Book 5: Chapter 44: Golden Apostle

“Hehe, of course!” Casey happily narrowed his eyes. He loved exposing others’ weaknesses. Qin Lun had slapped him, and if he didn’t retaliate, he wouldn’t sleep well after returning.

“In the novice stage… the cooperation between you three was already very coordinated, but in our eyes, there were still too many flaws. Maybe you just formed a team and lacked experience!” Casey glanced briefly at the three of them. “Qin Lun, do you know what the greatest strength of people like us is? Skills? Equipment? I’ll tell you, it’s neither! Our strongest weapon is our identity!”

“When you grow to a certain stage, you’ll understand. Those who reveal their identity earliest are the most likely to be targeted by others. No matter how powerful their combat ability might be, they will definitely die. If you can’t conceal your identity, don’t show yourselves at all. In my opinion, for your group, just having you gather intelligence is enough. The others don’t need to enter the camp at all.”

Qin Lun exchanged glances with the other two serial killers and immediately frowned, falling into deep thought. His mind rapidly simulated scenarios. Casey smiled slightly, not rushing to continue, giving the three some time to think.

After a long moment, Qin Lun and the other two seemed to wake from a dream, nodding in agreement secretly. Even if Hansen was soul-locked by the Fink team, and Sas and Cora needed to act as bait, they didn’t all have to enter the camp. On the first day they followed Master Vima to the forest, the others should have stayed together in the wilderness.

If that had been the case, their plan would have had more choices. Attacking from the shadows meant they wouldn’t need to tangle with the Fink team until the end. The plan wouldn’t have been so complicated and would have been easier to control.

Casey was right. Moreover, they themselves had done exactly that. The necromancer Randy and Aaron never showed themselves, becoming the winners at the last moment. Regardless of whether they achieved final victory, at least the whole quest process was flawless.

“As for me truly confirming your identity… hehe, do you remember the three Scorpion-tailed Biaos you sent me?” Casey didn’t wait for Qin Lun to answer and continued on his own. “Without help, you alone couldn’t have distracted the adult Scorpion-tailed Biao and taken the young beast at the same time. If you had killed the adult Scorpion-tailed Biao first, with your strength, how could you not have a single stain of blood on you!”

“So that’s how it was!” Qin Lun shook his head with a bitter smile.

Perhaps what Casey said earlier was just due to their lack of experience. But this flaw now was really embarrassing. Even Hill and Hansen’s expressions turned unpleasant; they hadn’t noticed it either.

“Alright, if there are no other questions, let me ask one last thing. Are you willing to join our ‘Nirvana’ novice team?” Casey narrowed his eyes slightly and asked seriously. “You can each lead a novice team, or stay together and directly receive main team treatment from the main group! You should know, our ‘Nirvana’ is one of the top three large teams in ‘Celestial Horizon’!”

“Casey!!!” Randy and Aaron’s expressions changed. They glanced at each other. Randy spoke cautiously in the team channel, “Casey, you do have the authority to recruit, but novice team core and main group treatment… even if all three of us agree, we’re still missing approval from two more core members and one deputy leader-level member…”

“Yeah, Casey, this is no joking matter! Even if the Leader were here, he wouldn’t promise this so easily!” Aaron also dropped his playful expression and said seriously, “Novice team core isn’t a big deal, but given their current strength, giving them main team treatment would require allocating many resources to them. Otherwise, they won’t meet the main team’s strength standards!”

Nirvana had no fewer than five hundred ordinary members. Main team members were fewer than a hundred. Core members were only twenty. The approval of five core members was close to a quarter, showing the weight of this promise.

“Hmph, do you think they are just promising novice Apostles?” Casey’s face turned cold as he spoke in the team channel. “You’ve observed them for a while. You mostly understand their plans and combat abilities. First, tell me your thoughts!”

“Combat ability is not worth mentioning. They’ve all just started exploring their respective class paths, probably on the edge of their First Order Class Change. In terms of planning… considering their experience, it’s acceptable!” Randy and Aaron whispered among themselves for a bit, then spoke.

Casey and the other two were High-Rank Apostles who had experienced dozens of quest worlds. Giving such an evaluation to a few Novice Apostles was quite good already. This was the conclusion they reached after reviewing Qin Lun and the others’ entire plan.

That cunning trap set for the Hill Giant, seeing through Casey’s disguise, and using the three of them to attack the Fink team instead. In Randy and Aaron’s view, although the planning was a bit complicated, given the trio’s lack of experience, it was still a superior performance.

“What if I told you that their current strength, including their planning, is based on experience from only four or five quest worlds?” Casey turned and glanced at the birdcage, a slight smile curling his lips.

“Impossible!” Randy and Aaron looked at each other in surprise. “Casey, what makes you say that?”

“What kind of world is the Nals Inner World? It’s a Mid-Magic World! It’s the Shattered Starry Sky’s treasure trove for training novice and intermediate Professional Apostles! Why would it throw these three, who haven’t even truly undergone Class Change, in here?”

“Maybe there are some other factors, but it’s undeniable that the Shattered Starry Sky must be paying close attention to those three, placing high hopes on them. And in its calculations, it probably believes that even without Class Change, those three can survive in a Mid-Magic World!”

“That’s why it threw these three into Nars, known as the ‘World Treasure Trove’, hoping they would obtain suitable Apostle Skills here and take the first step on their class path! What kind of Junior Apostle do you think would make the Shattered Starry Sky care so much?”

“Casey, are you saying that among these three, there’s a freak like you?” Aaron widened his ox-like eyes and swallowed. “One of them received a Gold-grade quest evaluation before Class Change? Their current strength is just the accumulation of four or five quest worlds?”

“Golden Apostle!!!” The ghostly fire in Randy’s skeletal eye sockets blazed intensely.

As High-Rank Apostles, all three of them had received Gold-grade quest evaluations before. But the only one who had received a Gold-grade quest evaluation before Class Change was “Ghost Child” Casey.

A Gold-grade quest evaluation is only given when the Shattered Starry Sky confirms that an Apostle or a team has significantly cracked the world’s mystery, completely altering a segment of the quest world’s historical river.

The stronger the Apostle’s power, the greater this possibility. The rewards for Gold quest evaluations vary greatly; big ones might reward Divine Artifacts, small ones might only give Dark Gold items. But every Gold quest evaluation attracts special attention from the Shattered Starry Sky towards the Apostle.

For High-Rank Apostles, especially those above Second Order, obtaining a Gold quest evaluation is relatively easier, and the Shattered Starry Sky’s attention is lesser.

However, if a First-Rank Apostle receives a Gold quest evaluation, or a non-Class Changed Apostle receives a Silver quest evaluation, they receive continuous attention from the Shattered Starry Sky.

For these Apostles, in subsequent worlds, the Shattered Starry Sky gives them quests with richer rewards, hoping they can seize more World Origin. These non-Class Changed Apostles and First-Rank Apostles are collectively called Silver Apostles by other Apostles!

Silver Apostles have top-tier combat ability and intelligence, and their numbers are very few. Even in large teams, they can grow to become core members. Randy and Aaron themselves started as Silver Apostles.

As for Golden Apostles, they are extremely rare! Regardless of combat ability, Golden Apostles are at least freaks in terms of intelligence; otherwise, they couldn’t crack world mysteries with their pre-Class Change strength!

Out of Nirvana’s twenty core members, only five were Golden Apostles. Besides Casey, the other four were all Leaders or Deputy Leaders.

“Casey, which of the three do you think might be a Golden Apostle?” Randy looked at the three trapped in the birdcage, a trace of fervor in his skeletal soul-fire.

“I’m not sure! Their plan was divided into two battlefields. Judging by the control of the situation, at least two of the three possess Golden Apostle level intelligence!” Casey shook his head gently. “And the relationship between the three of them is strange; they seem to be on completely equal footing. Among the six in this team, one is a servant or summon, probably that undead that disappeared after leaving the battle!”

“The other two Esmira people were probably decoys and pawns they found. The remaining three are the team’s core. Lions don’t associate with jackals. Judging by their relationship, it seems they’ve reached mutual recognition. Even if not all three are Golden Apostles, they are at least all above Silver level!”

“It seems these three are our greatest gain in the Nals World. The Leader will be very happy!” Aaron said solemnly.

“Not necessarily…” Casey shook his head faintly, a trace of worry flashing in his eyes.

While Casey and the other two were discussing, Qin Lun and the other two were also consulting among themselves.

“Hehe, they want to recruit us. ‘Celestial Horizon’ must be an Apostle City like ‘Devil’s Horn’. Main team treatment in a top three large team! What do you think?” Hill asked with a smile in the team channel.

“Hmph, I’m a mercenary. I don’t mind who the employer is!” Hansen said flatly, crossing his arms. “But, to command me, they need to at least earn my recognition. These three haven’t qualified for that yet!”

“It’s not like that. They are all High-Rank Apostles, and that Casey is especially remarkable!” Qin Lun smiled and shook his head. “Under different circumstances, I would seriously consider it. What a pity…”

“Hehe, both of you aim too high!” Hill said with a pained expression. “I actually wanted to surrender, but since you both said that, an old guy like me probably wouldn’t be valued by them anyway! You’ve doomed me…”

“Get lost!” Hansen rudely gave him the middle finger. Even Qin Lun rolled his eyes.

Serial killers had their dignity. Even though they had just entered the Shattered Starry Sky, without any skills or equipment, Qin Lun and the other two still considered themselves top of the food chain. They could fail, but they would never beg an enemy for mercy in adversity. They were serial killers, not stray dogs.

The treatment Casey offered the three was very good. Under normal circumstances, even if Qin Lun and the others didn’t join, they would seriously consider it. But now…

This recruitment offer came at the wrong time!