By the time Cui Ciyou and his companions reached the cliff's edge and took in the icy valley below,
the battle had already reached a fever pitch.
Within the valley, the clash of blades against scales, the thunder of magical explosions, and the furious roars of humans and beasts mingled together.
The air reeked of blood and the sharp ozone produced by colliding magical elements.
The well-equipped party was indeed formidable.
Most of its members were on par with an Advanced Swordsman or mage, while their captain radiated a concentrated glow of battle aura. He was a genuine Saint-level fighter.
But their opponents were more than a dozen thoroughly enraged S-Rank monsters.
Though Snow Dragon Beasts could not fly, they moved like lightning. Every lunge and sweep of their tails carried tremendous force, easily smashing webs of cracks into the ice-covered ground.
Their snow-white scales were like natural armor against both magic and physical blows, offering immense resistance to battle aura and magical attacks.
Ordinary swords striking them could only throw up a few feeble sparks.
Several elite specimens could even spew Extreme Cold Dragon Breath from their throats, capable of freezing everything in its path.
Wherever that white breath passed, rock and steel alike were instantly coated in thick ice crystals, rendered so brittle they could shatter at a touch.
The adventurer party's formation had already been utterly scattered by the rampaging beasts.
Though they fought back desperately with their wealth of combat experience, casualties were only a matter of time.
"Captain... we can't hold!"
The edge of a dragon's breath grazed one party member's left arm.
His entire arm froze instantly, going numb, and he screamed,
"These things have all gone mad! We need to retreat!"
"Shut up!"
The Saint-level captain roared and drove back a lunging Snow