Another week, another adventure! 2 days without heat =brrrrrr
"What....why is my armor growing hot????? ARRRRRRRRRRRGHHHH!!!!!"
Lineir immediately rushed forward when the shouts reached him. Every nerve in his body screamed that danger approached. He frowned as he looked back and beheld the situation.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The Fire Guard Squad screamed as their armor began to glow with a sickening blue light. Veins of frozen fire spread across the glossy black ebony and caused numerous cracks to appear. Through the cracks a hissing came as steam rushed out, the temperature inside could only be imagined! Lineir grimaced at the sight, the Fire Guard Squad was being cooked alive!
"Kiddo, their cores are about to detonate! Get out of there!" Mei called and Lineir startled. They were going to self destruct?? Their cultivation levels were probably akin to tier 8 beasts. If they were to all detonate at once even Lineir would not want to deal with the consequences! He crossed as much distance as he could and dodged into the mountain pass. As he put the mountain between him and the explosion he simultaneously crossed his arms and let his bone scythes slide out to shield his front.
KAAABOOOOOM-BOOOOOM-BOOOOOOOM-BOOOOOM!!! RUmble Rumbleeee!!!
The explosion which ensued was many multiples stronger than the previous one caused by the elixir. As a matter of fact it was not just a single explosion but a chain explosion caused by the detonation of each and every member of the Fire Guard Squad's Second Hearts at once. Behind the cliff Lineir held his ground as deluges of snow and ice showered down on his position. A fierce wind rushed through the mountain pass like a howling tiger and created magnificent eddies of pure white snow. Above the top of the cliff, Lineir could see a large cloud of smoke rising from the explosion. After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, the mountain settled down and the disturbed snow calmed down. However, as he was about to unbury himself from the large amount of snow which had fallen atop him, Lineir paused as he sensed a presence.
"GGGGGGGRRRRRrrrrrrrr.........wuwu" A fierce silver furred wolf letting out piteous cries appeared in the mountain pass and Lineir revealed an expression of surprise.
"It survived the blast? Truly an impressive wild beast worthy to be called leader. I wonder what happened to cause the Flame Guard Squad to suddenly all self detonate though. Could it be that armor...?" Lineir silently observed buried in the snow.
PUCHI!!!!!!
"WUUUUUUUUU......" There was a flash followed by a spurt of bright red blood tainting the pure snow and the already wounded Pack Leader collapsed to the ground with a whimper and a sword embedded in its side.
Flicker Flicker
There was a rustling noise as a small group of five cultivators descended upon the area. One of them went up to the wolf and retrieved his sword while simultaneously spilling out the guts of the dead beast. He extracted the core with the tip of his sword and then tossed it off to the side with callous disdain.
"PEH! Trash level cores, I feel like I'm going to suffer a cultivation deviation just touching them. Such weak creatures should just go off and die somewhere far away from me." He said as he scrubbed his hands in the snow. Another member of the party, a youthful lady wearing ice blue robes and with a furred cowl shrugged.
"So wasteful. Jayi, you know not all of us are as spoiled as you with your father's position in the Jin Clan." She pouted but remained where she was leaving the core lying in the bloody snow. The disdainful swordsman wiped his sword and sheathed it. He was clad in the same glossy black armor the Flame Guard Squad had been wearing, but it was much newer and clearly forged from higher quality ingredients. The emblem of the Jin clan was clearly embossed on his chest.
"Hah, I can give you much better treasures when we return from the treasure ground. Just stick with I, Jayi Jin and I guarantee you will never want for cultivation resources!" The youth stuck out his chest in the manor of a young lord and Lineir frowned from his hidden position in the snow. This member of the Jin clan just happened to appear and just happened to be looking for a "treasure ground" at the same time as Lineir? What were the odds that there would be another treasure ground in this place. His heart began to beat quickly as he realized the Jin Clan may very well be seeking the same thing he was!
"Jayi...the Flame Guard Squad's detonation was a little bit below expectations. They didn't even manage to finish off this Cold Furred Wolf Leader. Do you really think we can make it past the yeti like this?" A third member of the party, also dressed in black armor with the emblem of the Jin clan motioned to the pitiful wolf corpse on the ground.
"Mmm those pathetic mercenaries we tricked were just too weak. But the Jin Clan's Forbidden Core Detonation technique will definitely work with the Tier 9 Beast Cores my father obtained for me. If we throw them all at once... it'll be enough. Hahaha, did you hear them scream? Arrrgghh my armor's too hot. What a bunch of absolute idiots." The swordsman grinned and began to pantomime someone choking while gasping for air.
"Alright Jayi, enough playing around. Let's go, you never know, there may be other cultivators around. Nobody cares about a couple of mercenaries, but we definitely don't want anyone else to know we're here until we've secured the treasure ground." The second black armored clansmember gestured and the rest of the party left. As they were turning to leave...
"Whose there!!" The black armored man whipped around and threw a throwing star towards Lineir's hidden position in the snowbank.
PUCHI
The throwing star tunneled into the snow in a straight line. As the rest of the party startled, the thrower walked over and stared into the hole the star made. A perfect hole all the way through the snowbank and out the other side appeared.
"Huh? I swear my instincts told me something was here..." He said as he retrieved his throwing star.
"Hahaha, brother Chen, you're too twitchy. Relax, we've taken care of the Cold Fur Wolves, how could anyone else be here without getting past them?" The youth named Jayi arrogantly claimed. He grabbed the still suspicious clansman by the arm and dragged him off. After a few seconds...
"Haaaaaaah! That was close." Lineir popped his head up out of the snow and breathed a sigh of relief. The throwing star had almost touched the top of his head and if he hadn't ducked deeper into the snowbank in time it would have shaved off more than hair!
"That one must have particularly acute sensory techniques. The smell of the explosion probably gave me away. If his nose is sharp enough then he could probably smell remnants of the explosion on me. I'll have to be more careful next time." Lineir grimaced.
"I'd say there's a 9-1 chance those bastards are after the same proving ground I am, though why they'd call it a treasure ground is beyond me. Unless...The Snow Empress's treasury. Yes...that seems likely!" Lineir quickly thought of all the possibilities and determined that it was highly likely these Jin Clan youths believed that Bing Wei's treasury was here. Little did they know it had already been emptied long ago to deal with their ancestors!
"Damnit, even if they have no idea what they're looking for, I can't let them find the Proving Ground before me!"