Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Glacial Realm 11
The sixth day of the game.
Perry Yates was startled awake by a series of piercing screams.
Her eyes snapped open to the sight of the once neat and orderly village, now in ruins.
The male members of the Snow-Ox Clan had gone out to search for players and treasure boxes, leaving only women, the elderly, children, and a few guards behind in the village.
The four members of the Snow-Ox Clan who had stood guard outside all night saw the situation, quickly dispatched the village’s defenders, and rounded up the women, children, and elders.
All the elders were killed. The women and children were spared, to be taken back as spoils of war.
Soon, the four Snow-Ox Clan members had packed up all the village’s food, clothing, and treasure boxes.
The captive players were also forced into cages and taken away.
As they departed, Perry Yates immediately followed.
...
’Haven’t we arrived yet?’
Perry Yates wondered, watching the Snow-Ox Clan continue their march.
’She had assumed their village must be nearby for them to have targeted this clan.’
But on the first day, they just kept marching. When night fell, they simply found a random spot and dug a cave for temporary shelter.
Seeing this, Perry Yates knew they wouldn’t be arriving today. To make matters worse, the Snow-Ox Clan would detour whenever they found a treasure box, which slowed their progress even more.
As Perry Yates was preparing to rest, she suddenly heard a curse from the cave below.
"What a useless piece of trash. Can’t even last this long."
"Since he’s about to die, just toss him out. Stop him from wasting any more food."
Immediately after, a figure was thrown from the cave.
The force of the throw sent the person tumbling like a ragdoll far into the distance.
Seeing this, Perry Yates maneuvered Claudia Vance to fly closer. She could vaguely make out that it was a male player. His chest was still rising and falling faintly, and she could see the white mist of his breath. He wasn’t dead yet.
But he was close.
With the thought that saving a life was a worthy deed, Perry Yates slightly lowered Claudia Vance’s altitude. Two vines sprouted from Claudia Vance, extending continuously until they touched the ground.
Then, she wrapped the vines around him and dragged his body to a more distant, secluded spot.
She dug a pit in the ground, placed him inside, and added some clothes and food. She then tucked a piece of her Ascended roasted meat into his mouth, which would help him recover his energy quickly.
She completed the entire process from atop Claudia Vance, using only the vines.
’This is all I can do. Whether you survive now is up to your own fate.’
With that, Perry Yates turned to leave.
She didn’t notice, however, that just as she turned away, the player on the ground slowly opened his eyes. He watched the cloud that was floating away into the distance and whispered with trembling lips, "Thank you."
The seventh day of the game.
After resting for the night, the Snow-Ox Clan resumed their march first thing in the morning.
In Perry Yates’s opinion, after two full days of travel, they should have arrived. But you’ll never guess what happened next—the Snow-Ox Clan started tracking players.
It all started when a Snow-Ox Clan child, while taking a leak, discovered traces of human activity.
After he told the others, they immediately decided to capture this group of players.
As the Snow-Ox Clan fanned out to search, Perry Yates’s superior vision allowed her to spot the group of players first.
Seeing that there was no one she was looking for among them, Perry Yates decided not to meddle.
’Worst case, I can just rescue them after we reach the stronghold.’
Without Perry Yates’s intervention, the players were, unsurprisingly, all rounded up.
After capturing these players, their pace noticeably quickened.
Finally, on the evening of the eighth day of the game, they reached their destination.
Perry Yates stared at the stronghold before her, her eyes wide with disbelief.
She had assumed all strongholds were like the previous three, built either of Wood or of snow and ice.
But the walls of this stronghold were made of solid stone, and it was larger than the previous three combined.
’This isn’t a stronghold; it’s practically a city.’
Moreover, Perry Yates keenly noticed traces of human activity within the stronghold. Humans had even been allotted a specific residential area, creating the appearance of a harmonious coexistence between man and ox.
If she hadn’t personally witnessed them unhesitatingly crush the undercover player to death, or seen them abandon the dying player they’d just tossed aside, she might have actually believed it.
’Whatever. First, I need to find the locations of the cards and treasure boxes.’
The stronghold was so large that searching for anything would be a slow process.
’Besides, the Snow-Ox Clan here seem to get along with the players, at least on the surface. That means I need to be even more cautious.’
’After all, some players have very strange abilities.’
With that thought, Perry Yates turned her attention back to the returning members of the Snow-Ox Clan.
She watched as one of the Snow-Ox Clan members bid farewell to his three companions and turned to walk in another direction.
Noticing the sacks at his waist, she guessed his purpose and quickly followed.
He arrived at a heavily guarded warehouse and, after identifying himself to the guards, took out the sacks from his waist—the ones used for carrying treasure boxes.
The guard took the sacks, and after inspecting their contents, a hint of a smile touched his previously expressionless face.
"By the way, the first cold snap is about to hit," the guard said. "A new batch of clothes has been made. Remember to go pick yours up."
"Got it, thanks for the reminder. I wonder how many days this cold snap will last."
"Usually it lasts one or two days, three at most. Hopefully, this first cold wave passes quickly so we’ll have more time to prepare."
"Yeah. Last time, quite a few people froze to death."
"By the way, how are we doing with capturing players this year?"
"We’ve caught a lot and poached some from others. This batch of players seems stubborn, though. They refuse to cooperate no matter how we try to persuade them. The chief’s orders are to give them a few more days. If they still won’t cooperate after the first cold snap, we’ll use them as bait."
They chatted for a while longer before parting ways. Perry Yates, however, remained rooted to the spot, not moving for a long time.
’The first cold snap?’
’Bait?’
’It looks like I need to move fast.’
’The location of the treasure boxes is confirmed. With Invisibility and Instant Teleportation, I’m confident I can clear the place out in under ten minutes. Now, I just need to find the cards and the other players.’
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