The four continued to run across the snow land. Their feet were digging into the snow with each step. Their breathing was growing heavier faster.

But when life and death were on the line, pain and struggle like this meant nothing.

Several tyrant ice bears climbed onto the ridge and began pursuing them. But, the mysterious figure hurled more of those strange objects behind him. Those objects exploded one after another and forced the beasts to halt their advance.

Finally.

Leon and the others had crossed a great distance and the bears were no longer in sight. Everyone released a sigh of relief.

Everyone except the mysterious man.

A strange and unreadable expression remained on his face.

They were out of immediate danger. But... The group continued running at a comfortable pace now.

Leon moved closer to the stranger.

"Are you also trapped here?"

"Yes." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

The man replied after a brief silence.

"For how long?"

Alex asked. He could barely suppress the tension.

"For almost a year."

"One year?!" both Alex and Leon exclaimed in shock.

"How have you been surviving alone in a place like this?" Leon asked again.

"Somehow." The man kept his answer short.

"Are there others here besides you? And why doesn’t our magic work in this place?" This time, it was Noah who spoke.

"We’re currently inside the Frozen Tear Territory. No magic works here." The man paused briefly before continuing. "And yes... There are others besides me. Fifteen of them, to be exact."

Alex and Noah both heard his words clearly. The existence of fifteen other humans should have been good news. But neither of them could focus on that part. Their minds were completely fixated on the second sentence. ’No magic works in this place.’

"Then... how could he?"

Alex whispered and looked at Leon suspiciously. Noah and Alex exchanged a glance after that.

Leon noticed it. But he said nothing.

After that, no one spoke and continued running. Time slowly passed. Everyone was becoming exhausted gradually. But... The safe location still didn’t arrive.

Then suddenly...

A raised trail moved through the snowy ground toward them at terrifying speed. It looked like something massive was tunneling beneath the surface.

As they continued running, the raised trail rapidly closed the distance between them.

And then...

BOOM!

An explosion. Snow and dust burst into the air. And then....

A massive creature emerged from the underground.

The moment it appeared, everyone felt their hearts tighten.

It was an enormous beast that resembled a badger. But... it looked far more monstrous and terrifying. Its body was easily over five meters long. It was covered in thick white fur mixed with layers of dark, icy armor that looked as hard as steel. Frost clung to its body. The beast exhaled a freezing mist with every breath.

Its forelimbs were huge. Sharp metallic claws extended from them. Each claw was nearly the size of a sword and gleaming with a deadly cold light.

Just one swipe from those claws looked powerful enough to rip apart armored vehicles.

Its mouth was lined with massive curved fangs that protruded outward like spears. Saliva mixed with icy vapor dripped from between them onto the snow below.

But the most terrifying part... Its eyes. Two pale blue eyes locked onto the group with savage bloodlust, glowing eerily in the middle of the snowstorm.

The creature let out a deep growl. GRRRRRRRR!

The sound alone made the snowy ground tremble.

"Icefang Badger..." the mysterious man muttered, his face darkening instantly.

"Isn’t that a B-class beast?" Alex asked, his voice trembling slightly. Deep down, he hoped the man would deny it... Tell him he was mistaken.

But the man only nodded grimly.

"Damn it..." Alex cursed under his breath.

The Icefang Badger suddenly swung one of its massive forelimbs.

"Move!"

Everyone leapt backward in panic, barely managing to evade the attack. Despite its enormous size, the monster was unbelievably fast.

SWOOSH!

Its gigantic claws tore through the snowy ground, ripping up an enormous chunk of ice and earth as if it were paper. Snow exploded into the air.

"Everyone, run!" the unknown man shouted.

Without hesitation, the group circled the beast and sprinted away desperately once more.

This time, however, the man didn’t throw any more of those explosive objects. Either he had already run out of materials... Or they simply wouldn’t have any effect on the monster standing before them.

The beast chased after them relentlessly.

Leon and the others pushed their bodies to the limit, running with every ounce of strength they had left. But despite their desperate efforts, the distance between them and the monster was closing at a terrifying pace.

The Icefang Badger suddenly swung one of its massive forelimbs while charging forward.

Noah, who was at the very back of the group, barely managed to dodge in time. But not completely.

SCHLK!

The tip of one metallic claw grazed across his back, tearing through flesh and sending blood spraying into the snow-covered ground.

"ARGH!"

The searing pain nearly made Noah collapse on the spot. His vision blurred for a moment, and his legs almost gave out beneath him.

But somehow... He forced himself forward.

Behind them, the ground trembled violently with each step the monster took. Thick saliva dripped from the beast’s enormous jaws as it continued pursuing them like a predator that had already locked onto its prey.

Suddenly, the unknown man shouted while sprinting ahead. "There! We just need to cross that bridge! Once we do, we’ll be able to use our magic again!" he yelled.

In the distance, a hanging bridge came into view, its surface buried beneath layers of snow.

The moment everyone saw it, their spirits surged. One final hope. Gritting their teeth, the group pushed their exhausted bodies even harder, running faster than before.

Behind them, the Icefang Badger was closing in rapidly, its massive figure almost looming over the group like a nightmare.

But at last...

They reached the bridge. Without slowing down, everyone rushed onto it. Fortunately, the bridge wasn’t very long. Only around twenty meters. But before the entire group could make it across...

The beast lunged forward violently and swung its massive forelimb.

BOOM!

Noah, who was at the very back, was struck once again. This time, far more severely. Blood burst from his body as he was sent crashing forward. But the beast’s claws didn’t stop there. The gigantic metallic claws tore straight across the hanging bridge, carving deep furrows through the thick wooden planks and steel ropes. The entire bridge shook violently.

Then...

CRACK!

A deafening sound echoed through the canyon as the bridge split apart from the middle.

The unknown man had already crossed safely along with Alex. Leon was just about to make it across as well when the bridge suddenly collapsed beneath him. Without hesitation, Leon hurled the unconscious female hunter toward the opposite side.

Then his own body began to fall. Noah was already plummeting downward. Leon immediately reached out toward him. But he missed.

And in the next moment...

He too fell into the abyss.

"NOOOOO! NOAH!" Alex screamed from the other side of the broken bridge. But it was already too late.

As Leon fell, his head slammed against a protruding section of the cliff wall.

BAM!

His vision instantly darkened.