After nearly half a day of trekking through rocky and snow-covered ground, adventurers have long become accustomed to the gray and white color palette. The sudden sight made them stunned for a moment, and they even suspected that they had accidentally broken into the fairyland.

Fortunately, the three of them were all prepared players, and they did a lot of research on the local ecological environment of Fengxue Mountain before entering. Therefore, they knew that the continuous sea of crystal trees under their feet was not a fantasy, but a special kind of tree that actually existed in the cold mountains and mountains.

Its scientific name is so long that few people can pronounce it well, and people who live in snowy regions prefer to call it simply "ice willow" – unlike the willow trees in the warmer regions, the "subspecies" in the cold regions have thinner leaves, and often have a translucent visual appearance at the ends. It is lighter than the usual willow leaves, and it is a magnificent glazed color, like the color of the eyes of the Bingmi people.

Under the reflection of the remnant sun on the horizon, the clear willow leaves reflect the warm light of the stars, flickering and particularly breathtaking.

Standing on the top of the hill, Saya took in the view of the Ice Willow Forest and confirmed a certain guess in his mind.

Then, she turned to look at the Terashima siblings who were still in a daze.

That's why I made my choice. ”

The two of them were stunned, and a question mark appeared above their heads for a while before they reacted, the Beidou boss was saying that he refused to ally with Ikawa Hidechi. It's just that......

Seeing that the faces of the sisters and brothers were full of "What does it have to do with Bingliu looking good and refusing to form a team", Xiao Ye couldn't help but smile.

"At the assembly this morning, the three elders said, 'In the western part of Fengxue Mountain, there is a Forest of Demonic Beasts overgrown with 'Evil Trees', and Lily once told us that 'Sacred Trees grow all over the mountains in the Demonic Beast Forest'. Xiao Ye said, pointing to the boundless forest below the mountain, "But, as you can see, there is only one kind of tree in the Warcraft Forest. ”

Combined with the old man's songs and the abandoned ancient boundary monuments, all speculations have come true.

The inhabitants of Wind and Snow Mountain Resort regard the monsters as their enemies, and the ice willows of the Monster Forest as the evil trees, but years ago, the people who lived on the ice fields carved frozen birds to protect humans, sang songs in praise of the wind and snow and the sacred tree, and most likely did not have a hostile relationship with the monsters. Such people still exist in Blizzard Villa, perhaps just because their voices are too quiet for adventurers to easily notice—like Lily's grandfather.

If there are two factions of people with diametrically opposed ideas, then, in order to ensure that what they do is in line with the principle of "justice", they cannot easily trust one side and do irreparable things when the situation is unclear.

- At the very least, you shouldn't join a team that actively slaughters Warcraft.

After listening to Xiaoye's explanation, the Terashima sisters and brothers agreed again and again, and they were more and more glad that they chose the strategy of "only defending themselves and not taking the initiative" along the way - in case it is found that the monster is innocent in the end, humans are the great evildoers, and there is no place to cry. Wind and Snow Campaign does not provide deletion and reopening services.

After a brief meeting, the trio decided on a course of action for the early stage of the competition: to focus on exploration, focus on gathering intelligence, find out what happened in the Wind and Snow Villa, and choose a side based on that. Therefore, after entering the Warcraft Forest, they need to hide their tracks as much as possible to avoid head-to-head confrontation with Warcraft.

The Nanguo sisters and brothers acted unequivocally, and immediately began to practice "tiptoeing forward", eager to grow a tail behind them and sweep away the footprints as well. Cautiously walking down the hill, and as they were about to enter the forest, their steps suddenly froze.

Deep in the shadow-shrouded jungle, a Pokémon is dancing.

It dances comically, with swaying steps as if it is about to fall in the next second. If the scene were replaced with an ornate stage, it might have garnered a lot of applause — but in the midst of the silence of the snow, the Pokémon dancing in the shade of the trees looked eerie and creepy, and the patterns on their abdomen appeared in the shadows, resembling the crooked smiling face of a clown. Li Jiu's gaze met the pair of lantern-like yellow eyes, and she suddenly shuddered, and subconsciously shrank back.

The silent ice-walking puppet was still dancing as if no one was around. Perhaps it was the undisturbed nature of the visitors that made it dance to the fullest extent, and at the end of the song, the ice-walking puppet raised its cane in the distance and saluted the audience from afar.

Then, it walked away with a waddling dance.

The Terashima siblings breathed a sigh of relief in unison - they can't be blamed for being timid, it's really that this mime is full of horror movie atmosphere, and it's not surprising that the ice puppet's eyes are red and their fangs are showing their fangs in the next second. Long Xing leaned in the middle of the group and cautiously lowered his voice, "Boss, should we keep up with that ice-stepping puppet?"

"Wait a minute. Saya shook her head.

The information from the waveguide probe was not anomalous, but she had a dim sense of crisis—as if she was being scrutinized by some unknown creature. After the ice puppet left, this strange feeling intensified.

To be on the safe side, she didn't go into the forest right away, but instead planned to complete Lily's commission first—to get the leaves of the sacred tree.

The leaves of the ice willow are not strenuous to collect. There was no trace of Pokémon nearby, and there was no "powerful magical beast guarding the sacred tree" that the siblings imagined. They spotted a lone tree at the edge of the forest, and the three of them quickly picked off a large handful with six hands.

After storing the crystal clear willow leaves properly, Xiao Ye asked, "Are you ready?"

Li Jiu and Long Xing's eyes firmly made an OK gesture.

As the sky grew darker and darker, the three-man team cautiously walked towards the forest of ice willows that covered the mountains.

When one is in the middle of it, it is often difficult to tell where the boundary line of the forest is. They passed by the snow-covered willow trees, and were gradually surrounded by beautiful shades of white and light green.

The mutation happened without warning, with a deafening roar, a huge monster blocking their way.

The monster was about ten meters tall, covered in snow-colored fur, and the shadow cast by its body easily covered the tiny human being. The wind and snow followed, and the biting cold air blew in the face, making it difficult for people to open their eyes, and they couldn't see what the monster really looked like.

Li Jiu was just about to speak, only to suddenly realize that the blizzard had been so violent that no one was shouting. Faintly, she saw the troll take a deep breath—

The next moment, a hurricane rose on the ground. The three of them only felt an irresistible huge force attacking, and the whole person soared into the air like a kite with a broken string, and fell headlong into the gloomy sky of the snow-capped mountain.

Weightlessness and dizziness lasted for a considerable period of time. It wasn't until the siblings were about to suspect that they had been blown off the mountain and were about to fall to their deaths at the bottom of the cliff that the cold touch of the snow finally came.

Lijiu was dizzy and barely managed to get up for a long time. She looked left and right, making sure that she and her friend were not missing arms or legs, and then she was relieved from the huge palpitation.

The younger brother reacted a little more excitedly, throwing out the Poké Ball before he could get out of the snow pit, shouting for the Thorn Shell to shoot back - the confused Pokémon looked around, but couldn't find any targets that looked like enemies, and finally had to risk a question mark while aiming the spike at the only person in the audience who could still stand.

Sayo who stood firmly: "......"

Is this a rebellion?

Spiny shell gradually unstable: "......"

I felt the threat of death.

Fortunately, Long Xing noticed it in time, and hurriedly retracted his partner and prevented a cannibalistic tragedy. At this time, the siblings finally realized that the environment they were in was not quite right.

"Here it is...... Where?"

As far as the eye could see, there was only a vast expanse of snow, with a few rocks dotted in the snow, which was not an unusual sight in the Windswept Mountains—it was just that they were clearly standing in the Warcraft Forest before that strange blizzard.

The temporary leader of the three-person team looked calm. She pointed to the distance and replied, "It's a place we're familiar with." ”

Li Jiu and Long Xing looked in the direction that Xiao Ye was pointing, and they fell silent.

Under the dark sky, there are bright lights flashing in the southeast direction. Smoke rises slowly, staining the last rays of the setting sun and blending into the endless clouds high in the sky.

And by this light from the sky, they clearly saw the familiar row of stone pillars in front of the lamplight.

The Terashima sisters and brothers looked at each other, their expressions blank -

So, they were blown back to the gate of the Wind and Snow Villa from the Warcraft Forest by a gust of wind!?

The experience along the way is really magical, and the sisters and brothers of Nanguo, who think they are well-informed, are also in a trance, and it is difficult to think normally for a while. Considering that it was late and not suitable for exploring in the wilderness, Xiao Ye beckoned his teammates to return to the villa first to finish today's work.

After walking a few steps, they saw a long line at the entrance of the villa, and the well-dressed adventurers crowded the mountain gate. Long Xing scratched his head and couldn't help muttering, "No matter how you enter the village, you have to queue up, you can't all be blown back by the wind at the same time......"

Xiao Ye, who was walking in the front, didn't notice something and suddenly stopped.

"We'll wait before we enter the lodge. She said decisively.

Confused, Lijiu and Long Xing were dragged by Xiao Ye to the unremarkable shadows behind the mountain rocks. When Charizard emerged from the Poké Ball, the two of them thought they had encountered some terrible enemy, and they raised their vigilance.

…… Then they saw the leader leisurely roasting the leaves from the flames on the fire-breathing dragon's tail.

"Uh, Boss?" Lijiu felt that the question mark she produced today weighed three tons, "although Lily did say that the leaves should be charred before they can be used in medicine......"

"But you don't have to burn it in this wilderness......" Long Xing was about to scratch his scalp.

"Just in case. Without much explanation, Xiao Ye quickly burned all the beautiful glass-colored leaves black, and then crumpled them again, and then wrapped them in a clean compressed biscuit wrapper and stuffed them into the biscuit box.

Beidou's operation made the sisters and brothers at a loss - and this confusion turned into deep respect after ten minutes.

It wasn't until they followed the team to the stone pillar that they realized that the slow entry into the village was due to the "security checkpoint" set up at the door, and each adventurer had to open his or her own package and be searched meticulously. The Terashima siblings saw that the ice willow branches and leaves were found in the bag of one person in front of them, and immediately the heavily armed Bingmi clan dragged them away, claiming that the person who carried the evil tree must have bad intentions and would be imprisoned and tortured.

The sister and brother were stunned for a long time, and then turned around together, casting a reverent and admiring gaze at their boss, staring at the boss so creepy that they didn't want to continue to be the boss.

Although the "security check" of the Bingjian people is meticulous, it is not so frustrating that they even have to open packets of cookies for inspection - even if they do, they can only see a pile of black unknown powder suspected of soot. Soon, the three of them successfully passed the level, and finally returned to the brightly lit Fengxue Mountain Villa before it was completely dark.

They had planned to go to Lily's house first to deliver the charred leaves of the sacred tree. However, when they arrived, they found that there was only one unconscious old man in the house.

Li Jiu inquired about the neighbors and learned that the little girl was assigned to the task of keeping vigil in the Fengxue Ancestral Hall, and most of them would not be able to return home tomorrow morning. So, they had no choice but to leave for the time being, and instead went to the Elder's Mansion next to the assembly square.

Due to the approaching curfew, the area around the assembly square has become much deserted, and it is no longer as crowded as during the day. There were still a few people waiting to enter in front of the Great Elder's courtyard - looking at the faces of the people in line with a sense of mission on their red faces, the Terashima sisters and brothers just wanted to wipe a tear of sympathy for the fellow contestants.

If you really listened to that old gentleman's nonsense for seven days, no matter how strong the trainer was, he would have to be fooled and lame......

In contrast, the offices of the three elders were deserted, and permission to meet was quickly obtained after being notified by the servants.

The Third Elder Morton's table was still piled with brown paper rolls, and it looked even more than during the day. And the author's own look is also like a scumbag who was in a trance by making up for his homework the day before the winter vacation, which made the southern sisters and brothers who had the same experience inexplicably feel a trace of wonderful resonance.

"Good work, adventurers. Is there anything you need my help with?" Although the approval of the official document was full of stars, the elder still took out a full set of etiquette to receive the guests.

"Hello, Honorable Third Elder. Xiao Ye bowed, "We are here to register today's results." ”

The middle-aged man raised his eyelids, as if he was a little surprised—apparently there weren't many adventurers who had come to register on the first night. Still, he waved his hand and motioned for the servant to bring the roster.

"It's a remarkable result - you can see that the three are quite powerful adventurers. ”

After seeing the nine shiny demon cores that the leader took out, the third elder said. It's just that his expression is too serious, and even praise is told like preaching.

"If you need to refill your medicine, you can always apply to my subordinates. ”

"Thank you for your concern, but not just yet. The purple-haired adventurer replied with a smile. His tone was lighthearted, even with a hint of burnout, as if none of the vicious beasts on the ice field could cheer him up. "If you have any other requests, you can do so and we'll be happy to help. ”

"As long as the three of them can kill as many monsters as possible, it will be the greatest help to me. The three elders replied meticulously.

The maid wrote down the names of the three men on the roster, marking the number of kills and the dates of the beasts. After the registration, the three elders stroked the candle on the table and asked casually, "I wonder if you have any questions about the tasks I have arranged or other things?" If so, you can come to me at any time for an interview, and I will answer them for you." ”

"Nope. ”

The adventurer's overly categorical tone stunned the three elders.

"—or rather, we don't care about those. Focusing too much on useless things will only make us less effective at killing, won't we? The purple-haired adventurer explained in a natural tone, "Of course, if the Third Elder you want us to find out the suspicious people in the Wind and Snow Villa......"

The Third Elder shook his head and interrupted the adventurer's words.

He looked at the three people in front of him, then lowered his eyes and said, "No need, killing the demonic beast and retreating the snowman is still your first priority. ”

"Yes. The adventurer replied crisply.

"Go and rest. The middle-aged man picked up the pen and looked back at the case file on the table.

"—Looking forward to your results tomorrow. ”

After the results were registered, the curfew time had arrived, and the patrol began its night patrol. In order to prevent breaking the rules and being imprisoned, the three of them had to go back to the house first, leaving the task of exchanging information with other contestants until tomorrow.

The maid Linda was still on her toes, and when she saw that the adventurers were late for the curfew, she immediately sent a yin and yang sarcasm. The Terashima siblings originally wanted to quarrel with the maid for a while, but after hearing that the important NPC Young Master Carl had rested, they suddenly lost interest and had to go upstairs unhappy.

A full day of exploration and long trekking can be exhausting. The siblings shouted "we have to have a combat meeting first", but before they could say a word, their eyelids were fighting. Seeing this, Xiao Ye immediately pushed them into their respective bedrooms, and ordered them not to stay up late as the boss to recharge their energy and fight again the next day.

After the curfew, there was silence in the Wind and Snow Villa. The weary adventurers soon fell into a deep sleep, and only the flickering flame of the oil lamps in the hands of the patrolmen became the only light in the valley.

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

【Adventurer Squad: Beidou Boss and His Two Little Brothers】

Day 1: Mission Progress:

Main quest 1 [For survival, for home]

Publisher: Three Elders Morton

Mission location: Ice Field, Warcraft Forest

Objective: Destroy Warcraft

Progress: +9 kills

You have produced good enough results on the first day, and I must commend you for your strength and efficiency. Keep trying to kill more Monsters. If you have any questions during the mission, I am always ready to answer them.

- Of course, I don't hate people who never ask questions.

Main Quest 2 [Trolls Hiding in the Jungle]

Publisher: Three Elders Morton

Location: Warcraft Forest

Objective: Retire the snowman

Progress: Not yet

Congratulations, adventurers. You've seen the snowman look like it, and it's a step to success.

Yes, it is huge and fierce-tempered—though you were swallowed by a blizzard the moment you saw it, I trust you to regain your strength. After all, the Yeti is our common enemy.

Main Story 3 [???]

Publisher:???

Location: ???

Objective: ???

Progress:???

Industrious, hardworking, and skilled - you are undoubtedly excellent adventurers and qualified mercenaries.

Next, prove to me tomorrow's results that your first day's results weren't just a matter of luck if you want to "do more".

- Side quest 1 [The old song that once resounded in the mountains]

Posted by: Lily, a resident of the Lodge

Location: Warcraft Forest

Objective: Collect leaves from the "Sacred Tree".

Progress: Collected leaves from the "Holy Tree".

Sorry, adventurers. It's my turn to guard the Wind and Snow Ancestral Hall tonight, so there's no way to meet you.

But it doesn't matter, I'll be home early tomorrow morning! You're so powerful, even the Demonic Beast can command you like an arm, you must have already got the leaves of the sacred tree, right?

- Side quest 2 [This is the time to work together]

Posted by: Adventurer Hidechi Ikawa

Mission Location: Wind and Snow Mountain

Objective: Build the strongest alliance of adventurers

Progress: Aborted

I don't have anything to say. If you have to say something......

After the Hishimi family's employment period is over, can you tell me, why the hell didn't you send Charizard? I don't want this question to continue to torment my brain, QAQ.

- Side Mission 3 (to be unlocked)

……

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

"Phew, it's almost over here. Xiao Ling stretched her somewhat stiff body.

"The screen in the personal live broadcast room is black, and there is nothing to watch. Xiaojie lay on the table and couldn't help sighing, "I really want to participate in such a fun competition...... Grandpa is really, why do you have to organize special training at this time. ”

"Xiao Tian, your game is the day after tomorrow, right?" Xiao Ling looked at the video call.

"Yes. The silver-haired boy on the screen nodded.

"Then I'll have to step up my training tomorrow, and I won't be able to watch the live broadcast. Xiaojie frowned, only feeling that the remaining three people at dawn were quite miserable.

"I don't know if there is a night plot in this year's Blizzard Campaign...... I would have liked to wait and see. Xiao Ling muttered quietly.

"Since there is a curfew, it means that there shouldn't be any?" Xiao Jie said, "And tomorrow we all have to get up early to train, but we can't stay up late - okay Iceberg boy, we won't bother you anymore, good night!

"I won the runner-up last time, this time I improved a little, and it must be no problem to win the championship, right?" Xiao Ling smiled and leaned in front of the screen, "If you don't get it, you will be punished as a dawn errand boy for a month." ”

Xiao Tian has never been concerned with the gibberish golden retrievers, and nodded quite tolerantly, as if he hadn't heard anything, "Good night, you guys should rest early." ”

As the personal live broadcast room was closed one by one, the content of the main channel of the live broadcast room gradually changed to the harmless chatter and dialogue of NPCs, as well as the scenery of Fengxue Mountain Villa. Of course, there are always a few reckless guys who don't have time to return to the lodge, so they can only spend the night in the field pitifully, and briefly become the show's laughing point provider.

Time passed, and most of the netizens who watched the battle of the wind and snow had gone offline to rest, and the live broadcast room also fell into a rare calm. Just as the night owl audience was also drowsy by the boring scenery display and wanted to close the web page, an unusual movement suddenly came from the computer speaker.

At the same time, the purple-haired adventurer, who had been sleeping soundly, quietly opened his eyes.

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

Small Theatre:

Brother Terashima: (curious) What is the official document that the Third Elder has been approving all day? Let's take a look at it quietly!

——Unfold the brown paper roll——

[1000 Years of Blizzard Battle Scene Construction Plan]

[Fengxue Mountain Villa Landscaping Construction Materials and Cost Accounting]

[Final draft of the construction drawings of the Elder's House]

[Webcast Protocol and Publicity Strategy]

[Overview of Costume Props Design Concepts]

……

Terashima siblings: ...... (stunned) (awe-struck) (no wonder he was in a trance)