Chapter Five: The Arrival of the Twenty-Member Squad

Crouched in a secure spot, Liu Zong clutched the borrowed signal lamp, pouring his magic into it without pause, providing precise coordinates for the experts who were on their way. For Liu Zong, this was the most crucial part of his mission—teleportation required exact coordinates, and any interruption would mean those experts could be lost in the rifts of time and space, missing this rare opportunity.

He didn’t know how much time had passed; Liu Zong was beginning to feel his magic dwindle when, at last, the lamp wrenched itself free from his grasp, hovering resolutely about three meters before him. In the next instant, three streaks of white light flashed by, and three mages—two women and a man—appeared beside the signal lamp. These three paid Liu Zong no heed; instead, they raised their right hands in unison and pulled toward the lamp. A white portal blossomed open.

Through the portal stepped a man clad in heavy red armor, a massive shield slung across his back, and an archer swathed head to toe in leaves. As soon as he emerged, the archer swiftly scanned the direction of the two-headed vulture, then turned to the armored man and spoke: “It’s the Twin-Headed Vulture Kain, Level 3, two-star Silver Elite, flight capability, shared life pool—one head is pure physical attack, the other pure magic. Use Plan C.”

The armored man nodded and turned to the three mages. “Let’s start bringing people through.”

They had clearly discussed their strategies beforehand; the three mages instantly understood and soon another fifteen men and women stepped out from the portal. All were Level 2 players, each already specializing in their chosen class, and each had acquired a complementary bloodline.

What caught Liu Zong’s eye most was another figure standing beside the armored man. This one looked like a mage, dressed in robes, yet wielded a long spear and a shield—clearly a melee fighter. Pointed ears and golden hair revealed that he had obtained a high-elf bloodline in-game, making him a perfect match for his class: an Elf Spellbreaker, a nightmare for all mage-type bosses and a main tank specialized in countering magic.

While the Elf Spellbreaker and the armored man discussed their tactics, the three mages who had opened the portal withdrew to the side to replenish their magic.

Next to them stood a paladin radiating white light, a priest, and a druid clad in leather armor. Across from the mages, the earlier archer was in discussion with the melee fighters. Among these, two giants stood out—chains in their hands marking them as Giant Hunters, a variant of the hunter class skilled in lasso weapons and crowd control.

The rest were less remarkable: mostly archers and rogues, with two weapon specialists who would presumably fill in should the main tank falter. After they arrived, the group glanced at the carrion beasts trailing the behemoth not far away and began to strategize.

Not everyone was so focused, however. Liu Zong noticed one woman had found a sheltered spot nearby and was already digging a fire pit to start cooking.

At last, the archer who had arrived first came over to Liu Zong and spoke directly: “We’re the Sunlight Squad of the Sky Road Mercenary Company. I’m the captain and acting on-site commander, game ID HH-27357764-969, from Third High School of Yang City. Your search mission is complete—please show your mission slip.”

Liu Zong was taken aback. Normally, such missions were only settled after the target was slain or captured; he had never seen one resolved so quickly.

Seeing Liu Zong’s surprise, the archer smiled. “Normally, it’s not our place to settle with you early. You could just sit back and watch—regardless of whether we succeed or fail, the school would handle your settlement. But this time is different. You see, the Twin-Headed Vulture is mixed in with the beast horde. In the past, we could call in our outer members to lure them away, but now we’re limited to a twenty-person team. If we split our focus, our fight ahead will be even more difficult.

“So, I’m settling with you now in hopes you’ll accept a suicide mission.”

He studied Liu Zong’s face, but finding no trace of surprise, continued: “Our plan is to send someone to sneak into the beast horde and provoke the behemoth into attacking the carrion beasts behind it. Don’t be fooled by its current appearance—the behemoth is definitely Level 3. If we enrage it, the carrion beasts will have to engage, and that will allow us to lure the Twin-Headed Vulture Kain to a safe place. But the person who provokes the behemoth will be killed instantly—this is a suicide mission.”

Liu Zong nodded. He was familiar with such suicide missions and the unspoken rules surrounding them. Often, outer members of a squad would take these missions to prove themselves, or for a chance to join the main ranks. It wasn’t just about skill but also the courage to accept such tasks.

At present, none of the Sunlight Squad’s outer members had come—their priority was to preserve every member’s strength for the Level 3 vulture fight. That left only Liu Zong, who would otherwise have remained a bystander, as the candidate for this suicide mission.

Understanding this, Liu Zong realized that the archer’s offer of choice was merely a formality. He was not fond of dying, but sometimes, there was simply no alternative in the game. He produced his mission slip and handed it over.

“I’ll take the mission, but I have a condition. I’m not one of your outer members, so I won’t ask to join the mercenary company. I just want the standard death supplies.

“Also, since I’ll be the one to attack the behemoth first, as long as it dies during this assault, the experience will be credited to me even if I fall. I want whatever drops from the behemoth. I’ll need your help to collect them.”

The archer thought for a moment before replying, “Since you’ll only be landing the first blow and not helping with the rest, the chance of a big drop isn’t high, especially with the level difference.”

“Then could your team at least help me dismantle the behemoth? I only want its skull,” Liu Zong added.

“That I can agree to.” The archer nodded and signed his ID on Liu Zong’s mission slip.

Then the archer called out, “Xiaolin, come here a moment.”

A young girl dressed as a maid answered at once and hurried over. The archer pointed to Liu Zong and explained the plan. She listened carefully, nodding as she began preparing various potions from her pockets. Meanwhile, the woman cooking glanced up at Liu Zong as well.