Chapter 102: Eerie Ice Fog (7)

After disposing of that Guluodo, the adverse effects of the beast-kin's berserk mode immediately manifested. Nasa was gasping for breath, gritting his teeth and bracing himself against the ground with both arms, barely managing to push himself to his feet. Though his body had already returned to its original state and his crimson eyes had reverted to their normal color, the powerful beast-kin battle technique he had unleashed still left his mind reeling with dizziness, every muscle in his body aching with a stabbing soreness. Combined with the heavy fall from the heights, his already weakened frame now refused to obey his commands entirely. By contrast, Will was in far better shape. When Guluodo collapsed and fell, Will had used a wind-element lightness spell to cushion his descent, so he had escaped the tumble without injury.

Looking around, with Guluodo dead, the surrounding Galro were gradually recovering from their panic. Some of the greedier ones had already begun to gather bit by bit, preparing to surround Nasa and Will.

"We're in trouble!"

Will sighed inwardly. He glanced at the dense tide of Galro surging toward them, then at Nasa beside him, who was too spent to fight any longer, and couldn't help but furrow his brow. It was at that moment that Will suddenly realized—ever since Guluodo had appeared, he hadn't caught so much as a glimpse of that old codger Skaoli!

Will paused for a brief moment, twisting his head to sweep a glance behind him. Not a trace of Skaoli anywhere!

"Damn! That blasted old man—surely he didn't slip away just now?!"

At the thought, Will couldn't help but curse inwardly. But just then, a large swath of the Galro up ahead suddenly burst into commotion for some unknown reason.

"You wretched brat! Even if you ran, I wouldn't!"

A bizarre roar cut through the cacophony of Galro screeches. Will looked toward the sound and happened to spot Skaoli—who had somehow tamed two more Galro from who-knows-where—driving the two great beasts straight toward them.

"Heh heh, that's hard to say!" Will chuckled, deliberately glancing at the two tamed beasts. "See? You've even got your getaway ride all prepared in advance, haven't you?"

Skaoli was so enraged by Will's jab that he nearly spat blood. But he knew full well this wasn't the time to trade barbs with Will. He snorted coldly and shifted his gaze to Nasa.

"Nasa, I found it!"

As he spoke, a glint of light flashed through Skaoli's eyes, his voice carrying an indescribable hint of excitement and agitation.

"It's not far from here! Nasa, you—"

As he spoke, Skaoli ordered one of the Galro beside him to crouch down so Nasa and Will could climb aboard. But at that moment, the old man's expression suddenly changed. He stared wide-eyed at Nasa. "Nasa, you actually used berserk! Damn it! Do you have any idea that in this place, your strength is suppressed? The power berserk produces may be astonishing, but without your own strength to sustain it, do you know how much it drains you?!"

Nasa's use of berserk had riled Skaoli up considerably, his tone harsh and almost scolding. Recalling Nasa's astonishing performance earlier, Will furrowed his brow and snorted coldly. "Old man, that was an undead creature even more powerful than a high-tier magical beast. Nasa took it down purely through the explosive might of his own flesh and blood—that's already a remarkable feat!"

Though Skaoli's words were harsh, worry gnawed at his heart. Will's argument wasn't without merit—Skaoli knew very well the strength of Guluodo. Yet seeing Nasa's indifferent expression, a faint bitterness rose in the old man's chest. He shook his head helplessly and waved a hand. "Enough, enough. What are you two standing around for? Hurry up and get on!"

By the time Nasa and Will had climbed onto the Galro, the area around them had already been surrounded by a dense swarm of Galro—nearly a hundred of them, snapping their jaws and letting out a series of strange, grating howls. But Skaoli paid them no mind at all. He even casually pointed in a direction, and as if seeking petty revenge, said with utter shamelessness to Will: "Boy, you take point. Charge that way!"

"Me, take point?"

Will blinked, and immediately understood Skaoli's game. No wonder the old man showed no fear in the face of so many Galro surrounding them—he'd already set his sights on Will from the start!

He wanted to use Will's magical attributes to shake off these undead creatures, did he?

Will grinned broadly and spread his hands at Skaoli. "Sorry, old man, that's not going to work."

"Why not? There may be a lot of these Galro, but they're not particularly powerful. And since they're undead creatures, they have an innate fear of light magic!"

Skaoli glared fiercely and snapped at Will, but Will acted as if he hadn't noticed, letting out a languid sigh: "Oh, I know that, of course. But if you'd asked a few minutes ago, maybe I could have managed. Right now, though—heh heh, unfortunate timing, I'm afraid I can't use light magic at the moment."

"What do you mean, boy? Are you telling me this old bag of bones should charge in first?!"

Seeing Will's utterly shameless demeanor, Skaoli was so angry he nearly launched into another tirade. But halfway through his words, the old man seemed to remember something, and let out a sly chuckle. "Close call, close call—you almost tricked me there. Since you can't use light magic, just toss out a few other spells instead. It's not like you're attacking anyway. As long as it's flashy enough to scare this lot off, it'll do."

Just toss out a few spells? Do you think my magic grows on trees?!

Will cursed the old man's cunning and craftiness inwardly, but he didn't bother arguing with Skaoli out loud—the situation wasn't exactly suited for it, after all.

"￥%#a￥%……%"

Will muttered something incoherent under his breath, then suddenly swept his magic staff through the air. A huge sheet of crimson fiery rain came pouring down from the sky. Will had deliberately expanded the spell's area of effect several times over, but in doing so had diluted its power to near uselessness. The Galro, still nursing lingering traces of fear, suddenly found themselves subjected to such an exaggerated assault—each one shrieked and howled in terror, scrambling madly in every direction. And in that moment, Skaoli let out a thunderous shout. The two Galro seemed to grasp his intention, raised their voices in a mighty roar, and charged straight out through the Galro horde.

……

It had to be said, despite the massive bulk of these Galro undead creatures, they could run at an astonishing speed. The group pressed on for nearly half a day before finally coming to a stop in a small valley.

Will leaped down from the Galro's back and surveyed his surroundings, his brow furrowing slightly.

The environment here was no different from anywhere else in the misty region, but one thing was decidedly odd: the temperature in this area was frighteningly low!

Though the scorching days were long past, there was no reason for it to be this cold here, was there? Especially in the desolate wild forest—due to the terrain and various other factors, the temperature in this region ran considerably higher than elsewhere. Yet in this particular little valley, the cold was as biting as the depths of winter. Will took a few steps deeper into the valley and was startled to find that the further in he went, the color of the surrounding mist subtly began to change. Not only that, but the temperature dropped lower and lower with every step!