Death Notice Book 8: Chapter 23: Departure

Release Date: 2026-06-03 02:23:03

A+A-Light Off<!--

«Volume 8 Chapter 22: Venus

Volume 2 Chapter 31: Combat Model »

Nicole watched Qin Lun chatting and laughing quietly with Iristin in the distant procession, her expression complicated. This Apostle who had joined mid-journey had silently gained the acceptance of the Moonshadow Tribe; he was even treated as royalty by the Moon Elf Elders Council. The Fortress Team had even paid ten thousand Shattered Crystals in public relations funds for this.

The cost wasn’t huge, and his companions in Fortress Team were very happy. It meant this Side Plot was firmly completed, as long as the migrating Moon Elf group wasn’t scattered or destroyed. Yet, unlike Stark and Philip, as a woman, Nicole instinctively felt Qin Lun was still hiding something from them.

Before the Moon Elf procession set off, Qin Lun reminded her through the Team Channel not to get too close. With his cover as a royal descendant, he wouldn’t arouse the Lost Team’s suspicion. Nicole, however, risked exposing her identity.

Although her Moon Night Elf Bloodline was quite pure, she had once been Emma of the merchant caravan team. Many elves in the royal court knew her history. If King Testiel mentioned the attack on the elf merchant caravan while talking with the Sun Elf Diplomatic Mission, the Lost Team could easily confirm her identity as an Apostle.

Thinking this, Nicole tugged her hood lower, withdrew her gaze from Qin Lun, and hid her face.

Actually, Qin Lun hadn’t stowed all his Apostle gear and donned the leather armor and oak bow provided by Iristin just for show. He genuinely wanted to strike while the iron was hot, practice the archery techniques he inherited from the Elven Hunter legacy to stabilize the tiers of these new skills and avoid the tragedy of skill level decay.

Of the new archery skills, “Scatter Shot” and “Rapid Shot” could be perfectly simulated by Burial of Light and Darkness. But abilities with inherent guidance like “Wind Arrow” and “Piercing Arrow” couldn’t be replicated. These two skills were core archer abilities, immensely powerful, and hard to give up.

Qin Lun still remembered vividly the hostile female archer Qingming, from the Nals World. Back then, if not for Qingming’s devastatingly powerful armor-piercing arrow, taking down that young Hill Giant quickly wouldn’t have been easy.

It was also in the Nals World that Casey, of “Nirvana,” had warned Qin Lun: an Apostle’s strongest weapon isn’t their equipment, nor their skills, but their identity. Not revealing their Apostle status and avoiding being surrounded were the foundations of an Apostle’s survival.

Qin Lun remembered that advice firmly. In the several Quest Worlds that followed, including this one, he acted accordingly.

Logically, firearms and bows, both ranged weapons, couldn’t coexist on a hunter’s class build. They were both core equipment for entirely different professions. Practicing both wasn’t only a waste of resources but also made switching weapons difficult in combat, likely causing critical mistakes.

Yet, the formidable power of Piercing Arrow and Wind Arrow made it hard for Qin Lun to choose. Besides, since his Firearms Mastery had upgraded to Shooting Master, encompassing archery techniques, the waste of resources had already been minimized.

What finally cemented Qin Lun’s resolve was something witnessed in another Quest World – the World War II World. There, he had met a Green Hunter clad in a red cloak, resembling the Fairy Tale Maiden called Little Red Riding Hood – Liv Gorman.

Little Red’s weapon was a composite tool that was both a “Gatling machine gun” and a “Death Scythe,” perfectly blending melee and firearms.

Inspired by this genius design, Qin Lun believed he could commission the master craftsmen of the Devil’s Horn to forge a versatile “Weapon Case.” Outwardly resembling a long box, it would unfold into a longbow, secretly housing Burial of Light and Darkness, a stabbing sword, and even an assembled sniper rifle.

Successfully creating such a hybrid tool would truly unleash the full potential of Qin Lun’s diverse abilities.

The sniper rifle, combined with his precisely calculated Combat Model, would deliver ultra-long-range attacks. The longbow, used with “Weakness Crosshair,” would perfectly leverage the power of “Wind Arrow” and “Piercing Arrow.” A stabbing sword mastered through one-handed weapon skill would diversify his combat options. Burial of Light and Darkness and Dagger of Sin, of course, remained his core equipment.

This was Qin Lun’s strength. Compared to his high intelligence, the Serial Killer was an exceptional learner. From the Orphan World, the Phantom Demon World, Nals World, World War II World, to the Hunter World… after each Quest World, Qin Lun grew stronger not just physically but also absorbed others’ experiences like a sponge, hungrily learning to minimize errors.

Though he’d experienced fewer than ten Quest Worlds, his mature and experienced handling of tasks had already surpassed veterans like Stark and Philip. The Fortress Team followed his lead not because Stark and others liked taking orders from an outsider, but because Qin Lun’s plans made sense; they had no grounds for objection.

…

The first batch of Moon Elves migrating to Ank Forest were from the two largest tribes in Qiongda’er Forest, including Iristin and Elder Adeline’s Moonshadow Tribe.

The Moonshadow Tribe was a branch descended from the Moon Elf royal line, led by Elder Adeline and Iristin. Had Iristin stayed in the Magic Cup Court, a significant number of royal descendants from her tribe might have remained. Unfortunately for King Testiel’s plan, she changed her mind.

Unlike humans, migrating elves carried little beyond food and spare clothing. They left all their daily utensils, the jars and pots, behind in the tribe.

Perhaps driven to penury by the pressure from the Qiongda’er Green Elves, they simply had nothing else worth taking. Items like stone bowls or clay jars could be remade by the elves’ skillful hands in half a day once they reached Ank Forest. Besides, the Anke Elf Court would provide whatever material aid they could.

Elven Rangers and Hunters, accompanied by summoned creatures, moved ceaselessly around the outer layer of the migrating column, driving away beasts and alerting to potential dangers. The Rangers held longbows, their steps as light and swift as galloping horses, provisions bags and water skins secured around their waists.

To safeguard the tribe, they had painstakingly prepared nectar, jerky, and berry juice—all high-energy foods—long in advance. These scouts would not get a moment’s rest throughout the entire journey.

Besides the Rangers and Hunters providing the outer guard, the column was also flanked by elf cavalry. Of course, these tribal Moon Elf riders were nowhere near as impressive as the regal Royal Guard Qin Lun had seen before.

With the Magic Cup Court seizing the Moon Elf tribe’s mines, these elite warriors lacked fine armor. Their horses had no saddles, not even proper stirrups – just simple rope loops.

Iron arrowheads were necessary for the tribe’s daily hunting. Although Hunters were careful about retrieving arrows, after prolonged use, the tribe had exhausted their stored wrought iron. Now, the few Fine Iron Long Arrows in their quivers were mostly recast from daily iron tools.

The very center of the migrating group held the women, children, and young elves. Thinking of the young elves always evoked an extremely odd feeling in Qin Lun. An elf wasn’t considered an adult until they were sixty years old. The naked, babbling toddlers darting about, who looked impossibly young, were actually around the same age as Qin Lun himself in truth.

Those trailing snot and stuffing fruit biscuits into their mouths, still possessing the intelligence of human children, had actually lived through thirty springs and autumns. Even the youngsters with faint yellow fuzz on their upper lips, who trailed him with innocent hero-worship, begging for tales of his mercenary adventures, were all old enough to be his grandfather.

Of course, elves were still elves. Even the youths and the women and children possessed a certain level of combat ability. During the two days of travel, Qin Lun often saw some mischievous young elf accidentally conjure a ball of flame, burning off half their beautiful silver hair. Another might cast a wood element spell by mistake, causing vines to trip them over.

Elven features remained youthful and beautiful throughout most of their lives. Only when nearing the end of their life, say in the sixth or seventh century of their lives, would their faces gradually age. Their agile forms would become thin and withered; their skin losing elasticity and luster, faces creased with wrinkles like an ancient tree about to wither.

Such long-lived elderly elves were rare in the group. Due to the harsh conditions of forest life, or simply the elves’ vanity unwilling to display their aged selves, most would choose to leave the tribe when entering old age. They would live alone in the forest, where the vast majority met death at the claws and teeth of beasts.

The elves saw nothing tragic in this. The forest had nourished them; in the end, feeding other forest creatures with their aged bodies was simply part of the natural cycle.

But even these trembling elders, seemingly about to fall any moment, retained formidable hunting prowess. Qin Lun had witnessed one old elf, his face covered in bark-like wrinkles, kill a Sixth-Tier monster hidden in thick bushes, poised to ambush a young elf, with a single arrow.

The arrow entered the massive beast’s socket and drove into its brain, killing it instantly. Qin Lun, standing not far away, felt his scalp prickle. He could also send an arrow or a bullet through a beast’s eye socket.

The problem was the dense shrubs between monster and arrowhead! He couldn’t fathom how that bone arrow passed unimpeded through tangled foliage, ignoring every obstacle until it plunged into the beast’s eye.

The archery technique required here wasn’t something any Apostle Skill could simulate. Even Qin Lun, confident he had reached master-level shooting precision, knew that not even his Combat Model’s intricate calculations could replicate such a shot. He couldn’t do it.

«Volume 8 Chapter 22: Venus

Index

Volume 2 Chapter 31: Combat Model »