Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
“It’s that bright light!”
“I can’t even open my eyes properly!”
“Damn it, don’t look up, your eyes are going to burn!”
The groups of Mages were panicking. There were cries everywhere.
Mo Fan immediately looked at the blinding light when he heard it was the Ruler-level Frosty Ancient Eagle. To his surprise, it was as bright as the sun: his eyes were hurting when he was looking at it.
“F**k, that Ruler-level eagle is unstoppable. We are basically blind whenever we look up!”
“How are we supposed to know when the Frosty Ancient Eagles are attacking us… AHHH!” a Hunter Master cried out in agony.
An eagle’s talons had driven into the Hunter Master’s torso. He was lifted into the sky before the pain even spread throughout his body. The others nearby could not even react. They only heard the man’s cry after he was already several meters high from the ground!
“Zhao Kang, tell your men to deal with the Ruler-level eagle’s eyes now!” Yassen ordered.
“Why us?” Zhao Kang from the Savage Raptor Hunter Group protested promptly.
“Do you want to take care of the creature ahead instead?” Yassen snarled.
Zhao Kang looked ahead and saw nothing but the ice on the lake. Right at that time, the surface of the lake started cracking, as if something was about to come out from beneath.
There was a huge blast, and an enormous hole was left on the surface of the frozen lake. The water splashed in the air, but it soon turned into ice after it was exposed to the air above the surface. The ice shattered when it fell back to the surface below.
A great white leech appeared from the hole. Half of its body was still in the lake, while its head’s cavernous mouth was exposed above the surface.
It had the body of a leech, but its skin had multiple layers. The white demon leech displayed its teeth as Yassen and his men approached the center of the lake.
The white demon leech was about the size of a building, yet its skin spread across the large area like intestines. When the creature extended its skin, its esophageal organ was so huge that it looked like a curtain of darkness!
It was a dark tunnel with teeth along the walls. It felt like the white demon leech could devour the whole lake just by opening its mouth. The Mages that were charging at it were like little shrimps being drawn into a huge whale’s mouth!
“We…we’ll deal with the creatures in the sky!” Zhao Kang told Yassen after a moment of shock.
He could feel his muscles twitching in fear. Yassen had reminded the others that there was something in the lake before they set out. The creature in the lake was said to feed on the Frosty Ancient Eagles, but no one had expected it to be such a hellish creature!
“How many monsters did this lake even raise? Can anyone tell me what the creature that keeps spitting out poison over there is?” Zhao Manyan cursed as he was defending the others from the claws of the Frosty Ancient Eagles.
“It’s a Tianshan Ancient Insect Lord. It is said to feed on the Frosty Ancient Eagles and the Tianshan Demon Tigers, but it has obviously had a change of mind since most demon creatures are more interested in humans,” Nanyu called back.
Mages contained an abundant supply of energy in their bodies, much like magic ores brimming with energy. Demon creatures with a certain level of intelligence would often treat humans with outstanding cultivation as a great source of nutrients. Many Hunters had earned a fortune killing high-level demon creatures in the wild, but they had also raised many high-level demon creatures!
The white demon leech’s appearance had made the situation worse, but the good news was that the Frosty Ancient Eagles were obviously afraid of it, and stopped attacking so recklessly.
The white demon leech was not brainless, either. The three sides were currently at a standstill. It was not going to let the Frosty Ancient Eagles benefit from the situation, so it retreated into the lake after fighting Yassen’s group for a few rounds.
The creature might be interested in humans, yet it had no intention of sparing the Frosty Ancient Eagles. It dragged a few mercenaries and Frosty Ancient Eagles into the lake with it!
“Quick, let’s go, we can’t stay here for too long!” Yassen yelled when he saw the white demon leech withdrawing into the lake.
Fighting the demon creatures of Tianshan Mountain here would be suicide. The fact that they could stay at the top of the food chain for so long not only indicated they had unusual strength, but intelligence that was comparable to humans.
Their goal was to reach the Scar of Tianshan Mountain, so their priority was to cross the lake. As for the people who died here, it was none of their concern. The paths to treasure were always littered with corpses. Everyone knew that!
“The Frosty Ancient Eagles are stopping us from getting close to the Ruler-level eagle. Otherwise, we would have taken care of its annoying eyes!” Zhao Kang shouted out.
“You’ve done enough! Those who aren’t blind, keep an eye on the flying creatures!” Yassen yelled out.
The Frosty Ancient Eagles circled about in the sky. They eventually failed to hold back on the urge to feed on more humans when the white demon leech did not show up again.
Humans were like ginsengs a few hundred or thousand years old in their eyes. A Warrior-level Frosty Ancient Eagle could advance in rank in a very short time after eating an Advanced Mage!
A place like Tianshan Mountain was not a peaceful environment for living creatures to grow at their own pace. The food chains were compact and the weak would end up as energy for the strong to survive the winter. There would only be one outcome if they were not strong enough!
The Frosty Ancient Eagles launched a full assault, diving at the humans like icy rays. The people below struggled to react in time. Minor defensive spells had no chance of stopping the deadly attacks of the Frosty Ancient Eagles. Hundreds of Mages shared the same fate as the beast hordes.
The beast hordes knew they would have to pay the toll with their lives on their way back, but they still chose to enter the Valley of Glaciers. Human beings were willing to die for riches, just as birds would die for food. The mountain of treasure was too enticing for any living creature. They were willing to take the risk despite the cruel fate that was awaiting them ahead!
The Mages were looking at the mountains when they heard a loud rumble.
They were soon soaked in sweat. The beast hordes had appeared again, just as the lake was already in a great mess!
The demon creatures had been hiding behind the ridges. Everyone thought the previous batch was the majority of them, yet many more were still hiding on the mountain. They had obviously been drawn by the loud noises at the lake!
“Damn it, there are still a lot of demon creatures on the mountain! They are going to charge down the mountain amid the chaos!” Kuma cursed loudly.
