Pillar of Yita

As for Gita, she had braved the Blood Thistle Woods long ago, developing courage. She might be concerned about the unknown situation, but she would never be frightened or afraid.

Parker, carefree as always, was already sound asleep.

The Catfolk wiped his gleaming great sword with a piece of cloth, simply replying:

”We’ll find out how tough they are with a try. If they’re hard to deal with, we’ll come up with another plan.”

Indeed, there was no other option. Without knowing the strength of the enemy, Fang Hong couldn’t boast by saying everyone here was a novice.

If the Crystalysis Beasts were level forty or fifty, wouldn’t he be contradicting himself?

”How should we handle people from other guilds?”

”We can’t control the people at the campsite,” the Catfolk replied, ”Three or four days should be enough. We need to rendezvous with the Seven Seas Traveler within a week, so we can’t stay here too long. As for people underground, we’ll see about them if we come across them.”

”We’ll see about them?”

Titanium Pea and Zaozi exchanged glances, puzzled. Such a suggestion seemed unreliable, and suddenly, the reliable image of the Lion Paladin in their minds crumbled a bit.

But Fang Hong agreed with the suggestion. Indeed, the people below in the mine might not be alive, even if they were, they might not encounter them, and even if they did, they might not recognize each other.

So considering these issues now is purely a waste of time.

Besides, even if recognized, they couldn’t do anything about it.

Therefore, adapting to the situation later is undoubtedly the best approach.

Finally, Hilveld also suggested, ”We should bring climbing tools. There are some useful supplies at the campsite. Regardless of whether the Crystalysis Beasts can damage the roads built by our predecessors, we should always be prepared.”

Fang Hong nodded, and thus the discussion ended simply.

The Underground Walnut and others were left a bit stunned.

For the members of the Seven Seas Travel Group, who had long been accustomed to more thorny troubles, this world only had two kinds of problems.

The solvable and the unsolvable. The solvable need not worry, while worrying about the unsolvable was pointless.

Thus, problems become simplified.

It’s nothing but how to deal with them—self-created worries are utterly meaningless.

...

The night passed uneventfully.

They camped at the site left by the others throughout the night without encountering any attacks.

The Crystalysis Beasts seemed to have retreated after their assault and hadn’t appeared again.

Fang Hong felt a bit disappointed by this. He decided to stay, firstly because the ready-made campsite was useful, and secondly to see if the Crystalysis Beasts might attack again. Before heading to the mining area, they could gain a direct understanding of potential enemies.

He didn’t believe the Crystalysis Beasts could surround them again. He had just changed the batch of Constructs, so he still had some confidence.

Of course, if the Crystalysis Beasts were all at least level forty or fifty, then there’s nothing to be done. After all, this falls beyond capability. Isn’t taking risks inherent to adventure?

The next morning, everyone continued on their way, heading in the direction described in the log.

The log had been a great help, while Beiji also knew the place, she only knew the general vicinity.

The log contained not only exact locations but also directions and distances plainly written, allowing them to avoid many detours.

During daytime, the snowstorm eased, but the mountains remained dark and gloomy.

The clouds over the western slopes of Mount Pieriad were low, and after passing through the front valley, they effectively entered an area surrounded by clouds and fog.

The suspended mist contained not only fine water vapor and ice crystals but also snow particles, making visibility extremely low.

Beyond the wind gap, the entire north slope became a long, narrow glacier belt.

Ancient ice flows had split the rocks, and the massive crack where the mining area was located lay beneath the ice here.

The ice layers were filled with dangerous crevices, and the journey was perilous, yet it went smoothly with no real trouble.

Instead, it seemed the Crystalysis Beasts had vanished. Throughout the half-day, they hadn’t encountered a single one.

Around four in the afternoon, they successfully reached their destination.

The crack lay in a steep gorge, where the glacier had sliced through the black rock like a knife, forming this straight gorge.

Everyone peered over the cliff.

Not far along the rock face, the crack twisted like a gaping, distorted mouth, precisely as described in the log.

There was no sign of the Crystalysis Beasts at the entrance, or in the valley aside from the whistling wind, there was nearly no other sound.

”Is this the place?” Fang Hong turned back to ask the Underground Walnut and others.

Although it matched the description in the log, to be sure, he asked the others.

Descending from here would take quite some time. If mistaken, that would be a huge blunder.

The Underground Walnut group turned their gaze to Beiji.

This reticent girl finally spoke: ”My father came here and said the crack resembles a demon’s mouth, and those people made a mark on a southern slope of the gorge.”

Upon hearing this, everyone surveyed the surroundings, and soon Parker shouted, ”I found it!”

He pointed with a stubby finger, and only then did everyone see a pile of stones stacked in that direction, which at first glance blended with the surrounding rocks, but upon closer inspection, the difference was apparent.