Ning Fan clutched Big Dang's lifeless hand, feeling his blood surge uncontrollably.

"Poof..."

He spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

Qiao Fei arched an eyebrow, glancing at him. Confirming that he wasn't injured but merely overcome with anger and grief, she averted her gaze once more.

Hui Zi was still sobbing.

Ning Fan, too, was shedding tears without even realizing it.

"How... how exactly do you obtain a Soul Servant?" Ning Fan suddenly mumbled.

Hui Zi looked at him through tear-filled eyes.

Suddenly, Ning Fan drew his black sword, roaring with all his might: "How the fuck do you activate a Soul Servant?!"

Lin Chuan gazed at Ning Fan with deep, pensive eyes.

Ning Fan had completely lost it.

"Aren't there supposed to be loads of wandering spirits in the wild? Come on! Come to me! I'll nurture you!"

His enraged voice echoed throughout the cave.

The black sword trembled slightly but showed no other reaction.

Indeed, as Hui Zi had said, the trigger for obtaining a Soul Servant was highly mystical.

"Damn it all to hell!"

Ning Fan hurled the black sword against the cave wall.

He was furious with himself.

Why, when everyone else was fighting for their lives, did he need others to protect him?

He was also a member of the Stray Dog Pack!

In this family, everyone was doing their part, but what about him?

"Kid, calm down..." Lin Chuan began.

"How can I calm down?!" Ning Fan broke down in tears. "You all said I was smart! You all trusted me to make the plans! Every action was executed according to my strategy! But now three people are dead!"

"Old Duan, Wang Ye, and... Big Dang! They all died because they trusted me! What right do I have? I've never even been to the wild before, are you all insane? Why did you trust me?!"

Self-reproach.

Ning Fan was blaming himself to the extreme.

If only he had calculated earlier that the War Bear was just a decoy, and that there was a real expert lying in ambush, perhaps no one would have died.

"The entire plan, even War Bear was kept in the dark. It's normal that you couldn't have foreseen this," Qiao Fei consoled him, which was rare for her.

Everyone had already confirmed that War Bear must not have known the full plan either.

Because when War Bear and his men were being slaughtered, the archer hadn't intervened.

He had been using War Bear's group to draw the full attention of the Stray Dog Pack.

A pure, cold-blooded assassin.

Even so, Ning Fan couldn't forgive himself.

Strangely, throughout this entire process, Lin Chuan hadn't said a word.

After returning to the cave, he had sat at the entrance, seemingly pondering something.

Finally, after twenty minutes had passed, when Ning Fan and Hui Zi had mostly vented their emotions, Lin Chuan slowly stood up and rekindled the extinguished bonfire.

The other three looked at him.

Lin Chuan licked his dry lips and said to Qiao Fei, "Watch these two. Don't let them do anything stupid."

Qiao Fei's beautiful eyes flickered slightly.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Lin Chuan looked at Qiao Fei, pointing at the bonfire.

"If I don't return before the fire goes out... from then on, you'll be the captain of the Stray Dog Pack."

With that, Lin Chuan turned and walked towards the cave exit.

Hui Zi, who had cried himself to exhaustion, struggled to his feet when he saw Lin Chuan leaving. "Brother Chuan, where... where are you going?"

"Weren't you just cursing at me? Now you're calling me brother again?" Lin Chuan turned back with a smile.

But Hui Zi was in no mood for jokes. "I'm fucking asking you a question! Where are you going?!"

Lin Chuan's smile gradually faded.

"I'm the captain," he said, looking at Big Dang's corpse, his eyes gradually reddening. "I'm responsible for the lives of those who are alive! And for those who died... I must avenge them!"

Hui Zi's body trembled as he tried to stand up.

But Lin Chuan waved him off. "With your condition, you'd just be a burden if you came. Stay alive. If I really don't come back, you avenge me, brother."

With that, Lin Chuan left the cave without looking back.

Ning Fan didn't understand.

Since leaving the inner district, there were too many things Ning Fan couldn't comprehend!

Knowing it was a trap, yet still walking into it - he didn't understand!

Knowing the enemy was an experienced assassin, yet Lin Chuan still went back - he didn't understand this either!

They were all seasoned Marauders who had roamed the wild for years, so why were their thoughts...

So foolish?!

In his mind, Lin Chuan's earlier words echoed: If you decide to become a Marauder, you must learn to bear responsibility.

For some reason, Ning Fan felt a heavy weight in his heart.

The cave fell silent.

Only the crackling of burning wood could be heard.

Hui Zi had mostly recovered, his emotions somewhat stabilized.

He leaned against the wall, head lowered, lost in thought.

Qiao Fei placed her Tang sword across her lap, resting with her eyes closed.

Ning Fan had picked up the black sword again, waiting for it to show some movement, like someone anticipating a call from their lover.

Unfortunately, the black sword didn't even quiver slightly anymore.

He still hadn't obtained his Soul Servant.

The flame grew smaller and smaller.

Everyone's hearts sank deeper and deeper.

Lin Chuan hadn't returned.

Hui Zi raised his head, tears flowing once again.

But this time, he wasn't as agitated as before. He looked at Qiao Fei and asked, "Captain, what should we do next?"

Qiao Fei's eye twitched slightly. "The fire hasn't gone out yet."

Hui Zi stood up and kicked the bonfire, scattering sparks everywhere.

"Now it's out."

Everyone knew that with Lin Chuan gone for so long, waiting any longer was pointless.

There was no need to cling to false hope and deceive themselves.

Qiao Fei raised an eyebrow, looking at him for a moment before turning to Ning Fan.

"What do you think?"

Ning Fan trembled.

Let alone the fact that his mind was in chaos right now.

Even if he had an idea, he wouldn't dare to voice it.

Saying the wrong thing could get people killed.

"Useless," Qiao Fei suddenly cursed, her beautiful face filled with contempt. "I really don't understand why the captain valued you so much! What use are good grades? You crumble at the slightest setback?"

Ning Fan wanted to argue.

Was this just a slight setback?

Three people had died!

And Brother Chuan's fate was unknown.

"How can you be so indifferent?" Ning Fan asked through gritted teeth.

"What else should I be?" Qiao Fei narrowed her eyes. "Should I be like you two, wailing and sobbing?"

Hui Zi also furrowed his brow.

Qiao Fei didn't coddle either of them. She picked up her Tang sword.

The remaining light from the embers highlighted her graceful figure.

"An archer and Yang Beihai. These two are our enemies," Qiao Fei said coldly. "Now that we know who the enemies are, instead of seeking revenge, you're hiding in a cave crying. I call you useless, and you're not happy about it?"

Hui Zi remained silent for a moment, then tore his clothes into strips and roughly bandaged his shoulder wound.

"Who do we kill first?"

"The archer is hard to catch for now, but Yang Beihai can't escape from the F32 district!"

Qiao Fei looked at Ning Fan again. "Are you coming?"

"I'm in," Ning Fan stood up as well.

He had finally understood.

Everything, all of it, he finally understood.

His month of preparation was nothing compared to what he had experienced in this one day.

At this moment, he finally understood what it meant to be a Marauder.

More precisely, he knew how to be a stray dog struggling at the bottom.

"Brother Chuan once said that the reputation of the Stray Dog Pack was built by the older generation! If someone wants to tarnish it... it won't work!"

Ning Fan, with the black sword on his back, walked to Qiao Fei's side. "Sister Fei, don't think I'm weak. I promise, I will become stronger."

Qiao Fei didn't show much reaction. "Then hurry up. I don't have a habit of coddling children."