They expected some kind of danger along the way as nothing was free in this world. However, they didn’t expect that the bridge leading to the safety of new territory was going to crack.

This was the Cold Sea, known for its chilling water and big icebergs floating in it. There was no way that it could freeze under normal circumstances, as one high wave would crush the ice with ease.

So they were aware that since the sea froze, then it couldn’t be just normal ice but something much colder and also much sturdier. Else it wouldn’t withstand the stormy sea.

So the fact that it started to crack so suddenly was inconceivable to most of them.

Yelling, screaming, and crying, they were confused as to what happened and why so many of them died in such a short time. If they died on the battlefield, nobody would bat an eye, but this kind of disgraceful and completely useless death was too scary for this tribe of warriors.

Fortunately for Illyan, nobody he cared for fell into any of the chasms that appeared on the ground. Except for Hail, that is.

Now, he could only take Yii into his arms and take her to Zers’ sled.

Hunter, who was lucky and fell on his side that was covered in fur, didn’t sustain many injuries.

Illyan then went to Zers and helped him onto the sled too.

“Looks like the world is ending…” He muttered under his breath as he looked at the lamenting people around them and the broken ice everywhere.

“I will go look for Degres. He went in the same direction as we did. Unfortunately, in this stupid fog, there is nothing I can see.”

Illyan said this to the couple and went in the direction where he last saw Degres.

“Be careful, Stone. As you said, there could be something under the ice. It doesn’t make sense for such sturdy ice to break under our weight.”

Zers warned him as he distanced himself from the sled. He didn’t turn back but waved his hand, signaling he understood. That made Zers sigh in relief. Since Illyan was in some way ‘immortal,’ he was reckless in his younger years and didn’t fear to go into the midst of danger without any plan. Fortunately, when he grew up, he stopped doing that and started to plan his steps more.

Meanwhile, Illyan started to look for Degres. Of course, if he met injured clansmen, he would make basic treatment and tell them to be cautious of more danger. The icequake ended a while ago, but they didn’t know if there would be more of it…

After a while of looking for him, he found his silhouette farther from others, standing there like a statue. He was showing his back to Illyan as if looking into the distance.

“Degres!” Illyan called to him, wondering if something happened.

Degres turned his head and gestured to him to get to him.

“What’s wrong?”

“Be quiet and listen.” When Degres said this, Illyan stiffened. Such serious words meant a big problem.

So he closed his mouth and even eyes that were mostly useless in the fog. Despite the better eyesight, it didn’t mean he could see through things.

However, his hearing was unintended here and so he listened.

Wind was blowing across the skies while the ice under their legs was creaking. Some of the tribesmen were still making noise as their relatives were either injured or fell into the chasm.

Nothing he didn’t see already.

That was until he noticed something from a distance. Some noises that were loud enough to spread far across the land. Furthermore, as time passed, he felt that the ice under them was creaking more and more. No, the better word for it would be that it started to vibrate.

As if the march of hell was happening…

“Did some tribes follow us?! No… This…”

Growl

Screeeeach

Wooooooo

Hieeey!

As the vibrations got stronger, he finally recognized the screeching he heard.

The Winter Beasts…

“Degres! It is a monster tide! What do we do?!”

Illyan had panic all over his face. They were too spread out to make a proper defensive formation. Furthermore, a human’s most important sensory organ was impeded. They were just like prey waiting for its death.

Degres could only sigh in exasperation at this moment.

“Those bastards probably felt the disturbance here. The cracking noise was so loud that the beasts with acute hearing could easily hear it. Once they got closer to us because of their curiosity, they would probably smell us…”

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There was nothing they could do now. The tide was going from the shore.

They did not know how big it was nor how strong the individual beasts were.

Because they couldn't see, the information they had was meaningless.

“The tribe can only run towards the original destination, hoping that the beasts won’t follow them.”

Hearing this, Illyan immediately refuted.

“The beasts will catch us as soon as we turn our backs to them.”

There was no way they would be able to outrun the beasts. Especially when their sleds are broken and wolves injured.

Moreover, they couldn’t leave their supplies as that would result in their death even if they successfully escaped.

“I know… But we won’t be able to fight them off… You can hear that this tide is enormous. It is probably controlled by some big leader. So, there is no other choice left, let the core of our tribe escape…”

‘Core?’

“You don’t mean?!”

“Yes, I will take a few of the elite warriors to delay them. You should take Urchin and leave as soon as possible…”

When he said this, he put his hand on Illyan’s shoulder and smiled.

“You and Urchin are like sons I have never had. I just hope you can leave-”

He didn’t expect that Illyan would just cut him off.

“Old man, stop this touching speech and instead help me to think how to fight them off.” Illyan didn’t plan to just leave. He just couldn’t.

There was no way he would just abandon him here. He didn’t want to be reckless and die in vain. However, he also didn’t want to live in regret.

“Haah, you serious now Stone? We can get eaten up, you know? Even you won’t survive that!”

Snort

Illyan snorted in amusement.

“That’s where you are wrong, old man. Now, go do your job as leader. That will be the fastest way since I am still far below you in this aspect. I will go to scout those beasts.”

“Stone, you…”

Before Degres could say anything, he already disappeared in fog.

He pondered why he would have such reactions to his words, but the conclusion was horrifying…

‘No way…’

Unfortunately, he didn’t have time for this and could cast only a few glances at him before he started to yell at the tribe members.

“Everyone! Get up! The Beast Tide is coming! We need to pack our things and leave! Now!”

‘Hopefully Kara will notice the disturbance and warn other groups…’

……..

Illyan was sprinting across the destroyed iceland, going in the direction of the clamor that those beasts were making.

Because of the fog, he didn’t see anything. He was tense and prepared to fight the moment any creature got close to him. Just because he had good hearing didn’t mean he would hear the beasts that were good at sneaking.

That’s why he also dispatched a surge of Spiritual Energy once in a while. In this way, he could see back in the day even though he was blind.

Now when his sight was impeded it was really useful.

It didn’t take him long before he finally felt some kind of presence. He immediately crouched and stabbed in the general direction where he felt the beast was coming from.

How–Hieeeee…

As soon as he felt resistance against his jagged blade, he heard whimpering that soon fell silent…

Looking closely, he saw that he killed a wolf. The blade pierced its skull like butter. It wasn’t Arctic Wolf that Bakur Tribe was rearing but a different type called White Seeker…

This wolf was usually hunting alone or with a really small pack. They lived in snowy lands such as this one and used their white fur to hide in snow storms or merge with surroundings to catch their prey.

This wasn’t good news for Illyan or other tribe members.

If this White Seeker was here as a scout, it meant that really strong creatures led this tide…

Tides were usually made of one species. But there were times where more species got together. That usually happens more if those beasts were more intelligent and considered more the benefits than just their instincts.

‘Damn, this is bad. But I still need to look for them. I need to see them with my own eyes to make sure.’

After this, he cleaned his blood over the fur of the beast so they couldn't smell the blood on him as he continued on his way.

But it didn’t take a long time before he stopped in his steps, his entire body frozen as he stared in front of him.

The fog dissipated as he passed its area of effect and the sight of the tide he was looking for spread out in front of his eyes.

But the sight completely stumped him. He couldn’t even see the ground as everywhere his sight fell upon, there would be black dots filling the scenery.

However, those black dots were none other than beasts he was looking for. He didn’t need to count to know there were thousands of them. And as he expected there were several species working together trying to find out the source of the commotion.

Knowing he would be discovered soon, he decided to turn around.

However, as he was going to do so…

The shadow darkened the ice under his legs. Suddenly, loud rumbling sounded out as another icequake happened.

That made the beast tide riot as every beast was panicking and some already fell into one of the chasms.

‘What was that?!’

He couldn’t believe it. He feared that something was underneath the ice but he didn’t expect it to be so enormous. He saw only part of its shadow yet it was so big. Who knows what kind of creature was that?

He needed to tell this to others immediately. After this icequake, the monsters became even more unruly and some smarter ones seemed to want to retreat. On the other hand, the stupid ones started to get louder as they stomped the ground.

Unfortunately, that brought only another icequake.

Crack

The place Illyan was a few seconds ago disappeared as a new chasm opened.

He already started to run hoping to get to Degres as soon as possible.

‘It’s fucking vibrations! It disrupts whatever that thing is and it starts to move around!’

Once he found out the cause of the problems, he started to be more agitated.

If it was before they noticed the Winter Beast Tide was coming, then he would be definitely glad. After all, they could just slow down and be more quiet. That would solve all of their problems.

But unfortunately, the beasts wouldn’t have this much intelligence and would be loud whenever they go.

Especially this amount of them at one place. It was like a walking disaster.

Knowing this, he had to tell this to Degres. The normal members should have left by this time, but the warriors should stay for the tide. The question was whether it has some meaning to fight them off now.

“Degres!”

Soon, he was at the same place he left Degres, and he was once again surprised.

Another chasm was covering the land.

Surprisingly, despite so many chasms, there were no splashes of water coming out of them. They were just like a dark abyss that was empty yet full of darkness.

The sight made him tense even more.

The fact that the icequake was even here meant that the creature was even more giant than he thought.

“Illyan!”

Fortunately, it seemed that Degres was alright. When he finally found him, tens of warriors were standing behind him. Most of them were old as they were from the same generation as Degres.

They planned to sacrifice their generation for the new one.

However, one of them was standing out.

“Little Urchin! It is still time to go after your wife! Who will take care of your kid?!”

“Nobody if the entire tribe dies here! You say I need to take care of my child? That’s exactly what I am gonna do right now!”