Chapter 19: The Mountain's Balance
The Frost Wolf Cavalry moved through the snow in disciplined silence.
No one wasted energy talking.
Only the steady rhythm of paws crunching through frozen earth echoed beneath the towering pines.
Yun Che rode near the rear of the formation, quietly observing the man leading them.
He had seen Captain Han countless times within the city.
But seeing him on the battlefield...
Was an entirely different experience.
Captain Han was enormous.
Well over two meters tall.
Even seated upon his mount, he towered above the other riders.
His shoulders looked broad enough to block a doorway by themselves.
The thick fur cloak draped over his armor only made him appear larger.
Across his back rested his primary weapon.
A massive naginata.
Its blade gleamed with a cold blue sheen, almost as long as Yun Che himself.
At his waist hung a straight sword.
Attached to his saddle rested a large kite shield, clearly built for fighting when enemies forced him into close quarters.
Every weapon was worn.
Maintained.
Used.
Nothing about the man suggested decoration.
Everything suggested survival.
His Frost Wolf matched him perfectly.
Larger than every other wolf in the cavalry.
Its white fur bore numerous old scars.
One ear had been torn nearly in half.
A long mark crossed its muzzle.
Neither beast nor rider appeared diminished by those wounds.
If anything...
They looked even more intimidating.
The pair had clearly survived battles that most warriors never would.
Captain Han wasn't merely another officer.
He belonged to the previous generation.
Long before Lord Shen ruled Mistforge...
Captain Han had already been protecting these mountains.
He had even served as the current Lord's martial instructor.
Many younger guards secretly claimed that Captain Han had taught Lord Shen everything except cultivation itself.
No one knew whether that was true.
No one dared ask.
Lord Shen himself remained remarkably young.
Only forty years old.
He had inherited the position of City Lord at thirty.
Most importantly...
His cultivation had not yet reached its limit.
Spirit Transformation wasn't his destination.
Only another step.
Yun Che remembered hearing the story countless times as a child.
Everyone in Mistforge knew it.
The previous City Lord had attempted to break into the next great realm.
Soul Transformation.
He had failed.
Not because his body weakened.
Because his soul could no longer withstand the burden.
His soul had frozen during the breakthrough.
The phenomenon had illuminated the entire mountain range.
Many citizens had witnessed pillars of pale blue light reaching into the heavens.
At the very end...
Knowing he would not survive...
The old Lord transferred every remaining fragment of his cultivation to his son.
Though it hadn't instantly created another master...
It had provided Lord Shen with an extraordinary foundation.
Mistforge had never forgotten the sacrifice.
Captain Han finally slowed his wolf.
The entire formation stopped.
He turned in his saddle, his deep voice carrying effortlessly across the company.
"Listen carefully."
Every rider straightened.
"Our mission today is simple."
He pointed toward the endless forest.
"The monster population has grown unbalanced."
His naginata swept toward different parts of the valley.
"Horned Rabbits."
"Ice Foxes."
"Snow Spirits."
"Ice Yetis."
"Monarch Butterflies."
Yun Che blinked.
Monarch Butterflies?
Captain Han noticed several puzzled expressions.
"They're beautiful."
"They're also dangerous."
"Their scales freeze whatever they touch."
"They reproduce quickly."
"If left alone..."
"They strip entire forests bare."
Several younger trainees immediately lost their smiles.
The Captain continued.
"When one species grows beyond its natural limits..."
"The entire mountain suffers."
"Predators become desperate."
"Prey disappears."
"Territories collapse."
"A balanced mountain remains peaceful."
"An unbalanced mountain becomes a battlefield."
Yun Che nodded thoughtfully.
That actually resembled ecosystems on Earth.
Different creatures depended upon one another.
Remove one...
And countless others suffered.
Captain Han looked toward the younger members of the expedition.
"Today's hunt serves two purposes."
"The first..."
He glanced toward the trainees.
"...is education."
"You will fight."
"You will hunt."
"You will learn."
"We do not raise warriors by keeping them inside city walls."
Several Frost Wolf riders nodded approvingly.
"The second purpose..."
His expression hardened.
"...is extermination."
The atmosphere immediately changed.
Captain Han's gaze settled upon Yun Che.
Then Tianyu.
"There is one beast."
"It has crossed the line."
"It has repeatedly attacked our hunters."
"It no longer fears humans."
"We do not tolerate such creatures."
His hand rested upon the shaft of his naginata.
"The Frost Wolves could kill it."
"So could I."
"So could the City Lord."
"But..."
He looked toward Tianyu.
"...that would waste an opportunity."
His eyes shifted toward Yun Che.
"You."
"And the Young Master."
"Will fight it together."
Yun Che felt his heartbeat quicken.
A Foundation Establishment beast.
His first true battle against something stronger than himself.
Captain Han's voice remained calm.
"Do not think about winning."
"Think about surviving."
"Watch your partner."
"Trust your training."
"And remember..."
His scarred face became unusually stern.
"The beast is not practicing."
"It will try to kill you."
Silence followed those words.
There was no boasting.
No encouragement.
Only truth.
Beside Yun Che, Tianyu smiled.
Not because the task sounded easy.
Because it sounded worthy.
Captain Han drew his naginata and pointed toward the darkening forest ahead.
"Move."
"The mountain is waiting."
---------------------------------------
The Frost Wolf Cavalry split into smaller groups as they entered the deeper valleys.
Captain Han raised a single hand.
"The first objective."
"Horned Rabbits."
A few of the younger trainees exchanged puzzled looks.
One of them couldn't help asking,
"Captain..."
"...aren't rabbits harmless?"
Captain Han looked at him without changing expression.
"One rabbit is harmless."
"A thousand..."
"...are a disaster."
He pointed toward the valley stretching below.
"The mountain is alive."
"Everything has its place."
"Wolves keep rabbits under control."
"Foxes hunt the weak."
"Eagles hunt the young."
"But recently..."
His expression darkened.
"The Shadow Python has hunted everything."
"Predators avoid its territory."
"Many have died."
"The wolves have become fewer."
"The birds no longer nest here."
"Hunters fear entering these forests."
"So..."
"The rabbits breed."
"They consume every young plant."
"They strip the mountain bare."
"They leave nothing for deer."
"Nothing for moose."
"Eventually..."
"Everything begins starving."
Yun Che quietly nodded.
It reminded him of documentaries from Earth.
Remove enough predators...
And an entire ecosystem slowly collapsed.
This world...
Simply happened to collapse with creatures capable of tearing people apart.
Captain Han lowered his hand.
"Hunt."
The valley instantly erupted into movement.
Hundreds...
No.
Thousands...
Of Horned Rabbits burst from beneath the snow.
Unlike ordinary rabbits...
These creatures reached nearly the size of large dogs.
Curved horns protruded from their foreheads.
Powerful hind legs launched them across the snow with startling speed.
One rabbit wasn't dangerous.
A charging herd certainly was.
The trainees scattered.
Each immediately demonstrated the style they had cultivated for years.
Some preferred bows.
Others swords.
Others spears.
Several chased directly into the stampede.
Yun Che remained completely calm.
He had hunted monsters since childhood.
The difference was only scale.
A dagger flashed through the air.
It struck precisely behind a rabbit's ear.
Before the body even touched the ground...
Thin metal wires shot outward.
They wrapped around two more rabbits.
A sharp pull.
The wires sliced cleanly through their necks.
Yun Che continued running.
Never remaining still.
Never allowing himself to become surrounded.
Each movement flowed naturally into the next.
A dagger.
A wire.
Another dagger.
A spinning kick sent one rabbit tumbling directly into a waiting wire trap.
His style lacked elegance.
It valued efficiency.
Nearby...
One cavalry soldier whistled.
"He's practiced."
Another nodded.
"Very little wasted movement."
Across the valley...
Shen Tianyu fought entirely differently.
He didn't even bother drawing a weapon.
Instead...
He bent down.
Picked up a handful of ordinary pebbles.
Ki gathered around his fingertips.
One flick.
Crack!
A pebble pierced completely through a rabbit's skull.
Another flick.
A second rabbit collapsed.
Then a third.
Then five more in rapid succession.
Every pebble became a perfectly aimed projectile.
Not one missed.
Tianyu glanced toward Yun Che with a smug grin.
"...Show-off."
Yun Che muttered under his breath.
The young noble heard him anyway.
"I learned from the best."
"You learned from yourself."
"Exactly."
The hunt lasted nearly an hour.
When it finally ended...
The snow-covered valley had grown strangely quiet.
Not because the rabbits had been exterminated.
Far from it.
Thousands still remained deeper within the mountains.
But enough had been removed to restore balance.
Several cavalry members collected the bodies.
Not one carcass went to waste.
Captain Han personally inspected each collection.
The rabbits would feed the city.
Their hides would become leather.
Their horns would become tools.
Even their bones possessed value.
One rider opened a simple leather pouch.
The moment another warrior placed a rabbit inside...
It vanished.
Yun Che watched with unconcealed fascination.
Spatial Storage.
Runes woven into specially prepared leather.
An artifact so valuable that most ordinary families could never dream of owning one.
Not merely because spatial runes were difficult.
The beast leather capable of holding such enchantments proved even rarer.
He silently promised himself.
One day...
I'll build something better.
Captain Han didn't allow them much rest.
"We continue."
The Frost Wolves moved once more.
The forest gradually changed.
The air became colder.
Snow fell more heavily.
Even the sunlight dimmed beneath the dense pine branches.
Then...
Yun Che felt it.
Cold.
Not ordinary winter cold.
Something deeper.
Something unnatural.
Captain Han immediately raised a fist.
"Ice Spirits."
Every trainee instinctively tightened their grip upon their weapons.
Unlike Horned Rabbits...
Nobody underestimated these creatures.
At first...
Nothing appeared.
Only drifting snow.
Then...
One snowdrift slowly stood upright.
A human figure emerged.
Entirely white.
Featureless.
Nearby...
A wolf-shaped spirit rose from another mound.
Then a bear.
Then several children.
Their forms constantly shifted.
Never completely solid.
Never entirely transparent.
They resembled living snowstorms.
Yun Che immediately understood why hunters feared them.
These weren't beasts.
They were something else entirely.
Captain Han spoke calmly.
"Formed during powerful blizzards."
"They possess no true bodies."
"They are living elemental Ki."
"Physical attacks are greatly weakened."
Foundation Establishment warriors could simply shatter them with elemental techniques.
Mortal Realm cultivators...
Couldn't.
The spirits attacked silently.
One drifted directly through a tree.
The bark instantly froze solid.
Another passed across a boulder.
Ice spread like blooming flowers.
The stone cracked apart moments later.
Yun Che narrowed his eyes.
Don't let them touch you.
An icy wolf lunged.
He sidestepped.
His sword passed straight through its chest.
The creature barely reacted.
As expected.
Physical attacks accomplished almost nothing.
Nearby...
Tianyu calmly thrust one palm forward.
Wind exploded outward.
Wind Palm.
Invisible blades tore through the spirit.
Its snowy body scattered into glittering frost before reforming only partially.
A second strike finished it.
Yun Che watched carefully.
Second Grade Skill.
Useful.
Unfortunately...
He didn't possess one.
Instead...
He smiled.
"I brought something else."
A small metal sphere bounced across the snow.
The Ice Spirit curiously drifted toward it.
BOOM!
Fire erupted.
The explosion scattered burning fragments in every direction.
Unlike steel...
Fire affected the spirit directly.
Its body dissolved into sparkling blue mist.
A tiny crystal dropped onto the snow.
Yun Che blinked.
"Ice Crystal."
He quickly picked it up.
Pure elemental energy condensed into solid form.
An excellent forging material.
Nearby...
More explosions echoed.
Other trainees quickly realized Yun Che's approach worked.
Soon...
Swordsmanship.
Wind techniques.
Explosions.
Coordinated attacks.
The battlefield became wonderfully chaotic.
Yun Che dodged another spirit that attempted to freeze his shoulder.
Its icy hand passed inches from his helmet.
Frost immediately formed across the dragon-shaped visor.
Too close.
He rolled beneath another attack.
Threw two grenades.
The resulting blast lit the snowy forest with orange fire.
When the smoke cleared...
Three more Ice Crystals glittered quietly atop the snow.
Captain Han watched everything from atop his massive Frost Wolf.
He said nothing.
Only nodded once.
The trainees were learning.
And more importantly...
They were surviving.
Far above the battlefield...
Hidden beneath the branches of a frozen pine...
A pair of crimson eyes silently observed the hunt.
The Shadow Python had found them.
It did not attack.
Not yet.
It simply watched.
Waiting patiently...
For the perfect moment to strike.