The pale silver Void Gate dissipated amidst the wind and snow as Li Qi, Terreda, and over a hundred mbers of The Shadow Division and Barbarian Warriors landed steadily on the ice field.
Not far ahead lay their destination—the third Safe House.
What was supposed to be a dod ice house now lay in ruins.
Chunks of thick ice were scattered all over the ground. Amidst the ice house’s wreckage, broken tal bed fras and shattered dical boxes could be seen, with shards of glass mixed in with the ice particles, glinting coldly in the pale daylight.
The air carried a faint scent of blood, almost indistinguishable in the whipping wind and snow.
Li Qi stepped forward first, squatting down to clear away a half-ter thick piece of ice—beneath it lay a bloodied, crumpled figure, the soldier stationed at Ice Extre Pass.
The soldier’s uniform was torn, his body shattered beyond recognition, even his face unidentifiable.
Li Qi slowly stood up, gazing into the swirling snow. The fierce winds swept the ice particles as if to erase everything. Yet, with the Night Demon King Bloodline, Li Qi could easily capture that distant aura.
"Found it."
A sharp gleam flashed in Li Qi’s eyes as he raised his hand towards the northeast, "Follow ."
With that, he took the lead, his figure blending into the snowstorm, followed closely by Terreda and the other warriors, their eyes burning with an ever-increasing fighting spirit.
...
"Boss, this job is way too easy."
A man in a white cold-weather combat suit, sitting atop a Snow Beast, spoke disdainfully, "A re Ice Extre Pass dares to provoke our Military Lord; who gave them the courage anyway?"
"I say this could have been handled by myself alone, no need for you to step in personally, Boss."
The "Boss" referred to was a dium-built man with a scar on his temple. He was riding on an ice wolf and responded calmly:
"The regint leader asked to lead, so we go by his orders."
Besides these two, five others followed, each mounted on a Snow Beast.
The Snow Beasts weren’t particularly fast, but they were stable, maintaining a constant speed toward the distance.
"Boss, where are we heading next? Do we keep searching for the trace of that Ice Crystal Phoenix?"
Another person chid in.
Yasan replied, "First, let’s rendezvous with the regint leader. But I suspect that this will still be our main task for the next phase."
"Ah, it was pure luck we found it last ti; who knows if we’ll be so lucky again."
"Exactly, this task feels like finding a needle in a haystack, and we can’t even stop. Honestly, I’d rather attack Ice Extre Pass than keep wandering aimlessly like this."
"Well said, then why don’t you convey everyone’s thoughts to the Military Lord?"
"Haha, just tell if you want dead."
Yasan shook his head as he listened to their chatter. He didn’t understand why the Military Lord insisted on relentlessly pursuing the Ice Crystal Phoenix. Not just their regint but several other battle groups had been deployed for this task.
It seed the Ice Crystal Phoenix held so enormous secret.
Yasan stared ahead; the wind and snow had intensified. The fierce winds whipped up the snow into white waves across the ice field, making even the outlines of distant ice mountains blurry and indistinct.
This was the scenery they faced daily on missions across the ice fields of Mingwang Planet.
From dawn until late at night, nothing but wind, snow, and plains so monotonous they made one’s mind anxious over ti, even causing occasional hallucinations.
He suddenly understood why the regint leader had him lead the destruction of the Safe House. Maybe it was to give them sothing different to do, not just to pressure Ice Extre Pass.
"Alright, keep it quiet."
Yasan withdrew his gaze, his tone more solemn, "We’ll be eting the regint leader in half an hour. Watch your words; if anyone catches anything, you could lose your life without knowing why."
"Yes, Boss!"
The few behind him quickly responded, their previous lively discussions instantly ceasing, leaving only the sound of the Snow Beasts’ "crunch" on the icy surface.
Yasan nodded lightly. Just then, he suddenly heard a faint "thud" behind him, like sothing falling onto the snow.
Soon after, a strong scent of blood drifted over with the snow, carrying warmth that starkly contrasted the cold air.
Whoosh~
Yasan jerked his head around, his pupils constricting at the scene before him.
The last man in the team was now rigidly sitting atop his Snow Beast, his neck an empty void, blood gushing like a fountain, staining the Snow Beast’s fur below.
And his head had already rolled several ters away onto the snow, eyes wide open in shock.
What!
Yasan’s heart seized instantly. As a Tier Five Spiritualist, he had been vigilant the entire ti, yet he had not sensed any approach from an outsider!
How had the other party done this?!
As his mind reeled, a sudden alarm exploded in his head, a lethal chill cascading down from above.
Almost by instinct, Yasan ducked down quickly, drawing the short blade from his waist with his right hand to block upward—
"Shhhrr!"
The frigid sound of tal slicing through the air reached his ears, a glinting dagger brushing past his scalp, the blade carrying several strands of severed hair.
Cold sweat drenched Yasan’s back instantly. Using the montum from ducking, he rolled off the Snow Beast’s back, landing steadily in the snow.
But when he saw the scene before him, his pupils nearly burst, a chill shooting from his feet to the top of his head.
The subordinates he brought along now all lay fallen in the snow, each with their necks precisely severed, heads rolled aside, eyes still holding terror and disbelief, clearly not having seen their assailant until death.
Around the bodies, over a dozen figures in white cloaks had appeared unbeknownst to him.
Their hoods were pulled low, faces covered with white masks, revealing only pairs of cold eyes, their aura completely concealed as if they were ghosts traversing the snow, standing silently with no sound.
"Who... are you?!"
Yasan gripped the short blade tightly, his voice trembling slightly.
The aura from these white-cloaked figures made even his soul shiver, especially from the one in the lead—though the figure stood rely ten ters away, Yasan’s perception felt obstructed as if hidden by a barrier. Were it not for his visual sight, he would not even perceive their existence.
"Ye Shisan, your aura concealing is not proficient enough."
Li Qi’s voice emanated from beneath the white cloak, calm and authoritative.
His gaze fell on a mber of The Shadow Division at the end of their line; when everyone had moved in sync, this mber had briefly leaked his aura, allowing Yasan to instinctively evade a fatal blow.
The nad Shadow Division mber imdiately kneeled, head lowered deeply, "It’s my failure, sir. Please punish !"
"When we return, administer three strikes of the ’Soul Devourer Vine’ and reflect thoroughly."
Li Qi’s tone offered no leniency. The strikes from the Soul Devourer Vine inflicted not only physical pain but also pierced the soul, one of the severest reprimands in The Shadow Division.
This was typical of his approach—clear on rewards and punishnts, never lenient on mistakes, since The Shadow Division often executed covert missions where any misstep could plunge the entire team into peril.
"Yes, sir!" Ye Shisan replied solemnly, without a word of defense.
Then, Li Qi set his eyes on the tense Yasan. For a Tier Five Spiritualist, it wasn’t necessary for him to act directly, but since the man wasn’t dead, there was an opportunity to extract more information from him.
"Capture him!"
Li Qi waved his hand, and the strongest Night Demons imdiately surrounded them.
Though Yasan was not weak, he quickly fell under the onslaught of the Night Demons, eventually being pinned down in the snow, rendered immobile.
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