Chapter 286: Shadow of the Dragon, Taigern Mountain Range (6000)

The entire territory once again began an intensive phase of resource extraction and construction.

As for Cao Xing himself, he went straight to the [Blacksmith Shop].

Seeing Cao Xing's figure, Harold knew his purpose.

"Lord, the capture net you asked me to make yesterday is ready, and I also made a launching device."

Hearing this, Cao Xing immediately said with delight, "Oh? There's also a launching device. How far can this thing shoot?"

Harold replied, "Due to the large size of the capture net, there's no way to shoot it dozens of meters like the grappling hook."

"This kind of launching device can only shoot about ten to twenty meters at most."

Cao Xing nodded.

Ten to twenty meters was already enough.

If used well, he would have gained another form of crowd control.

He came over to the storage box and saw more than a dozen black iron ball devices the size of a human head inside.

This thing looked different from the [Grappling Hook Launching Device], and it was also heavier.

At least over ten catties.

Cao Xing directly took them out.

[Obtained: Large Capture Net Launcher (Purple) * 7]

He glanced at the attributes.

[Large Capture Net Launcher (Purple)]

[Equipment Type: Special Equipment]

[Effect: Press the switch to launch a 6m * 6m large net, trapping enemies within a certain range.]

…

"Not bad, not bad."

Cao Xing praised, then bid farewell to Harold.

Stepping out of the Blacksmith Shop, he arrived outside the territory.

Cao Xing shouted out.

"Combat personnel, gather."

Hearing the order, the hundreds of combat personnel in the entire territory walked out in a massive crowd.

Wild Boar Warriors, Ascalon Warriors, Centaurs, Nightmare Court Archers, Dragon Blood Warriors…

According to their troop types, they neatly stood in six waves of queues.

Now, the troop types in his territory were becoming more and more diverse.

Cao Xing nodded slightly, then began calling names, "Sarah, Renice, Assam, Andrew, Hilda, Isabelle, Bo Jie, Sun Chaser, Braum, Victoria, Chu Chu…"

"And Jonard, Josent."

He called a total of 12 people's names.

Including the new members, the two commander-grade entities Victoria and Bo Jie, Sun Chaser, they were also called out by him.

They all stepped forward, and an astonishing aura emanated from the 12 people!

Compared to the nearly twenty people who went to the Witch Forest last time, there were a lot fewer this time.

However, it was already enough.

Among these people, there were three commander-grade entities, 6 powerful leaders, and the others were also extraordinary in skill. It could be said they were terrifyingly strong!

Back in the territory, Cao Xing also left behind two leader-grade Dragon Blood Warriors, one leader Shaman, and the strongest combat force, Francesca.

So there was no need to worry about the safety here at all.

Cao Xing said, "You guys, come out with me today."

Hearing this, Braum patted his big bald head and laughed, "Great! Braum likes running in the snow!"

Little Chuchu also said happily on the side, "Yay, big brother is taking Little Chuchu out to play again."

Including the others whose names were called, their faces also carried gentle smiles.

Those familiar with Cao Xing all knew that anyone who went out exploring with him could gain significant improvements.

While the others were filled with envy.

Cao Xing continued, "Everyone else, continue as I instructed yesterday, go do your training."

"Understood, Lord!"

Soon, only Cao Xing's group remained on the field.

He looked at Victoria on the field. Today, this Qi Queen still tied her hair into a pair of twin ponytails, and her exquisite appearance exuded an air of majesty.

"Victoria, you need to go out and fight with us today. Do you need any weapons?"

Hearing this question, the Qi Queen before him pondered for a moment and shook her head.

"I… My combat style is driving the Qi within my body, so I don't really need any weapons."

"If possible, just give me a pair of gauntlets…"

Cao Xing nodded in realization.

Speaking of which, he had never encountered gauntlet-type weapons.

This thing was as rare as a trident; very few people used this kind of weapon to fight, and they could only be custom-made by a blacksmith.

"Alright, I understand. I'll figure out a way to get you a pair of gauntlets when we get back."

Victoria slightly bowed, "Thank you, Lord."

Just as Cao Xing was about to set off,

A flash of a white, graceful figure walked over gracefully.

Step by step, the hairpin on her head shook slightly, and her long skirt trailed on the clean ground of the territory, like a blooming lotus, brilliant and eye-catching.

It was none other than Francesca.

Today she changed into a pure white gown again, setting off her bewitching face like a witch wearing an angel suit.

Cao Xing didn't even know how many sets of clothes this woman had.

But clearly, dresses like this were her preferred style.

After Francesca came over, she asked softly, "Do you need me to go out together?"

Cao Xing shook his head and said, "Today you should continue refining medicine and make all the Life Secret Potions first."

Hearing this, the witch nodded lightly and asked no more.

Then she turned and walked toward the location of the alchemy room.

Cao Xing said, "Alright, everyone get ready, we are setting off."

"Understood!"

Soon, the thirteen figures of the group assembled at the territory gate, plus a Mammoth and a snow blizzard bear.

Everyone was fully equipped and ready to go.

Cao Xing ordered, "Then now, set off!"

"Moo—"

Big White directly strode its thick elephant hooves and sprinted wildly outside the territory.

Its running momentum was quite astonishing, and while running, it swung its trunk.

It also seemed happy to be able to go out.

Wolley on the side was on all fours, with the little girl Tong Chuchu lying on its back, and its running speed was not slow at all.

Compared to before, everyone's movement speed was greatly enhanced once again.

And with Big White leading the way in front, it could be said there were no obstacles at all.

In about an hour, they had advanced one hundred kilometers.

Along the way, Cao Xing saw a few streams covered by ice, as well as some small ponds.

The soul of fishing was stirring at this moment.

He couldn't help wanting to take out the [Mad King's Fishing Rod] and cast a couple of lines in these waters.

However, because the place they were going to this time was a bit far, a full four hundred kilometers,

Cao Xing also kept his head down and continued moving forward.

Along the way, they crossed rivers, jungles, and high mountains.

Finally, after nearly three hours of rushing,

Cao Xing and the others arrived at the [Taigern Mountain Range].

The team stopped at the foot of a mountain.

Looking from the map, crossing the mountain before them would lead directly into the mountain range.

Inside, there were all kinds of complex terrains and towering mountains, and its area was not smaller than the [Borealis Mountain Range] at all.

Cao Xing admired the forest covered in ice and snow before him.

A system prompt appeared.

[Taigern Mountain Range discovered]

[Map Introduction: The Taigern Mountain Range has a vast area and is covered in snow year-round. Many legends have spread from here, and someone even saw a dragon fly across and fall into the depths of the mountain range.

In addition, this is also the main passage connecting the Gale Snowfield to the outside world. Passing through the Taigern Mountain Range, you will arrive at a new area, the Brisbane Wilds.]

[Please note: The Brisbane Wilds was originally the area where Zone 180 was located, and it is also the must-pass road to reach the Eternal Frost Main City. It is a region with relatively rich trade.]

…

Seeing the system prompt, Cao Xing was slightly stunned.

"Good grief, dragons haunt this mountain range?"

Dragons were different from Ancient Dragons.

Although both belonged to the dragon race, their strengths were worlds apart.

Pure-blood dragons had to go through thousands of years of growth from infancy to prime. During this period, as long as they kept eating, their power would continuously grow.

The most ordinary baby dragons had Tier 3 strength right upon birth.

In the process of growth, their physical bodies would continuously grow stronger, breaking through all the way to Tier 4, Tier 5, Tier 6…

Until reaching the peak, and then slowly entering a period of decline.

And any dragon at its peak was said to have strength above Tier 9…

However, after entering the decline period, a dragon's physical strength would plummet.

Yet, after thousands of years of cultivation, these declining dragons no longer relied solely on physical strength.

They had also learned various Ancient Dragon spells.

Therefore, even a dragon in its decline period possessed terrifying strength close to destroying the world!

The difference between Ancient Dragons and pure-blood dragons was that they would not enter a decline period.

In other words, as long as the Ancient Dragons lived, they could always maintain that terrifying speed and continuously grow stronger.

Until rivaling true gods!

However, all things had their own balance.

The peerless power of Ancient Dragons also destined their numbers to be scarce.

Over countless years, a total of six Ancient Dragons were born.

The Ancient Dragon of shadow and death, Zhaitan; the Ancient Dragon of ice and persuasion, Zhuoma; and the Ancient Dragon of crystal and fury, Krakatoa…

Therefore, although he knew the news that dragons might haunt this mountain range,

Cao Xing had no designs on it.

After all, the power of any dragon was quite terrifying.

With his current strength, daring to provoke a dragon was practically no different from courting death.

However, there was another piece of information that caught Cao Xing's attention.

"I didn't expect that passing through this mountain range would lead to a new map."

"No wonder when I looked at the map, I found this mountain range located at the edge of the Gale Snowfield map."

"I haven't been to the Brisbane Wilds yet. There should be many areas available for exploration there."

"And the system prompt said that if you want to go to the Eternal Frost Main City, you have to pass through there first."

"It seems that when I have time in the future, I should go take a look."

However, for Cao Xing right now, finding cows was more important.

Thus, he directly said, "Sarah, go find a route into the mountains."

"Understood, Lord."

This beautiful Dark Elf exited the [Moon Blade Dance] form, and then entered the [Stealth] state, quickly disappearing from where she stood.

The crowd waited nearby.

A few minutes later, Sarah's figure reappeared.

"I have found a path into the mountains."

Hearing this, Cao Xing's expression lit up with joy; Sarah's efficiency was as high as ever.

"Alright, lead us over."

After speaking, the group followed Sarah all the way forward and soon found a mountain trail.

They stepped right in.

Advancing along this trail for about four to five hundred meters, they came to a rugged mountain road.

Before their eyes were towering mountains covered in ice and snow, with various unknown plants growing among them.

The peak of the mountain was shrouded in a white, hazy mist, making this place look like a fairy realm on earth.

[You have entered the Taigern Mountain Range…]

Now, they could be considered to have officially entered the mountain range.

Cao Xing pressed the communication device in his ear and asked, "Elisa, we have entered the mountains. Where is your current location?"

"Bzz… Bzz…"

Elisa replied in a low voice, "Lord, you're finally here. I'm over at the Raider Valley, guarding that group of yaks!"

Cao Xing opened the map and glanced at it, finding that the [Raider Valley] Elisa mentioned was roughly in the central area of the mountain range.

It was still more than ten kilometers away from the deepest area of the mountain range.

It was also more than twenty kilometers away from Cao Xing's location, and during this period, they had to cross four or five high mountains, which could be said to be traversing mountains and ridges.

Cao Xing sighed, "This little girl really can run."

Hearing this, Liu Muxue had a smile on her face. "However, this also shows how amazing Elisa is, being able to find that group of Cloud Yaks even when they're hidden deep in these mountains."

Hearing this, a smile also appeared at the corners of Cao Xing's mouth.

Then, he led the group forward all the way.

The Mammoth's huge body passed through peaks, cliffs, and dense forests along the way.

Especially when passing by cliffs.

The cold wind howled endlessly, and below was an endless fog, giving people a sense of powerlessness in the face of nature.

I have to say, the scenery in the mountain range was still very nice.

Traveling through it was like walking inside a painting.

Moving forward continuously for more than ten kilometers and crossing several high mountains, they didn't encounter any monsters or beasts attacking them.

During this time, they did see quite a few forest wolves, Troglodytes, and even brown bears.

But they were all scared away by the aura coming from Dabai and Voli.

After all, Dabai was now a Tier 4 boss-level behemoth, and Voli was also a Tier 3 elite-level fierce beast.

With these two behemoths around, it was enough to keep the beasts on the periphery from daring to approach.

Only deep within the mountain range was it possible to run into creatures capable of threatening Dabai.

Cao Xing and Liu Muxue sat on Dabai's back, leisurely enjoying the surrounding scenery.

Just as they hadn't advanced for long.

Sarah and Renice simultaneously-entered an alert state.

"Lord, there's a situation."

They each gripped their weapons, gazing at a patch of mountain forest ahead.

Hearing this, everyone successively entered a combat posture.

Right at this moment, they saw several figures suddenly rushing out from the mountain forest ahead.

Their faces carried looks of terror as they sprinted at extreme speed through the woods!

As they ran, they screamed frantically.

"Save… Save me…"

"Lord Mountain God, I beg you to save me!"

Behind them, it seemed like some terrifying thing was chasing them.

And this group of humans quickly saw Cao Xing and his party, thinking they had found their saviors.

But the moment they saw Dabai's massive size, their faces instantly turned pale with fright.

For a moment, with wolves in front and tigers behind, they didn't know where to run anymore.

In the end, bracing themselves, they still charged toward Cao Xing and the others!

Assam and the others had already drawn their weapons.

Cao Xing quickly glanced at the information on these people.

[Nice Town Hunter: Mobite]

[Race: Human]

[Level: Level 18 (Tier 2 Ordinary Creature)]

[HP: 1736/2413]

[Attack Power: 347-358]

[Skills: Junior Archery Mastery, Junior Hunting Techniques, Junior Trap Mastery]

[Talent: None]

…

They looked like a group of ordinary hunters.

Just as Renice was about to loose an arrow, Cao Xing said, "Wait a moment first, let's see what they want to do."

Hearing this, the crowd also successively put away their attacking actions.

After those few hunters reached Cao Xing, they directly dropped to their knees with a thud.

"My lords, please save us!"

"A group of snow barbarians is hunting us down."

These people came to Cao Xing's side, directly kneeling on both knees with faces full of entreaty.

"What are snow barbarians?" Cao Xing asked doubtfully.

They had just wanted to reply.

Right at this moment, behind this group of hunters, roars that resounded through the mountain forest appeared!

"Roar! Roar!!"

This sound was deafening, and just listening to it made people feel their blood surging!

Those few hunters were even more frightened until their faces turned pale.

Then, Cao Xing saw that in the woods behind them, many figures suddenly appeared.

A group of primitive people draped in animal skins, holding bows and arrows and beast-bone mallets, dragging several fierce tigers, rushed out.

These were the snow barbarians they spoke of.

Indeed very barbarous, and very primitive.

The other side also noticed Cao Xing and the others.

They seemed to have no intention of communicating at all; a group of archers on the opposite side directly drew their bowstrings, ready to focus fire on Cao Xing and the others at any time.

As for Cao Xing's side, everyone had made combat preparations.

Sarah behind him had already vanished into the shadows; as long as the opponent dared to attack, they would welcome a fatal strike from this commander-tier assassin.

Including the new member Victoria, she clenched her fists with both hands, qi flowing around her entire body, ready to release [Qi Shield] at any moment.

The atmosphere fell into a stage of stalemate.

A moment later, those fierce tigers in the hands of this group of primitive people suddenly opened their bloody jaws, simultaneously issuing a deafening roar.

"Roar! Roar!!"

[Ding! You have been subjected to the Ice Plain Tiger's roar attack, mental power decreased by 20%, Thought of Faith takes effect, this attack has been immunized…]

Cao Xing and the others all had no reaction whatsoever and stood in place.

As for those few hunters, they were scared limp directly onto the ground.

There were even two people whose lower bodies showed yellow liquid…

Cao Xing knew this was a probing method of those snow barbarians; once he was frightened by the roars of these fierce tigers, the other side would swarm forward.

A trace of a smile curled at the corners of Cao Xing's mouth.

"When it comes to comparing pets, my side is completely not afraid at all!"

He patted the Mammoth beneath his feet.

Dabai directly flicked its trunk, then let out a booming roar.

"Moo—"

"Roar!!"

Dabai and Voli simultaneously issued an even more terrifying roar.

The powerful sound wave turned into substance, even blowing away the accumulated snow in the mountain forest and collapsing the snow piled on the trees.

Directly shocking those fierce tigers into taking a few steps back!

Seeing this scene, the expressions of that group of snow barbarians all changed, and after scrutinizing Cao Xing and the others for a bit.

Without the slightest hesitation, they pulled the fierce tigers and directly turned around to leave this place.

"Tap… Taptap…"

This group of snow barbarians came fast and went fast, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

After they had all left, the few hunters slumped limply on the ground as if surviving a catastrophe.

"Finally saved…"

"May the gods bless us, I'm glad I can still live…"

Cao Xing directly asked, "What's your situation, why are those snow barbarians hunting you down?"

After going through their initial panic, the few hunters also gradually calmed their emotions.

One of the middle-aged men wearing a black hat said gratefully, "Many thanks to the few warriors for the rescue. We are hunters from Nice Town in the opposite Brissban Wilds."

"We came into the mountains to hunt, together searching for the traces of a mysterious creature."

"As a result, we inadvertently barged into the territory of these snow mountain barbarians, and then we were treated as enemies."

"We kept apologizing to them, but these fellows simply wouldn't listen and chased us all the way until now…"

Hearing this, Cao Xing nodded and continued to ask, "What are snow mountain barbarians again? Are they different from us ordinary humans?"

That black-hatted middle-aged man replied again, "Replying to this lord, the snow barbarians are not really different in body structure."

"However, this group of barbarians is closed-minded and unwilling to walk out of the great mountains. They are a group of savages living a tribal life."

"Therefore, we collectively refer to these people as snow mountain barbarians."

Hearing this, Cao Xing also finally understood the origin of these snow barbarians.

He continued to ask, "There is one more question. You just said that you were tracking a mysterious creature."

"What is that mysterious creature?"

At this time, these few hunters looked at each other.

One of them had just wanted to speak.

But right at this moment, for unknown reasons, one of the hunters suddenly fell backward with his head up.

"Einaji!"

The hunters let out a cry of alarm.

At this time, they only noticed that two arrows were actually stuck in the back of the fallen hunter.

"It's over!"

One of the hunters said, "The arrows of that group of snow mountain barbarians injured his internal organs, Einaji is already done for…"

Hearing these words, the other hunters on the scene were stunned one by one, and then looks of grief appeared in their eyes.

Cao Xing pondered for a moment and glanced at the status of that hunter on the ground.

[Nice Town Hunter: Einaji]

[Level: Level 15 (Tier 2 Ordinary Creature)]

[HP: 754/2172]

[Status: Unconscious, Internal Injury, Bleeding…]

…

He indeed looked like he was done for.

And this hunter on the ground also seemed to know that he was going to die. Various complex expressions flashed across his pale face, finally turning into relief.

As hunters who hunted in such deep mountains for a long time, it was equivalent to dealing with the Grim Reaper long-term.

For this day, everyone had prepared themselves.

He quietly began to entrust his final arrangements to the companions beside him.

And he told them that under the corner of the wall behind his yard, he had buried a box of crowns, which contained all his savings.

Besides that, his wife and his pair of children were also entrusted to the other hunters to help take care of.

He instructed them one item after another.

As hunters who entered the mountains together to hunt, they were actually equivalent to a mutual aid group.

Whichever one of them met with misfortune, the other companions would take charge of their funeral arrangements.

After all, no one wanted to die alone in such a great mountain without anyone paying attention, and even have their family not know the news of their death.

The atmosphere appeared somewhat heavy.

Just as they were preparing to carry this hunter away and bring him back to take one last look at his wife and child.

A voice suddenly sounded.

"Let me do it."

…

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