In the northeast corner of the ice field, in the rocky mountainous area, there is a mysterious valley that no one knows.

It is backed by towering snow-capped peaks and is surrounded on all sides by impassable heights, with only a narrow entrance to the south. The shape of the valley resembles an upside-down kettle, so it is often called "curling" by the residents of Wind Snow Mountain Resort.

The cliffs shelter from the cold winds of the snow-capped mountains, making the "pot body" a quiet haven, where countless trees and herbs can flourish on the valley floor. Nutrient-rich tree fruits can replenish a person's physical strength in a short period of time, and an anesthetic made of poisonous herbs can bring down even the largest magical beasts - so this precious valley has become a treasure trove for the Himmi family all year round.

Curling is surrounded by mountains on all sides, easy to defend and difficult to attack, as long as you set up a guard post and send troops to garrison the "spout" in the south, you can easily hold the entire valley. As for the person in charge of guarding the mountain gate—

As early as the first day of the game, he had introduced himself to Xiao Ye and his party.

"I am the son of the second elder of the Himi family, the 'guardian of curling' Jean. ”

After listening to Xiao Ye's ins and outs, Lijiu and Long Xing's faces were blank - seriously, what an NPC casually said a few days ago can be remembered until now, is this reasonable!?

"When the Great Elder deliberately mentioned 'northeast direction', he should be referring to curling. Xiao Ye calmly continued to talk, "Whether or not he represents the other side of the opposition to the Three Elders, there must be important clues hidden in the curling. So what we're going to do next is—"

"Talk less and see more!"

"Proceed cautiously!"

The sister and brother finally heard the words they were familiar with, and immediately answered positively. This set of "reconnaissance mode action guidelines" has been instilled by the boss several times, and the southerners have firmly remembered it no matter how dull their brains are.

"But Boss. Li Jiu pointed to the brown paper roll in her hand, "Where is the entrance to the curling stone?"

Probably because the resources in the curling are precious and inconvenient to reveal to outsiders, only the northeast area of the ice field is extremely scribbled on the map of Fengxue Mountain that the adventurers obtained. The spout drawn by the mapper is as wide as ten Wind and Snow Villas, which does not correspond to the actual terrain at all.

Xiao Ye looked at the layers of high ground ahead.

The flat, easy-to-navigate ice sheet covers only the southwestern part of the Fengxue Mountain, and to the east is a vast mountainous area that can barely penetrate with human foot strength. The undulating rocks are enough to make outsiders dizzy, and for a while they can't even make out the direction, let alone find the place where the curling stones are.

After thinking for a moment, and after weighing the efficiency and risk, the three of them decided to split up for the time being to expand the search area - of course, with the barren sense of direction of the Terashima siblings, they would most likely get lost in the mountains, and the guidance work was finally handed over to the two reliable little dream demons.

The three of them separated under a tall cedar tree, and each ran in a different direction on a fast-paced Pokémon.

However, the scribbled spout on the map delineated the area was too large, until the dim sunlight of the snow-capped mountains rose overhead, and the three footprints reunited under the trees, and the adventurers still found nothing.

"The trail here is so difficult that I don't think I can find the curling stone for three days and three nights. Long Xing worriedly took a bite of the compressed biscuit, was choked and grinned, and coughed for a long time before connecting the second half of the sentence, "Why don't you go back to Fengxue Mountain Villa first, and try to ask for the specific location?"

Xiao Ye was about to reply, when she suddenly caught the roar from the north.

The three of them looked up in unison and looked into the depths of the mountain.

Gray-black smoke and dust are billowing up from afar, and it looks extremely dazzling in the white snow-capped mountains.

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"Captain, there aren't enough arrows!"

The anxious shout reached his ears, and Jean's face became heavier.

"Spread out as a team, pay attention to the defensive flanks – leave me in the middle!"

High up between the cliffs, flaming arrows danced with ice edges, briefly stopping the intruders. But everyone knows that this situation will not last long.

The entrance to the curling stone is built with a high wall to keep enemies out, but its main function is to provide the defenders with a vantage point rather than a hard resistance to monster attacks. Without an adequate reserve of arrows, the guards above the high walls will have to use their ability to manipulate snow and ice against the enemy, which will undoubtedly accelerate the physical drain of the guards - the garrison guarding the curling stones will gradually become physically exhausted in the face of the surging enemies and their monsters.

Team leader Jean bore the brunt of the pressure. He wiped the blood from his face with all his might, staring at the gray-robed intruder surrounded by demonic beasts.

Ever since the adventurers came to the Snow Villa, people dressed in this costume have appeared near the curling stone from time to time.

At first, it was just wandering and watching, and gradually it evolved into harassment and sneak attacks. The day after the adventurers appeared, someone sneaked inside the curling stone and set fire to their armament warehouse, leaving the guards with few arrows, and today, they have launched an attack in the open.

The heavy grey robes obscured the intruders' faces, making them invisible to the garrison, and Jean didn't want to wonder if they were insatiable adventurers or "another bunch" trying to fish in troubled waters. As the "Guardian of Curling", the son of the strongest warrior in the Wind and Snow Villa, he must protect this precious valley that belongs to the Himi family, even if it costs him his life.

Until then, though......

Jean set up his shield and resisted the ice and gravel shot by the white sea lion, and his left hand was almost unconscious. In the gap between a few seconds of respite, he glanced back at the sentry tower behind him.

On the second-floor platform closest to the battle line, a figure stood.

It was a much thinner teenager than the warriors. He hid behind the door, carefully exposing only half of his body, still carrying a package of dry food that he had not had time to put down - apparently, the boy had been assigned the task of delivering food for curling, and was suddenly attacked by an enemy and trapped in the curling stone before he could leave.

The Great Elder's only grandson had been frail and sickly since he was a child, and he had no magic at all, so he should have taken refuge in the safest place in the depths of the curling stone. At this moment, he realized that Karl was actually in the distance from the battlefield—and although he looked frightened and cowered, Jean's heart sank.

And in the short moment when the leader was distracted, one of the invaders, who was considered by the guards to be an alien adventurer, suddenly raised his hand and released the ice magic that the Bingmi family can only have!

The blow came unexpectedly, and Jean's arm was hit by a sharp ice blade, and the shield fell to the ground as blood gushed out.

Seeing the sharp claws of the demonic beast approaching, the surrounding warriors let out anxious shouts, but they didn't have time to return to help. The cold light reflected in the young man's green eyes not far away, and his hand was silently stretched into his arms, his fingertips already touching something hard.

In the next second, the earth suddenly shook.

Tsura's stumbling stumble, and one of her paws scratched at Jean's breastplate, almost splitting her nails. The demonic beasts whose attack had been interrupted suddenly turned around angrily and looked back.

Not far away, the earth stirred up smoke and snow mist. After seeing the scene in front of them, the invaders and defenders were petrified in place.

A large group of angry long-haired pigs are running wildly in the mountains, dragging a spectacular flying smoke behind them, with the momentum of knocking down the entire snowy mountain. The three adventurers, chased by the pigs, screamed in fright, sobbing and scurrying around like headless flies.

Now not only the retreating guards, but also the invaders and monsters also need to worry about their lives - the path sandwiched between the cliffs is only a dozen meters wide, and if it is really rushed in by dozens of long-haired pigs, I am afraid that not all souls will be trampled to pieces.

The gray-robed man at the head waved his hand lightly, and the group quickly dodged to the edge of the path. The tundra bear roared angrily and spat out the cold wind, but the cyclone made an incredible turn in the air.

It dragged three hapless adventurers into the curling entrance!

The enraged horde of monsters, regardless of whether the offending humans ran over or were dragged over, rumbled into the narrow passage and rushed straight towards the Himi people who were guarding the sentry.

And Jean knew that their purpose of "luring the wolf into the house" was certainly not limited to that.

Thrown in the middle of the road, almost like a living target—with a high wall blocking the entrance in front and hairy pigs in the back, these young people have no way to escape but to be crushed by the beast.

Unless......

The guards stationed in the curling stone took the initiative to open the mountain gate and let them escape into the curling room.

Jean certainly understands what that means. Not only the angry monsters, but also the invaders who are fighting for their lives to stop them will also take the opportunity to break into the curling stones, plunder their treasures, and trample on the land that belongs to the Himi family.

At one end of the scales was a heavy burden, piled up with the blood and glory of the guards, the treasures and interests of the whole clan, and on the other side of the scale were only the lives of three strangers who had never known each other. It wasn't an equal deal, but Jean didn't even hesitate for half a second - just like his father who died fighting to protect weak women and children.

"Open the mountain gate!"

After shouting these words resolutely, the young man was stunned.

His voice was drowned out in a loud roar, without a single splash. Subsequently, the blazing fire lit up the entire valley.

The orange dragon spat out flames, engulfing the narrow path completely. The long-haired pig's rampage was driven by emotion, and in the near-overwhelming sea of fire, anger was quickly replaced by a fear of fire engraved in the genes.

The ownerless monsters fled faster than they came, and even trampled on each other a few times in the crowd. And Yan Long didn't pay his eyes to them at all, the large-character flame surged towards the gray-robed man, and collided with the ice light in mid-air, and the rising white mist and the sound of explosions danced in unison, instantly filling the entire battlefield.

After trying out the information they could get, the adventurers who were still crying wolves a few seconds ago had already put away their overly exaggerated acting skills. The leader stood in front of Jean, shielding the wounded guards from the blast.

He tilted his head slightly, and a familiar voice came from under his cloak.

"Hello, Mr. Jean. The adventurer Beidou said simply, "Thank you for giving us a tip yesterday." ”

Before the words fell, the Terashima sisters and brothers shouted out the instructions that had been prepared for a long time. The two giant pincer crabs raised their forefeet at the same time, the mud mixed with the flow of water, and shot into the white mist like cannonballs, and the pain of the enemy monster sounded extremely clearly.

—this is our response to you. ”

The young man was stunned for a moment, his expression changed from dazed to incredulous, and finally he was filled with surprise.

Ignoring the shield at his feet, he turned around and waved his hand twice at the sentry—thankfully, the kid was still standing there. Then, Jean raised his one-handed sword and signaled the soldiers of the Himi clan to attack the entire army.

The two parties suddenly fought.

The unknown people who attacked the curling were five people and five beasts, and they could line up on the narrow mountain road and launch an offensive without affecting each other. The defenders had no Warcraft partners and lacked output power, but the arrival of the adventurers made up for their last weakness. For a while, there was a roar, and the energy beams flew sideways, and even the mountains and rocks were rumbling and trembling.

There's not enough space around the entrance of the curling stone for Pokémon to move flexibly, and Southerners have always been good at this kind of stump fighting. The crabs swung their pincers with great vigor, and the shell blades and crab claw hammers were on the same level, rushing fiercer than Charizard. Almost immediately, the defenders regained the initiative and forced the invaders to retreat.

However, the good times did not last long, and the intruder seemed to be an experienced demonic beast, and he quickly found his rhythm. Lijiu's giant pincer crab went too deep into the enemy line, and was hit by concentrated fire without paying attention and was defeated.

Adventurers are not at all worried. Compared to this era when Poké Balls had not yet been invented, the biggest advantage of adventurers was that one person was up to six. Lijiu calmly retracted the giant pincer crab and quickly dispatched a replacement player, a stingy shell with amazing defense and the best at guarding battles.

Considering the current situation, this is the right choice. It's just that after the white light went out, Li Jiu sensed that something was wrong with the state of the stinger shell.

The spiky shell Pokémon didn't sprinkle needles all over the sky as aggressively as usual, and it looked like it was ...... Dozing off?

The girl was stunned and quickly raised her voice to call her partner. Xiao Ye's gaze swept over the sound, but he paused abruptly when he first touched the thorn shell.

She could clearly see that several ice flowers bloomed from the body of the thorn shell—

It's like the masked lip baby in Bailang Town under the Wind and Snow Mountain.

Everything happened so suddenly that the guards and intruders who were farther away didn't notice anything unusual, and Long Xing was also obsessed with directing the giant pincer crab to charge. The seemingly beautiful ice flower swelled rapidly, engulfing the stinging shell and still without stopping, and countless sharp and dangerous ice edges bloomed densely, threatening to affect the dazed trainers!

The young man standing on the second floor of the sentry widened his eyes.

Bingjian Carl has always been the most dedicated actor in the entire family, but at this moment, he no longer has the intention of maintaining the character of the competition script, and his glass-colored eyes are full of surprise and vigilance. It's just that he is too far away from the battle line, and before he has taken the first step, the knife-like ice edge has already touched the girl's skin.

Then, a hand glowing with blue light slammed into the ice.

====================

Small Theatre:

"Open the mountain gate!"

After shouting these words resolutely, the young man was stunned.

His voice was drowned out in a loud roar, without a single splash. Subsequently, the blazing fire lit up the entire valley.

Jean: I also lost the bangs that I had to style with hairspray every day!!!