Chapter 1492: Chapter 930: Sunrise Dawn (Part 8): Father and Son
After making the decision, everyone turned back toward the direction of the Ice Fortress.
Meanwhile, Tony also relayed the upcoming actions at God’s Wall and his own party’s plans to his teammates from Tianchao via the team channel.
"God’s Wall? Ice Fortress? Okay, we’ll see you later! From the looks of the weather now, we’re likely to encounter a blizzard soon, be safe."
Ye Ye replied on the team channel.
Reading the message, Tony couldn’t help but look up at the sky.
Above, the sky remained gloomy, yet the rolling clouds seemed thicker, flashes of lightning could be seen faintly flickering across the sky, accompanied by bursts of deafening echoes.
On Snow Mountain, the howling of the wind seemed even louder, and Tony keenly noticed the game system’s monitoring of Magic Power concentration and abyssal energy pollution level, showing a slow increase in values.
Tony furrowed his brows, feeling inexplicably oppressed.
"Everyone hurry up, a blizzard might be coming."
Ados glanced at the sky and solemnly said.
The group nodded and began to hurry toward the main peak of Snow Mountain.
The Ice Fortress is located on Snowman Peak, the main peak of Snow Mountain, two mountain tops away from the group.
From the direction of God’s Wall, only a snow-covered distance was visible, with the mountain peak faintly discernible.
The appearance of God’s Wall dampened everyone’s spirits, and the weather showing signs of worsening cast a shadow over the mission.
For safety’s sake, even the Magic Energy Core was finally entrusted to Tony.
Ados even specifically instructed him, if danger truly arose, to abandon the others and quickly flee with the Magic Energy Core.
Tony wanted to politely refuse, but in the end, what he faced were several determined stares and Ados’ almost pleading words:
"Tony, you are the hope of this mission, as long as we can deliver the Magic Energy Core to Dawn Fortress, even with sacrifices, it would be worth it to us."
Faced with the expectant gazes of everyone, Tony eventually accepted.
His mood was complex, inexplicably painful, yet he also resolved to bring everyone back at all costs.
The journey resumed, nobody spoke; the group marched in a row in silence, with only the increasingly intense wind echoing past.
Gradually, the temperature visibly dropped, flakes of snow began to appear in the air, wildly dancing in the wind.
Finally, after about two hours of travel, the group reached the foot of Snowman Peak.
The wind howled, snowflakes grew increasingly dense, and the large snow crystals hitting their faces even brought a faint sense of pain.
On the ground, accumulated snow was like white sand, whipped up by the raging wind, creating strands of white "mist," had the group not been professionals, they might have been unable to maintain their balance against the storm by now.
Fortunately, the group took a shortcut according to the map, so when they arrived at Snowman Peak, they weren’t at the foot, but at the hillside connecting the hills.
Standing on Snowman Peak’s hillside, Tony looked up toward the peak, only to see snow-covered Snowman Peak; perhaps due to the shortcut, this highest peak of Snow Mountain wasn’t as high as imagined, just the raging storm obscured the summit from clear view.
After a brief rest, the group set off again, but ultimately, due to the laborious journey and worsening weather, their pace was notably slower than before.
"Everyone, be careful not to fall behind. A blizzard might not be entirely bad, with the weather worsening, Fallen Creatures may also hide!"
Ados encouraged the group.
Braving the increasingly fierce wind and snow, the group began the ascent.
It seemed to validate Ados’ words; although the weather grew more severe, as they progressed, they fortunately did not encounter even a single monster.
However, within the storm, occasional faint howls from afar sometimes made them tense their nerves.
But despite the difficult process, as professionals, without monsters obstructing their path, they traversed the snow-covered spiral staircase of Snow Mountain, reaching near the summit in less than an hour.
"We made it."
Mire sighed in relief.
The temperature at the summit seemed even lower; even as a professional, her voice trembled slightly from the cold, her face appeared pale, and her eyebrows had long been encrusted with ice crystals.
Tony looked up, greeted by a colossal Triumph Stone Gate.
The stone gate bore a unique inscription, which through the game system Tony understood as the mainland term for "Ice Fortress."
Beyond the gate, everything was veiled in mist, unclear to the view.
"It’s a magic barrier! It’s still functioning!"
Mire exclaimed in surprise.
"If the Detective Wall can function, a magic barrier still operating is normal."
Ados said.
With that, he addressed everyone:
"Everyone, be ready for battle, we might encounter some terrible foes!"
The squad members nodded, with solemn expressions.
They tightened their grip on their weapons, heightening their alertness.
"I’ll go ahead to check the situation, if I don’t come out in 10 seconds, it means there’s danger—Mr. Atos, take the Energy Core for now."
Glancing at the mist-veiled stone gate, Tony, now at Black Iron Peak, spoke.
