“Little Pong!”

Old Dae exclaimed in shock as he took out the body of a guard sharing the same uniform as his from under the snow. This was one of the guards tasked with handling the unwelcome visitor’s supervision, yet his dead body was left just like that a dozen hundred meters away from the site!

Although it wasn’t time to be emotional, old Dae was shocked about the body’s state. The guard still had most of his clothes on, but the body hidden by it suffered from several terrible burn wounds that the whole thing didn’t make sense!

“I knew it, something is wrong.”

Cheon Jeong didn’t squat down beside the old scout, but she could already tell what state the body was in. It would have been okay if they found some scorched black bones or even nothing at all left behind, but for the clothes to remain intact like this? This wasn’t the work of a Phoenix!

The inner burn wounds suggested the use of fire, but a Phoenix’s fire, no matter how much of an infantile it was, would have long reduced his clothes into nothing. Most importantly, the lack of destruction around suggested that the owner of the body traveled all the way here before succumbing to his imminent death, none of the facts seemed to check up.

Since there was no telling through footprints on a snow island like this, someone could have brought him over, but who would do so without the island guards’ notice. As for the guards themselves, no one was inhuman enough to drag a colleague all the way before leaving them in the snow…

“Something else might have landed upon the island…”

After finishing his examination, old Dae confirmed everyone’s doubt. By piecing everything together, the most logical answer was that the guard had been under attack before successfully managing to escape. He most likely hoped to go back and report the situation on their side, but his injuries caught up to him before his attacker did.

‘It’s already here as expected.’

Although this whole ordeal should have only been dealt with a year ahead into the future at the very least, that didn’t mean that the situation hadn’t evolved beyond normalcy much earlier. In fact, Leo was sure of that. Thanks to the elders neglecting the stray Phoenix, it wasn’t until much later that they noticed that the ones who had kept watch on it had already met their death….

“Are you sure you want to proceed? Shouldn’t we head back and ask for reinforcement?”

Old Dae was more than aware of the guests’ strength, but the known situation had already grown out of their estimation. Dealing with an unknown enemy was much more dangerous than dealing with a strong one.

“We might have to intervene… But yes, let’s not stop here, I’m growing curious myself.”

As a prompt decision-maker, Cheon didn’t waver under the threat of the unknown. After being excluded from the battle with the Poison Dragon, she was already itching for a go. Despite being only here to watch over Leo and the others, she would join in if the danger level turned out to be too much.

“Understood.”

Knowing the rigid elders back at the Palace, old Dae didn’t have much hope for a prompt reaction from their side. Considering everything, it was probably a better choice to bet on the outsiders’ help…

Thud!

Using his cold Internal Energy to freeze the guard’s body, the old scout struck down, reducing it to ice specks that were carried away by the cold wind. After sending the young soul away, he stood up with a frozen heart, ready to face the unknown with the rest of the group.

With some decrease in speed to remain vigilant and assess the degree of the threat, it took more time to reach their destination. However, old Dae and the rest didn’t come to find any other dead bodies as he prepared his heart for. Everything was still just as eerily silent as it was so far.

“According to our last intel, the Phoenix should have settled behind this mountain.”

The ice mountain that looked no different from a speck when they just started their journey now completely covered their field of vision. It now made sense why all signs of the Phoenix’s descent had been completely obscured.

“Alright, let’s figure out what this is all about, then!”

As excited as Cheon Jeong appeared to be, she still picked the silent and cautious approach. With the Poison Dragon’s recent ambush in mind, there was no knowing what would come to happen if they acted too mindlessly.

“Hmmm?”

The group moved in one swift string, but the surrounding terrain’s state still didn’t look changed. If some editor didn’t come around to edit the Phoenix out of existence, then the Phoenix had to have left very soon after its descent… Or so it seemed to be.

As soon as everyone crossed to the opposite side of the mountain, they quickly came to notice the large figure perching peacefully on the ground. Only, its image was too different from what they imagined!

The defining red feathers of a Phoenix were still there, but the ice around it wasn’t consciously melting as it should. Most importantly, the creature’s body was anything but symmetrical!

Neighhhhhh!

The cry of a horse sounded out from the bird-like beak, startling everyone as they witnessed the unfolding sight! The beast that rose from its kneeling spot as it came to notice them turned in their direction in full vigilance. No one other than Leo knew what that was, but they were all sure of something…

Neighhhh!

That was not a Phoenix!

The eternal flame that had been strangely missing to this moment finally made an appearance as the beast somehow registered them as hostile targets. The red feathers directly started producing sparks as the creature’s breath brilliantly lit up!

“Move back!”

The group quickly dispersed from their spot as the flaming breath impacted their background. With only one major warning, the ice mountain was melting to the ground!