Sacrifice and Oath

Ye Chen reached out and gently closed Dusarien's eyes. The regret in his expression returned to calm, and as he surveyed his surroundings, his mind began to race through the situation.

Every member of Smoke Squad had been dead for at least ten minutes.

Yet the culprit who had killed Dusarien and the other five had not chosen to leave this forest world immediately.

If Dusarien and the others had inflicted serious wounds on the killer before dying, forcing them to remain here temporarily to recover, then why had the culprit not concealed their aura? Instead, they allowed their powerful pressure to permeate heaven and earth, as if deliberately telling every latecomer that they were here.

There was clearly no way to reconcile that logic.

(Had the enemy chosen to remain here so conspicuously because they were badly wounded and deliberately putting on a show of strength? Had they laid a trap and feigned weakness to lure enemies in? Or were they simply so arrogant that they dared act with such casual abandon?)

Ye Chen considered all of these possibilities plausible.

After all, the members of Delight Theater had always acted on whim, their moods mercurial and unpredictable. There was little point in overanalyzing the motives behind a pack of lunatics.

(Perhaps they have already noticed my presence. They simply haven't chosen to make a move yet.)

As he swept his gaze over the silent, oppressive surroundings, Ye Chen fell quiet for several seconds before lowering his eyes to Dusarien's ashen face.

Then, a resolute and brilliant light welled up in the Bloodsmith Hunter's azure eyes.

"Mr. Dusarien."

Ye Chen faced Dusarien's corpse and softly made a vow.

"I will never let your sacrifices be in vain."

With those words, the Bloodsmith Hunter rose to his feet and straightened his