Casualties

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

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

Ice crystals twisted and spun within the sphere, producing faint creaking sounds as cold air spilled through his fingers.

The chill surrounding the ice sphere formed an invisible yet violent current in the air, lifting 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 rotated in his palm...

Its light made his jawline appear even colder and sharper. His profile, illuminated by the icy blue glow, was more terrifying than the sharpest icicle in the woods.

The moment they saw Dago, the Forest Patrol members on the scene all let out a breath, freed from the pressure of impending death.

Morlock, lying on the ground, desperately tried to push himself up. He struggled to see Dago's face clearly, but the blood constantly pouring from his mouth clogged his throat.

He could not say a single word.

Dago pressed down on the ice sphere in his hand. Boom— The ice sphere struck his enemy squarely in the chest...

There was no earth-shattering explosion, yet horrifying cold erupted the instant it made contact.

Frost first covered Morlock's black robe, and then his entire body seemed to have been cast into an abyss of absolute cold...

His skin rapidly turned bluish-purple before the naked eye, as though even the blood in his veins had frozen.

The bone staff in his hand had barely begun to rise when it shattered inch by inch in the cold radiating from the ice sphere, turning into dust that scattered away.

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

Within only a few breaths, Morlock had been completely frozen inside a massive block of ice...

He remained in the pose of raising his staff to strike, while the incredulous terror on his face had frozen in place.

Sharp icicles continued to spread across the surface of the ice block, freezing the surrounding rubble and broken branches within it and forming an eerie ice sculpture.

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

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

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

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

He picked up the shriveled pouch, which appeared to contain nothing at all, and probed inside with his mental power.

His heartbeat suddenly quickened. A tremendously complex rune was inscribed inside the pouch.

The moment his mental power touched the rune, he roughly understood what it was.

It was a spatial rune containing an "extradimensional space," capable of storing objects far larger than the pouch itself.

In other words, it was a storage pouch. Without changing expression, Dago slipped it into his robe before finally turning his attention to the others.

Vissel looked at Dago with a complicated gaze filled with shock, fear, respect, disbelief, and countless other emotions.

It was as though only now had he truly come to know Dago.

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

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

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

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

Gavin had usually been a quiet young man, but he had 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 lost a companion.

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

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

Once that was done, 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 first 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, they had developed some feelings for one another, and he had come to see Gavin off one last time.

However, everyone looked at him with considerable coldness, beneath which lay undisguised disgust and contempt.

Because the man had always been arrogant, believing that a forest wizard like himself was superior to others.

They had once thought he was merely unpleasant. Only now did they realize how ruthless he truly was.

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

Though no one openly rebuked 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 would leave sooner or later.

But with the Forest Patrol losing such an immediate source of fighting strength, everyone's situation became even more difficult, and other thoughts inevitably arose.

At noon, everyone silently ate a hearty lunch. The atmosphere was completely different from before, weighed down by a sense of heaviness.

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

"My uncle owns a house in the wealthy district of town. I really don't want to leave, but after what happened this time, we have no choice but to seek refuge with him."

Evan spoke with a look of reluctance and helplessness.

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

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

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

Ian, who had watched everything from the shadows, stepped out. He still looked as though he had not yet returned from the gates of death.

"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 this with a tremor in his voice.

Dago was naturally not surprised and let him leave without trying to keep him.

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

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

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

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

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.