At the front of the Hunter Group, a tall man stared ahead, an air of deadly severity radiating from him.
Snow stretched as far as he could see. A slight frown creased his otherwise impassive, square face.
"Boss, something feels wrong."
The bespectacled man walked over. His usual smile was gone, replaced by a grave expression.
"I've been listening for movement around us, and I noticed something startling. There's no sign of any Demon Beasts nearby."
Hunter King Lin stopped and swept his gaze across the snow-covered mountains, his square face set.
"Mm. I've been wondering about that myself. Going by our progress over the past few days, we should've run into some Demon Beasts by now. But ever since we set out after our break, we haven't seen a single one. That's not right!"
Mu Bozhou rubbed his chin in thought before speaking slowly.
"Could there be an especially powerful Demon Beast somewhere near us?"
No one spoke after that. Unease showed in every face, and the mood turned oppressive.
At last, Hunter King Lin, the leader of the Hunter Group, stepped forward to steady everyone's nerves.
"That's enough. We don't know anything for certain, so there's no point speculating about dangers that might not exist. We'll decide what to do once the scout team reports back. Everyone, stay alert."
"Tell the teams behind us to stop and rest."
"Understood."
"Roar—"
Suddenly, a fierce, commanding tiger's roar rang out from the mountains ahead.
The Hunter Group erupted into commotion.
"What was that? Did I hear a tiger roar?"
"You heard it. Sounds like a strong one, too. Even my Commander Level Contract Beast is trembling."
"If it can scare a Commander Level beast, doesn't that make it Monarch Level?"
"What do we do? I'm only an Advanced Mage. I