"She should be waiting for us at Shenji Rock."
Gladys looked around and said, just that at this moment, the blizzard obscured their vision, and the ground was submerged under thick snow, making it somewhat difficult to locate Shenji Rock.
"What does Shenji Rock look like?"
Agunas asked because the storm from Veludante covered such a vast area, its disruptive effect was minimized, so Agunas could easily sense the surroundings. Gladys thought for a moment and said,
"It’s a huge, bare rock mountain with many giant Rune Steles standing on it. It’s quite tall, at least on the Mordic Prairie; as long as the visibility is good, you can easily see it."
"I understand; it must be over there."
Agunas pointed with its small paw and calmly indicated, though it felt something unusual about that place.
"You lead the way; we can’t see clearly around us."
Feng Yuan frowned slightly. He wasn’t unable to sense the situation over there, just...
Agunas glanced at Feng Yuan, swished its tail but didn’t call out his lie, and floated forward with the Ancient Book in its arms, saying,
"Follow me, be careful."
At this time, the snow was deep, stepping into it reached up to their calves, and everyone walked cautiously. Xiao Ji took to the air and followed the group, while Qi Chen glanced at Dou Yanlan, who was struggling forward with Cotton and whispered something to Ah Mu. After a moment, Ah Mu grew huge and extended a hand to Dou Yanlan.
"Ugh! What a nuisance."
Feng Yuan looked at Qi Chen and Dou Yanlan climbing onto Ah Mu with dissatisfaction and pursed his lips. As for keeping up? Forget it. Though Ah Mu could grow larger, the space in its canopy was still limited. Having Dou Yanlan sit alone at the top was already a tight squeeze, not to mention Qi Chen was now being held by Ah Mu.
"It’s a pity I can’t turn into a wolf..."
Feng Yuan spoke with a tinge of regret. If he could turn into Little Husky, he’d be able to climb onto Xiao Ji’s back. Agunas turned its head and looked at Feng Yuan, saying without much patience,
"With such obvious features, even if the Mordan Clan is associated with time, it would still be problematic."
"Cut it out! I was just saying."
Chen Xin continued walking forward with determination, ignoring the conversation between Feng Yuan and Agunas. Gladys walked at the very end, sizing up Feng Yuan’s figure from the back, which seemed...
"By the way, why on earth did you bring that teddy bear along?"
Agunas asked with some confusion. It didn’t quite understand why Feng Yuan had brought that souvenir teddy bear along in the end. Feng Yuan shook the black Ancient Book with pride and said,
"Intuition told me it might come in handy~"
Recalling the worn-out toy in the room, Gladys looked puzzled, when suddenly Qi Chen shouted nervously,
"There seems to be something up ahead!"
A deep howl sounded, seemingly because of Qi Chen’s shout, the huge entity ahead seemed to have noticed the approaching group, and a massive shadow slowly moved towards them. Feng Yuan sighed and said,
"What on earth is Veludante doing? I don’t believe this thing lives on the prairie..."
The ground shook continuously as the massive entity broke through the blizzard and ran in front of Feng Yuan’s group. Xiao Ji let out a clear eagle scream, diving towards the enormous white Ice Snow Giants, while Ah Mu summoned a Seistal Stele, holding Qi Chen with one hand and fiercely hitting the ground with the other.
Huge vines burst from the earth, bringing up a snowstorm as they viciously struck at the giant, but the giant was too large, those vines could hardly affect it. The white giant turned its crystal-like tusks towards where Ah Mu was, its massive legs digging at the ground as it started to charge. Seeing this, Qi Chen quickly shouted for Ah Mu to dodge.
A black mist spread, with Cotton lying in Dou Yanlan’s arms, tongue out, looking exhausted. As the white giant, puzzled, glanced back, the Black Mist was rapidly dispersed by the blizzard, revealing Ah Mu far away. Feng Yuan and the others realized that must’ve been Cotton’s doing; Dark Mist had the ability to move targets that didn’t resist within its range, but given Cotton’s current strength, forcibly moving Ah Mu’s massive form must not have been easy.
Xiao Ji’s wings ignited with a pale blue flame, swiftly passing by the white giant and leaving a burning pale blue flame wound on it. Perhaps angered by Xiao Ji’s actions, the white giant let out a long roar, lifting its legs, as Feng Yuan muttered, "Not good," and hurriedly said to Agunas,
"Little Crocodile, quick, take action!"
The giant’s front feet smashed down, and large stone pillars rose from the earth. Agunas tossed the book it was holding, and a silver-white mist appeared out of nowhere, pressing down on the ground ferociously. The moment the stone pillars entered the white mist, they turned to dust and were blown away by the storm.
Agunas stared at the white giant, flipping through the book in its hands. Its small paw brushed over the golden Rune, and a golden Rune formation unfolded behind Agunas, with spears of crystal rising behind it. Feng Yuan glanced at Agunas and teased,
"Is that move of yours... a magic lance or a holy lance?"
"You are not carrying a crossbow~"
Hearing Feng Yuan’s words and glancing at him, Agunas said without expression,
"What are you blabbering about..."
"Damn it, just how many Ice Snow Giants are there!"
The ground kept shaking, as if something terrifying was approaching. Agunas muttered with a hint of dissatisfaction, sensing that a herd of Ice Snow Giants was drawing near.
Feng Yuan smiled and said,
"That would be my cue to step in~"
"Hey! What are you doing?"
Flipping through the pitch-black Ancient Book in his hands, Feng Yuan was chanting strange Runes. A series of black halos appeared on the ground, and the approaching Ice Snow Giants seemed to sense something, halting their advance with uneasy roars. Feng Yuan smiled cunningly and said softly,
With a wave of his hand, golden text flew out from the Ancient Book, and beams of black fire erupted from the black halos like fountains. Even Xiao Ji didn’t want to approach the terrible pillars of fire. Although they posed no threat to him, they felt unsettling.
After a while, Feng Yuan put away the Ancient Book and said with a smile,
"All sorted~ Let’s go~"
Agunas looked at Feng Yuan with a bit of resignation and said,
"You, you can’t stop using your powers recklessly, can you? Every time it’s such a big commotion."
"Can’t help it, the power of the Rune is just like that."
Shrugging his shoulders, Feng Yuan said with an innocent face, though how much truth was in his words was debatable.
As the Ice Snow Giants retreated, the blizzard seemed to have slightly weakened. Agunas, somewhat speechless, looked at Feng Yuan and said,
"Don’t make a wasteland out of this place with all the fuss you’re causing..."
At this moment, thin trails of Black Mist were still spreading across the snow, but they quickly disappeared into the blizzard. As the Black Mist vanished completely, the storm seemed to grow in intensity again. Seeing the blizzard becoming stronger, Feng Yuan hurriedly said,
"Let’s move quickly, we don’t want to get blocked by the blizzard."
"Shenji Rock is just ahead, but their situation doesn’t seem too good."
Agunas flicked its tail as it spoke, seemingly reminded of something. Gladys became a bit anxious. Soon, a huge cave appeared before the group, and a crowd wearing the traditional attire of the Mordan Clan hid behind the large boulders at the entrance, cautiously peering out at the newcomers.
At this time, a little girl dashed out from among the people. Recognizing her, Feng Yuan looked at Agunas and said,
"It seems we haven’t taken a wrong turn~"
"But... this place doesn’t look like a settlement at all."
Agunas frowned slightly, the expression somewhat troubled, for Shenji Rock, with everything from its name to what they had seen and felt so far, seemed less like a place of residence and more like a site for ceremonies.
"Indeed, the residential area is quite far from here. And..."
Gladys was a bit conflicted, stealing glances at Chen Xin, uncertain whether to proceed. Then, an elderly woman emerged from the crowd. Despite the traces of years on her face, she exuded great dignity.
After observing the group, the elderly woman showed a politely smiling face and said,
"Guests of the future, have you come to aid us?"