Chapter 0016: The Shield of Our Home, Shattered

Lin Chuan's cry cut off abruptly.

Wang Ye had fallen less than five meters away from him. Blood kept welling from the corner of his mouth, catching in his throat. He lay on his back, staring up at Lin Chuan, mouth open — as though he had countless things to say, yet couldn't manage a single word.

Lin Chuan's lips trembled uncontrollably, his eyes burning red.

Nearby, Ning Fan had lost control of his own shaking.

This — this was the world of Walkers.

Old Duan. Wang Ye.

Just moments ago, everyone had been gathered together.

Loud and alive.

And now, they were gone. Just like that.

Death had come too simply. Too suddenly.

"Wang Ye!!"

Huizi let out a sudden roar and sprinted toward the hillside.

In that moment, he had forgotten every order Lin Chuan had given him.

All he wanted was to avenge his brother.

On the slope, the young man let out a cold sneer and pointed a finger at Huizi.

A Light Arrow materialized once more.

Whoosh!!

Mid-sprint, Huizi twisted his body to the side — just barely.

Slash!

The Light Arrow punched clean through his shoulder blade.

Huizi's body lurched and he tumbled sideways, rolling several times from the momentum.

He was covered in mud, his blood mixing with the dirt, leaving him in a wretched state.

Seeing Huizi go down, Lin Chuan found a brief moment of clarity cut through the grief.

He clenched his jaw hard.

So hard his teeth nearly cracked.

"Fall back!"

Lin Chuan bellowed.

Huizi, collapsed on the ground, heard the command and snarled in response: "Brother Chuan!! Wang Ye and Old Duan are dead!!"

"I know, damn it!"

Lin Chuan sprinted to Huizi's side, hauled him up, and threw him over his shoulder — then ran without looking back, heading straight out of the Ghost Mist Forest.

Nearby, Qiao Fei and Dazhuang wore faces full of grief and rage, but they fell in behind him all the same.

As they passed Ning Fan — still frozen in shock — Dazhuang scooped him up without breaking stride.

The wind stung Ning Fan's face as they ran. It hurt a little.

Cradled in Dazhuang's arms, he turned his head numbly and looked at Lin Chuan — carrying Huizi on his shoulder, running hard.

"B-Brother Chuan... we're just... leaving?"

The moment the words left his mouth, Ning Fan felt his nose sting.

He hadn't known Wang Ye or Old Duan for long — not even a full day — but the feeling welling up inside him was suffocating.

Lin Chuan's face was expressionless as he ran, but behind his eyes, a flame burned.

He didn't answer Ning Fan.

Then, another Light Arrow came screaming toward them.

Ning Fan felt Dazhuang — the man carrying him — stagger for just a step.

But his stride never stopped.

Before long, the group had cleared the Ghost Mist Forest and returned to the cave where they had rested before.

The warmth of the campfire hadn't fully faded yet.

But of those who had left, two had not come back.

Thud.

Lin Chuan dropped Huizi onto the ground.

Qiao Fei reached into her pack and pulled out a Rotface Toad Gall Crystal, then pressed it into Huizi's mouth without a second thought.

This time, she didn't ask him for Sola.

Huizi, tears streaming down his face, chewed through the crystal and swallowed it.

The bleeding from his wound stopped.

And then, he wept.

He lay there on the ground and cried until his eyes were swollen.

"Lin Chuan! Holy shit!!"

What no one had expected was that once Huizi had recovered enough, he turned on Lin Chuan and erupted: "You're the Captain! Our people just got killed and you just ran?!"

Lin Chuan said nothing.

His gaze had shifted to Dazhuang.

Dazhuang had set Ning Fan down on the ground by now.

Ning Fan noticed that his own clothes felt... damp.

When he turned to look at Dazhuang, he saw it — Dazhuang's chest...

Was bleeding.

Qiao Fei had only just noticed too. She quickly produced the last remaining Gall Crystal and moved to give it to Dazhuang.

But Dazhuang waved her off.

"Won't do any good. Don't waste it."

He staggered to the cave wall and sat down heavily, letting out a long, slow breath. "Finally get to rest. I'm exhausted."

Ning Fan stared at him, motionless, like a statue.

Dazhuang grinned, showing his teeth. "Kid, I wouldn't have guessed — skinny little thing like you, you're heavier than you look."

"You... you were h-hit... by an arrow..."

Ning Fan's teeth chattered. He could barely string a sentence together.

Dazhuang glanced down at the hole in his chest and said quietly, "Huizi, don't blame the Captain. No one could've tanked that shot. He was protecting us."

"Ten-Soul Tier long-range attack, and they had the high ground from the start."

Qiao Fei murmured softly, "If we'd moved any slower, none of us would have made it out."

Huizi didn't apologize. But when he saw Dazhuang's condition, he cried even harder.

"Dazhuang! What the hell are you doing?! Don't you dare scare me! If you die, who am I gonna repay for all the times you covered for me?!"

Huizi struggled to his feet and crawled toward Dazhuang. "Back when I first joined the Hound Shelter, on my very first mission — you broke four of your own fingers saving my ass! And I still haven't paid you back!!"

Dazhuang smiled. "Cursing at me, are you? You joined after me and became deputy... where's that leave an old-timer like me?"

Huizi sobbed openly, snot and tears running together.

He forced himself upright and knelt before Dazhuang.

"I'm begging you! Just don't die, alright?! I'm on my knees for you!"

Dazhuang let out a low chuckle, his breathing growing noticeably heavier. "I'm not your dad — why are you kneeling in front of me?"

"Dad! If you just don't die, I'll call you Dad every single day — isn't that enough?!"

Huizi's voice cracked into a shriek.

"Forget it. I don't want a troublemaker like you for a son—"

Glug.

A rush of blood surged from Dazhuang's lips, cutting off the joke he'd been about to make.

Huizi wailed until his voice gave out, begging and pleading for Dazhuang to hold on.

"Brother Dazhuang... I never... never got to buy you that beef..."

Tears slid down Ning Fan's cheeks.

He didn't even realize he was crying — the tears simply fell, without thought or intention.

Ning Fan had always believed the only time he might ever cry was if his mother left him.

He never could have imagined he'd weep for someone he'd known for less than a day.

The suffocating weight of it pressed down on his chest, making it hard to breathe.

Like a stone, bearing down on his heart.

Just a little over an hour ago, right here in this very cave, Dazhuang had handed him a beef bone.

"Shadow Hound Meat — don't eat too much, the Miasmic Poison content is too high."

"We all put our lives on the line out there. Give yourself something good to eat. This one's on me."

"In this dog's den of ours, we don't say thank you. When you've earned enough Sola, you can treat me."

"Brother Chuan says your head works better than ours. We trust Brother Chuan, so we trust you."

Dazhuang's eyelids had grown heavy.

It was only at the sound of Ning Fan's voice that he forced them open one last time.

His gaze was growing cloudy. Blood still seeped from his mouth, yet a slow, faint curve formed at the corner of his lips.

"Kid... I kind of... liked you..."

Dazhuang tried to raise his arm, but couldn't manage it.

He turned his head with great effort and looked toward Lin Chuan.

"B-Brother Chuan... I'm done for... from now on... the team... has no shield... find... find yourself another one..."

The words trailed off. Dazhuang's eyelids grew heavier and heavier, until they could no longer be lifted.

A low ringing filled Ning Fan's ears.

The Black Sword on his back trembled faintly.