The distance to this snow-capped mountain didn't seem far from us.
We could even see the faintly discernible peaks by just looking up.
However, as we truly moved towards it, I realized what they meant by "seeing a mountain and running a horse to death."
We had traveled for half the day, yet only reached the foot of this snowy mountain.
This damned place is truly frigid!
I pulled my fur coat tighter and saw Qu Xiangyun shivering beside me, so I quickly rummaged through my backpack for a fur blanket and draped it over her.
Meanwhile, Xivier, Hathaway, and the others were all wearing specially designed warm mountaineering suits and felt no cold at all. When I asked Xivier for one earlier, she said there were none left. If I hadn't prepared thick clothes beforehand, Qu Xiangyun and I would have frozen to death on the way before even starting the climb.
We are now at the foot of the mountain.
Xivier took out a map, drawn at some unknown time, and was studying it intently. Being idle, I looked up at the snow mountain.
This snow mountain is truly breathtaking!
As far as the eye could see, it was a landscape of white snow, while the forest not far from the foot of the mountain was verdant, with everything in bloom. There seemed to be an invisible dividing line between them, separating this land into two worlds.
Furthermore, upon closer inspection, I truly discovered some peculiarities of this snow mountain.
Even though it was covered in snow, one could still discern a small path leading upwards on both the left and right sides of the mountain, seemingly carved by human hands!
I can hardly imagine under what circumstances the technologically backward wild men were able to brave the wind and snow and carve this path upwards.
This feeling was akin to seeing the Pyramid of Giza when I traveled to Egypt before.
One can only marvel at the miracles people can create in their ignorance.
As I was lost in thought and reverie, Xivier had already finished comparing the map and led us upwards along the left path.
This upward path was not easy to walk on, with only shallow steps.
Because it was covered in snow, one could easily slip and fall.
And for every ten-odd steps, we would see a small statue.
Each statue we saw was different.
The only commonality was that they all had ferocious expressions, not looking like humans.
Several of them bore a strong resemblance to the giant white bull I had seen in the Temple of the Sea God Xinjieya, which made me ponder. Could this mountain also be a temple of the wild men?
If so, the higher we went, the more dangerous it would likely become.
I didn't relay this information to Xivier, as it was only when danger arrived that it would be my opportunity to flee with Qu Xiangyun in chaos.
Therefore, I merely glanced at others when they weren't paying attention and secretly made a gesture that only Qu Xiangyun and I could understand, warning her to be careful, that there was danger on the mountain. Upon seeing the gesture, Qu Xiangyun also quietly nodded at me.
As we walked, we arrived at a relatively large platform.
It seemed to be a resting place built by the wild men for those climbing the mountain midway.
On this platform, there stood three statues as tall as humans. The one in the middle was Xinjieya, whom I had seen before. In front of these statues, there were several plates.
They held fruits of various colors. Judging by their color, they seemed to have been placed not long ago and were still quite fresh.
Xivier strode forward, squatted down, picked up an apple, examined it carefully, and then turned to signal us.
"A group of wild men passed by here not long ago. It looks like they were also heading upwards. Everyone, please make way. It's best to capture a few alive when we meet them later; they can serve as our guides."
I don't know if Xivier was too confident or had never truly clashed with the wild men on this island.
She seemed to underestimate the wild men on this island far too much.
Not to mention the physical prowess of the wild men tribes on this island, each far exceeding ordinary people, coupled with their rich hunting experience.
What's more terrifying is that they possessed divine power beyond the imagination of modern humans, like the monsters encountered in the Sea God trial.
Xivier is so optimistic now, wanting to capture wild men to be her guides?
Too naive!
Heh heh, I sneered inwardly. It would be best if you all fought each other to a draw with the wild men, perishing together. Then Qu Xiangyun and I would have no worries.
Thus, we continued our ascent, and it took us over an hour to reach the mountainside.
Every step along the way required extreme caution; one misstep and a person would fall directly off the mountain.
Moreover, the higher we went, the stronger the wind became, blowing snow that stung our faces like tiny knives.
The bald old man, who had the weakest stamina among us, was already gasping for breath.
Every two steps, he had to take out an oxygen tank and take a few breaths before he could continue.
Watching the bald elder's arduous progress, I couldn't help but speculate that he was likely a technical expert, needed to crack something.
Otherwise, a person as iron-hearted as Xivier would never have brought a burden on a mission.
We reached the mountainside and finally arrived at another platform.
We could rest for a while.
Now, our surroundings were covered in ice and snow, and we couldn't see anything else. Beyond this point, there were no more man-made paths; we would have to find our own way.
"We are about to approach the target location. Everyone, heighten your vigilance. Later, everyone will link up with the tow rope. As we go further up, if you slip, you will fall directly off, and there will be no chance of survival!"