Three Days

The Document Officer's hand paused slightly as he sorted through the papers. He looked up at Su Ran's young but composed face, then at the Iron Cross Guild's temporary badge on his chest, and fell silent for a moment.

The clamor of the camp seemed to be shut out for an instant. Rex and the others nearby sensed something too. They stopped talking and looked over.

The Document Officer pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. His voice was a little lower than before, carrying a barely perceptible weight:

"Are you asking about... the first group of local professionals who answered the call and came back to help?"

Su Ran nodded. "Yes. They said the town had issued an emergency call-up."

The Document Officer sighed softly and drew a list with worn edges from a thick stack of documents beside him. He turned to a page and ran his finger over several crossed-out names.

"The first local professionals and militiamen who came back, when the Fishmen launched their massive raid three days ago and the town's defenses collapsed...

"They held the front line and bought time for most of the civilians and some of the garrison to evacuate."

His finger stopped on several entries that had been crossed out so heavily in red ink that the original names were almost illegible.

"The casualties... were extremely heavy. Based on the information we've gathered and confirmed so far..."

The Document Officer paused, his voice growing softer. "The people you mentioned, the Shield Guard and the Spearman... if their descriptions match the earliest group, and there's no record of them afterward... they most likely... have fallen."

They had fallen.

Three simple words, yet they struck Su Ran's heart like a sledgehammer.

Though he had long had a premonition, when the definite news came, a surge of indescribably complicated emotions still welled up in him.

Those two familiar faces seemed to be right before his eyes: the rugged man who carried a shield and always charged at the front, and the Spearman who rarely spoke but struck with steady, precise, and ruthless thrusts.

He remembered the first time, in the Dark Rat Nest, when the Shield Guard had held firm against the rat tide;

He remembered how excitedly they had discussed the generous rewards in the Skeleton Graveyard; he remembered their last conversation, when they had hurried home...

They were only the most ordinary bottom-tier awakened, struggling to survive. Yet when their hometown was in danger, they had returned without a backward glance, and then... fallen here.

The noise of the camp flooded back into his ears, but it seemed distant.

Rex patted Su Ran on the shoulder without speaking. Alina and Karl also gave him sympathetic looks. Xiaoguang lowered his head and quietly recited a eulogy.

Su Ran took a deep breath and suppressed his churning emotions. He nodded to the Document Officer, his voice a little hoarse. "...I understand. Thank you."

He took the copy of the list the Document Officer handed back to him. The sensitive information had been concealed, leaving only some of the fallen's codenames or identifying features that could be made public. His gaze lingered for a few seconds on the crossed-out entries before he silently put it away.

He turned and left the command tent. Outside, the sunlight was somewhat glaring.

They had fallen.

In this world, death was all too common, especially for people like them, who struggled at the bottom of the power hierarchy yet had no choice but to face danger.

But knowing that was one thing. When it happened to people he knew, it felt different after all.

Su Ran walked to a relatively quiet spot at the edge of the camp and leaned against an abandoned armored vehicle, gazing at the distant haze of battle, faintly visible in the direction where Linhai Town had once stood.

Shield Guard, Spearman...

He silently repeated the names of these two teammates, known to him only by their professions, not their real names.

Though they had only formed a temporary party, though they had not spent long together, though they had ultimately parted ways because of the gap in their strength and their different paths...

They really had accepted him when he was at his weakest and most in need of an opportunity, giving him their initial trust and the chance to fight alongside them.

He remembered that bond.

And now, they had fallen on the road to defending their hometown, beneath the claws of those hideous fish monsters.

The initial shock and trace of sorrow in Su Ran's eyes gradually settled, giving way to a cold, sharp resolve.

He tightened his grip on the [Mithril Staff]. The Mithril at its head seemed to sense its master's feelings, and the swirling nebula within it quickened slightly.

Revenge.

Not for any noble reason, but simply because they had once been his teammates, and they had died at the hands of these monsters.

And now he had greater strength and stood closer to the front lines.

He would remember this debt of blood.

These fish monsters, and the higher-tier monsters that might exist behind them...

With the staff in his hand and his ever-growing strength, he would make them pay, bit by bit.

Not to save anyone, nor for some great goal.

Simply to lay to rest those two... teammates who had once fought beside him and ultimately fallen.

Su Ran took one last look in the direction of Linhai Town, then turned and walked toward the area where the squad was resting.

His shadow stretched long in the afternoon sunlight, while his retreating figure carried an unprecedented resolve.

Over the next three days, Su Ran and Rex's squad were like gears thrown into a meat grinder, fighting six battles of varying scale in the area around Linhai Town.

The fighting spread from the rocky tidal flats where it had begun to an abandoned fishing village dock, a half-collapsed coastal road, and the edge of a mangrove swamp full of mud and traps.

Their opponents were no longer just scattered Deep-Dweller Murlocs. More threatening variants began to appear: [Poison Sac Murlocs] that could spray corrosive acid, and [Shadowfin Stalkers] adept at lying in wait and launching surprise attacks.

As well as [Fishman Shamans], who commanded lesser Fishmen and could cast simple water-element disruption spells.

Every battle was perilous and fierce.

Rex's tower shield was covered in new scratches and dents. Once, a large patch of its coating was even corroded away by venom.

Alina's quiver emptied and filled again, and blood blisters formed on her fingers from drawing her bow for so long.

Karl's frost spells were somewhat weakened by the damp environment, forcing him to use his mana more carefully.

Xiaoguang's holy light grew somewhat dim from the constant healing and dispelling, and his face showed obvious fatigue.

Su Ran, meanwhile, grew rapidly through these intense battles.

He grew increasingly proficient in using [Energy Missile Lv.3]. Rather than only picking off targets with precision, he began trying "covering fire" with multiple missiles.

He used them to block the enemies' paths or create opportunities for his teammates to land killing blows.

The technique was highly effective against groups of low-level Fishmen.

Whenever the [Tiger Might Headband] came off cooldown, he would look for the best moment to use it,

Its fear effect repeatedly disrupted enemy formations or interrupted dangerous spellcasting at critical moments, creating precious windows for the squad to deal damage.

Rex's opinion of Su Ran's use of this crowd-control skill grew higher and higher.