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Chapter 1359: Journey

Rhode was glad that his younger sister was the only one keeping watch, or else his life’s work would be over. He forgot the fact that the core projections would absorb the sub-personalities after killing them, which meant that he would also take in his other self after slaughtering him. But what he didn’t expect was for his other self to manifest after being absorbed. This left Rhode feeling helpless and upset.

Well, these were trivial matters, after all. The most important thing was the relationship between him and the holy sword card spirits. Even though this experience lasted only one night, to his subjective consciousness, he felt as if months had passed. Thus, after exchanging pleasantries with his younger sister, he couldn’t wait to send her away. But when he saw her smile before she left, he knew that this would become part of his dark past...

But at least she’s my younger sister, so she can’t possibly use that against me, can she?

Rhode had faith in his younger sister. Thus, after feeling frustrated for a moment, he ripped off the disgusting costume, put on his clothes, and sensed the holy sword cards.

To his relief, it seemed like his trip to the mental world wasn’t in vain. Through his senses, he found that the level of resonance between him and the holy sword cards had increased. If this were in the past, the connection between them was only at the level of ordinary broadband. But now, it upgraded to a 100G fiber-optic with doubled efficiency.

He also attempted to connect with Karin and didn’t face any particular problems. Everything seemed to be going smoothly. The next step was just a few more experiments and it would almost be time to officially expand the barrier.

But what felt a little strange to him was that the one who was most cooperative with him in this journey was Dona. He thought that Dona would be a little unreliable. After all, in the dueling metropolis, they passed by each other and didn’t engage in any battle. He was more or less worried about Dona’s side of the situation, but wasn’t particularly concerned. In fact, the main problem at that time was with Karin. And after Karin’s problem was solved, the efficiency of the other holy sword card spirits improved and the biggest issue could be considered to be resolved.

As a matter of fact, Rhode wanted to communicate with his card spirits more. But after some hesitation, he gave up that idea. Since it was their subconscious that he entered, the card spirits had no memory of what they did with him in their mental world, other than Karin who broke through the mental barrier to reach a resonance with her core. Hence, there was no point for him to do anything.

This made him feel somewhat upset. He finally understood how great the mental quality of psychiatrists was. And now, his situation was as if he had gotten some information after hypnotizing a patient, but unable to give her a clear explanation after she came back to her senses. This feeling was indeed unpleasant. And even if he explained to the card spirits, they wouldn’t know what happened. Thus, he knew he couldn’t explain much. He gave up on communicating with the card spirits and focused on going about his own business instead.

What left him frustrated was the time difference between the mental world and reality. He felt like he had been in the mental world for months and hadn’t seen Marlene and the rest for a long time. But for Marlene and the others, it was only one night that they hadn’t seen him, so even if they missed him, it wasn’t as if they hadn’t seen each other like it was years apart.

In the end, Rhode looked for Christie for comfort, intending to take her out for a walk. He was also exhausted from being in the mental space for so long, and even if the situation with Chaos was somewhat urgent, it wouldn’t hurt taking a day or two off for vacation.

Upon hearing his invitation, Christie was delighted. Although her current strength almost reached the level of a deity warden under the guidance of the other ‘Christie’, it wasn’t stable enough. That was why she hadn’t experienced many battles, but stayed in Grandia all day instead.

As Rhode didn’t have time to be with her because he was busy elsewhere, she was more or less bored. And when she heard from him that he wanted to bring her out shopping, she raised her hands in excitement. Not only that, but she also pulled Bell, Lillian, and Icy Snow along. Mini Bubble Gum didn’t come along because she had to fulfill her duty. On the other hand, as Icy Snow happened to be off duty, she was thrilled to be able to join them.

Of course, ‘shopping’ didn’t mean going for a walk around Grandia. Christie and the girls spent their days wandering around in Grandia, so the place was no longer interesting to them. Hence, after some consideration, Rhode decided to bring them to the various towns in the Void Territory.

On one hand, the young ladies could take a break, and on the other, he wanted to check out the situation under his territory. After all, although this was during a war, it was equally important to care for the stability of the rear. Although it was impossible for Marlene and the others to disobey him, Rhode, who was once a commoner, knew very well that oftentimes superiors were more concerned about the top than the bottom.

After becoming a Void Dragon, his main concern was how to deal with Chaos and open the channel to the solar system. He didn’t care about the various towns in his territory and unless there was a huge disaster involving the deaths of many people, he didn’t have the thought and intention to care about them. If this were to happen on Earth, many people would certainly curse the officials of taking high salaries and not doing their part and only showing up when accidents happened...

Of course, Rhode did care for them occasionally. Even though he was also from a civilian background and understood the troubles among them, a lot of the time it was hard to understand the situation without being in his shoes, and the higher the position, the more things there were for one to care about.

To be a good leader was even tougher. Not only did one have to care about civilians, but one also had to deal with coordinating the relationships between nobles and financial groups. Lillian was so fed up with such matters that she pushed the mess to Lydia and gave away her authority, before spending leisurely time with Christie all day.

Of course, Rhode couldn’t say anything about her. Given Lilian’s experience at her age, it wasn’t surprising that she disliked or even shunned such power. After all, she had been a mascot for so long, was almost killed, and had to face all the power struggles, so it went without saying that she was tired of it. Moreover, Lillian was still a child, so she wasn’t mature enough for such affairs. On Earth, there weren’t many people in their teens who were capable of running the government skillfully. Well, unless they were puppets.

Right now, among Rhode’s subordinates, there weren’t particularly-strong middle-level forces. This was because his top echelons were too powerful, where the seven deity wardens could destroy a country by themselves. No matter how ruthless one was, one didn’t dare to be ruthless against them.

Moreover, the war against Chaos was also very tense and most of the mercenaries and soldiers who were promoted to form forces were ones who followed Rhode a long time ago. Most of the mercenaries were sent as military officers, and many of them also became lords of various towns. Under the pressure of Chaos, everyone was still able to put aside their preconceptions and be unanimous.

Rhode believed that when the new world was free of external pressures, it wouldn’t be long before there were internal strife. Of course, perhaps the top tier wouldn’t have any conflicts since the relationship between the deity wardens and Rhode was clear-cut. But the ones below them would be much more problematic.

After all, it was easy to share the pain, but hard to share the happiness.

As for the future of the Void Territory, Rhode didn’t particularly care too much about it for now.

At that moment, Rhode strolled down the street with the four young ladies, enjoying the scenery and bustling crowd around them. After leaving Grandia, Rhode took them for a casual detour and ended up in a small town called Carraza, located in the south-central part of the Void Territory. It was a quiet and harmonious town established by the first refugees who moved from the Land of Atonement into the Void Territory. Although it didn’t rely upon Rhode’s system interface to build high-rises in the blink of an eye, after all this time, it grew and expanded rather decently.

Sauntering down the street, the group checked out the small town. Although the current battle situation was still tense, these civilians located in the rear of the territory weren’t as anxious and uneasy as Rhode thought they would be. He was initially concerned that these refugees would be panicky like it was the end of the world. But in the end, he found that they led their lives normally, leaving him scratching his head.

It sure looks like humans are a species that is strong in adapting for survival.

He remembered the time the Middle East was enveloped in the flames of war when the government and opposition were in conflict. But despite that, the children stared at the raining bullets while continuing to attend school... To a certain extent, things would be fine as long as one was used to them. These refugees had been through so many wars, so perhaps this war between Chaos and Order wouldn’t affect them as badly.

The group walked around town leisurely. Christie, who rarely went on a trip with Rhode, was incomparably excited, pulling him around to look at even a tiny flower. Bell was, as usual, following her quietly, allowing her to pull her hand around. On the other hand, Lillian took in the buildings around her curiously, which was new to her. Previously, she was the ruler of the Country of Light and had trouble even getting out of Grandia, let alone wandering around like this.

On the contrary, Icy Snow was much calmer. As a player, she had been to such a place thousands of times. Hence, she followed Rhode everywhere quietly.

And just as everyone arrived at the square, they encountered a minor problem. Rhode noticed a fight between some guards and merchants at a market ahead and the conflict seemed to be worsening. Looking at this scene, his expression sank. Even though he didn’t know what was going on, this fight was still considered causing trouble on his turf. Thus, he had the responsibility to check out the situation. After glancing at the young ladies who were choosing jewelry, he hesitated and said.

“I’ll go over and check out the situation. You girls stay here.”

Upon hearing his words, Christie and Lillian nodded. Both of them weren’t interested in such a disorderly scene. On the other hand, Icy Snow was the only one who raised her eyebrows. She walked to his side, tugged his sleeve gently, and asked in a soft voice.

“Do you need me to go with you, Big Brother?”

“It’s just a little bit of trouble. I’ll check it out myself. Stay here and protect Christie and the rest. Inform me immediately if you need any help.”

With that said, Rhode patted Icy Snow’s head, walked out of the jewelry store, and over to the crowd in the distance.

As he went to check out the trouble, the young ladies also picked out the jewelry they desired. Christie chose an emerald gemstone carved in the shape of a leaf. Lillian picked out a pair of ruby earrings. As for Bell, though she had no interest in jewelry, Christie still selected a hairpin for her. And Icy Snow, who was shrouded by the joyous atmosphere of the other three, casually picked a silver ring with magical resistance +3. Well, players looked at attributes over appearance, after all.

Women were fond of shopping and Christie was no exception. After browsing the jewelry store, she wanted to go to the clothing store next door. According to the jewelry store owner, the clothing store was run by a royal tailor from the Country of Light who had wonderful craftsmanship and made beautiful clothes. Christie was instantly tempted, while Lillian was also curious, so she dragged Icy Snow and Bell along to see if there were any pretty clothes. Icy Snow didn’t object since she was a phantom guardian and all she had to do was to inform Rhode through the spiritual connection. Hence, she followed the elated Lillian and Christie, and ran over to the clothing store next door.

“I told you that I want it done within three days!”

And just as Christie arrived in front of the clothing store and was about to push the door open, the door swung open all of a sudden and a luxuriously-dressed young man snarled and stormed out in large strides. As he had turned around and screamed, he didn’t notice Christie and Lillian at the entrance.

If Christie were an ordinary child, perhaps this young man would have kicked and trampled her on the ground. However, after studying with her other self for so long and as Rhode’s favorite child, she was equipped with all kinds of magical equipment. Thus, just as the young man was about to kick her, the badge on her chest suddenly emanated a bright, dazzling glow. At the next moment, a translucent barrier appeared in front of her, stopping the young man who apparently didn’t expect this to happen. He kicked at the barrier, howled in pain, and rolled down the steps.

“Ah! S-Sorry!”

This scene frightened Christie. But she was a good child, after all. After seeing the young man rolling down the stairs miserably and even soiling his clothes, she apologized hurriedly. The young man apparently didn’t have a good temper. And when he heard her apology, he threw up his hands viciously, stood up, and glared at the four young ladies.

“Sorry? Sorry doesn’t mean sh*t. Why don’t you watch where you’re... Hmm?”

At that moment, the young man finally got a good look at Christie and the rest. He raised his eyebrows and swallowed his furious words. Although Rhode mentioned that this trip was a private visit to the towns, the clothes of Christie and the rest were naturally beautiful and luxurious as if they were from noble families. Not only that, but they were also sweet and lovely looking. Looking at this scene, the young man swirled his eyes, calmed himself down, and smiled at Christie.

“It’s fine, lovely young lady. I was just careless and a little impatient. Please forgive me.”

“Ah... It’s okay. I didn’t take it personally.”

Upon hearing the young man’s apology, Christie didn’t think much of it and waved her hands. She was about to turn around and enter the clothing store when suddenly, the young man went ahead and blocked her way. Looking at this scene, Lilian sulked, while Icy Snow also raised her eyebrows. However, that young man seemed completely unconcerned with their expressions, but spoke with a warm smile instead.

“I’m Bambi Clandor, a member of the Carraza Trade Association. You’re not from around here, are you? How about I show you around?”

“It’s fine, we’re just looking around. We’re also waiting for someone.”

In the face of this solicitous man, Icy Snow reached out her arm, pulled the helpless Christie to her side, and answered plainly. She had met such ‘NPCs’ several times in the game, so she knew how to respond to them. After hearing her reply, the young man narrowed his eyes. A cold glint flashed in his eyes and he smiled once again, nodding his head.

“In that case, please pardon me for being rude.”

With that said, the young man made way for them. At that moment, Icy Snow held Christie by the hand as they entered the clothing store. After the four young ladies went away from his sight, the young man dwindled his smile and revealed an evil expression, stretching out his hand and snapping his fingers. Soon after, a young man with the appearance of a thief emerged from the shadows of a nearby alley and came to his side.

“What is your order, my lord?”

“Investigate those girls. Find out their background.”