In the lower areas of the Endless Snow Mountain, there was a variety of cave dwellings that housed the numerous beast packs and tribes that made their homes there.
Here, there was no such thing as a clan. Those tribes that stood at the peak of this level of the mountain were merely led by high-level 3rd class beings. But they weren't to be underestimated even if this was the case.
After all, if these tribes and packs gained enough strength, they'd be eligible to gain the backing of a beast clan that resided higher up the mountain. And if they were truly outstanding, they might even be noticed by a King Clan, the clans established or ruled by those Beast Kings.
This sort of reward was highly enticing. It was the reason why the immortal beauty of the mountain was often wrought with blood and violence. Only this way would they be able to grow to that level they all looked up to.
Naturally, these tribes had another duty as well. That duty was to monitor the slumbering Ancient Beasts below the mountain. They were the scouts that would allow those higher-rank clans to learn of the potential awakening of beasts they couldn't even fathom.
These beasts, well even the Beast King title was too lowly for their esteemed selves.
In one of these cave dwellings, a group of snow leopards had gathered together.
"Leader, the attacks on our tribe have not ceased even to this day. Every time the mysterious forces strike, they leave none alive. We have barely even been able to catch a whiff of their tail after this week."
The one addressed as "Leader" frowned at the report. "What do you mean? Are you saying that even we, the great Turbulent Blizzard Leopard tribe, are unable to track these attackers?"
"Sir, even we don't wish to admit it, but it's the undeniable truth. Every time we hear news of an attack, we rush over to the branch where it happened. But by the time we arrived, there was nothing left but desolation."
"Desolation?"
"Desolation. It's the only word that can accurately describe the scenes. No corpses nor blood remained of our tribesmen, and the land where the branch was located would always be wrought with desolation."
"What kind of terrifying foe have we offended? Have any of you made contact with anything unusual before the attacks began?"
The elders hesitated. They had also thought up to this point, but none of them could actually figure out what kind of being they had offended. Their tribe was relatively lowkey, and didn't go out of their way to make enemies. It was an unusual thing for them to be targeted at all.
"Could the younger generation have offended some great being?"
"No, I doubt our attackers are some massive enemy that we cannot defeat. Otherwise, they'd have simply charged in without the need for these kinds of hit and run tactics."
"Indeed, the enemy this time is incredibly cunning, and able to easily erase their traces. If we can just find their tail, we should be able to deal with the problem."
"But how many more of our tribesmen do we have to lose before we do so?"
The Tribe Leader listened to their conversations with a contemplative look on his face. Sighing lightly, he came to a decision. "Next time they attack, I shall go take a look myself. However, we need to take countermeasures in case the enemy truly isn't someone we can afford to offend. Be prepared to send a messenger to the Great Incarnate Snow Leopard clan. If we cannot deal with the problem ourselves, we shall submit ourselves to them in exchange for their help."
"Leader!"
"We mustn't!"
"We have remained independent to this point, how can we rely on external help? Leader, you were planning to reach the Beast King stage and raise our tribe to glory! We must not submit!"
"Enough!" The leader roared furiously. He let out another sigh before softly replying to the other members of the meeting. "What is the point of becoming a Beast King to bring the tribe glory if there's no tribe left to bring glory to?"
His voice was soft and laced with helplessness, causing the other tribe members to reveal painful looks. In the end, they sighed as well. As the leader, he naturally had a greater burden to beat than the rest of them. And he was also naturally much more prideful than them. It was engraved in his bones.
If such a leader was willing to put down his pride for the survival of the tribe, what more could they say? What more could they ask for in a leader?
Even they knew that the clan's situation was dire. Even if they spoke of grand ambition and even if they were ranked as a tribe, they weren't that much stronger than the smaller beast packs residing around them. They were only fortunate to have a high number of tribe members as well as a powerful leader. Their overall strength was still weak.
And with the recent string of attacks, at least 50% of their tribe had already been exterminated. It went to show just how weak the majority of their members truly were.
Their thoughts aligned and they came to a consensus. They would go all out in one final battle, and if they couldn't bear the consequences, they would submit as long as they could obtain revenge.
***
Meanwhile, the ones who caused such suffering for the Turbulent Blizzard Leopard tribe were far away in an empty cave dwelling. A large piece of meat could be seen roasting atop a campfire between them.
"Who would've thought there was such an infrastructure that these beasts follow? Packs, tribes, clans, and even King clans. It's actually pretty similar to human society."
"Mm, it is indeed much more intricate than I originally expected. But our attacks are also going much better than I originally thought."
"Isn't that because of your freakish teleportation? With what Master taught you during your first true lesson, you no longer leave any trace of spatial fluctuation when you move. They must not have been able to track us even in the slightest."
"Perhaps I'm the one who contributed most to our escape, but your attacks were even more badass. What the hell was that move you used?"
Ruyue grinned at his question. That move was a new one she had only recently learned. It could be said that she gained a spark of insight from the avalanche a week ago.
The land was in a constant cycle of life and desolation. With her yin element giving her control over negative attributes, she was able to bring that desolation into the land itself.
She had used this new move to wreak havoc on those cave dwellings they found, erasing any thoughts of habitation for those who would stumble upon the areas in the future. Well, that was until the land reentered its cycle of life, once again giving birth to the beautiful greenery.
The two of them had been relatively smooth sailing ever since they decided to attack the snow leopards. It used to be difficult to find these cave dwellings where the snow leopards resided, but after a while, they understood the pattern.
There were always certain similarities between the areas inhabited by the snow leopard tribe. Whenever they found those clues, they'd charge and fight. Of course, they occasionally made mistakes and charged into the caves of different tribes, but it wasn't a problem with Damien's teleportation. Such mistakes were trivial.
As for the feelings of those snow leopards they had been attacking, they didn't care much. There was an inherent principle that all those existing underneath the system would follow.
The strong eat the weak.
Perhaps their advent against the snow leopards had started due to a sort of grudge they had with the pack that came to trouble then after the avalanche, but that grudge had long been dealt with. After all, that pack was the first they targeted and the first to die.
They didn't even have time to understand how it happened. With their ranks scattered to search for Damien and Ruyue, they didn't have the sufficient strength to pose a threat to the duo.
And with this, information about their encounter hadn't spread to the main tribe, which lead to the current situation.
At the end of the day, the two of them were here for combat experience and levels. They just so happened to find a target with those snow leopards, so they capitalized on the opportunity.
As night fell upon the Endless Snow Mountain, the duo peacefully sat within their cave and watched the flickering flames of the campfire, anticipating the next big move they were planning to make.
