73 The Ice Caves

[Inside the garrison.]

"Sir! Your father might be the Great General of Cloud River, but that does not mean you can run roughshod over the rules. I can not give you all of our militia!"

BANG!

A large man with a scar over his left eye slammed his fist on the table. The wood rattled against the stone flooring.

Shrieking, the middle-aged garrison keeper leapt to the side to avoid the shards of wood, "Please, sir, be reasonable…! I was told the militia were to be distributed fairly among those that accept the missio-"

"Shut up!" Cyrus bellowed. His scar twisted.

The garrison keeper mimed himself sewing his lips shut.

Cyrus narrowed his eyes. The big man turned to the silent militia that were sitting around a long table at the garrison.

"My name is Cyrus the Great, son of the Great General of Cloud River! Those who follow me will be following a leader amongst men, a person who will lead them to the light!"

The militia looked unenthused.

Cyrus lunged towards a thin man sitting near the front, "You! What is your name?"

The thin man trembled, "Kris…sir!"

"You are in the 3rd level of Qi Distillation, correct?" Cyrus bellowed.

Kris nodded his head jerkily, "Y-yes…"

"And you have been a rogue cultivator all your life?"

Kris nodded his head once again.

Cyrus slapped Kris on the back, "A cultivator with no sect to call their own, eh? All this time, you have struggled bitterly in the vast work, eking out a living… finally you became a member of the Lihnrest King's militia, earning twenty silver a month… how pitiful!"

Kris frowned. Twenty silver a month was already enough for a whole family to live comfortably!

Cyrus laughed, "My friend! Forget about living comfortably! I can make all of you rich enough to live like kings!"

The attention of all the militia was caught.

Cyrus saw this and grinned, "Resources. Recognition. Training. Two thousand taels per month – all you have to do is join me on my mission to the Blizzard Plains!"

The militia's eyes grew bright. They could not help themselves – most of them were rogue cultivators who had struggled their entire lives to get to where they were now. When they heard that they would even get paid 2,000 taels each month they thought their brains were exploding.

"I will come!"

"Me too!"

"Count me in!"

The militia left their seats and flocked around Cyrus.

____

[Half an hour later.]

Van and co. entered the garrison.

They saw a forlorn garrison-keeper crouching down and drawing circles on the stone floor. Apart from him, there was no one else in the room.

Van's eyebrows rose, "Sir Keeper, why is your garrison empty?"

The garrison keeper kept his eyes on the circles he was drawing on the ground, "Sob. They all left…"

"Your men left? Where did they go?" Van asked.

The middle-aged garrison-keeper suddenly started talking to himself, "It is not my fault – the person who came in just before…he took all of them!"

[All the militia were taken by one person? This is against the mission rules!]

Van came closer, "Who took them all?"

The garrison-keeper suddenly leapt up from the ground. He peered about the room and leaned close to Van's ear.

"Cyrus. The son of the Cloud River's Great General!"

Van was shocked.

[So that arrogant man on the snowy beast's back is also taking this mission in the Blizzard Plains!]

[Cyrus. There are now two strikes too many against your name…]

Van looked at the guilty garrison-keeper, "Is there no one at all left in the militia?"

The garrison-keeper looked thoughtful, "It's not like there isn't…it's just that, well, you'll see for yourself. I'll take you to meet them."

They entered a room in the back of the garrison.

The first thing Van saw was three thin, dirty men wearing scruffy uniforms staring back at him. One of them picked his nose and flicked the booger to the ground.

By Van's side, Delphine let out an almost inaudible squeak. Ryan was disgusted, but you would not be able to tell from his stone-faced expression.

The garrison keeper leveled a stern look at the three gentlemen in front, "Ahem! Ed, Gef, Phern! Some manners, please. We have another sect disciple here to take the mission!

The three members of the militia looked at the garrison keeper. Varying levels of incomprehension showed on their faces.

"Van, a disciple from the illustrious Cedar Sect in Cloud River, has decided to investigate the strange occurrences in the Ice Caves within the Blizzard Plains. I have decided that you three will be going with him!"

All three maintained their confused looks. After a moment, Gef raised his thin, grubby hand.

"B-but… he's a kid!"

Ed looked Van up and down.

Phern nodded vigorously, "Phern can't follow a brat that hasn't finished growing all his hairs!"

The garrison keeper became cross. Today, his men had disobeyed his orders again and again! He raised his voice, "You three better listen to me and escort him around the Blizzard Plains, or else!"

The three men grumbled but clambered to their feet.

The garrison keeper turned to Van. His beamed, "They're a bit thick, so Cyrus didn't want them! Luckily for us, that means you got to take them!"

____

After registering the team at the mission desk, Van and the rest set off to the entrance of the ice caves.

To get to the ice caves – a series of intertwined and interconnected tunnels within the ice – they traveled several hours over the Blizzard Plains.

Howling wind and abrasive ice made everyone's faces pink and raw. Van and Blackie were tougher, owing to their strengthened bodies. Van felt the coldness least of all.

As it was a well-traveled path, they encountered very few demon beasts. The only ones they bumped into were in the 3rd level of Qi Distillation. Although Van was only one level higher than them, killing the 3rd level demonic beasts was as easy as flipping a hand for him. A simple slice of the battle axe - using all the force of his body cultivation - chopped their foes into meat perfect for roasting over the fire.

After several hours of one-handedly blasting away the foes, Van earned the grudging respect of the 'thick' militiamen. They became more willing to listen to his suggestions.

Van was in a rush to get to the ice caves as soon as possible. He felt that if he waited for too long, something bad might happen…

"I think I see the caves!" Delphine said excitedly. She peered through her telescope and saw several cave mouths in the distance.

Suddenly, Delphine cursed.

The entire sled-full of people looked at her.

"Cyrus is using the militia to intimidate people into paying a hefty entrance fee to get into the Ice Caves!" said Delphine, "One, two, three, four, five bags of silver taels. That's fifty thousand silver taels per head!"