"Right there."
Louis crouched behind a tall rock, his gaze piercing the thin mist to lock onto the cliffside terrace in the distance.
Dozens of knights stood behind him, all Official Knights and Elite Knights, looking in the same direction.
Vines clung to the icy rocks like spiderwebs. Their blue-green leaves gleamed faintly in the morning light, while clusters of buds quietly unfurled with an almost bewitching beauty.
These were Frostleaf Vines, flourishing to a rarely seen degree.
"They're... almost too lush." Louis clicked his tongue softly, unable to hide the excitement in his eyes.
But before he could say another word, a low, eerie snore suddenly rose from among the vines.
"Huff... huff-thud."
"Holy shit, what the hell is..." Vale exclaimed.
"Look closely," Lambert said calmly. "Eight Snowvale Mad Bulls, all sleeping beneath those vines."
Everyone immediately held their breath.
Snowvale Mad Bulls were known as the "moving boulders" of cold-region magical beasts.
They were so enormous that one might suspect they were monsters that had crawled out of the depths of the Ice Plains. Their hides were as thick as icy rock, and their tempers were vicious.
In spring especially, accumulated Demon Energy within their bodies and recurring old ailments sent these hulking beasts into what was called a "berserk phase."
Even five Elite Knights could not withstand a head-on charge from one of them.
"Normal. Perfectly normal." Louis never took his eyes off that treasure trove. "It would be strange if a place like this weren't occupied by magical beasts."
What was strange was that, despite this being the Snowvale Mad Bulls' berserk season, they lay motionless, peaceful as though under a spell. Even when they occasionally rolled over, they only gave a couple of sluggish grunts.
Vines wound around the icy rocks beneath their hooves, their