...
Silence filled the old hut, with only the sound of heavy breathing echoing inside. The air was still thick with an intense cold, as if the ice itself was watching them from every corner, slowly seeping into their bones.
The three men stood before the two boxes, their eyes fixed on the bone inside the open box, while countless thoughts swirled in their minds. This moment was charged with a silent greed—none of them was willing to back down.
But before any of them could break this deadlock—
Boom!
A faint explosion sounded outside the hut, followed by the echo of steady footsteps approaching.
"They've arrived," muttered the head of the Shu family in a low voice, without taking his eyes off the boxes.
There was no need to explain who he meant.
In the next moment, the hut's door slowly creaked open, the aged wood groaning under the force pressing from outside.
The three from the Han family stood at the entrance, their bodies covered in a thin layer of frost, their eyes filled with caution and restrained anger.
Neither side moved.
Their gazes met in silence, and the air grew thick with tension, as if a single wrong word could ignite a relentless battle.
Finally, the old man from the Han family broke the silence, his voice calm but carrying an implicit warning:
"It seems we meet again, Masters of the Families."
It appeared that the old man had already guessed who they were.
No one responded immediately.
The head of the Lian family was the first to move. He stepped forward slowly, but he did not reach for his weapon. Instead, he kept his hands behind his back, maintaining a composed posture.
"It seems we all desire the same thing," he said in an even tone.
"Perhaps," replied the chubby man from the Han family, his eyes shifting between the two boxes and the gray barrier surrounding them. "But the real question is... who will claim it in the end?"
Another moment of silence followed.
Then, without warning, one of the Han family members stepped forward, reaching out to test the gray barrier.
Woosh—
The moment his fingers touched it, a wave of ice surged up his arm, freezing his fingers instantly. He was forced to withdraw his hand quickly, letting out a sharp cry of pain.
"Damn it!" he cursed, shaking his hand, trying to rid himself of the accumulated frost.
No further words were needed—the incident had made everything clear.
This barrier was not something that could be broken easily.
The old man frowned as he approached, this time extending his hand slowly, attempting to send his energy into the barrier.
But the result was no different.
Another surge of frost erupted, even colder than before, forcing the old man to retreat immediately.
"Hmm… this is no ordinary barrier," he murmured under his breath, his gaze turning more serious.
"It certainly isn’t," said the head of the Shu family, who had been silently observing the entire time. "I’ve already tried. I couldn’t even leave a scratch on it."
The chubby man from the Han family looked between the three men, then back at the boxes.
He could see the greed in their eyes, but he knew that same greed was reflected in his own.
"So… what’s the solution?" he finally asked, his tone slightly tense.
No one had a clear answer.
At that moment, they all realized—
This battle was not just about swords and power.
It was a battle of patience, intelligence, and nerves of steel.
...
The tension in the hut remained thick, even as time passed. Everyone watched each other warily, unwilling to make any rash moves that might expose their true intentions.
The old man from the Han family studied the faces of the three family heads.
Though he said nothing outright, his eyes carried a glint of understanding.
He had already figured out who they were.
But in the end, it didn’t matter.
Breaking the gray barrier was their priority.
He took a deep breath before speaking in a calm voice:
"It seems this barrier won’t be broken easily… We’ll need to cooperate."
The family heads did not immediately object, but neither did they express agreement.
"Cooperation, huh…" the Shu family head muttered, staring deeply at the gray barrier.
"And who’s to guarantee that whoever gets the treasure will honor the agreement?" the Mo family head asked directly, his tone cold.
The old man let out a small chuckle. "If we don’t work together, no one gets anything."
A moment of silence followed.
Then, they began negotiating the terms of cooperation—
How would the treasures be divided?
Who would get what?
How could they break the barrier without allowing anyone to betray the others?
The discussion dragged on, full of subtle maneuvering and psychological probing. None of them trusted the others completely, but they needed each other.
In the end, a fragile agreement was reached.
The Han family would take the bone from the open box.
The closed box would belong to the three family heads.
No one was entirely happy with this arrangement, but there was no better option.
And so, the real work began.
The First Round of Attacks
The group gathered around the gray barrier, each taking their position.
"We attack at the same time," the old man instructed.
"Ready?"
No one responded. They only focused.
Then, in a single moment—
Six powerful attacks struck the gray barrier!
BOOOOM!
The entire hut trembled!
Ripples spread across the formation, even reaching the surface above them!
Outside, in the abandoned ice palace, the ground shook. Cracks spread across the frozen walls. Hidden forces beneath the surface stirred, waiting to be unleashed.
But when the energy inside the hut finally subsided…
The gray barrier remained intact.
It showed no cracks, no signs of breaking.
… It had only trembled slightly.
The group exchanged glances.
Then, without a word, they prepared to attack again.
Time Passed…
No one knew how long they had been at it.
A day?
Two days?
More?
There was no sunlight here, no sense of time.
All they had was an endless cycle of attacking, resting, then attacking again.
Yet, despite all their efforts, they had only managed to cause slight fluctuations in the barrier.
It was as if they were fighting an unbreakable mountain of ice.
Fatigue crept into their bodies.
Doubt began to gnaw at their minds—
Could this barrier truly be broken?
Or were they merely wasting their time?
...
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