w.a.n.g Tong, Yin Tianzong, and Vorenus led the way at the front while the rest of the warriors followed them. Although traveling in pairs had helped the mastery casters, they were only able to travel one-fifth of the distance they had yesterday.
Overall, the first two days had been uneventful. However, the real challenge quickly came up on the third day.
After pa.s.sing the midway point of the mountain, the temperature dropped below twenty, and it stormed constantly. The mountain path was covered with snow on top of slippery ice, forcing the speed of the ascent to a minimum. Under these treacherous conditions, the Mastery casters wouldn"t last more than an hour without the help of METAL warriors. Luckily, their METAL warrior partners protected them as if they were newborn babies.
The group conceded that they were down on their luck as the weather grew worse by the second. The flurry snow blotted the view, and they had to reduce their speed even further. When the blizzard subsided briefly, the soldiers found themselves in a world of whiteness. They didn"t have time to appreciate the vista, since another blizzard was already on its way. Holding on to the guide cable, the group pressed forward slowly but surely.
w.a.n.g Tong and Xiao Libie were ahead of the group, scouting for possible routes, while Yin Tianzong and Vorenus controlled the speed at the head. This place was a land of icy demons; even a legendary warrior would be engulfed by the elements easily, leave alone ordinary soldiers.
"w.a.n.g Tong, looks like we have to slow down and wait out the blizzard. Our men won"t last long while being exposed to the elements."
"Time is of the essence. We cannot stop! This is not the time to stop yet."
w.a.n.g Tong extended his arm to feel the howling wind and reckoned that this was not the worst yet. If they slowed down right now, they would never get to the other side in time. They were racing against the time.
"This is too dangerous."
"We are already dead, Brother Xiao. Just tell me if this is the road we should take." w.a.n.g Tong"s voice held an unswerving faith. Some might say he was inconsiderate for his own soldiers" wellbeing, but what choice did he have?
"We are on the right path!"
It wasn"t until then that Xiao Libie had truly felt and understood the determination in w.a.n.g Tong and his soldiers. It required more than just bravery for w.a.n.g Tong to order the soldiers to press onward.
One would not fully comprehend the terror of Mount Dynamo until facing it himself. The environment was unforgiving, and none of the modern day equipment would work past the middle point. The natural forces here were wild and untamed; they could devour any weak souls that dared to tamper with it. The closer they got to the peak, the less Mastery casters dared to draw any forces from the environment. Even Guan Dongyang and Xiao Yuyu had refrained from tapping into the web of energy around them due to its hostile nature.
No one knew what had made the natural force so dangerous here, just like no one could fully explain what the natural forces were. There were still many things to learn about nature, but this was not the time to learn. The human soldiers had only one goal, and that was to cross the mountain range. Xiao Libie was the guide, but w.a.n.g Tong was the real leader of the march. Although Xiao Libie had never fought with w.a.n.g Tong on a stage, he knew that the latter was much more powerful than him. Not only did he still have abundant soul energy to help others, but the determination and steadfastness were unmatched by any leader Xiao Libie had seen. It was as if no difficulties, regardless of how big they were, would be able to change w.a.n.g Tong"s course. How did he achieve such iron will?
Xiao Libie didn"t have the answer to those questions. However, he reckoned that as long as he followed w.a.n.g Tong, he would prevail, even if the latter"s plan sounded like suicide.
"We need to go on for another 5 kilometers. Can you guys do it?" w.a.n.g Tong asked.
"Piece of cake!"
"Don"t you worry about us!" The soldiers shouted back at w.a.n.g Tong.
Xiao Libie could tell that their voice was genuine, and he marveled at the perseverance of w.a.n.g Tong"s retinue. They weren"t just saying it to please w.a.n.g Tong; they really meant it.
"Keep your wits about and watch your step! Captains, please do a head count. Let"s move! Move! We can do it!" Tan Bu shouted at the top of his lungs, trying as hard as he could to let his voice pierce through the howling wind, but it barely worked.
"MOVE!" w.a.n.g Tong shouted. Enhanced by soul energy, his voice reached every soldier and gave them a boost of confidence.
Everyone shouted back at w.a.n.g Tong with their unwavering determination. They gritted their teeth and pressed forward with a newfound enthusiasm. Yin Tianzong soon pa.s.sed w.a.n.g Tong with the soldiers in tow.
w.a.n.g Tong slowed down to check on his soldiers.
"Don"t you worry about me! I am fine!" Guan Dongyang refused Lie Xuan"s help. Although physique and endurance were not his strong suit, the fire lord was not going to be slowed down by a couple of storms.
w.a.n.g Tong let the soldiers pa.s.s him as he offered his encouragement to each and every one of them. He knew that words were unnecessary, so he simply patted on the shoulders of each pa.s.sing warrior, which was enough to reignite the will to battle their hearts.
As the retinue started to gain more speed, the head of the group suddenly stopped as a wave of clangs and clanks could be heard amidst the roaring gale. A new front of the blizzard attacked the soldiers with tennis ball seized hails with th.o.r.n.y spikes.
"Defend yourself! "
Everyone cranked up their GN force to ward off the a.s.sault; in a blink, the three hundred soldiers were engulfed with whiteness. Compared to the blizzard, the Zergs" attack seemed modest. The hail grew in size as the center of the storm approached closer to the soldiers. If the warriors didn"t have their defensive s.h.i.+eld up, the hailstones could have pieced through their METAL and into their flesh.
The METAL warriors reacted quickly and s.h.i.+elded their mastery caster partners with their body. In the middle of the METAL warriors stood Yin Tianzong. He raised his war s.h.i.+eld high above his head, trying to cover as many s.p.a.ces as he could.
However, after a few minutes, the blizzard still ravaged on without any sign of slowing down. Some of the METAL warriors were already near their limits.
Seeing this, w.a.n.g Tong launched himself to the sky toward the center of the storm; he knew that it didn"t do anything soon, his soldiers would not make it.
Suddenly, a golden light shone through a crack in the dark clouds. w.a.n.g Tong opened up his sea of consciousness and attempted to connect his soul energy with the raging blizzard.
Xiao Yuyu and Guan Dongyang could only stare at him with fear and stress; this was suicide. The energy in this area was feral, and was able to render even the most powerful mastery caster into derangement.
w.a.n.g Tong opened his arm slowly and let the golden energy pour out of his system. The golden flow melted anything it touched as it slowly took over the storm.
In such a ravaging storm, the only thing that could protect him was soul essence.
Suddenly, a gush of wild energy rammed into his system as pain shot through his body. However, w.a.n.g Tong didn"t flinch. He had gone through enough torment in his life; this was nothing.
The soul essence—sigh of the ice seal!
In front of the team, a giant blue wall appeared out of nowhere. w.a.n.g Tong"s hair stood upright like a field of golden ginger corn; some loose strands tossed around by the current of energy around him.
The blue ice wall grew in size, soon reaching sixty meters in height. The blizzard bombarded the stony surface of the wall, but it stood unwaveringly.
Xiao Libie"s mouth gaped wide open as he stared at the incredible sight. This was not a mastery spell; it was a miracle.
Guan Dongyang patted on Xiao Libie"s shoulder and said, "You will get used to it. w.a.n.g Tong is not an ordinary human, and Mount Dynamo will not stop us."
w.a.n.g Tong landed back to the ground, his face looking paler than before. However, determination still glinted in his eyes. "We will rest for now, and will start once the storm is over."
"Roger!"
On the boundless mountain range, w.a.n.g Tong built his warriors a cozy shelter. Everyone knew that this would be their last respite before they made it to the top. So, they hurried to eat, drink, or take a nap.
w.a.n.g Tong sat in a corner and started cultivation. This soul essence spell wouldn"t have been so taxing on his system if the natural energy weren"t so unruly and aggressive. Even with the power of soul essence, w.a.n.g Tong needed to recuperate immediately after casting the spell.
Once w.a.n.g Tong had given the order to take a rest, the Mastery casters started to help the METAL warriors to heal their bodies. Although there had been no fights, a lot of soldiers were suffering from frostbite. They needed to be looked after immediately before they transgressed into serious injuries.
The warrior"s wills were iron, but their body was made out of flesh. The vicious elements could claim a soldier"s life when he or she was least expecting it.