Death Notice

Although Master Vima was a female Elf, within the Sanctuary Camp, she still followed the law of the jungle where the strong preyed on the weak. She would not show mercy to criminals who harmed her kin. Moreover, Casey was weak. If she let Fink and the others off easily this time, the young Elf might face endless trouble in the future.

Of course, as one of the Sanctuary Camp’s managing committee members, Master Vima wasn’t going to utterly destroy Fink and his group. She just intended to make an example of someone.

The Unicorn’s clear, crystalline eyes swept over the three individuals ahead. They quickly locked onto one particular person. It was a Dwarf, his entire body charred black and stiff. He staggered forward.

Master Vima had transformed into a Thunderbird earlier. With astonishing eyesight, she had witnessed Sen smashing Casey away with his warhammer from several kilometers away in the sky. The other two didn’t deserve death, but as the prime culprit who had hurt Casey, the Grand Druid was unwilling to let the Dwarf go.

With that thought, the Unicorn lowered its head. It shot through the trees like a streak of white lightning. The over three-foot-long sharp horn on its forehead pierced the Dwarf’s body like a spear. With a Thud!, it skewered him clean through, lifting him high into the air, impaled on the horn.

A wave of excruciating pain erupted from Sen’s chest. His body, paralyzed by the electrical shock, suddenly twitched violently. He looked down in horror at the bloody tip of the horn protruding from his chest.

“No, s-save…save me!” Sen stretched out a trembling hand towards his two companions ahead, his gaze filled with despair.

Fink and Kael’s expressions flickered with grief simultaneously. They turned their heads away, unable to bear watching the Dwarf’s plight. Yet, their feet didn’t stop for even a second as they fled deeper into the forest. They knew Sen was doomed. Facing a Legendary Profession, they stood no chance. Staying behind would only mean throwing their own lives away.

“Heh heh, try running now, brats! I’ll help ya!” A loud shout suddenly erupted above Fink and Kael. A large figure, whipping through the wind, leaped down from a great tree high above. He swung a massive Horse-Cutting Saber, wide as a door plank, down savagely towards the Unicorn’s neck.

At that exact moment, a crescent-shaped cyan Wind Blade shot out from deep within the forest, whistling as it hurtled towards the Unicorn. Branches obscuring its path merely touched the Wind Blade and were silently sliced clean through in two, dropping to the ground. The Unicorn blinked its big eyes and tossed its head. The near-death Dwarf impaled on its horn was sent flailing through the air just in time to meet the descending giant saber held by the large figure.

“Arrgh…!” A harsh, grating shriek tore from Sen’s throat. The massive saber cleaved him directly down the middle, splitting him into two halves. He was utterly dead; no amount of healing potions could restore him now.

Meanwhile, the Unicorn rolled swiftly upon the ground to evade the Wind Blade. When it rose again, it had transformed back into Master Vima. The Grand Druid frowned slightly, leaping back to stand protectively in front of Casey, her gaze alert as she watched the two figures approaching.

The first figure was a burly man stripped to the waist—the very one who had jumped down and attacked her with the giant Horse-Cutting Saber. The other wore a black magic robe, his face shadowed beneath its hood, making his features hard to discern. However, Master Vima sensed an aura radiating from him that was both intensely repulsive and strangely familiar.

“Necromancer!” The Grand Druid ignored the half-naked man, staring only with disgust at the Magician. As a life-loving Elf Druid, she harbored an instinctive hatred for the undead.

Master Vima sensed a powerful aura emanating from these two individuals, stirring a faint anxiety within her. With her strength as a Grand Druid, even if two more of their caliber showed up, she wouldn’t hesitate.

But with her discerning eye, Master Vima could tell that these two had advanced deep down the paths of their chosen Professions, likely already reaching the High Rank. While still some distance away from Legendary status, it wasn’t unattainable. They were no longer minor obstacles she could easily sweep aside.

Crucially, she now had the heavily wounded, unconscious Casey to protect. She couldn’t fight with her full might. Although two figures standing not far behind her seemed like Casey’s new friends from the camp, among this batch of Sanctuary Camp newcomers, besides that Night Elf Qin Lun who had caught her eye, she trusted no one else.

Master Vima reached into her robe and grasped a piece of vibrant green jade stone. Her expression was one of deep hesitation. She had actually been out recruiting new members today, only rushing back midway upon receiving Casey’s distress signal. She had no battle companions with her. Trying to fight against two High Rank opponents while simultaneously protecting Casey would inevitably spread her too thin.

Shattering this jade would instantly send a message of distress back to the camp; several old friends would arrive within moments. However, requesting reinforcements from the camp over a conflict with a few youngsters was rather unbecoming of a Legendary Profession’s stature, a definite blow to her pride.

“Aunt Vima! Cough! Cough!” Just as the Grand Druid was wrestling with indecision, Casey’s soft call reached her ears.

“Casey, how are you?” Vima’s spirits lifted slightly. She released the green jade stone within her sleeve and crouched down, quickly helping Casey sit up. She carefully propped the young Elf’s head against the large tree behind him.

“I’m alri— Cough! Cough!” Casey opened his eyes weakly. With a trembling hand, he reached his right arm around Vima’s slender, snow-white neck, seemingly struggling to push himself more upright with her support.

Just as his right arm looped fully around her neck, his empty fingers abruptly produced a gleaming blue needle. He pressed it gently against the Grand Druid’s nape.

Shoosh! A sharp, hissing noise, soft as a venomous serpent striking, cut through the air from the right flank of the forest. A Fine Iron Long Arrow shot low over the bushes, speeding straight toward Vima’s back. Simultaneously, a figure burst through the foliage nearby, rushing towards her while shouting a desperate warning.

“Master Vima, look out!”

Thankfully, Vima was, after all, a Grand Druid. Her Perception was extraordinarily keen. Even before the arrow whistled, instinct made her snap her head towards the sound. The edge of her vision caught not only the Fine Iron Long Arrow streaking from the bushes but also the lethal needle concealed in Casey’s right hand.

The arrow itself seemed almost incidental, perhaps even off-target. But the object in Casey’s hand… that was a different matter entirely.

However, before Vima could react, a sharp sting pricked her inner thigh. It felt like the minor bite of a mosquito. An image instantly flashed in her mind—Casey, pressing another toxic needle directly against her thigh with his left hand.

“You—!” Master Vima’s eyes flew wide with fury. She had lived for over a thousand years. If she didn’t realize Casey had betrayed her now, she truly would have been the greatest fool who ever lived.

Master Vima exploded with rage. Her entire body jerked violently, instantly flinging Casey high up into the air. Her slender right hand lashed out viciously towards him in mid-flight. Her left hand immediately dived into her robe, aiming to crush the green jade message stone.

Yet, barely a heartbeat later, the Grand Druid abandoned that idea. Her now-free left hand twisted rapidly through the gestures of a spell.

Even at their fastest, camp reinforcements would need ten minutes or more to locate them. The enemies wouldn’t grant her that much time. To survive now, she had to rely on herself… and also gamble. Gamble that the newcomer rushing to their aid, having now witnessed Casey’s betrayal, might still find a way to save them!

“Too slow!” Casey’s body spun horizontally as he flipped through the air, narrowly evading Vima’s descending hand. A sly smile played on his still boyish face. “Hehe, Aunt Vima, you fell for it!” he teased brightly.

Boom! Master Vima’s right palm, missing Casey entirely, slammed into the ground. The impact shook the entire patch of earth beneath them.

“Heh heh!” Casey chuckled lightly. As his spinning body completed its arc, one foot kicked off against a nearby large tree. He used the rebound to launch upwards, landing lightly beside the half-naked man and the robed Necromancer. He stood side by side with them.

Fink and Kael had stopped running. Yu Mo, the Rogue who had been pursuing Cora, had also ended the chase and silently reappeared beside his two companions. The trio looked toward Casey and the others with complex expressions.

Hansen and Hill still stood expressionlessly some distance behind Master Vima. Cora, finally freed from her pursuer, didn’t approach either. She remained at a distance, staring coldly at the unfolding scene.

Simultaneously, after her palm slammed the earth, Master Vima seemed frozen. Her hand remained glued to the ground. Her body stiffened rigidly, sitting cross-legged against the tree trunk, utterly immobilized. Only the blazing fury in her eyes betrayed her lingering consciousness.

The moment Master Vima became paralyzed, however, the cloak of woven vines and leaves that covered her began to shift unnaturally.

The green leaves composing her cloak disintegrated instantaneously. Aside from the deer antler headpiece upon her head and three leaves covering her breasts and groin, Master Vima was almost completely naked. Her flawless form was startlingly revealed.

Countless hair-fine plant fibers from the disintegrating cloak plunged violently into the soil all at once. With the motionless Grand Druid as the center, thick vines erupted from the earth. They shot upwards, intertwining rapidly to form a massive spherical cage roughly three zhang in diameter. This enormous birdcage, woven entirely of living vines, enclosed Master Vima, Hill and Hansen standing behind her, and Qin Lun, who had just arrived nearby.

Qin Lun held the longbow named Qing Ming. It was he who had loosed that Fine Iron Long Arrow and shouted the warning.

“Too late!” Hill and Hansen exclaimed simultaneously, tossing exasperated glances his way.

Qin Lun could only offer a wry smile and rub his nose, offering no explanation. He certainly couldn’t tell them he’d wasted precious time fruitlessly scouring the forest, unwilling to accept disappearing without a trace.

His gaze flickered briefly toward the near-naked Grand Druid whose figure was starkly revealed through the cage’s lattice, but then he looked away. Shaking his head helplessly, he quickly took off his outer jacket and draped it carefully over Vima’s exposed form.

Being a Druid closely attuned to nature, Vima wasn’t inherently troubled by nudity. Yet, baring her chest unambiguously before this group was undeniably awkward. As Qin Lun’s jacket settled over her shoulders, a flash of genuine gratitude briefly softened the simmering anger in her eyes. She blinked at him in silent thanks.

A hint of a relieved smile touched Qin Lun’s lips as he gave Vima a brief nod. Turning swiftly, his attention snapped back outside the cage. His eyes narrowed, focusing intently on Casey and the two others beyond the living bars.

“Hi, Qin Lun! Fancy meeting you here!” Casey bounced lightly on his toes, waving his small hand enthusiastically. “But you’re late!” he sang out cheerfully.

“Casey, must we really talk about that again?” Qin Lun pressed a hand to his forehead, sighing dramatically. The memory of the astonished vanishing under his very gaze stung anew.