Death Notice

“Hehe, Randy, I thought we were just going through the motions, but I actually got to see a good show!” The bare-chested man carrying the Horse-Cutting Saber turned lazily towards his magician companion.

“Yeah, Casey wasn’t wrong, those guys are actually kind of interesting!” A deep voice came from beneath the hood.

“But, Casey wants to recruit them into the newbie team, isn’t that going a bit too far!” The shirtless man kicked Sas’s corpse, his muscles flowing like mercury, gleaming with a captivating masculine vigor under the sunlight. “They’re not lacking in wit and decisiveness, but treating companions as disposable like that, their nature is just too cold-hearted. They wouldn’t make good team members!”

“Hmph, so what? That’s just how low-tier Black Iron Teams are. To survive, you have to do whatever it takes! Think about when we were at that level, who hasn’t been through that kind of thing. Don’t tell me you don’t have the blood of comrades on your hands!” The magician glanced coldly at his companion with a sneer.

“Haha! I was just saying!” The big man scratched his head, laughing awkwardly and unnaturally, then walked towards the Hill Giant’s corpse. “Hey, why didn’t that chasing team even collect the spoils? Do they really think no other Apostles would come to take advantage? If it weren’t for us… hehe!”

“Hmph, they aren’t not collecting it; they’re probably just furious!” The magician raised his hand, stroking his chin, and said thoughtfully, “…Those two Elves must have settled their fight. I bet the kid Casey took a liking to won.”

“Should we chase after them now? Or…” The shirtless man casually swung the giant Horse-Cutting Saber, creating a sharp whistling sound in the air. Even the wet mud on the ground, not yet dry, was grooved by the wind pressure.

“Nonsense, even a mosquito is meat! We’ve been covering for them for so long; we deserve some payment!” The magician said irritably. He hesitated, then added, “Casey is over there, so it’ll be fine. Besides, things moved too quickly here; it’s different from the original plan. If we go too early, it might have the opposite effect!”

After saying this, the magician lightly raised his hand. With his left hand adorned by a large ruby ring, he snapped his fingers stylishly.

A small whirlwind appeared out of thin air in front of him, roaring as it lifted Sas into the air. The corpse tumbled and rolled within the whirlwind, as if manipulated by an invisible hand. Usable equipment and items from the body fell out one by one, then were swept up by the whirlwind and flew towards the magician, disappearing into the wide sleeves of his robe. “Hey, Randy, your Master-level Whirlwind Spell is still so pleasing to the eye!” The big man spun the Horse-Cutting Saber, a glint of light flashing in his lazy eyes. The giant Horse-Cutting Saber felt as light and handy as a dinner knife and fork in his hands.

“Stop the chatter and get to work! Aaron, do you expect me, a magician, to skin an eighth-tier Hill Giant?” The magician thumped his staff discontentedly, glaring angrily at his companion.

“OK, OK, the honorable Grand Magician Randy, your humble Aaron is at your service!” The big man laughed heartily, squinting his eyes as he walked towards the Hill Giant.

When he reached the Hill Giant, the playful expression was gone from his face. His lazy eyes now shone with intense focus.

His right arm, together with the giant Horse-Cutting Saber, flickered slightly and momentarily lost its form, as if he had suddenly become a one-armed man. However, in front of him, countless whip-like black shadows abruptly appeared.

“Done!” Two seconds later, Aaron’s right arm reappeared. He used the giant Horse-Cutting Saber as a shield, cautiously holding it in front of himself, even bending slightly and tucking his head in.

Seeing him like this, the magician’s expression suddenly changed. With another snap of his fingers, several whirlwinds immediately surrounded them, covering his body completely.

Just then, the Hill Giant, which had been kneeling stiffly in the center of the clearing, slowly developed several fine cracks from the top of its head down to its feet, revealing bright red flesh inside.

“Boom!” The Hill Giant exploded violently. Flesh and blood burst out from the cracks, as if a grenade had gone off inside it. In an instant, only a bloody skeleton remained. The giant’s skin, however, was mostly intact; after all the flesh and blood had sprayed out, it slid to the ground like a loose coat.

Bits of flesh and blood rained down, covering almost the entire forest clearing in a layer of red. Only Aaron, who had used the Horse-Cutting Saber as a shield, and the magician Randy, enveloped by the whirlwinds, remained unscathed.

“Aaron, you… bastard!” The magician flung back his hood, revealing a skull with skin taut over bones.

His eyes now flickered with a ghastly green flame. If the skin and muscles on his face weren’t completely mummified, veins would probably be bulging.

“Hehe, this way is faster!” The big man resumed his lazy demeanor, grinning cheekily as he extended his right palm, which held a giant, bucket-sized heart.

The magician lifted his head and took a deep breath, then turned and walked towards the forest. The big man was taken aback. With a sweep of his Horse-Cutting Saber, the wind carried the Hill Giant’s skeleton and hide, stuffing them all into his Storage Space, then quickly hurried after his companion.

“Hey, Randy, didn’t you say we shouldn’t go too early? Oh… wait for me!”

“Shut up!”

“Ah, it’s a pity that at our rank, even with the ‘Waymark’, only three people can enter Nals World. Otherwise, if we could bring Gius and the others in, we might have pulled off a big score!”

“Shut up!”

“Randy, do you think the Leader will be angry that we took on private work right before the city battle? Hmm, he’s broad-minded and generous, he’ll definitely forgive us!”

“Shut up!”

…

At that moment, about two kilometers away, two groups of people were engaged in a chase through the forest.

Hill and Hansen were panting heavily, running forward for their lives. Casey, riding an Arrowhog Beast, followed leisurely beside the two, heartlessly making fun of them.

“Hehe, did you eat too much and have nothing better to do than play fighting games? Can I join?”

“You… are you called Casey? We’re not fighting; those people stole our spoils and are trying to kill us to silence us!” Hill’s eyes flashed as he replied breathlessly. Hansen, however, stayed silent, focusing only on running desperately, ignoring the conversation between Hill and Casey.

“Oh, really? Then they’re wrong. Should I go try to persuade them?” Casey frowned, offering well-meaning advice.

“Haha, alright! Thank you so much. Tell them we don’t want the spoils anymore; just let us go!” Hill laughed awkwardly and clasped his hands towards Casey.

“Hmph, you’re no good person either! Looking at them, how could I persuade them? You’re not trying to drag me down with you, are you?” Casey tilted his head, thought for a moment, pouted, and said discontentedly.

“Hehe! Anyway, thank you for having that seventh-tier Ghost Owl save us!” Hill looked up at the flying monkey-like monster above them.

If it weren’t for this seventh-tier Ghost Owl occasionally attacking Fink and the others, they would have been caught by their pursuers long ago. Unfortunately, it wasn’t night; otherwise, with the Ghost Owl’s shadow talent, who was chasing whom would really be hard to say.

“Relax, relax! Since we’re all newbies, helping each other out is only right!” Casey waved his hand cheerfully and said without concern.

“Haha, um… Casey, those people are really strong. If you stick with us, you’ll get blamed too. You’d better notify Master Vima to come!” Hill wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with a smile.

“Oh, you know about my relationship with Auntie Vima?” Casey covered his mouth with a light gasp, but a mocking glint flashed in his eyes.

“Hehe, we saw by accident once!” Hill’s gaze shifted evasively as he replied somewhat awkwardly.

“Oh, really?” Casey gave him a meaningful look. Although Vima was his aunt, she had never been to the newbie area. Hill was clearly lying. However, the Elf boy didn’t plan to press the matter; he already knew what was going on.

“Don’t worry, I already crushed the magic trinket Auntie Vima gave me; it has a mark she left on it! Even though she had to go out to the Silent Forest today, she just left not long ago. She should be here soon using the teleportation array!” Casey lifted his chin proudly.

Hansen glanced sideways at Casey and coldly asked in the Team Channel, “Is this fun?”

“Hehe, very fun!” Hill’s light laugh immediately came through the Team Channel.

“Hmph!” Hansen snorted coldly, turned his head away, unwilling to engage further with Hill and Casey, and focused his gaze to the left. Dozens of meters to their left, a woman was stumbling and running through the forest.

…

Cora’s eyes filled with tears, her chest heaved violently, and she breathed with the heavy sound of a bellows. She had already received the prompt about Sas’s death. The intense grief made it hard for her to breathe, and her heart ached as if pierced by a knife.

Behind her, only the Rogue named Yu Mo was harassing her. Cora wasn’t afraid of this Rogue; the previous fight had shown her that his damage output wasn’t high, and his skills leaned towards stealth and detection.

And Yu Mo wasn’t in a hurry to catch Cora; he knew his damage capability was limited. He only acted occasionally, driving her so she wouldn’t stray too far from the other pursuit route. Once the battle over there ended, this woman would inevitably die too.

The Esmira policewoman’s mind was filled with thoughts of turning around to fight desperately, to perish together with this enemy. But every time, her eyes would flash with the image of Sas’s deeply affectionate gaze, and that silent mouthing of words.

“He wanted me to live. Only by living do I have a chance to get revenge! Against the ones who killed Sas, against those despicable, shameless people…” Whenever she thought of this, Cora felt new strength continuously surging within her body, supporting her as she ran forward.

“I must live!”