Chapter 532: The Behemoth
"Archmage Leon, we've herded all the Frost Mammoths to the spot you mentioned. What do we do next...?" Thorne Merlin braced himself behind a thick shield of battle aura, his face pale as he shouted at Leon. His voice carried a hint of anger.
There was no helping it—the situation was far from optimistic. For the past half hour, following the young mage's plan, everyone in the squad had exhausted huge amounts of mana and endured countless hardships to lure over a thousand Frost Mammoths to the designated spot. Yet, the young mage gave no indication of what to do next, as though the plan had never been his. This left the already short-tempered Thorne Merlin simmering with frustration.
At this point, everyone—himself included—had burned through nearly all their mana. Ten minutes was the most they could hold out. Once their mana ran dry, death was all that awaited them.
Under these circumstances, staying calm was impossible. He was nearly frantic...
"Archmage Mafa, if your plan isn't going to work, just say so. There's no point dragging this out any longer. We need to come up with something else..." Thorne Merlin's voice was heavy with resentment, clearly agitated. Still, as a commander, he managed to keep his composure and didn't lash out on the spot.
Maintaining his fire elemental form, Leon drifted among the Frost Mammoths. Hearing Thorne's shout, he frowned slightly, then after a few seconds, replied airily, "Just wait a little longer..."
"W—wait a little longer!"
Thorne Merlin was stunned for a moment before he finally reacted, his face turning completely grim. That casual "just wait a little longer" from the young mage nearly drove him mad with frustration...
If he could, he really wanted to grab the young mage by the collar and demand, "Do you even realize how dangerous things are right now?"
Wait? How much longer can we hold out?
If we keep waiting, we're all going to die!
Are you trying to get us killed...?
Even with the best self-control, Thorne Merlin could no longer contain his emotions. Right now, he regretted it bitterly—if he'd known this would happen, he never would've agreed to the young mage's plan. Back when everyone's mana was full, maybe they could've come up with another way to survive.
But now, everyone's mana was nearly spent, and they were surrounded by over a thousand Frost Mammoths. Not even wings could get them out of this...
This time, the young mage had truly led them to their doom...
Yet, just then, a sudden rumbling sound echoed through the icefield. Thorne Merlin could clearly feel the ground beneath him trembling. He was certain this wasn't caused by the Frost Mammoths—the entire region was shaking, and even hundreds or thousands of Frost Mammoths couldn't make such a commotion.
At that same moment, the others noticed it too...
"What is that...?"
As a Fifth-Level Sword Saint, Thorne Merlin's insight was extraordinary. Any change in this area would be instantly noticed by him. The moment the icefield trembled, he realized that the once-blue expanse was suddenly shrouded in shadow. His face showed shock as a thought flashed through his mind.
Could there be something beneath us?
The thought alone sent a chill down his spine...
It was simply unbelievable...
He couldn't imagine what kind of creature could be so massive that its body cast a shadow across hundreds of meters of icefield beneath them...
"Boom!"
At that moment, a thunderous crash shattered Thorne Merlin's thoughts. He saw the icefield split open without warning, as if something had smashed into it with tremendous force. Huge slabs of ice were hurled into the air.
Then Thorne Merlin witnessed a sight he would never forget—he was utterly stunned.
What had smashed through the ice was an enormous head, slowly emerging from a gaping fissure. Its neck was at least ten meters long. To be precise, it was the head of a magical beast, with two rows of fangs gleaming faintly in the weak sunlight. Its dark red eyes were hollow and lifeless, but the moment Thorne Merlin met its gaze, a chill swept through his body.
Just a single glance from the beast put unimaginable pressure on Thorne Merlin, the Fifth-Level Sword Saint. Words couldn't describe how terrifying it was—he was certain this was the most frightening power he'd ever encountered. Not even Larn Merlin, the peak Eighth-Level Title Archmage of the Ancestral Grounds, had ever made him feel like this...
"Rumble..."
Just as Thorne Merlin was completely lost in awe, that enormous beast head lunged onto the surface of the icefield. Its massive jaws, lined with gleaming fangs, snapped shut and swallowed three Frost Mammoths whole.
There was absolutely no resistance—not even a roar. The three Frost Mammoths were instantly reduced to prey. A grisly crunching sound followed. Even with their iron-hard hides, the Frost Mammoths were easily torn apart by the beast. In mere seconds, what had been living creatures became a mess of bloody flesh and broken limbs, blood trickling from the beast's mouth.
"Th-this..."
Shaken out of his stupor, Thorne Merlin felt icy cold all over, sweat pouring down his forehead. Only now did he notice that the hundreds of Frost Mammoths had gone utterly silent since the beast appeared. The so-called rulers of the icefield were now cowering, trembling, pressed flat against the ground as if facing the most terrifying thing in the world. None dared resist.
Thorne Merlin was so stunned he couldn't speak...
These were the so-called Death Gods of the Icefield—the Frost Mammoths. They were always the hunters, never the hunted. But today, a beast from beneath the ice had made them prey. Most terrifying of all, not one of them even had the courage to resist...
"Boom!"
Suddenly, another earth-shattering crash sounded. Just dozens of meters from the first beast head, a large section of ice shattered. Another head burst forth, its long neck stretching out to snap at the Frost Mammoths.
This new head looked almost identical to the first...
Yet before Thorne Merlin could even process his shock, more booming crashes echoed in quick succession. The entire icefield seemed to tremble. After about five minutes, nine heads had emerged from beneath the ice, all identical in appearance.
"Could all these heads belong to the same beast...?" Thorne quickly noticed that the aura radiating from each of the nine heads was identical! The realization stunned him—what kind of magical beast could possibly have nine heads...
"Folks, shouldn't we get out of here? Interrupting this monster's meal is definitely not a wise move..."
Of everyone in the squad, only Leon seemed calm. His voice was soft but carried clearly to every ear.
Instantly, everyone snapped out of their daze, cold sweat pouring down. Only after the young mage's reminder did they realize that staying here was a terrible idea.
The wrath of a Sky Rank magical beast was not something they could endure...
Yes, they were now certain—the beast with nine heads that had emerged from beneath the ice was definitely a Sky Rank magical beast!
That tangible, suffocating pressure aside—the way the Frost Mammoths behaved made it obvious to everyone.
If it weren't a Sky Rank beast, would the Frost Mammoths be this terrified?
Even a peak Title Archmage would be at great risk facing so many Frost Mammoths...
Unless it was Sky Rank...
A being of that level wields the power of the world itself, able to ignore numbers entirely. Killing a thousand Frost Mammoths would be as easy as killing a few dozen.
It was no exaggeration...
All the Frost Mammoths were too busy with their own terror, trembling and pressed flat against the icefield. None even tried to attack Leon and his group. By now, everyone had already taken to the sky to escape as quickly as possible.
Soon, the group used Flight spells to skim low over the ice, spending more than ten minutes before finally escaping the area and landing somewhere safe.
Everyone felt as if they'd survived a nightmare, utterly exhausted. Especially during that half hour weaving among the Frost Mammoths, dodging their charges and constantly defending against frost spells—it had drained far too much mana.
In this state, pressing onward would be extremely dangerous...
They now realized that this Frostbound Realm, as vast as the Blazeforge Realm, was likely far more perilous. In just an hour since arriving, they'd encountered hundreds of Frost Mammoths and a Sky Rank beast with nine heads.
They were lucky...
Otherwise, even if their strength increased tenfold, they might not have escaped disaster...
Afterward, the group found an open area to rest. Even Leon joined in, everyone entering a meditative state, slowly drawing mana from the void. Leon's mana array kept running at high speed—he had no choice. The Frostbound Realm was filled with unpredictable dangers, forcing him to stay on guard.
Who knew what other terrifying beasts might lurk beneath the ice, or whether another wave of magical creatures like the Frost Mammoths might attack them again...
Their recent encounter with the Frost Mammoths—escaping unscathed—could only be described as sheer luck...