Chapter 468 (2/2)

On the other side, within the Flaming Horn cave.

The three chiefs stood expressionless. At this point, they did not know what expression to put on their faces.

They heard the sounds and they could sense the killing aura in these cries. The odd thing was that the anger was not strong.

This was just a feeling.

“Perhaps it doesn’t even care about us, it just wants to take revenge on the ones who disturbed it?” Shao Xuan tried to say something good, though he did not want to lie to them.

In the past, when he got lost in the king stoneworm’s cave, he knew that the worm must have sensed his presence because he was not far away. The worm must have ignored him. Just like how a human would ignore an ant on the side of a road.

“Or maybe it’s in a good mood today, that’s why we can’t sense the killing aura?” tried Zheng Luo. Shao Xuan had said that it was in a good mood.

“No matter what, let’s not provoke it.” Although the king beast’s temper was worse than the king stoneworm, compared to the fierce beasts in the forest, it was a little better. Ignoring them was a good thing.

They suddenly heard a rumble, then another, then another… but the sounds grew further away.

Shao Xuan rushed to the mouth of the cave. The gap had already been blocked by more snow.

Pushing aside the snow, Shao Xuan looked out.

He saw a snake’s silhouette among the wind and snow. It leapt around occasionally, slithering around for a while and then leaping into the air.

It was… energetic.

As the sounds grew farther away, until they faded completely, the people in the cave could not help but sigh.

“Is it gone?” asked Zheng Luo.

“It’s probably leaving for the moment. I don't know when it’d return, this is probably its nest,” said Shao Xuan. “I’ll go out to check.”

“Me too.” Zheng Luo turned to Duo Kang. “Watch everyone, don’t let them wander outside.”

When they left, the other two chiefs followed too. They wanted to see what happened outside. Since the beast wasn’t here, it was a rare opportunity. Maybe they could return alive to record this historical event on an animal skin scroll after all. Then their descendants could know that within this patch of forest, there lived a king beast. And they had mined salt in this magical place for centuries.”

They also wanted to confirm if they could leave.

Listening around him, Shao Xuan pushed the boulder aside and walked out. When all three chiefs also exited the cave, he pushed the boulder back.

There was still a blizzard outside, it was a lot colder than the inside of the cave.

While the patch of boulder-ridden land had been cleared, a thick blanket of snow had replaced it.

“Let’s check on the Fox’s cave,” suggested Zheng Luo.

“Alright.”

All four went over cautiously, following the giant snake tracks to the Fox cave.

There was a thick layer of ice that sent a spike of chill through your heels when you walked on it. However, when they saw the situation in the Fox cave, they thought shivering in the cold was nothing compared to the unlucky bastards.

There was a thick layer of white ice around the cave’s mouth, making the entrance a lot smaller, plus a meter-tall layer of ice on the ground of the cave.

They jumped up onto the ice and entered the cave.

Zheng Luo was holding a piece of glowing crystal so he could see everything inside.

There were people frozen under the layer of ice at the entrance. They must have been crushed by the stampede during the escape.

They continued walking and saw broken pieces.

Yes, crumbs.

The frozen tribesmen had shattered and cracked in the cold.

A deep cold rushed into their spines and every hair on their body stood up. Even the three chiefs could feel their heart clench.

Shao Xuan trudged deeper. There were people here, all standing. Their bodies were intact but there was a layer of white on all of them.

Dodging in between these bodies, the four went to the lower floor of the cave.

They thought it would be better but they were wrong.

Although they could sense that there was no life in this area, they were terrified. Every person was covered in a white layer of frost, their facial expressions faintly visible and their postures indicated what they were doing.

“Fire crystals?” Since they were close, Zheng Luo could feel its presence.

When they heard this, the two chiefs forgot about their fears.

Noticing the fire crystals frozen stuck to the ground, all three chiefs grew excited.

The king beast wasn’t here, there were no other people here, plus there were fire crystals on the ground! What should they do?