Attacked

Gale-force winds mixed with ice particles whipped through the air, lashing against his face.

Temperatures of minus ten degrees Celsius were merely refreshing for Feng Qingmo, whose physical fitness had reached the intermediate Warlord level; furthermore, his S-grade combat suit provided both insulation and wind protection.

It was currently polar day in the Arctic, and the sunlight slanted down, illuminating the distant glaciers in a breathtaking display of beauty—a pity that his spiritual force could not perceive such scenery.

Braving the howling wind, Feng Qingmo walked in a specific direction, targeting the general area where members of the Boria Mercenary Group had gone missing.

"There really are quite a few monsters here..." In just a few hours of walking, he had already encountered several types of monsters, though most were only at the Beast Soldier level. He had yet to encounter a Warlord-level monster, which clearly indicated he was still in the outer reaches of the Arctic.

Perhaps because they had been culled by the previous mercenary group, or perhaps because Jia Yi had led a team of War Gods through the area not long ago, these monster packs would scatter the moment they lost a few members and realized their target was too tough to chew.

The Arctic terrain consisted of both solid ice and accumulated snow; even the Beast Soldier-level monsters possessed significant strength, and they would vanish without a trace the moment they burrowed into the snow.

Although they could not hide from the sweep of his spiritual force, Feng Qingmo couldn't be bothered to act against the low-level ones—he only had one backpack and couldn't carry that much monster material; it was far more cost-effective to harvest materials from Warlord-level beasts.

He walked for several days like this, and when tired, he would carve an ice cave in the snow. This method was widely shared online as a survival technique for ordinary people in the polar regions, and it was even easier for a martial artist to execute.

Every time he finished digging, he would use his spiritual force to seal the entrance, leaving only a few small holes for ventilation, which made it virtually impossible for even Warlord-level monsters to detect him.

On the fifth day, Feng Qingmo finally arrived at the area where the mercenaries were suspected to have disappeared. However, after circling this region of several dozen square kilometers for several days and scanning it countless times with his spiritual force—effectively "plowing" the entire surface—he had found absolutely nothing.

At first, whenever he discovered crevices or caves beneath the ice, he would excitedly explore them, but he hit a wall every single time. Fortunately, his state of mind was extraordinary, and he did not feel frustrated.

After exploring everything, he finally confirmed that there were no traces of ancient civilization ruins in this area. Just as he shook his head and prepared to leave, a thunderous roar erupted in the distance.

He pushed his spiritual force to its maximum range and was immediately startled.

To his right, dozens of silver-furred Arctic Wolves were sprinting for their lives. High above them, a flock of Arctic Rock-Thunder Birds was in hot pursuit. Every so often, a few birds would catch up to the straggling wolves, extend their sharp talons, and strike at the wolves' eyes, noses, and other vulnerable spots, before the entire pack tore the victim apart to feast.

Each Arctic Wolf was at least two meters tall and four to five meters long. As for the Arctic Rock-Thunder Birds, their wingspans reached over ten meters, and their sharp talons and beaks shimmered brilliantly under the polar sun, clearly razor-sharp.

The largest Arctic Wolf leading the pack was at least an elementary Warlord level, but among the flock of Arctic Rock-Thunder Birds behind them, there were several particularly majestic specimens that, according to his spiritual force, were also at least elementary Warlord level.

It was no wonder the Arctic Wolf pack was fleeing for their lives.

Just as Feng Qingmo discovered these two monster groups, the Arctic Wolf King also spotted the human from a great distance. It did not hesitate to slightly change its course, sprinting directly toward Feng Qingmo.

At the same time the Wolf King changed direction, the leader of the Arctic Rock-Thunder Bird flock also noticed Feng Qingmo. It let out a piercing cry and swooped down toward him, leading the rest of the flock in his direction.

"You've got to be kidding me, why are they both coming for me..."

Feng Qingmo turned and ran, but humans struggle to outrun Arctic Wolves on snow, especially when the Arctic Wolf King was a Warlord-level beast. Even with his explosive force techniques, Feng Qingmo's speed was only on par with the King; on the snow, he was likely only slightly faster than a high-level Beast Soldier Arctic Wolf.

The most critical factor was the Arctic Rock-Thunder Birds in the sky. While they weren't known for their speed, they had wings, and even a slow bird was faster than a man running on the ground.

This also prevented Feng Qingmo from utilizing the greatest advantage of a spiritual master: flight.

The two monster groups, previously hostile to one another, immediately abandoned their conflict upon seeing a human, turning instead toward their common enemy. Clearly, the monsters' hatred for humans outweighed their inter-species conflicts and survival needs.

Less than a kilometer into the chase, the Arctic Rock-Thunder Birds in the sky caught up first. With a flap of their wings, the air roared like a gale, and a powerful blast of wind struck the human on the ground. The birds extended their talons, aiming for Feng Qingmo's head.

"Whoosh!"

A black throwing knife shot out, its speed breaking ten times the speed of sound under the dual influence of his spiritual force, aiming straight for the eyes of the lead Arctic Rock-Thunder Bird.

With a metallic clang, the Warlord-level bird retracted its neck, then suddenly thrust its head forward, its sharp beak striking the side of the throwing knife. The speed was so great that Feng Qingmo couldn't even adjust the knife's trajectory in time.

The obstruction of the throwing knife caused the bird's talons to miss. However, this brief delay allowed the Arctic Wolf pack behind to catch up.

"Awoo!" The Arctic Wolf King opened its massive maw, baring its fangs as it lunged at Feng Qingmo, while other wolves surrounded him, some leaping to strike while others crouched to attack his lower body.

Sword light flashed; several Arctic Wolves had their legs severed or were pierced through the eye sockets into their brains by his longsword. He then instantly shifted and dodged, narrowly escaping the Wolf King's jaws.

"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!" "Whoosh!"

Several more throwing knives shot out, and the surrounding Beast Soldier-level Arctic Wolves collapsed in a row. However, Feng Qingmo dared not focus all his spiritual force on the wolf pack; there was an even greater threat above!

Fortunately, he had long since grown accustomed to being surrounded by monster packs in the Trial Tower, and he had experienced many such encounters during his months in the wilderness.

But none could compare to this. Led by the Wolf King and the Bird King, the attacks from the wolves and birds were highly organized and layered; one wave had barely subsided before the next arrived...

He exerted his full strength, unfolding his movement and sword techniques while his spiritual force manipulated five throwing knives, dancing up and down to continuously reap members of the wolf and bird packs.

The flapping wings of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Arctic Rock-Thunder Birds made the area feel as if it were trapped in the eye of a storm, with fierce winds whipping up countless ice particles and snowflakes...

His perfect-level movement technique faced the relentless attacks from both sky and ground. The sword light in his hands flashed incessantly, yet the encirclement of the monster pack seemed to grow tighter, the gaps becoming so small that even his perfect-level movement was struggling to find room to dodge.

The situation grew increasingly dire, yet Feng Qingmo's heart remained calm as he continued to search for a path to break through.

Tiny snow particles were blown about by the gale, many of them lashing against his face and eyes!

In this desperate situation, he didn't know why, but his mind suddenly flashed back to the moment he first mastered the first layer of the Wind-Washing Sword—sitting on the second-floor balcony, watching as a few withered leaves were blown toward him by the wind...