ebookland Chapter 403: White Bear in the Cave
Chapter 403: White Bear in the Cave
Xiao Zi growled, grabbed the rat man by the back of the collar, and followed Hu Qing into the cave.
The hail became more and more dense, and fist-sized ice cubes hit the ground, splashing countless snow foam.
An ice spike as thick as an arm brushed past Hu Qing's shoulder, tearing a hole in his robe.
The group stumbled and rushed to the pine tree.
Hu Qing slapped out with his palm, and the spiritual power shook away the snow accumulated at the entrance of the cave, revealing a dark entrance.
Xiao Zi went in first, and Hu Qing picked up the limp rat man and followed closely behind.
The cave was dry and warm, in stark contrast to the ice and snow outside.
Hu Qing leaned against the cave entrance, watching the hailstorm falling harder and harder, his brow furrowed. This hailstorm had come so suddenly, it was almost like...
"It seems that someone doesn't want us to move forward." Hu Qing said softly.
Outside the cave, the sound of hailstones falling was as dense as war drums.
Fist-sized hailstones hit the rock wall with a heart-pounding muffled sound. Occasionally, a few hailstones splashed in from the cave entrance, leaving a few wet marks beside the campfire.
Hu Qing sat cross-legged beside the campfire, the orange-red flames casting flickering shadows on his angular face.
He picked up a dry branch and gently stirred the fire. Sparks crackled and reflected his slightly furrowed brow.
"This weather...why does it feel more and more wrong?"
The rat man was rubbing his shoulder, swollen from the hail, with a grimace on his face. He looked up at the words:
"My Lord, I've lived in the Orc Kingdom for so many years, and I've never seen such bizarre hailstones..."
He tugged at his tattered robe, revealing his bruised arm. "Look at what he's doing. It's like he has eyes and is targeting people."
Hu Qing glanced at the rat man's scarred body, his eyes slightly gloomy.
He reached into his storage ring, took out a packet of medicine powder, and threw it over: "Apply it."
"Thank you, sir!" The rat man was overjoyed and quickly applied the powder to the wound, humming with comfort.
On the other side of the campfire, Xiao Zi was standing vigilantly beside Gu Yang.
Gu Yang was breathing steadily while in coma, and the golden light between his brows was brighter than before, as if responding to something.
Hu Qing glanced at Gu Yang thoughtfully, then turned to the ratman: "Are you sure there are no orcs who can control the weather?"
The rat man paused while applying the medicine, his eyes rolling around a few times.
"Well... there's a legend that the Snow Witch, the high priest of the Yeti tribe, can summon wind and snow, but that's all ancient lore from hundreds of years ago..."
He suddenly lowered his voice, "And it is said that it comes at a great cost, so it is not usually performed easily."
Hu Qing tapped his knees unconsciously with his fingertips. He tore off a piece of dry food and put it into his mouth. The rough wheat aroma spread on the tip of his tongue.
The meat has been exhausted. Although these dry rations can fill the stomach, they cannot provide enough calories to withstand the severe cold of the snowy mountains.
The bonfire crackled, and the dry food gradually gave off a burnt aroma under the scorching flames.
Just as the rat man was about to take the heated dry food away, Xiao Zi beside him suddenly pricked up his ears, let out a low roar from his throat, and stared at the depths of the cave with his purple vertical pupils.
Hu Qing paused and his eyes shot into the darkness like lightning.
The rat man was also startled by the noise, and the dry food in his hand almost fell into the fire. He shrank his neck and carefully stuck half of his head out from behind Hu Qing.
The entrance of the cave is spacious, but it gradually narrows as it extends inward, forming a deep funnel-shaped passage.
Hu Qing had previously scanned the area roughly with his spiritual sense and thought that the deep part was a dead end, so he did not investigate further.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Zi's perception was more acute and she actually discovered the abnormality.
"Boom-thump-"
Heavy footsteps came from afar, and the ground shook slightly.
Immediately afterwards, two scarlet lights lit up in the darkness, like two blood-red lanterns, which were particularly creepy in the gloom.
Hu Qing swept his spiritual sense and found that it was a giant snow-white bear.
The bear was over ten feet tall and was using its thick claws to dig through the gravel on the ground and struggling to get in through a narrow side hole.
Judging from its clumsy appearance, it was obvious that it did not expect that there would suddenly be a few uninvited guests in its nest.
"A fourth-level polar bear? Or a monster?" Hu Qing raised his eyebrows and immediately lost interest.
This low-level monster poses almost no threat except for its great strength and thick skin.
These dead branches and leaves in the cave must be the winter supplies it collects.
Hu Qing sat down again and continued to roast the dry food. Without even looking up, he said to the rat man, "You go and deal with it."
Nezumi's eyes widened as he pointed at his nose, "Me...me?"
"What else?" Hu Qing glanced at him calmly, "Either you go and drive that bear away now, or you sleep in its belly tonight."
"Roar--!"
The rat man roared and his body suddenly expanded.
The originally round body stretched and deformed with the sound of crackling joints, and in the blink of an eye it turned into a giant gray rat that was more than ten feet tall.
But its right hind leg was empty - it was injured by Gu Yang before and has not recovered yet.
"My lord, look here!" The giant rat spoke in human language, kicked its one leg, and became as fast as the wind.
The white bear had already completely entered the cave at this time. Seeing a huge monster suddenly appear in front of it, it roared angrily, stood up, and slapped it hard with its heavy bear paws, accompanied by strong winds.
"boom!"
The two beasts collided, and the dull sound of the collision caused dust to fall from the ceiling of the cave.
What shocked the rat man was that the power of this mere fourth-level white bear was comparable to his own!
It was shaken back two steps, and its one leg plowed a deep groove in the mud.
"How is this possible?!" The giant rat's green bean-sized eyes widened.
It is at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, and this white bear can't even transform. Logically, it should be slapped away by it.
The polar bear was panting, with smelly saliva dripping from the corners of its mouth.
There was a strange red light flashing in those bloodshot eyes, and they showed no reaction to the pressure from the high-level monster.
A sinister glint flashed in the giant rat's eyes. It suddenly stood up, its abdomen contracting violently, and a thick yellow mist oozed from its pores.
This is its innate poison mist that has been condensed for many years. Just inhaling a little bit can paralyze the whole body of a Nascent Soul cultivator.
Dealing with this unintelligent beast should be easy.
Yellow mist instantly filled the entire cave. Xiao Zi took two steps back vigilantly, and his dragon scales glowed purple to resist the poisonous gas.
Hu Qing remained motionless, the sword energy circulating around him formed a cycle, isolating the poisonous fog outside.
"Ah--" The polar bear roared in pain, staggering and shaking its head.
The giant rat was about to feel proud, but saw the red light in the white bear's eyes suddenly become stronger, and the originally red pupils turned completely blood red!
"Roar--!!!"
Amidst the deafening roar, the polar bear's body suddenly grew in size, and its snow-white hair stood up like steel needles.
It was completely enraged, its speed and strength increased suddenly, and when it swung its claw it actually caused a sharp scream to break through the air!
"boom!"
The polar bear's huge paw slammed on the ground, and the hard frozen soil cracked instantly, and gravel flew everywhere.
The ratmen rolled over in panic to avoid the poisonous fog, which had reached its peak.
The yellow mist almost filled half of the cave, but the white bear seemed completely unaffected, and its blood-red eyes became even more ferocious.
"What's wrong with this beast?!"
The rat man was shocked and angry. He scratched the white bear's chest with his sharp claws, but only shaved off a few strands of white hair, leaving no white mark on the thick bear skin.
Hu Qing sat by the campfire, slowly tearing the heated dry food, but a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.
The polar bear's furious state was truly bizarre—not only had its strength increased several times, it was also immune to poison.
You must know that the rat people's natal poisonous fog will cause harm even to a Nascent Soul cultivator if he comes into contact with it.
"Xiao Zi, go and try it." Hu Qing suddenly spoke.
Xiao Zi had been eager to try it out, and upon hearing this, he immediately let out a low roar and shot towards the battle group like lightning.
It did not rashly spit out dragon breath, but instead used its strong body to directly crash into the white bear's flank.
"boom!"
With a dull thud, the polar bear staggered a few steps, but quickly regained its balance.
It turned its head to look at the newly joined opponent, and a fierce light flashed in its bloodshot eyes. Instead of retreating, it advanced, and opened its palms to the left and right, attacking the rat man and Xiao Zi at the same time!
The cave was suddenly filled with flying sand and rocks. The fight between the three giant beasts caused the rock wall to fall into dust. Hu Qing had to hold up a sword energy barrier to protect Gu Yang who was still unconscious.
The battle situation was unexpected.
The polar bear, fighting one against two, was not at a disadvantage at all. In its furious state, each of its strikes was powerful and heavy. After Xiao Zi was hit by one of its strikes, several of its scales were broken.
The rat man was even worse off. His already disabled hind legs were now injured, making his movements even slower.
"Roar--!"
The polar bear suddenly stood up, and the white fur on its chest glowed with a strange red light.
Hu Qing's pupils shrank - this was definitely not an ability that an ordinary monster should have!
Just when the battle was at a stalemate, White Bear's movements suddenly stopped.
The blood color in its eyes receded like the tide, its huge body began to shake, and its breathing became rapid and heavy.