Becoming a god starts with enhancing fire arrows.

"We're almost there, just one more stretch of road."

Avira looked into the distance, and the outline of the town of Phil came into view.

"Walk."

Rhodes stood up and stretched his slightly sore legs.

The monk is good in every way, except that his physical fitness is too poor.

When the system releases high-level spells in the future, I'll choose teleportation as my first choice.

It can be flown directly across the entire continent...

As I pondered this, the outline of the town became clearer and clearer.

Just cross one more intersection and you'll reach the town of Phil.

This fork in the road connects to the main road of the town, and a small wooden sign stands at the intersection.

The wooden sign looked very old, and the word "Phil" was barely legible on it.

Next to the small wooden sign was a huge wooden recliner. Acting Mayor Sam was lying on the chair with his eyes closed, rocking back and forth, looking quite relaxed.

Standing next to Sam was a figure with mixed black and white hair, carrying a bow on his back, leaning against a sapling, sizing up Rhodes and his companion with a smirk.

Kelda?

Sam?

What does that mean?

Rhodes frowned.

Avira then stepped in front of him to protect him.

Kelda was covered in blood and scratches, looking just as disheveled as the other two; while Sam, whether asleep or with impaired senses, hadn't even opened his eyes.

"The mayor didn't come here just to wait for me, did he?"

Rhodes' tone was somewhat sarcastic.

"Oh?" Sam slowly opened his eyes when he heard voices. "Isn't this our newly recruited elite mage, Rhodes, and a noble elf?"

"May I ask for Miss Elf's name?"

"Didn't you hear Rhodes ask you a question? Are you deaf?"

Avira had taken off her helmet; she was somewhat annoyed by the way the other person was looking at her.

Sam wasn't angry. He shifted his somewhat overweight body and sat up from the recliner: "I was indeed waiting for you, but it wasn't just waiting for you."

As he spoke, he propped himself up on the recliner and turned to Kelda, instructing her, "Keep waiting here."

He then said to Rhodes and his companion, "You two, come with me."

Sam walked a few steps along another fork in the road, then turned into a patch of land.

There was a hole in the ground, well hidden by grass and fallen leaves.

He glanced back and saw that they hadn't followed him; they were just watching him from a distance.

He then smiled and gestured invitingly: "Come in."

"Lady Cassandra sends her greetings to you both."

"Tch." Upon hearing this name, Avira's face showed obvious surprise, followed by clear disgust and hatred.

He had come to Phil Town for tourism, but he never expected to be betrayed by that damned Zhuo Er and sold to the witch as a bodyguard.

There isn't a single good person among the Drow race.

Rhodes wasn't that surprised.

I had guessed this answer before. After Stanley and Phoenix both died, the biggest beneficiary was Cassandra, the leader of the "Black Hand".

While Stanley was still in power, Cassandra was only the nominal leader; her actual power was still constrained by Stanley.

In this situation, she can not only bring the entire "Black Hand" organization under her control, but also rely on the organization's powerful infiltration capabilities to slowly erode the town's management.

At least for now, the acting mayor and a council member are both part of the "black hand".

Oh, by the way.

Rhodes had a sudden thought: "Does that mean I don't have to return the equipment I borrowed from Sam?"

Avira glanced at Sam, then at Kelda, her eyes conveying a hint of inquiry.

Rhodes raised an eyebrow.

Is this asking me if I should just kill them both?

"Don't try anything funny. If the leader wanted to harm you, he wouldn't have sent Sam to greet you personally."

A drow figure appeared behind Kelda.

This is a male drow, with pointed ears just like an elf, except his skin is all dull gray.

[Race: Drow]

Age: 191

[Class: Warrior]

[Rating: Mid-tier]

[Description: The Blackhand leader's personal bodyguard, subclass of Arcane Knight]

Another mid-level player?

When did mid-level players become so common?

Rhodes looked at Avira, shook his head, and gestured for her not to make a move.

The two followed in Sam's footsteps and arrived at the vast underground network beneath the town.

Sam stroked his fine mustache and said:

"Just a heads-up, it's clear that Lady Cassandra values ​​you highly. So go in and do your best, and maybe we'll have a chance to work together in the future."

"Who wants to work with you? Who wants to be loyal to a drow?" Avira's tone was sharp.

"That's a real shame." Sam shrugged helplessly, leading the two of them skillfully around one fork in the road after another, until they finally arrived at a room very close to the ground.

He knocked respectfully on the door, then opened the iron gate and gestured for the two of them to enter.

"I won't go in. I hope you two come out alive!"

Rhodes ignored Sam's sarcastic remarks and walked side by side with Avira into what appeared to be an office, but was actually a drow cave.

There was no firelight here; the only source of light came from the fungi on the top of the stone wall, which emitted a dim blue glow. The light from these fungi was very weak, barely illuminating the interior.

In the very center is a huge chair resembling a throne, its outline cleverly sculpted into the shape of a giant spider.

In front of the chair was a black stone table, on which were piled up a jumble of documents and books, making it quite messy.

On either side of the stone table, near the wall, stand two statues of Drow Guards, each about two meters tall, with ferocious expressions and lifelike details.

Beside the statue on the right stands a drow with a dark complexion; it is Cassandra.

She took out a torch and stuck it into the statue's hand.

"I don't like light, whether it's firelight or sunlight."

"However, considering that there are humans among you, I have prepared a torch for you."

She lit a torch, and the flickering flame illuminated her face.

It was a very ordinary face; even with Drow's appearance, Rhodes didn't find anything memorable about it.

Apart from a pair of dark red eyes.

Her eyes, no matter how you look at them, have nothing to do with the ferocious Zhuo Er; instead, they have a strong scholarly air about them.

"Well, thank you very much," Rhodes replied perfunctorily.

"You're welcome," Cassandra said calmly.

"I should have shown due respect to the fourteenth son of the Marquis of Gilbert and the fourth princess of the Elf King Galanord."

Good grief, my identity is now commonplace, isn't it? Every time you "Black Hand" contact me, you have to call out my full name first to show how powerful your intelligence system is, right?

Rhodes muttered a complaint to himself in dissatisfaction.

On the contrary, Avira was startled twice, first when her true identity was revealed, and second when she was surprised by Rhodes' identity.

Rhodes, however, felt a little puzzled.

Shouldn't the Drow also be the kind of race that thinks they are second only to the heavens and looks down on all other races?

How can he be so polite to both humans and elves?