Ambush

Through his binoculars, Chu He got his first clear look at the Frost Shadow Deer.

Unlike when it was in the mist, the Frost Shadow Deer before him had fur like white frost on an autumn night. Under the sunlight, it seemed to reflect a faint silver glow, as though draped in a layer of silvery frost.

Its antlers were gnarled and fearsome, yet under the sun they looked especially crystalline and translucent.

The muscles in its limbs were knotted and powerful. Every step seemed solid, yet light.

"So this is... the Frost Shadow Deer?" Chu He swallowed. "I wonder what effect brewing liquor with materials from this thing's body would have?"

"Right! That's the Frost Shadow Deer!" Hu Yonghua's voice rose three pitches.

Even with Chu He, the Jackal Squad didn't dare try to kill an Advanced Beast General, given their strength.

It wasn't that they couldn't beat one. The problem was that there would inevitably be plenty of Low-level Monsters around an Advanced Beast General.

If they charged in, someone in the Jackal Squad would probably—no, definitely—get hurt or maimed. Someone could even die in an accident.

So a Frost Shadow Deer, worth as much as an Advanced Beast General but far easier to kill, was undoubtedly a godsend for the entire Jackal Squad.

"Everyone, pack up quickly." Hu Yonghua lowered his voice, though he couldn't hide his excitement.

"Wei Xiaoping, Pang Song, Yang Yi, go back and keep watch over our temporary lodgings."

"Chu Yunpeng, Chu He, let's cut this thing off!"

"Let's go, let's go!" Chu Yunpeng took the lead, leaping straight onto a three-story building ahead. He sprinted in a straight line toward their planned intercept point.

Hu Yonghua and Chu He followed close behind.

Chu Yunpeng and Hu Yonghua were incredibly fast, and for the first time, Chu He used his Spiritual Force to boost his speed.

It wasn't as conspicuous as flying outright, but lightening his body by a little was easy enough.

The three of them raced along the street like streaks of black lightning.

At a time like this, Chu Yunpeng had to lead the way.

For one thing, Chu He still lacked experience. For another, Chu Yunpeng had been the Jackal Squad's scout, and he worked more smoothly with Hu Yonghua.

"This Frost Shadow Deer sure is cautious. It's fast, too." Chu He leaped onto a building and saw the deer in the distance lift all four hooves and race toward Mist Residential District.

Whoosh!

Chu Yunpeng, at the front, suddenly turned and leaped over a wall on the left, entering the dilapidated, deserted residential district. He took a shortcut diagonally across the area and chased after the Frost Shadow Deer.

"Roar!"

Two Golden-Eyed Jackals lounging nearby spotted Chu Yunpeng and immediately got to their feet, letting out low growls.

"Thump! Thump!"

The ground suddenly shook violently as the two Golden-Eyed Jackals charged toward them with a thunderous rumble. But Chu Yunpeng didn't dodge as he ran. He couldn't be bothered.

Hu Yonghua, following behind, drew his blade!

Chu He couldn't make out the blade's path. He saw only a flash of cold light. Terror filled the two Golden-Eyed Jackals' eyes, then quickly faded as life left them.

"Rumble—"

The charging jackals toppled to the ground and crashed through a courtyard wall.

Not a drop of blood stained the long blade in Hu Yonghua's hand as he sheathed it.

Whoosh!

Chu He leaped after them, landing in a nearby alley. At its far end, a little over a hundred meters away, Hu Yonghua and Chu Yunpeng had blocked the Frost Shadow Deer from both sides.

"Waaah—"

A cry rang out, like a baby wailing, but far louder and more piercing.

The Frost Shadow Deer stamped its hooves uneasily.

When it saw humans blocking both ends of the alley, it let out a low growl.

Almost instantly, a faint red gleam appeared in its eyes.

At the same time, its fur seemed to absorb some strange energy right before their eyes. In an instant, it changed from its earlier grayish color to silver-white!

The Frost Shadow Deer suddenly shone brilliantly!

Only its previously crystalline antlers had turned blood-red!

A silver-white body, crowned in blood-red.

This was the Frost Shadow Deer!

"Chu He!" Hu Yonghua unusually called him by his full name. "We're counting on you now!"

"In this form, the Frost Shadow Deer's speed and strength are almost on par with an Advanced Beast General. It also gains a skill similar to Mental Shock."

"Last time, we surrounded it like this, but that kid Chu Yunpeng still got dazed and knocked to the ground. The thing got away."

"Now that you're here, just use your Flying Daggers to hold it up when it charges past me or Chu Yunpeng. Chu Yunpeng and I will handle the main attack."

"Don't worry. Even though it's as strong as an Advanced Beast General in this state, it shouldn't be able to keep it up for long. We just need to wait for the red on its antlers to fade."

Chu He understood at once how crucial his role was.

"Got it!"

Chu He watched Hu Yonghua advance step by step, ever vigilant. When the distance between him and the Intermediate Beast General Level Frost Shadow Deer shrank to fifty meters—

"Whoosh!"

The Frost Shadow Deer became a streak of silver light and reached Hu Yonghua in the blink of an eye!

"What? How can it be that fast?"

Chu He's expression changed dramatically, but Hu Yonghua seemed to have anticipated it. He raised his shield and met the Frost Shadow Deer's charge head-on.

"Nice!"

Chu Yunpeng shouted in excitement. While the Frost Shadow Deer was pinned by Hu Yonghua, he pressed his advantage, thrusting his spear at its head again and again, each strike faster than the last.

The Frost Shadow Deer didn't dare meet the Alloy Spear with its antlers, and could only dodge desperately.

"Whoosh!"

Chu He wasn't just standing by and watching. He flicked his hand, and three Flying Daggers instantly became streaks of light, closing in on the Frost Shadow Deer from three directions.

Of course, Chu He moved erratically around the battlefield. He didn't get close to the Frost Shadow Deer, but kept his Flying Daggers circling around it.

The two men and three daggers engaged the Frost Shadow Deer.

Though the Frost Shadow Deer trusted in the strength of its defenses, it didn't dare let Hu Yonghua and the others attack its vital spots.

So whenever it risked being injured, it used Mental Shock.

But each time, those relentless daggers blocked its escape route.

The Frost Shadow Deer had roamed the Wilderness Zone for years, and was highly intelligent.

It had realized there was a Spirit Reader present the first time it saw the Flying Daggers.

So it knew that to escape, it first had to seriously injure the Spirit Reader!

Unfortunately, it never found an opening.

Meanwhile, Hu Yonghua, Chu Yunpeng, and Chu He were also plotting together.

As he drew close to Hu Yonghua, Chu He said quickly, "Uncle Hu, when you get a chance to attack at close range, use the Thrown Blade Technique!"

"Thrown Blade Technique? Got it!" Hu Yonghua glanced at the Flying Daggers blocking the Frost Shadow Deer's escape routes, his eyes lighting up as he immediately understood Chu He's meaning.

"Yah!"

Hearing this, Chu Yunpeng suddenly let out a low growl, his face flushing red.

It looked as if the blood in his body had surged to its limit.

For a moment, he seemed to be using the legendary Blood Burning Technique. The long spear in his hand suddenly accelerated.

He charged at the Frost Shadow Deer as if he didn't care about his life. In the blink of an eye, dozens of spear images thrust toward it!

Bang! Bang!

Two of those dozens of spear images struck the right side of the Frost Shadow Deer's body.

"Now!" Chu Yunpeng shouted urgently.

Whoosh!

At that instant, Hu Yonghua reached the Frost Shadow Deer's side and roared, "Die!"

He poured all his strength into a fierce swing of his War Blade! It shot toward the Frost Shadow Deer's head like a cannonball.

The Frost Shadow Deer dodged at once. In the distance, Chu He's eyes flashed as he focused all his Spiritual Force on the War Blade. Its speed surged instantly!

Bang!

The Frost Shadow Deer's dodge kept the War Blade from hitting its head, but the blade still struck its neck!

Fueled by Hu Yonghua's full strength and boosted by Chu He's Spiritual Force, the blow was incredibly powerful. In an instant, it tore a huge gash into the Frost Shadow Deer's neck.

"Pfft!"

Chu Yunpeng seized the opening. His Alloy Spear flashed like lightning and burst the Frost Shadow Deer's right eyeball, nearly piercing through its skull!

The blood-red color faded from the Frost Shadow Deer's antlers. Dazed, the deer collapsed to the ground.

"Pfft!"

A black Flying Dagger burst from beneath the ground and shot through the gash made by the spear and War Blade, entering its skull!

Two Flying Daggers swiftly followed the existing wound and pierced into the Frost Shadow Deer's skull, instantly shredding its brain.

The Frost Shadow Deer was dead, but its huge body continued to convulse and twist involuntarily until, little by little, it finally went still.

The silver sheen on its body gradually faded, revealing its original grayish fur.

"Haha!" Chu Yunpeng couldn't help laughing.

"Beautiful." Hu Yonghua happily picked up his War Blade.

Chu He smiled as he recalled his two Flying Daggers.