Harleen, Ivy, and Azure Dragon, along with others, noticed Casey’s abnormality. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, veins bulged, and a hint of pain flickered across his face. His aura fluctuated, sometimes strong, sometimes weak.
“Don’t worry, he’s fine!” Billy reassured.
“The energy contained in the core of a Ninth Tier Demonic Beast is substantial. It’s difficult for him to fully digest it all at once!” As he spoke, Billy stood up and walked behind Casey, placing his hand on Casey’s back while channeling a powerful surge of true energy into his body.
With Billy’s assistance, Casey’s condition returned to normal and his breathing became steady within five minutes.
Boom!
After a while, a tremendous force erupted from Casey, akin to a raging torrent.
Fortunately, Billy was prepared and activated his true energy to form a defensive barrier, enveloping both of them. Otherwise, the entire carriage would have likely been destroyed.
“Casey, you’ve broken through to the Half-Step Saint realm, right?” Azure Dragon asked with a glimmer of excitement in his eyes, after Casey’s aura subsided.
“It’s all thanks to boss’s help, otherwise it would have been quite precarious!” Casey chuckled.
“Tsk tsk, Casey, you’re amazing!” Judgement remarked, smacking his lips.
“Stout, stop the carriage!” Suddenly, Billy shouted.
Stout instinctively halted the sleigh. Looking around, they found themselves in a narrow valley, with thick snow covering the slopes on both sides. Almost as soon as the carriage came to a stop, a violent commotion could be heard from the slopes, followed by an avalanche of ice and snow cascading down into the valley.
An avalanche?!
That was the first thought that crossed everyone’s minds.
“Get out of the carriage!” Billy commanded, his voice grave.
Without hesitation, everyone scrambled out of the vehicle.
“Retreat into the valley!” Billy surveyed the terrain briefly and continued.
“Understood!” They replied in unison before rushing towards the mouth of the valley.
The two polar mastiffs pulling the carriage seemed startled by the scene before them. In a state of panic, they dashed forward. However, before they could run a few hundred meters, they were buried under the ice and snow, along with the carriage, disappearing in an instant. Meanwhile, Billy and the others had already reached a point several hundred meters away from the mouth of the valley.
Just then, another loud noise echoed from the slopes on either side of the valley entrance. In the next moment, dozens of large ice balls rolled down from both sides, accompanied by a deluge of snow, hurtling towards the valley at an alarming speed.
“Watch out!” Everyone shouted simultaneously, stabilizing their positions.
“Everyone gather together and form a defensive barrier!” Billy furrowed his brow slightly.
With the exit blocked and an overwhelming amount of snow rushing towards them from behind, they had no better option for the time being.
“Yes!” Casey and the others responded loudly, releasing their chi energy.
Before long, a space about four to five meters high and fifty to sixty meters long and wide formed. This defensive barrier, created by condensing chi energy, resembled the protective barriers set up by late-stage Saints, albeit smaller and less sturdy.
Just as they had finished forming the barrier, an avalanche of snow surged forward, covering the space in the blink of an eye.
“Boss, who do you think could be behind this?” Azure Dragon asked Billy from within the barrier.
This clearly wasn’t a natural disaster; it was undoubtedly the work of someone.
“Anyone capable of causing such a commotion must be at least a mid-stage Saint. And the country that possesses such powerful individuals is either Northfortia or Aquilandia.”
“Then it’s likely someone from Aquilandia!” Casey interjected. “Their territory is in the Northern Polar Domain, not far from Nordhaven City.”
“Hmm,” Billy nodded.
After a while, the outside gradually quieted down.
“Boss, the snow outside should have settled. I’ll go out and take a look…” Frostblade began to speak.
But before she could finish her sentence, a loud noise reverberated against the defensive barrier, almost deafening. Judging from the disturbance, it was clear that a powerful person was attacking their defensive barrier. Judge and a few others with lower cultivation levels felt their blood churn in response to the shock-wave.
“Y’all stay inside for now, I’ll go take a look!” Billy furrowed his brow before swiftly rushing out.
Though the thick layer of accumulated snow posed no difficulty for Billy to navigate through using his defensive aura.
Boom!
He soared out of the snow, sending a spray of snow flying in all directions. Almost as soon as he appeared, numerous icy streaks shot towards him from all sides, swift as lightning and unstoppable.
“Don’t underestimate me!” Billy narrowed his eyes, wielding his blade to slash out several crescent-shaped blade energies in all directions. After the blade energies dissipated, several figures in white martial attire fell to the ground, all of them defeated.
“Come down and face me!” At the same time, an elderly voice echoed through the valley. As the voice faded, a mighty wave of energy, akin to a hurricane, swept towards Billy from mid-air, causing a fierce wind to howl.
Sensing the power behind the attack, Billy’s pupils contracted slightly. He activated his Chi energy to form a defensive aura while meeting the attack head-on with his blade. However, he seemed to underestimate his opponent’s strength, coupled with the disadvantage of being in mid-air, he couldn’t exert his full power. As a result, Billy was sent flying hundreds of meters away by the attack, crashing into the thick layer of accumulated snow like a cannonball.
“You’re a Fourth-rank Saint!” Billy squinted his eyes as he emerged from the snow.
At the same time, a clamor erupted from both sides of the mountain slopes. Soon, hundreds of figures descended from the slopes, charging towards the valley.
“Casey, get everyone out of here!” Billy shouted, channeling his Chi energy.
Upon hearing his command, Casey and the others leaped out of the defensive aura simultaneously. Though they couldn’t fly, their strength at the mid-late stage of the Sovereign realm allowed them to leap several dozen meters into the air without any problem. As for the accumulated snow on the defensive aura, it posed no threat to them whatsoever, scattering in all directions as they landed on the ground.
“Attack!” Casey shouted, brandishing his battle blade as he charged towards the enemy.
Azure Dragon and the others didn’t hesitate either, drawing their swords and following closely behind. So, the scene descended into a fierce battle. Among the enemy forces, a few individuals showcased impressive skills. The strongest among them were two individuals on the same level as Casey, at the Half-Step Saint realm. Additionally, there were four Ninth-rank Sovereign experts and around ten Eighth-rank Sovereign powerhouses. Judging from their presence, it was clear that the enemy had no intention of allowing Billy and the others to return to Glavale’s City.
Just then, four elderly figures closed in on Billy from four different directions, all of them powerful Saints. The white-haired, white-bearded elder happened to be the one who attacked Billy earlier, a Fourth-rank Saint. The other two were Third-rank Saints, while the last one was a Second-rank Saint.
“Do y’all know who we are?” The white-bearded elder walked forward and shouted at Billy.