Chapter 96: Above the Clouds!

However, the words Wang Chen spoke had to be relayed, and by the time everyone understood, it was already too late.

The flying venomous locusts were already crawling out of the small circular burrow, their bodies quivering as they spread their wings and fluttered across the sky like drifting willow catkins, attacking the group.

The first to bear the brunt was the man who had discovered the locusts. In an instant, four or five locusts latched onto his face, neck, and arms, the bitten areas visibly turning black.

His body trembled violently, tugging at the safety rope repeatedly.

From his vantage point, Wang Chen finally realized that the reason the safety rope had loosened was not only due to the man's pulling, but also because the locusts were gnawing on the rope for reasons unknown.

The second perspective in Wang Chen's mind grew dim, so blurry it was impossible to see clearly.

Then darkness fell completely, and from Wang Chen's own viewpoint, he saw that the Wind Hunter had stopped swinging, his body fallen back in a rigid posture.

He understood then that the Wind Hunter had died from the poison.

Wang Chen swiftly removed the spell that obscured vision, for there was no longer any need for additional perspectives—the frantic swarm of venomous locusts was now visible to all.

Wang Chen was unconcerned for his own safety; he wore a full-coverage inner armor, and since the locusts injected their venom with their mouthparts, they could not threaten him. He merely needed to cover his mouth and nose. His main worry was Su's safety.

The locusts had already swept near Su, and the two Wind Hunters guarding him were attacked first.

Surrounded by the frenzied swarm, their faces were crawling with locusts, as if they wore garishly colored masks.

Seeing this, Wang Chen released a point of light from his palm.

"Stasis Spell!"

The light wedged itself into Su's shoulder, pulling out a shimmering strand.

"Su! Cut all the ropes tied to you!" Wang Chen shouted.

Hearing his command, Su appeared stunned—the twelve-year-old child was thoroughly frightened.

Wang Chen shouted again, his voice shaking Su from his stupor.

Su hurriedly drew a blade from his waist, cutting the safety rope and the cords connecting him to the two Wind Hunters.

Wang Chen pulled the strand of light from his palm and, with a powerful swing, flung Su far away.

As the light reached its maximum length, Wang Chen shouted, "Use your blade to anchor yourself to the cliff!"

Su gripped the short blade with both hands, plunging it deep into the cliff. When the momentum of the light strand was spent, he began to fall.

Sparks flew from the blade against the cliff as Su slid a considerable distance before coming to a halt.

Relying on extraordinary arm strength, he suspended himself with one hand, quickly retrieving a spare rope and securing an anchor point for himself.

Seeing Su temporarily distanced from the locust swarm, Wang Chen focused on dealing with the locusts.

He activated the antidote bracelet, spraying venom and coating all exposed skin.

Then, he drew the Flame Python Knife from his storage space and slashed a wave of fire toward the locusts attacking the Wind Hunters.

A crescent-shaped blaze swept through the swarm, instantly burning a large number of locusts into charred remnants that tumbled from the air.

The surviving locusts, not caught by the flame, buzzed furiously as they swarmed toward Wang Chen.

Taking advantage of their brief pause, Wang Chen's eyes shone with a blue-green light as he borrowed Su's perspective, projecting it into his mind.

Then Wang Chen closed his eyes, wrapped his hands around his face, covered his mouth and nose with his joints, and pressed his palms over his ears.

From then on, everything Wang Chen saw came from Su's viewpoint.

A vibrant cloud surged toward Wang Chen.

Locusts swarmed over his body in an instant.

Even through his hands, Wang Chen could hear the furious buzzing, as if he were inside a colossal engine room.

The locusts tried to bite Wang Chen and inject deadly venom, but their mouthparts encountered a resilient, elastic layer, unable to penetrate.

Locusts whose hearts stopped from venom were pushed off by others, falling away.

The antidote worked through their open mouthparts, killing another batch of locusts with its potent venom.

From Su's perspective, Wang Chen was engulfed by the swarm, only for vast numbers of locusts to fall away moments later.

Before long, there were hardly any locusts left clinging to Wang Chen.

When the buzzing faded from his ears, Wang Chen opened his eyes and brushed off the few remaining locusts.

Once he confirmed the threat was eliminated, he signaled to Su to continue climbing upward.

...

A hand grasped the edge of the cliff, and with a burst of strength, a young man with rugged features hauled himself up.

He lay on the edge, catching his breath for a moment, then urgently crawled to the brink and extended his hand to pull another up.

Both lay sprawled at the cliff's edge, gasping desperately. After a while, the rugged young man said, "Wang Chen, thank you... thank you for saving my life."

Wang Chen stared at the sky in a daze. "No need to thank me. If you want to give thanks, it's probably not to me."

Su paused, his expression dimming. "I understand. It's my fault that my tribesmen lost their lives here."

Wang Chen was silent, offering no response. After a long moment, he pushed himself up. "Let's go. Finish your trial."

He now wished only to complete the task as quickly as possible, not wanting to linger even a second longer.

Su followed him quietly.

...

On the cliff, a faint white mist drifted, making Wang Chen and Su seem as if they were walking in a heavenly palace.

The temperature plummeted, and Wang Chen retrieved a down jacket from his storage space and put it on.

After some thought, he looked at Su and asked, "Do you need a jacket?"

Su shook his head. "No need. We Wind Hunters do not fear the cold."

Wang Chen said no more and walked in silence.

They searched the summit thoroughly, finding nothing.

Wang Chen halted, puzzled. "Are you sure the Gale dwells up here?"

He gestured to the surroundings. "There's not even a single feather to be found."

The space atop the cliff was somewhat larger than expected, but not excessively so. They had searched diligently, leaving no area overlooked, yet found nothing.

Su scratched his head. "The tribe's Wind Seekers are certain that a Gale lives up here, but I can't understand why we can't find it."

Wang Chen shrank his neck into his down jacket. "The reality is, there’s nothing here. Looks like we’ll have to return empty-handed."

"The wind here is too strong for anyone to stay." Wang Chen felt the biting wind whip around his neck.

He found it strange. While mountaintops are typically windy, they weren’t at eight or nine thousand meters altitude—how could there be such exaggerated gusts? He even felt unsteady on his feet.

Suddenly, Wang Chen realized something. He muttered, "The Gale..."

Abruptly, he looked up at the clouds seemingly within reach, his gaze searching along their edges.

In a place he had overlooked before, a shadow hid behind the clouds.

A flash of light appeared between Wang Chen's fingers as he drew the Flame Python Knife.

"Su, prepare for battle," he said in a low voice.