Zongman: The wrong person on the ground, double Shenwei at the beginning

Hephaestus took a badge from the drawer and handed it to Rhodes. It was engraved with a volcano and a forging hammer.

"Although the children of our clan are blacksmiths, they prefer to use their own harvest for forging."

"I hope you can join our main force when you have time, and two-thirds of all the dropped items will be yours."

"And you and your companions will enjoy the best deals and priority forging rights here with us, how about that?"

Rhodes was also taken aback by the high amount of bets offered by Hephaestus, and clicked his tongue in astonishment.

"Two-thirds of the spoils are mine... Aren't you afraid they'll be angry?"

Hephaestus met Rhodes's scrutinizing gaze and shook her head with a smile.

"Believe me, once they know your abilities, they'll only think this price is too cheap."

"By the way, I will also ask them to keep your abilities confidential, so what's your answer?"

Rhodes was silent for a moment, then took the badge and smiled at Hephaestus.

"If I were to refuse your kindness again, I would be too ungrateful. I agree."

Both Hephaestus and Rhodes were very satisfied with the result.

"Your weapon requirements are beyond my expectations; I need more time to prepare them,"

Hephaestus took a long black sword from a nearby shelf.

"I heard you're skilled in Iaijutsu, so I'll let you use this half-finished product I forged earlier, which has the Indestructible attribute."

"You can give it a name~"

Rhodes took the black sword, its sharp edge gleaming in the sunlight, with the [holy script] faintly visible on its blade.

I'm afraid that if we were to buy this so-called semi-finished product, it would cost at least 100 million fali.

"Then I'll call her 'Vulcan's Blade'."

Hephaestus glanced at Rhodes, brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, and turned away uncomfortably.

"Call me whatever you want!"

Chapter 53 The Absolute Power Contract is activated, let's explore the dungeon again! (Please give me flowers and votes!)

"I know you fairies have some strange tempers, but whether the power to protect others is more important or your own persistence is more important, it's up to you to choose."

In the corridor, Tsubaki returned the repaired wooden sword to Ryu, whose expression was conflicted.

"However, for now, the Great Sacred Tree of the [Visher Forest], which is open to the outside world, is the most suitable weapon for you besides the Sacred Tree of your hometown."

“I, I understand…”

Ryu took the wooden sword, her head down, seemingly lost in thought, unaware that Rhodes was approaching.

When Chun heard footsteps, she turned around and her eyes lit up when she saw that it was Rhodes. She waved her hand enthusiastically and Rhodes greeted her.

"Hey, handsome young man, I've heard your name so many times lately!"

With a beautiful face resembling that of an Eastern ethnic group, Tsubaki Kobrand is a "half-dwarf" born from a union between Far Eastern humans and continental dwarves.

Perhaps due to her strong human bloodline, she has long arms and legs and is 170cm tall.

Dwarves are generally short-limbed, so she often aroused the jealousy of some dwarves.

Her work clothes were also in the Far East style, from her mother's Far East hometown, and she wore bright red trousers.

Her features were striking: black hair and red eyes. Most notably, she wore a black eye patch resembling that of the goddess Hephaestus.

Unlike Hephaestus, who covered her right eye, she covered her left eye.

Unlike the pure innocence typical of Astrea's clan girls, she exudes a unique charm of heroic beauty.

"If our family's chief deity hadn't already taken over your weapon, I really would have liked to forge you an absolutely powerful piece of equipment!"

"After all, the best weapons are meant to be used by the strongest people!"

Rod smiled and shook hands with the enthusiastic Tsubaki.

"I'm still a long way from being the strongest."

Chun carefully examined Luo De's slightly immature face and smiled noncommittally.

"Is it that far off...?"

At least from the outside perspective, you, who were able to wipe out the Soma Familia in just one day after joining the Familia, have no right to say such things.

At this moment, Lily quietly tugged at Rod's sleeve, biting her lip, her voice filled with longing and reluctance as she sobbed.

"Brother Rod, Lily will be a good girl and will try her best to grow up with everyone's help... Please don't abandon me!"

Since being taken away by Rhodes, Lily has only encountered good people, but she understands the core of changing all of this better than anyone else.

She was terrified of being treated as a burden and completely abandoned.

Rhodes sighed and placed his right index and middle fingers together on Lily's forehead.

Power of Absolute Contract, activated.

The contents of the contract were something Rhodes had already considered. It involved direct and indirect secrecy, as well as a slave contract that demanded the complete surrender of body, mind, and soul.

However, the moment this contract appeared in Lily's mind, she was so surprised that she almost cheered. Without thinking, she immediately agreed to the contract, as if afraid that Rhodes would go back on his word.

Feeling the threads of fate binding her firmly to the person she admired, Lily felt a deep sense of security, and a happy joy appeared on her face.

We'll never be apart again...

Lily has finally found her own place!

Chun curiously observed the changes in Lily's expression and vaguely guessed what Rod had done, which made her so curious that she scratched her head, but in the end she didn't ask.

After a few words of casual conversation, Rhodes and Ryu left the Hephaestus Familia and returned to the Court of Stars, each with their own thoughts.

In the afternoon, Rhodes, wielding the [Vulcan's Blade], continued exploring the dungeon with the second team.

This time, the team consists of Alexie, Kaguya, Iska, Maru, Noin, and Leyana.

A large quantity of medicines, supplies, food, and other necessities have been stockpiled in the Divine Might Space.

Theoretically, they could live in the dungeon for a month without any problems.

Considering that Rhodes's Divine Might has a limited number of uses, Alexie, though somewhat reluctant, rationally gave up the idea of ​​farming all 1-7 floors.

They planned to head straight to the seventh-floor food storage area to collect Blue Swallowtail Butterfly Powder once more!

The price of this healing potion won't fluctuate no matter how much of its rare raw materials are collected.

Even though the panacea was ridiculously expensive, it was still in short supply.

Of course, the premise is that you don't encounter unscrupulous merchants who deliberately try to lower prices.

After collecting the Blue Swallowtail Butterfly Powder, everyone descended from the seventh floor to the tenth floor, and then became vigilant.

This is no longer an area that newcomers should approach.

The dungeon will produce fog that obstructs vision and perception, and will also begin to produce an event called "Monster Feast".

Groups of goblin-like imps lurk in misty corners, launching surprise attacks and fleeing far away if they miss their target.

If an ordinary adventurer team were to encounter them, it would be even more troublesome than facing ogres, and they might even be sacrificed under the pressure of being ambushed from time to time!

However.....

Rhodes' eyes flashed crimson as he swung his black blade without turning his head.

"Chirp—!"

The little demon's smug expression turned to terror, and it finally turned into ashes amidst a pitiful scream.

The monsters' overconfident sneak attacks were all in vain in the face of these eyes.

"Alicie, there's a group of little demons hiding to your left."

"give it to me!"

The red-haired girl gave a soft shout and began to sing confidently.

"Burning fiercely, burning fiercely, burning fiercely, unleash the full power of fire!"

"—Red flowers in abundance."

Chapter 54: Growing Again, Replicating the Gojo Family's Secret Technique of Iaijutsu!

As soon as she uttered the magic name, intense flames erupted, entangling the girl's hands, feet, and the blade of her sword, creating a beautiful yet deadly spectacle.

A deafening roar erupted, and with a swing of his beloved sword, Crimson Order, the monsters were instantly reduced to ashes!

"How about it? Aren't you captivated by my beauty?"

Alize turned around gracefully, puffing out her thin chest, and with an endearing gesture—or so she thought—to toss her hair.

"With Rhodes' all-seeing gaze and my burning magic of justice, we are invincible!"

However, at that moment, everyone heard a snap.

There was only a brief pause, but the battle-hardened girls didn't need to think deeply to immediately understand what the ominous tearing sound meant.

"It's the [Monster Feast]!"

The walls of the dungeon continued to crack and crumble, and with the roar of monsters, a thick, brown arm emerged from the gap.

The shattered remains of the dungeon fell to the ground like eggshells. As the walls crumbled, not only the left arm but also the right arm appeared, and finally, a giant pig's head appeared before everyone.

At the same time, dozens of howling little demons also appeared!

This is why, starting from the tenth floor, a large number of monsters will appear in the same area at once!

Norin's eyes twitched slightly. She hadn't expected to encounter this situation so soon after arriving at the tenth floor. In a way, their luck was indeed bizarrely good.

"This is bad, this quantity..."

Being surrounded by monsters is extremely dangerous, and it's unwise to waste a lot of physical and mental energy here on further exploration!

The correct course of action in this situation is to evacuate immediately. That's what they've always done, especially when they were newcomers; they would turn around and run without hesitation.

"Although Alyssa is here, since our destination is the 18th floor, we need to conserve our strength. Should we retreat temporarily...?"

However, Norin forgot.

Now there's a clearly abnormal person in the team...

"An orc...perfect."

When Noin heard Rhodes' soft laughter beside her, she was taken aback.

Huh? What's perfect?

Rod's sharp eyes were fixed on the roaring orc, and he crouched down.

Lean your body forward and downward.

They assumed the stance for iaido.

Although its overall abilities are classified as lv1, it is a powerful monster with strength reaching the level of lv2. It is even capable of rendering some lv2 adventurers unable to continue fighting after being directly attacked by it.

This is the perfect opponent to test the skills he has just learned!

"The flower beyond the calamity—"

The short verse has been recited.

The skill "Fairy Star Song" is activated, enhancing its magical effects!

The next instant, the scarlet and alluring spider lilies suddenly bloomed at his feet.

Norin's eyes widened: "!!!"

Black, tousled hair moved without wind, power gathering at that moment.

The murderous aura solidified in the air as if it were a tangible substance, causing the surrounding temperature to drop suddenly!

Witnessing the humans, whom they thought were their prey, exude such power, the monsters became restless, and the orcs showed fear on their faces, instinctively taking a step back.

But it was too late.