Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Final Victory, Sudden Change "Ah..." Xu Ning’s piercing scream echoed throughout the cave. Xia Hong and the others quickly turned to look, feeling a sudden chill down their spines. His axe ultimately failed to strike down. Not only did it not come down, it seemed as if his right eye was pulled out by some unseen force, leaving only a hollow socket, with blood flowing out, an incredibly gruesome sight. "You guys hold it down, I’ll rescue him!" Despite the chill in his heart, Xia Hong quickly made a decision, ordered everyone, and with a determined pull, grabbed the Cold Beast’s mane and leapt onto its back. Without hesitation, he reached for Xu Ning, and threw him downwards, where Xia Chuan and the others immediately caught him. "Leader, don’t look at the eye on its back. My left eye was closed just now, and it seems something came out and snatched my eyeball." Although Xu Ning had lost his right eye, his consciousness remained clear. Before descending, he shouted out loud to warn them. Xia Hong took a deep breath, moved in the direction the Cold Beast was struggling towards, and dared not lower his head to look. Instead, he stretched out his hand to feel around on the Cold Beast’s back. Not long after, Xia Hong felt the location of the golden eye. "Disperse and control its four limbs, just for a moment—quickly!" Hearing Xia Hong, Xia Chuan and the others looked at the Cold Beast, despite their fear, quickly discarded their stone axes, and rushed forward empty-handed. The stone axes couldn’t break through the Cold Beast’s defenses, they were useless, and holding onto them would only be a burden, hindering their strength. Lin Kai and Qiu Peng rushed to the Cold Beast’s rear, both grabbing its right hind leg. Yue Feng and Lu Yang grabbed the left hind leg. Yuan Cheng and Xia Chuan went to the front, grabbing a front leg each. Roar... The distribution seemed reasonable, but compared to the Cold Beast’s strength, the six of them were clearly not enough. The Cold Beast struggled madly, dragging the six across the ground in a crazed run. The cave was already small, just a few dozen meters from front to back, and Xia Chuan and Yuan Cheng were slammed repeatedly. The six of them were all vomiting blood—either trampled by the Cold Beast or slammed against the walls from the impact. Even so, the six refused to let go, stubbornly clinging to the Cold Beast’s limbs, gritting their teeth to create just that fleeting opportunity for Xia Hong. Xia Hong hadn’t moved—not that he didn’t want to, but the Cold Beast’s commotion was too terrifying. Compared to the six clutching its limbs below, the Cold Beast clearly deemed the man on its back a greater threat, so whenever it hit a wall, it would deliberately use its back and tail. Xia Hong was also slammed multiple times, but his left hand clutched the mane steadfastly, not allowing himself to fall, while his right hand remained at the eye’s position he had just touched. "Don’t let go, just hold on a bit longer, it’s about to lose strength." Xia Hong shouted to the group, his face growing fierce. "I refuse to believe this beast has unlimited strength!" The seven of them steadfastly contended with the Cold Beast for over half a minute, refusing to let go no matter how many times they were trampled or slammed. Finally, after once again hitting the wall, the Cold Beast suddenly hesitated. Exhale... It panted. The moment was now. Xia Hong’s pupils narrowed sharply, retrieving his right hand and drawing out a short dagger no more than five inches long from his waist, thrusting it fiercely into the position he had spent so long memorizing. Squelch. "Let go, everyone move aside!" Knowing he had succeeded, Xia Hong immediately shouted for Xia Chuan and the others to back away. The six clinging tightly to the Cold Beast’s limbs instantly let go and retreated sharply. Roar... With the Cold Beast’s pained wailing, a warm stream enveloped Xia Hong’s hand as it started to thrash even more violently beneath him. By now, Xia Hong was no longer afraid, riding on the Cold Beast’s back, watching its golden eye. As it turned out, he had thrust in the dagger too forcefully—not only did the short blade go in, but even his hand plunged inside. The warm stream was the feeling of his hand submerged in blood after the eye was pierced. Having its golden eye on its back pierced was clearly more than just a matter of pain for the Cold Beast. For Xia Hong, who was riding its back, the sensation was most direct. In the moment the eye was first pierced, though the Cold Beast burst forth with a more terrifying power than before, as time passed, its movements started distorting and slowing, and the strength it could muster grew weaker and weaker. Even so, Xia Hong dared not be careless, still straddling its back, clutching its mane firmly. Finally, when the eye on the Cold Beast’s back stopped bleeding, its limbs became unsteady until it collapsed with a thud. Only at this moment did Xia Hong truly relax. He could feel up close that the Cold Beast’s vitality had completely faded. After letting go, a strong sense of exhaustion immediately overwhelmed him. "Dead?" "Really dead?" "It’s dead, everyone come over!" Xia Hong’s response allowed Xia Chuan, Yuan Chuan, and the others to completely relax their tense minds. Realizing it was finally over, smiles appeared on everyone’s faces. "Hahaha, after dodging it so many times before, didn’t expect it to come to us." "That was close. Without the leader, the outcome wouldn’t be certain." "I was holding its hind leg just now, several times felt I’d be stomped to death. If it weren’t for seeing you all holding on, I might not have lasted." "Hahaha, same here." Nothing binds people like a fight for survival. Although everyone was more or less wounded, some severely, the way they looked at each other clearly showed something more than before. Listening to their lighthearted banter post-crisis, Xia Hong felt much more at ease. However, there was still the severely injured one; he wasn’t sure of his condition. "Where’s Xu Ning? How is Xu Ning?" Hearing the concern, everyone quickly looked toward the back of the cave. "Leader, I’m fine. Have someone seal the cave first; many adults’ faces are already turning frosty blue, and some children are barely hanging on." Despite losing his right eye, Xu Ning remained conscious, responding to Xia Hong while reminding him to quickly seal the entrance. Xia Hong turned to look at the crowd, realizing only then that the faces of adults and children alike were frozen blue. He quickly got up to lead the effort to seal the entrance and start a fire. The battle had lasted less than ten minutes. Yet in those ten minutes, the ordinary people in the camp had already reached their limits. In fact, it wasn’t just them; even Xia Hong, after stepping away from the fight, quickly felt the cold. Day was indeed this terrifying! Xia Hong let the more seriously injured Xia Chuan and others rest first, while he led the group to block the entrance. Xu Ning lay on the ground, so those helping were other adults from the camp. "Leader, you’re injured. Please rest; we’ll handle this." Xia Hong was carrying things when he heard the concern, turned, and gave a slight smile, saying, "I’m fine, hardly injured at all. Let’s hurry. Once the entrance is sealed, we can start a fire and keep everyone warm." The others chimed in, faces showing gratitude. "Leader, we can handle such a small task; don’t worry!" The middle-aged man who had asked Xia Hong to rest was also moved. He stepped toward Xia Hong, wanting to help carry the wood he held. Xia Hong’s eyes flickered slightly but he didn’t refuse, handing over the wood instantly. Unexpectedly, just as the man reached Xia Hong. A sudden change occurred. He abruptly swung his right fist fiercely at Xia Hong’s head. This sudden development sent all into a panic.