Nian was Qin Fen's pet, a genuine divine beast. Ever since those two unlucky assassins had appeared, Nian had sensed their malice. Ignoring the myna and Little Bean's attempts to stop it, Nian had taken Shorty along and followed the pair.
What would three bumpkin divine beasts from the Heavenly Court know about firearms? The moment they landed, they gathered around curiously. Two mere mortals were nothing for them to fear.
Unfortunately, those two mere mortals were scared witless by Nian. Where were they? In the Alps! Forget seafood-there weren't even any river fish here. Where the hell had this manta ray come from?
But that wasn't even the scariest part. The damn manta ray could fly!
The moment something that defied everything they knew appeared, their entire worldview shattered. What was the most terrifying thing? The unknown. In his panic, Hua Yue fumbled blindly and fired the rocket he had readied. His aim was remarkably accurate, too: right above everyone's heads.
A little noise wasn't frightening. The snow on a mountain held together; the idea that a few spoken words could trigger an avalanche was a joke. But this was more than a little noise. A rocket had exploded, and the blast itself dealt a tremendous blow to the accumulated snow, loosening it and making it fall. As the sound of the explosion spread back and forth through the mountains, reflecting and refracting, the resulting resonance grew increasingly terrifying.
Finally, with a thunderous rumble, great masses of snow began tumbling down the mountain. Small amounts accumulated into larger ones, rolling into an ever-growing mass. Like a castle made of sand, it collapsed in an instant, then surged downhill like a raging flood.
The sound echoed through the snowy mountains. That sudden upheaval sounded like ten thousand galloping horses and