No strange things are allowed to evolve!

The resentment within him watched his transformation with satisfaction, equally eager to wreak havoc in this world.

And just then...

The resentment suddenly sensed something.

In the distance... it seems that a similar resentment is approaching.

This makes it difficult to understand.

If it's resentment, then what is oneself?

This prompted it to sense things more carefully.

Then he discovered that, strictly speaking, it could no longer be considered a living resentment, but rather an inanimate object that had been crafted into equipment, much like the black bone armor the wanted criminal was currently wearing.

"Some...loser senior?"

Resentment couldn't help but make a mocking laugh.

Despite sharing the same origin, it clearly showed no affinity for it and completely disregarded that weak force.

But when he noticed Jiang Shu wearing that equipment, he was stunned again.

"Wait... how come this guy is... so weird?"

Then, it laughed with boundless greed.

"No wonder she can suppress her resentment; is there such a rare beauty in this world?"

And so, just as the wanted criminal was laughing maniacally...

He suddenly felt cold.

He looked down and saw not the black bone armor, but his own naked body.

He froze, then roared in disbelief, "No?! What happened to my opportunity?!"

Everything that just happened seemed like a fleeting dream.

Before long, he collapsed to the ground due to hypothermia from the cold.

He was supposed to become the King of Beasts and wreak havoc on the entire world, but after only experiencing a little bit of the power of the King of Beasts, he froze to death in the cave, just like the little match girl.

Chapter 244 Actors, Please Take Your Seats

When Jiang Shu and his group secretly arrived at the location of the strange phenomenon, they were all stunned by what they saw.

"I remember this place used to be a primeval rainforest, right?"

Duke Bailey repeatedly compared the map with the map, feeling utterly incredulous.

This place is sparsely populated for this reason: it was originally a primeval rainforest with extremely complex terrain, and it is home to many rare magical beasts that only exist in isolated environments, making it extremely dangerous and practically a no-man's land.

However, its geographical location is not actually too remote. It is not far from the kingdom, but is located in the south-central part of the kingdom's territory. It is just that due to natural conditions, it is not suitable for development and human habitation, so only a very small number of monster hunters who are keen on adventure will appear here.

The Duke of Bailey had been here before, so the shock he felt at what he saw was more direct than that of others.

In his memory, this place was warm and humid all year round, if not extremely hot. During the hottest part of summer, it felt like being in a steamer. It was completely different from the scene before him, where snow-capped mountains and snowfields stretched as far as the eye could see, a pure white expanse that was even a little dazzling.

However, apart from him, the others didn't seem to have much of a reaction to it.

On the contrary, I think this is quite normal.

Anomalies are supposed to be abnormal; if they could be easily explained, they wouldn't be anomalies, they'd be natural phenomena.

The king immediately summoned the person in charge, the branch leader of the Kingdom's Knights in the nearest city, and inquired about the situation.

"Aside from this unusual weather, is there anything else going on for the time being?"

After bowing respectfully, the branch leader said, "Your Majesty, we immediately took up positions here and have not discovered anything else. The worst has not happened; the King of Beasts should not have fully awakened yet."

The king nodded in relief: "Have the rescued people been taken care of?"

"Everything has been settled. A total of nine villages and seven hunter camps were affected by this disaster. Because they are all on the outskirts, they did not suffer too much damage. Only some houses were buried by the heavy snow, but there were no casualties," the branch leader replied.

"That's good." The king breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "Do the numbers of personnel match up?"

“All those registered match up,” the branch leader answered confidently at first, but then hesitated.

At this moment, the commander-in-chief seemed to understand something and took over the conversation, asking in confusion, "Are there any others registered?"

"Yes."

Seeing that his superior, the head of the regiment, was asking the question, the branch regiment leader awkwardly explained:

"Some of the people rescued are not locals, nor are they registered monster hunters. Although it is not certain yet, I estimate that they are most likely fugitives from other places."

Our geography here is quite complex. Once you're deep in the forest, it's practically like you've vanished into thin air. Plus, there's a lot of population mobility, so many wanted fugitives often end up here.

Although we take this very seriously, the investigation is extremely difficult, and we also have many important tasks to complete, so it's inevitable that some cases will slip through our net.

Therefore, we cannot guarantee that everyone has been rescued. There is a possibility that some people are still deeper in areas we haven't searched yet. We can only guarantee that law-abiding citizens and monster hunters are currently safe.

They thought their less-than-perfect answer might displease the king and the chief commander.

After all, it's not just that we can't be sure if there are still people inside, but the reason for this outcome, at the very least, is negligence and laziness in governance, and at worst, it can be considered dereliction of duty.

And just as he had feared, the atmosphere did indeed become delicate for a moment.

Just then, Jiang Shu, who had been yawning, suddenly spoke up: "It doesn't really matter. It doesn't seem like a problem we need to worry about. Fugitives are like cats; if they're not feeling well, they'll run away on their own, right? In short, it's best if there are no casualties, but if they're still inside, or have already died inside, it doesn't really matter."

Upon hearing this, the regimental commander immediately felt that his words had struck a chord with him.

These people were fugitives to begin with, so whether they live or die doesn't really make much difference, does it? They can't blame themselves at all.

But after regaining his senses, he noticed the young man in the scarlet armor and, upon closer inspection, realized he didn't recognize him at all.

He was startled, thinking to himself, "Where did this young master come from? How can he be so outspoken? Even though it's the truth, you can't say that in front of the King, the Grand Master, and the Duke."

To his surprise, the subtle atmosphere immediately dissipated as soon as the other party spoke.

Even the Grand Master, who always regarded rules and regulations as the most important, acknowledged in front of the King, saying, "That's true."

This undoubtedly filled the branch commander with awe.

Oh no, this is a master!

After inquiring about the basic situation, the king couldn't wait any longer and asked about the matter he cared about most: "During the rescue of the people, did you see any suspicious people?"

"A suspicious person?" Suppressing his urge to befriend Jiang Shu, the branch leader asked doubtfully, "What exactly do you mean by suspicious...?"

In this special situation, if we had to be honest, everyone's behavior would be rather abnormal, so everyone could be considered suspicious. The branch leader didn't understand what the king was referring to.

“About this tall, and four people wearing black robes.” The king gestured as he described, “the kind of people who are easily distinguishable from the others.”

Upon hearing this, the branch commander thought for a moment and then shook his head: "I'm sorry, I didn't see the person you mentioned, and my subordinates didn't report any relevant information to me."

"Is that so..." The king was somewhat disappointed.

But this was actually within his expectations.

He knew this matter wouldn't go too smoothly.

Knowing something in one's heart is one thing, but whether one can accept it is another, and he couldn't help but worry.

Jiang Shu noticed his unease, so she gave him a reassuring smile and confidently reassured him, "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will bring the princess back safely."

The king forced a smile: "Well, then I'll leave it to you."

“Then let’s get started now, just as we agreed before,” said Duke Bailey.

“Alright.” Jiang Shu and the commander-in-chief exchanged a glance, then set off into the endless snowfield that seemed to be in another world, separated by a mountain.

The others who had come with them remained where they were, on guard, protecting the safety of the king and the duke.

Ultimately, only Jiang Shu and the Grand Commander will enter the snowfield. This was decided from the beginning, and no one will provide help or cover for them. Only the two strongest individuals in the kingdom, past and present, are qualified to face this seemingly strongest monster king and the mysterious quartet that previously wreaked havoc in the capital.

The king insisted on coming along simply because he wanted to see the princess as soon as she was rescued.

If the princess hadn't fallen seriously ill after disappearing and hadn't lacked the physical strength and energy for a long journey, Jiang Shu thought the queen would probably have come along too.

In fact, it wouldn't have mattered if Jiang Shu went to find the King of Beasts alone, but Jiang Shu felt that someone had to be a witness to give an account of the whole process, so that the script he wrote could be considered to have a perfect ending.

That's why he used the excuse that he might not be able to concentrate at crucial moments and that someone would need to protect the princess, to ask the Grand Master to act with him.

Of course, the Grand Master had no objection to this. As a born warrior, if he set aside his position and responsibilities as the Grand Master of the Kingdom's Knights, he would be more than willing to challenge powerful enemies without considering any consequences.

Nothing excites him more than witnessing a powerful enemy.

Moreover, after the Four Heavenly Kings caused a ruckus in the capital last time, he was plagued by a deep sense of defeat. He could not accept that he had lost so thoroughly, but he also had to admit that he was simply not strong enough and could not blame anyone else.

Therefore, Jiang Shu's invitation was actually a form of recognition for him, and also a kind of redemption.

Although he was not as good as Jiang Shu, he was still needed by him, which unconsciously eased the gloom in the commander's heart.

He secretly made up his mind that no matter what, he must do his best to help Jiang Shu, even if it meant sacrificing himself, he would have no regrets.

When it's all over, if I'm still alive, I'll let him take over my job, and I'll step down and become an ordinary Warcraft hunter, making up for all the exciting adventures I've missed over the years... He thought to himself.

After an unknown amount of time, the sky began to gradually darken.

The two gradually ventured deeper into the heart of the snowfield.

As they ventured deeper, they could clearly feel it getting colder and colder.

This perfectly matches what the great sage said—the place where resentment first erupts is also the most intense, and where strange phenomena will be the most extreme.

Upon reaching this point, even the slightest moisture in the air they exhaled would instantly freeze into ice, as if they were spitting out ice shards.

"It should be around here, right?" The commander-in-chief looked around warily.

But everything was quiet, not even the wind could be heard. The whole world seemed to be frozen in time, so quiet that it made people feel uneasy and uneasy.

"Logically, it should be around here, because this is the coldest place. If an ordinary person were here, they would probably be frozen solid instantly," Jiang Shu said.

This is no exaggeration; Jiang Shu knows all too well what temperatures can freeze a person to death.

In the current environment, if his physical strength were not high enough and he were not protected by the Great Wilderness Heart, even if his limit was minus 91.8 degrees Celsius, his body would not be able to withstand it.

The Grand Master is a good example. Even though he gained a lot of physical enhancements from the monster core, and even some skills and passives specifically designed to combat the cold, he still struggled to cope with this bone-deep extreme cold, unlike Jiang Shu who was so composed.

This made Jiang Shu feel both relieved and apprehensive.

It seems my plan was correct. Luckily, I didn't bring the princess along, otherwise she definitely wouldn't have been able to handle it.

But... judging by the time, they should have arrived by now, right?

As if sensing something, four figures appeared on the opposite mountain.

"They're here!" The commander-in-chief noticed them immediately and got into position, ready for battle.

Jiang Shu seemed to have just noticed them, frowned, and asked unfriendly, "Where is the princess?"

“She’s not here.” The handsaw puppet smiled sinisterly. “But don’t worry, she’s still alive. As long as you can defeat the King of Monsters, she can come out of the seal on her own and return to the capital.”

"Damn it, how could they be so cunning!" Jiang Shu angrily accused.

The head of the troupe reassured Jiang Shu, saying, "This isn't necessarily a bad thing. If they really brought the princess here, given the terrible weather, it's hard to say whether she could even make it out alive."

“That’s true.” Jiang Shu sighed, then quickly added sternly, “Then, where is the King of Beasts? Tell him to come out!”

The four men gave a cold laugh.

But in reality, they were full of questions.

Brother, don't change the words on the spot! Shouldn't you say, "Then let's finish you off before the King of Warcraft," and then annihilate us, so that the Grand Master can witness it while making our identities impossible to verify?

But things are completely different from what we agreed on!

At this moment, Jiang Shu realized something and felt rather embarrassed.

Although he didn't want to admit it, he had indeed forgotten his lines.

He had been thinking about where the King of Warcraft would be and forgot what he was really supposed to say, so he just blurted it out.

Fortunately, this sudden mishap of not matching the words did not attract the attention of the commander-in-chief.

Instead, he inexplicably said what Jiang Shu should have said: "Since the princess isn't here, why waste your breath talking to them? The King of Monsters will appear sooner or later. Let's attack together and kill them first, lest they become the King of Monsters' helpers!"

Jiang Shu was taken aback at first, then immediately nodded: "Okay, you're very thoughtful!"

The Four Heavenly Kings were thus able to continue their sermons smoothly.

"Oh? So confident? Then let us see how much you've improved. Let me make this clear from the start: not only have you improved during this period, but we've also made a qualitative leap. I hope you won't die at our hands before you even see the King of Warcraft."

"Hmph, let me have my fun first!"

When they couldn't agree on anything, the six of them immediately started fighting.