Joel woke up from his coma the next night. He was pulled back from the deep darkness by the pain in his chest. Then when he saw clearly the ceiling illuminated by the faint light from the window into the room, he felt that the wound on his chest was itchy again. Itchy is a good thing. He told himself that he had just recovered from awake consciousness, which means that the wound was recovering.

Joel once again felt like he was like a monster. I was dead again, he recalled, and this time he escaped from the Black God's hand. Now the wound has begun to recover. He moved his fingers and could move. He really looked like a monster that would not die. He looked up slightly, but heard a cracking sound from his neck. Every time he moved, it would touch the wound. The pain made him frown. Although he didn't know how many times he had experienced it, he thought he was numb to the pain, but his body would tremble constantly because of the pain.

Suddenly Joel saw a figure standing in the room. His heart suddenly jumped, and then another colic came. "I think you'd better not move around, Ruiduin." The old man's ghost said to Joel faintly.

Joel ignored the old man, he climbed up from the bed, lifted the quilt pressing against him, and sat on the edge of the bed. He was already covered in sweat, but it was a cold sweat from the pain. He looked at the ghost who was like a shadow in the dark room and asked, "Where have you been?"

"Me? I've been here all the time." The ghost replied.

Joel mumbled impatiently, and he raised his eyes and looked at the old man. The bandage wrapped around his face had been taken off at this moment, but it seemed that Simoken had applied ointment. The burned skin touched the cold air and made him feel a cool feeling, but this did not suppress the anxiety caused by the pain.

"I'm asking where you were then?" Joel asked in a hoarse and unpleasant voice.

The old man was silent for a while, and he sighed after a long time: "I'm sorry, I ran away at that time, and I seemed to be glad that you didn't drink that man's wine."

Joel did not answer. After listening to Anthony's conversation with the ghost, how could Joel dare to drink strangers' wine? And he also saw a person burst into pieces of flesh and blood in front of him. Besides, Joel was not the kind of person who could drink strangers' wine casually.

"There's something wrong with that wine," Joel said.

"Yes, there is a problem, a big problem." The old man nodded and replied, "The diluted 'ancient pus and blood' is contained. Although the dose is very small, it is still powerful. It is not something I can fight against. If I had touched a little of that thing at that time, I might have been swallowed by the darkness and nothing left."

"So you ran away?" Joel asked deliberately in a sarcastic tone.

"Although it's embarrassing, it's nothing wrong," the old man raised his eyes and looked at Joel. Obviously he was not angry about Joel's intentional provocation. "For me, survival is more important than anything."

"Don't talk about survival if a ghost is there." Joel said coldly, then he stood up, "How long have I fainted?" he asked.

"It's been a whole day," the old man paused, "they have all come to take care of you, but now I've gone downstairs first. Many big things have happened during the time when you fainted."

Joel frowned, "Are they okay?" At the same time, he walked to the table and reached out to pick up his white mask. The smile on it made him feel uncomfortable, but fortunately he couldn't see it after putting it on.

"Of course, of course they're fine, at least so far."

The old man's words made Joel feel irritated. He walked to the door and reached out to take off the cloak hanging on the hook to wrap his body. He only wore a clean wool sweater. He didn't remember having such clothes, but it should have been found by the Alps and the others. But even so, a wool sweater could not resist the getting lower and lower temperatures. Even if he was wrapped in the cloak, Joel was still shaking by the cold wind coming towards him when he opened the door.

"You said they were downstairs?" Joel asked, closing the door behind him.

"Yes, I asked the mercenary to take them downstairs. Are you planning to go down to find them now?" After Joel took two steps, the old man's ghost walked straight through the wooden door and came out. The window at the other end of the corridor was wide open, and the cold wind blew from there. The lantern hanging on the corridor was shaking, "There are many people below."

"Then don't follow you." Joel said coldly, without looking back.

"Yes, if this is your will, Ruiduin." The old man paused, Joel continued to walk forward, and when he was about to approach the stairs, the old man suddenly spoke again, "I want to talk to you, Ruiduin."

"What?" Joel turned around, and he looked at the ghost standing in the shadow of the corridor through his mask. If he didn't look closely, he would easily ignore him.

"I want to talk to you..."

"About the intentions of the mercenaries."

...

Anthony was biting his nails. It was the first time that Mr. Anthony, who was so anxious, saw this. No, not only Ximogen, but the people who sat around the pieced together, looked solemn at the moment, and the atmosphere became tense. Although the other tables around were filled with drinkers, and many people without seats chose to stand. In short, the big table was surrounded by water, but all of them consciously closed their mouths and looked at the discussion in the middle quietly.

Simoken couldn't recognize all the people sitting around the big table, but she must have seen most of them. In addition to Hemi, who sat with Simoken, there were Alps, Anthony, Miss Red-haired and Flying Fish, and the Flying Fish's superiors. Simoken heard that the man had killed a person who was disagreeing with him in the tavern that night. There were two beautiful ladies in red and blue cloaks, one with a dark red leather hat with a large white feather on it, and the other with long light olive wavy hair, a beautiful lady like a lady; and a beautiful woman with silver-brown hair, with a serious look that Simoken had never seen before when she saw her.

Behind her was a man who was so strong that he was exaggerated. At first, Ximoken thought that Mr. Iron Fist, who had seen before, was already the strongest man, but after seeing this man for the first time, Ximoken felt that the position of the "strongest man I have ever seen" had to be given to this man. Moreover, the man's sharp and vigilant gaze made Ximoken feel like he was sitting on pins and needles; in addition, there were many faces that Ximoken had never seen before, including mercenaries in different costumes and armor, one of the tall men sitting between Feiyu and his superiors, wearing plate armor, and put an iron helmet on the table in front of him, revealing a bare head, but the man's majestic expression was not to be underestimated, and according to his speech, his status seemed to be quite high.

"We are not here to discuss such private matters in this meeting." The bald man said in a deep voice.

"So! This is not a personal matter!" The woman with silver-brown hair slapped the table, and her face showed an impatient expression, "This is a condition!"

"Are you saying you want to use your influence among craftsman players as bargaining chips to threaten us to help you solve your personal matters?" The bald man replied seriously. He had always looked naked, which made Qianmoken feel a little depressed.

"So! This is not something..." The silver-brown woman took a deep breath and her brows frowned, "Forget it, I can't explain it clearly to you! Yes, that's right, this is a threat! If you don't help, I'll let all of them go on strike."

"Do you have this power?" The bald man looked at the woman.

"You try it." The woman glared back without showing any weakness.

"Okay, okay, don't be so nervous." Mr. Anthony on the side said with a forced smile, making Ximoken, who was standing aside, sweat for him. After all, such a strong smell of gunpowder was like anyone who said a little wrong would explode. "I can always think of a compromise."

"Anyway, our Iron Chain Knights can't pull out anyone to help." The bald man said lightly.

"So I didn't ask you guys at the beginning!" The lady with silver-brown hair looked at Anthony and said in an orderly tone, "Right, this matter has been handed over to you from the beginning!"

"Ms. Liehua, we are also worried about Miss Aleria's safety, so we will definitely help." Alpine came out to help Anthony at this time and said, "But now the meeting is about something else..."

"I get it," the lady known as "Liehua" turned gloomy. "Anyway, end this meeting quickly. If you don't help, I have some ways to find someone to help me find Eléa. Don't blame me for disturbing your plans at that time."

"Then let's continue," the bald man coughed, and everyone's eyes immediately gathered on him. "As we just said, the giant monster army has headed towards Jinhu City. We have sent all the people to assist the craftsmen to collect the materials needed to make the city-guarding equipment, so our Iron Chain Knights will not be able to act as the main force in this 'Black City' strategy battle, but because of the importance of this strategy battle, I hope that players with abilities and experience can lead this strategy team. If someone feels that they are capable, they can recommend themselves without being humble."

The bald man paused after he finished speaking, but the crowd around him remained silent.

After no one spoke for a long time, another member of the Iron Chain Knights next to the bald man said, "Our first team leader is Lord Kathaba of the Ghost Sword Brigade. I believe everyone here knows her name?" He raised his hand and pointed at the two ladies in red and blue cloaks sitting diagonally opposite them.

"Oh, you really respect me." Miss Kasperba raised her finger and slightly raised the brim of her hat. Ximoken saw the confident smile on her face. Ximoken noticed that everyone was looking at her. Is this a powerful mercenary lady? Ximoken thought made her feel envious. This envy was even more serious than when she saw Miss Xiao Qiao before.

"If the team leader is led by His Excellency Kasperba, you can definitely get this dungeon in one go, right?"

"Yes, right!"

At this time, some people onlookers were already starting to make excuses. Although most of them remained silent, it was hard to tell what they were thinking from their uncertain expressions.

"Thank you for your praise. But it's a pity that such a job is not suitable for me," Miss Casperba smiled, and then leaned on the chair. "I am only suitable for charge and killing formations. I can't do such a command work. I have always relied on our military advisor to get to this point." As she said that, she raised her hand and introduced the lady beside her, "That's this, Miss Meka."

"The president is modest," Miss Meka also smiled perfectly, "but in this case, if there is anything to help, the Ghost Sword Brigade will naturally not be stingy with strength. However, if the commander is in charge, I would recommend this one more to this side."

As he said that, he pointed at Mr. Anthony opposite her. "Sure enough." Simoken heard Mr. Anthony sigh next to her.

"Who is this guy?" Qianmoken heard someone in the crowd asking suspiciously.

"This is the famous 'Drake'. I believe many players have heard of him." The bald man who had just been silent said again, and at this time, many people around him showed a look of sudden enlightenment.

"Oh! That's that Drake."

"Wow, I thought it was a great guy."

"What, it looks ordinary."

"So who is Drake?"

Ximoken looked at Mr. Anthony nervously. Although he still forced a smile, Ximoken could notice that his hands were clenched into fists, and the muscles on his face kept twitching. Miss Lianda on the side was even mocking him in a low voice.

"It seems that someone's popularity is not as high as expected." Miss Lianda said with a wicked smile.

"Looking." Mr. Anthony glared at her, and then he stood up after the people around him were quieter, "Please be quiet for a while," Mr. Anthony announced loudly, "This time I will serve as a consultant to the team with Miss Meka of the Ghost Sword Brigade, but I will not serve as a commander. I think this important task must be handed over to more prestigious people."

Anthony paused after saying that, wanting to see if anyone refutes him. A few seconds later he continued to shout, "This is the person I recommend," he raised his hand and pointed at the bald man next to him. "The leader of the Iron Chain Knights, Lord Barovu, I believe that many of the people present had heard of the title of "Hero of Nalun Town". At the same time, he is also the initiator of the city defense mission and the dungeon strategy team. Everyone present should have come to Jinhu City because they learned the convening order he issued?"

Anthony paused for a moment, and many people nodded and said yes.

"Then I think he is the position of team leader this time." Anthony sat down again after saying that. At this time, Ximogen heard everyone around him start to talk in a low voice, and then she heard a long sigh of bald man named Barolwufu.

"Sir Al," Simoken called in a low voice, and Alps immediately put his head over, "Isn't the team leader a very honorable position? Why does that Lord Barolwufu look so tired?"

Alps was stunned for a moment, then smiled and replied in a low voice: "Because being a leader is a very hard thing. If you are not instructed properly, you will be held accountable. Don't look at this position as arrogant as you look, in fact no one wants to take responsibility."

Ximoken nodded as if he understood this time. No wonder they have been pushing around since the beginning, and no one around came out to object or recommend himself.

They just didn't want to take on this responsibility. Ximoken nodded slightly and learned something. At this time, Hemi, who had been sitting quietly next to Ximoken, nervously held Ximoken's hand. "Hemi?" Ximoken asked softly, "What's wrong?"

"Sister..." Hermi shook her head slightly, "I'm fine, but... I'm a little worried about Mr. Kang Ting."

Hemi's words made Ximoken slightly stunned. Like Hemi, Ximoken was the same. She had been taking care of him by Joel's bed before, but Anthony asked them to follow him downstairs to listen. Although she couldn't figure out what Anthony intended, she didn't say much when he looked at him seriously. She just quietly took Hemi downstairs with her. The tavern was crowded with mercenaries, which made Hemi very uneasy, so Ximoken tried to get close to her as much as possible, which made her feel a little more at ease.

"Then I'll just settle it for now, right?" asked Orson next to Barrowf. He looked around, "The main force of our guild and the main force of the craftsman team--" He looked at Ms. Liehua on the side, with an impatient look on her face, but Orson continued, "Responsible for dealing with the invasion of the monsters. At the same time, the strategy team composed of everyone here sneaked into the 'Black City' under the church from the secret tunnel discovered by our guild to carry out a copy of the strategy. The victory or defeat of this battle to defend the city will be placed on you!"

"What a heavy burden," Miss Casperba commented.

"Just do your best." Miss Meka next to her said to her with a smile.

"It's still the result." Anthony whispered.

"It's expected." Alps said to him.

"So what is the significance of this meeting?" the red-haired Lianda asked suspiciously.

Feiyu kept silent, and Ms. Liehua with silver-brown hair also looked impatient and very impatient. The tall man behind her had always had a cold expression, and the people around her began to discuss, and the tavern suddenly became very noisy.

"Mr. Anthony," Simoken called softly to Anthony, who also looked over, "Can we go upstairs?"

Anthony hesitated to look at the stairs, "Wait a little longer, let the Alps take you up later."

"Ha? Don't just call Lord Al!" Lianda said to Anthony with dissatisfaction.

"It's okay, I'll go upstairs to see Joe...Mr. Contin's," Alpine replied with a smile.

"Okay, okay." Ximoken frowned slightly. She really didn't understand Anthony's intentions, but she thought that Mr. Anthony would not harm Mr. Kang Ting.

This was Hemi who grabbed Ximoken's hand and then tried a little harder, "What's wrong, Hemi?" Ximoken looked at the girl, and there was a look of anxiety on her face.

"Sister..." Hemi whispered to Simoken, "Why didn't they discuss that?"

"What 'that'?" Ximoken asked strangely.

"That's...that..."

"That 'disaster'."
Chapter completed!