Reduced Ranks

The newcomer was none other than Dago, captain of the Patrol Guard.

His tall, upright figure stepped forward beneath a gray robe. In the white hand extended before him, a basketball-sized sphere of ice floated above his palm...

Within the sphere, ice crystals intertwined and rotated, producing faint creaking sounds as cold air spilled from between his fingers.

The chill surrounding the ice crystal sphere formed an invisible, violent current in the air, whipping up Dago's shoulder-length black hair and the hem of his gray robe.

As he walked across the ice toward the center of the melee, the ice sphere slowly spun in his palm...

Its glow made his jawline seem even colder and sharper. His profile, illuminated by icy-blue light, was more intimidating than the sharpest icicle in the forest.

The moment they saw Dago, everyone in the Patrol Guard breathed a sigh of relief, the pressure of imminent death finally lifting.

Morlock, lying on the ground, desperately tried to prop himself up and see Dago's face clearly. Blood kept surging from his mouth, clogging his throat.

He could not utter a single word.

Dago lowered the ice crystal sphere in his hand. Boom— the ice sphere struck his enemy squarely in the chest...

There was no earth-shattering explosion, but the instant it made contact, a terrifyingly low temperature erupted.

Morlock's black robe was first covered in frost, and then his entire body seemed to be cast into an abyss of extreme cold...

His skin turned bluish-purple at a visible speed, as though even the blood in his veins had frozen.

The bone staff in his hand had just begun to rise when it shattered inch by inch in the cold emitted by the ice sphere, turning into powder that scattered through the air.

Even more horrifying, the ice sphere did not dissipate. Instead, it spread wildly along Morlock's body, from his chest to his limbs, then to his head.

In only a few breaths, Morlock was completely frozen inside a massive block of ice...

He remained in the pose of raising his staff to strike, disbelief and terror still frozen across his face.

Sharp icicles kept spreading over the ice block's surface, freezing the surrounding rubble and broken branches within it and forming a bizarre ice sculpture.

Dago snorted coldly, and the block of ice suddenly exploded from within...

All that remained was shattered ice gleaming with cold light, as if the living Morlock had never existed.

The mist-like vengeful spirits naturally dissipated the instant Morlock died.

Dago rummaged through the ice fragments and barely managed to find a palm-sized leather pouch made from some unknown beast hide.

He picked up the deflated pouch, which appeared completely empty, and probed inside with his mental power.

His heartbeat suddenly quickened. A remarkably complex rune was inscribed within the pouch.

The moment his mental power touched the rune, he roughly understood its purpose.

It was a spatial rune containing an "interdimensional space," capable of holding items far larger than its outward appearance suggested.

In other words, it was a storage pouch. Dago calmly slipped it into his mage robe before finally turning his attention to the others.

Vissel stared at Dago with a complicated expression that combined shock, fear, respect, and disbelief.

It was as if he had only truly come to know the real Dago now.

Yet after meeting Dago's eyes, Vissel immediately lowered his head in panic, deeply concealing the embarrassment and jealousy in his gaze.

Dago looked at Ian, unconscious on the ground, then at Linus, pale-faced and unsteady on his feet, and sneered inwardly.

He had just learned the full details of the battle from Mariko, and it had certainly made him see Vissel in a new light.

Mariko said a prayer of rest for Gavin's corpse, which lay sprawled on the ground.

Gavin had usually been a quiet young man, but he had still lived alongside everyone for so long.

Before long, Selena arrived as well. The instant she saw Gavin's body, tears streamed down her face.

This was the first time the Forest Patrol had suffered the death of a teammate.

To prevent possible reinforcements from the Duskblood Council's Black-Robed Wizards,

they quickly cleaned up the battlefield. Mariko carried Gavin's body on his back, while Evan carried Ian, who had fainted from fright.

Once everything was settled, Dago fired several Air Bullets to disrupt the tracks they had left behind, then headed for the Treehouse Outpost.

After returning to the Treehouse Outpost, they dug a grave nearby and buried Gavin's body. Mariko presided over the simple funeral.

Vissel attended the funeral with his head lowered. After more than half a month together, he had developed some feelings for Gavin and had come to see him off on his final journey.

However, everyone looked at him with cold eyes, beneath which lay undisguised disgust and contempt.

That was because he had always been arrogant, believing that a forest wizard like himself stood above others.

They had once thought he was merely unpleasant, but now they knew just how ruthless and cruel he truly was.

If Mariko had not arrived in time to drive away the vengeful spirits, they would probably have had to dig another grave today.

Though no one openly scolded him, the contempt in their eyes was impossible to hide.

In the end, Vissel left in shame and never appeared at the Treehouse Outpost again.

In truth, everyone understood this. Vissel did not belong to this forest and was bound to leave sooner or later.

But with the Forest Patrol losing such an immediate fighting force, their situation became even more difficult, and they could not help having other thoughts.

At noon, everyone silently ate a hearty meal. The atmosphere was completely different from before, heavier than ever.

After the meal, Evan and his wife were the first to approach Dago and express their wish to leave the team.

"My uncle owns property in the wealthy district of the town. We really do not want to leave, but after what happened this time, we have no choice but to seek refuge with him."

Evan spoke with an expression of reluctance and helplessness.

Dago did not blame the couple for anything. He agreed to let them go and wished them a safe journey.

Evan left Dago a note with an address written on it, once again expressing his heartfelt gratitude.

Dago did not take the note. He merely waved his hand without saying anything, and the couple silently returned to their temporary quarters.

Ian, who had watched the entire exchange from the shadows, stepped out. He still looked as though he had yet to return from death's doorstep.

"Captain Dago, I actually came to say goodbye too. I'm still young. I can't die here. I hope you can understand."

Ian said, his voice choked with tears.

Dago was naturally not surprised. He let Ian leave without trying to persuade him to stay.

He told Mariko and Selena that the three intended to leave the Forest Patrol, adding that the days ahead would be even more dangerous and that choosing to leave was only human nature.

As expected, Mariko and Selena chose to follow him. What difference was there now between the town and the forest?

That afternoon, Evan and his wife, along with Ian, silently left the Treehouse Outpost's temporary residence carrying large bags and small bundles. There were no farewells and no send-off ceremony.

For the rest of the day's patrol, only Dago, Mariko, and Selena remained.

Fortunately, they did not encounter any retaliation from the Duskblood Council. Still, Dago felt certain that they were looking for him as well...

After all, he had already killed two of their people. There was no way they would have no reaction at all.