Chapter 154: Have You Ever Seen Birds of Prey Fly in Flocks?

The Ice God Cult had arrived.

Su Miao watched the undead logging squad depart and frowned slightly. After the outbreak of the war between the Cannibal Tribe and the Four Seas Base, she had hoped to live in peace for the few months before the arrival of the extreme heat disaster. But looking at it now, that wish was about to be shattered by the Ice God Cult.

"Your Highness, I've discovered the Ice God Cult's camp."

The myna flew back to report.

"Mm, let's go take a look."

Su Miao walked forward, arriving at the camp discovered by the myna.

Inside the camp, there were leftover provisions: dried mutant rat meat, a powder mixed from unknown vegetation and tree bark, and a black, jelly-like substance resembling herbal jelly, though it was definitely not herbal jelly.

"Your Highness, this is cockroach paste. They use this to supplement protein," the myna said, standing nearby.

Su Miao took a step back, looking at the cockroach paste with a deep sense of disgust. In the past, such things only appeared in movies; she hadn't expected them to exist in reality. Their mere presence caused extreme discomfort.

At the same time, Su Miao couldn't help recalling the large mutant cockroaches she had seen in the tourist area. Those cockroaches weighed at least fifty or sixty pounds, and they fought with mutant giant rats every day.

Was the Ice God Cult using those exact cockroaches to make this cockroach paste?

Before the apocalypse, just seeing a cockroach would have given Su Miao the courage to step on it and kill it. But after the arrival of the apocalypse, seeing cockroaches that large merely made her hair stand on end.

The thought of turning such cockroaches into food was completely unacceptable.

*Ugh...*

Su Miao shook her head repeatedly, unable to continue imagining it.

Judging from the layout of this ice hut, these items belonged exclusively to the female priest named Lu, while ordinary members of the Ice God Cult had no qualification to consume such things.

Absurd.

"Your Highness, there is a letter here."

The myna discovered some letters on a crude wooden board.

Letters had gradually been phased out a century ago due to the development of smart technology. Except for important official documents, they were practically never used; any matter could be resolved with a quick text message or a phone call.

However, with the arrival of the apocalypse, water and electricity cuts, and interrupted communications, people had once again picked up this ancient yet effective method of communication.

Even so, exchanging letters amidst this blizzard and extreme cold was no easy task.

"Priest Lu Xiaoe, we have completed the basic deployment at the Four Seas Base. However, there are reports that Yu Yuangui, the director of the Four Seas Base, has successfully evolved, growing much stronger. Furthermore, he and Zheng Meng both used to belong to the Fire God Base, and the two sides may cooperate. To ensure minimal losses during our plan and to guarantee that the Ice God Cult can completely control the Four Seas Base, you are hereby ordered to immediately lead your people to rendezvous at the Four Seas Base and assist Zhuang Youpeng in executing the plan."

"Note: There is a witch near the Four Seas Base. Take a detour upon arrival, and wait until I reach the Four Seas Base to handle the matter regarding the witch."

"Praise the Ice God, the Ice God alone is eternal!"

"High Priest: Luwei."

"..."

Su Miao tossed the letter aside casually.

For some reason, reading these contents gave Su Miao the lingering feeling that High Priest Luwei was hiding information.

Just because a dangerous witch lived near the Four Seas Base, the witch had to be dealt with as a priority—even before the Ice God Cult had truly taken control of the Four Seas Base.

Logically speaking, that made very little sense, no matter how one looked at it.

Su Miao blinked and looked at the second letter, which was unsigned.

"The foundation of cooperation between the Four Seas Base and the Ice God Cult is that it must not affect the witch in any way; otherwise, the Four Seas Base will immediately implement countermeasures. Judging from the attitude of Yu Yuangui and the others, they are extremely terrified of the witch's existence, fearing that provoking her will bring about a catastrophe of annihilation. However, the future Four Seas Base belongs to our Ice God Cult, and such a dangerous hidden hazard is strictly forbidden from existing near the Four Seas Base."

"When all is said and done, the witch is only one person. No matter how strong an individual is, she is still just one person. If she doesn't die, who will?"

"Praise the Ice God, the Ice God alone is eternal!"

Su Miao discarded this letter as well, her mood souring.

She only wanted to live quietly here for a few months. To ensure a peaceful life, she had even killed the King of West Da, yet how was she still being targeted?

Was the explosion she created last time not big enough, or were the cannibals not thoroughly slaughtered?

Judging from this letter, the people from the Four Seas Base who had fled back had clearly warned everyone not to provoke her. Why did the Ice God Cult still want her dead?

Could it be that the truth—that she wasn't actually all that strong—had been discovered?

Just as the letter stated, she was only one person. No matter how strong a single person was, how could they guard against a multitude of enemies?

Su Miao thought carefully, feeling a twinge of fear.

Indeed, she only knew a bit of magic, and her sole offensive trump card was the small blue fireball she stored daily in her magical space.

Facing an enemy like the King of West Da, if the large blue fireball she threw failed to kill the target in one strike, things would become extremely dangerous.

Although her small blue fireball had currently evolved into a higher-temperature small purple fireball, the principle remained the same.

In daily combat, all of her strength was tied to possessing magic power.

Falling into a protracted battle or a state of continuously consuming magic power would plunge her into a passive and vulnerable position.

In battle, she could use the Resurrection of the Undead magic to control the dead, but that required a sufficient number of corpses. Should her opponents eschew a human-wave tactic, the Resurrection of the Undead magic would become completely useless.

Furthermore, if she ever encountered someone like Chi Wanning—someone capable of prohibiting the use of magic and abilities—that would be an entirely different scenario.

Thinking along these lines, Su Miao realized that her offensive and self-preservation methods were far, far too few.

"As expected, I am still too weak. I need to become stronger."

Su Miao felt a chill and picked up the final letter.

"We have sufficient intelligence to suspect that the witch has mastered the technology to cultivate ultra-cold-resistant crops in the snow and ice. This technology involves research related to mutant plants."

"You must cooperate with Ice God Cult High Priest Luwei to take down the witch and seize this technology. As long as we possess this technology, we will have the opportunity to capture the official sanctuary."

"An Ice God Cult that only fixates on private bases truly has no ambition."

"..."

Eh?

Seeing this letter, Su Miao blinked.

Was this Ice God Cult priest named Lu Xiaoe not actually a member of the cult, but an undercover agent?

Regardless of whether she was an undercover agent or not, the faction behind Lu Xiaoe, just like the Ice God Cult, had their eyes on her. Their true objective was actually her growth potion.

By extension, Su Miao seemed to understand the hidden motive of High Priest Luwei.

The Ice God Cult wanted the growth potion as well.

Actually, the Ice God Cult could have just asked her directly. That way, she could have gifted them a batch of poisonous growth potion.

She could guarantee that the vegetables and fruits they grew from it would be edible, and as long as they consumed them daily, the poison wouldn't flare up for a month or two.

Su Miao synthesized the intelligence she had gathered. It was basically certain that members of the Ice God Cult were continuously converging on the Four Seas Base, intending to seize it while plotting to kill her beforehand.

The myna spoke up, "Your Highness, should we send those giant golden eagles to wipe out the people from the Ice God Cult?"

Su Miao replied, "Mm, that's fine. Just attack the cultists appearing near the Four Seas Base; don't directly attack the inside of the Four Seas Base."

Should people on the level of Lan Kongkong or the King of West Da appear, the giant golden eagles wouldn't be able to hold their ground.

The myna flapped its wings and took flight. "Understood, Your Highness. I'll go notify them right away."

Su Miao glanced around the ice hut one last time. Finding nothing else of use, she turned and walked outside.

Looking at the boundless snow outside and feeling the bone-piercing cold, Su Miao marveled at how strong human adaptability to the environment truly was.

"Time to go home and continue researching magic."

Su Miao put the phoenix wood staff away into her magical space, pulled out her snowmobile, started it, and headed home!

To be honest, if magic power hadn't been blanketing her entire body, she honestly wouldn't have known how to drive a snowmobile in this extreme cold; anyone else would freeze stiff at even the slightest speed.

Suddenly, an idea flashed through her mind, and Su Miao thought of a brilliant scheme to deal with the Ice God Cult.

***

Four Seas Base.

Doctor Fan Qing sat in the unique conference room, feeling a bit restless.

Earlier, just after finishing a surgery, Mi Li had come to inform him that the Four Seas Base's directors' meeting was about to begin and asked him to attend.

He had come, arriving first. Looking at the empty, spacious conference room, he felt a strange sensation.

Come to think of it, this felt like joining a massive company before the apocalypse without any power, connections, or status, only to be handed an appointment letter less than a week into the job, declaring you the vice president of this corporate giant.

The kicker was that this wasn't some empty, honorary vice presidency, but one that genuinely granted real authority.

Not even fantasy novels were written this way.

However, Doctor Fan Qing was, after all, someone who had spent decades as a chief physician in a hospital; he quickly adapted to the unfamiliar conference room.

Strictly speaking, this was his first formal meeting with Yu Yuangui and Pei Fu.

Their previous encounters had amounted to little more than brief exchanges of glances.

These two directors always seemed exceedingly busy, and he had possessed a massive backlog of patients, making it completely impossible for him to leave.

It wasn't until today that he had finally finished surgeries for the patients who needed him.

As for the remaining patients, other doctors could help them.

Looking at it this way, they must have calculated the exact time when he would finally have free time.

A few minutes later, Yu Yuangui and Pei Fu walked into the conference hall.

Doctor Fan Qing instinctively glanced at Yu Yuangui and Pei Fu, instantly perceiving the abilities possessed by the two men.

Yu Yuangui was a dual-ability user. His first ability was an extremely powerful self-regeneration capability; possessing this power meant that as long as Yu Yuangui wasn't killed in a single fatal strike, he could recover rapidly.

Of course, choosing rapid recovery might consume Yu Yuangui's source energy and overdraw his vitality.

Judging from Yu Yuangui's condition, however, he hadn't overdrawn it much at all.

In that case, this self-regeneration ability was completely absurd.

If this ability continued to grow, theoretically, it could reach the freakish degree of being instantly critically wounded and instantly recovering in the next second.

*Hiss!*

Doctor Fan Qing gasped inwardly.

Furthermore, Yu Yuangui's second ability was even more outrageous.

It was a special ability capable of absorbing an opponent's attack energy, converting it within the body, fusing it with one's own power, and hurling it back out as an even stronger counterattack.

Previously in his team, Liu Zixuan possessed an ability akin to "shifting stars to move the Dipper," but Yu Yuangui's ability was far stronger and more heaven-defying than Liu Zixuan's.

As long as an attack didn't exceed his limit, Yu Yuangui could essentially stand in an invincible position during confrontations with other ability users.

No wonder Yu Yuangui had been able to stalemate the King of West Da in battle for so long.

Wait, Yu Yuangui seemed to be hiding a third ability as well.

That ability was one he couldn't see through.

Doctor Fan Qing's heart tightened; he understood this was a manifestation of Yu Yuangui reaching a certain tier, and he did not dare to continue probing.

The second director of the Four Seas Base, Pei Fu, was a single-ability user possessing a special mirror ability.

Possessing the mirror ability allowed Pei Fu to replicate an opponent's ability attacks during combat.

Moreover, this ability replication didn't require the opponent to use it first; he could initiate it proactively.

At the same time, Pei Fu could mirror-counterattack the opponent's strikes.

Because of this, Doctor Fan Qing defined this ability as "mirroring" rather than mere "replication."

In addition to this, Pei Fu possessed a degree of affinity with mutant plants, which was related to several dangerous mutant plants he carried on his person.

However, Mi Li also carried dangerous mutant plants on her; this was likely a technology unique to the Four Seas Base.

Noticing Doctor Fan Qing's gaze, Yu Yuangui smiled slightly. "Doctor Fan, congratulations on becoming a director of the Four Seas Base. I apologize; everyone has been extremely busy inside the base lately, so I didn't have time to congratulate you in person."

Pei Fu produced a box and opened it, revealing a black vine inside. "Doctor Fan, this is a mutant plant of the Four Seas Base. Drop three drops of your fresh blood onto this section of vine, and it will memorize your aura and become your bodyguard."

"During routine combat, you can drive it by infusing your ability into this mutant black vine; it's quite formidable for both surprise attacks and defense."

"When the battle ends, just let it eat a bit of the spoils of war."

Doctor Fan Qing looked at the mutant black vine presented before him and froze for a moment. "This... this is too valuable."

Yu Yuangui chuckled. "Doctor Fan, you probably haven't fully adapted to the identity of a Four Seas Base director yet. I was just like you in the beginning, but I believe you'll adapt before long. Accept it."

"This mutant black vine carries a certain degree of danger. Drop your blood on it now, and we can supervise."

"Before long, there's going to be a bit of trouble inside the Four Seas Base."

Doctor Fan Qing quickly understood Yu Yuangui's implication.

He pricked his fingertip and dripped a few drops of fresh blood onto the black vine.

In an instant, the tiny section of black vine unfurled, growing autonomously until it became verdant and beautiful.

Yu Yuangui said, "It seems this mutant black vine is quite fond of Doctor Fan and has shown no dangerous behavior. Doctor Fan, you can put it in your pocket."

"If you find it inconvenient to use daily, turning it into a black wristband is fine too."

Doctor Fan Qing pocketed the mutant black vine.

A wristband would interfere with performing surgeries, so he'd pass on that.

Yu Yuangui said, "Very well, let's begin the official meeting."

Pei Fu nodded, Mi Li routinely prepared to take notes, and Doctor Fan Qing looked at Yu Yuangui.

Yu Yuangui said, "Recently, the penetration of our Four Seas Base by Ice God Cult priest Zhuang Youpeng has taken another step forward. Moreover, this penetration was outside the plans of Zheng Meng, Qiao Xixin, and myself."

"Although this penetration hasn't fundamentally deviated from our original plan on a macro scale, allowing it to continue unchecked will still cause considerable impact."

"Especially with the extreme heat disaster arriving in two months; some of our schedules might not get completed in time."

Pei Fu asked, "So, you want to bring in more people from the Ice God Cult?"

Yu Yuangui shook his head. "No. Because of this unconstrained introduction, we can no longer properly distinguish between wanderers seeking refuge in the Four Seas Base and Ice God Cultists. Absorbing more people is pointless."

Pei Fu said, "Those aren't the main points. The crux is that the Ice God Cult has consistently been plotting against the witch."

At the mention of the witch, Yu Yuangui's expression turned grave.

He would never tell anyone that, after that brutal war, Yu Yuangui had dreamed multiple times of being turned into a completely senseless undead by the witch, his soul trapped and tortured within an already dead corpse, making release an impossibility.

This feeling was somewhat akin to placing someone in an infinitely cramped space and burying them underground, leaving them to live out their days like that.

Aside from terror, there was only more terror.

Yu Yuangui said, "If the Four Seas Base weren't short on manpower, I'd really want to march over and slap that moron Zhuang Youpeng to death."

Pei Fu offered no comment on that.

Suddenly thinking of something, Yu Yuangui tapped his desk, causing a drawer to instantly slide open.

He pulled out several meeting minutes from inside and handed them to a bewildered Doctor Fan Qing. "Doctor Fan, this is your first time attending a meeting, so you might not know the full picture. Here are the minutes from previous meetings and some plans; you can take a brief look."

Doctor Fan Qing took the meeting minutes and glanced at them. Such important documents, kept so "stealthily"—was this really okay?

He looked more closely at the contents, growing more alarmed with every word.

"The Ice God Cult has already infiltrated 12 director-level ability users into the Four Seas Base?"

Doctor Fan Qing blurted out.

The so-called "director-level" used ability users of the Four Seas Base's director tier as a unit of measurement.

Simply put, this referred to the tier of Pei Fu and Lin Henian. Previously, Yu Yuangui had also been at this tier, but he had successfully evolved once more, breaking away from it, though he hadn't announced it publicly yet.

Yu Yuangui smiled. "That's right. According to the Ice God Cult's plan, at least six more director-level ability users should have arrived. For some unknown reason, those people haven't shown up."

"Oh, right, you can cross Zheng Meng and Qiao Xixin off that list."

"Again, for unknown reasons, despite also being Ice God Cult priests, certain factions within the cult desperately want them dead—especially Qiao Xixin. That man harbors a massive secret."

Doctor Fan Qing seemed to realize something. "Perhaps I know the reason."

Yu Yuangui and Pei Fu exchanged glances, a trace of astonishment flashing in their eyes as they waited for Doctor Fan Qing to continue.

Doctor Fan Qing said, "Faith."

Pei Fu asked, "Faith?"

Doctor Fan Qing said, "Yes. Qiao Xixin possesses a very special kind of power, akin to the power of religious faith."

A few days ago, Qiao Xixin had upset his stomach and gone to see him.

During the course of their interaction, Doctor Fan Qing had noticed this special power on Qiao Xixin and had been extremely curious.

At first, he hadn't understood what it was, but after passing by the Temple of Ice one day and 'seeing' that same special power there, he deduced that this was the power of faith.

Yu Yuangui mused, "Incense merit?"

Doctor Fan Qing shook his head. "I'm not sure. It should bear some similarity to incense merit, but I haven't seen the power of faith on any other Ice God Cult priests."

Yu Yuangui said, "Could it be that Qiao Xixin used some method to intercept the Ice God's power of faith? If that's the reason, it pretty much explains why they're so eager to kill Qiao Xixin."

"Impressive, Qiao Xixin. On the surface, he comes across as carefree, kind-hearted, and flighty, but all of that was just a disguise. His true goal was to play a high-stakes game."

"No, I must have missed some other clues."

"The power of faith..."

Yu Yuangui muttered to himself, his eyes widening as he voiced a guess in his heart. "Do you suppose someone has awakened an ability related to faith—such as harvesting faith or collecting incense to make themselves stronger?"

"Perhaps I should let my imagination fly a bit further: could someone have awakened a similar ability, intending to use so-called deities to harvest faith, or even condense something like the ethereal godhood found in mythological tales?"

Pei Fu and Doctor Fan Qing were dumbfounded.

Could such a thing genuinely be possible?

Although the apocalypse had arrived, they had all grown up receiving a scientific education. Even if humans, animals, and plants had mutated under the influence of the apocalypse, making this sudden swerve into theology a bit too absurd, wouldn't it?

Yu Yuangui said, "All of the above are just my guesses. Godhood and deities are things from fantasy movies and shows, but I think as ability users continue to evolve, sooner or later, phenomena will emerge that even science cannot explain."

"Too bad our facility isn't an official sanctuary and lacks the conditions; otherwise, we could conduct research from a genetic level."

"For example: Genetic Locks!"

Speaking of knowledge within his professional scope, Doctor Fan Qing could barely hold it together.

Strictly speaking, he held a medical doctorate and had done a bit of research regarding genetics.

Back during his research days, they hadn't failed to look into the "genetic locks" mentioned in anime, but such research had yielded zero progress.

Of course, the medical and biological fields hadn't been entirely devoid of breakthroughs in genetic research.

Scientists had discovered some extremely special genes.

For instance, genes affecting human lifespan, organ health, and vitality.

Yet, given current scientific research, taking the next step to utilize these genes still had a long road ahead of it.

As for genetic locks and the like, they remained firmly in the realm of science fiction and had not entered true scientific research.

Seeing that Yu Yuangui was about to continue spouting nonsense, Pei Fu interrupted directly, "Let's get back to the Ice God Cult. They're about to make a move against the witch."

Yu Yuangui said, "In that case, let's proceed with the first phase of the plan."

Pei Fu said, "Agreed."

Doctor Fan Qing asked, "Is there anything I need to do?"

Yu Yuangui replied, "Yes. Once the plan starts, the Ice God Cult will sustain a large number of casualties. I'll have to trouble Doctor Fan to provide them with treatment then. That way, we can extract more supplies from the Ice God Cult and assign their people more labor tasks."

Doctor Fan Qing said, "No problem."

Yu Yuangui added, "Oh, and Doctor Fan, the news of you becoming a director of the Four Seas Base will be made public today. Afterward, the Ice God Cult will undoubtedly contact you. No matter what they send or say, just agree to it all."

"Everything we are doing right now is to prepare for the extreme heat disaster arriving in two months. We aren't lacking in survival supplies; what we lack is manpower."

"In the face of a natural disaster, as long as it doesn't spell a destructive crisis for the Four Seas Base, taking a step back on everything is completely fine."

"Once the extreme heat disaster arrives, many things will cease to be issues at all."

Doctor Fan Qing stood up and nodded, indicating he understood.

He had taken in far too much information during this Four Seas Base directors' meeting.

And the actions of the Ice God Cult—just how insane were these people?

***

Zhuang Youpeng had been feeling rather irritable lately.

His several attempts to trap Qiao Xixin and Zheng Meng had backfired, nearly trapping him instead. As a result, every time Qiao Xixin saw him now, he would ask, "Respected Priest Zhuang Youpeng, I've received word that High Priest Luwei is arriving soon. Have you still not resolved the issue of the witch?"

*Damn it!*

Was the issue of the witch something a single person could resolve?

They had spoken so casually during the meeting simply because they wanted to trick him into dying!

Just because the witch could kill a severely wounded King of West Da didn't mean *they* could kill a severely wounded King of West Da.

Furthermore, their true motive in targeting the witch was to get their hands on her secrets.

Without High Priest Luwei's arrival, taking action was genuinely difficult.

Therefore, against these two individuals who idly holed up inside the Four Seas Base all day, Zhuang Youpeng was completely helpless.

Moreover, Yu Yuangui, the director of the Four Seas Base, held an ambiguous attitude toward the Ice God Cult. No matter how many arrangements the cult made, Yu Yuangui not only didn't stop or disrupt them, but he flung the gates wide open to welcome them.

Aside from occasionally assigning Ice God Cult priests out on missions—which was somewhat annoying—there was zero conflict between the two sides. One could even describe their cooperation as pleasant.

Such behavior almost made Zhuang Youpeng suspect that Yu Yuangui intended to join the Ice God Cult.

Or perhaps he was harboring some unknown plot.

"Has Priest Lu Xiaoe still not arrived?" Zhuang Youpeng asked.

Tang Jing frowned. "No."

Priest Lu Xiaoe was a critically important figure in their plan.

With Zheng Meng and Qiao Xixin refusing to leave the Four Seas Base, Lu Xiaoe's arrival would make eliminating them a breeze.

Should Zheng Meng and Qiao Xixin choose to briefly leave the Four Seas Base, having Priest Lu Xiaoe present would make killing them even easier.

Negotiating with the witch wouldn't pose any problems either.

Zhuang Youpeng said, "That's not right. Going by the timeline, she should have arrived already."

Tang Jing said, "Could she have been delayed by something on the road?"

Zhuang Youpeng said, "Unlikely."

As the two men were talking, an Ice God Cultist came running over, breathless as he reported, "Just now, Zheng Meng and Qiao Xixin left the Four Seas Base, claiming they were going to capture an ice wind wolf that appeared in the valley northwest of the base."

"Let's go—"

Zhuang Youpeng took a few steps before stopping abruptly. "Those two didn't leave a moment earlier or a moment later, but right at this time? They're definitely digging a trap for us."

Tang Jing said, "Alright."

Just as Zhuang Youpeng thought about giving up, he turned back around and said, "What is empty is full, and what is full is empty. If they really want to dig a trap, can't we just dig a bigger one? Call up the others, and let's go block them."

Tang Jing praised, "Priest Zhuang is wise!"

Ten priests ambushing two priests—even if it failed, what losses could they possibly suffer?

***

In an alpine forest.

The myna flew over like a streak of lightning. "Little ones, His Highness has a mission!"

The giant golden eagle squatting in its nest ruffled its feathers, casting a glare at the smug myna. If it weren't for the fact that it couldn't beat the bird, it definitely would have found a chance to thrash the myna.

The myna announced, "His Highness's orders: patrol the area near the Four Seas Base, and wipe out any members of the Ice God Cult you find."

The giant golden eagle let out a soft cry, indicating it understood.

A few seconds later, one myna, one giant golden eagle, eight gray eagles, and two newly joined ultra-large peregrine falcons took flight toward the Four Seas Base.

"Listen up: we are patrolling near the Four Seas Base, not attacking the base itself. There are some cunning old foxes inside, so it's relatively dangerous."

"Once targets are spotted—unless they're small fry—if they're powerful ability users, gang up on them."

"You are permitted to eat any targets you hunt."

The myna flew in front, giving instructions.

The two peregrine falcons stared at the myna with very peculiar expressions.

They couldn't quite fathom why the giant golden eagle and the gray eagles were obeying a myna.

Sure, this myna was fast, but that alone shouldn't make a giant golden eagle listen to it.

"You two newbies, do you have an attitude problem toward Lord Bird?"

Suddenly, the myna's voice rang out right beside them.

The two ultra-large peregrine falcons felt the sky darken. Looking up, they saw a black bird even larger than themselves flying directly above them, its talons practically hovering over their necks.

With just a slight exertion of force, their lives would be snuffed out.

"Got an attitude problem now?"

The myna gently tapped the heads of the two peregrine falcons.

The two falcons trembled like cicadas in winter, hastily signaling that they dared not.

"Hmph. See that you don't. Be good, do your jobs well, and when you meet His Highness later, there will be benefits in it for you."

The myna's form rapidly shrank, returning to its normal size.

This display filled the peregrine falcons with even greater awe.

Such an ability to grow and shrink was something they had only ever seen in exceptionally powerful feline beasts; they hadn't expected a myna to possess it as well.

Their curiosity about what kind of entity His Highness—the one the myna kept talking about—truly was grew exponentially.

***

Qiao Xixin parked his snowmobile and stared at the valley ahead. "Zheng Meng, my intuition tells me this 'luring the snake out of its hole' plan is extremely dangerous."

According to reports from the Four Seas Base security personnel, the ice wind wolf had appeared in this very valley.

This particular ice wind wolf was exceptionally ferocious and had already injured several people from the Four Seas Base.

They had come here precisely to eliminate it.

Zheng Meng replied, "This plan carries a certain degree of risk, but Yu Yuangui and we share the same objective. Given his old-fox cunning, there shouldn't be any critical oversights."

Qiao Xixin said, "Zheng Meng, you used the word *should*, which means you're not certain."

Zheng Meng said, "Let's stick to the plan for now. Otherwise, once High Priest Luwei arrives at the Four Seas Base, matters won't be so easily handled."

Qiao Xixin said, "Mm, what you say makes sense, but don't you feel cold not wearing your priestly robes when coming out like this?"

Zheng Meng said, "Are you worried you aren't drawing enough attention?"

Qiao Xixin answered, "No, no. It's just that I saw that black myna fly past a moment ago."

Zheng Meng said, "A black myna? *That* one?"

Qiao Xixin said, "The one we ran into last time—the one raised by the witch."

Zheng Meng's expression shifted drastically. Abandoning his snowmobile, he grabbed Qiao Xixin, dug out a snow cave, and bolted inside.

Their plan this time was meant to bait Zhuang Youpeng and his group, not the witch's pet myna!

*Damn it!*

If Qiao Xixin hadn't warned him, heaven knows what would have happened.

Scarcely had they burrowed into the snow cave to flee when the myna appeared in the sky above the valley. "Strange. Where did those two Four Seas Base guys who came here go? Did the wolves eat them?"

As it spoke, an ice wind wolf standing over three meters tall materialized in the valley.

It bared its fangs and roared at the myna circling in the sky.

This myna had been here several times before.

Every time, it claimed it wanted to take the wolf as its underling. When the wolf ignored it, the myna would unleash an endless barrage of foul and unprintable profanities, being a nuisance so cheap it drove the beast crazy.

"Lord Bird has business today and no time to bicker with you. Bare your fangs again and see if I don't waste you."

The myna said impatiently.

Could a beast endure such an attitude?

The ice wind wolf grew even angrier.

Just as it wanted to let out a roar to express its rage, it spotted a giant golden eagle, eight gray eagles, and two ultra-giant peregrine falcons appearing in the sky. It immediately whimpered a few times and fled into the depths of the valley.

It couldn't afford to provoke them.

The myna continued circling above the valley. "Strange, I thought I saw acquaintances, but how did they vanish?"

At that moment, one of the peregrine falcons let out a few cries.

The myna chirped, "Ice God Cultists came out of the Four Seas Base? And they're all ability users heading this way? Good, little ones, let's go—wipe them out!"

The flock of giant birds wheeled around, swooping toward their targets.

***

Meanwhile, Zhuang Youpeng was leading nine Ice God Cult priests as they tracked the traces left behind by Zheng Meng and Qiao Xixin.

To avoid alerting the enemy, their pace was neither too fast nor too slow.

According to intelligence, that ice wind wolf possessed formidable strength and wouldn't be taken down quickly.

Thus, their objective was singular: block the mouth of the valley, set up an ambush, and wait for them to walk right into the trap.

"Look, what is that in the sky?" a priest in the group shouted loudly.

"What's going on? Are raptors traveling in packs now?" Priest Tang Jing said, "This situation doesn't look right."

Zhuang Youpeng's expression tightened, and he immediately ordered, "All vehicles stop. Wait for these raptors to pass."

Priest Fu Jiaxin said, "No, these raptors are coming straight for us."

Priest Shi Hongsheng yelled, "They're here!"

Tang Jing said, "It's the witch's myna! Who provoked it? According to the intelligence we gathered, as long as you don't provoke this myna, it won't set its bird attacks on you."

Zhuang Youpeng's face turned livid. "I get it! Zheng Meng and Qiao Xixin must have deliberately provoked this myna! Prepare for battle!"

They were all Ice God Cult priests, towering figures of great status and influence within the cult.

In the eyes of ordinary people, they were exceptionally powerful ability users.

Since when did these mutant beasts grow bold enough to charge straight at them?

"Open fire!"

Seeing the giant golden eagle, gray eagles, and peregrine falcons dive down, the Ice God Cult priests opened fire in unison, their submachine guns spitting flame and bullets pouring forth.

However, aside from the initial *clanging* sounds of bullets striking metallic hide, no similar noises followed.

Even more terrifyingly, these raptors had already lunged right before them.

"Ah!"

One priest, caught off guard, had his arm slashed open by the giant golden eagle, blood spurting everywhere as his limb was instantly rendered useless.

Immediately afterward, another priest was grabbed by a peregrine falcon and hoisted into the sky at breakneck speed.

Panic-stricken, he screamed at the top of his lungs, "Save me!"

The moment the words left his mouth, he watched another peregrine falcon sweep its wings horizontally across his waist, cleaving his torso in half as the remains plummeted from the sky.