237: Chapter 238 The Attacked Camp

Just as Lin Muyang and his group were advancing through the "Frost Corridor" secret realm with unstoppable momentum, and Feng Ling had transformed into a Burning Heavenly Phoenix, sweeping across the ice plains with irresistible force, outside the secret realm, in that temporary camp built on the permafrost, only a short ten minutes had passed.

Before Lin Muyang left, he had suggested that the Bear Country authorities could disband the camp, as he would be able to clear the level soon.

But this suggestion was not immediately adopted.

In the eyes of the Bear Country authorities, and indeed the vast majority of those in the know worldwide, a legendary-grade team secret realm with a scale of up to 40 people and a level requirement of over 90 was unimaginably difficult.

Even if one gathered the elite of a nation, made full preparations, and formulated detailed tactics, it often took days or even weeks to explore, test, and coordinate before one could see a glimmer of hope for clearing it.

Lin Muyang was very strong, and the young ladies he summoned had also shown astonishing potential.

But after all, he was under level 100, the number of young ladies under his command was limited, and even if he possessed mythic grade skills, the complex environment in the secret realm, the endless stream of elite monsters, the gatekeeper bosses with different mechanisms, and finally the unfathomable final boss... Could one person really do it?

The Bear Country authorities held a cautious and reserved attitude toward this.

They did not doubt that Lin Muyang had the potential to clear it, but they believed that it would inevitably be a long process that required repeated attempts and might even result in casualties.

Therefore, the camp was kept as a logistical support and observation outpost, and was also responsible for receiving representatives from other countries who had heard the news and were trying to contact or observe this newly emerged "mythic" figure, Lin Muyang.

In the camp, besides the staff sent by Bear Country to maintain order and provide basic services, there were also S-grade and SS-grade young elites from over a dozen countries around the world, as well as the powerful guards sent by their respective countries, who were around level 250.

Some of these geniuses and guards wanted to witness the grand occasion of Lin Muyang clearing the level with their own eyes, some wanted to find opportunities to make connections, and others were simply there to collect intelligence on behalf of their countries.

The entire camp seemed calm, but in reality, undercurrents were surging, and forces from various countries were mixed together.

The blonde Summoner Tashalin sat alone in her tent, which had excellent insulation.

The tent was simply but comfortably furnished, with thick animal skin rugs on the floor and a smokeless magic heater burning in the center.

She leaned lazily on a chair covered with soft fur, her incredibly well-proportioned, slender snow-white legs elegantly crossed.

On her lap curled a small ice fox, completely snow-white without a single speck of color, with fluffy and soft fur.

This was a summon she had recently contracted, a cub with the bloodline of a rare ice-type divine beast; it not only had huge potential but was also extremely cute, and she was very fond of it.

At this moment, Tashalin was unconsciously stroking the ice fox's smooth, soft back fur with one hand, and the ice fox was making tiny purring sounds in comfort.

Her clear, pale golden eyes, however, were staring somewhat distractedly at the swaying magic lamp on the top of the tent, her thoughts seemingly drifting far away.

In her mind, she couldn't help but repeatedly replay the scene from shortly before at the entrance of the secret realm, where she had briefly locked eyes with that young Summoner from the East.

Lin Muyang's calm and deep gaze, which seemed to be able to see through everything, as well as the young ladies surrounding him who each possessed different temperaments yet were all so beautiful and powerful that they didn't seem mortal, and the shocking words he had said so casually about soloing a legendary-grade secret realm... All of this had left an extremely deep impression on her.

"Lin Muyang... the Summoner from the East..." She whispered this name unconsciously, feeling her cheeks burning slightly.

She considered herself to have exceptional talent, a leader among the younger generation in Bear Country, proud and arrogant, and had never shown any interest in peers of the opposite sex.

But the appearance of Lin Muyang was like a giant stone thrown into a calm lake, stirring up ripples in her heart that were hard to settle.

That absolute self-confidence, that demeanor of controlling everything, and his own unforgettable, handsome appearance... all made her feel an unprecedented attraction and a trace of self-abasement.

The talent and strength she was so proud of seemed so insignificant in front of him.

"I wonder how he is doing in the secret realm... It's only been ten minutes since he went in, he should still be clearing the initial small monster area, right? Those Ice Plains Magic Wolves and Ice Elementals are not easy to deal with..." Tashalin's thoughts flew, speculating to herself.

She even regretted a little that she hadn't gathered the courage to say a few more words earlier, or found an excuse to follow him in and take a look?

But this thought was quickly rejected by herself; she knew her own strength, and entering a secret realm of that level would not only be unhelpful, but might also become a burden.

Just as she was feeling uneasy, the tip of her nose suddenly caught a faint, strange scent that was completely out of place with the warmth and leather smell inside the tent.

It was a sweet, greasy smell with a faint bloody odor, elusive, yet it made her hair stand on end instantly!

Her intuition, honed from long-term wandering on the edge of danger, screamed a warning!

"Something's wrong!" Tashalin's golden pupils contracted sharply, her lazy expression vanished, replaced by extreme vigilance.

She had experienced assassination attempts more than once, and she was no stranger to this sudden sense of crisis!

She did not immediately cry out a warning or rush out of the tent—that would likely play right into the ambusher's hands.

She remained calm, her hand on the ice fox's back moved slightly, and magic power surged quietly.

In the next second, ripples like ice crystals appeared in the air beside her, and a humanoid creature, only half a person tall, made entirely of translucent cold ice, with two pairs of crystalline ice wings on its back, emerged silently.

This was one of her summons—the Ice Sentinel, possessing extreme speed and excellent stealth and reconnaissance capabilities, and it shared vision with her.

"Go outside and take a look!" Tashalin ordered through their soul link.

The Ice Sentinel nodded silently, its figure instantly becoming blurry, as if merging with the air, leaving only a faint trace of cold air, shooting out through the gap in the tent flap like an arrow from a bow!

Tashalin immediately closed her eyes and connected her mind to the Ice Sentinel.

The moment shared vision was activated, a scene that made her blood almost freeze rushed into her mind!

Outside the tent, the originally orderly and brightly lit camp had now turned into a living hell!

A dense, dark green mist, as if it were solid, had spread from somewhere, shrouding every corner of the camp.

This mist carried a nauseating, sweet, bloody smell, clearly containing deadly poison!

Even more terrifyingly, the mist seemed to have a life of its own, slowly flowing and seeping, penetrating everywhere.

Through the Ice Sentinel's aerial view, Tashalin saw a sight that made her soul tremble: several Bear Country staff members lay on the snow outside the tents, their faces blue and purple, black filthy blood spilling from their mouths and noses, clearly poisoned to death, their deaths miserable.

Not far away, two S-grade geniuses who seemed to be from some small country were trying to rush out of the mist range with terrified faces, but they had only run a few steps before their bodies began to convulse violently, their skin turning dark green at a speed visible to the naked eye, and then they fell straight down, with no signs of life.

The resistance provided by their protective skills and equipment seemed completely useless in the face of this strange poisonous mist.

What made her feel even more desperate was the open space in the center of the camp, which was originally an area where powerful guards around level 250 from various countries gathered, guarding against each other while maintaining a delicate balance.

At this moment, over a dozen people were lying there horizontally and vertically!

Among them was a level 258 Ice Archmage sent by the Bear Country authorities whom she knew!

This senior, who was usually dignified and powerful, was now just like the others, eyes closed tightly, his face showing an unnatural gray pallor, lying on the ground motionless, life or death unknown!

Judging by the situation, it seemed that he had fallen into a deep coma instantly, unable to even put up a fight!

In the entire camp, there were very few people left alive and able to move!

The dark green poisonous mist was like the Grim Reaper's cloak, shrouding everything and devouring life!

"Who?!" Who exactly did this?!" Tashalin's heart sank to the bottom, and a chill rushed from the soles of her feet to the top of her head, even worse than the severe cold of Siberia.

A massacre!

This was a premeditated, vicious massacre aimed at the geniuses and powerhouses from many countries gathered here!

The opponent chose to launch the attack when Lin Muyang entered the secret realm, everyone's attention was attracted, and the camp's defenses were relatively lax!

To be able to instantly knock down multiple powerhouses above level 250, the strength of the person who attacked must have reached a terrifying level, and they were extremely good at using poison and concealment!

Her first thought was to escape! Leave this place immediately!

But as the Ice Sentinel's vision swept across the edge of the camp, she despairingly discovered that the space in the camp seemed to be sealed by some powerful force, and the light of several magic array nodes originally used for emergency teleportation was dim, clearly having been destroyed or interfered with.

She tried to activate a precious random teleportation scroll herself, but the magic patterns on the scroll went out the moment they lit up, and a powerful spatial imprisonment force was fed back—the surrounding space was locked!

No spatial teleportation means could be used!

"Can't get out..." Tashalin's face was as pale as paper, and cold sweat seeped from her forehead.

She forced herself to calm down and quickly thought of countermeasures.

Under the tent flap, the dark green poisonous mist was seeping in, strand by strand, like tentacles with a life of their own, and the concentration was slowly increasing.

The sweet, bloody smell in the air was getting stronger and stronger.

"I can't just sit here and wait for death!" She gritted her teeth and channeled her magic power again.

The little ice fox on her shoulder chirped, emitting a soft ice-blue light, and a crystalline, tangible ice shield instantly expanded, enveloping Tashalin completely.

When the poisonous mist touched the ice shield, it made a slight "hissing" corrosion sound, and tiny dark green spots and cracks quickly appeared on the surface of the ice shield, but it temporarily resisted the erosion of the poisonous mist.

"The corrosiveness and permeability of this poisonous mist are too strong!" Tashalin felt her ice shield's magic power consuming rapidly, and her heart sank.

Her ice fox shield had extremely strong defensive power and could withstand the bombardment of powerhouses of the same level for a short time, but in the face of this strange poisonous mist, the consumption rate was shockingly fast!

She estimated that at this speed, the shield would be completely corroded and penetrated in at most three to five minutes!

And the person who released this poisonous mist must have a level far exceeding hers, likely reaching above level 300, and was an assassin or curse mage who specialized in poison and had vicious and strange means!

Who on earth would dare to defy the world and poison so many geniuses and powerhouses from so many countries at the same time?

Was he not afraid of triggering a global manhunt and encirclement?

Names of several notorious dark organizations or lone powerhouses flashed through Tashalin's mind, but none of them matched perfectly.

What was the opponent's purpose?

Was it to stifle the future of various countries?

Or to provoke conflict?

Or... was it aimed at Lin Muyang?

Did they want to frame Lin Muyang for the deaths of these people?

This thought made Tashalin's heart tremble.

She subconsciously thought of Lin Muyang.

With the strength and mystery Lin Muyang displayed, perhaps he had the ability to do all this?

But did he have the need?

Moreover, the young ladies under Lin Muyang's command did not seem to use poison-type abilities... at least she hadn't seen it.

Most importantly, why would Lin Muyang do this?

There was absolutely no motive.

Unless he was a madman who enjoyed killing?

But Tashalin instinctively denied this idea; Lin Muyang gave her the feeling of being calm, rational, and goal-oriented, not someone who loved killing.

Just as she was in a state of confusion, a sudden change occurred on the side of the Ice Sentinel that shared vision with her!

The Ice Sentinel had been maintaining a state of high concealment, hovering hundreds of meters in the air, nearly invisible with the help of the ice and snow environment.

But suddenly, a dark green thin line, like a snake sticking out its tongue, broke through the air from a dark corner outside the camp at an astonishing speed, shooting with extreme precision at the almost invisible ice crystal particles!

Pfft!

A slight sound, as if ice cracking, rang in Tashalin's ears.

She saw the ice crystal that her Ice Sentinel had turned into being instantly pierced and shattered by an energy arrow that was dark green all over and surrounded by ominous aura!

The ice crystal exploded, turning into countless tiny ice chips stained with dark green, falling down with a rustle.

"I've been discovered!" Tashalin let out a muffled groan, and the shared vision was forced to disconnect, a slight stinging pain coming from her brain.

The opponent not only used poison but also had extremely sharp perception, actually being able to instantly capture and destroy even her Ice Sentinel, which excelled in stealth and speed!

This meant that her every move was likely already under the opponent's surveillance!

Inside the tent, the dark green poisonous mist had already spread, and the concentration was getting higher and higher, almost filling the entire space.

The light of the shield supported by the ice fox became dim rapidly under the erosion of the poisonous mist, and cracks spread like a spider web.

Tashalin could even feel wisps of cold energy with paralyzing and erosive effects trying to penetrate the shield and seep into her skin.

"Am I... going to die here?" Tashalin leaned against the cold tent wall and slowly slid to the ground, holding the ice fox, which was trembling slightly from fear, tightly in her arms.

She had tried all the means of calling for help and breaking out that she could think of, but they were all ruthlessly crushed.

Space was locked, the poisonous mist sealed the area, powerful enemies surrounded them, and even her most relied-upon reconnaissance summon was instantly killed.

Despair, like this dark green poisonous mist, swallowed her up bit by bit.

In her golden eyes, the color of death, which was getting closer and closer, was reflected.

"This time... who on earth is it?" She took one last look at the direction of the tent flap, which had been completely obscured by the thick dark green, "Lin Muyang... does he know what is happening outside? Or is all this really related to him?"