Chapter 141 Crossing the Death Line

Chapter 141 Crossing the Death Line

The Helan Mountains have been a strategic location for military operations since ancient times.

In the dead of winter night, a fierce wind whipped up heavy snowflakes, howling mournfully through the towering mountains.

The temperature here is frighteningly low; water freezes instantly, and even your breath will instantly turn into frost on your eyebrows.

A group of a hundred people, wearing white camouflage cloaks that blended into the snow, were trudging through waist-deep snow.

There were no torches, and no conversation.

The only sound was the dull crunch of footsteps on the snow, instantly swallowed up by the howling wind.

At the very front of the line.

Pei Yunjing walked with uneven steps.

He didn't ride a horse (horses were too big a target and couldn't climb such steep mountain roads), but instead used his arms to tightly protect the bulge in his chest.

Are you cold?

He lowered his head, his lips pressed against the ear of the person in his arms, his voice, though broken by the wind, was filled with a burning heat.

He was continuously channeling his inner energy to protect Tang Li's heart meridian.

"It's not cold..."

Tang Li peeked half her face out from under her thick fox fur coat, looking at Pei Yunjing.

At this moment, he looked so disheveled that he hardly resembled a regent.

His dark hair was covered with ice crystals, his handsome face was bloodless, and even his eyelashes were covered with frost.

The torment of sensory overload, coupled with the double assault of extreme cold and the noise of wind and snow, made his reactions somewhat sluggish, but the hand holding her was as steady as a rock, and even... incredibly hot.

He was burning his own true energy, just so that she could feel a touch of spring in this desolate, icy plain.

"Stop venting your anger, save your energy for killing."

Tang Li felt sorry for him and tried to pull her hand away to cover his face, but Pei Yunjing forcefully pressed it back down.

"It's alright. Just stay put."

He exhaled a cold breath of white air, and relying on the astonishing intuition he had honed amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood, he carved out a path to survival on the snow-covered cliff edge.

Finally, after crossing the last sharp mountain ridge, the view suddenly opened up.

"arrive."

Pei Yunjing stopped in his tracks, and the hundred elite black-armored guards behind him silently lay in wait.

The group lay prone on the snow ridge, looking down.

Below, in the heart of the valley, lights shone brightly, and rows of tents snaked like a long serpent, nestled in sheltered spots.

Countless stacks of grain and straw, piled high like mountains, were covered with tarpaulins to protect them from the snow, and gleamed in the torchlight.

That place was the lifeline of the 200,000-strong Northern Rong army—the Helan Mountain granary.

"hiss……"

Han Zheng, standing beside him, gasped and lowered his voice, saying:

"Your Highness, the defenses... are too tight."

It is indeed strict.

Not only were there three layers of barricades on the outside, but the camp was also guarded every three steps and sentry every five steps.

The patrolling Northern Rong soldiers led vicious dogs, and cavalrymen occasionally weaved through the grain and fodder piles.

With such an impregnable defense, even if ten thousand people tried to break through, they might not be able to get close to the core grain depot, let alone set it on fire.

"We can't force our way in."

Pei Yunjing narrowed his eyes, a red light flickering in them:

"Before we even get close, we'll be riddled with bullets."

"What should we do? Did we come all this way for nothing?" Han Zheng gripped the hilt of his knife anxiously.

Just when everyone was at a loss.

"Who said we were going to force our way in?"

Tang Li, who had been nestled in Pei Yunjing's arms, suddenly stirred.

She stretched out her gloved hand and pointed to the seemingly flat but actually turbulent snowfield ahead.

“We can’t get in, but someone… no, something can get in.”

Tang Li blinked, her gaze fixed on the few small white heads that occasionally peeked out from the snow.

It was a tiny creature, no bigger than a palm, pure white, with two sharp, large incisors—a snow mouse.

They are the original inhabitants of the Helan Mountains, cold-resistant, greedy, and with teeth sharp enough to bite through the hard permafrost.

In this season when heavy snow closes off the mountains, they must have been starving long ago.

Hey, little ones.

Tang Li closed her eyes, and that unique spiritual magnetic field instantly spread out from her to the vast snowfield all around.

A snow rat that had just poked its head out to look for some grass roots froze.

It twitched its round ears and heard a seductive voice:

Are you hungry?

[Squeak? Hungry! Starving! I want to eat meat!] The snow mouse cried out its aggrieved feelings.

Tang Li smiled slightly, like a generous benefactor, guiding people towards the promised land flowing with milk and honey:

See those big tents below?

Those bags piled up like mountains weren't filled with grass roots.

That's top-quality barley flour, fragrant ghee, and... juicy, flavorful dried beef!

【！！！】

【beef? ! 】

For snow squirrels that spend their days gnawing on tree bark and grass roots, this is a devastating blow to their very soul!

Yes, it's all yours.

Tang Li's voice was full of seduction:

[Once you crawl inside and bite through the bag, you can eat as much as you want.]

Tonight, it's my treat.

The moment the words fell.

The once desolate snowfield suddenly began to writhe eerily.

"Shh..."

The sound was like a silkworm gnawing on mulberry leaves, or like countless tiny ice particles rubbing against each other.

Pei Yunjing and the black-armored guards behind him were shocked to see that the originally flat snow around them suddenly bulged up with small mounds.

Then, one, two, a hundred, a thousand...

Countless snow rats, pure white with greedy green eyes, emerged from the depths of the earth!

They covered the entire hillside in dense, countless numbers, numbering in the thousands, enough to make one's scalp tingle.

Instead of attacking humans, they all turned their heads and stared intently at the large camp below the valley, which exuded an enticing aroma of grain.

Those eyes were like a white-clad army about to charge into battle, yet ravenously hungry.

"this……"

Han Zheng swallowed hard, looking at the princess as if she were a deity.

Tang Li peeked out from Pei Yunjing's arms and waved to the little ones who were already itching to get out of bed:

"Go."

"Dinner is ready."