Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

Upon hearing the unusual noise, the Adam team immediately rushed desperately towards the higher ground on either side of the glacier.

Despite being cultivators with speeds several times faster than ordinary people, running on snow that floated above unknown surfaces—whether ice, rock, or pits—slowed them down significantly. The avalanche of snow crashing down like a flood was rapidly approaching.

In the critical moment, Hebrew Adam, who reached the high ground first, pulled hard on the rope tied to the other end, helping Ruo Manni escape just before the snow completely buried her. She managed to reach the higher ground, avoiding the massive flow of snow but still getting hit by some small snow and rock fragments.

Among the team, Ruo Manni, with the weakest physical endurance, fell to second-to-last place. Tamaki Kazia, who had started late, overtook her. However, Su Forty-Three, who was last, faced a tougher situation. He fell further behind Ruo Manni and didn’t have anyone to help him at that crucial moment. As a result, he was quickly overwhelmed and buried by the avalanche.

Because Su Forty-Three was tied to the climbing rope connected to the others, when he was engulfed by the avalanche, Tamaki Kazia, who had already moved away from the edge of the avalanche, was pulled back and fell onto the snow, with a large part of his body buried by the rolling snow.

Since they were all connected by the same rope, the Adam team didn’t panic when Su Forty-Three was buried. After the avalanche passed, they immediately dug out Tamaki Kazia, who was partially buried, and then used the climbing rope to locate Su Forty-Three’s position. The five of them worked together and, within five minutes, dug Su Forty-Three out from over two meters of snow.

Thanks to the special combat suits and hats they wore, and the air tablets Ruo Manni had distributed before they began their climb, Su Forty-Three was found to be in no serious condition despite the harsh experience. After being dug out, he lay on the snow looking quite miserable, but he was not actually injured.

Since the Adam team was at the front, they were caught in the avalanche with very little time to react, making their situation quite chaotic.

In contrast, the Hua team, the Asimu team, and other military academy students who were further back had enough time to dodge, so they were mostly unharmed.

However, many military students, especially those caught in the middle of the glacier river or delayed by being dragged by beasts, could not escape in time and were buried by the avalanche.

In this situation, the instructors learned from the earlier danger faced by the Adam team and decided to use small flying ships to rescue the buried teams, regardless of whether they could rescue themselves. Although cultivators like them could survive for about ten minutes in the absence of air, prolonged exposure would be fatal.

Su Forty-Three, being the second strongest in the team, was buried under the snow but was not seriously injured. Even if his teammates hadn’t rescued him, he could have managed to dig himself a small hole and crawl out.

After a brief rest, the Adam team continued their climb to the summit without showing any signs of hesitation.

After the avalanche, the glacier was littered with loose and irregular ice and snow blocks, making the journey even more challenging. When the Adam team reached a certain height and stopped to rest, they looked back and saw that many other military students had managed to climb up as well.

When the Adam team reached an altitude of about 5,000 meters, the mountain became even steeper, with a nearly 60-degree incline that was intimidating to behold.

The team struggled to ascend, as the slope was either hard, smooth ice and snow or loose, unstable snow, causing frequent slips and slides.

Moreover, the sky grew overcast, and a strong wind began to blow, accompanied by heavy snowfall. Without being tethered by ropes, Ruo Manni would have been blown away by the wind.

The wind and snow arrived abruptly, and within moments, the world turned completely white, with visibility reduced to less than ten meters.

Although the conditions were difficult for the Hebrew Adam team, making their progress slow, it didn’t stop them from advancing.

However, suddenly, Hebrew Adam and Ruo Manni, who were in front and behind respectively, came to an abrupt halt. Although the other teams couldn’t see their expressions clearly due to the blizzard, they guessed the reason from their stances. Everyone quickly drew their weapons and prepared for battle.

Then Ruo Manni spoke up, “Something’s coming.”

Ruo Manni didn’t shout these words, but the Adam team felt they heard her clearly, likely due to her telepathic abilities.

“In the snow,” Hebrew Adam added. His voice was loud, but only Ruo Manni, who was behind him, heard it. Ruo Manni then repeated it for the rest of the team.

Actually, without the detailed explanation from the two of them, everyone could sense something was wrong. Su Forty-Three quickly leaped up, thrusting his longsword into the spot where he had been standing, then landed a meter away and withdrew the sword.

Though they didn’t hear any sound, there was a hint of red on the blade as he withdrew it, and a small patch of red appeared on the white snow where he had thrust.

Ruo Manni also felt something under her feet. She formed a “protective shield” with her telekinesis, and the object collided heavily with the shield, causing it to crack.

But Ruo Manni had already moved aside. She thrust her longsword towards the breach in the “protective shield,” and felt that her sword had pierced something, which was definitely not ice or snow. The object quickly retracted. When she raised her sword, she saw a trace of red on the tip.

Then, something quickly swam out of the snow on her right side. Ruo Manni thrust her sword forward and hit it accurately. Before she could even pull out the sword, blood started seeping through the snow’s surface, but the creature was still alive and retracted.

Ruo Manni had no time to check because simultaneously, three more creatures attacked from three different directions. She rapidly thrust her longsword to the sides and used her telekinesis to create a “protective shield” around the snow behind her. As the shield broke, she turned and thrust her sword, just as she heard Sheila’s low, startled exclamation.

Ruo Manni dared not let her guard down. During her turn and leap, a gust of fierce wind blew her back a few steps. She clung to the climbing rope tied to Hebrew Adam’s waist to prevent falling.

The rope tied around his waist was tugged by Ruo Manni, but Hebrew Adam was unaffected. He slashed at the snow beside his feet, and the initial cut split the snow, revealing red beneath.

After killing for about twenty minutes, with red stains appearing in the surrounding white snow at dozens of places, Adam’s team finally stopped.

The surrounding area was covered in a white blur of wind and snow, and even mental energy was being interfered with. Ruo Manni used her mental energy to carefully “sense” the area within a radius of five hundred meters and, not detecting anything unusual, she finally said, “I don’t sense anything unusual.”