# Chapter 28: Courage and Avalanche
"We should retreat as soon as possible."
At the halfway point of the Dragon Nest ruins, the four-person team, after a hushed discussion, finally reached this conclusion.
Ivan held his breath, secretly looking down the mountain. The enormous dragon beast, its entire body covered in steel armor, was emitting low, rumbling heavy breaths as if about to launch an attack. In front of it, the black-clad figures had already formed their formation. Four spellcasters were protected behind fifteen melee combatants, while the longbowmen and other professionals had taken cover elsewhere.
At the center of the formation, a black-clad spellcaster who appeared to be female floated in midair. The translucent mana fluctuations stirring the atmosphere around her proved she was a Gold-rank mage.
A Gold mid-rank dragon beast and a team with a Gold-rank expert—the aftermath of their battle would be enough to affect areas thousands of meters away. Even though the four were at the mountainside, it was unlikely they could completely avoid the chaotic mana fluctuations. Ivan and the others were all Black Iron-rank mages; the turbulent elemental environment would greatly impact their bodies.
But what truly made them decide to retreat as soon as possible was not because of these reasons.
"Those guys are cultists!"
Not long ago, the half-dwarf Nick's tense warning still echoed in everyone's ears. Shortly after, the obscure mana fluctuations emanating from the black-clad spellcasters confirmed this. Filthy, blasphemous runes flew from the black staffs in their hands, forming one magic array after another, converging on that Gold-rank spellcaster.
What were cultists? No need to answer. Everyone in the Northern Lands, and even the entire Mycroft Continent, knew they were madmen devoted to creating war and slaughter, plague and chaos. Several hundred years ago, when cultists were at their most rampant, news of demon sacrifices and massacres came from all directions almost every few days. The four had grown up hearing horror stories about cultists. They naturally understood how abnormal it was for a team of cultists with a Gold-rank expert to appear in the Northern Lands.
There was no time to think about what these cultists were doing at the Dragon Nest. Ivan and Amira quickly decided that later, while they were fighting the dragon beast, they would quickly retreat from the elemental turbulence zone, then use the special communication array the academy had given them to notify their academy mentors to come quickly and kill or capture these cultists. This importance surpassed the purpose of their trip.
Karin naturally had no objections, and neither did Nick.
At the foot of the mountain, the battle had already begun.
The Ironclad Mountain Dragon had lost its patience. This enormous beast, resembling an armadillo but far more massive, had no interest in the little insects before it. Even though one of them had an aura similar to its own, it didn't care at all.
Its limbs, as massive as pillars supporting a temple, moved, heavily stamping the ground. The giant beast decided to ignore these humans trying to block it. Its entire body, like a moving fortress, charged straight toward the Dragon Nest ruins.
Countless accumulated snow dust on the ground was shaken up, and cracks spread everywhere. Facing a beast charging like a mountain, even these elite cultists couldn't help but feel a trace of fear in their hearts. But they had already received corresponding combat training, so just as the Ironclad Mountain Dragon began its charge, the cultists' formation changed. They skillfully avoided the beast's charging line and moved to its flank.
These warriors, each at Silver mid or high rank, nimbly dodged the airflow generated by the charge, raised their enchanted longswords and chain hammers, gathered their Battle Qi, broke through the atmosphere, and viciously struck the armor on the beast's limbs.
But it was useless. The Ironclad Mountain Dragon continued charging. The blades and armor clashed, producing harsh screeching sounds. Powerful counter-shock forces came back, instead shaking the blades away and shattering them. Several warriors were immediately injured by fragments of their own weapons and temporarily unable to continue fighting.
The dragon beast, covered all over with a [Counter-Shock Field], would not have its steps hindered by minor soldiers. Only an expert of the same rank could stop it.
"Fall back. Indeed, without being Gold-rank, one cannot stop the Mountain Dragon's charge."
At the center of the formation, the black-clad woman removed her hood, revealing her true face. Half of her face was that of a beautiful woman, the other half was a skeleton filled with black mist. Her black eye sockets burned with steady soul flames, emitting blue light. The woman called a priestess raised her staff as she watched the charging dragon beast.
The staff was pale white all over, and... but in the end, she embraced the other for a moment, then silently left.
At the foot of the mountain, the battle between the two Gold-rank experts continued. The priestess used various vicious curse spells to weaken the beast's constitution and strength, and skillfully used various techniques to pressure the Ironclad Mountain Dragon, preventing it from spewing flame dragon breath. For now, it was hard to say who had the upper hand, but this battle would certainly not end quickly.
Some of the Silver-rank cultists stayed behind to tend to the wounded, while another group rushed toward the mountainside. The leading black-clad cultist was a longbowman who had been hiding nearby. His speed was not slow, and the distance was short, so he arrived first at the destination.
And a figure appeared before him.
Ivan Makarov, this hunter-born youth, stared at the enemy before him with cold eyes. His gray pupils flickered with a steady light. He held a scroll in his hand, looking ordinary. He wore the academy uniform and a white snow robe. His features weren't particularly handsome, but as he stood on the ground, he was as immovable as a steel statue.
The next moment, the scroll in the youth's hand flashed with light and released a gray beam. The longbowman couldn't dodge in time and could only raise his arm to block. But the moment he touched the beam, his entire body emitted cracking sounds and was completely petrified. The beam didn't stop there. It leaped past the petrified longbowman and swept toward the other cultists behind him. In an instant, more than five cultists were petrified.
The gap between Silver and Black Iron was far from that between Silver and Gold, Gold and Ultimate, or Ultimate and Legendary. Neither had yet reached Transcendent; both were still among mortals. If used properly, a Black Iron-rank mage could certainly use scrolls and other items to kill a Silver-rank.
What Ivan used was the final measure given by the academy mentors to protect these students on their field training. This petrification beam scroll, usable by Black Iron-rank mages, came with a large amount of mana stored within, allowing even severely injured students to use it easily. The moment the scroll was used, a sharp, urgent alarm sounded in a certain secret room at Winterfell Academy.
"What's going on?! Which team is in danger?"
A mentor outside the secret room immediately rushed in, asking loudly and anxiously. The personnel monitoring various intelligence inside the secret room immediately replied, "It's Team 1, Ivan Makarov and the others! The detection array on the scroll shows Gold-rank mana fluctuations around them!"
"Gold-rank?! Damn it, where are they?"
"Extreme North Icefield, White Dragon Nest X!"
Half a minute later, a rescue team consisting of two Gold-rank mages and four Silver high-rank mages departed through the teleportation array to rescue them at the Extreme North Icefield.
At this moment, Ivan's situation was very bad. Although the cultists rushing toward him had been petrified in small numbers by his petrification beam scroll, if left alone for a while, these petrified people would shake off the magic's influence and come back to life. The other cultists who saw the situation was unfavorable stopped running in straight lines and instead used various rocky terrain to advance in S-shaped jumps.
This greatly reduced their forward speed, but it also made it impossible for Ivan, holding other scrolls, to aim and attack. He tried throwing a few acid grenades commonly used by dwarves, but they didn't hit their targets.
It seems this is as far as it goes. The youth thought somewhat helplessly. But this isn't bad either. At least it delayed their advance speed and pursuit time.
This world was so dangerous that he had long thought about death. From the moment the dragon beast invaded the village, killed his parents, and he resolved to become a dragonslayer, the youth had long considered the possibility of dying midway due to an accident. But even he hadn't expected it to come so quickly.
It seemed he couldn't personally hunt dragons and avenge his parents... but at least his sister...
And his sister Amira had suddenly stopped in the middle of their retreat.
"Amira, don't stop!"
At this moment, even Nick, who somewhat admired her, said in a deep voice, "Don't do anything stupid. Don't let your brother's sacrifice be in vain!"
The red-haired girl Karin prepared to knock her unconscious and carry her away if she didn't comply. Northerners never beat around the bush like this. They had no time for sibling sentimentality at a moment like this. Only by surviving could there be a chance for revenge.
But the girl with platinum-blonde hair didn't immediately answer her companions' questions. She just looked at the Dragon Nest ruins, at the ice and snow that were somewhat unstable due to the aftermath of the Gold-rank experts' battle. A strange light flickered in her eyes.
"Nick, Karin, don't deceive yourselves. The enemy has a Gold-rank expert. We can't escape." The girl said softly. "But I have a plan. Maybe it can buy more time."
She stated her plan.
This plan, full of Northern style, immediately moved the other two.
A moment later, Ivan, who was relying on mountain rocks and terrain, using magic scrolls to delay the cultists' advance, suddenly heard an extremely loud shout.
"Ahhh——!!!"
Nick's voice echoed throughout the Dragon Nest ruins. Amplified by a high-pitched magic spell, the half-dwarf's naturally loud voice became like thunder in an instant, even surpassing thunder. The huge sound waves spread, startling everyone including the cultists.
And the next moment, a red arrow imbued with magical light traced a long trajectory through the air, then landed at the ice and snow ruins formed by the collapsed Dragon Nest below the mountain peak.
"That, that's Karin's Explosive Arrow!"
Watching the arrow land in shock, Ivan, as the academy's top student, was sharp enough to understand his companions' thoughts in an instant. A great shock and emotion surged through his mind, leaving him momentarily speechless.
And there was no need for words.
Because a huge roar drowned out everything.
The originally stable Dragon Nest ruins had been shaken by the battle of the Gold-rank experts at the mountain's foot. The echoing sound waves and violent explosion became the final straw that broke the camel's back for the ice and snow at the mountain peak.
Rumble rumble rumble——
A dull and violent roar echoed through the air. At the mountain's foot, the black-clad priestess, who had been locked in combat with the Ironclad Mountain Dragon and slightly gaining the upper hand by exploiting its low intelligence, suddenly looked up at the snowy mountain behind her. In her shock, she momentarily released her suppression of the dragon beast. The giant beast took this opportunity to sweep its tail, sending her flying far away.
"The Dragon Nest has collapsed... I can't complete the mission!"
At this moment, what the priestess thought was not of herself, but of the mission given by the High Priest.
One could see, at the mountainside, large chunks of ice and snow cascading down the slope. The scene was like a tsunami flood, a sandcastle collapsing. The violent roar and tremors caused the earth to shake like an earthquake, terrifying all the cultists still on the mountainside.
They immediately abandoned their pursuit of Ivan and the others and fled down the mountain. As Silver-rank existences, they might indeed survive the avalanche, but being severely injured and near death was highly likely. No one would be foolish enough to resist an avalanche head-on. That was suicide.
The avalanche seemed slow but was actually extremely fast. In just a few seconds, the ice and snow from the mountain peak had surged down, catching up to the fleeing cultists and swallowing them one by one. Meanwhile, Ivan hid behind a rock, praying he would survive. Amira and the others, who had already prepared for defense, did the same, waiting for the ice and snow to crash down.
At the mountain's foot, the giant dragon beast watched the avalanche with no emotion at all. It didn't even look back but continued advancing up the mountain until it too was buried by the gradually stopping snow flood.
After the violent roar came a long-awaited silence.
The mountain's foot was covered in white ice and snow, as if it had become a snow plain.
No one knew how long passed before a small mound rose from the flat snow surface. The next moment, the mound collapsed into a hollow, and a black figure rose from within. A furious female voice came through.
"Damn it! If I find out who caused the avalanche, I will definitely... definitely..."
This voice, originally full of venom and unwillingness, gradually grew lower, weaker, until it was almost nothing. Only the sound of the woman's teeth chattering could be heard, the clattering of teeth colliding.
Because a man was standing before her, watching her with an interested expression.
"Speak."
Joshua moved his wrists. He said, "What were you planning to do to my students?"