Chapter 020: The First Appearance of Magical Beasts
After the Temple Knights were mostly occupied, Thassia reluctantly created a windproof barrier near the camp. Though its effect on this ice plain was limited, it was still better than nothing.
After eating something quickly, aside from the knights on duty, everyone else had gone inside their tents to keep warm. Du Fan practiced various spells in his tent for a while until he felt warm enough before emerging and heading to the edge of the camp.
At that moment, a silver moon hung high in the sky, casting faint white light that illuminated the snowfield. Amidst the howling cold wind, strange noises could be heard from time to time. Du Fan knew those were the cries of magical beasts.
On the ice plain, most magical beasts hid somewhere during the day, but they came out to be active at night. It was said that many adventurers who came here were attacked while sleeping at night and never woke up again.
Fortunately, the Temple Knights accompanying them might not be top experts, but even the weakest ones were level six knights. With them keeping watch, Du Fan didn’t have to worry too much.
A few knights on duty were boiling something by the fire. When they saw Du Fan come out, they invited him to join them for food. Du Fan didn’t hesitate, squeezed in, and started chatting with the knights. Eating warm food while chatting in this snowy landscape was quite pleasant.
Suddenly, a noise on the ice plain startled them all.
Swish swish swish—boom!
After practicing various spells, Du Fan already had an extraordinary mental strength beyond ordinary people, making him highly sensitive to surroundings. He immediately recognized those sounds—as arrows and explosions of combat energy…
Soon after, a human scream came from not far away! Followed by cries of panic, as if a large group of people were being chased.
At the same time, something lit up in the north of the camp—it seemed… it seemed like a mage’s magic!!!
The people sitting by the fire all frowned. The situation wasn’t hard to figure out—some adventure party or mercenary group must have tried to take advantage of the ice plain but were attacked.
One or two of the Templar knights, with more irritable tempers, seemed eager to see what was going on. But Du Fan waved his hand to stop them, then made a gesture indicating they should bury the fire on the ground before pricking up his ears to listen. One… two… three… There seemed to be dozens of people’s footsteps, all very rapid and uneven, as if they were in some kind of peril. Moreover, since the sounds were getting closer, it seemed they had spotted the fire earlier and were now running towards here desperately. Behind them, there were also the roars of wild beasts, which sounded extremely terrifying in the cold night. Another scream came through—clearly, another person had been attacked by a beast. From the sound of gnashing teeth carried by the wind, it seemed the victim hadn’t even had time to scream before becoming food for the beast. In no time, the footsteps grew even closer, and heavy human breathing could be heard faintly. Du Fan frowned, his expression growing darker. Were these guys really willing to risk everything by rushing here, without considering that if the people here weren’t strong enough to deal with the beasts chasing them, they too might be killed? Thinking this, Du Fan grunted, pushed off with his feet, and rushed in that direction. The other Templar knights, except for one who stayed behind to wake the rest, followed Du Fan. Du Fan reached the outskirts of the camp, standing in front of the traps set up. Finally, under the moonlight, a group of people stumbled towards them. There were men and women among them, with a seemingly tall warrior leading the way. Yet every one of them was covered in blood; some even lacked a hand, likely bitten by a beast. The one running last looked the worst—his entire body was covered in blood, whether it was others’ or his own. He held a long spear, but it was already broken in half. As he ran, he shouted, “Hurry! Hurry! They’re coming! They’re chasing us! We need to hurry! If we can find that fire again, maybe someone can help us! Hurry!!!”
The group in front had already circled around a tree and saw Du Fan and the others standing there. Suddenly, they shouted, “There’s… someone here! Really someone! We’re saved!!!” Before Du Fan could say anything, the last person let out a horrific scream and was pulled behind a large tree by some unknown force; within moments, he was completely silent. With that scream, the remaining dozens of people ran even faster. Du Fan watched their movements, realizing that if these guys entered his camp, not to mention anything else, even the group of magical beasts following them would be impossible to deal with. And even if they could handle them, the smell of blood on them would likely attract all the magical beasts in the area. By then, even if they had fifty Temple Knights, or even five hundred, it wouldn’t make any difference. The few Temple Knights behind Du Fan clearly realized this as well. They raised their knight swords, their finger joints turning pale from the strain. It seemed that just a few dozen more meters of running would allow them to hide behind Du Fan and his group. By then, even if Du Fan and his group couldn’t deal with the magical beasts behind them, they could at least hold them off for a while, as their camp was right here and they couldn’t escape in a hurry. The guy at the front, who seemed to be the leader, couldn’t help but show a faint smile of survival. As for whether those who were occasionally spotted might die because of him, it wasn’t something he cared about. That was the rule of this ice plain—survival was the only goal. Du Fan suddenly sneered and stared at the approaching group, declaring loudly, “Guys, it’s better if you don’t run in our direction. We’ve set up at least dozens of traps in front of us. If you keep running over, I guarantee that even if you manage to climb over, you’ll die in those traps.” The guy at the front hesitated for less than a second before roaring fiercely, “Brothers, charge! We can’t go any further anyway. We can’t escape, and dying in the traps is better than being eaten by those things behind us. These bastards won’t save us—even if we die, we’ll take one of them with us!” Die even if it means taking one with you! What kind of logic is that?
Young master, I’m stationed here and have nothing to do with you. You’re about to die and still want to drag me down with you? What kind of logic is that? Although I may be despicable and shameless, I’m nowhere near as bad as what you’re doing!!! Du Fan thought to himself in frustration. But at this moment, he had no time to complain, nor did he need to give any signals—the combat energy of the Temple Knights behind him had already flared up fiercely. The one at the forefront was not surprised but rather delighted. He leaped suddenly toward Du Fan and his group. Clearly, his strength was considerable; he managed to bypass almost all the traps and rushed straight toward Du Fan. He jumped too hastily and almost collided with Du Fan. The others behind him saw his action and imitated him, jumping over as well. Their strength wasn’t bad either; most of them managed to jump over, but after landing, they all lay on the ground, gasping for breath like dead dogs, motionless. The tips of the Temple Knights’ swords turned toward them. One of them was startled and said with effort, “Hey, guys, you still have time to worry about us at a time like this! If those guys catch up, we’re all done!” Hearing this, Du Fan felt disgust. Such people were truly the scum of the scum, acting as if they owed him a favor just for encountering him. Yet Du Fan also knew they had a point. Now wasn’t the time to settle accounts with them. He merely grunted, signaling one of the Temple Knights to keep an eye on them and prevent them from causing trouble. The rest stepped forward a few steps, staring intently at the enemy. At this moment, screams rang out one after another. Aside from these few who were fairly strong, the rest were either too weak or moved too slowly. Those who moved slowly were dragged into the darkness by the monsters behind them and died quickly. As for those who were weak, they fell into traps along the way. A few of these traps were designed by Du Fan, extremely cunning and vicious. Moreover, being cautious by nature, he had poisoned them all. So in no time, those who fell into the traps were dead beyond saving. Book 4: The Road of the Ice Plains