Although Sheyan was on high alert, the distant footsteps didn't slow down. Unexpectedly, a black shadow suddenly pounced out from the rubble!
Although Sheyan had expected the enemy to arrive quickly, he didn't expect the pounce to be so swift!
He rolled to the side in an incomparably sorry state, barely dodging the pounce. Sheyan was flustered, his arms crossed in front of his chest. However, the expected pursuit didn't arrive. After landing, the black shadow nimbly made a turn, and scuttled into a pitch-black narrow cave at the bottom left of the boulder!
Sheyan released a long sigh, smiling bitterly as he shook his head. That black shadow wasn't a pursuer, it was obviously a snow badger. It seemed to have suffered a huge shock, as it leapt with incredible speed. Normally, Sheyan would be able to differentiate between a human and a beast. But now, his ability was greatly reduced, and his heart was perturbed by this bizarre situation. Thus, he made such a low level mistake.
Following that, several animals continued to dash in from behind, passing through the cave and continuing into the rocky valley. They were obviously alarmed by the blazing fire in the distant sky. Seizing the opportunity, Sheyan hunted down a ferret to be used as rations for the next few days. Then, he placed his hastily crafted 'ladder' against the rock wall, carrying Melody on his back as he smoothly climbed up the huge boulder.
Of course, he didn't forget to use the tree ladder. Although this action might not be able to delay the pursuing orcs for long, Sheyan was extremely clear. Doing it might be useful, but not doing it would definitely be useless!
The top of this huge boulder was rather spacious, its width exceeding 5 metres. On top of it, there were even accumulated silt, and some tenacious alpine lichen plants. When his fingers touched it, it felt like he was touching coarse skin.
Although Sheyan knew time was pressing, he still maintained his composure. Borrowing the faint morning light, he carefully observed his surroundings. Sheyan couldn't be blamed for being so cautious. After all, Reef had released a loud roar here, before completely disappearing from the face of the earth.
Sheyan deeply understood that in terms of individual strength, Reef was at least much more valiant than him in terms of resistance. Moreover, Reef was only partially poisoned by the 'Knight's Spirit', but in terms of improvisation and close combat, he was not inferior to Sheyan in the slightest. If he could vanish from the face of the earth in such a short period of time without even being able to issue a warning …. Just the thought of that kind of power was enough to make one shudder!
At present, the sky was already starting to brighten. Sheyan continued to lie prone on the ground as he vigilantly observed his surroundings. The mountain walls on both sides extended outwards like the mouth of a horn, thus forming a relatively wide valley. Even the rocks seemed sparse. Everything seemed normal, and he couldn't see any danger at all. Nevertheless, Sheyan was exceedingly clear that if danger could be seen with a single glance, then it wouldn't be much of a threat. Reef wouldn't have mysteriously vanished into thin air.
Suddenly, Sheyan's gaze paused at the back of a pile of rubble. There, a brown line could be seen, resembling half a straw sandal. At present, the sky was still rather dim, and the surroundings were rather indistinct. If not for Sheyan's meticulous mind and meticulous search, it would be hard to discover that strange spot.
In the snowy peaks of the extreme north, the weather was rather frigid. The uruk-hais were very meticulous in their care of their captives. Not only were they provided with warm animal skin coats, they were also provided with thick straw sandals. Using animal skin to wrap their feet and wearing soft straw sandals, it greatly reduced the chances of frostbite. Instead, ordinary orcs didn't receive such treatment, their feet were riddled with frostbite, dripping with pus and blood.
Because he was currently wearing the same straw sandals, that was why he felt that the line of brown was extremely familiar. His heart stirred. In this place, apart from himself, the only other person who wore such straw sandals was Reef. Could it be that he met with an accident here?
But Reef had the protection of the realm, he couldn't have died here! Thinking of that, Sheyan felt conflicted and doubtful. His breathing became lighter and slower as he carefully observed his surroundings. After confirming there wasn't anything out of the ordinary, he placed the elf maiden aside and pushed down the temporary wooden ladder, before leaping down from the boulder.
After leaping down, Sheyan's nose smelled a peculiar odour. But this odour was very faint. Looking around, he discovered that the surrounding rocks had congealed oil droplets. At present, Sheyan didn't have time to probe further, he tiptoed towards the pile of rubble.
As he got closer, Sheyan could confirm that it was a straw sandal worn by someone. Through the gaps of the straw sandal, he could clearly see a toe. But the colour of the toe had already turned black. Obviously the body of the toe's owner had been frozen stiff, the body had long lost its life.
Sheyan followed closely behind. As the distance closed, his entire body tensed up to the extreme. Sheyan was also ready to unleash his power. Once anything strange happened, he would be able to escape immediately. Even though such an action would probably be of no use.
Everything was very quiet. Only the sky behind them, dyed red by the fire, was still dazzling. Instead, the shock in Sheyan's heart soared to the extreme. If the corpse in front of him belonged to Reef, then he would be mentally prepared. But the truth was completely out of Sheyan's expectations.
Although the corpse was frozen stiff, its flesh was badly mutilated, and its face couldn't be seen clearly. It was shockingly a captive who had been skinned!!!!!
"Don't tell me … … .above thousands of feet, is my escape route, the platform at the summit of the snowy peak?"
Sheyan couldn't help but raise his head to look. Yet all he could see were the drifting clouds and the howling cold winds. Faintly, he could make out the many layers of mountain ridges stretching across the snowy mist. A huge mystery had been lingering in his heart.
That was, the uruk-hais didn't hesitate to go through untold hardships, venturing out thousands of miles to capture slaves. Along the way, they even meticulously took care of the captives. How much manpower and resources did they expend? After paying such a huge price, why would they enhance the vitality of the captives, and then flay them down from the summit of the snowy peak?
Even though the beastmen were a barbaric and cruel civilization, and not known for their cunning, Saruman, who was behind them, was an old schemer who was good at disguising himself. For him to go through so much trouble, what he was plotting was bound to be shocking! As for himself … … .he was afraid he had unknowingly approached the core region of this truth!
Sheyan had experienced so many strange and unpredictable matters, his curiosity had long been ignited. Although he knew danger lurked in every direction, but in his heart, he knew that danger was often accompanied by opportunity. Once he unravelled the truth, the information he obtained would be invaluable. He approached the corpse and examined it carefully. Immediately, he discovered something strange about the corpse.
This corpse was already deformed, falling down from a thousand feet high snowy peak, it would be strange if it didn't deform. However, looking at the bloodstains in the surroundings, the corpse was still alive after falling down. It must have rolled and struggled on the ground for a long time before dying. The sparse rocks within a radius of tens of square meters were stained with blood, and the traces of being flattened were clearly visible. Some of the surrounding rocks even had deep bloody finger marks gouged out by the corpse!
That corpse was already badly mutilated, after being flayed, it rolled on the ground. The warm flesh of the corpse was inevitably stained with scattered leaves, rocks, ice and other debris. Once the cold wind blew, it was like glue sticking to the surface. It was simply impossible to pull it off.
Sheyan witnessed such a tragic situation, his heart was filled with horror. He looked up and saw that there were at least a few dozen similar ice corpses in the vast valley ahead. Some of them had their heads on the ground and should have died immediately. However, some of them were grimacing in pain and their bodies were twisted. Their deaths were extremely tragic. They had been crawling and rolling on the ground. Obviously, they had experienced intense pain before they died.
Very obviously, the severed finger in the intestines of the snow badger he and Reef had previously hunted originated from here!
Witnessing such a scene, Sheyan couldn't help but associate it with the concoction he drank before – 'Mucus of Ocean-freak Moria'. From the extent of the fractures of the corpses, these flayed slaves should have experienced numerous collisions during their fall, before sliding down to the bottom of the valley.
Even if that was so, once they hit their heads during the fall, the death rate would be at least 80%. The remaining 20% probably didn't hit their heads during the fall, hence they were still alive, wailing miserably in this desolate valley for a long time before freezing to death!
Witnessing the wretched corpses one after another, Sheyan felt a chill in his heart. Strictly speaking, the effects of the 'Mucus of Ocean-freak Moria' was indeed extremely potent. Yet Sheyan didn't expect the drug to be so tyrannical, as though it could squeeze out every last drop of potential from a person's body.
The heavier the injury, the faster the squeezing force. Hence, even after being flayed and tossed into the bottomless ice abyss, they still had to struggle and roll for a while before they breathed their last!
In the following search, Sheyan discovered a huge blurry claw print on the nearby rocks. The rocks here were incomparably tough, but in front of the claw print, they were like tofu, unable to withstand a single blow. On the ground, there were a dozen crudely made stone basins scattered messily. Most of these stone basins had been smashed into smithereens, only two were still intact and could be pieced back together. (To be continued. If you like this work, I welcome you to donate your monthly votes or recommendation votes to me. Your support, is my greatest motivation.)
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