozen in place, in the stomach.

The mercenary was crouching on the ground, clutching his stomach, his face pale.

Seeing this, the other mercenaries rushed forward. Hammer used his sturdy gauntlets to block one of the mercenaries' scimitars and kicked him to the ground.

Baron deftly dodged several attacks from the mercenaries, then reached out and snatched the two mercenaries' scimitars. He clashed the scimitars together, breaking both in half, and then delivered a heavy punch to each of them, knocking them to the ground.

The remaining mercenary was struck in the ribs by a full-force punch from Rhodes, and lay on the ground clutching his chest, groaning in pain. It was unclear whether he had any broken bones.

"Take your things and leave. Don't loiter around in front of me," Hammer said to the mercenaries lying on the ground.

Upon hearing this, the mercenaries quickly stood up, helped each other, and left the inn with the scimitar and its fragments on the ground, even closing the door behind them.

After venting their anger on them, the three of them felt better and sat back down on the bench to wait for Webber to finish cooking.

"Why are they so weak?" Rhodes asked. The Black Heart Knight he had encountered earlier had shaken his confidence, and he had thought there were many people as strong as him.

"Of course, they're obviously mercenaries who just left their hometown. They think they're so great in their village that they can be considered mercenaries outside too. Experienced mercenaries wouldn't get into a conflict with someone if there's no benefit to be gained," Baron explained.

"But they don't sound like they have much of an accent," Rod added.

"I estimate they are grassland people who live near the center of the continent. If they were mercenaries from the Anu Kingdom deep in the grasslands, you wouldn't understand their language," Hammer explained to Rhodes.

This reminded Rhodes of the silent mercenary from the Anu Royal Court he had encountered with Aya at the inn in Frostwood Town; he was indeed much more formidable than these men.

"Dinner is ready." Weber brought out the prepared food.

He made a bowl of mashed potatoes, a bowl of chicken and onion soup, and a few fried eggs.

"There's still plenty of food in the kitchen; we can take some with us when we leave," Webber said.

"We can't just eat the food they left behind for nothing. I swear I'll get justice for them within ten years," Baron said, scooping up a spoonful of mashed potatoes and putting it to his mouth.

Hammer nodded and said, "I've been thinking about it. To deal with a freak like him, we'd better get a better crossbow. I don't believe he can survive an armor-piercing arrow."

"The Fish Kingdom has the most of these, and the Roman Empire has some too. Actually, we might as well find an archer who can draw a mammoth bow, but unfortunately Sam died too young," Webber sighed.

The Mammoth Bow is a bow specifically designed by Nord hunters to hunt mammoths. It is extremely powerful, and drawing it requires immense arm strength. However, strong arm strength is only a necessary condition; a professional archer is also required.

Hammer and Baron weren't very good at archery, and Webber was good at it, but he wasn't strong enough to draw a heavy bow.

Rhodes still remembered Sam, one of his companions on his first adventure after his transmigration, who died under the siege of the ghouls.

"Let's focus on wiping out those bandits and highwaymen in this area first. There's no rush to get revenge on him. Besides, the Knights are still hunting him down; they might just kill him outright," Rhodes said.

"That's true..."

Before Baron could finish speaking, a group of people pushed the door open.

It was the same group of mercenaries from before, followed by several other mercenaries dressed similarly to them, all with fierce and menacing appearances.

"Why are you back again?" Hammer asked.

"Of course we're back to settle scores." The mercenary who had been squatting on the ground after being hit in the abdomen by Rhodes spoke up. "This is my cousin. He and his brothers have participated in more than a dozen battles, big and small. Dealing with trash like you is a piece of cake for them."

The mercenaries who had previously looked fierce spoke up after recognizing the person sitting there. The leader said, "Excuse me, excuse me. My little cousin is being naughty. Please don't mind him. I'll go out and teach him a lesson right now. I'm so sorry to have bothered you."

After saying that, the man pulled them out.

"What's wrong with my cousin?" the mercenary who had come to get revenge asked in confusion.

The mercenary, his face contorted with malice, slapped him on the head. "Idiot, don't you know who they are?"

"Who is it?" the mercenary asked innocently, and not only the other four mercenaries who had been with him also looked at him curiously.

"Those are 'Fire Axe' Baron, the savior of Ebony City, and 'Dragon Slayer' Rod. Didn't they just throw you out so easily?" the vicious mercenary asked.

The mercenary paused for a moment, then nodded.

"Then why did you ask us to help you get revenge?" The vicious mercenary slapped him again. "Use your brain more in the future."

He angrily prepared to leave with his teammates.

"Wait a minute," Baron said.

"What's wrong?" the vicious mercenary asked.

"Have you killed any innocent civilians?" Baron asked, his eyes wide.

"No, no, why would I kill them? Nobody will give us a penny. We always do things for money, helping those lords fight. If we win, we take the money and leave or continue fighting. If we lose, we take the deposit and run away," the vicious mercenary replied tremblingly.

"Alright, you can go now."

……

After a brief hiccup, Rod and his three companions resumed focusing on the food on the table.

"Rhodes, weren't you a great cook before?" Hammer suddenly remembered something.

"Yes, now that you mention it, I've been missing Rhodes' cooking too," Baron said, looking at Rhodes. "You can cook next time."

"I can assist you," Weber added.

Rhodes could only nod helplessly...