Powerful and Cunning

It would have been a lie to say he was not tempted by this Snow Mane.

But circumstances were stronger than men. Even if Big Stone Camp had crossed the line, Xia Hong currently had neither the energy nor the strength to deal with it.

Not only could he not interfere, he even had to do everything possible to avoid contact with Big Stone Camp.

In fact, according to what Xia Ding had said before his death, Big Stone Camp and Great Xia Camp had always gotten along fairly well.

But times had changed. Great Xia was now weak to the extreme; once outsiders caught a glimpse of its true situation, its fate would no longer be in its own hands.

Having thought it through, Xia Hong's expression eased as he continued observing the people below.

At that moment, the people from Big Stone Camp on the ground had already reached the Snow Mane.

"Tut, tut. This thing looks like it weighs four or five hundred jin. We've struck it rich."

"Enough to supply the camp for two or three months."

"When the chief used three hundred jin of Frost Beast Meat to trade for bows at Rogue Camp, you lot opposed it. Now you know how formidable bows and arrows are, right?"

"Enough nonsense. Move it, now. This is Great Xia territory. It won't be good if they discover us later."

That sharp, commanding voice from earlier clearly belonged to Big Stone Camp's chief.

The moment he spoke, everyone immediately fell silent.

Then one person stepped forward, intending to pull out the arrow lodged in the Snow Mane's eye first.

However, the instant he gripped the arrow, a sudden change erupted.

The Snow Mane, which had been lying motionless on the ground, abruptly rolled over.

It rolled so quickly that the man was caught completely off guard. He did not even have time to let go before he was flung into the air.

By the time he realized what was happening and tried to release it, the Snow Mane had already charged forward, smashing him into pulp.

That was right—not sending him flying, but smashing him apart in midair.

"This beast was playing dead!"

"Fall back!"

"Everyone retreat! Scatter and run, quickly!"

Although the people of Big Stone Camp were terrified, their reactions were not slow.

Especially that chief with the sharp voice—he instantly decided they should scatter and flee.

Everyone immediately followed his command, fleeing in all directions.

But they were too close to the Snow Mane.

After smashing one man apart, the Snow Mane did not pause in the slightest. It was the first to charge fiercely toward the man who had spoken first.

At the same time, it tilted its head and bared its blood-filled maw at the second man who had spoken, its face twisted in savagery.

A long tongue shaped like an ice spike suddenly shot from its mouth.

Pfft...

That long tongue was as swift as lightning, incomparably sharp and pointed. In practically an instant, it pierced straight through the man.

And piercing through him was not the end. The tongue actually curved through the air and raced toward the back of Big Stone Camp's chief.

"Chief, watch out!"

The chief was fleeing for his life and had no time at all to check behind him.

Not far from him, two people who noticed the chief was in danger charged over almost without hesitation and shielded him from behind.

Big Stone Camp's only man carrying a saber was among them.

He raised his saber before him and, seizing the right moment, blocked the Snow Mane's tongue.

With a clang.

Seeing that the blade had withstood the tongue without breaking, the man immediately let out a sigh of relief.

However, the tongue swiftly curled around from its right side.

As it swept forward, it directly pierced through the other man who had not been carrying a saber.

"Just how long is this beast's tongue?!"

The saber-wielding man roared in frustration.

"Shut up, idiot! Nobody make a sound! This beast is blind. Slowly back away. As long as we don't make noise, it won't find us."

But that sharp voice immediately cut him off with an angry curse.

The chief had clearly spotted the key to the situation, and his reaction had actually been fast enough.

Unfortunately, the saber-wielding man was simply too close to the Snow Mane's tongue.

The Snow Mane's tongue had circled around the saber-wielding man before stabbing the second man to death.

The instant it claimed its second target, the tongue turned soft and abruptly whipped to the left, like a living rope, wrapping around the saber-wielding man's neck.

The saber-wielding man seemed to realize something. He quickly hurled the saber in his hand heavily toward the chief.

The next second, accompanied by the Snow Mane's low growl as it exerted force, the saber-wielding man's head actually fell straight from his neck.

That horrifying sight sent chills through everyone's hearts.

The chief caught the saber from the air. Seeing his subordinate die so miserably, even though fury filled his face, he still forced down his emotions and did not dare make a sound.

The others were the same as him. They stood where they were, not daring to make a sound.

Beneath the Ice Vast Tree, a deathly silence fell.

And Xia Hong, who had been hiding in the tree all this time, did not even dare breathe carelessly, let alone move.

Everything that had just happened had occurred in the blink of an eye.

He had originally been prepared to climb down after they took away the prey.

Who could have expected that in just a few breaths, three people from Big Stone Camp would die?

This Snow Mane not only possessed tenacious vitality and terrifying strength.

More importantly, it was incomparably cunning by nature, nothing like an ordinary beast.

Not only could it play dead and feign weakness, it even knew how to lure enemies deeper in.

Before the two archers appeared just now, the Snow Mane had not moved at all.

And this Long-tongued Snow Mane was merely a low-grade Frost Beast.

How powerful and cunning, then, were the mid-grade and high-grade ones?

Only now did Xia Hong realize why, around Redwood Ridge, Rogue Camp alone possessed a proper Hunting Team.

While Great Xia and the other camps could only form what were called Lumber Teams.

Whoosh...

As he was sighing over this, the sound of an arrow slicing through the air quietly rang out in the snowy night.

Xia Hong looked over and saw the arrow strike a large tree fifty meters away. Its tremendous force shook icicles from the tree in a rattling cascade, and when they hit the ground, they made an even louder noise.

Drawn by the commotion, the Snow Mane scrambled its limbs in place a few times before immediately charging toward the source of the sound.

Xia Hong understood at once and lowered his head to look toward the people of Big Stone Camp.

Sure enough, another archer hiding in the distance had fired it.

Once the Snow Mane moved away, the people of Big Stone Camp frantically fled westward. They did not even have time to deal with the corpses on the ground; they were clearly terrified beyond measure.

When the Snow Mane reached the tree and found nothing, it quickly turned around and returned to the Ice Vast Tree.

Hot breath still puffed from its nostrils, and its limbs occasionally pounded the ground. Clearly, its rage had not yet fully subsided.

Naturally, Xia Hong did not dare move at this time. Even after the Snow Mane lay motionless beneath the tree, he did not dare climb over to investigate.

Sure enough, half an hour later, the Snow Mane suddenly raised its head. Though it had no eyes, the way it cocked its ear and turned its body made it obvious that it was using its hearing to judge the surroundings.

Seeing this, Xia Hong felt immensely relieved. Fortunately, he had not moved just now.

The Snow Mane stayed a while longer before finally climbing back up the Ice Vast Tree.

It climbed slowly, even stumbling a little. After finding a thick branch, it sprawled across it, gradually blending in with the ice crystals on the tree.

And Xia Hong still did not move after another hour had passed.

It was not because he was afraid. That Snow Mane had most likely fallen asleep.

Leaving now would not have been much of a problem.

But if he simply left like this, Xia Hong felt somewhat unwilling.

It was not hard to tell from its final climb up the tree,

that this Snow Mane, whose ferocity had erupted so violently, was already in very poor condition.

Moreover, both of its eyes were blind.

That was four or five hundred jin of Frost Beast Meat.

If he did not pick up this bargain, Xia Hong would feel he had lost out no matter how he thought about it.

But judging by the Snow Mane's strength and cunning just now, picking up this bargain would be far from easy.

The three mangled corpses from Big Stone Camp still lying on the ground were proof enough.

Xia Hong pondered for a long while. Then, as if something occurred to him, his eyes lit up.