The hills ahead were low and rolling, offering a clear view of the desolate landscape. No trees broke the horizon; only a few jagged boulders lay scattered across the pale, snow-covered slopes like forgotten giants.

  The cave itself was masterfully hidden. Its lower half was nearly swallowed by drifts of snow and hanging icicles. Had it not been for the Snow-Strider Hounds raising their heads and barking with fierce intensity, even a mercenary as seasoned as Wolf might have walked right past it.

  As the group came to a halt before the entrance, Ronen and Wolf frowned almost simultaneously. They exchanged a brief, sharp look before crouching down in unison.

  At the threshold where snow met stone, a dark brown trail emerged from beneath the drifts, snaking into the shadows of the cave. The outer portion was partially buried by fresh powder, its color dull and muddy—completely dried, leaving nothing but rust-like stains among the ice crystals.

  "What is it?" Ethan asked, seeing their grim expressions. He leaned forward cautiously. "Is this...?"

  "Blood," Wolf said, his voice low as if afraid of waking something.

  "It's a blood trail," Ronen added, his tone taut with tension.

  "Blood...!" Mary gasped.

  Before she could say another word, Ronen’s hand clamped over her mouth. At the same time, Wolf shot her a warning glare that could have pinned her to the spot. Ronen made a sharp silencing gesture with his other hand. Only when he was sure Mary had regained her composure did he pull his hand away.

  Mary immediately covered her own mouth, her face turning ashen. She curled into a ball, trembling as she shuffled behind Ronen. With Zoe absent, she instinctively reached out and gripped the hem of Ronen’s tunic.

  Ronen peered into the depths of the cavern. The entrance was about fifteen feet high and ten feet wide, but the interior opened up significantly, the rocky ceiling soaring to over twenty feet. A biting chill seeped from the darkness. The walls were encrusted with crystalline frost that shimmered with a ghostly blue light, refracting the faint daylight from the entrance.

  The ceiling dipped inward, while a large section of the floor had collapsed into a bottomless fissure—a silent wound in the earth. To the left, a rocky ridge jutted out, forming a natural stone bridge that led deeper into the cave, where the daylight could no longer reach.

  Ronen’s eyes scanned the icy walls and rocky surfaces. He quickly spotted the telltale signs of violence: deep claw marks, jagged gouges torn into the stone by brute force, and splatters of dried, dark brown blood. Broken bones and tufts of fur-clotted remains were strewn across the ground. A faint scent—a mixture of metallic rust and rot—hung suspended in the freezing air.

  This was all too familiar to him. Back in the White Tiger's Fang, this was exactly what he did: hunting magical beasts. Though the climate and terrain were different, the marks of brutality left by these creatures and that lingering stench were always the same.

  "This... is likely the den of some large creature," Ronen said. Despite being nearly certain, he left a sliver of room for doubt.

  Wolf ran a finger over the dried blood, then glanced back at the blizzard raging outside. "The blood is completely dry and has turned brown. In this freezing weather..." He paused, calculating. "It was left at least ten days ago. If any villagers were taken, they’re likely long gone..."

  He shook his head, leaving the rest unsaid, and quickly assigned positions. "I’ll take the lead. Professor Ethan, Mary, stay close behind me. Ronen, you take the rear—watch our backs." His gaze shifted to Shen, who stood silently to the side, his brow furrowing slightly. "Mr. Shen, you..."

  "I will follow," Shen replied calmly and swiftly, as if he had anticipated the question. "Do not trouble yourselves on my account."

  Wolf gave him a long look but said nothing more. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Stay alert. Keep your footsteps light. There might still be something alive in here."

  The group moved slowly across the stone bridge, stepping into the realm where light vanished entirely. A heavy, suffocating stench of decay hit them—a foul cocktail of blood, rotting meat, and an indescribable, wild musk.

  Wolf glanced sideways at Ethan. The professor showed a hint of hesitation.

  "Professor Ethan," Wolf whispered, "if you could, would you mind casting a light spell?"

  "Oh... but won't the light alert whatever monsters are inside?" Ethan whispered back.

  "There is a risk," Wolf said steadily. "But in the dark, we are easier prey. We’re more vulnerable to an ambush, and it’s harder to fight back if we can’t see. A monster with keen senses will smell us anyway. On balance, a little light does more good than harm. Just enough to see our surroundings will do."

  "Understood. I'll follow your lead." A pale gold light flickered in Ethan's eyes, and a soft orb of light rose slowly beside him, pulsing like a heartbeat.

  As the light spread, it revealed the true face of the place. They were in a narrow, deep tunnel that felt like the dried throat of some colossal beast. The floor, the walls, and even the low-hanging ceiling were covered in layers of death.

  Skeletons were piled in twisted heaps. Some still clung to half-rotted flesh, oozing a dark yellow ichor that had frozen solid. Others were bleached white, gleaming like cold porcelain in the magical light. Animal and human bones were inextricably tangled—a shattered human hand lay draped over the ribs of a large beast; a scrap of an adventurer’s cloak was frozen together with dried entrails. Dark brown bloodstains splattered the walls like ancient, macabre murals.

  The stench of rot became a physical weight, thick with the metallic tang of blood and the sickly sweet smell of organs. One could almost taste the cloying flavor of death. This was no place for the living.

  Mary stumbled back, her boots crunching on something brittle. She shivered and looked down. Her eyes met an empty, hollow socket. The skull was cracked, yet the eye socket seemed to stare right back at her.

  Mary’s heart stopped for a beat before hammering against her ribs like a drum. A chill raced up her spine, feeling like a thousand tiny ice needles pricking her skin. Her mind fought to control her failing body, telling her it was just a carcass, nothing to fear—but terror surged like a tide, drowning her thoughts and tightening her throat.

  "Aaaah!"

  A piercing scream tore through the silence. The sound echoed off the icy walls, bouncing back in layers until it sounded like a dozen Marys were screaming at once.

  In the next instant, the air in the cave turned stagnant. Ronen sighed inwardly, already imagining the lecture the poor apprentice would receive from her stern mentor.

  From the depths of the darkness, something massive surged. Heavy footsteps shook the ground, sending showers of frost falling from the ceiling. Beside Mary, the snow-covered ice wall suddenly spider-webbed with cracks—then exploded outward.

  A deafening roar followed.

  A giant bear, built like a collapsing mountain, crashed into view. Its massive frame nearly filled the entire tunnel. Its needle-like fur stood on end, shimmering with an iron-gray luster in the dim light. Its eyes burned with a crimson, murderous glare, and thick, viscous saliva dripped from its fangs. It had clearly been lying in wait, a silent predator waiting for its prey to step into the kill zone.

  Its gaze locked onto the frozen Mary. A massive paw swept down, carrying the weight of a gale!

  Ronen reacted with lightning speed. He grabbed Mary by the collar and yanked her back, simultaneously spinning forward to meet the beast. His short sword, already unsheathed, traced a cold arc through the air, meeting the fur-covered paw head-on.

  Clang!

  The sharp ring of metal on bone exploded. Ronen’s entire arm went numb from the impact, but he held his ground, stopping a blow that could have crushed stone.

  Just then, a second roar erupted from the other end of the tunnel. Another giant bear surged from the shadows, blocking their path forward.

  "I'll take this one!" Wolf bellowed. "Focus on the one in front!"

  Before the words had even finished hanging in the air, he had unslung his greatsword and charged the second beast.

  The rest of the team shook off the shock of the ambush. Ethan’s eyes glowed with an icy blue light as he began to chant. In this extreme cold, his water magic was amplified to its peak. Countless icicles condensed out of thin air, raining down on the first bear like a storm.

  However, while the academic’s magic was precise, it lacked the raw brutality needed for such a foe. The icicles shattered against the thick bear hide without piercing it, only serving to drive the beast into a frenzy. It roared and turned, lunging straight for Ethan.

  Ronen had already closed the distance. He leaped onto the bear’s back, clamping his legs around its neck to steady himself. Though he wasn't familiar with this specific species, the brief clash had told him enough—northern magical beasts had hides as tough as armor, but they weren't without weakness.

  He quickly unhooked an oil pouch from his belt and drenched the bear’s back in thick oil. Then, he pulled out a red magitech stone. With a faint glow from his palm, he slammed it into the back of the bear’s neck.

  The stone exploded on contact, erupting into a sphere of intense flame. The fire instantly ignited the oil, turning the bear’s back into a churning sea of fire.

  The bear let out a harrowing scream, abandoning its attack to thrash against the cave walls, trying to roll out the flames. The cavern shook, and ice dust fell like snow, but magic-infused fire was not so easily extinguished. Ronen rolled to the ground and retreated to Ethan’s side. "Professor! Can you use another element? Or can you strike its vitals without putting out the fire?"

  Ethan nodded, the blue light in his eyes surging again. As he chanted, the roaring flames seemed to take on a life of their own, coiling and shaping themselves. A massive hand of fire manifested in the air, wrapping around the bear in a crushing grip.

  The fingers of flame snapped shut.

  The roaring stopped instantly. The bear stood frozen for a heartbeat before toppling like a felled tree, silent and still.

  At the same time, another agonizing roar echoed from the rear. The second bear was inches away!

  Wolf had employed a similar tactic to Ronen, but with far more raw power. As the bear’s claws swung down, he didn't retreat. He swung his greatsword in a brutal arc, meeting the claws with a bone-shaking impact. A flash of terrifying explosive force sent the bear staggering back.

  In that split second of opening, Wolf hurled a leather wineskin and several red magitech stones simultaneously. The stones pierced the wineskin in mid-air, drenching the bear in high-proof spirits. An instant later, the stones shattered.

  Boom!

  Crimson flames erupted, swallowing half the bear’s body. Wolf leaped back and shouted, "Professor, finish it!"

  "Understood." Ethan raised a hand, his eyes swirling with blue light. The churning flames contracted, forming another glowing hand of fire. As he closed his fist, the fiery palm crushed the life out of the beast.

  The second bear collapsed into the flames, dead.

  With both beasts slain, the cave fell silent, save for the crackling of the fire and the heavy, ragged breathing of the group. No one dared to relax. Wolf at the front and Ronen at the rear scanned every icy crevice and shadow. Only when they were certain no other threats remained did the tension finally begin to bleed from their shoulders.