Wreathed in clouds, ancient trees towered overhead! The secluded path winding through the woods was carpeted with every variety of grass and shrub, dotted with strange, colorful blossoms—reds and greens predominating—interspersed with the occasional startling cry of an unknown bird or beast!
Occasionally, great flocks of birds, their wings spanning the sky and covered in plumes of vibrant color, would sweep past! Everywhere pulsed with a raw, ancient vitality!
Beauty was perhaps the innate nature of women; on this journey, Matcha, Long Xin, and Wu Feng had their eyes constantly dazzled. Had it not been for the fear that these exotic flowers and herbs might be poisonous, they would have long ago reached out to pluck them!
At this moment, we had finally crested the highest peak of the Cold Ice Mountain Range; from here on, it was all downhill!
And the mists of the Forest of Fog were finally, completely behind us!
It could be said we had emerged from the Forest of Fog entirely! The sky above was clear, the surroundings bathed in the brightness of spring!
And everyone’s mood lifted accordingly!
According to Luoye’s guidance, once we reached the foot of the mountain, we would enter the territory belonging to the Ice Throne!
Of course, this also signaled that the final, close-quarters confrontation was imminent!
No matter the outcome, the pursuit of nearly two months would soon yield its result!
“Keeping straight north from here down the mountain leads directly to the Ice Throne,” Luoye pointed to the map. “And following the slope westward leads into the domain of the White Mist Clan. To the east lies the territory of the Ice Valley Tribe. [Zero][Point][Read][Book][Zero][Point][Read][Book]”
“So, the Cold Ice Mountain Range serves as the dividing point for the territories of these three tribes,” I mused subconsciously.
“Precisely so,” Luoye continued. “Therefore, everyone must be careful on the descent, as this is the border dividing the three tribes. Patrol squads pass through here frequently, and not far from this spot, all three border tribes have stationed large armies. If we run into a patrol unit, it could easily trigger a full-scale encirclement by their main forces, and extricating ourselves then will not be easy.”
“What’s there to be afraid of?” Chen Guang scoffed dismissively. “We came here specifically to capture Yue Che; are we afraid of a few rank-and-file soldiers?”
“You know why I’m capturing Yue Che,” I retorted irritably. “If we alert the stationed armies, do you think Yue Che will meekly surrender?”
“That…” Chen Guang was momentarily stunned, then mumbled sullenly, “Even if we don’t alert the armies, Yue Che will certainly expect us to be chasing after him.”
“That is true,” Long Xin nodded slightly. “But sneaking into the Ice Throne quietly is surely better than being discovered outright.”
“So, this time, let’s avoid alerting the border guards as much as possible,” I stated seriously.
“Yes,” the others responded in unison!
However, just then, a strange bird call!
The sound possessed an indescribable, bizarre magic that caused everyone’s spirits to tremble!
Luoye and Xiang Kong’s faces changed drastically!
“Not good, it’s a Snow Harrier!”
Following the sound, everyone looked up but could only see a vague gray speck circling high overhead in the clear sky. The distance was too great to discern the actual species, but that peculiar cry resonated like a magic spell drilling straight through the skull, carrying far!
Like the Blood Mist Phantom Butterflies, the Snow Harrier was a flying reconnaissance bird specially employed by tribes for tracking enemies. However, the Blood Mist Phantom Butterflies were designed for reconnaissance within the specialized environment of dense, misty jungles.
The Snow Harrier, conversely, was made to circle above open plains or forests unburdened by mist, where visibility was high, to detect enemy activity.
Due to the Harrier’s vast field of vision, coupled with its altitude thousands of meters up, even the most powerful, unparalleled experts could do nothing against this strange fowl. Their sweeping sight allowed them to spot traces of enemies from immense distances, and once spotted, escape was impossible!
Simultaneously, they would emit their bizarre, piercing calls to raise a loud alarm, reporting details like the number and scale of the observed enemies!
Troops stationed nearby would quickly receive the message and, guided by the Snow Harrier, launch an encirclement and pursuit!
To have such an annoying creature circling overhead now was a huge headache for everyone!
“It seems we’ve been discovered,” Xiang Kong admitted with resignation, though he instinctively looked toward me.
“Shake them off first,” I calmed down quickly. “In any case, we absolutely cannot be surrounded.”
“Understood,” Luoye said. “Everyone, follow me.”
Led by Luoye and Xiang Kong, the group proceeded at a swift pace!
Yet, the gray speck in the sky followed us, maintaining a consistent distance, issuing sharp, high-pitched cries!
And my keenly sensitive intuition clearly warned me: several large military forces were converging on our location from three different directions—numbering tens of thousands at least!
Even though everyone present possessed extraordinary skills, running headlong into such a force would yield no advantage!
Danger was drawing nearer!
No matter how Luoye and Xiang Kong changed direction, they could not shake the Snow Harrier overhead!
Our only viable option was to flee into the dense jungle, relying on the complex terrain of the forest to evade the enemy!
But even so, one of the three converging forces managed to accurately block our path!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Countless arrows, mixed with dense fireballs, lightning strikes, explosive flames, and ice roars, shot toward us!
“Damn it.” I cursed, realizing we’d been caught flat-footed. With no other choice, I roared, “Fight our way out!”
Facing this deluge of arrows and magic, I neither dodged nor retreated!
The Great Beast let out an earth-shattering, wild bellow!
A vast surge of Beast King Battle Qi suddenly erupted!
Mat-sha, Chen Guang, and the others also unveiled their unique abilities—sweeping out protective Battle Qi, hefting massive shields, or erecting magical wards!
Boom! Crash!
A series of dull concussions!
The dense barrage of magical arrows slammed violently against the Beast King Battle Qi shield erected by the Great Beast, rebounding and scattering away!
However, capitalizing on the cover provided by the magical arrows, hundreds of blurred figures flashed out from the trees—a throng of Ice Tribe warriors clad in their standard issue armor!
And about twenty of them rushed directly toward me and the Great Beast!
Twenty Dragon Lances streaked like lightning, aimed straight for the chest!
“Seeking death!” I roared! The Dragon Shadow Sword instantly left its sheath! Slicing forth was a massive crescent-shaped wave of sword energy, shooting forward with frightening speed!
Clang… Thwack… A series of dull impacts!
The giant crescent, like the scythe of Death itself, not only severed the twenty Dragon Lances in that brief instant but also split the twenty Ice Knights—man and mount—clean in two!
But almost simultaneously with my strike, another dull whoosh swept past!
Even without seeing it, I could sense the incredible force behind the incoming projectile!
The Great Beast’s galloping body suddenly and without warning dropped into a rapid crouch!
Swish! Swish!
The powerful arrows whistled past!
They flew overhead, then slammed deep into several large trees!
The sheer kinetic force drove the three-meter-long arrows deep into the wood, leaving only a small segment of gray fletching exposed!
Had the Great Beast not reacted quickly enough, that single shot could have pierced the Phoenix Heaven Demon Armor and the defense of the Beast King Battle Qi, ending my life on the spot!
“Be careful! Those are Heavy Steel Ballistae!” Luoye cried out loudly!
The so-called Heavy Steel Ballista was a super-heavy crossbow forged from refined heavy steel, painstakingly tempered through a thousand hammerings!
This massive crossbow possessed tremendous power, and its bolts were specially forged from heavy steel—their hardness and penetration capability were terrifying! It was a lethal weapon specifically designed to deal with experts who had reached the Spirit Pearl First Level!
Even someone as powerful as myself, even backed by the defense of the Phoenix Heaven Demon Armor, could not escape death if struck by a projectile from such a ballista!
I was greatly surprised that the enemy blocking us this time had deployed Heavy Steel Ballistae!
I could not allow these terrifying killing tools to strike again; otherwise, even if I managed to evade them, the others would not be so fortunate!
My thoughts flashed: the Illusion Demon Eye immediately activated its search, quickly locating the source of the powerful bolts!
The Great Beast, sharing my intent, roared suddenly and lunged toward the direction from which the arrows flew!
However, they were met head-on by dozens of mounted Wolf Knights charging fast!
It was clear these men had anticipated my intention and were launching a desperate interception! More than thirty Dragon Lances stabbed out like venomous snakes, aiming for my vital points all around!
The Great Beast abruptly sprang up and leaped!
Its massive body moved like an afterimage through the crisscrossing spears!
The target remained the war chariot a hundred meters away, piloting the Heavy Steel Ballista!
But before we could close the distance!
Chhht…
Another dull whoosh sounded!
As a flash of golden light appeared, the gray long arrow shot out like a cannonball!
At this moment, the Great Beast was airborne, leaping through the air with no place to pivot or change direction!