74 The Back Entrance

"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!"

Van didn't even hesitate. He pulled Blackie's reigns and turned them around. The group of five people and a wolf moved away from the mouth of the ice caves.

"Where are we going?" Delphine asked curiously. Her face peered out of a fluffy coat made with the skin of some beasts they had killed on the way through the Blizzard Plains. The rest wore similar coats.

"To find an alternate way to enter the ice caves," Van said. Cyrus clearly wanted to dominate the mission by himself, but Van was not about to let him.

Delphine and Ryan nodded. Ed, Gef and Phern looked less sure but nodded as well.

After being led by Van for the past few days in their journey to the ice caves, they trusted his direction. He had even saved their lives several times when they accidentally stumbled into a wild demon beast. Adding to that, Van also showed care and warmth to them.

Though they weren't the smartest of the bunch, they still had their own morals. If they had sworn to the garrison-keeper that they would follow Van for his journey, they would follow!

"Lead the way, boss," the trio said, "We trust you."

Van signalled for Blackie to take them away.

____

In front of the gigantic dark mouth of the entrance to Ice Caves stood a large man with a scar over his left eye. Cold winds blew past him, bringing the faint mournful howl of demon beasts in the Blizzard Plains. Cyrus did not flinch.

Beside the large man, about 50 militia completely blocked access to the caves. The icy wind whipped their faces, but they were unfazed. They gripped their iron swords and shields tightly. They wouldn't move even if the King of Lihnrest ordered them to.

At that moment, a female sect disciple and her teammates approached. The girl at the lead was tall and slim. Her eyes were a bright green colour and her long black hair flowed loosely down her back. She wore lilac robes with an unfamiliar symbol on them.

Cyrus and his group of militiamen surrounded them.

The girl immediately frowned, "Who are you to prevent me from passing? My name is Synthia and I am the top outer disciple of Lihnrest's Cold Moon Flows Sect! Your 6th level Qi Distillation cultivation cannot stop me!"

Immediately, Synthia drew out a flute and began to play an aggressive tune will with dangerous qi.

Cyrus felt a sense of immense danger when he looked at her purple flute. However, he chuckled.

"Men!"

Instantly, the militia around him grabbed the girls in her entourage and forced them down into the snow. His two teammates, Abel and Cain, drew out their weapons and pointed them threateningly at Synthia's teammates' necks.

Synthia was enraged, "What is the meaning of this?!"

Cyrus sneered, "You might be able to defeat me, but I assure you – your teammates lives will be snuffed out the moment you lay a hand on me!"

Synthia's green eyes glared furiously at him. The two locked eyes for several minutes.

At the final instantly, Synthia put her flute back into her sleeve.

"I will not harm you."

Cyrus smiled and told the militia to back off.

Synthia swished her lilac sleeves, "But I will not obediently pay your exorbitant 50,000 taels either. Girls, we are leaving."

Synthia and her entourage silently left the entrance of the Ice Caves.

Seeing the outcome, the other teams seeking to enter the ice caves were now hesitant to approach. Even those who had enough money to enter the caves wondered if it was worth it.

They felt chilled by more than just the weather.

The militia had an average cultivation of the 3rd level of Qi Distillation, with a 4th level member here and there. Although these cultivation levels were low, the sheer numbers were intimidating. Especially because Cyrus and his teammates – two other disciples of the Star-Cutting Sword Sect – were all in the 6th level of Qi Distillation!

Fifty thousand silver taels was simply too much! Even the richest of young masters felt that it was not worth the money. The majority turned away and could only watch helplessly.

Cyrus saw this and smirked.

Some hours later, the amount of people coming towards the entrance of the Ice Caves dwindled to zero. A few spectators still remained but they lingered at some distance away from Cyrus and his men.

Satisfied by his haul, Cyrus turned to Abel and Cain. These two were his teammates from the Star-Cutting Sword Sect. Abel was a thin youth with pitch black hair cut sharply at the chin. Cain was quite tall, with red hair and blue eyes.

They both nodded sharply when Cyrus gave them the signal. The large man turned to the militia.

"It is time!" Cyrus shouted. He pointed his sword to the frosty sky.

The militia cheered loudly.

Cyrus entered the mouth of the Ice Caves first. Cain and 30 men followed. The darkness soon swallowed them up.

Abel and 20 members of the militia kept sentry. They would enter the Ice Caves in two days' time.

¬¬¬___

When Van and his team left the vicinity of the ice caves, Van immediately pulled back on Blackie's reins. They slowed and then stopped.

Van hopped off the sled and started looking around in the snow.

All aboard the sled looked curiously at Van. What was he looking for? All around them was nothing but a vast expanse of white! Fine, there was a patch of frosted-up grass every so often or a boulder here or there, but there was really nothing of note.

Delphine couldn't hold in her curiosity, "What are you looking for? Is it the alternative entrance to the Ice Caves?"

Van nodded, "Yes."

"What?"

Everyone's faces showed expressions of surprise, "The alternative route is here?"

"How can this be?"

Van smiled at the five dirty faces looking back at him, "Did you take a careful look at the entrance to the Ice Caves just then?"

Everyone shook their heads. Delphine bit her lip.

"I was too focused on Cyrus and his militia. I barely glanced at the ice cave itself."

Ryan frowned, "I looked at the entrance. But didn't notice anything unexpected…"

Van smiled. Their responses were not unexpected. Unlike Van, they had not spent most of their childhood in the wilds, hunting and tracking small animals for food and a living. They did not pay special attention to the details in their surroundings. It was not surprising that they failed to notice what Van had.

Van looked at Ryan, "The entrance walls didn't seem unusual to you?"

Ryan was puzzled, he felt Van was trying to move him towards a conclusion, but he couldn't figure out what.

"No. Why?"

Van turned his attention to Ed, Gef and Phern. They looked back at him puzzedly.

"What do you three know about the formation of the ice caves?"

The three militia men admitted that they knew very little. Although they were stationed in Pollog, they were originally all from different places.

Phern however, had heard some rumours, "The ice caves were formed naturally a few hundred years ago. The first explorers reported that they found large nurseries of demon beast eggs in there. After that, other demon beasts migrated in to prey on these eggs. More and more beasts populated the caves, until the amount of demon beasts became too much to handle. Then the Lord of Griever's Fort decided to make clearing the caves a mission for the sects."

Van's eyes gleamed, "As I expected."

The five humans stared back at him curiously.

He turned to the group, "The first demon beast we fought upon entering the Blizzard Plains, do you remember how we found it?"

"The big white worm?" Delphine asked.

Van nodded.

Phern answered, "We accidentally fell into its nest and enraged it!"

Van nodded, "Don't you think that the entrance of its nest looked remarkably similar to the entrance of the Ice Caves?"

The five people frowned and racked their brains.

Suddenly, Ryan sprang to his feet, "The blue markings. The markings on the walls of the nest were exactly like the ones on the entrance to the Ice Caves!"

Van nodded, "Yes! The Ice Caves must have been created by a large demon beast similar to that worm."

Van pointed to the ground. The crew followed his finger and saw a large trail on the snow - as if something had dragged itself along the ground.

Delphine's face became bright. Her cat-like eyes gleamed, "A giant worm's trail..."

Van smiled and patted her head, "Indeed. What Phern told us just then confirmed my suspicions. The worms tunnel through the ice to lay their eggs inside the Ice Caves."

"Their tunnels will be our path into the Ice Caves! That is our alternate route!"

Ed, Gef and Phern were filled with admiration.

"Not bad, kid! Now let's see if your theory is correct!" Phern commented.

Van chuckled, "We'll soon find out."

___

The group followed the giant worm trail for over thirty minutes before Blackie sensed danger and stopped. In the swirling snow ahead of them, the faint outline of a giant body could be seen. It snowed sluggishly but powerfully.

Van indicated for everyone to stay silent.

"There is a giant ice worm ahead," he explained.

Delphine looked over his shoulder and her eyes widened dramatically. "Van!" she hissed quietly, "That worm is five times bigger than the one we killed!"

Van nodded, "It is also large enough to create a tunnel that we can fit through."

Ed, Gef and Phern gulped. Their hands gripped their swords and bucklers tightly.

Ryan's grey eyes narrowed, "Look! There is something in its mouth!"

Van focused his attention on the shadow in the distance. He could vaguely make out a struggling shape in its toothless maw.

Ryan's expression changed, "It's a cultivator!"

Everyone immediately looked at Van for direction.

Van narrowed his eyes, "The giant ice worm we killed last time only attacked us because we had intruded into its nest. I suspect this cultivator was doing the same. I suspect I was not the first person to come up with this alternate plan of entry!"

Van made a decision, "Let's go and have a closer look!"

As they neared, they saw a frightened girl in lilac robes shrieking hysterically. The giant ice worm had the girl in its toothless maw and was shaking her from side to side to knock her out.

"Don't be frightened. We will kill it quickly!" An elegant voice shouted. Van saw a slender woman with green eyes and a flute in her hands. She played a tune full of killing intent.

Notes full of qi attacked the giant ice worm and gouged out its flesh. However, the giant worm was unfazed. Its wounds were only small in comparison to the rest of its body mass.

Two other girls stood by, they each played a different musical instrument. Their attacks had little effect.

Angered, the ice worm swung its giant body at the woman with the flute.

"Lament of the Siren!"

A haunting tune floated out of the flute. The ice worm shuddered, as if miserable, and shrunk away. It shrieked in a miserable tone and did not attack again.

The girl with the flute's eyes flashed.

[Success!]

At that moment, a second giant worm emerged from the tunnel entrance. Roaring, it threw itself forward and was about to crush the three girls beneath it.

Synthia paled, "This is bad. The Luminous Ice Worm had a partner!"

This second giant ice worm was even larger than the first. It's massive body was going to crush her into smithereens!

Synthia circulated her movement skill but she knew that it was not fast enough to rescue her followers from the giant ice worm's attack.

[If they die it is my fault!]

A strong sense of guilt suffused her. She saw the giant ice worm fall onto her followers.

Suddenly.

A bright copper-colour dazzled Synthia's eyes. The next moment, she saw an astonishing sight – a young man was holding up the giant ice worm's body with his bodily strength alone!

"What!?" She shouted, astonished.