The unavoidable behemoth let out a sudden, earth-shaking bellow! A hazy ball of sound shot out instantly! It slammed violently into the incoming heavy arrow! With a deafening boom, the swiftly approaching javelin was completely pulverized!

"Die!"

In almost the exact same instant, two dragon shadows flashed out like lightning! The heavy crossbowmen on the war chariots didn't even manage a basic reaction! They were pierced clean through by the dragon shadows! Tumbling to the ground!

But in that brief flash, dense rumbling echoed from the surroundings once more! Judging by the sound alone, there were at least over a hundred thousand people! In the blink of an eye, overwhelming cavalry swept in like three vast, dark clouds!

"Damn it, no way." Mo Hui gasped in shock, "So many people." "Are they trying to drown us?" Facing the massive formation of cavalry surging towards them, even the audacious Wu Feng's face drastically paled with fright! This dense, oppressive mass soon crashed before us! What was even more terrifying was the presence of nearly a hundred war chariots loaded with heavy steel siege crossbows!

Damn it! It seems they were well-prepared!

Although these heavy steel crossbows couldn't harm me with my current abilities! Yet, I couldn't help but consider the safety of Long Xin and Chen Guang! An accident befalling any one of them was something I absolutely did not wish to see!

"Follow me and break through!" We absolutely could not allow ourselves to be surrounded; otherwise, escape would be impossible! Having made up my mind, I unleashed several dragon shadows with a sweep of my hand! Several enemy war chariots carrying heavy steel crossbows rushing towards us were instantly blown away! And as the gap opened, the Behemoth, bearing me, charged out! To the left and right were Luo Ye and Xiang Kong! Behind us, Mo Hui, Long Xin, and the others followed closely! The group formed a sharp wedge formation centered around me! Slicing rapidly towards the north!

"Don't let them escape!" Seemingly unprepared for our swift breakthrough, the enemy leaders became extremely anxious! "Shoot them down!" someone else roared urgently!

Swish! Swish!

Almost simultaneously, countless arrows rained down! "Crap." Although Chen Guang and Mo Hui were exasperated, they still flinched at the heavy bolts fired by the siege crossbows! Just listening to their terrifying whistling sound, one could imagine the astonishing force behind the bolts fired by those heavy steel crossbows! Without daring to look back, everyone could only focus on fully sustaining their protective battle aura or magical shields, spurring their mounts onward, fleeing desperately! Yet, even so, these heavy steel bolts seemed to chase right after our heels! If not for everyone's superb horsemanship, the Ice Wolves' respectable speed, and the cover provided by the forest trees, we would have surely been riddled with holes!

In a flash, over a dozen riders escaped the range of the heavy steel crossbows like a gust of wind! Just as we thought we could finally breathe a sigh of relief! Thump! Rumble! The surrounding trees suddenly exploded without warning! Then, countless hazy objects flew out, descending like patches of grey cloud!

"Ah! It's a hunting net!" Luo Ye cried out, "Dodge!" The Behemoth was moving too fast; there was no time to change direction! "Charge through!" I had no intention of evading; my powerful battle aura instantly surged, sweeping out a massive crescent arc towards the great mass rushing head-on! Clang! Even though it was a specially made hunting net, it was utterly shattered upon meeting my giant crescent! Almost as the nets were destroyed, the dozen-plus riders cut through like the wind! That was too close! We were almost caught!

After breaking through the nets, we widened the distance between ourselves and the pursuers! However, none of us dared to relax! This was, after all, a densely forested area with complex terrain! Who knew what hidden mechanisms or traps might still lie ahead!

After quite some time of frenzied flight, we finally managed to shake off the main body of the pursuing force! But the Snow Vulture in the sky remained an unwelcome shadow, following us relentlessly! It occasionally let out irritating, strange cries!

"Blast it," Chen Guang glared at the small grey speck circling above, furious, "This damn thing is still following; we won't have a moment's peace." "Does anyone have a way to shoot it down?" Long Xin gritted her teeth. "......." Everyone else was stunned, staring blankly at the sky! Are you kidding? The distance was at least four hundred meters high! Even if I had a modern sniper rifle, I couldn't hit that thing!

"It seems we just have to let it follow," I said with a wry smile! Thinking about it, this escape was truly humiliating! I, a renowned master across the continent, was being vexed by this feathered creature! The others shared wry, helpless expressions. We wouldn't have an easy time for the rest of this journey! On the open plains, the Snow Vulture had the advantage; escaping was nearly impossible. Even at night, the Snow Vulture could still see; this high-altitude reconnaissance was all-weather, leaving no blind spot to exploit!

"Ignore it!" Xiang Kong said, "As long as the main enemy force can't keep up with us, the Snow Vulture can't do anything either. Once we leave the garrison's defensive perimeter, it naturally won't follow." "That's right," Luo Ye agreed. "As long as we don't get caught by the main force, we'll be fine." "En," Mo Hui nodded slightly. "Since our tracks are exposed anyway, there's no need to hide anymore. The best plan is to take the shortest route and reach the Frozen Throne at the fastest speed." "Let's do that," I stated grimly. Aside from fleeing at top speed without rest, there was clearly no other option!

For the next several days, we practically galloped north without stopping! We could only pretend the damned Snow Vulture in the sky didn't exist! Perhaps our speed was too great; after all, our mounts were all carefully selected. The Ice Wolves were outstanding in both speed and endurance! Those few pursuit parties simply couldn't catch up! Not long after, even the persistent Snow Vulture following us lost our trail—perhaps it lost sight of us or simply deemed following us pointless! This brought a measure of relief to us all! The irritating creature was finally gone! But we were well aware that our incursion into the Frozen Throne territory had been exposed! Although we shook off the border guards, someone else was surely waiting for us ahead! I believed Yue Che must also know that conventional troops couldn't stop us! Perhaps delaying our journey was his main objective! This confirmed our earlier conjecture! Yue Che and his allies certainly didn't want us reaching the Frozen Throne too quickly! Or perhaps they didn't want us disrupting some deployment plans of theirs!

Eight days later, we finally crossed the border into the territory of the Frozen Throne! We arrived at the White River! The sky was just beginning to lighten; the sun had not yet risen, the dew was heavy, and the air was thick with a chilling cold. Everyone was momentarily stunned by the churning, colossal waves before them!

"Once we cross the White River! We enter the Frozen Great Plain!" Luo Ye said. "After traversing the Frozen Great Plain lies the ancestral land of the Ice Clan—the true Frozen Throne." "But what boat could sail on a river like this?" Long Xin stared blankly at the agitated, surging waves. "Any single wave is five or six meters high! Trying to cross this river using the small boat we assembled from our spatial would be..." "Forget it," Mo Hui said nervously. "If we want to feed the fish, jumping in directly would be faster." "This isn't a ferry crossing," Luo Ye stated. "To cross the river, we must use the Heaven-Connecting Bridge upstream." Luo Ye looked concerned. "But since our whereabouts are already known, crossing the Heaven-Connecting Bridge peacefully might not be so easy." "That's not hard," Long Xin instinctively looked at me. "Stealth infiltration is your specialty; think of a way." Clearly, Long Xin remembered a time in Cang Yue when I had evaded the King Wei's pursuers and crossed the Liusu River without anyone noticing!

"This time is different from that time!" I said with a bitter smile. "There are so many of us, and we have the Ice Wolves. Do you think secret infiltration is even possible?" "Stealth infiltration is out," Mo Hui mused. "Then we'll just force a crossing." I smiled. "That's much more straightforward."

Led by Luo Ye, we followed the river eastward! We finally reached the crossing point of the White River! For safety, we tried to keep our movements concealed! We were currently situated atop a mountain ridge! The vast White River flowed wildly, churning like a waterfall descending from the Ninth Heaven! It was indescribably magnificent and awe-inspiring! The earth-shattering roar vibrated in our chests, making our heads spin! It instilled a chilling tremor and numbness! The suspension bridge cable, over five hundred meters long, spanned the great river like a jade sash! It formed a dramatically drooping U-shaped arc! Near the bridgehead, arrayed conspicuously were over a hundred heavy steel siege crossbow chariots! Flanking the siege crossbow chariots were several huge formations! These consisted of sturdy warriors clad in heavy armor, wielding swords and blades! Their numbers were around twenty thousand! Even from a distance, I could feel the soaring, overwhelming aura of slaughter!

"It's the Ice Clan's Heavy Crossbow Legion, the Blood Mist Clan's Blood Armor Warriors, and the White Mist Clan's Silver Armor Warriors," Luo Ye exclaimed, somewhat shocked. "I didn't expect Yue Che to agree to let them enter the Frozen Throne border; it seems he's truly cornered." Previously, while the Ice Clan and the White Mist/Blood Mist Clans weren't exactly hostile, they remained wary of each other. But now, to block our advance north, they didn't hesitate to deploy the elite warriors of the White Mist and Blood Mist Clans to defend the drawbridge here. This shows how much Yue Che fears us! It's also clear that the Ice, White Mist, and Blood Mist Clans have formed a true alliance; otherwise, they wouldn't display such a posture of mutual trust!

"Good heavens, what a display," Luo Ye couldn't help but let out a wry smile, murmuring, "It seems they are determined to stop us, even if it means sacrificing the entire Heavy Crossbow Legion to halt us here." Wu Yin also looked helpless. "Yue Che is truly despicable. Even if these men stood still and let us kill them, we'd be killing until our arms went numb." "Don't be careless," Xiang Kong said gravely. "There are quite a few masters among them. Don't assume they'll stand there like puppets for us to command." "I have a strange feeling something is off," I observed the patrolling guards, feeling like I was overlooking something. "Given the intellect of Yue Che and the others, they shouldn't believe that these mere shrimp soldiers and crab generals can stop us. So why go to such elaborate lengths to station them here?" "Could there be some trickery involved?" Wu Feng suggested. "There must be a trick," Long Xin showed a rare look of solemnity. "This location is an excellent spot for an ambush. If there were a few masters as strong as you, plus these heavy steel crossbows and tens of thousands of elite soldiers, what do you think would happen if we rashly tried to force our way through?" "Do they expect us to force a crossing?" Mo Hui gasped in shock. "If Yue Che and the others could ascertain our route and intentions!" I said seriously, "Then they could naturally also ascertain that this is the mandatory checkpoint for us entering the Frozen Throne." "Meaning this is a fatal choke point," Wu Yin was momentarily stunned. "Does Yue Che assume we must force our way across this crossing?" "Yue Che might not be certain," Long Xin said gravely. "But don't forget, their alliance includes our nemesis, Mo Luo Yin Feng." "Mo Luo Yin Feng," A cold sweat broke out on me!

The vast White River, its waves towering! It was as if cleaved by the giant axe of an ancient deity! The entire continent was divided into northern and southern sectors by the White River! Throughout history, constant strife plagued the north and south, making the bridge cables connecting the two banks vital military strongholds heavily garrisoned by various clans! The Heaven-Connecting Bridge! Its name implied its function: connecting the two sides of the great natural barrier! This single set of bridge cables was the only passage eastward across the White River into the Frozen Great Plain! The southern end was Feilai Peak! The northern end was Shenqi Peak! These two peaks stood like twin greatswords, towering on the banks of the turbulent White River! They echoed each other across the majestic scene! And the Heaven-Connecting Bridge, spanning the White River between the two peaks, resembled a ribbon fluttering in the wind, swaying precariously under the force of the river gusts! It looked as if it could be swept away by a strong wind at any moment, plunging into the river!

"The perilous White River is unparalleled in the world! The bridge cable connects the heavens to form a passage! This Heaven-Connecting Bridge is truly worthy of its name." Gazing at the soaring, thousand-zhang sheer cliffs and the bridge cable spanning the great river! Mo Luo Yin Feng exclaimed in awe, "Only the Lingfeng Bridge of our Fengmo Continent could compare to such a perilous wonder." "Lingfeng Bridge," Silver Nu and Qu Lei, standing by, showed traces of unusual emotion in their eyes. "Back then, Jiu Yao Shen Zhen almost died on the Lingfeng Bridge." "Yes, but in the end, it was still just short," Gong Gong Zhen Qin said. "Twenty-seven years later, history repeats itself—can Jiu Yao Shen Zhen have the same luck as before?" "....... ." A moment of silence fell over the group. Clearly, Gong Gong Zhen Qin's words had struck the core vulnerability of everyone present. Yes! Even at this moment, with the continent's top masters gathered here on the Snow Domain Continent, they still lacked the confidence to kill Jiu Yao Shen Zhen, who seemed bound by some dark curse! Countless times trapped in mortal danger, yet miraculously escaping every time! On the Mafa Continent, he had become the embodiment of immortality, the synonym for miracle! And now, after twenty-five years of absence, he had crossed oceans to come to the expert-rich Snow Domain Continent, not only defeating Yue Che, one of the Seven Spirit Pearl masters of the continent, but causing Yue Che to nearly lose half his territory in the process! And recently, news spread that he had brought the three major tribes of the Gray Mist Snow Plains and the Ice Valley under his command, forming a grand alliance! Everything seemed to be a reenactment of the Black Flag Army's formation! And all of this was accomplished in less than two short months! Although I knew well that his knack for gathering followers was first-rate! He seemed capable of finding suitable allies wherever he went! But to gain the acceptance and recognition of three major tribes in such a short span—this astonishing cohesion and diplomatic skill far exceeded the imagination of Mo Luo Yin Feng and the others! In comparison, my own painstaking efforts to win over the Blood Mist, White Mist, Ice, and Han Ling Clans felt like thankless drudgery! If Yue Che hadn't suffered a crushing defeat outside the Throne City, making them feel the same crisis as the previous Snow Dragon Alliance, the arrogant Great Chief Feng Fei of the White Mist Clan and the contemptuous Great Chief Ao Fei of the Blood Mist Clan might not have paid any attention to me! Of course, no matter what, I finally possessed the leverage to contend with Jiu Yao Shen Zhen! As long as Ao Fei, Feng Fei, and Yue Che could join forces! Even if Jiu Yao Shen Zhen possessed heaven-defying skills, there would be absolutely no chance of survival!