Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 878 - 871: No Fight, No Acquaintance

Chapter 878: Chapter 871: No Fight, No Acquaintance

"What was the catalyst for her conversion to Xiapei Kam?" Cheng Ziang asked curiously.

"The catalyst, I’m not particularly clear about that. After my mother died, I seldom saw her. The last time I saw her was also about ten years ago," Eve replied truthfully.

"Come to think of it," Hu Daoke asked, "since you have an aunt in the Snow Domain, why don’t you live with her instead of running off to Holy Heart City to suffer? Does she also despise half-elves?"

"No," Eve shook her head, her face bearing a bitter smile, "My aunt was willing to accept me, it was just that I didn’t want to stay in the Snow Domain."

She paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and then continued, "I was born and raised in Holy Heart City, and no matter what, I prefer to live in such a worldly city, even if I have to endure discrimination. My mother, she longed to escape from suffering, and when she got the chance to flee Holy Heart City, I didn’t actually want to follow her to the Snow Domain. I don’t like the snow, nor do I like the loneliness of not seeing anyone for hundreds of miles around."

"To each their own; one cannot be compelled," Luo’er said, shaking his head and sighing.

"Does Aunt Axia live alone?" Baiyue asked tentatively.

"Yes," Eve nodded and replied, "After Aunt Axia converted to Xiapei Kam, she stopped interacting with her kin and chose to live alone in the mountains. People also didn’t want to go looking for her because in their eyes, she was just a rambling witch."

"Now that the heavy snow has sealed the mountain, do you still remember where your aunt lives?" Cheng Ziang asked, glancing out the window.

"I remember," Eve nodded and said, "As long as she hasn’t moved, I know her location. Just follow the river upstream, come ashore at a big bend and climb the mountain; it should take a little over three hours to get there."

"We have to climb the mountain too? How are we going to handle these horse-drawn carriages?" Hu Daoke asked.

"No problem," Eve waved her hand and answered, "The slope there isn’t steep; it’s about ten or so meters high. Even if by carriage, you can still make it up."

Hearing her words, Cheng Ziang and Luo’er exchanged glances and then looked at her, saying, "Anyway, now that we’ve entered the Snow Domain, we are relying on you for everything."

"Don’t worry, I’ll keep my promise. As long as you take good care of Jora, I assure you I won’t break my word," Eve promised seriously.

The team continued their journey across the icy surface. In any case, setting off from the ice was always easier than wading through snow. However, as the team ventured deeper into the Snow Domain, lacking the strong northwestern winds, a thick layer of snow began to accumulate on the ice, slowing down their progress.

Moreover, the layer of snow covering the ground obscured most of the terrain markers, even covering the river courses, making the journey even more difficult after entering the Snow Domain.

By this time, Luo’er had begun to regret entering the Snow Domain, as they now had to consider not how to complete their mission, but how to fill their bellies.

Although the Snow Domain was still an undeveloped environment with plenty of game to hunt, their hunting was severely limited due to the constant need to travel, and they didn’t garner much.

Since entering the Snow Domain, they had only managed to hunt three times, with the largest prey being about the size of a dog, and the meat was fishy and sour, requiring a large amount of spices to suppress the taste.

The snow on the surface severely hindered Eve’s guidance, to the point where she couldn’t even distinguish between what was a road and what was a river. Fortunately, the Advance Team had the spirit recon force, Fulajie’er.

Luo’er had Fulajie’er conduct high-altitude reconnaissance to ensure the Advance Team didn’t go astray. Although the river courses covered in snow were indistinct from the ground, their outlines were clear from the sky.

After about a week of effort, the group finally reached the big bend Eve mentioned, and then began to leave the river course and head up the mountain.

During this period, Tana didn’t continue to pester Luo’er, nor did he experience those strange hallucinations again.

The journey up the mountain was just as difficult; Eve said it was a three-hour trek, but it took the group a whole half day to reach it. As dusk approached, the travelers finally arrived at the elder’s dwelling.

In a relatively flat woodland, they found a solitary cottage deep among the trees. Built against a withered ancient tree, the cottage had an irregular shape. The ancient tree had a spiraling staircase nailed onto it, leading to the room on the second floor.

The first floor was constructed with stones and wooden planks, resting against the chimney of the ancient tree, which puffed out plumes of blue smoke. As they drew near, the smoke lessened, but the familiar scent of burning wood and food wafted towards them.

"Snipers take the second floor for overwatch, assault team be ready to breach, and support personnel cover the rear while providing fire support for the assault team." Luo’er was immediately all business upon sighting the building.

"Boss, calm down, we’re here to find someone, not to break down doors," Hu Daoke said, holding back Luo’er’s directing hand.

"Ah," Luo’er paused, then said with an embarrassed face, "Sorry, it’s a habit."

Cheng Ziang rolled his eyes before inspecting the cottage. Turning to Eve, he said, "There’s the smell of smoke, which means someone lives here. Eve, it’s your turn."

"I know." Eve nodded and then stepped forward, lightly knocking on the wooden door of the first floor.

There was no movement inside. Just as she was about to knock again, the door suddenly creaked open on its own. Faced with this eerie situation, Cheng Ziang and Luo’er exchanged a glance, then each drew their weapons and gestured a series of signals to their team members.

At Luo’er’s command, the Advance Team members swiftly raised their guns and stood against the wall by the door. Meanwhile, Cheng Ziang placed a hand on Eve’s shoulder, signaling her to step back, and then he took his place in front of the door.

"Three, two, one!" Clenching his pistol, Cheng Ziang gave Luo’er a brief nod and kicked the door open, leading the charge inside after his countdown.

Once the door was breached, Cheng Ziang entered first with his pistol at the ready, followed by Luo’er and Hu Daoke. The temperature inside was clearly higher than outside, and the fireplace fire had just been extinguished. There was an oil lamp lit on a pillar. As they entered, the draft caused the flame to flicker unsteadily.

"Must have left not long ago," Cheng Ziang inhaled deeply and said. The dim light meant his eyes needed a moment to adjust.

"Everyone split up..."

Before Luo’er could finish, Tangmo rushed in from outside, grabbing Cheng Ziang and pulling him towards the door while saying seriously, "Everyone, back out following the same steps you came in."

"What’s wrong, is something off?" Luo’er asked, surprised.

"I felt it," Tangmo looked around the interior solemnly, "Just now, I sensed a disturbance in magic. It wasn’t strong, but it was definitely not a simple magic fluctuation."

As she spoke, she casually picked up a wooden carving from near the door and tossed it inside. As soon as it touched the ground, a dazzling magic array mark appeared, followed by an intense blast of freezing air. Tangmo hurriedly whispered spells to activate her magic defense shield.

Despite the shield’s protection, everyone was still partly exposed to the cold air. It felt as if they were splashed in the face with liquid nitrogen; the entire room’s temperature dropped to freezing in an instant, even the last sparks in the fireplace were snuffed out by the cold.

The array in the center of the room erupted with cold air that spread rapidly, like an explosion of extreme cold, impacting the furniture and many small objects within the house. For a moment, the sound of these items hitting the floor was non-stop.

Just as they were still reeling from the shock, a series of crisp gunshots suddenly rang out from outside, heightening their alertness to the extreme.

"Mosin-Nagant, damn!"

Outside, Hu Daoke’s frustrated voice was followed by the rapid firing of a machine gun, its loud and dense bursts disrupting the quiet of the deep forest.

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