Chapter 1994: The Assembly Point on Tianshan Mountain Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales Translated by XephiZ Edited by Aelryinth The group had wasted an entire day. At night, strong winds that sounded like the roars of ferocious beasts started blowing across the mountains. The tents could not withstand the wind. The group had to send two Light Mages to set up a Light Barrier and stop the strong wind from raging through the camp. The winds gradually grew stronger. The gusts were like powerful dragon breaths as they poured into the Rift Valley from higher up the mountain, striking the uninvited guests with great might. The Mailong Private Military Group was unprepared for the ferocity of the winds. The two Light Mages at the entrance of the camp were knocked flying. They slammed heavily into a cliffside and died horrible deaths. The rest of the mercenaries did not expect to be attacked by the wind. They scattered across the place and kept using their defensive magic. However, they were struggling to defend themselves from the constant wind! “Damn it, what the heck is going on? Tommy, why didn’t you have any information about the wind? How the hell are we supposed to defend ourselves from this strange wind?” Lu Xiu cursed. Tommy observed the strong wind and answered, “I...I’ve never heard of it before. Tianshan Mountain has a lot of strange factors and conditions. The place we set our camp up at might be a wind gap.” The strong wind had appeared out of nowhere, and lasted for a very long time. The group was at the wind’s mercy for the whole night. More barriers were established, but some of the weaker Mages were still knocked flying by the strange wind. The lucky ones were knocked out and blown far away, but the unfortunate ones either died after slamming into the walls, or were blown to unreachable places. “Lingling, what’s going on?” Mo Fan asked. “If a strong cold wind happens to follow the structure of the Rift Valley, it would indeed serve as a wind gathering tube that helps the wind grow, but the odds are extremely low. I’m not sure if we are just too lucky or what,” Lingling shrugged. “I think I heard something,” Nanyu suddenly said cautiously. “The wind sounds like a generator operating right beside our ears. What else can you hear!?” Zhao Manyan said. — It was already daylight when the wind stopped. Kuma immediately asked Tommy to do a headcount. To nobody’s surprise, they had lost five more members. Among them, the two Light Mages had died right on the spot. The wind hit so fast that they could not react at all. The remaining three were swept a great distance away and had yet to return. They were most likely dead by now. “I seriously don’t want to spend even a second more in this place,” Aubern declared. “Yeah, I feel like we won’t be alive to enjoy the reward.” The group kept losing members. They were almost down to half of their initial numbers! The problem was that the way back was not safe either. The group had no choice but to continue forward under Kuma’s lead. — The group continued forward for another two days. The two days were surprisingly peaceful. The Tianshan Demon Tiger had stopped showing up, so the mercenaries were relieved. “Did you notice? We haven’t seen any crossroads for the past two days. Are we going in the wrong way?” Zhao Manyan asked. “The altitude is still rising. We can already see the snow line. There shouldn’t be any mistakes,” Lingling said confidently. “Which means this is the only way to the Valley of Glaciers?” Zhao Manyan persisted. “Mm, you can think of it like that. Take a look ahead!” Lingling pointed. Zhao Manyan looked up and saw a golden flag up on a cliff. English words were written on it. “A flag?” Zhao Manyan was dumbfounded. Why the hell would there be a flag here!? “It means someone else has been here before us. They should be in the same situation as us. All the paths have merged here, so we should be seeing more flags,” Lingling said. The group continued forward. As Lingling mentioned, a few groups had set up camps on the mountain, not just the one with the golden flag! They climbed a slope and arrived before a huge lake. Its diameter was over four kilometers. They did not expect to find such a beautiful lake at the entrance to the Scar of Tianshan Mountain. The lake had a thin layer of ice on its surface that could barely support the weight of humans. Mages in colorful outfits had set up camps close to the lake. There were lines of trees shielding the camps from the freezing winds. “I thought we were quick, but so many groups had arrived before us!” Kuma twisted her lips. She was obviously not satisfied with their progress. The shore of the lake where the pines were at was the best spot to set up camps. However, it was strange that the other groups had all gathered at the lake instead of trying to be the first to enter the Scar of Tianshan Mountain. “It’s the Mailong Private Military Group!” “Isn’t the Mailong Private Military Group one of the best in Asia?” “Great, another powerful group of Mages has arrived. We should feel a lot more confident.” The other groups warmly received the Mailong Private Military Group after they arrived, but Kuma could not help but stay on alert. They were supposed to be competitors. Some might even have hoped that they would be wiped out on their way up the mountain. It was unreasonable for the other groups to receive them so warmly. “Kuma!” a bulky man with thick brows approached them. “Senior Hunter Yassen?” Kuma studied the man in some surprise. “Is everything alright for your group?” the Senior Hunter asked. “Not really. We lost half of our men,” Kuma replied. “Same here, we had seventeen people. We thought we wouldn’t be an easy target if we have fewer people, but we lost five on our way here,” Yassen said. “But your men have outstanding cultivation. Why is the death rate so high?” Kuma blurted out in astonishment. Senior Hunter Yassen was known across the world. The Hunter Group he was leading had to be one of the best too, yet even his group had suffered great losses. Compared to them, the Mailong Private Military Group was already quite impressive if they were not wiped out. After all, they were no comparable to Senior Hunter Yassen’s group! “Cultivation is the least significant thing on Tianshan Mountain,” Yassen sighed helplessly. “So many teams have gathered here. Is the path ahead uncrossable?” Kuma asked. “No, but a group alone won’t make it. Who would have thought, the mysterious Tianshan Mountain has forced us competitors to join hands,” Senior Hunter Yassen answered.