Survival Match (17)

Word had it that the North Sea Kingdom was continually mobilizing troops to reinforce Xiao Lin's North Sea Army Corps, swelling its ranks to an unprecedented eight hundred thousand.

Most of the North Sea Kingdom spent the year locked in a harsh world of ice and snow. To survive, its people had no choice but to battle the heavens. Over time, this had turned it into a nation where every citizen was a soldier, and even an army of eight hundred thousand was only a hair off nine oxen.

The Shenzhou Kingdom could hardly be called vast or rich in resources, and its territory ranked only in the middle among the seven kingdoms. But it faced the Endless Sea, enjoyed four distinct seasons, and had fertile soil with fairly abundant food and produce. Its neighbor, the North Sea Kingdom, had coveted it for years.

Yet the Shenzhou Kingdom had its own shortcoming. This was, after all, a Beast-Taming World where strength reigned supreme: throughout its history, it had never produced a Beast Tamer above the rank of Saint.

This was a source of pain and resentment for the countless citizens of Shenzhou. Now, at last, they had the Dragon Venerable, a Transcendent Master who already had one foot across the threshold of Sainthood-the guardian most likely to fulfill the nation's long-held wish.

But at this very juncture, the North Sea Kingdom had launched an invasion. That bastard Xiao Lin personally led eight hundred thousand troops to their borders. Whether the three Transcendent Masters-the Dragon Venerable, Long Yun, and Prince Han Mo-could hold them off remained unknown.

The Shenzhou Kingdom had reached a moment that would decide its survival. Enlisting and heading to the front to defend their homes and country had become every citizen's duty. Those with money gave money; those with strength gave strength. Beast Tamers had all the more reason to shoulder that responsibility.

After his defeat in the Beast Pet Tournament, Yang Di had sunk into a slump from which he could not recover. Yang Pucai spent an entire month thinking before making a difficult decision: sending his son to war. He had no grand ideals about defending home and country; after all, the battlefield meant life or death. But when he saw the notice posted by the Recruitment Office and read the pay and benefits offered to Beast Tamers who qualified for enlistment, he was tempted.

Yang Di had no bad habits and was also a student at the War Academy. In extraordinary times like these, he could enlist as long as he was an adult.

A large crowd had gathered at the gates of Primordial City to see the troops off. City Lord Guo Mingzhi personally bid farewell to the soldiers bound for the battlefield at the City of Eternity. Looking at the young faces below, his heart ached. He had no idea how many of these five thousand would survive, but he knew some would leave their bones in foreign soil, their bodies brought home wrapped in horsehide.

Once every soldier had been served a bowl of farewell wine, Guo Mingzhi stood on the General's Platform with a bowl of strong liquor in hand and surveyed the crowd.

"Soldiers, you are the strongest and bravest people in Primordial City. Now those wolf-hearted invaders from the North Sea have invaded our Shenzhou lands, seized our fertile fields, destroyed our homes, plundered our property and resources, and carried off our wives and children, plunging our people into deep water and raging fire. As men, some of you are fathers, some are husbands-oh, yes, and we have female Beast Tamers too-you must raise the blade of justice to drive back these invaders, defend Shenzhou, and protect our wives, children, and elders. Every inch of our land demands an inch of blood; a hundred thousand youths make a hundred thousand soldiers! Show those northern barbarians we are not to be trifled with! Though our Shenzhou Kingdom has suffered their invasions throughout history, though we have been defeated before, we have never been conquered. Defending our country and people is the duty of every Shenzhou soldier. Tell me, are you ready?"

"We are ready! We swear to defend Shenzhou to the death!"

Their perfectly unified answer rang out over Primordial City, its spirit mighty enough to shake mountains and rivers!

Guo Mingzhi slapped his enormous belly and declared, overcome with emotion, "Good! Uphold Shenzhou's might and strengthen Primordial City! Cheers!"

With that, Guo Mingzhi drained his bowl in one gulp, saluting those below who were about to march to war.

Of the five thousand troops, fewer than five hundred were Beast Tamers. All the rest were ordinary people who would defend the city with their flesh and blood.

Yet they did not hesitate in the slightest. They raised their bowls and drained them.

"Move out!"

At Guo Mingzhi's roar, the army turned and slowly approached the Windriding Bird transport unit that had long been waiting. Under their loved ones' gazes, they embarked on the road of no return to the City of Eternity.

At last, someone in the farewell crowd broke into uncontrollable sobs. This parting might well be forever.

Yang Pucai struggled to pick out his son Yang Di among the crowd. Even though he had done this for the substantial military pay, he still could not bear to see his son leave.

His eyes reddened, and he could not help shouting toward Yang Di, "Son, come home safely!"

Then he could say no more.

Yang Di heard his father's cry, but he did not turn around. He did not hate his father for hardening his heart and sending him to war. He feared that if he looked back, he would be unable to stop himself from deserting.

Only when the Windriding Bird took flight did he finally give in and look back for his father. Tears were already streaming down his face without his realizing it. Goodbye, Father. If one day the money I send home stops coming, it means I'm gone. Please take care of yourself!

From that day onward, Yang Pucai never again went to the broadcast hall to watch the Beast Pet Tournament. He spent every day drinking at home, waiting for news of Yang Di.

"Zihan, Jiang Hao and his team are downright rotten! They've cut off everyone's way out. What are we supposed to do without food?"

Wei Zihan had followed Jiang Hao's team all the way to the Frozen Canyon. Like the other contestants, he was furious at the sight of the empty canyon. The Frozen Canyon was the only food resupply point on the way to Wuji Peak's flat summit. The higher they climbed, the scarcer food became.

"If he shows no kindness, he can't blame me for showing no mercy. Come on, we'll keep following them. If he won't let me have an easy time, he can't blame me for being ruthless."

Loaded down with a large quantity of food, Jiang Hao and his teammates moved extremely slowly. With the harsh weather on top of that, they had to stop and rest to recover their strength after almost every stretch of walking.

Thick fog gradually spread through the bone-piercing wind. Beyond it lay the halfway point of Wuji Peak. This stretch was the most dangerous, frequently battered by blizzards accompanied by deadly thunder and lightning. One moment of carelessness could bring a lightning strike. Against nature's power on this scale, even the strongest Beast Pet was helpless.

"Everyone, rest for the night. Tomorrow, we'll push with everything we've got and get out of the Dense Fog Zone as fast as possible. Let me repeat this: if anyone falls behind, no matter who it is, nobody else is to waste time searching for them. Anyone who falls behind must find their own way to Wuji Peak's flat summit. Understood?"

If you really can't make it, just give up.

Although Jiang Hao did not say those words aloud, everyone understood what he meant.

The tournament had entered its fifty-fifth day.

Very few contestants had reached the Dense Fog Zone halfway up Wuji Peak by this point. Among the second wave, Jiang Hao's team could be considered the first to arrive.

But there were exceptions to everything. Not far behind them, Wei Zihan and his fair-skinned little lackey had actually caught up. When Wei Zihan saw Jiang Hao's camp, a strange smile appeared on his face.

Whether I can eliminate Jiang Hao's team will come down to this. Opportunities like this don't come often.

"Zihan, what are you planning to do?"

Wei Zihan pointed at the Dense Fog Zone. "The mountain trail is steep and treacherous, and visibility is poor. Anything could happen in there. See the snow piled up above? Once an outside force disturbs it, it'll trigger an avalanche. I can already picture what things will look like afterward."

A chill ran through the fair-skinned lackey at those words. Wasn't Wei Zihan being a little too ruthless? An avalanche would outright kill people. Even though every contestant had a Safety Bell, once they were buried under the snow, the bell would be useless. All they could do was wait to die.

The fair-skinned lackey finally could not stomach it and tried to dissuade him, speaking quietly. "Zihan, isn't that going a little too far? The Projection Flies are watching us. Maybe there's another way."

Wei Zihan shot him a cold glance. "What other way? The Dense Fog Zone is our best cover. Once we're inside, who'll know we did it? Come on. We'll go in first and wait for our chance."

The night passed without incident.

When Jiang Hao got up the next morning, the brutally cold air outside froze him like a dog. The instant he crawled out of his tent, ice formed on his hair and eyebrows. His stylish short tied-up hair stood on his head like a broom, looking as ridiculous as could be.

Enduring the freezing cold, Jiang Hao began preparing hot food for everyone, building a fire to roast meat. If he had not possessed Fireball, ordinary fire-starting tools would never have ignited the damp wood in this environment.

As they climbed higher up Wuji Peak, gathering anything combustible became much harder. The outskirts of the Dense Fog Zone already lay within the alpine climate zone. The air had become exceptionally thin, and few plants could survive in such an environment.

"Cluck-cluck!"

The moment Big Hen emerged from the Beast Taming Space, the cold made the chicken shiver. Big Hen immediately burrowed into Jiang Hao's arms for warmth, but at that size, only the chicken's head would fit.

"Be good. Cast Fireball first, then I'll let you back into the space!"

Under his mental command, an egg dropped from Big Hen's rear and landed squarely on the prepared pile of firewood. The flames flickered uncertainly. "Don't go out. Please don't go out!"

Jiang Hao had barely finished speaking when a gust of cold wind swept past, instantly snuffing out the flames that had just begun to rise.

"F****"

It took several more attempts before he finally got the fire going.

"This damned place isn't fit for humans. How am I supposed to get through the next thirty-odd days?"

Muttering to himself, he deftly skewered the meat and set it over the fire to roast. As waves of savory aroma spread through the camp, the other teammates got up one after another.

Chubby said, "This damned place froze me awake several times last night. If I hadn't been hugging Dudu, I wouldn't have slept at all. Wow, Hao, you really are the best! Food ready as soon as we get up. Thanks, thanks!"

Jiang Hao shoved the approaching Chubby away with a look of disgust. "Stay away from me. Go rinse your mouth. Your breath stinks!"

Chubby solemnly held out a hand and breathed into his palm, only for his breath to freeze instantly into ice crystals. He said nonchalantly, "No, it doesn't. Why can't I smell anything?"

Gongsun Qianxun said, "What a nightmare. Being too cold to sleep was bad enough, but I had to put up with your snoring all night too. Set up your tent farther away next time."

Chubby said, "I'm already very slim."

Gongsun Qianxun said, "Being slim doesn't mean you don't snore. You sounded like thunder! I thought a blizzard was coming."

As the two bickered, the seven of them gathered around the fire. Looking at the six mouths clamoring to be fed, Jiang Hao handed them the cooked meat skewers.