Frost Wolf Great War

The sound of hooves echoed, and all three of them, including Xia Hong, quickly held their breath.

From the west, a colossal beast, two meters at the shoulder and over four meters long, suddenly approached the torch step by step.

Its back was covered in barbs shaped like icicles, and two tusks jutted upwards.

Its fierce eyes, though fixed on the torch, darted around occasionally to survey its surroundings.

Its massive size caused the snow to fly with every step.

Xia Hong, hiding in the snow pit, felt his heart pound with each of its footfalls.

"An adult Snow Mane, this must weigh over a thousand pounds!"

Compared to the juvenile one from last time, this Snow Mane was clearly larger.

And judging by its tentative steps, this adult Snow Mane's intelligence was also significantly higher than the previous one.

The Snow Mane slowly approached the torch.

Just like the last one, it first nudged its snout towards the torch, feeling the warmth radiating from the flame.

Within seconds, clearly experiencing the benefits of the torch, the Snow Mane's pupils dilated, and its movements became lighter and more relaxed.

What is this thing the system gave me?

It can heal Frost Beasts, and it can make Frost Beasts stronger.

Xia Hong watched this scene, his heart feeling a little heavy.

If the small torch was like this, what about the small bonfire in the camp?

If the Frost Beasts discovered it, they would likely go mad.

"Until I have the strength, the small bonfire absolutely cannot be exposed."

Xia Hong reminded himself and continued to watch.

The Snow Mane stood before the torch for over ten breaths, its movements becoming more excited, even resting its chin on the flame.

The fur on its chin didn't burn; instead, it became even shinier.

Xia Hong could even clearly feel that the Snow Mane's aura had strengthened compared to before it approached the torch.

Afraid of disturbing the entranced Snow Mane, Xia Hong didn't dare to turn his head to look east.

But as the Frost Wolf didn't appear for a long time, he started to get suspicious.

Could that Frost Wolf be scared and not dare to come?

He had already tested it; the torch only burned for fifteen minutes.

Now, almost a third of that time had passed.

It seemed this torch would be wasted today.

Still, it was the first time, so wasting it was normal.

However, as soon as this thought crossed his mind.

A sound like the earth shaking suddenly came from the snow.

Xia Hong turned his eyes and looked east, but found nothing.

Yet the movement in the snow was undeniable.

What's going on?

Beside the torch, the Snow Mane had clearly also felt the vibration. Its gaze had turned fierce, and its expression shifted from enjoyment to savagery.

It stared intently in the direction of the sound, its pupils gradually turning red, its two upward-jutting tusks appearing utterly ferocious.

Chiiiiiila…

A sound of a spike piercing the air suddenly erupted.

Barbs suddenly grew in a circle around the Snow Mane's feet. They shot up from the snow, aiming directly for the Snow Mane's most vulnerable abdomen.

Even with its intelligence, the Snow Mane hadn't expected barbs to emerge from beneath its own feet. Although it reacted quickly and dodged to the side, its abdomen still received a gash about a meter long.

As the spikes fully emerged from the accumulated snow, their owner revealed its true form.

Xia Hong's expression instantly froze when he saw the familiar Frost Beast.

It wasn't some special Frost Beast; it was the Frost Wolf he had seen before.

Of course, this was an adult.

The barbs that had emerged from the snow to attack the Snow Mane were from its neck.

This Frost Wolf not only knew how to burrow under the snow but also how to approach silently before launching a surprise attack.

While Xia Hong marveled at the Frost Wolf's intelligence, the injured Snow Mane also reacted.

Chchch…

Emerald green blood gushed from its abdomen. The Snow Mane steadied itself, roaring furiously at the location of the barbs. Its sharp cries pierced the night, shaking loose many icicles from the surrounding trees.

Its eyes were filled with hatred as it glared at the Frost Wolf's position. It stomped its hind legs on the ground, gathered all its strength, and charged forward with incredible speed, arriving almost instantly.

The Frost Wolf clearly knew Snow Mane was enraged and didn't want to confront it head-on. It retreated back under the snow and then bolted directly towards the torch that had just been sent flying.

Well now, if you can't hit the target, you go straight for the main objective.

Xia Hong could see it clearly – this Frost Wolf actually wanted to steal the torch and run.

He wasn't the only one who saw it.

Snow Mane, in its furious state, also saw it.

Compared to the injury on its abdomen, Snow Mane seemed to value the torch even more.

Without any hesitation, it quickly changed direction, lowered its head deeply, and then charged towards the torch.

At first, Xia Hong thought it lowered its head to build momentum.

But upon closer inspection, he realized that wasn't the case at all.

Snow Mane's fangs dug into the accumulated snow on the ground. As it charged forward with thunderous force, all the snow was kicked up.

Coupled with its deliberate churning with its limbs as it charged, countless snowdrifts were lifted, and the ground was instantly exposed.

This was a deliberate move to prevent the Frost Wolf from burrowing into the snow.

Before the Frost Wolf hidden beneath the snow could even reach the torch, it was impaled by Snow Mane's fangs and sent flying out.

The Frost Wolf wasn't large, but the violent force sent it crashing directly into a Crimson Frost Tree behind it.

Even so, the Frost Wolf quickly got back on its feet, its crimson eyes fixed on Snow Mane. It bared its rows of sharp fangs, its ferocity escalating to its peak. Its hind legs suddenly pushed off the ground, and it lunged at Snow Mane.

Snow Mane feared brute force collisions the least. Facing the lunge, it didn't evade at all and charged forward to meet it head-on.

However, the Frost Wolf's lunge was merely a feint. As it reached Snow Mane, it suddenly lowered its body, evading Snow Mane's frame. It opened its mouth, revealing its sharp fangs, and bit down hard on Snow Mane's rear left leg.

Chomp chomp...

The Frost Wolf's bite force was clearly not low.

Snow Mane cried out in pain, letting out a sharp, piercing shriek. It then turned its head, trying to bite the Frost Wolf, but missed. It then resorted to butting, trying to push the Frost Wolf away.

But once the Frost Wolf had a grip, it wouldn't let go easily.

Using its agile body to constantly evade while maintaining its bite, it wasn't long before Snow Mane's rear left leg was bleeding profusely.

In fact, as it began to tear at its prey, the white bone within was faintly visible.

Snow Mane's pain intensified. Realizing it couldn't shake the Frost Wolf off, its pupils constricted, and it suddenly fell sideways.

What followed was a frenzied thrashing. With its thousand-plus jin weight, the terrifying power contained within its body, and the boost from its will to survive, the Frost Wolf was quickly ground until its nose and mouth bled uncontrollably.

But even so, it held on tightly, refusing to let go.

Snow Mane's collisions numbered in the hundreds and were still ongoing.

But the Frost Wolf just wouldn't release its bite.

Whether it was due to excessive blood loss or exhaustion, Snow Mane's collisions became less frequent and less forceful.

Finally, as the flesh on its left hind leg was torn from its calf all the way to its thigh, revealing almost the entire leg bone, Snow Mane finally collapsed!

At this point, the area within a radius of dozens of meters was in disarray.

Even Xia Hong, fifty meters away, felt the impact on the snow-covered ground. If he hadn't dug his snow pit so far away, the three of them would likely have been shaken out.

Although Xia Hong was shocked, it was only his second time witnessing something like this, so he managed to maintain a relatively calm expression.

Beside him, Xia Chuan and Yuan Cheng were dumbfounded, their eyes peeking out from the snow filled with shock and horror.

They had initially thought that after breaking through to the Lumbering Realm, if they couldn't hunt Frost Beasts, they should at least be able to protect themselves.

Now, they realized how incredibly wrong they were.

However, what happened next

made them unable to believe their own eyes.