"Something's off about those three brats!"
Shen Wushuang stood atop his Ice Phoenix, stroking his chin. An inexplicable sense of unease had crept into his heart.
They're not actually planning something massive, are they?
He gazed toward last night's battlefield. The fierce beast corpses had already been picked clean by scavengers.
But the massive pools of congealed blood remained, a testament to the battle's ferocity.
Taking advantage of broad daylight, the Beast Taming Corps deep in Frost Canyon had packed up and left one after another.
Last night's beast war had set off alarm bells for every one of them.
"Unbelievable. You three actually scared off a bunch of Black Iron-rank Beast Tamers."
Shen Wushuang hovered in the air, the corner of his mouth twitching.
He was starting to think that bringing these three into the Alternate Dimension had been a terrible mistake.
Would things have gone better if he'd just handed them the championship outright?
A full day passed. Night crept in once more.
"Old Shen, shift change!"
The Black Iron Three-Star Spirit Suppression soldier arrived at the canyon depths, ready to relieve Shen Wushuang's post.
"No need. I'll handle tonight myself."
Shen Wushuang's eyes held a guarded look.
"Go back and rest. Don't you trust me? Staying up all night is bad for your health."
"It's fine. I'm pulling an all-nighter!"
"..."
Since Shen Wushuang insisted, the soldier didn't press the matter and left Frost Canyon.
"My heart keeps racing for some reason..."
Shen Wushuang pressed a hand to his chest, eyes locked on the cave where Chen Shu and company were holed up.
"Straight! Two cards left!"
Chen Shu waved his hand of cards with a look of absolute confidence.
Xie Sunan said: "Pass."
"Rocket!"
Xu Xingxing slammed down another bomb.
"Are you out of your goddamn mind?! Old Xie is the Landlord—why the hell are you bombing ME?"
Chen Shu stared at the pair of threes left in his hand and sank into a long, deep silence.
Xu Xingxing replied with perfect calm: "I'll let you play after. Problem solved."
"Pair of threes!"
The corner of Chen Shu's mouth twitched. He took a deep breath. "You know what the saddest word you can put in the middle of 'sorry' is?"[1]
"What?"
"'Three.' Sorry—pair of threes, can't play!"
Chen Shu threw his cards down. "I'm done. I'm NEVER playing Fight the Landlord with Xu Xingxing again in my entire life."
He turned to gaze out at the deep darkness beyond the cave.
"Time to get to work!"
The trio geared up quickly and stepped outside.
"This is the start of us making our name in Frost Canyon! We CANNOT let this opportunity slip!"
All three exchanged glances and nodded firmly.
"Xiao Xing, let's go!"
The three mounted the Mutant Thunderbird's back.
After a full day of recovery, the Mutant Thunderbird looked majestic once more—blue feathers gleaming brilliantly. Except for its butt, which was still completely charred black...
Before long, the trio once again approached the Frost Giant Wolf pack's territory.
"Huh? They're not sleeping?"
Chen Shu raised an eyebrow. With the flashlight in his hand, he could vaguely make out the dense wolf pack below.
AWOOO! AWOOO!
In an instant, overlapping howls echoed through Frost Canyon, shattering the silence.
"Are they... waiting for us?"
Chen Shu frowned, but immediately realized he was overthinking it.
There's no way they'd mobilize this kind of force just for us.
In the distance, countless blue lights suddenly appeared, hovering in midair. The sight was deeply unsettling.
"Holy shit! They're really reigniting this cursed rivalry!"
Chen Shu instantly recognized the source of the blue glow—the vicious-tempered Ice Bats, every last one of them.
"Of course they're both warrior races! I thought last night was the finale—turns out it was just the opening act!"
ROAR! ROAR!
Not far away, another terrifying beast pack appeared on the ground.
Chen Shu swept his flashlight across and vaguely made out one hulking bear after another.
Yet another of Frost Canyon's apex predators: Frost Bears!
"Chen Pi, there's a beast pack coming from the other direction too!"
"Dead ahead as well!"
"Rear left—countless fierce beast signatures!"
A flicker of terror crossed Xie Sunan's face. The thought of retreating was already forming in his mind.
"What is this? A Canyon Grand Party?!"
Every beast pack had a Lord lurking within it.
Forget the terrifying Lords—even a single random Black Iron-rank beast would be enough to tear them apart.
ROAR!
In a flash, a massive Frost Giant Wolf Lord stepped forward and howled at the sky.
As if declaring the battle's opening!
Countless Ice Bats blanketed the air above, their glowing blue eyes so dense they temporarily drove back the canyon's darkness.
Eerie blue light. Enraged beasts. Biting wind. It looked like something straight out of hell...
The Ice Bat Lord stepped forward as well, unleashing a screech of pure malice.
War between the two factions was imminent!
Meanwhile, the remaining beast packs had no intention of picking sides. They watched the central battle with relaxed expressions.
As it turned out, rubbernecking wasn't uniquely human...
"Chen Pi, how about we just... leave?"
Xie Sunan swallowed hard. "There are way too many beasts out there. My scrawny body wouldn't even be enough to feed one of them..."
"No way!"
Chen Shu shook his head firmly. "If I don't blow them up tonight, I won't be able to sleep!"
"Blow them up and you might regret it for a while. Don't blow them up and you'll regret it for the rest of your life!"
Chen Shu's gaze swept over his two companions. His voice dropped low.
"What you need isn't just courage—it's a roar from deep in your soul! Tell me: do you want to be a coward your whole life, or a hero for ONE SECOND?!"
Xu Xingxing's expression shifted. He looked as though he'd found a kindred spirit.
Xie Sunan, on the other hand, twitched the corner of his mouth. "Give me a break! I just want to survive—I don't want to be a lunatic!"
"Fine. Old Xie, you can leave. Xiao Xing and I will stay behind!"
Chen Shu nodded calmly.
"Leave my ASS—without the Thunderbird, how am I supposed to get out of here?!"
Xie Sunan's face darkened. You two are literally dragging me onto the pirate ship whether I like it or not?!
"Relax. We light the bomb and run!"
Chen Shu patted his shoulder reassuringly.
The Mutant Thunderbird and the Winged Caterpillar both had weak auras—nowhere near enough to attract the beast packs' attention. How could they compare to the main event in the center?
ROAR!
The Ice Bats and Frost Giant Wolves tore into each other.
Several Ice Bats swarmed a single Frost Giant Wolf, fangs sinking deep. In an instant, the light faded from the wolf's eyes and the blood in its body froze solid.
Another wolf's claws glinted with cold light. One swipe ripped an Ice Bat's body clean in half.
The two sides traded blow for blow.
Soldier against soldier. Lord against Lord!
Both Lord-class beasts clashed as well, every ice-attribute skill in their arsenal erupting at once.
In the distance, Chen Shu and Xu Xingxing watched with great interest, looking exactly like spectators munching popcorn.
Xie Sunan's eyes were still full of panic. His Winged Caterpillar had been trembling for a while now, too terrified to even activate its detection skill.
He spoke up: "Chen Pi, what are you waiting for?"
"Hold on—this is way too good. I want to watch a bit longer. There's not a single dull moment!"
"..."
The corner of Xie Sunan's mouth twitched. You two are LITERALLY risking your lives just to watch the show!