Death Notice

Fink punched the Purple Tower Shield repeatedly. His steel gauntlets striking the shield made a harsh, clanging sound like a gong. As the team Leader, Fink excelled in both strength and constitution, and he was their team’s only Second Order Class Changer.

Although the tall Esmira man trembled under his blows, forced to step back each time to absorb some of the impact, he still stood firm like an unyielding rock, stubbornly weathering the assault.

After just a few punches, Fink quickly realized that this Esmira man possessed extremely high shield defense technique. It was very likely he had specifically trained in shield skills and developed them into instinct even before entering the Shattered Starry Sky.

No matter what angle Fink punched from, his opponent always moved the shield perfectly, placing the center of the shield in front of the iron fist, dispersing the force across the entire shield surface. Furthermore, with each strike, his opponent vibrated the shield at a high frequency, not only dissipating the force but also making Fink feel a backlash from his own punch.

Fink’s body slowly grew warm, and he gradually became excited. It had been a long time since he felt this thrilled fighting an opponent of this level. The opponent’s unwavering, determined gaze showed the true quality of an excellent Main Tank.

As a fellow Main Tank, Fink admired the Esmira man before him. If not for the deadly enmity between their groups, he might have tried to recruit him.

Fink originated from a medieval world, originally a human Knight. After entering the Shattered Starry Sky, he changed class to become a Discipline Paladin. His Apostle Skills included both Protection and attack.

Actually, Apostle Skill combinations in the Shattered Starry Sky were very diverse. A Main Tank wasn’t limited to only learning defensive skills. As long as one had Mana Value, even a warrior could learn magic. However, skills outside one’s main profession couldn’t receive the enhancements from that profession.

The more skills one learned, the wider the options for advancement, but the slower one’s professional path progressed. After all, even if the Law Body integrated skill laws, one still needed to comprehend and master them personally, turning them into bodily instinct, before they could be used effectively in real combat.

Fink’s weapon was a top-tier Purple Gold Greatsword, but he had stored it in his Storage Space and hadn’t taken it out. Against a Main Tank wielding a Tower Shield like this, using the greatsword or his fists had a similar effect for him. Moreover, Fink seemed rough on the outside, but he was actually very meticulous. The previous battle had made him very wary of this team, and a sense of unease had lingered in his heart. Before launching the surprise attack, he instructed his team members to fight steadily and cautiously, not to rush too much or reveal their trump cards and killing moves prematurely.

While suppressing Sas, Fink kept observing the entire battlefield with his peripheral vision. Because Qingming had left the team and not returned, their team currently only had four members. Although it was four against five, they were the attackers, and the other side was fighting back defensively. Even if veteran camp members saw them, they wouldn’t intervene.

In the eyes of the story’s powerful figures, they were all still newcomers. Fighting among themselves didn’t break any unspoken rules, as the Sanctuary Camp always followed the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest. Since they left the camp to hunt, they had to be responsible for their own safety. Otherwise, they should have just stayed safely inside the camp, tending to the stables and plantations.

Fink shifted his gaze to the team’s second strongest member, Kael. Kael had two opponents: one was a bald man with obvious ape-like bloodline, and the other was the undead off-tank who had lost an arm in the previous battle.

Kael entered the Shattered Starry Sky in the same batch as Fink. His strength was second only to Fink’s, having reached the peak of First Order, just half a step away from Second Order. Before becoming an Apostle, Kael was a genuine martial arts expert. He changed class to become a Martial Artist.

He didn’t use any weapons. In Kael’s own words, his fists were the best weapons; what need did he have for swords or blades? Kael’s personality was somewhat solitary and obsessive. Not only did he not use weapons, but he also didn’t even change his human bloodline, only cultivating a Bronze fighting energy.

Having been long-term partners, Kael trusted Fink’s judgment. Since Fink said to fight steadily, he didn’t fully activate his fighting energy, maintaining a normal combat rhythm instead. He found himself locked in a stalemate with Hansen and Frank.

In fact, at the beginning of the fight, this Martial Artist almost broke through the combination of these two.

The reason lay with Frank. The hunchbacked servant hadn’t learned any combat techniques, and missing an arm, he couldn’t even lift the Double-Bladed Axe. Caught between Hansen and Kael, he was confused and didn’t know what to do. Several reckless attacks nearly got him instantly killed by Kael, but The Disciple saved him a few times.

However, after a few close calls, Frank finally found his role within this combination: that of a punching bag. He stopped trying recklessly to help Hansen, instead just holding his position, protecting his vital points, and using himself as a human shield for The Disciple.

After watching for a while, Fink stopped paying attention. Although the bald man was proficient in various military killing techniques, he posed almost no threat to a genuine Martial Artist like Kael. Even with a human shield in the way, Kael’s victory was only a matter of time.

The other two members of Fink’s team, Yu Mo and Sen, were truly evenly matched with the opposing Esmira female Mage and the Priest whose fighting style was a bit strange.

However, Yu Mo had only changed class recently. His Apostle Skills weren’t diverse enough yet, and his current abilities leaned towards stealth and reconnaissance, lacking in killing power. As for Sen, he didn’t have much talent for combat. He was actually the team’s Blacksmith and support healer. Perhaps only after his professional skills became richer and he advanced to High Rank would he possess some combat capability.

Overall, Fink’s team was already quite mature. The Murderer Team temporarily formed by Hill couldn’t match them head-on. Even if Qin Lun and Qingming returned at the same time, without the advantage of the cave terrain, even if Qin Lun couldn’t lose, he wouldn’t be able to help the others. Qingming only needed to use her longbow’s range to suppress him from a distance.

While Fink was assessing the battlefield, his opponent Sas was inwardly groaning in distress. His opponent wore a full suit of plate armor, with a bucket-like flat-topped steel helmet covering his head. Only a cross-shaped slit on the face revealed sharp, gleaming eyes. Judging by his body language, he should be the Leader of the hostile team who had provoked Hansen a few days ago.

As a fellow Main Tank, Sas had seen information about this style of plate armor. It was Crusader Knight plate armor, a type of heavy full plate armor with extremely abnormal defensive power. His opponent was clearly a strength-based Knight class. The gap between their strength attributes was huge.

Although Sas could still resist using his proficient shield techniques for now, as time passed, his arms gradually grew numb. He was approaching his limit, and the thread could snap at any moment. Moreover, his opponent still seemed to have energy to spare, as if not yet going all out.

Hill observed the entire battlefield with his peripheral vision, silently calculating the time. The enemy team, with that tin-can Knight as the tip, formed a wedge formation combined with the other two battle groups, allowing them to advance or retreat flexibly. They clearly held back some strength during the fight.

However, this was also within his expectations. Anyone who had seen the sinister trap set for the Hill Giant would feel extremely wary of them. Holding back some strength during combat was the wisest approach.

Of course, this was also the special intention behind the plan originally devised by the three Serial Killers. The purpose was precisely to prevent the enemy from going all out, thereby buying more time.

In fact, the entire plan had been set in motion from the moment their team arrived at the Sanctuary Camp. Splitting the six people into three groups was precisely to make the hostile team split their forces to monitor them, and then use Qin Lun’s Elf Whispers to counter-manipulate the watchers, making them get lost in layers of confusion.

The fact that Yu Mo was led around by the nose by them showed the initial phase of the plan was very successful.

Once the enemy’s initial probing failed to yield results, they would naturally suspect Qin Lun. Given that the hostile team was stronger than them, they would inevitably assign one person specifically to keep an eye on Qin Lun, the key figure.

Once this step took effect, they would proceed to the formal plan. The first stage involved Hill and the others luring away the adult Hill Giant, while Qin Lun hunted the young Hill Giant alone, splitting into two main battlefields to continue misleading the enemy.

In this stage, Qin Lun undertook the most dangerous task. Firstly, they didn’t know what type of class member the enemy would send. Secondly, during the fight, Qin Lun might also face reinforcements from the enemy.

Imagine if Qingming sensed the danger early and had her teammates come to assist. That would be like catching a turtle in a jar; Qin Lun wouldn’t even be able to escape and would certainly die.

Once Hill and the others killed or severely wounded the adult Hill Giant, the plan would enter the second stage.

At this point, the threat to Qin Lun’s life decreased significantly, and the risk shifted to Hill and the others. However, Hill’s group still had the Sas couple, these fools, to use as expendable pawns. At worst, they could abandon the main quest and flee back to the camp.

However, the enemy weren’t fools either. After seeing such a sinister trap, they would definitely proceed with extreme caution in the second stage. On the surface, Hill and the others had virtually no chance of turning the tables. At this time, the entire team had to passively wait for the emergence of the X-factor.

He could hold on for at most… three to five more minutes. If they missed the three-minute window, they would have to abandon the entire plan and flee for their lives immediately!

Hill’s eyes flickered slightly as he quickly calculated Sas’s absolute limit. No one except Sas could withstand more than a few punches from that tin-can Knight. Once he was free to act, their entire team would collapse.

Thinking of this, even with Hill’s cunning and deep scheming, he couldn’t help but feel secretly anxious and somewhat helpless.

Their plan was very meticulous, but precisely because it was so thorough and detailed, it also seemed overly complex. And plans with too many steps were most prone to errors. However, even understanding this principle, they had no other choice. The gap in strength was too large; what else could they do?

Were they really going to give up? Hill gritted his teeth, feeling quite unwilling. Setting Qin Lun aside for now, both he and Hansen had already invested benefits worth no less than a hundred thousand Shattered Crystals. Not getting at least some return on their investment felt truly unjust.

“It’s done!” Just then, a somewhat weary voice from Qin Lun came through Hill’s Apostle Soul Mark.

Hearing this seemingly inexplicable notification, Hill felt like a dry field receiving welcome rain. A bright gleam shone in his eyes, and he shouted firmly into the Team Channel.

“Everyone, retreat!”

After saying this, he didn’t even pay attention to Cora standing beside him, turned around, and sprinted into the thicket behind them.