At this moment, the tent was lifted and thrown away by a tremendous force.
The wind and snow rushed in fiercely.
Amidst the swirling snow, a creature towering at least three meters high, completely white and standing upright like a human, stood prominently.
Despite the dim light, illuminated by the reflection off the snowy ground, the creature’s face was clearly visible.
It was a face that chilled one’s spine.
Though it was covered in white fur, it had human-like facial features, especially the eyes, which looked just like a baby’s.
Yet, there was none of the innocence that a baby’s eyes should have; instead, they were filled with violence and madness.
And on its shoulder, a dagger was embedded, the very one that Zhao Ya had thrown away.
To encounter such a creature in the snowy night was truly terrifying.
At least Jing Rou’s expression turned quite ugly, muttering to himself.
"It shouldn’t be, it’s not the season for Human-faced Bears to appear!"
No wonder he was so shocked.
It turned out this Human-faced Bear was a notorious fierce beast on the Northern Realm snowfield.
Violent and bloodthirsty by nature, they often appear in groups of three to five.
Anyone who encounters them rarely escapes unscathed.
Thus, there’s a saying on the Northern Realm snowfield: better to encounter a wolf pack than to hear a baby’s crying.
This refers to the Human-faced Bear.
However, these fierce beasts typically inhabit the far north, near the Wuyang Sea area.
Only when the polar night and deep winter descend are they forced to move south in search of food.
This year, for some reason, one was encountered in front of the Great Snow Mountain during this season.
Jing Rou inwardly lamented, but being a senior brother in charge of a department within the Mechanical Sect, he quickly calmed down, then picked up his hand crossbow, his vigilant gaze searching through the snowy night.
At the same time, he didn’t forget to quietly warn Zhao Ya.
"Be careful, this creature is immensely strong and its attack speed is extremely fast. Right now it should be waiting for the right moment; once it finds an opportunity, it will attack immediately."
Zhao Ya didn’t know what this thing was, but from Jing Rou’s behavior and the sense of oppression this fierce beast brought with it, it was evidently not something easy to deal with.
However, Zhao Ya was not afraid; instead, he curiously examined the Human-faced Bear.
It was obvious that this was also a mutated beast, and quite intelligent.
The fact that it was hiding at a distance, not rushing to attack, was clear evidence.
It was clearly trying to exploit the extreme cold to harm the two of them.
Waiting until they were frozen stiff, it would then easily strike.
Not only that, Zhao Ya vaguely sensed that in the darkness, there were several other powerful presences lurking.
"You guard the rear!"
Zhao Ya whispered to Jing Rou, then silently disappeared into the darkness.
Jing Rou’s eyes widened instantly, disbelief etched on his face.
Because Zhao Ya’s display of lightweight body technique had surpassed his imagination.
Without any indication, he disappeared suddenly from his spot.
Could a human really achieve this?
While he was in shock, a loud crash came from a distance.
Boom!
Snow splashed everywhere, Zhao Ya returned to his original position, with a faint smile on his face.
"Interesting!"
Just now, after approaching the Human-faced Bear, Zhao Ya launched a probing attack.
As a result, the seemingly clumsy Human-faced Bear reacted astonishingly fast.
As soon as Zhao Ya got close, the Human-faced Bear was already aware.
When Zhao Ya threw a punch, it swung its huge bear paw to meet him.
Then Zhao Ya was blasted back.
However, Zhao Ya was not panicked because he knew the Human-faced Bear was evidently not feeling good either.
Sure enough.
At that moment, the Human-faced Bear let out a howl of pain, then could no longer stay calm, rushing over in anger.
But as it charged forward, one of its bear paws was noticeably twisted at an unnatural angle.
It was clearly crippled by Zhao Ya’s earlier punch.
Yet, a wounded Human-faced Bear is even more terrifying.
Its eyes were blood-red, its enormous body charging like a land tank, its imposing presence alone enough to scare the average Martial Artist.
Jing Rou’s expression grew exceedingly grave.
Because this Human-faced Bear was stronger than any he’d seen before, it turned out to be a Meridian Opening Realm fierce beast.
Even at the same level, there remains a huge strength gap between Martial Artists and exotic beasts.
Especially for the Human-faced Bear, which has lived on the Northern Realm snowfield from a young age, it had all the advantages of time and place.
Thus, unless absolutely necessary, the Sea Gatherers would never provoke such a fierce beast.
Sometimes when they spotted such fierce beasts foraging by the sea, they would actively avoid them.
Fish dried by the waves of the Wuyang Sea not only sustained the numerous Sea Gatherers, but also countless exotic beasts.
Some of them were even stronger and more bizarre than the Human-faced Bear.
Jing Rou raised his hand crossbow and pulled the trigger.
Even though he was the senior brother of the Thunder and Fire Department of the Mechanical Sect, his archery skills were still quite commendable.
Especially at such close range, missing was almost impossible.
But he miscalculated one thing.
That was the weather.
The extreme cold greatly slowed human movements, and even the crossbow string and bow limbs could not bear it, reducing their elasticity significantly.
Consequently, the power of the crossbow arrows was greatly diminished.