IRM Chapter 116

Snow Wolf Valley lay nestled between two mountain peaks. The snow-capped mountain to the north was Ji Chi’s destination—it towered several times higher than the surrounding peaks, its snow-covered summit piercing straight into the clouds.

“If you want to reach the peak of Beast God Peak, this is the only route.” Natasha moved nimbly across the rock face, raising her sword to point toward Snow Wolf Valley. “Of course, the outer mountain peaks can also be climbed, but no one can survive the blizzards, fog, and berserk beasts.”

“Even the strongest warriors of the Snow Wolf tribe wouldn’t dare set foot in those areas,” she added.

Reize struggled as he traversed the steep rock walls. As a mage, agility and strength were truly his weak points. Combined with his suppressed magic power, he had practically gritted his teeth to breaking point to keep up along this journey.

Natasha noticed him stumble while jumping across a steep slope. Inconspicuously, she slowed her pace and changed direction, leading them down another path that was farther but more level.

Ji Chi sensed the strange atmosphere between the two of them, but didn’t feel it was appropriate to say anything. After all, he wasn’t particularly adept at getting along with elders either.

He abandoned the task of lightening the mood and turned his gaze to Snow Wolf Valley, discovering something odd. “How do people living here defend against attacks from berserk beasts? Or do berserk beasts not dare enter this ravine? It must be the latter, right? I haven’t seen a single one along the way.”

Natasha nodded. “Yes, Snow Wolf Valley is a place blessed by the Wolf King. Even the most crazed berserk beasts will avoid this area.”

“Ah, the Northland Wolf King…” The boss of the snow mountain storyline. Ji Chi’s dark eyes flickered. As expected, another boss with a hidden story. He glanced at Reize carefully climbing up the icy rocks beside him, and couldn’t help but furrow his brow with anger.

Reize, Chloe, the Northland Wolf King… In the main storyline, they were greedy and evil, crazed and bloodthirsty, causing countless disasters and suffering.

But the real them—they were unafraid of disaster and pain, embracing kindness and warmth, struggling unyieldingly. They were merely bound by the plot.

Ji Chi could no longer treat them as flat characters. Now he was genuinely angry about their circumstances. He sneered mockingly. “Ha, those people are still spreading rumors that it killed the Beast God.”

Natasha lowered her eyes and pressed her lips together in displeasure. This rumor was widely circulated. People who went near the fortress would hear more or less about the Wolf King’s infamous betrayal. In some regional dialects, “Wolf King” was even used to describe people of corrupt character.

“That’s not true. The Wolf King is only protecting all of this. It has already lost its mother—it doesn’t want to lose this land as well.” Natasha shook her head, unwilling to continue this topic. “The Snow Wolf tribe is just ahead. Wait here for a moment while I go explain the situation to the chief.”

They passed through a cave entrance. Ahead was a tribe built into the mountain wall. Up close, Snow Wolf Valley wasn’t extraordinarily treacherous. Each ridge was like a small courtyard with enough space for the Snow Wolf people to move about and play.

Ji Chi watched those figures leaping up and down, suddenly struck by an odd feeling—the Snow Wolf tribe seemed a bit too rowdy.

The thought had barely crossed his mind when a disheveled head suddenly dangled down from above, hanging upside down right in front of his nose. If the young master had been here, he might have performed another maiden-like shriek.

Ji Chi’s expression remained blank as he stepped back, coolly eyeing that head, barely suppressing the urge to punch it.

“Huh? It’s a human!” The youth grabbed at his messy hair, revealing bright eyes beneath thick brows. His eyes were different from normal humans’—the whites were more prominent, and his slightly smaller gray-blue pupils darted around. Clearly not the docile type.

With a powerful kick against the rock layer with his dangling legs, he flipped beautifully through the air and landed steadily before Ji Chi and Reize.

The youth tilted his head to look at them, let out a “huh,” then said nothing more. He turned around, pulled a pitted and dented large iron hammer from his back, and swung it whooshing toward them. “All invaders must die!”

Reize started in alarm and reflexively pulled out an elemental bottle, but hesitated. He didn’t want to hurt the people here.

Ji Chi quickly drew his sword, blocking the hammer before it could smash down. The clash of metal accompanied by sparks filled the narrow rock crevice. The enormous rebound force made the youth stagger back several steps. He looked up in surprise at Ji Chi, who hadn’t moved an inch.

“You’re a warrior!” The youth grew strangely excited. “And a scrawny warrior at that! How amazing!”

Good grief, this fool immediately struck Ji Chi’s sore spot with his opening words. A vein throbbed at Ji Chi’s temple. He swung his sword in counterattack, “I’ll give you a chance—choose a different adjective!”

The youth laughed heartily, his mouth still running recklessly. “Oh! You look just like a mage! Have you ever seen a mage? Their arms snap with one touch, how terrifying! I’ve never seen people so fragile! Like they’re made of ice!”

For the first time, Ji Chi so vividly faced profession discrimination. His head throbbed as he blurted out, “Then you can try and see just how fragile this mage is!”

In the time it took to exchange these words, they had already traded several moves. The black sword and iron hammer clashed repeatedly, the piercing collision sounds bouncing off the rock walls in endless echoes.

The youth’s fighting style was barbaric—he just swung the hammer around chaotically with no technique. However, he relied on his great strength and rarely found himself at a disadvantage.

But this time was different. The slender youth before him actually had far greater strength than his own!

“BANG!” The youth’s iron hammer finally couldn’t withstand the fierce impact force. The heavy hammer head actually cracked open, with tiny steel fragments scattering everywhere.

The youth’s expression finally grew serious. He flipped in place and quickly retreated some distance. Kneeling on one knee, he cupped his free hand around his mouth and blew a sharp, clear whistle.

“AWOOO—” A wolf’s howl came from the ridge above. A white flash of lightning shuttled between the rock walls and landed beside the youth in the blink of an eye. It was a majestic snow wolf.

The snow wolf, as tall as a person, pressed its front paws against the ground. Its cold beast eyes stared directly at Ji Chi, a threatening growl rumbling from its throat, the fur on its back bristling slightly.

The youth heavily stroked the snow wolf’s back. Man and wolf watched Ji Chi’s every movement. “Little Wolf, I’ve encountered another fun thing. You’ll like this one, right? Come on, kill him!”

The youth leaped high, raising the iron hammer above his head and smashing it down toward Ji Chi with tremendous force! At the same time, the snow wolf rushed like the wind behind Ji Chi, its enormous maw and sharp claws lunging at his back!

The pincer attack from front and back left Ji Chi momentarily struggling to defend both sides. He simply retracted his longsword to his waist, using his arm to block the hammer smashing down with a whoosh, while his other hand gripped the snow wolf’s long neck fur beneath its jaw and swung the entire wolf against the stone wall with a flick of his hand.

Ji Chi forcibly caught the hammer blow with his arm. His seemingly frail arm didn’t waver at all. Instead, the youth’s iron hammer shattered, and a piece of iron grazed the youth’s cheek, leaving a deep bloody wound.

Under the youth’s incredulous gaze, Ji Chi grabbed his damaged fur collar and dragged him forward, whispering in his ear. “Mages are indeed quite fragile, so I put far more points into defense than attack.”

Finished speaking, Ji Chi shook his somewhat numb arm and pushed him aside. The youth, now weaponless, stood there in stunned defeat, utterly dazed.

Ji Chi had no interest in bullying children. Having resolved the trouble, he returned to Reize’s side.

Reize seemed accustomed to Ji Chi’s heaven-defying abilities and was actually in the mood to tease him. “This is the first time I’ve heard you admit you’re a mage.”

Ji Chi paused, then immediately played dumb. “Did I? Did I say that?”

Before Reize could respond, the youth at the side started protesting first. “Of course you did! Otherwise, why would I have underestimated you? You mages are so despicable!”

Ji Chi slowly turned to look at him. “So do you still underestimate me now? Want to have another round and see the result?”

The youth obediently shut his mouth, his eyes darting around without speaking.

“Chief, it’s them.” Natasha’s voice came from around the corner.

The youth’s ears perked up as he immediately tattled. “Chief, it’s them! This batch of invaders is really strong! I couldn’t beat him!”

“WHOOSH—” A crooked walking stick flew over and crisply struck the youth’s forehead, leaving him holding his head in a daze.

“How many times have I told you!” A short, stout old man glared at him, his beard bristling. “If you’d learned even a bit of swordsmanship from Aqi, you wouldn’t have been beaten into running to tattle!”

The youth stubbornly stuck out his neck. “I use a hammer. Why the hell would I learn swordsmanship?”

The old man was quite irritated by him and shuffled forward to hit him!

Natasha helplessly stood between them and said to the chief, “Please, Chief, they’re both good children. They’ve come to resolve all of this.”

The old man stroked his snow-white long beard, raising his brows to assess Ji Chi and Reize. He shook his head and sighed. “Back then, sheltering you two already put the Snow Wolf tribe at great risk. If we accept them as well, how can you be certain that their acquaintances won’t track them here?”

Natasha grew anxious. “Chief! I’m very grateful for your continued acceptance! But that’s my child—I can’t possibly watch him be exiled and executed!”

“Moreover, they’re people acknowledged by the Beast God. They can stay here and help the Wolf King guard Beast God Peak!” Natasha gestured for the chieftain to look at the longswords at Ji Chi and Reize’s waists.

The chieftain fell silent. His hand stroking his beard pressed harder, pulling out quite a few whiskers. He hunched his back and slowly walked before Ji Chi and Reize. “Young men, may I see your swords?”

They didn’t hesitate, unfastening the longswords from their waists and handing them to the chief.

The chieftain took the swords and very seriously ran his hands over every inch of them. By the time he finished stroking both swords, a thin layer of frost had condensed on his beard. He murmured in a low voice:, “The reward the Beast God bestowed upon the bravest warriors. White for ice seal, black for invincibility—the wolf knight galloping across the frozen snowfield, invincible wherever he goes.”

The chieftain looked up at them. “These are actually a pair of two-handed swords. Can you tell me how you obtained them?”

Ji Chi and Reize exchanged glances and recounted the story of the Countess and Silvia.

The chieftain pondered. “Oh, the Snow Plains Expeditionary Army. I’ve heard Natasha mention it… From your description, those two children seem to be descendants of the Wolf King. That would make them tribe members as well. Since they trusted you, I won’t make things difficult anymore. You can follow Natasha and Rechel and live here from now on.”

Natasha in the distance visibly sighed with relief.

However, Ji Chi stepped forward and said to the chief, “They entrusted the warriors’ souls to us not so we could switch to guarding a different defensive line. Our goal is to end all of this.”

This statement was actually somewhat presumptuous, but the old chieftain shook his head with a laugh and sighed. “Young people truly fear nothing, just like I was back then.”

Ji Chi took back his sword and asked in return, “Then what is your goal in staying here? The Beast God has passed—what are you protecting?”

Without waiting for the chief’s answer, Ji Chi continued. “I know. You fight invaders and slay berserk beasts to protect the land the Beast God cherished on His behalf.”

“But if the Beast God couldn’t protect it, what makes you think you can?” Ji Chi asked sharply.

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone’s expressions changed. Natasha looked at him with pale dread, while the youth and old chieftain showed tremendous anger. However, in the old chief’s eyes, there was also deep powerlessness at having his facade exposed.

The youth couldn’t bear it anymore and rolled up his sleeves in fury. “What are you saying? You don’t know anything—”

The old chieftain raised his hand to stop the youth. He took a deep breath to suppress all emotions, his sharp gaze beneath white brows piercing. “Then what about you? If we can’t protect it, where does your confidence come from?”

Ji Chi didn’t answer specifically. “I want to meet the Wolf King.”

The old chieftain shook his head. “It’s not someone just anyone can meet. Moreover, I still don’t trust you. The significance of the twin swords only allows you to survive here.”

Ji Chi was also somewhat helpless with this obstinate old man. He sighed lightly and asked in return, “The Tidal Moon is approaching soon. Do you know what will happen?”

The old chieftain frowned.

“As the tide approaches, you should also be able to feel that the berserk beasts are growing stronger and more numerous. I don’t know what will happen on the snow mountain, but I know the Expeditionary Army won’t be able to withstand them. Because in a few more years, the fortress will be breached. There will be no more Expeditionary Army in the Northlands. The snowfields will be trampled by berserk beasts, and countless innocents will die miserably in the beasts’ jaws. Is this the ending you’re waiting for?” Ji Chi spoke word by word, each word carrying blood, each landing with weight.

The old chief’s pupils trembled as he listened. Beastmen’s perception was very keen, especially for Wolf King descendants. He could sense the sincerity in the youth before him, as well as the unwavering determination he carried.

After a long while, the old chieftain retrieved his walking stick and slowly gripped it tightly, saying in a low voice, “If the future is truly like this, then we have indeed failed.”

The youth heard the concession in the chief’s words and cried out, “Chief?”

“But as I said.” The old chieftain looked up, gazing deeply at Ji Chi. “Without gaining my trust, I won’t let you meet the Wolf King.”

“And I only trust souls that are both powerful and bright.” The old chieftain tapped his walking stick on the ground. “Come, child. Defeat me and let me witness the power of a wolf knight.”