"Don't, don't joke around."

  Poison Dragon rolled his eyes. The expressions of the others were similar. They simply didn't believe what Thorne said. For a person like that, did they still need to save him?

  Chen Yue was completely unaware that he had been mistaken for a top-notch master by everyone. He just coldly tortured the Purple-striped Ice Lion. After slashing it again at the same wound, the Purple-striped Ice Lion's right hind leg was immediately broken. It let out a miserable cry, unable to maintain its balance, and rolled forward with a rumble.

  This miserable cry also meant that it finally regained full consciousness, but it was already too late.

  As luck would have it, the direction it rolled towards was exactly where Poison Dragon and the others were.

  "Kill it!" Someone shouted first, and immediately, many people rushed forward.

  Who wouldn't want to beat a drowning dog? What's more, it was a powerful fifth-level magical beast. There was a special sense of accomplishment in fighting it. In an instant, magic spells, fighting qi, and all kinds of attacks rained down like a shower. No matter how powerful the Purple-striped Ice Lion was, in its seriously injured state, it was beaten to the verge of death.

  Its dying counterattack was extremely fierce. Unable to get up, it couldn't use its melee abilities, but the ice arrows pouring out like a waterfall made everyone who hadn't expected it suffer a great deal. Several fighters were pierced through their thighs, shoulders, or arms by the ice arrows. And a fifth-level great magician was even more careless. His magic shield was torn apart by the continuous ice arrows, and the following ice arrows tore his body into pieces, becoming a scapegoat for the Purple-striped Ice Lion.

  In an instant, one died and five were injured. Those who luckily escaped felt a chill rising from their spines and spreading throughout their bodies.

  A fifth-level magical beast was actually so powerful, and this was still a seriously injured one. If it were in its prime... No one dared to think further.

  Originally, the higher the level of professionals, the greater the gap between each level. The strength of a sixth-level professional far surpassed that of a fifth-level one. And among fifth-level magical beasts, the stronger ones could even be comparable to human sixth-level professionals.

  Only the sixth-level great magician's face was still relatively normal. After all, he was a sixth-level powerhouse. Although he was greatly suppressed in the Iceberg Mountains, his strength was still far superior to those present. If it hadn't been for the Fire Net of the Split Sky magic that consumed too much of his magic power and he was reluctant to make a move easily, that fifth-level great magician might not have died.

  Looking at the group of people who suddenly appeared with a bit of surprise, Chen Yue slightly frowned. These guys, could they be...

  Thorne pushed through the crowd and walked out with a smile on his face.

  "Chen Yue, you're finally here. We've been waiting for you for a long time."

  With just one sentence, he revealed Chen Yue's identity and also made it clear that Chen Yue was the person he had mentioned before.

  Poison Dragon and the others felt a bit embarrassed.

  Seeing that Poison Dragon and the others wanted to come up and greet him, Chen Yue frowned and interrupted without hesitation, "Stop talking, Thorne. Hurry up and follow me."

  After saying that, without saying anything more, he walked straight through the crowd and ran towards the distance.

  Everyone was dumbfounded, completely unable to figure out what Chen Yue was up to. Some people even looked a bit dissatisfied and spat angrily.

  "Pah! Just because you're a master, do you think you're so great?"

  "At least, I'm better than you." Thorne coldly retorted, leaving that person speechless. Then he turned around and followed Chen Yue.

  Poison Dragon and the sixth-level great magician looked at each other. Neither of them said anything and just silently retreated into the darkness.

  "What on earth is going on?"

  Suddenly, the sound of rumbling footsteps came from where Chen Yue had come from. Just as a bad feeling rose in everyone's hearts, three figures, two big and one small, appeared in front of everyone one after another in quick succession.

  Due to their much slower speed, they had been left far behind and had just arrived at this moment.

  Looking around, they didn't find that hateful human, but that didn't matter anymore. The important thing was that the three magical beasts had already seen the body of the Purple-striped Ice Lion.

  Magical beasts had their own dignity. They might not necessarily respect each other, but they wouldn't allow outsiders to bully them.

  With a sad roar, the Ramor Giant Ape rushed into the crowd first, followed by the other two magical beasts.

  ...

  "What a chaotic night."

  Looking at the touch of fish-belly white on the horizon, Chen Yue let out a sigh. A bit of fresh sunlight shone on his shoulders, completely erasing the bloodshed of the night.

  No one would have thought that five hours ago, he was still in the middle of a group of magical beasts with blood everywhere.

  Very wisely, Chen Yue left there with Thorne before the Ramor Giant Ape and the others arrived. He also didn't remind those people. The reason was simple. He needed someone to hold back those three magical beasts.

  Last night, he seemed to be in high spirits, but that was already the best result with all his cards played, all his plans exhausted, and even with a bit of good luck. If he had to face them head-on, not to mention the Ramor Giant Ape, even the other two slightly weaker fifth-level magical beasts were not something he could easily withstand.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  These people were all competitors for the ancient ruins. Chen Yue wouldn't consider their safety at all. And the most crucial thing was that the Purple-striped Ice Lion was indeed killed by them, wasn't it?

  Taking Thorne with him, the two directly retreated to the edge of the Iceberg Mountains. The magical beasts in the outer area had all gone crazy. No matter how powerful a person was, they couldn't handle it. Here, the two found the other members of the Snow Goose Mercenary Group.

  Seeing that everyone was safe and sound, Thorne finally felt relieved. It turned out that since the main force had gone to carry out the beheading plan, the remaining members of the Snow Goose Mercenary Group were too weak. So under the leadership of Thorne's daughter, Nisha, a group of people directly retreated to the edge area and didn't get caught in the crazy magical beast riot and luckily escaped.

  "Chen Yue."

  Thorne walked over from a distance.

  "How's it going? How's the information gathering?" Chen Yue leaned forward and asked with a smile.

  "You were really far-sighted." Thorne had a hint of fear and also a sense of relief on his face. "The specific situation can be summed up in four words: horrible to behold."

  It turned out that after finding the other members of the Snow Goose Mercenary Group last night, the exhausted Chen Yue didn't fall asleep immediately. Instead, he strongly demanded that the mercenary group move further out, as far away from the Iceberg Mountains as possible.

  At that time, many people objected. After a night of being scared, what they wanted to do most at that moment was to go to sleep immediately. Besides, there were rarely magical beasts active in the edge area, so it was already very safe.

  However, Chen Yue's attitude was extremely firm.

  Out of trust in Chen Yue, Thorne finally agreed. Many people who had already gone to bed were woken up. Ignoring their complaints, he forcibly led the mercenary group more than ten miles away from the Iceberg Mountains. Only then did Chen Yue say it was okay. The forced march naturally attracted a lot of complaints.

  But from today on, perhaps everyone would have to thank him.

  "Heavenly Azure, Style Annihilation, Poison Dragon, their mercenary groups were all stationed in the edge area. There were also some adventurers who escaped from the outer area. There were more than a thousand of them in total. However, in front of fifth-level magical beasts, these people were nothing." Thorne said with a sigh.

  Naturally, only high-level experts were needed for treasure hunting. But just having fifth-level experts was not enough. To ensure everything was foolproof, all four major forces sent out their elites and waited in the edge area to provide support at any time.

  Because of this, the result was so tragic.

  After seeing the body of the Purple-striped Ice Lion, the Ramor Giant Ape and the other two magical beasts immediately went on a rampage and directly charged into the three major forces. Even the dying Purple-striped Ice Lion had caused a tragedy of one death and five injuries. Not to mention these three lively magical beasts. As soon as they made contact, two people were killed by their combined attacks.

  With these two people dead, the three major forces collapsed. What happened next was a chase. They each chased after one person. After all, their numbers were limited, and the people from the three major forces were all fifth-level experts. It was impossible to kill everyone in a hurry. So more than half of them managed to escape.

  If those three people had died as the final price, then everything that followed wouldn't have happened. However, one person, in a panic, actually led the Ramor Giant Ape to the edge area. With this, the chase immediately turned into a massacre, and countless mercenaries and adventurers died under the giant ape's palms.

  Finally, the rest of the people from the three major forces joined forces to drive the giant ape back, which brought this matter to an end. The price paid was the death of another fifth-level professional.

  Among the four major forces, out of the thirteen fifth-level experts who had just set out, only five survived after this battle. Not even half of them were left. And the high-level members of the Style Annihilation Mercenary Group were all wiped out. Before this treasure hunting trip even started, they were directly eliminated. It was truly tragic.

  "I don't know if this treasure hunting can continue." Thorne smiled bitterly. "Just in the outer area, more than half of the people were reduced. Who knows what will happen when we reach the core area."

  The ancient ruins were located in the core area of the Iceberg Mountains. Thorne had already informed Chen Yue about this in advance, so he wasn't surprised to hear it.

  "We were too arrogant. We thought that by cooperating with a few fifth-level experts, we could seize the ancient ruins. Who knew it was just a delusion."

  "Well, you can't put it that way." Chen Yue shrugged casually. "You just don't understand these magical beasts."

  Thorne's smile became even more bitter. That's right. The main root cause of this magical beast riot was that sixth-level magic. Originally, even if the Frozen Rabbit made a big fuss, no fifth-level magical beasts showed up. But as soon as that magic appeared, the four major magical beasts seemed to have made an appointment and all showed up.

  After all, the Iceberg Mountains was a restricted area. Few mercenary groups could master detailed information. In terms of understanding, how could they compare to Chen Yue who had lived in the outer area for three months?

  "Using a sixth-level fire magic in the ice and snow. This is destroying the foundation." Chen Yue snorted disdainfully, his expression full of sarcasm. It was really absurd. Such behavior was no different from barging into someone else's house and smashing, looting, and taking things. How could they not fight back desperately?

  Fortunately, it was still quite far from the core area. Otherwise, if a sixth-level magical beast was really provoked, everyone would be doomed.

  "I've already told everyone not to reveal the matter of the Frozen Rabbit. That way, no one will vent their anger on us." Thorne mentioned after thinking for a while.

  During this period, the Snow Goose was okay. The attitudes of the other two major forces were a bit 微妙. It wasn't that no one had thought of venting their anger on the Snow Goose, but the root cause of the matter wasn't on the Snow Goose. Besides, they had underestimated Chen Yue's strength and didn't dare to start a dispute easily, so it was barely calm. At this critical moment, Thorne didn't want to cause more trouble. Moreover, keeping the Frozen Rabbit a secret could also play a surprise role.

  After discussing all the matters, Thorne took his leave. He still had to go and discuss the details with the other two major forces. He was extremely busy. The Style Annihilation had been eliminated, but the treasure map fragment held by their leader hadn't been lost. It was retrieved from the body afterwards.

  After piecing together the four treasure map fragments, the approximate location of the ancient ruins was known. It was somewhere in the core area. There were still some preparatory work to be done. The magical beast riot in the outer area hadn't completely subsided. After experiencing that nightmare-like situation, everyone became cautious about when and how to enter. The time was postponed again and again.

  Chen Yue originally thought that even if it was postponed for another three or four days, it might not be possible to set off. Just when he was getting impatient, who knew that Thorne came to him in the afternoon with an unprecedentedly solemn expression and directly said an unexpected sentence.

  "We'll set off right away in a while."