Two weeks later.
On the northern side of the Silvermane Planet, amidst the snow-capped peaks of an undulating mountain range, a pack of strong-looking half-bloods huddled behind the cover of a dense line of trees. Their breaths hang like clouds in front of them, as their eyes tried to catch something within the limited visibility of the ongoing blizzard.
There were four of them, a magus and three strong saint-level warriors. They were waiting for their target which had to cross a path located a mile ahead of them at any moment. But the blizzard that engulfed the area suddenly made their job more difficult than it should be.
One of the pack members seemed slightly anxious as he said, "Chief, are you sure they won't be able to sense us?"
Glancing at his subordinate, the magus returned his attention back on the obscure road while saying, "Don't worry. The potion you just drank will mask our spirit energy signature and our smell. They won't be able to sense us unless they look directly at us."
"If you say so, I understand, Chief!"
A few minutes later, they all reacted slightly when they faintly saw movement in the distance. They glanced at each other and promptly nodded their heads. Looks like the target they have been waiting for has finally arrived.
It was a sophisticated-looking cart pulled by two huge hairy oxen. Around it, there were a total of 6 guards, and two of them were magus level figures.
Seeing the number of guards, the member who was anxious earlier once again spoke. "Chief, this is more than we expected! Should we abort the operation?"
"No. Calm down, will you?!" the Chief snarled. "Do you not know that is the Apex faction's cargo? Just one cart will be worth a lifetime of fortune! They are worth the risk, I tell you! What's more, we've set up the traps already; just follow the plan!"
After the scolding, the group went silent again. Before long, there were no more sounds that could be heard other than their rapid heartbeats as they waited for the right moment to charge at their target.
"Now!!" the Chief commanded, causing his pack members to bolt from their hiding places.
At the same time, the ground that the ox pulling the cart stepped on suddenly collapsed, followed by a burst of ice magic that instantly engulfed the clueless creature.
The four of them jumped out of the tree line, running as fast as they could towards the cart. The Alpha of the pack, who was a powerful crescent moon magus, started their assault by casting another ice spell, which further immobilized the guards. In the meantime, his three men headed to the back door of the cart and burst it open to gain access to the things inside.
"Take them!!"
Two of the three grabbed one chest each and held them tightly, whereas the magus and the remaining wolf half-blood cast another spell that blasted their surroundings, covering their escape in an explosion of snow and ice.
However, just as they turned tail to flee, the group noticed a figure standing amidst the ferocious falling snow. Their faces turned ugly because one of the magus guards had caught up and now blocked their escape route.
The other party was a silver-haired wolf half-blood magus wielding a sword.
"Get the fuck out of the way!!" the Chief shouted loudly as he cast another powerful ice spell.
[Winter's Grasp]
A Tier 5 spell capable of injuring even a magus and would freeze anyone below said realm.
A smirk could be seen appearing on his face as he watched the figure of the magus guard disappear under his spell. But to his shock, the silver-haired magus managed to break the icy restraints with sheer physical strength and charge straight at him.
"Dammit!!" the man cursed. "Go, all of you! I will stop him!!" He shouted as he took out a saber and parry the magus sword.
However, just as his crew was about to run, they were stopped by two other guards. A half-blood with braided hair holding a spear and another wolf whose body was towering over them with large sharp wings.
Both guards were able to stop the three of them even though they were outnumbered. However, there was a gap between their defense, which one of them took advantage of and shot off with a single chest in his arms.
The chief started to panic knowing that the other magus guard near the cart was starting to break away from his spell. Unfortunately, the silver-haired wolf he was fighting proved to be too much for him. He truly didn't expect that today he would find a Crescent Moon magus capable of matching him.
"Urrghh!! I am so unlucky!!"
He decided to shout to his two members who were still being held back. "I am sorry, but I will come to find you guys later!!'
In desperation, the magus threw two vials of his precious potion, which exploded the area with a powerful freezing spell. Meanwhile, he quickly dashed away, chasing after the one who managed to escape.
"Throw the chest to me!!" the magus said to his subordinate, before they split off in different directions.
According to the original plan, the pack would spread into the forest in an attempt to fool their pursuers. With the potions they drank beforehand, they were confident that they would be able to get away.
The magus chief swiftly ran into the forest, jumping onto tree branches to prevent leaving a trail of snow in his wake. Half an hour later, he walked into a cave, the designated fallback place for the pack.
"Huh!! You better be worth it!" The magus said as he tried to open the sophisticated looking chest at hand.
However before he could do so, he realized a figure approaching him. "Is that you, Biggs?!" he asked, expecting his surviving pack mate, unfortunately, it was the silver wolf who emerged from the blizzard.
"You!.. How were you able to track me!!"
The man apparently carried a body on his shoulder and threw it into the ground saying, "You have an excellent escape skill. Unfortunately for you and fortunately for me, your men didn't. All I needed to do was to follow him."
"Did you kill him?!"
"No, and I won't unless you force me to."
"You have to kill us both then, I will not let myself be captured and be one of your slaves! Not over my dead body!"
The man's answer surprised him. "I never said anything about capturing you."
"What the hell do you want then?!"
"You are one of the rebel captains called Frostmind, aren't you? What I want is to meet your leader"