Chapter 147: Time to Leave

Chapter 147: Chapter 147: Time to Leave

"Come on. We’re leaving."

Freya immediately followed.

Sylphie flew overhead.

Shiro and Snow were the last to move.

Both of them looked back at the cavern.

They had spent a lot of time here.

They had grown stronger here.

For Shiro, it had even been where he reached another evolution.

Snow had experienced the same.

But there was nothing left for them to do.

Shiro turned away first.

Snow followed.

The group soon left the Zone Heart’s territory.

The path back was much easier than before.

The unstable pressure that had once filled Frostveil had weakened considerably.

When they finally reached the surface, Damon looked back.

The opening behind them slowly began to close.

Ice and stone shifted until the entrance disappeared beneath the ground.

Caelia watched quietly.

"It’s protecting itself."

Damon nodded.

"Probably for the best."

They had spent enough time inside to understand why.

Leaving the Zone Heart completely exposed would be dangerous.

Humans had a habit of taking advantage of valuable things.

And if their enemies discovered it, they could turn the Zone Heart into a weapon.

Caelia frowned.

"I’ll tell Father to increase the protection around this area."

"Good."

She looked at him.

"You agree?"

"Definitely."

Damon glanced back at the ground.

"We don’t know who else might discover this place."

Caelia nodded.

They began walking.

But they didn’t get far.

Damon suddenly stopped.

Sylphie’s warning reached him through their bond.

His expression changed.

"Wait."

Caelia immediately stopped.

"What is it?"

Damon looked around.

Then he felt it.

A faint disturbance in the air.

Mist began spreading through the trees.

Damon smiled slightly.

"We’re being ambushed."

Caelia’s hand immediately moved toward her weapon.

"How many?"

"Enough to make things annoying."

The mist thickened.

Figures moved inside it.

Then someone shouted.

"Now!"

The surrounding area exploded with attacks.

Blades of Ice element shot through the mist.

Spikes tore through the ground.

Several attacks came directly toward Damon and Caelia.

"Sylphie."

A gust of wind exploded outward.

The thick mist was blown away in an instant.

The attackers were revealed.

There were more than a dozen of them.

Some had been hiding in the trees.

Others were spread around the path.

They had surrounded the group completely.

Or at least, they thought they had.

"Shiro."

The Frost Qilin immediately stepped forward.

Ice flashed across the ground.

A large Frozen Barrier appeared in front of Damon and Caelia.

BOOM!

The attacks crashed into the barrier.

The ice shook violently.

Cracks appeared across its surface.

But it held.

Shiro had become much stronger during their time inside the Zone Heart.

His barrier was no longer the same one they had relied on before.

Damon looked at the cracks.

"Nice."

Shiro’s ears twitched.

The next instant, the barrier shattered.

The attackers immediately rushed forward.

"Go."

Damon didn’t even raise his voice.

Freya disappeared in a flash of silver lightning.

Sylphie shot into the sky.

Shiro slammed one hoof into the ground.

Frost spread outward.

Snow followed him.

The attackers realized something was wrong.

"Wait!"

A silver streak crossed the battlefield.

CRACK!

One attacker was thrown into the trees.

Another barely raised his weapon before Freya’s lightning tore through it.

"Spread out!"

They tried.

It didn’t matter.

Frost covered the ground beneath their feet.

Shiro’s Frostbound Sanctuary expanded across the battlefield.

The attackers slowed.

Some tried to escape the frozen area.

Ice chains erupted from the ground.

Frost Chains wrapped around their legs.

One man broke a chain.

Two more immediately grew from the shattered pieces.

"What the hell is this?!"

Shiro pulled.

The man was dragged back.

Snow appeared beside him.

She struck before he could recover.

He crashed into the frozen ground.

Another attacker tried to attack Snow from behind.

A wall of ice appeared between them.

Snow glanced at Shiro.

The Frost Qilin simply looked away.

She understood.

They were working together.

Above them, Sylphie used her Wind art.

Wind gathered around her as she released it in form of blades.

WHOOSH!

The blades tore through the battlefield and knocked another attacker off his feet.

Freya was already there when he landed.

Silver lightning exploded.

The man’s scream didn’t last long.

The ambushers finally understood.

They had made a mistake.

A very serious one.

"We were supposed to catch him off guard!"

"How are they this strong?!"

"Fall back!"

Someone shouted.

But nobody was listening anymore.

The formation had already collapsed.

Their carefully prepared ambush had lasted less than a minute.

One tried to run.

Frost wrapped around his legs.

Another tried to hide in the trees.

Sylphie’s wind found him.

A third raised both hands and tried to surrender.

Freya simply stared at him.

He immediately changed his mind.

"Wait!"

Lightning flashed.

Damon watched from where he stood.

Caelia glanced at him.

"You’re not going to help?"

Damon shook his head.

"They’ve got it."

He looked at his spirits.

"Besides, they’re having fun."

Caelia couldn’t help smiling.

"You really trust them that much?"

"Of course."

Damon folded his arms.

"They’ve been getting stronger for a reason."

Another attacker was sent flying.

Damon nodded.

"And they’re proving it."

Within minutes, the battlefield became quiet.

The surviving attackers had been defeated.

Some lay unconscious.

Others had stopped moving.

Only a few were still alive, and even they no longer had the strength to fight.

One man had managed to avoid the others.

The leader.

He had seen enough.

His face was pale.

He turned and ran.

"Damn it!"

He pushed himself as hard as he could.

They had prepared for Damon.

They had studied his previous battle.

They knew about his spirits.

They had planned the mist.

The numbers.

The timing.

It should have worked.

But none of it mattered.

"They told us he was dangerous..."

The man gritted his teeth.

"We should have known."

He kept running.

He had to report the failure.

More importantly, he had to tell them where the Zone Heart was.

That was what they had been ordered to find.

At least he had that.

He pushed himself faster.

The forest became quieter.

He couldn’t hear anyone following him.

A smile slowly appeared on his face.

"I made it."