"Four? No, it should be four individuals, or four figures!"
In the distance, four shadowy figures appeared, like specters. While others might have difficulty discerning their features, Xu Que could see them with startling clarity.
Silver hair, pale skin, deep, black eyes, and noses slightly hooked like eagles, giving them an air of cunning and malevolence. Their pointed ears, a hallmark of their race, were adorned with silver earrings.
Their bodies were slender and elongated, fingers like brittle twigs, yet radiating an undeniable strength.
They could not be described as beautiful, for their appearance was far from graceful; instead, they exuded cruelty and wickedness.
They were the White Elves, or as they were more commonly known by those who had fought them, the White Demons.
To those who had never encountered them, they were often mistaken for mere White Elves. However, only those who had faced them in battle would dare to call them White Demons.
These creatures bore no relation to the noble and beautiful elves of legend, for their essence was nothing but bloodlust and brutality, and kindness was a trait they had never been known to possess.
In his past life, Xu Que had dealt with them on numerous occasions, even narrowly escaping death at their hands twice.
The four White Demons faded into the snowstorm, and if it hadn't been for the arrows they had released and the two human lives they had claimed, one might have thought they had never appeared at all.
Xu Que remained vigilant, for he knew well that the White Demons' disappearance was merely part of their preparation for the next hunt.
"How are you?"
One of the Shen Yin Company's employees rushed over to check on the wounded.
"I want to go home, I don't want to stay here to die," the employee with an arrow lodged in his arm cried.
"Shut up if you don't want to die!" Wei Yanqing shouted, kicking the injured man in anger.
Han Xiaoyu cautiously approached Xu Que. "Uncle..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Xu Que raised a finger to his lips, signaling for silence, then motioned for her to lie down.
Han Xiaoyu didn't fully understand but could read his gesture clearly.
The moment she lowered herself to the ground, four sharp whistling sounds rang out.
Xu Que quickly dodged, catching an arrow with his right hand and hurling it back with force.
Just as the arrow was about to strike one of the White Demons, its form vanished in an instant.
"Whoosh!"
Another sharp sound followed, and Xu Que grabbed another arrow. But before he could throw it, the White Demon had already disappeared.
Fuming, Xu Que tossed the arrow aside. He had never anticipated that these creatures would be more cunning than any White Demon he had ever encountered.
Just as he discarded the arrow, two White Demons reappeared.
This time, they did not shoot arrows. Instead, they grinned at Xu Que... was it a grin?
Xu Que quickly used his Eye of Investigation. In an instant, the information of two super-class White Demons appeared before him.
The two White Demons showed grotesque expressions, as if they were already contemplating how to devour him.
Xu Que's eyes grew colder, and as he was about to bend slightly, the two White Demons vanished once again.
Xu Que glanced behind him at his team and, noticing the two C-class ability users had been shot down, he seemed to realize something.
"Never thought... these White Demons are calculating the weaklings in the team so precisely!"
Though Han Xiaoyu was a B-class ability user, her strength was at the bottom of the team, as she had only mastered a basic knife technique and had not trained in any other abilities.
"Did they leave?" Han Xiaoyu whispered, lying in the snow.
"No, they're still nearby. They intend to kill us all," Xu Que responded, eyes scanning the surroundings.
"Brother, it's too dangerous here. I'm planning to take my people deeper into the forest. Will you join us?"
As Wei Yanqing finished speaking, another pair of arrows shot towards Xu Que.
He rolled forward with a quick dash, narrowly avoiding both arrows.
Seeing only two White Demons left, Xu Que's expression grew serious, and a sudden feeling of unease washed over him.
While keeping his eyes on the White Demons, one of them bared a twisted grin and made a throat-cutting gesture toward him.
Seeing the provocation, Xu Que mirrored the gesture with his own hand.
"Want to kill me? Fine. We'll see who dies first."
Once again, the two White Demons disappeared into the snowstorm.
"Brother, what do you say?" Wei Yanqing asked again.
As a B-class ability user, he believed it would be best to leave some of their team behind as bait. These creatures were just too cunning.
"You do as you wish, but I won't be following you," Xu Que said, then quickly crawled towards a more open area.
Seeing the team scatter in an instant, Han Xiaoyu was stunned. She had never experienced such a situation before, and all her life, she had believed she would become strong.
But in this damned space, she finally understood what real fear felt like!
She was genuinely terrified. This was the first time she had encountered such formidable creatures. They had barely seen the enemy's shadow, and yet casualties had already occurred within their team.
As she pondered in fear, Wei Yanqing called out, "Little girl, don't come with me if you don't want to follow my orders!"
"Who the hell wants to follow you! Let's go with him!" Han Xiaoyu pointed toward the already distant Xu Que.
The seven C-class team members hesitated. Though Xu Que's expression had been impressive, he hadn't killed the creatures yet.
Before they could make up their minds, the woman's team had already approached Xu Que quickly.
Xu Que glanced back at the woman and her teammates, said nothing, and continued crawling forward.
"My name is Liang Jinyu, and I am—"
"You don't need to introduce yourself. I don't care. If you want to live, just keep up," Xu Que interrupted, continuing to crawl forward.
Liang Jinyu said nothing. She knew who he was and understood the strength this man possessed.
If anyone was going to survive this, her instincts told her it would be this man.
As for Wei Yanqing? He was completely irrelevant.
As Xu Que and the others quickly crawled, they soon escaped the range of the White Demons' attacks.
If they wanted to kill those White Demons, the more open the area, the safer it was. Their secret was that they relied on trees to disappear.
The White Demons' equipment resembled that of a ranger hunter. Their ropes acted like grappling hooks, pulling them into the woods with ease.
"Uncle, slow down, wait for us."
Han Xiaoyu's voice came from behind, but Xu Que didn't respond. He immediately stood and ran toward a pile of scattered rocks.
Seeing that they could get up and run, the others quickly followed Xu Que toward the rubble.
"Are we safe now?" Han Xiaoyu asked.
Xu Que didn't answer. He quickly bought a set of warm clothing from his store.
Though they were all ability users and could endure the cold for a while, prolonged exposure would be unbearable.
"Uncle, could you lend me some money?" Han Xiaoyu looked at him with pleading eyes.
"Use spirit crystals to exchange. The rate is one to one million," Xu Que replied, quickly donning his down jacket.
Liang Jinyu nodded to her two subordinates, signaling them to begin purchasing their gear.
Once everyone was properly dressed, Xu Que instructed, "Now, I have a task for you. Spread out behind the rocks and keep watch."
"Why?" Han Xiaoyu asked quickly.
"You don't have to guard, but don't blame me if you die," Xu Que said before sitting down to meditate.
Seeing Xu Que openly meditating, the members of Han Xiaoyu's team grew displeased.
"Who does he think he is? He wants us to guard, but he's meditating!" one man grumbled.
Liang Jinyu ignored Han Xiaoyu's team. She made a gesture to her subordinates, and they quickly scattered.
Seeing this, Han Xiaoyu clenched her fists. "Follow his orders! Whether we get out of here alive depends on him!"
At her command, the seven team members reluctantly obeyed. They knew all too well what they were facing.