Chapter 33: The Hunter of Mistforge
Far from the burning city...
Far beyond the cries of men and monsters...
Another hunt was taking place.
It was silent.
Patient.
Merciless.
Lord Shen floated high above the endless snow-covered mountains.
His robes fluttered gently in the icy wind.
No beast dared roar beneath him.
No bird dared take flight.
His blue eyes glowed with an ancient light that seemed capable of seeing through the world itself.
The mountains stretched for hundreds of miles.
Ancient forests.
Frozen rivers.
Hidden caves.
Countless places where an enemy could disappear.
Yet...
Lord Shen simply looked.
To anyone else...
It would have appeared pointless.
To him...
The mountain was speaking.
Every broken branch.
Every disturbed patch of snow.
Every frightened animal.
Every missing footprint.
Each told a story.
He merely had to read it.
Deep within a cave concealed by illusion formations...
The leaders of the Black Bear Bandits watched through a formation screen.
The image floating before them showed Lord Shen drifting slowly through the skies.
The enormous bandit leader smiled beneath his thick beard.
"He searches."
"He searches exactly as expected."
Beside him stood a thin elderly man wearing long gray robes covered in formation symbols.
His fingers constantly moved as though calculating invisible equations.
This was Mo Cang.
The Black Bear Bandits' Formation Master.
One of the few reasons the organization had survived for decades.
He frowned.
"...Something feels wrong."
The bandit leader glanced sideways.
"Afraid?"
"I'm cautious."
"There is a difference."
Mo Cang stared at the glowing image.
"He isn't searching randomly."
"He keeps circling."
The leader laughed.
"He has to."
"The mountains are enormous."
"He'll waste hours."
"Then he'll return to the city."
"Exactly as we planned."
Mo Cang remained silent.
His instincts continued screaming.
Lord Shen slowly descended into a lonely clearing surrounded by towering pine trees.
Fresh snow covered everything.
He landed without making a sound.
Then...
He knelt.
One gloved hand rested gently upon the snow.
His glowing eyes closed.
The world became perfectly still.
A faint smile appeared.
"So..."
"...there you are."
Blue Ki spread outward through the frozen earth.
Ancient runes appeared beneath his palm.
The surrounding snow began swirling.
He spoke only three words.
"Frost Wolf Pursuit."
The mountain answered.
One wolf appeared.
Then five.
Then twenty.
Then fifty.
Every one of them was formed entirely from ice and condensed Ki.
Their eyes glowed the same brilliant blue as Lord Shen's.
Each lowered its nose toward the ground.
They sniffed once.
Then exploded into motion.
They raced through the mountains in every direction.
Leaping over cliffs.
Running across frozen rivers.
Passing effortlessly through deep snow.
They did not follow footprints.
They followed intent.
The lingering traces every living being unknowingly left behind.
Lord Shen simply remained where he was.
Watching.
Waiting.
Like the true alpha allowing his pack to hunt.
Inside the hidden cave...
The bandit leader's smile faded.
"...What technique is that?"
Mo Cang didn't answer immediately.
His face slowly lost all color.
"...We underestimated him."
The leader frowned.
"They're only wolves."
"No."
Mo Cang's voice had become unusually quiet.
"They're hunters."
"They aren't searching randomly."
"They're searching with him."
One minute passed.
Then another.
The wolves continued spreading.
The mountains slowly became surrounded.
The bandit leader crossed his arms.
"He still won't find us."
"We've hidden ourselves perfectly."
Mo Cang opened his mouth.
Then suddenly froze.
A tiny jade token hanging from the leader's belt...
Cracked.
One of the runes engraved upon it shattered.
The bandit leader's pupils shrank.
"...One of my men."
Dead.
The formation screen immediately shifted.
Several Frost Wolves had burst through dense undergrowth.
A hidden lookout never even managed to scream.
The wolves struck together.
Blue frost swallowed him instantly.
His body froze solid.
Then...
Scattered into countless snowflakes.
As though he had never existed.
Silence filled the cave.
The leader's expression darkened.
Mo Cang whispered,
"...Run."
The leader slowly turned.
"What?"
"We abandon the mission."
"Immediately."
The old formation master looked genuinely frightened.
"We cannot continue."
"Not against someone who hunts like this."
"If we stay..."
"We all die."
The leader's jaw tightened.
"No."
Mo Cang stared at him in disbelief.
"Our preparations—"
"Mean nothing if we're dead!"
The leader's eyes hardened.
"We've spent months preparing."
"We've sacrificed hundreds."
"We're too close."
His gaze returned to Lord Shen's image.
"If he won't stop hunting..."
"...then we'll make him."
He looked toward Mo Cang.
"Activate the city's summoning formation."
The old man's face changed.
"...Now?"
"It isn't ready."
"The sacrifice isn't sufficient."
"We'll only summon something weak."
"I know."
The leader smiled coldly.
"I don't need something powerful."
"I only need..."
"...a distraction."
Mo Cang hesitated.
For perhaps the first time in many years...
He questioned his leader's judgment.
Then...
He obeyed.
The hidden formation deep beneath Mistforge awakened ahead of schedule.
Far away...
The Hundred-Eyed Hollow emerged.
The bandit leader smiled.
"There."
"Now he'll return."
Every eye inside the cave turned toward Lord Shen.
The City Lord paused.
Slowly...
He turned his head.
For one brief second...
His glowing blue eyes looked toward Mistforge.
The bandit leader's smile widened.
"He took the bait."
But...
Only for a second.
Lord Shen turned away again.
His expression never changed.
His icy wolves continued running.
Another jade token cracked.
Then another.
Then a third.
The smile vanished from the bandit leader's face.
Lord Shen had made his decision.
The city...
Would trust Captain Han.
The hunt...
Would continue.
And somewhere within the endless mountains...
The Black Bear Bandits finally realized something terrifying.
They had planned to hunt the Lord of Mistforge.
Instead...
They had become the prey.
----------------------------------
The mountains fell silent.
Not because there were no living creatures left.
Because every creature that still lived...
Was hiding.
One by one...
The jade tokens hanging from Xiong Ba's belt continued to crack.
Each soft click echoed louder than thunder inside the hidden cave.
Another scout.
Dead.
Another hunter.
Dead.
Another trusted lieutenant...
Gone.
Xiong Ba's enormous hands slowly clenched.
His breathing became heavier.
For decades...
He had gathered these people.
He had trained them.
Fed them.
Given them cultivation methods.
Forged them into weapons.
He did not love them.
He had never seen them as family.
Nor as brothers.
To him...
They were investments.
Resources.
Carefully cultivated tools.
And now...
Lord Shen was destroying decades of work as though pulling weeds from a garden.
Another token shattered.
This time...
Xiong Ba's expression twisted.
"...Enough."
Mo Cang looked up hopefully.
"The Chief has changed his mind?"
"No."
The giant reached into his robes.
His fingers withdrew a small talisman.
It was unlike any ordinary talisman.
It was completely black.
Not painted black.
It seemed to drink the surrounding light into itself.
Fresh blood flowed across its surface in living lines, as though the talisman itself possessed a heartbeat.
Even standing several metres away...
Mo Cang felt uncomfortable looking at it.
His breathing became shallow.
"...Chief..."
"You brought that?"
Xiong Ba smiled.
"A reward."
"The Holy Cult granted it to me."
His voice carried unmistakable pride.
"I am one of their Mid Enforcers."
"I have earned their trust."
He lifted the talisman reverently.
"Do you know what this is?"
Mo Cang slowly shook his head.
"The Holy Talisman of Yin-Yang Unity."
His eyes shone fanatically.
"The Abyss is Yin."
"Our world is Yang."
"We..."
He spread his arms.
"...are incomplete."
"The Holy Cult teaches that every living being has another self."
"A perfect reflection."
"A true self."
"Only when Yin and Yang become one..."
"...can humanity finally become complete."
His laughter echoed through the cavern.
"The old races call us monsters."
"The fools."
"They simply fear evolution."
Mo Cang quietly took one step backward.
For the first time...
He genuinely feared the man he had followed for years.
"Chief..."
"We should still retreat."
"There is another opportunity."
"There is always another plan."
Xiong Ba looked at him calmly.
"I agree."
Hope flickered inside the old formation master's eyes.
Then...
A heavy hand landed gently upon his shoulder.
"You've served me well."
Mo Cang smiled weakly.
"It has been my—"
A dagger entered his heart.
His words stopped.
His eyes widened.
He looked down in disbelief.
"...Ch-Chief...?"
Xiong Ba caught him before he fell.
"There is no other sacrifice worthy enough."
Black symbols suddenly appeared across Mo Cang's body.
The old man's expression froze.
"...The marks..."
He finally understood.
Years ago...
Every core member had accepted what they believed were loyalty seals.
Protection.
Recognition.
Promotion.
In reality...
They had always been sacrifices.
Xiong Ba lowered him gently to the floor.
"Thank you."
Mo Cang died with confusion still visible upon his face.
Across the mountains...
The last remaining jade token shattered.
Every core member...
Had fallen.
The talisman drank greedily.
Blood.
Souls.
Life.
Everything flowed into its endless darkness.
The mountain itself began trembling.
Far away...
Lord Shen finally stopped walking.
His icy wolves gathered quietly around him.
The City Lord looked toward a nearby cliff.
"I've found you."
Xiong Ba stepped from the shadows.
Alone.
He carried no axes.
No armor.
Only the black talisman.
Lord Shen regarded him calmly.
"So."
"You are the leader."
Xiong Ba laughed bitterly.
"You've destroyed thirty years of work."
"My finest men."
"My strongest resources."
"You should feel honored."
Lord Shen's expression never changed.
"You chose this path."
"You accepted the consequences."
"Consequences?"
Xiong Ba's smile became savage.
"No."
"You haven't seen consequences yet."
He raised the talisman high.
"Watch carefully."
The talisman ignited.
Darkness exploded outward.
Every Frost Wolf leapt simultaneously.
Dozens of icy predators charged from every direction.
The black light pulsed once.
Nothing more.
Every wolf shattered into countless snowflakes.
Not defeated.
Erased.
Lord Shen's eyes narrowed.
For the first time...
He drew his sword.
The blade emerged slowly from its scabbard.
Its edge glowed pale blue.
The surrounding temperature plummeted.
Snow began falling even beneath a clear sky.
His Frost Aura expanded naturally around him.
The darkness stopped advancing.
For several breaths...
Ice and shadow opposed one another.
Neither yielding.
Xiong Ba laughed loudly.
"You've ruined everything!"
"So now..."
"...I'll ruin yours."
"Your city."
"Your bloodline."
"Your people."
"They'll become offerings."
"They'll scream until even the Abyss grows satisfied."
The mountain answered him.
The black light gathered into a single point.
Space cracked.
A wound opened in reality itself.
It was not large.
Barely three metres across.
Yet looking into it felt like staring into an endless sea at midnight.
Something inside moved.
A gigantic hand gripped the edge of the portal.
Black claws.
Red fur.
Another hand followed.
Then...
It stepped into the world.
The creature stood over three metres tall.
Its body resembled a monstrous bear walking upright.
Black and crimson fur covered massive muscles that seemed carved from iron.
Its back carried skeletal wings too ruined for flight, hanging like broken banners.
Upon its head rested the bleached skull of a wyvern.
Curving horns emerged through the ancient bone.
Its face possessed a monstrous grin.
But that was not the worst part.
Another mouth occupied the center of its chest.
Larger.
Hungrier.
It opened slowly.
Rows upon rows of teeth shifted inside like grinding gears.
Additional mouths appeared across its forearms and paws before disappearing again beneath the fur, as though flesh itself refused to remain stable.
Its eyes...
Were completely black.
Only a thin crimson ring surrounded each pupil.
They contained neither anger...
Nor hatred.
Only endless appetite.
The mountain seemed to recoil from its existence.
Xiong Ba spread his arms happily.
"My brother."
"My reflection."
The Abyssal creature smiled.
Its voice sounded exactly like Xiong Ba's.
Only deeper.
"You finally called."
"This truly makes everything easier."
Xiong Ba nodded enthusiastically.
"Let us become complete."
Without another word...
He walked forward willingly.
There was no hesitation.
No fear.
The Abyssal reflection lowered its head.
Its upper jaws closed around Xiong Ba's skull.
The enormous mouth upon its chest swallowed the rest of his body whole.
Bones cracked.
Blood vanished.
Within seconds...
Nothing remained.
The creature straightened.
Its body expanded slightly.
Dark Ki surged like a storm.
The surrounding mountain shook violently.
Its aura climbed again.
Second Stage of Spirit Transformation.
Lord Shen felt the pressure settle upon his shoulders.
He finally understood.
This was never a summoning.
It was a reunion.
He tightened his grip upon his sword.
The icy glow around him deepened.
His opponent was only one realm below him.
Yet...
Every instinct developed through forty years of battle whispered the same warning.
This...
...will be a fight to the death.