CHAPTER 657: CHAPTER 654: ICE RING

"Someone tell me anything, I’ll believe it."

"Is this really an Earth creature?"

At the moment Ronald witnessed the scene, this was the thought that flashed through his mind.

The creature that launched an attack on the two below possessed a crystalline and angular structural form. Its body, nearly a meter in length, was made entirely of pure, icicle-like material, whether it was the torso or limbs.

Even at the core of this thing’s torso, there was a red, core-like sphere.

Anyone who saw this creature for the first time,

would realize that this wasn’t a being nurtured by nature, but rather more akin to a monster encountered in a fantasy game.

And under everyone’s watchful eye,

the monster drove its sharp, icicle-like limbs forcefully into the center of a person below.

Snap—

The sound of impact echoed off the ice walls, accompanied by the spraying of bright red blood, as the expedition team member, clad in much equipment, was then struck with tremendous force against the icy layer nearby.

Under this monster’s attack, swift and nearly silent,

the attacked person had no chance to react at all and was pinned motionless on the spot.

—Now looking back at the team above,

even Ared, the mercenary who was positioned at the front and quickest to respond, had only just drawn his firearm and hadn’t even aimed his muzzle at the creature.

And seeing the position of the wound and the person’s reaction...

Common sense had already made the judgment—this man was probably beyond saving.

At that moment, the situation became increasingly pressing.

Above the ice, there was a blue beast pack that had been chasing them from the outside; looking below, there was a single, equally ruthless and dangerous, bizarre creature.

Danger lay both above and below.

They were trapped in an isolated spot with no support, and escaping unharmed seemed as difficult as scaling the heavens!

Bang bang bang—

At this time, Airen, who had drawn his firearm, began shooting at the ice-like creature below.

The bullets reached their target in a blink of an eye from not too far away.

The bullets hit the creature, and the hard projectile instantly shattered its icy body, which then exploded into crystal-like fragments.

Finally, carrying the human corpse it had pinned to the ice crystal, the remnants of both trailed a long smear of blood before plummeting deeper into the icy depths.

"Anger..."

At the same time, a voice of reluctance and panic came through the communication.

It was with this shout that Ronald confirmed that the member of the expedition named Anger had been fatally attacked by the ice creature, and the man who had managed to survive this critical situation was another named Drat.

However, faced with the outcome of his own shots,

Airen’s current mood had deteriorated to an extreme point.

Whether it was his responsibility as a mercenary to protect these people or the promise he had made about safely leading the team away from the base, both had met with failure in front of the cold, uncaring truth.

Moreover...

Even if today he successfully led a few people to escape from this environment alive,

Ared would not face a good outcome dealing with either his own mother company or the company that had submitted the hiring request.

After all, as a contracted mercenary.

He had survived, but his charges had met with death.

"Tch..."

Airen couldn’t help but click his tongue.

Slightly adjusting his mindset, he began to adjust the pulley to continue descending, approaching the position of the last survivor, Drat.

Suddenly faced with this situation,

and moreover, having just witnessed a companion from his earlier activities die before his eyes,

Without much thought,

Airen was sure that Drat was probably now unable to operate the equipment himself and come back up to their side.

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However, it was this very action

that made Ared fully realize the situation was more troublesome than he had imagined.

As he descended, the ’crackle’ sound amplified by the pickup earphone appeared again. Airen turned his head, directing the light on top of his helmet toward the lower parts of the ice cave.

Swipe—

The light shone down.

Airen saw the ice crystal creature that had just been shot down had somehow regenerated its body and was now climbing back up!

And this time, it was different from the previous simple stealth hunting.

The creature, having been shot, moved even more violently, its speed climbing the ice walls greatly increased!

The scene below was also witnessed by the team members above.

As someone with unique information access, Ronald once again grasped the gravity of the situation.

—This was definitely a test of survival from the original trials!

If they didn’t find a way to survive now, being slaughtered by this thing later was almost a foregone conclusion.

Looking up slightly, Ronald’s gaze immediately fell upon the circular ice path one level above.

This ice tunnel, built around the entire huge ice lake, was absolutely the only chance for survival at the moment—they had to seize the opportunity now!

"Go, escape upwards quickly!"

Ronald did not hesitate for even a second.

While calling out to his teammates, he also immediately headed towards the direction of the ice ring.

With the help of the pre-installed rope pulleys, their ascent was not slow; they soon went around a bend and entered the interior structure of the ice ring.

—Apart from the lighting on Ronald and the others.

—There were other sources of light in the ice ring.

Previous explorers had not overlooked such an obvious place; therefore, at intervals, they had inserted specially made long-lasting glow lamps into the ice ring walls.

Although it wasn’t enough to make the place completely bright,

with the ice layer structure in mind, the lighting was not so poor that one couldn’t see the path clearly.

Pop—pop—

"No, don’t!"

At that moment, two gunshots were heard from the ice tunnel behind them, followed by Drat’s panicked shouts over the communication line.

"Ah—"

Almost in the blink of an eye,

Drat’s cries of desperate pain filled the communication channel.

In the cold silence of the communication, his was the only voice, further reflecting the despair of the situation.

A few seconds passed.

Panting, Airen’s voice once again came through the communication:

"This thing can’t be killed with guns!"

"You guys go on, I’ll blow this up!"

Ronald and the others exchanged looks.

The current situation didn’t allow for further hesitation, so they had no choice but to turn and continue deeper into the icy ring.

Boom—

Not long after, a loud explosion erupted behind them.

Whatever explosive Airen had used, they could even feel the vibration of the ice blocks at their location!

"..."

As time went on,

Airen caught up with the fleeing team, jogging.

The mercenary now couldn’t even maintain a facade of a decent expression, his face collapsed in utter despair as he said:

"No good, I simply couldn’t save him in time."

"That thing, as soon as it touches the ice, seems able to use the ice chunks to repair its shattered body, regular guns are no use at all!"

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