Lin Chuan's shout came to an abrupt halt.

Wang Ye had fallen less than five meters away from him. Blood gushing from the corner of his mouth choked his throat. He lay face up, looking at Lin Chuan with his mouth agape, seemingly having so much to say, yet unable to utter a single word.

Lin Chuan's lips trembled uncontrollably, his eyes bloodshot.

On the other side, Ning Fan started shaking uncontrollably.

This was the world of the Marauders.

Old Duan, Wang Ye.

Just moments ago, everyone was gathered together.

So lively.

Now, they were dead just like that.

Their deaths were too simple, too sudden.

"Wang Ye!!"

Hui Zi suddenly let out a roar and rushed towards the hilltop.

At this moment, he had forgotten Lin Chuan's orders.

He only wanted to avenge his brother!

On the hillside, the young man sneered and pointed his finger at Hui Zi.

The light arrow appeared again.

Whoosh!!

Hui Zi slightly turned his body while sprinting.

Swish!

The light arrow pierced through his shoulder blade.

Hui Zi's body fell, rolling to the side due to inertia.

His body was covered in mud, blood mixed with dirt, looking utterly wretched.

Seeing Hui Zi injured, Lin Chuan regained momentary composure.

He gritted his teeth hard.

His teeth were almost cracking!

"Retreat!"

Lin Chuan shouted.

Hui Zi, lying on the ground, heard Lin Chuan's order and suddenly roared angrily, "Brother Chuan!! Wang Ye and Old Duan are dead!!"

"I fucking know that!"

Lin Chuan quickly rushed to Hui Zi's side, scooped him up onto his shoulder, and ran towards the outside of the Mist Forest without looking back!

On the other side, although Qiao Fei and Da Zhuang were also filled with grief and indignation, they still followed him in the escape.

Passing by the dumbstruck Ning Fan, Da Zhuang scooped him up along the way.

The wind whistled against Ning Fan's face, stinging a bit.

Cradled in Da Zhuang's arms, he woodenly turned his head to look at Lin Chuan, who was carrying Hui Zi on his shoulder.

"Bro-Brother Chuan, are we... just leaving like this?"

As soon as the words fell, Ning Fan felt a sting in his nose.

Although he hadn't interacted with Wang Ye and Old Duan for long, not even a full day, Ning Fan felt choked up.

Lin Chuan ran with an expressionless face, but flames burned in his eyes.

He didn't answer Ning Fan.

Just then, another light arrow shot towards them.

Ning Fan felt Da Zhuang, who was holding him, stumble a step.

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But his running footsteps didn't stop.

Soon, everyone had run out of the Ghost Mist Forest and returned to the cave where they had rested earlier.

The warmth from the bonfire hadn't completely dissipated.

But two people were missing from those who returned.

Thud.

Lin Chuan threw Hui Zi onto the ground.

Qiao Fei took out a Courage Crystal from a rotten face frog from her pocket and stuffed it into Hui Zi's mouth without hesitation.

This time, Qiao Fei didn't ask him for Solas.

Hui Zi, with tears in his eyes, chewed the Courage Crystal and swallowed it.

The bleeding from his wound stopped.

At the same time, he cried.

He lay on the ground, crying until his eyes swelled.

"Lin Chuan! Fuck your mother!"

Unexpectedly, Hui Zi, after recovering from his injuries, first roared at Lin Chuan: "You're the fucking captain! Our family members were killed, and you just ran away like this?!"

Lin Chuan didn't speak.

His gaze fell on Da Zhuang.

Da Zhuang had already put Ning Fan down.

Ning Fan felt that his body seemed a bit damp.

When he turned to look at Da Zhuang, he found that Da Zhuang's chest...

Was bleeding.

Qiao Fei only now noticed Da Zhuang's condition and quickly took out the last Courage Crystal, about to feed it to Da Zhuang.

But Da Zhuang waved his hand.

"It's useless, don't waste it."

Da Zhuang staggered to the wall, sat down heavily, and then let out a long sigh: "Finally can rest, I'm exhausted."

Ning Fan stared at Da Zhuang motionlessly, like a wooden statue.

Da Zhuang grinned: "Kid, who would've thought, skinny as you are, you're quite heavy."

"You-you've been... hit..."

Ning Fan's teeth were chattering, struggling to say a complete sentence.

Da Zhuang looked down at the bloody hole in his body and said leisurely: "Hui Zi, don't scold the captain. No one could have withstood this arrow. He was protecting us."

"A [Ten-Soul Level] ranged attack, and they had taken advantageous terrain in advance."

Qiao Fei spoke softly: "If we had run slower, we'd all be left there."

Hui Zi didn't apologize, but upon seeing Da Zhuang's condition, he cried even harder.

"Da Zhuang! What the fuck are you doing?! Don't fucking scare me! If you die, who am I going to repay my debt to?!"

Hui Zi struggled to get up and crawled towards Da Zhuang: "Back when I first joined the [Stray Dog Pack], on my first mission, you lost four fingers to save me! I haven't even repaid you yet, damn it!"

Da Zhuang smiled: "Are you scolding me? You, a newcomer, became the vice-captain... where does that leave an old-timer like me?"

Hui Zi cried bitterly, snot and tears mixing together.

He forcefully stood up and knelt in front of Da Zhuang.

"I'm fucking begging you! Please don't die, okay?! I'm even kneeling to you, damn it!"

Da Zhuang chuckled, his breathing obviously becoming much heavier: "I'm not your dad, why are you kneeling to me?"

"Dad! As long as you don't die, I'll call you dad every day, okay?!"

Hui Zi's voice was shrill, breaking as he shouted.

"Forget it! I don't want such a troublesome son..."

Gulp.

A large mouthful of blood surged from Da Zhuang's mouth, cutting off the joke he was about to make.

Hui Zi cried hoarsely, continuously begging Da Zhuang not to die.

"Brother Da Zhuang, I haven't... haven't treated you to beef yet..."

Ning Fan's tears flowed down his cheeks.

He didn't even know he was crying, but tears flowed unconsciously.

The former Ning Fan thought he might only cry when his mother passed away.

He never imagined he would shed tears for someone he had known for less than a day.

This suffocating feeling made it hard for him to breathe.

It felt like a stone was pressing hard on his heart.

Just over an hour ago, right here, Da Zhuang had handed him a beef bone.

"Shadow dog meat, don't eat too much, the miasma content is too high."

"We're risking our lives out here, eat something good for yourself. This meal's on me."

"In our dog kennel, we don't say thank you. When you earn some Solas, treat me back."

"Brother Chuan said your brain works better than ours. We trust Brother Chuan, so we trust you too."

Da Zhuang's eyelids had already drooped.

Hearing Ning Fan's words, he struggled to lift them.

His eyes were becoming increasingly cloudy. Although he was still coughing blood, the corners of his mouth slowly curved into a smile.

"Kid, I... quite like you..."

Da Zhuang wanted to raise his arm but couldn't lift it no matter how hard he tried.

He turned his head with difficulty and looked at Lin Chuan again.

"Bro-Brother Chuan... I'm gone... the team... has no shield now... you... find another one..."

Before he could finish speaking, Da Zhuang's eyelids grew heavier and heavier until he could no longer lift them.

There was a buzzing in Ning Fan's ears.

The black sword on his back was also trembling slightly.