"Why are you so familiar with, um...this place?"
"...Didn't I say that?" Xueling Huanbing silently packed her luggage, and finally packed it into a small baggage: "I came here once."
It was already the early morning of the next day. Since it was too late yesterday, Nan Tieshan, who was still the leader of the team, made the decision to stay one night before setting off. But even if they chose the leeward spot behind the slope as a resting place, the snowy mountains at night were still not a good place to camp.
It's so cold here.
The man in black armor had purchased and prepared the corresponding camping equipment and warm clothing at the foot of the mountain, and distributed them to the other two people. However, when he was at the foot of the mountain, he felt that spending some small money on the two newcomers was not a big deal. It is necessary to take care of the two novices. Looking back at what I thought at that time, when Nan Tieshan handed Xue Ling Huan Bing, the feeling in his heart was really indescribable.
However, in the face of the power of nature, this trivial matter is nothing to mention - with the extremely cold wind and snow blowing outside the tent all night, the three people spent the night in their tent shivering in cotton-padded clothes. , the ghostly howling sound of the strong wind blowing through the mountains made it difficult for everyone to fall asleep. But there is a benefit after all, that is, they don't need three people to take turns keeping watch.
No wild beast would roam such an environment.
When a few people packed up their things and prepared to set off, the wind that had been blowing all night seemed to show no sign of stopping. But even so, they still needed to move forward, because the way they came had been blocked, and there was no way to retreat if they wanted to. Method. Nan Tieshan, who was moving his stiff limbs, looked thoughtfully at the narrow crack, and then looked at the mountain where the crack was located, the high mountain that was surrounded by gloomy thick fog and could not be seen clearly. He asked the previous question in hindsight.
But the answer he got was what he expected.
"So where should we go next?"
"Of course, going forward." The woman glanced at the other party in surprise, and then nodded: "If I remember correctly, the members of that tribe should be somewhere in the snow-capped mountains."
"When you said before that you knew the location of the Nosier tribe, I thought you really had some mission to guide you." Nan Tieshan put away his luggage, and then smiled at the woman in black. : "I didn't expect...have you really been there?"
"......Yes."
"I underestimated you."
The woman did not answer this sentence, but turned and walked towards the wind and snow. But before she had even taken a few steps, she heard the call from the big man: "Wait a minute, what about Falling Star Mountain?"
He turned back and pointed at the high mountain with no top visible in the direction they came from: "Shouldn't we continue climbing? Isn't that Nosir tribe not on this mountain?"
"Of course not." Xue Ling Huan Bing said indifferently: "The Nosir tribe is a tribe of ice and snow. They live on the top of the mountains. This mountain... refers to the Andachel Mountains, not just It’s this mountain.”
"If they weren't hidden deep in the mountains, they would have been discovered by the world long ago."
"But didn't some players say that they found members of that race on Falling Star Mountain?"
"It's a coincidence. Maybe some tribesmen came to this place because of hunting..."
"Really? Are you still fooling us..."
"..."
The three people set off in this strange conversation atmosphere, and the conversation did not last long, because no one could persist in saying a few words in the strong wind mixed with ice and snow.
"I said, you don't really have a mission to come here, right?"
The thick ice and snow that no one has come here for a long time extends along the sloping hillside, forming smooth snow surfaces that reflect white light in the biting cold wind, white ribbons composed of snowflakes. Passing under Duan Qing's feet, some swayed into the sky with the cold wind, while others flowed down the snow slope against the snow. There were only three of them on the cold snow, and there were only three of their footprints behind them. This scene always gave people a strong sense of loneliness and despair, especially when no one was willing to speak out.
Therefore, Duan Qing approached Xue Ling Huan Bing, hoping to rekindle the vitality in the team.
"I really don't have one." The woman walked forward with her head lowered, as if she had no intention of looking back: "Didn't I say it before, the reason why I came here."
"But along the way, why do I feel..." Duan Qing touched his chin, but what he touched was a layer of snowflakes: "You are quite positive about our goals."
"...The Nosir people are a pretty good group of people, so I want you to visit." The woman paused for a while, and then continued to explain: "You will know when we arrive. And... ....”
"I can't guarantee that we won't receive any tasks by then."
"To be precise, it's you." Duan Qing said with a wry smile: "Those tribesmen have already had friendship with you. Of course you should have the opportunity to trade again..."
"Maybe." The woman nodded imperceptibly and said in a hoarse voice: "But... the situation is still a little different."
"The weather here is not normal."
"What? Shouldn't this be a common situation on snowy mountains?"
"No, there wasn't such a heavy snowstorm when we walked this stretch of road."
"Maybe it's because the weather has been bad these two days." Nan Tieshan in front suddenly interjected: "Wherever it doesn't blow, it rains..."
"That time we also braved the wind and snow, but..." Xue Ling Huanbing looked up at the gloomy sky, and then pulled the front of his hood: "The sky was not so dark at that time. The mountain wind is not so strong."
"It should be because of the bad weather." Duan Qing said casually: "There has been a lot of precipitation in the free world recently. I remember that when we were in Novice Village, it seemed to have rained for a long time..."
"Ha..." Perhaps thinking of something, the woman sighed helplessly, and then shook her head: "It's still... wrong."
"The snow here is slick."
"ah?"
"That is to say, no one has been here for a long time." Xueling Huanbing continued: "Including... those clansmen who are NPCs."
Several people looked at the endless snowfield, and an inexplicable strange feeling arose in their hearts. The woman took a hard breath and kept moving forward: "It may be just an accident, it may be that they have migrated, or it may be that they have migrated. possible......"
"It's also possible that the wind and snow covered their tracks." Duan Qing continued her words and mentioned a possibility, while preventing the other party from telling the worst answer.
"Maybe." The woman in the black cloak looked cold, but nodded: "When we get there... the answer will be revealed."
****************
This section of the road on the snow mountain is much longer than expected. Although there are no monster attacks, this is a matter of course - the wind and snow have become their biggest enemy, whether they are players, Or a monster as an enemy. On the way, Nan Tieshan once proposed the hypothesis that the bad weather was caused by elemental creatures, but it was quickly rejected by the other two people.
"If there are really elemental creatures that can do this, we don't have to go any further." The woman in the black cloak commented in a low voice.
Along the way, the wind and snow never stopped, and the frost brought up by the wind and snow spread around the space where they were, filling the entire world, giving people a feeling of despair. Due to the height, the gloomy sky seemed to have been pressing on their heads, giving people heavy pressure. It also made the surroundings of the snowy field darker, making it impossible to distinguish the flow of time. After passing one mountain top after another and climbing over a snowy slope again, the only woman in the team finally stopped at the top of the slope and stood still for a while, then pressed her hood.
"That's it."
In front of her, not far from the slope where everyone was standing, there was a slope like the countless snow slopes they had walked on the mountainous area not far away. However, what was different from other places was that the slope of this snow slope was There is also a leeward rocky hill high up.
An irregular gap was located on the far right side of the stone hillock, revealing a scene full of firelight inside.
Because it was leeward, there was not much ice and snow accumulated on the stone hillock, so it showed a gray-black color under the dim sky, which contrasted with the white of the snow, making it particularly conspicuous. However, in comparison, the gap on the right , and the firelight exposed in the gap became even more obvious in such weather. Even Duan Qing and the others who were separated by a slope could clearly see the burning light swaying in the wind and snow.
"Finally... we're here." Nan Tieshan punched his feet hard into the snow, and at the same time, he also covered his whole body with the snow from walking in the wind and snow for a long time. He threw it down: "If we don't get there... we will freeze to death."
"Isn't the eldest brother also wearing cotton clothes?"
"How did I know that this God will keep blowing all the time." The big man slapped the snow on his body and moved his body as much as possible: "Even a man like me can't stand being blown like this all the time." It’s impossible.”
"Uh... let's go there quickly." Duan Qing glanced at the woman in front of her again: "Looking at it, there should be someone inside."
Xue Ling Huan Bing did not answer.
As they got closer, Duan Qing discovered that the gap in their eyes was actually very wide - on the other side of the gap was another mountain made of tall stones, with dozens of meters left between the two stone hills. The distance together forms this place that looks like a gap from a distance. When they stood at the foot of the entrance, Duan Qing and the others were able to see clearly what was in the gap through the sky full of wind and snow and the flickering firelight: two giant gray-black rocks were like shells, surrounding the middle. An arc-shaped area makes this place a natural haven. Thinking about it, in such a snowy mountain with wind and snow, this kind of place is indeed the most suitable place to survive.
However, as a player who has been here once, Xueling Huanbing's doubts are getting bigger and bigger.
"nobody."
"...Is there someone there? Look, there's fire in there..."
"No, I'm talking about the door." The woman in the black cloak stopped and pointed at the gap called the door: "There should be people in that place, and there are many."
"It turns out there are guards here."
"Well, I think it might be because the wind and snow were too heavy, so they all went back to hide." Duan Qing said in a low voice: "So... there shouldn't be any problem, right?"
"The Nosir tribe is a race on the snow-capped mountains. Do you think they are afraid of wind and snow?" Xue Ling Huan Bing asked: "The time we were here before, there were many tribesmen coming and going around here... ..”
"You mean...the people inside are not from the Nosir tribe?"
"I'm not sure, but..." Xue Ling Huan Bing walked forward again: "There must be something wrong."
"That time, I accompanied my friends in the team to complete a commission. My equipment... was a reward I got after helping them by chance. In the process of completing those related tasks, I saw With their strength, they are worthy of being the darlings of Bingxue, they are all very powerful, at least at that time I... couldn't beat them."
"So, if something happens to their family, it will definitely be a very serious situation."
In the increasingly fierce snowstorm, Duan Qing and Nan Tieshan looked at each other and secretly raised their alert.
"Stop!"
When a few people walked to the entrance of the shelter-like place, a loud shout suddenly came from inside. Duan Qing and the others stopped at the same time, because in front of them, two people were dressed in white velvet leather armor and holding Figures with spears suddenly appeared at the end of the wind and snow. Their spearheads were all pointed here, and then one of the male voices shouted at them.
In the howling wind and snow, it is very difficult to make your voice heard by others in the distance, but these two figures seem to have done it perfectly, so at that moment of intuition, Nan Tieshan felt the strength of the other party. It was powerful, but before he could take a defensive posture, the woman in front of him had already whispered a hint.
"It's them."
The three people breathed a sigh of relief in unison.
"Who are you three! Where did you come to this place?"
Duan Qing and Nan Tieshan turned their attention to the woman in black in front of them, as if waiting for her to explain.
"I am......"
"Ah! It's you!"
The woman cleared her throat, trying to tell the two people her origins in a higher voice without arousing suspicion, but before she could say her name, the two figures opposite her Behind him, another shadow suddenly jumped out.
"They are my friends... no, they are my guests! They are not bad people!"
The female voice, like the two before, carried a long distance despite the biting wind and snow: "Don't worry, let them in!"
