Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Beast’s Assault
I carried Betty for a while and found a deep hollow at the base of a higher rock. I walked in and leaned against the rock wall to lay Betty down deep inside the hollow.
The temperature inside the cave was much warmer than outside. The cold wind couldn’t penetrate, and the little girl’s complexion seemed to improve slightly, but she still showed no signs of waking up. Her satchel was gone, along with whatever compass or star chart, food, and water it contained. I needed to find something for her to eat.
But what could be edible here…
I might as well go out and look.
I thought for a moment, using the soft sand around us to bury half of the little girl’s body up to her chest, including her hands. After patting the sand down firmly, it felt like she was covered by a thick blanket, which should provide good insulation.
After doing this, I stepped out of the hollow. The cold wind hit my face again, which was refreshing, but I knew it wouldn’t stay comfortable for long. It might get even colder, possibly reaching freezing point. I needed to find something to start a fire.
My satchel had some dry grass and flint, so now I just needed to find something to burn. This wasn’t difficult; there were scattered dead shrubs and tumbleweeds everywhere on the way. These could be burned, but tumbleweeds reportedly produce toxic smoke. I wasn’t sure if this world was the same, so I decided to collect some dead branches instead.
With this in mind, I began walking around the rocks. Soon, I saw a large pile of scattered dead branches, probably some kind of shrub that had been blown over by the wind and dried out. As I picked them up, I heard a rustling sound from the left, and my eyes narrowed.
Something was digging in the sand…
Was it food!?
I quickly dropped the branches and cautiously approached, listening carefully. The sound came from behind a nearby rock. It was faint, suggesting something small, perhaps a lizard…
But the creature was very alert. My approach was quickly detected, and the rustling stopped abruptly. I cursed inwardly and darted forward, arriving behind the rock. I looked closely but only saw a two-finger-wide hole in the sand, which closed as the fine sand shifted. I didn’t see what the creature was.
It ran away…
I was frustrated and stamped my foot lightly.
Forget it…
I’d look elsewhere.
But after a long search—almost half an hour—I circled the rocky area several times but found nothing edible. I didn’t hear any more sounds either. There were no birds, but I did find a nest of bugs, though they were the disgusting, poisonous kind. They were not fit to eat, and I didn’t want to touch them, let alone get close.
I returned with two armfuls of dead branches, but my long search yielded no results. Gradually, I grew anxious, and this anxiety made me thirsty. I had water in my bag but was reluctant to drink it. Instead, I thought about digging a deep sand pit for luck, hoping to find water. In the process, I suddenly remembered something.
Why am I looking for water…
Isn’t my Frost Order already restored?!
Ugh, I almost cried from frustration…
I was both amused and annoyed. Despite the recent restoration of my order power, I hadn’t anticipated this earlier. The water shortage had made me uncomfortable and led me astray in my thinking.
Unable to hold back, I chewed on a few more pieces of ice until I felt less thirsty. I then thought about putting some ice into my water bag to let it slowly melt, but as soon as I opened my pack, I remembered the temperature issue. The ice was too cold and would make the water even colder. Moreover, with my strength, I might accidentally freeze all the water in the bag, making it impossible to drink for a long time…
It wouldn’t work tonight.
If that happened, Betty would have no water left.
I couldn’t do that…
I decided to eat the ice myself and leave the water for Betty. As for food, I couldn’t find any at the moment, so I thought about going back to start a fire. If I delayed any longer, I feared the little girl might really get frostbite…
I closed the pack again and turned to head towards the hollow when suddenly, I heard an abrupt scream in the darkness.
“Ah—!”
“Help! Don’t come closer—”
“Sis… Sis…”
…That was Betty’s voice!
She had woken up!
Bang—
The moment my mind caught up, I immediately used my Moon Step, my figure instantly soaring into the sky. Ice platforms formed beneath my feet one after another, turning me into an arrow shooting toward the hollow. Fortunately, it wasn’t far, and within two seconds, I was already above a high rock. I scanned the area toward the hollow and saw a large black shadow crouched outside, its claws scratching and digging as if trying to poke its head inside.
I was slightly taken aback.
Then, unable to hold back, I burst out laughing: “Ah ha!”
What kind of creature is this…
The food I couldn’t find for so long actually came to me!
“Betty—”
I shouted the little girl’s name from mid-air and twisted my body, stepping backward on the ice platform, diving down against the howling wind, landing right above the beast’s shadow.
Clang—
The sound of metal rang out as I drew the Dragon Claw from my waist, the sharp edge wrapped in frost, and thrust it toward the unknown beast’s head. It moved so fast that the beast didn’t even have time to look up.
Pfft!
The blade pierced the beast’s forehead smoothly, and by then, I was already riding on its back. That dark, furry thing let out a mournful cry and struggled desperately.
Under the bright moonlight, I could vaguely see that it resembled a feline, yet it had thick scales on its back, a slender and long body, and six sharp claws. It thrashed violently on the ground, stirring up sand and dust, but soon enough, frost began to spread across its forehead.
This creature has a tough life…
“Stay still!”
I shouted fiercely, my voice soft yet subtly carrying the aura of a dragon, which instantly spread outward. The beast trembled violently and then truly stopped moving.
Hmm…
Is this Whitey responding to my voice? It even has a deterrent effect on animals… because dragons were once at the top of the food chain?
This thought flashed through my mind as I grabbed the hilt of the short sword, pulled it out, spun it several times in my hand, covered in even more intense frost, and stabbed it into the beast’s heart.
Click click click click—
Dark red blood spurted out, freezing into countless fragments due to the frost. The beast’s body swayed a few times before collapsing heavily, twitching no more.
