Versatile Mage c1-2021, page 910
"Stay on alert and rub your eyes to keep alert of your surroundings," Kuma warned them.
"Vice Leader..." the leader of the third team, Tommy hurried over like there was something urgent. "Two of our members that were on patrol have gone missing.
"When did it happen?" Kuma asked.
"Fifteen minutes ago," Tommy said.
Kuma frowned immediately.
"Three victims again," Mu Ningxue murmured.
If it happened fifteen minutes ago, it implied the woman with a braid was the third victim. The creature was seriously unpredictable!
Chapter 1993 - Moving Canteen
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
---
The Mailong Private Military Group decided to leave the mountains that night. They were moving even quicker this time, trying to leave the Tianshan Demon Tiger's territory and shake it off.
The group finally stopped in the afternoon of the next day. Bright sunlight shone upon the irregular mountains, delivering warmth to the Rift Valley.
"It has been a while since we were last under the sun. I'm already missing the Middle East," a mercenary with a hat spoke up.
"I believe you miss the warm embrace of your new girlfriend's bust instead?" another mercenary grinned.
"HAHA, you're right on the money! To be honest, she doesn't treat me seriously. I'll dump her after having a blast once I earn a fortune from this mission. I'll look for someone with a beautiful face too!" the mercenary with a hat said.
A cold shadow suddenly loomed over the mercenary as they were talking. Its menacing eyes were glaring at them like they were mere food to it.
"We're under attack!" the mercenary yelled.
The shadow that was blocking the sunlight suddenly disappeared with a whoosh. The man immediately searched for the figure among the rocks, yet he only saw some leaves spiraling.
"Where's the enemy?"
"I saw it just then, right over there," the man said.
Someone tossed a Brilliant Light in the direction that the man was pointing into. It immediately lit up the area.
The light would expose every living creature, especially those that were moving.
"Are you messing with us? The group didn't get to sleep well for the past few days. Don't you know your false alarm is going to waste a lot of our precious energy?" an old mercenary rebuked.
"I...I'm sorry. Eiro, didn't you see something too? I'm pretty sure… Eiro?" The mercenary turned around and realized the man named Eiro he was having a conversation with had already disappeared!
He quickly looked around, but did not see Eiro anywhere. The two of them were standing close together. How did he disappear all of a sudden?
The old mercenary belatedly realized something had shown up, and quickly gathered the others.
---
"It's the third victim today," Tommy said.
"Yeah, and one of them was killed when someone was right beside him. Speaking of which, the creature could have killed both of them. Why did it only kill one and leave?" Aubern said.
"It seems like the creature only eats three humans every day," Kuma said.
The others were spooked.
It made a lot of sense, as the creature had killed three mercenaries for three consecutive days. It did not kill more than three even when it could.
"Damn it, is it herding us?" Aubern spat.
"I heard the Tianshan Demon Tigers prefer eating their prey alive. They won't even bother sniffing a dead body," Tommy said softly.
"Which means, that son of a b**ch is treating us like a moving canteen!" Aubern said angrily.
"It does seem like it."
A moving canteen serving fresh food. Mo Fan could not help but agree with the metaphor.
The cunning Tianshan Demon Tiger had its eyes on them from the very beginning. It had picked on the mercenaries who were further away from the group, dragging them away one by one. Its only mistake so far was attacking someone close to Mu Ningxue.
However, even Mu Ningxue had failed to stop the creature, let alone the rest of the mercenaries. They could not even react when someone nearby had fallen victim.
"It's just a timid son of a b**ch that keeps picking on those who aren't with the group. Since it had enough for the day, we'll rest up tonight and lure it out tomorrow to kill it so we can cook a pot of Tianshan Demon Tiger stew for everyone," Lu Xiu, the captain of the first team declared.
"We shouldn't lower our guard."
"Yeah, what if the creature decides to eat again at night? Eiro was so skinny. He was just a little bite for the creature."
---
The group set up a campfire. The Rift Valley was extremely quiet at night.
"That creature is smart. It seems to be aware of our strength. It never picks on us," Mo Fan said.
"At this rate, only a few mercenaries of the Mailong Private Military Group will still be alive in a few days. The kill rate on Tianshan Mountain is insane. This so-called strongest military group in Asia has already lost half of its members when we haven't even reached the Valley of Glaciers," Jiang Yu said.
"I don't get it, how did the creature find us?" Guan Yu said.
"Hasn't it been following us?" Jiang Shaoxu said.
"It wasn't following us, but no matter how far we went, it can somehow track us down on the next day. The Alpine is a huge place with many crossroads. We should be a few kilometers away from its territory by now. How did it know where we are?" Guan Yu was confused.
"Guan Yu, are you sure it wasn't following us?" Mo Fan asked.
"I'm very sure about it. I even suspect the creature returns to its den to sleep after it is done feasting on us. It looks for us again on the next day," Guan Yu said.
"...does this Tianshan Demon Tiger have eyes like a satellite?" Zhao Manyan wondered.
"If we can figure out how it was tracking us and shake it off completely, the group should be safe," Guan Yu said.
"Or perhaps we can take it out when it hunts again," Mo Fan said.
"I don't think so. If it was that easy, Mu Ningxue would have done it before," Guan Yu said.
"You stick to your plan, and I'll stick to mine," Mo Fan said.
---
The Mailong Private Military Group went on alert when the sun rose the next day. The group had slowed down significantly now.
They still needed someone to patrol and scout the path ahead, but if the scouts went too far ahead, the Tianshan Demon Tiger could easily drag them away.
There was plenty of sunlight during the day, but the mercenaries who were on their toes did not see a single trace of the Tianshan Demon Tiger. It did not show up even when the night fell.
"Did it know we were trying to lure it out?" Aubern wondered.
"It must be starving then!" Lu Xiu smiled fearlessly.
Mo Fan was left speechless too. He had purposely spread his Dark Material around and waited for the creature to show up. He wasted a lot of his energy doing so, yet the creature was more cautious than he had thought.
Chapter 1994 - The Assembly Point on Tianshan Mountain
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
The group had wasted an entire day. At night, strong winds that sounded like the roars of ferocious beasts started blowing across the mountains.
The tents could not withstand the wind. The group had to send two Light Mages to set up a Light Barrier and stop the strong wind from raging through the camp.
The winds gradually grew stronger. The gusts were like powerful dragon breaths as they poured into the Rift Valley from higher up the mountain, striking the uninvited guests with great might.
The Mailong Private Military Group was unprepared for the ferocity of the winds. The two Light Mages at the entrance of the camp were knocked flying. They slammed heavily into a cliffside and died horrible deaths.
The rest of the mercenaries did not expect to be attacked by the wind. They scattered across the place and kept using their defensive magic. However, they were struggling to defend themselves from the constant wind!
"Damn it, what the heck is going on? Tommy, why didn't you have any information about the wind? How the hell are we supposed to defend ourselves from this strange wind?" Lu Xiu cursed.
Tommy observed the strong wind and answered, "I...I've never heard of it before. Tianshan Mountain has a lot of strange factors and conditions. The place we set our camp up at might be a wind gap."
The strong wind had appeared out of nowhere, and lasted for a very long time. The group was at the wind's mercy for the whole night.
More barriers were established, but some of the weaker Mages were still knocked flying by the strange wind. The lucky ones were knocked out and blown far away, but the unfortunate ones either died after slamming into the walls, or were blown to unreachable places.
"Lingling, what's going on?" Mo Fan asked.
"If a strong cold wind happens to follow the structure of the Rift Valley, it would indeed serve as a wind gathering tube that helps the wind grow, but the odds are extremely low. I'm not sure if we are just too lucky or what," Lingling shrugged.
"I think I heard something," Nanyu suddenly said cautiously.
"The wind sounds like a generator operating right beside our ears. What else can you hear!?" Zhao Manyan said.
---
It was already daylight when the wind stopped. Kuma immediately asked Tommy to do a headcount. To nobody's surprise, they had lost five more members.
Among them, the two Light Mages had died right on the spot. The wind hit so fast that they could not react at all.
The remaining three were swept a great distance away and had yet to return. They were most likely dead by now.
"I seriously don't want to spend even a second more in this place," Aubern declared.
"Yeah, I feel like we won't be alive to enjoy the reward."
The group kept losing members. They were almost down to half of their initial numbers!
The problem was that the way back was not safe either. The group had no choice but to continue forward under Kuma's lead.
---
The group continued forward for another two days. The two days were surprisingly peaceful. The Tianshan Demon Tiger had stopped showing up, so the mercenaries were relieved.
"Did you notice? We haven't seen any crossroads for the past two days. Are we going in the wrong way?" Zhao Manyan asked.
"The altitude is still rising. We can already see the snow line. There shouldn't be any mistakes," Lingling said confidently.
"Which means this is the only way to the Valley of Glaciers?" Zhao Manyan persisted.
"Mm, you can think of it like that. Take a look ahead!" Lingling pointed.
Zhao Manyan looked up and saw a golden flag up on a cliff. English words were written on it.
"A flag?" Zhao Manyan was dumbfounded. Why the hell would there be a flag here!?
"It means someone else has been here before us. They should be in the same situation as us. All the paths have merged here, so we should be seeing more flags," Lingling said.
The group continued forward. As Lingling mentioned, a few groups had set up camps on the mountain, not just the one with the golden flag!
They climbed a slope and arrived before a huge lake. Its diameter was over four kilometers. They did not expect to find such a beautiful lake at the entrance to the Scar of Tianshan Mountain.
The lake had a thin layer of ice on its surface that could barely support the weight of humans. Mages in colorful outfits had set up camps close to the lake. There were lines of trees shielding the camps from the freezing winds.
"I thought we were quick, but so many groups had arrived before us!" Kuma twisted her lips. She was obviously not satisfied with their progress.
The shore of the lake where the pines were at was the best spot to set up camps. However, it was strange that the other groups had all gathered at the lake instead of trying to be the first to enter the Scar of Tianshan Mountain.
"It's the Mailong Private Military Group!"
"Isn't the Mailong Private Military Group one of the best in Asia?"
"Great, another powerful group of Mages has arrived. We should feel a lot more confident."
The other groups warmly received the Mailong Private Military Group after they arrived, but Kuma could not help but stay on alert.
They were supposed to be competitors. Some might even have hoped that they would be wiped out on their way up the mountain. It was unreasonable for the other groups to receive them so warmly.
"Kuma!" a bulky man with thick brows approached them.
"Senior Hunter Yassen?" Kuma studied the man in some surprise.
"Is everything alright for your group?" the Senior Hunter asked.
"Not really. We lost half of our men," Kuma replied.
"Same here, we had seventeen people. We thought we wouldn't be an easy target if we have fewer people, but we lost five on our way here," Yassen said.
"But your men have outstanding cultivation. Why is the death rate so high?" Kuma blurted out in astonishment.
Senior Hunter Yassen was known across the world. The Hunter Group he was leading had to be one of the best too, yet even his group had suffered great losses. Compared to them, the Mailong Private Military Group was already quite impressive if they were not wiped out. After all, they were no comparable to Senior Hunter Yassen's group!
"Cultivation is the least significant thing on Tianshan Mountain," Yassen sighed helplessly.
"So many teams have gathered here. Is the path ahead uncrossable?" Kuma asked.
"No, but a group alone won't make it. Who would have thought, the mysterious Tianshan Mountain has forced us competitors to join hands," Senior Hunter Yassen answered.
Chapter 1995 - The Beast Horde of Tianshan Mountain
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
"Are there powerful creatures ahead?" Kuma asked.
"It's a little complicated. You better take a look for yourself," Senior Hunter Yassen replied.
Kuma was confused. She asked the Mailong Private Military Group to rest near the pine trees and wait patiently so she could observe the reason why the groups were forced to join hands.
---
Mo Fan was a curious man. He had already climbed up a huge pine.
The others wanted to see what was on the frozen lake too, and also climbed up pine trees of their own. The group was able to see about half of the lake, the rest of the area being shrouded by a cold mist. Past the lake were ridges covered in ice.
The mountains beyond the ridges were steep and lofty. They were spectacular from a distance, but they could also see the peak of Tianshan Mountain like the tip of an iceberg poking up further away. In other words, the lofty mountains ahead were just little hills compared to Tianshan Mountain!
"Can you see the shiny dots circling the ridges?" Jiang Yu pointed at the mountains.
"Aren't those just the ice particles reflecting the sunlight?" Mo Fan speculated. He had no clue what they were.
"Have you ever seen ice particles circling around something!?"
"They must be some kind of living creatures."
They did not notice any changes after watching the shiny dots for a while, but suddenly they heard loud movements coming from the ridges, as if a huge group was charging at the lake.
"Here they come!" the Mages in their respective camps yelled.
Mo Fan and the others were still up in the pines. They saw a pack of huge creatures covered in spikes charging down the mountains. They raced straight toward the lake and headed across it for the camps.
---
"Demon creatures?" Kuma was disdainful when she saw the beasts that looked like bulls covered in spikes.
The Steel Spike Bulls were a Warrior-level species on Tianshan Mountain. The bigger ones with hard shells full of thorns were Commander-level creatures. However, it was unnecessary for powerful Mages to halt their progress simply because of these Steel Spike Bulls and Icy Thorn Bulls.
The sound of movements grew louder. In just a few minutes, more demon creatures appeared from the icy mists that were shrouding the mountains. Their numbers increased at a terrifying rate. The mountains were calm just a moment ago, but the demon creatures suddenly charged down the mountains like countless drops of sweat, and gathered up by the lake.
"It's a horde!" Kuma's expression finally shifted.
The demon creatures were charging down the mountains wildly. They would soon reach the trees where the Mages had set their camps at after crossing the frozen lake.
"Yes, there's a horde of them," Yassen agreed.
"Prepare for battle!" Kuma immediately ordered her men.
Yassen stopped Kuma. He said helplessly, "There's no rush for it. Just wait and see."
"Their numbers can easily trample an army of Mages to death. Shouldn't we prepare ourselves in advance?" Kuma asked sternly.
"Don't you worry," Yassen replied, unconcerned.
Kuma was doubtful, but she still asked her men to brace themselves.
---
Mo Fan and the others who were up in the pines also saw the horde of demon creatures.
"The frozen lake seems to be a boundary line between the Alpine layer and the Valley of Glaciers," Lingling said.
"Are the demon creatures rushing down the mountain because they have discovered our presence?" Zhao Manyan said.
"It doesn't seem like it. If they were charging at us, they would do so in a cone-shaped formation to surround us," Lingling said.
Many species had come down from the ridges, in addition to the Steel Spike Bulls. They saw many other species moving around quickly, including Freezing Fury Wolves, Ice Mountain Ape Beasts, Tianshan Mountain Howling Bears, Shielded-Horn Ice Demons...
All those creatures were natives of Tianshan Mountain, and made up a great proportion of the species there, being commonly found in the Valley of Glaciers, the Alpine, and the Meadows. They would relocate between the layers depending on the seasons. For example, the resources in the Meadows were sufficient in spring. There were many little creatures and Servant-class demon creatures for them to feed on, so these creatures would move there in huge numbers.
