Chapter 27: No, He Really Is That Terrifying
The November snow and ice, mixed with the biting wind, pierced into one's marrow like blades. The diamond-shaped ice crystals standing tall on the Extreme North Icefield trembled slightly in the wind, emitting a piercing, grating sound.
The four-person squad, draped in white robes enchanted with the [Windproof Ward] spell, advanced through the snow and ice. The low-level enhancement magics [Swiftness] and [Freedom of Movement] rippled around them in faint, silvery halos, allowing them to ignore the frozen ground beneath their feet as they rapidly closed in on their target.
After returning to the academy via the internal teleportation array within Winterfell Academy and submitting their quest completion proof, the four-person squad immediately set off, teleporting to the space-time node on the icefield without any pause or rest.
Driven by the possibility of that gold, a great fervor surged within everyone's hearts.
Of course, as Ivan had said, what that horned deer claimed might not be true. For the sake of survival, a magical beast lying was hardly strange. But the issue was, what harm was there in just going to take a look?
They were originally supposed to conduct trials in various places, honing their spellcasting techniques. Where they trained didn't really matter—whether it was the giant wild boars of the White Frost Forest, the wolf packs and specters of the Ice Mist Forest, or the harsh environment of the Extreme North Icefield, there wasn't much difference.
The other three thought the same. In Nick's words, they had already killed enough magical beasts. Their academy points were practically guaranteed to be first place. It was time to go out and explore something new. After all, a mage's most important trait was curiosity.
As it turned out, a purely harsh environment was nothing to prepared adventurers. The four mages, at most Black Iron-rank, were not hindered by the wind and snow and smoothly arrived near the dragon's nest.
On the Extreme North Icefield, there were no powerful monsters. This was originally the territory of the White Dragon. Within a hundred miles of a dragon clan's domain, it was impossible for any magical beast above Silver-rank to exist. Although the entire White Dragon's nest had been wiped out by a certain lord a while ago, cautious magical beasts would still not rashly approach this forbidden land, passed down through ancestral memory, for a year or two.
But even so, Ivan, as the team leader, was exceptionally cautious. He first raised his hand, signaling his companions to stop, and then said in a low voice, "Let's first scout for traces of magical beasts nearby."
At this moment, the four-person squad was still about five kilometers away from the dragon's nest ruins. The towering mountain peak was almost right in front of them. Although nature made it easy, even magical beasts knew that if they attacked the young of one party, they would undoubtedly face the most ferocious retaliation from that side. Even with the slightest possibility, it would never lay a hand on these little ones carrying that human's aura. It hadn't lived long enough to seek its own death.
At that moment, the four-person squad was panting heavily as they talked.
"Why is it still chasing us?!"
"Didn't it almost pass us just now? Why did it slow down?!"
Amira, however, frowned thoughtfully. She spoke in a pleasant, soft voice, "This magical beast seemed about to attack us just now, but then it suddenly pulled back... Maybe it doesn't want to hurt us."
"Why?" Nick was completely baffled, but at this point, the half-dwarf couldn't care less. He said gruffly, "Forget it, let's keep running toward the dragon's nest. It'll definitely clash with those black-robed people!"
Ivan, however, had a faint guess.
A few days ago, their squad had completed the most quests and ranked first in points, so they received commendations from the two deans, Nostradamus and Joshua. The four of them had all been in close contact with the two Ultimate-rank experts and had each received a small medal.
No, that couldn't be. The hunter boy shook his head vigorously. He thought the idea was too absurd. Even Lord Radcliffe wasn't so terrifying that even a trace of his aura could scare a magical beast into not daring to act.
Yes, that was impossible.
On the other side, the moment the Gold-rank magical beast appeared, a great commotion broke out among the black-robed group.
"Magical beast attack!"
"It's an Ironclad Mountain Dragon! Strength is Mid-Gold Rank!"
"Exploration personnel, come back quickly! Do you hear me? Exploration personnel inside the dragon's nest, come back quickly!"
A series of warning shouts rang out. The black-robed woman, referred to as the priestess, looked in shock at the Ironclad Mountain Dragon slowly approaching. She cursed angrily, "What's going on? The plan is ruined! This is the Extreme North Icefield—how could there be an Ironclad Mountain Dragon?!"
If it had been an Ice Wing Dragon or a Giant Ice Elemental, she could have accepted it, as those were creatures that should naturally appear in the Extreme North Icefield. The White Dragon had simply driven them away or wiped them out to maintain its territory. Most of the magical items prepared by the entire team were also meant to deal with these ice-type monsters.
But an Ironclad Mountain Dragon, that war machine—they had never planned to provoke one!
Just as the slowly advancing golden giant beast and the gradually gathering, vigilant black-robed group were about to face off, the four-person squad, taking advantage of the enemy's focus on the Ironclad Mountain Dragon, successfully reached the other side of the dragon's nest mountain peak.
They were halfway up the mountain, looking down at the two sides in a standoff, their hearts pounding wildly. Even though they had reached their destination, none of them felt any joy.
"What do we do now?" Kalin looked mournfully at the scene below, where battle could break out at any moment, and couldn't help but complain softly, "What's going on? The plan changed way too fast."
The other three nodded in agreement. Plans indeed couldn't keep up with changes. Before setting out, who would have known that another group of mysterious people would beat them to it and arrive at the dragon's nest first, and that a Gold-rank magical beast would also be eyeing the place, and they all happened to run into each other.
As the four on the mountain were at a loss, and the magical beast and black-robed group below were about to start fighting, at the edge of the Extreme North Icefield, Joshua and Hei, who had taken human form, stood before a cluster of ice-crystal-like flowers, seemingly hesitating.
"Ice Thorn Flower." The warrior looked at the silver-white, semi-transparent little flower before him and murmured to himself, "Found this thing, huh."
Like a snowflake, the beautiful flower, radiating a cold, icy light, swayed slightly in the wind, releasing a clearly discernible magical fluctuation. A chill exceeding minus 120 degrees Celsius spread outward with its breath, plunging this small area into a cold as severe as an ice prison.
This magical plant had extremely high ornamental value. Additionally, it could be used as raw material for making high-level ice-type magic scrolls and equipment. It was rare, with harsh growing conditions. Even across the entire Northern Lands, it was unlikely that more than ten clusters would be produced in a year.
"So beautiful." Hei, however, had no idea of the flower's value. She simply expressed her heartfelt joy and admiration, then moved closer, wanting to touch it. "Ying would probably like it, right? It matches her hair well."
"Don't touch it. Your magic power clashes with it."
Stopping the sea-born fire dragon from touching the ice-type magical plant, Joshua thought seriously for a moment. "But indeed, it does look a bit like Ying's hair."
Thinking of the Divine Mechanism girl who had long accompanied him, showing no fear even in the face of evil gods and Legendary-rank experts, the warrior couldn't help but smile. "Giving her this flower should make her happy, right?"
But he didn't immediately pick it. He simply spread his own battle qi and aura around the area, keeping any nearby magical beasts or dangerous factors away. Joshua patted Hei's head and said, "Alright, let's go for a walk first. We'll pick it when we come back home, so we don't accidentally break it."
"Okay." Hearing her master's words, even the black dragon girl appeared exceptionally obedient. She moved away from the Ice Thorn Flower, then transformed back into her dragon form, and the warrior once again stood atop the black dragon's head.
"Take a walk, explore the magical beast distribution, come back to pick the flower."
Joshua nodded and said with satisfaction, "Indeed, a flawless plan."