That's right, that's what adventure is like!

Chapter 102 Blood Mage

Roland saved Cole in just two minutes.

The battle was uneventful, and Celine did not take the "Viscount" seriously. There were only four soldiers guarding him, who were sitting around a fire chatting.

When he attacked from the shadows, no one even turned around.

A flash of silver light, and two heads fell to the ground at the same time. The remaining two had just raised their heads when the tip of the sword pierced their throats, without even letting out a scream.

Blood flowed through the cave, pooling into a pool of blood. The dull thud of the corpse falling echoed, quickly swallowed by the sound of dripping water.

Cole huddled in the corner, staring blankly as Roland approached. His eyes held no joy at being rescued, but rather a complex mix of wariness and fear.

"Why did you save me?"

Roland glanced at him, frowning slightly, not expecting Cole to react this way.

However, he was too lazy to explain or ask Cole why he was there; he simply used his longsword to cut the ropes.

"I need information about Celine," he said calmly. "I know you've met her."

Celine.

Upon hearing the name, Cole was momentarily stunned, and then remained silent for a long time.

After a long while, he finally raised his head, revealing bloodshot eyes, and said in a low voice, "How do I know if you're lying to me?"

Roland paused slightly.

Then, without hesitation, he turned and left.

He came because he heard that Cole had met Celine and thought he could provide information. Since Cole was unwilling to cooperate, there was no need for him to stay here.

At worst, we can just grab a few more soldiers and ask them.

Bang! Cole stumbled to his feet, falling awkwardly as he scrambled to his feet, his voice trembling slightly: "You...you're abandoning me?"

Roland did not turn around.

"I have no interest in lying to you, and there's nothing to lie about you. Your value depends on your intelligence, and since you're unwilling to provide it, it's as if you have none."

Cole opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.

He had never met anyone like this before, speaking the truth so bluntly, unlike the others who habitually wore masks of hypocrisy.

He is a completely different type from the previous Ryder.

"I—I know," he managed to squeeze out of his throat, "that woman, I know information about her."

Roland finally stopped and turned to look at him, his expression unchanged.

"explain."

Cole, breathing heavily, hurried to his side: "That woman, I saw her consuming human blood—she captured several soldiers, killed them without hesitation with magic, and then turned them into—potions."

He paused, then added, "She has many bloody wounds on her body, which don't look like injuries, but rather like they burst open on their own. It might be a side effect of some kind of magic."

"Also, her staff is very strange, it looks like it's made of countless intertwined blood vessels, slowly writhing, and has a heartbeat like a living thing —"

After saying this, Cole looked at Roland nervously, like a prisoner awaiting trial.

He didn't know why he was nervous; perhaps it was simply a matter of needing reassurance.

Roland did not respond immediately.

He pondered intently, connecting all the intelligence, searching his memory for useful information, and matching them one by one.

Bloodstains, blood food, blood sticks —

All three characteristics are related to blood. Although there are countless professions associated with it, there is only one that is relatively common among spellcasters.

"It should be a Blood Mage," he narrowed his eyes and made his judgment. "This class is very suitable for the battlefield."

Cole was taken aback, unsure of what this meant, while Roland had already begun calculating how to defeat this formidable foe.

Blood Mage.

This is a rather extreme branch of the mage profession, abandoning the orthodox mage's meditation and study in favor of drawing power from the blood itself.

Its advantage is that it can cast spells extremely quickly, requiring almost no incantation or spell model construction. It can directly control blood from living things or corpses, making it extremely powerful in combat.

The disadvantages are also obvious: while casting spells, they also need to consume their own blood, which must be replenished from other people in a specific way.

Therefore, the more powerful a blood mage is, the more they prefer places with many people, whether they are allies or enemies. As long as there is fresh blood, it is their casting material.

This is the flaw.

Roland pondered for a moment, put all the information together, took another look at the situation map, and finally formed a rough plan in his mind.

We absolutely cannot confront her head-on. Even ignoring Celine's own silver-level strength, she has at least four formal professionals under her command, any one of whom would be a struggle to deal with.

It may seem like a dead end, but if the organization has given us this trial, there must be a way to break it.

"Leveraging existing trends".

Roland narrowed his eyes slightly, already understanding what to do.

Unlike Gan Emmett and Yog who were isolated and helpless, he was now in the middle of the battlefield. Although the kingdom's fortress was about to collapse, there were definitely still high-level professionals alive.

They may be fighting, hiding, or observing, but there must also be someone continuing to search for the Blue Crystal Heart.

If a few are attracted over, a fight between the two sides will be inevitable.

That was a time of chaos.

Based on this, his second step should be to divide the battlefield.

Roland was unwilling to even touch upon the aftermath of the battle; what he wanted to do was to obtain the highest reward with the lowest risk.

This is easy to handle. Collapses are the most common occurrence in mines, and if his magic crystal cannonballs are used properly, they can trap most of the enemies.

Finally, it's time to seize the Blue Crystal Heart.

He flicked his finger across the blade, and a crisp humming sound lingered in his ears, making Roland's thoughts even clearer.

He turned to look at Cole.

Cole shrank back slightly under his gaze, but stubbornly refused to move away.

"Your information was very useful, thank you."

Cole paused for a moment.

"I'm about to do something very risky," Roland continued. "You have two choices."

"First, if you leave here, I'll give you some supplies so you won't die in the snowstorm. As for whether you can get out of here completely, that depends on your luck."

"Second, complete part of my plan and attract high-level professionals from the kingdom—you might die, but the reward is an opportunity to become a professional yourself."

"Now, you have one minute to think about it."

As soon as he finished speaking, Cole stared blankly at Roland, as if he hadn't understood what he said.

Suddenly, a strange emotion welled up inside me, making my mouth dry, my nose tingle, and my eyes start to moisten.

This person—was actually willing to give him a choice, instead of sending him on his way with gentle words like those previous swindlers.

"Stay put and survive."

His father's words echoed in his ears once again. He had thought about what those words meant countless times, and now he finally had a vague understanding.

It doesn't mean truly staying still, but rather listening to the words of a trustworthy person and following the path they have laid out for you.

The father was one, but will this person be the second?

"I trust you."

The words came out in a tone even more steady than Cole had imagined.

This time, he still blindly believed.

Ryder was right, he won't change.