Considering the difficulty of climbing the mountain, Jon accepted Lord Walky Yar's suggestion and handpicked a group of good men to participate in this investigation.
The warriors sat on the wagon, which was a little bumpy, but saved their strength to a great extent.
The team's supplies were carried by hardy mammoths.
As one of the most distinctive creatures of the north, mammoths are strong and durable, with powerful tusks and a thunderous whine.
In the wild, they have few rivals, so they can be found all over the continent.
During the day, mammoths are used as a means of transportation, even when they are not towing bikes, and can carry large amounts of supplies in the leather pockets that hang on the sides of their bodies.
In times of war, mammoths are a valuable strategic resource.
Relying on the pack saddle, they can carry four to eight heavily armed warriors, becoming a mobile arrow tower, unstoppable destroyer.
When the group arrived at the city gates, Winnie was already waiting there."Wait, you guys have to take me with you." She gestured behind her again to the two bear riders and their war bear, "And these two big babies."
"Ms.
Winter, did your father give you permission to come along?" Pereito asked judiciously.
"I'm not the city lord's big baby, Pereito.
but yes, he agreed, and agreed that I should bring two war bears in case of trouble.
Besides, the team needs someone who knows how to make a quick fire." Winnie straddled her horse and joined the party.
----------
After three days of trekking, the party reached the Western Pass, which was controlled by the valley people.
After unloading supplies for the warriors here, the party continued on its way.
As Leddy said, "the throat of the swallowed sound", the big road in this narrow valley is not difficult to follow, what really makes it unbearable is the gusts of wind.
The air currents from the Whale Tail Ocean on the west side of the continent sweep across the wilderness and the road is unobstructed.
The prevailing winds from the Herend Plains on the east side were also unbearable.
The alternating air currents from both directions pouring into this narrow passage make the gusts here very strong.
They can not only swallow the sound, and even shake the wagons to the branches.
No one in the group wished that Kiel (the god of atmosphere and storms in the Wissane world) would hold his breath for a while.
They couldn't help but suspect that if they hadn't been sitting on the wagon, it could have been tipped over at any moment.
After five days of languishing in gusts of wind, the party reached the heart of the valley.
After unloading ample supplies, Pereito led the resupply party onward to the East Pass.
"All right! Leave a few men to set up camp and place trailheads.
Everyone else, we'll follow the trail into the southern Sleepless Mountains and cut a path to Sharon Peak." Jon stepped to the front of the group.
----------
There are few reference points in the mountains.
The sparse forest does not obscure the view, but also makes the wader feel the barrenness of this mountainous area.
The snow line in front of us empties out all the beauty of summer.
Like it or not, the team had to meet the winter early.
In case they get lost, they mark their way by all means along the way.
Seeing the Walky Yar couple apply the charcoal ash left on their hands to their faces, Winnie frowned, "What are you doing?"
"Ha, that's a Highlander trick." Jon said, stroking his beard.
Leddy also applied charcoal dust to her face, followed by a black cloth to cover her eyes.
She turned to Winnie, "You better put on charcoal dust too.
We all do that when we cross the snow.
This will prevent your eyes from being stung by the reflected white light."
"Ugh! I'm not having it." Considering that men always use the first pee of the morning to put out the embers, Winnie refused dryly.
"Ms.
Winter, I suggest you do as you're told or you'll be blind by nightfall." Jon advised, "This method has been passed down from the highlands and has been used by polar walkers for hundreds of years."
"I have dry toner here.
In addition to protecting our vision, it protects the skin from the hot sun.
The process is tough, but it works well." Sela duly added, "A pharmacist once formulated an ointment that prevents and lightens freckles, and its main ingredient is toner."
"Okay.
I'm happy with my freckles, which look like a swan.
But I'll take your advice." Winnie put charcoal dust around her eyes.
But when she saw herself in the water, she immediately painted charcoal dust all over her face."Look at ourselves, each one of us looks like a burnt potato." She found Sela again, "Tell me about it, pharmacist.
You created that salve, didn't you?"
"You're incredibly smart, Ms.
Winnie." Sela paid a smile.
Jon led the group on its way."Stay alert, all of you! No one is to go alone, and even if you pee, find a partner." He reminded from time to time.
"No need to be so nervous, Leddy.
if you get into a fight, make it a priority to protect yourself." Keane said quietly.
"I know you always spot danger earlier.
But why is it a priority to protect yourself?" Leddy asked in a whisper.
"Neither wolves nor bears will come to challenge a pack.
So if we encounter anything, it must be a bigger and stronger creature, or a more dangerous pack than wolves."
----------
For valley people, most of the terrain in the mountains is easy to overcome; the scree banks are relatively tricky.
The vibrations created by the concentrated passage of the team inevitably send rocks tumbling down and injuring people.
If a landslide is triggered, the team can be buried alive.
When this happens, Jon will lead the team around.
When it was impossible to go around, the team was allowed to pass in groups.
After passing another gravel beach, the group stopped.
"We're done here for the day, don't you think?" Leddy inquired.
"Yeah.
We can't walk until we're exhausted and then set up camp, we always have to leave some energy to build a fire, cook, and set up the tent." Jon looked to the other lord.
Keane nodded and was about to say something more when he felt the wind on one side become sharp.
At first, he thought it was a gust of wind pouring into the mountains creating movement.
But when he noticed the restlessness of the prone war bear, he tensed up.
Jon noticed this too, "Prepare for battle! Everyone! Get ready to fight!" He yelled.
A hiss of a beast overpowered the sound of the wind.
Following the sound, a white creature went over a ridge not far away and slid down the mountain, bringing up a lot of debris.
Upon reaching the flat, it struck the ground with its two sturdy forelimbs, thus swearing in its territory.
Seeing that the incoming creature did not leave, it decided to resort to force.
Seeing that it was too late to escape, Jon decided to meet the battle."Form a defensive line! Archers scatter!"
Leddy wanted to grab his spear and join the defense, but Keane stopped him and handed him a bow and arrow.
"Is that some kind of bear?" Leddy asked.
"That's Snow Ape.
he's got a lot more temper than a bear." Keane shuddered.
He would never forget the time he had been chased by such a monster in training and panicked, having to jump into a frozen river to save his life.
Boulders along the way were knocked over one after another.
As the beast approached, the crowd realized it was as tall as a mammoth, but stronger and more agile than it.
The deafening roar stunned the group of warriors.
Before they could react any further, the defense line was broken up by the beast's fist.
Several warriors were smashed to the ground and others were sent flying.
The spear thrown by the bear rider pierced into the beast's forelimb.
It immediately let out a roar.
One of the bears' primal instincts overcame its training, and it ignored its rider's orders to flee to the side.
Then Snow Ape threw a punch that knocked the other bear to the ground.
The archer shot at the beast with a full bow.
But the target was thick-skinned, and the arrows pierced the snow-white fur without pain or even a trace of blood.
Instead, the debris it raised knocked down a few guys who couldn't dodge.
"Take cover! You stupid bastards!" Jon grabbed his spear and shield and joined the front line of warriors.
They took turns yelling to distract the beasts.
Sela wanted to drive blood magic to join the fight, but stopped when she thought of her identity as an apothecary, and instead rushed to help the wounded.
Keane ducked behind a rock with two burning arrows in his mouth, knowing that Snow Ape's abdomen and rib side fur was thin.
But now, the beast was standing on all fours and would not expose its belly.
So he aimed his bow at Snow Ape's forelimbs and shot an arrow.
Snow Ape stood up and slapped the flames, exposing his weaknesses.
Keane seized the opportunity to shoot a second burning arrow.
Unfortunately, a sudden gust of wind deflected the arrow.
It ended up hitting the back of Snow Ape's hand.
In return, Snow Ape raises rocks and smashes them at the near enemy.
Then, it leaps around to lift more debris.
Sela throws an incendiary potion in an attempt to drive it away with flames, and Winnie decides to follow suit.
She throws a fire arrow at the beast's head, hoping that it will work.
Snow Ape was intimidated by the flames for a moment, and soon noticed the guy with the fire light in his hand, and let out a threatening low growl at the distant target.
"Get out of there! Winnie!" shouted Sela.
Leddy shot several arrows at the beast in succession, attempting to distract it again.
However, Winnie was unwilling to give up the flame energy that had been gathered in her hands.
With a fire vector out of the way, the apprentice was greeted by the beast's roar as it lunged straight in front of him."Yes.
Come after me!" She turned and ran wildly toward the gravel area.
"Stab it in the leg!" Jon raised his spear and stabbed down viciously.
Seeing that he could not avoid the hind limb that should have kicked up, he put his shield in front of him and was then kicked away by the wide paw.
The other warriors obeyed, and several spears cut into the beast's hind limbs.
Despite its restricted movement, Snow Ape has not abandoned its previous goal.
Its heavy footsteps trembled the ground, and wherever it passed, the diminutive creature stood unsteadily.
Seeing its target climb up the hill, it pursued it with reckless abandon.
At some point, Sela appears on the ridge.
She threw a rope at Winnie, followed by shooting several burning arrows at the beast.
Snow Ape pounded the flames on his body and raised another stone, but failed to hurt his enemy on high.
A puddle of loose debris pushed the beast to slide slowly lower.
Seeing the enemy getting farther and farther away, Snow Ape stomped on the ground to vent his anger.
Finally, the mountain slope could not continue to withstand the power of this huge thing.
The collapsing mountain poured down like a torrent.
The wail of the mountains swallowed the roar of the beast.
----------
The survivors dragged their weary bodies together.
The tragic victory left them speechless for a moment, so they had to sit together and mourn for the dead.
"Thank you, Sela.
your presence was timely." Winnie's voice trembled; she couldn't say more.
"At first I thought that was reckless.
But now I would say that's brave." Sela said.
"Yes.
You have no idea how brave you were just now.
If Lord Winter had heard that, he would never let you leave him half a step again.
Too bad we didn't get to skin that beast ourselves." Jon said indignantly.
"The good thing is that we still have the opportunity to tell others about the bravery of those who died today." Leddy said.
Keane drew his dagger and looked at the three women in the group, "Which one of you is going to do this?" He looked at the fallen warriors on the battlefield, "If they can see Nevaika (meaning "battle maiden", a generic term for the maids or daughters of Killian, the god of war) before they die, they will accept death with peace."
Winnie bowed her head, "It takes courage to do this, but I don't have it anymore."
Leddy shook his head, "Playing those women was part one honor.
But I just shot a few arrows there."
"Leave it to me." Sela took the dagger."Let's hope some of them are still saved."
The survivors sat and watched as Nevaika moved from place to place.
The dagger was never used, the pot was never opened, and all Sela could do was close the eyes of the dead and put the weapons and shields in their hands.
Just as everyone was praying for the dead, wishing them to step into the Temple of the Spirits with glory, a sudden earthquake brought them back to reality.
Jon immediately recognized the situation."XX! It's still alive!" He grabbed his weapon and shield, "Arm it! Now! It can't be stronger than it was just now! This time we'll get its head!"
At the sound of the words, the massive grave collapsed in a low roar.
The scarred Snow Ape gasped and struggled to clear an aisle by pushing away the trapped rocks.
It soon realized that the deck was stacked against it and made a trap with its back to its tomb.
Jon banged up his shield to inspire his men.
The warriors responded by banging their shields on the lord.
The scattered pounding soon became unified.
The sound echoed through the hills like a thousand men, like rolling muffled thunder.
Leddy crept above the tomb.
She picked up her shield, drew her longsword, and leapt, her blade pointed straight at the beast's neck.
Snow Ape immediately let out a scream, then desperately shaking the body, hitting the surrounding area with his back.
In order not to fall from the heights, Leddy could only hold the hilt of her sword tightly and withstand one impact after another.
As she flung herself around, the warrior woman could feel the blade in her hand cutting into the beast's body.
She gritted her teeth and tried to hold on longer and inflict more damage on the monster.
Finally, the screaming stopped and Snow Ape fell to the ground with a bang.
Sela blamed herself a bit, she should have used her vampire vision to monitor the beast until it was completely broken.
Out of curiosity for the animal, she went up to examine the beast's body.
"That's right, if it's still alive, give it another sword." Jon said.
A few moments later, Sela returned to the group, "We should start a campfire soon." She hid the unease in her voice.
"There's no rush to eat barbecue.
We're all exhausted." Jon breathed heavily.
"Believe it or not.
I've worked as a midwife, either for people or animals.
I think this Snow Ape is a female.
She appears to have fetal movement in her abdomen.
If she's really pregnant, she should have a husband."
Sela's explanation sent a shiver down everyone's spine.
They looked at Jon and waited for orders.
"I always thought you were a serious woman.
I didn't think you could tell a sneer." Jon turned to his men, "You heard the man! Move your asses now! Light the campfire!" With that, he walked toward the beast's carcass and stomped on the massive head a few times."Tomorrow, we'll skin this beast and see what it's got in its belly by the way.
As for its skull-"
"This skull is too big to get into any house, except Winter Spring Palace," Winnie said.
She turned to Leddy, "You ended it with your own hands.
Do you have any suggestions?"
"It's better to set it up somewhere in town.
It will tell the story of what happened here for us."