Chapter 142: The Mutated Snow Ape

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For a while afterward, everything truly remained quiet, save for a low rumble coming from some exceedingly distant place.

They did not wait a full hour. After barely half an hour had passed, a sinister wind swept through, and everyone, Wei Cheng included, could not help shivering.

“Something isn’t right—”

Before Wei Cheng could finish, heavy snow began drifting down from the sky. Each snowflake was as large as a palm, pure white and breathtakingly beautiful, possessing an otherworldly sanctity that made one yearn to toy with it, to profane it—

“Damn it!”

A fierce warning erupted in his heart. Golden light flashed between his brows, and his mental barrier unfolded. In an instant, every illusion vanished, revealing a sight that made his blood run cold.

Those supposedly pure and beautiful snowflakes were plainly black severed hands. At that moment, whether it was the powerful Bai Han, Chen Ce, Liu Sui, and Tang Yuanshan, or the weaklings Yu Liang, Mei Renli, and the Crouching Dragon and Phoenix Chick—

all of them were embracing those severed hands, sniffing and licking them with expressions of infatuation.

Yu Liang had even swallowed nearly half of one.

Qin Yang and Qi Jia were sprawled on the ground, foaming at the mouth and rolling their eyes. Their bellies churned incessantly, as though they had been pregnant for ten months and were about to give birth.

Yet even so, their faces were filled with bliss, the corners of their mouths curling into an eerie smile.

As for Xu Shan, the only one unaffected, a strange female ghost’s head had appeared atop her own, pinning her motionless in place.

Even the man in blue had been affected by no fewer than ten female ghost heads. All he could do was desperately blink at Wei Cheng.

What kind of sinister trick was this? An attack every hour? It had all been a lie.

With no time to think, Wei Cheng immediately cast the ultimate form of the Immovable Golden Bell, sealing everyone off from the outside world and protecting them.

He then charged over and burned away the female ghost head atop Xu Shan’s head. Before he could go rescue the man in blue, that man had already broken free on his own. All ten of those female ghost heads had only been able to immobilize him for two seconds—

and that was while he was seriously wounded and distracted.

“You need to be more careful.”

The man in blue spoke rapidly before once again beginning to arrange the teleportation formation. Meanwhile, Xu Shan, newly freed, had already given everyone two injections.

The Crouching Dragon and Phoenix Chick required four injections before the effects were finally dispelled.

As for the black severed hands, they could not be touched at all. They were objects of nothingness and could only be dispersed through the circulation of Azurewood inner power.

At that moment, strange chirping cries rang out from every direction. A chill descended, and the ground froze in the blink of an eye.

Farther away, agile figures were leaping through the air. Their cries seemed somewhat familiar. They were the snow apes they had encountered in the fourth trial.

No—they were no longer snow apes. Though they remained just as nimble, scaling walls and bounding across rooftops as easily as walking on level ground, each now had a huge head grotesquely sprouting from its back. From a distance, they looked as if they were carrying a hump.

Strangely, those heads were pale and spotless, resembling the oversized head of a cartoon child.

There were more than a thousand of these snow apes. Frost and snowstorms enveloped their bodies, and at any moment they could condense razor-sharp ice spears. From five or six hundred meters away, they launched a frenzied bombardment against Wei Cheng’s Immovable Golden Bell.

With Wei Cheng’s current strength, the ultimate form of the Immovable Golden Bell possessed extraordinarily formidable defenses.

Even when struck by a thousand ice spears at once, it merely swayed slightly, giving rise to a few faint ripples.

But the attacks of more than a thousand mutated snow apes came far too quickly. They could essentially hurl another volley every two seconds.

As wave after wave of ice spears smashed into the Immovable Golden Bell, the golden ripples spreading across it grew increasingly pronounced.

Simply taking the beating without striking back was absolutely no solution.

Never mind whether Wei Cheng’s Mountain-Moving inner power could endure it. Even if it could, after an hour—or perhaps before an hour had passed—the third wave of demons would inevitably appear. The situation would snowball from there.

They had to take the initiative.

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But Wei Cheng also understood that the enemy was eager for them to launch an attack.

This was when the disadvantage of having too few people became apparent.

They had to divide their forces to protect the man in blue from interruption.

And splitting up under such circumstances was like separating in a horror film: pure suicide.

“Let me stay behind with Yu Liang and Old Mei. As long as you’re confident you can retreat intact, there won’t be any problem here.”

The others could see what Wei Cheng had seen as well.

Thus, the moment he recovered, Tang Yuanshan spoke in a deep voice. This Mountain-Mover they had picked up along the way was usually taciturn, but at this moment he displayed more responsibility than Yu Liang and Mei Renli.

“That’s the only way. Brother Wei, this is the enemy’s blatant strategy. They want to force us to divide our troops. We’ve already fallen behind strategically. All we can do now is fight with everything we have.”

Bai Han also spoke solemnly.

“Fine. But Tang Yuanshan is coming with me. Bai Han, you stay behind.”

Wei Cheng rearranged the teams. Having Tang Yuanshan beside him might leave them somewhat lacking, but Wei Cheng was confident he could make up the difference. The man in blue, however, absolutely could not afford to suffer any mishap.

“Also, Xu Shan, give each of us an injection in advance. Then you stay here as well.”

Wei Cheng spoke to Xu Shan, while his right hand, hidden inside his sleeve, rapidly formed a gesture that only their group could understand.

Yes—an act.

It was an understanding they had developed in the Land of the Flame Demon.

Whether or not the enemy could see through it, they had to be prepared to feint once, perhaps twice, or even three times.

“I won’t—”

Xu Shan glared and snapped angrily. How dare he separate her from Liu Sui on an operation that was practically suicide? Wei the Idiot had gone too far.

But in the next instant, Wei Cheng produced a Thunderclap Talisman and swiftly, discreetly passed it into Liu Sui’s hand. Xu Shan immediately broke into a gentle, virtuous smile.

“Then hurry back, Old Wei. Darling, you must be careful!”

“Prepare yourselves!”

Wei Cheng shouted and rapidly made several hand signals they had agreed upon beforehand.

Bai Han immediately deployed the ultimate form of the Immovable Golden Bell. He could now release two in succession. With abundant resources constantly replenishing his inner power, along with the additional Immovable Golden Bell carried by his squad-leader insignia, holding the position would be no problem at all.

The instant Bai Han finished casting, Wei Cheng also recalled his own ultimate Immovable Golden Bell, recovering roughly eighty percent of his Mountain-Moving inner power.

This was one of the great advantages of the Mountain-Moving profession. As long as an Immovable Golden Bell had not suffered damage, one could recall it after throwing it out, resulting in practically no loss.

The only difference lay in the speed of retrieval.

“Go!”

With a thunderous shout, Wei Cheng once again hurled fifty Immovable Golden Bells toward the distance in a single breath, wedging them into conspicuous features of the surrounding terrain and effectively blocking part of the snow apes’ line of fire.

At the same time, Chen Ce skimmed low across the ground and rushed two hundred meters ahead. He would be the one to initiate the main assault.

As expected, the moment those mutated snow apes saw Chen Ce rapidly closing in, they adjusted their targets. They unleashed a dense barrage of ice spears at him while retreating in an orderly, rolling formation.

These snow apes were extraordinarily agile. They could even turn around and fire ice spears while racing at full speed, just like mounted archers.

Chen Ce was not afraid in the slightest. As an elite Spirit Swallow, how could a few ice spears possibly trouble him? Even so, he remained extremely vigilant, releasing his mental power and keeping himself ready to activate the Blazing Flame Ring at any moment.

He absolutely could not repeat last time’s mistake: those who moved quickly got their chance, while those who moved slowly got nothing.

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Just as Chen Ce brazenly charged forward, Wei Cheng swiftly switched to the Spirit Swallow technique and pursued him at top speed, keeping within one hundred and fifty meters of Chen Ce at all times.

That was his optimal support radius.

The enemy had clearly taken special precautions against Wei Cheng. The moment he appeared, a vast spread of ice spikes swept toward him. Their density and decisiveness were unprecedented.

As expected, their aim was to slow Wei Cheng down and deal with Chen Ce first.

Unfortunately, they had misjudged Wei Cheng’s speed.

The charge of a Mountain-Mover and the charge of a Spirit Swallow were worlds apart.

Wei Cheng reached the rear of an Immovable Golden Bell he had prepared for himself without the slightest effort. Three Immovable Golden Bells happened to be wedged there, blocking the enemy’s line of fire—unless, of course, the enemy took to the air.

It took only a second for Wei Cheng to switch back to the Mountain-Moving technique. The sensation of leaping back and forth between the two was exhilarating.

What could they possibly do to him now?

At the same time, Tang Yuanshan and Liu Sui took the lower path on the left. Not only did they avoid the wave of ice spikes aimed at Wei Cheng, but thanks to Chen Ce and Wei Cheng deliberately drawing the enemy’s attention, their aggro—or perhaps their presence—was reduced.

In any case, by the time the enemy noticed them, the two had already reached the rear of one of Wei Cheng’s Immovable Golden Bells, giving them the equivalent of a simple trench.

Tang Yuanshan went even further. Upon reaching the designated position, he said nothing and casually cast seven or eight Immovable Golden Bells, plugging the suitable gaps around them. He then immediately drank a jar of osmanthus wine, unwilling to waste even a single opportunity to restore his energy.

He looked entirely prepared for a prolonged positional battle.

Come on, hit me. Go ahead, hit me.

Old Dog Tang was truly cautious to the extreme.

Liu Sui was in no hurry either. The two simply crouched there, waiting with shameless patience.

This was what Wei Cheng called the Three-by-Three Formation.

The four of them appeared to be attacking at random, but in reality, each maintained a distance of one hundred and fifty meters from the others.

Wei Cheng was one hundred and fifty meters from Chen Ce, one hundred and fifty meters from Tang Yuanshan, and one hundred and fifty meters from the rear headquarters where Bai Han and the others were stationed—all of them within Wei Cheng’s support radius.

Tang Yuanshan and Liu Sui were likewise one hundred and fifty meters from headquarters, while remaining no more than two hundred meters from Chen Ce.

It looked like a division of forces, but was actually extremely solid.

Whenever trouble arose on any side, the others could provide support at once. A spear could become a shield, and a shield could become a spear.

The enemy currently numbered just over a thousand mutated snow apes. Half were being held in check by Chen Ce, while the other half continued raining attacks upon Bai Han’s ultimate Immovable Golden Bell.

Tang Yuanshan and Liu Sui were hardly attacked at all.

As for Wei Cheng, the enemies intercepting him were clearly foes from outside the snow apes—enemies who had come specifically for him.

“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!”

Ahead, Chen Ce continued flaunting his footwork and graceful movements. Nearly three hundred ice spears per second descended upon him in a covering barrage, as though providing musical accompaniment.

Most importantly, no matter how wildly he leaped about, he never once moved more than one hundred and fifty meters from Wei Cheng. The skirmishing snow apes that wanted to fight while retreating had no choice but to stop and fire from fixed positions.

The situation had become somewhat awkward.

End of Chapter