At first glance, this Ice Tree appears no different from the other trees nearby.
The trunk is covered in white snow, and the canopy is also adorned in a silver dress, with thousands of icicles hanging from the branches like curtains.
But upon closer inspection, you will find that there are dozens of icicles over a meter long, bizarrely standing upright on a sturdy branch.
Bruce stared intently at that part of the trunk and immediately identified it.
That's not an icicle at all, but rather a giant white creature resting on the trunk.
A tongue, at least four or five meters long, was hanging down from its mouth.
Its tongue was also white, with a layer of frost on the surface, so unless you looked carefully, you would think it was just a particularly long icicle.
And those upright "icicles" were actually the spines on its back.
In the darkness of the night, if you didn't look closely, you would definitely miss it.
It was fortunate that Bruce was out for the first time and was particularly cautious, allowing him to notice it.
In the darkness, it was unclear how big the creature really was, but with that long tongue and the spines on its back, Bruce recognized it.
"Long-tongue Snow Mane, only two meters in length, should be juvenile!"
The Cold Beasts on the outskirts of Redwood Ridge aren't numerous in variety.
Among them, the most common are the Bone Spur Frost Wolf and the Long-tongue Snow Mane.
According to what was heard from the members of the Axeheart team, the Long-tongue Snow Mane is a lower-level Cold Beast resembling a wild boar.
The body of a Long-tongue Snow Mane is extremely large, weighing three to four hundred pounds even as juveniles, with adults typically over a thousand pounds.
Snow Manes possess immense strength, favoring attacks with the spines on their back and forehead, but more importantly, their several meter-long tongues are not only long, sharp, and harden or soften at will, but also almost impossible to defend against."
"If you encounter a juvenile Snow Mane, there is still a chance to hunt it with a very strong archer and the assistance of a dozen good hands from the Axeheart Realm, otherwise, if encountered in the wild, don't try, just flee."
Remembering what he had heard before, Bruce took a deep breath, calming down as much as possible.
Although he was tempted by Snow Mane's tasty meat, he had to face reality.
Fortunately, it was nighttime, and the Snow Mane was fast asleep.
If it were daytime and he encountered an awake one, he might not have survived.
"Stay quiet and don't disturb it, pick some Crystal Fruits, and then leave."
"The most notable trait of Long-tongue Snow Manes is that once it's nighttime, they become extremely lethargic; as long as you don't attack them, they generally won't wake up."
Though the members of the Axeheart team wouldn't lie to him, Bruce naturally wouldn't gamble with his own life, so he picked up a stone from the ground and climbed up a tree, hurling it towards a tree a hundred meters away.
The stone hit the tree, causing only a slight shake, not much disturbance.
Yet, due to the vibration, icicles began falling from the tree.
The sound of icicles hitting the ground was exceptionally clear in the silent dense forest, so Bruce held his breath and carefully observed the Snow Mane.
The Snow Mane remained indifferent to the loud noise, continuing to slumber deeply.
This sight truly allowed Bruce to relax.
"Gently pick the fruit; there shouldn't be much of a problem."
Just as Bruce was about to climb down from the tree.
Whoosh…
A sound of an arrow slicing through the air suddenly came from across.
In the night, though Bruce couldn't see the sharp arrow, by judging by the sound's origin, he could almost confirm it was aimed at the Snow Mane on the tree.
"Roar…"
Sure enough, as the sound of the arrow disappeared, an enraged roar suddenly erupted from the Ice Tree.
The sound was earth-shattering, causing the entire tree to tremble, scattering ice fragments from the branches, while snow on the ground exploded into a flurry.
Even the tree Bruce was on shook violently.
"Are you crazy?
Is this someone from Taylor Camp?"
Bruce screamed internally, unable to move a muscle.
In earlier years, the camps around Redwood Ridge, led by Rogel Camp, had divided up their territories.
To the west of Harper's territory in Redwood Ridge is Taylor Camp's territory.
At this moment, Bruce wasn't concerned with Taylor Camp crossing the border.
He was merely curious where Taylor Camp mustered such courage to engage a Long-tongue Snow Mane.
Though unsure of Taylor Camp's specific strength, he figured it was similar to Harper, a small camp at best with perhaps a few more Axeheart Realm powerhouses.
Could such strength hunt a Snow Mane?
It wasn't long before Bruce realized he was mistaken.
Taylor Camp seemed to have quite a bit of capability.
"Barry Taylor, I hit its left eye, aim for its right eye with me, the rest of you, hurry and snare it with ropes!"
From the west side of the Ice Tree came a sharp voice.
Seventeen people followed, all clad in Beast Skin Skirts, wielding stone axes, except for the first one in line, who wielded a gleaming saber.
"Iron weapon, probably bought from Rogel Camp."
Bruce gazed at the saber with envy in his eyes.
Under extreme cold, both stone and iron undergo significant changes.
Harper once had a semi-iron weapon, Thomas's axe.
Being called "semi-iron" because only the blade's edge was iron, the rest was stone with a wooden handle.
Yet even as a semi-iron weapon, its sharpness far exceeded that of a stone axe.
Bruce had once exchanged blows between a stone axe and that iron axe; the stone axe was damaged, while the iron axe remained intact.
Considering the iron was only on the blade of the axe, no wonder that gleaming saber was so formidable.
Apart from Bruce's envy, the people from Taylor Camp under the Ice Tree had already engaged Snow Mane.
The Snow Mane's left eye indeed had an arrow lodged in it.
The Snow Mane probably hurt from the pain; after descending from the tree, its roaring ceased, but its breathing was notably heavy.
The only remaining eye on the right was bloodshot and locked onto Taylor Camp's group.
Its hind legs scraped the snow twice before lunging forward suddenly.
Faster than a white arrow off the string, fierce as a crashing mountain.
Looking at the Snow Mane's huge body, it was unimaginable that its speed was so fast.
The enormous size combined with extreme speed, even dispersing the chill, meant this strike's impact was devastating.
"Quick, dodge! Set the snare, fast!"
That sharp voice sounded again, and Bruce's gaze turned to a tree on the west side.
The person commanding must be an archer; another named Barry, also an archer, should be hiding on the other side.
The person gave commands while frantically shooting arrows with another archer.
Though the arrows didn't hit the Snow Mane's vital spots, they successfully slowed its charge.
As the Snow Mane was being obstructed, fourteen individuals under the Ice Tree scattered, avoiding the Snow Mane while setting up over a dozen snares on the ground.
The leader wielding the saber even tossed a snare right over Snow Mane's neck while dodging.
The Snow Mane couldn't stop its momentum and crashed into the ground full of snares.
The Snow Mane's limbs and head were swiftly snared.
"Pull hard!"
A sharp voice commanded from behind the tree, and the fourteen scattered individuals quickly regrouped, divided into five groups, and forcefully pulled the ropes from the ground, running in five directions.
Roar…
The Snow Mane roared angrily, but unfortunately staggered, yanked, and toppled over, crashing onto the ground with a loud bang.
Meanwhile, two arrows shot like meteors from behind the tree.
Straight into the Snow Mane's blood-red right eye.
Plunge…
Both arrows hit the mark.
The Snow Mane let out a more painful and furious roar.
"Got it!"
"Hahaha, well done, boss."
"This beast, the pain will kill it too."
---
The laughter of Taylor Camp's people contrasted starkly with the Snow Mane's furious, painful cries.
Despite their joy, the people of Taylor Camp did not approach while the Snow Mane continued to thrash.
The distant two archers remained concealed, persistently shooting arrows to finish it off.
As time went by, the Snow Mane's thrashing movements grew smaller and smaller until it finally lay still.
The people of Taylor Camp seemed to finally relax.
The leader wielding the saber threw several rocks from afar, confirming Snow Mane's death before finally speaking to the rear of the forest.
"Boss, it's dead."
Two middle-aged men emerged from behind the tree on the west side, leading everyone towards the Snow Mane's body.
Seeing the group begin to gather their prey, Bruce, still hiding in the tree, furrowed his brows slightly.