"Something's wrong. We're being watched."
Halfway to the gold mine, Liu Zhi also sensed that something was amiss. He noticed the snowfall nearby was gradually weakening, as if something had taken control of the blizzard.
The sensation made Liu Zhi deeply uncomfortable.
At the same time, he felt the magical elements around him growing sluggish and less active.
If Liu Zhi hadn't possessed divinity, he wouldn't have been able to sense it at all.
To test whether he really was being watched, Liu Zhi even reached out and gathered a bolt of lightning in his hand.
Just as he'd suspected, the lightning appeared for only an instant before vanishing.
That alone made it clear that someone was suppressing the magic nearby.
Liu Zhi's subordinates had noticed as well. Videnina immediately moved to stand beside him.
Alex looked at Liu Zhi. "Should we bring out the carriage? We could get out of here faster with it."
"It's too late for that. We'll deal with them first."
Liu Zhi pointed in one direction.
Three groups of strange Elephant-men had appeared there.
They stood about three meters tall and wore thick clothing. The skin visible beneath their clothes was bluish gray, covered in numerous markings.
The markings came in all sorts of colors, mostly purple and green, with a few red ones.
It was clear that the markings were meant to counter magic.
Liu Zhi had good eyesight. He could even see the same markings in the Elephant-men's eyes.
Each carried a shield that looked like a shield of light in one hand, and an ice battle-axe in the other.
Each group had around ten to fifteen members. After appearing, the three groups advanced from different directions to surround Liu Zhi and his party.
Liu Zhi's expression turned grave. "Bring out the troops.