Chapter 194: Anomaly

Having made his decision, Jie Ming acted decisively, dispelling his disguise. The immense

Great Radiance Form

abruptly materialized amidst the blizzard!

Thousands of talisman artifacts rained down like a tempest, instantly engulfing the entire snow monster encampment!

The deafening explosions from the dense barrage of energy projectiles mingled with the snow monsters’ shrill screams, echoing through the icy valley.

Caught off guard by the sudden assault, the snow monsters had no time to mount an effective counterattack. Under Jie Ming’s terrifying and precise firepower, they fell in droves, disintegrating into swirling ice crystals and dust.

With no high-tier units to impede him, Jie Ming’s destructive power was unleashed to its fullest.

As with previous purges, he resolved the battle swiftly and efficiently!

In less than five minutes, the once-bustling snow monster encampment was reduced to scattered ice shards and a handful of intact crystal cores.

Seizing the moment, Jie Ming employed his soul-searching technique, extracting and deeply analyzing the intact souls of the snow monsters in the encampment.

He needed to uncover what had happened here and where all the powerful entities had gone!

Soon, from the souls—especially the sole Second-Tier snow monster’s deepest memories—he gleaned an answer that wasn’t quite an answer.

The snow monsters’ memories were filled with a near-fanatical sense of a “summons.”

Previously, all Second-Tier and higher snow monsters in this encampment had been drawn by an inexplicable, powerful force, compelling them to head toward the core depths of the Frostshadow Realm.

The encampment, along with nearby smaller outposts, was left with only a few First-Tier snow monsters.

The Second-Tier snow monster remained because it had autonomously evolved to that level

after

the summons.

But precisely because it had only recently advanced, it had gleaned almost no higher-level intelligence before the summons.

Its memories held only the vague, irresistible force of the “summons” and hazy images of high-tier snow monsters surging like a tide toward the depths.

“A summons…” Jie Ming’s heart sank.

This was not good news.

Such a large-scale summons suggested something major was afoot in the Frostshadow Realm!

It was likely significant, potentially affecting the entire plane’s strategic landscape!

Since neither the Frostshadow Realm nor the Blazingfire Realm had clear day-night cycles, time could only be estimated through other intelligence.

Based on the fragmented memories of these snow monsters, the summons had been issued not long ago—perhaps only a few standard days had passed!

After swiftly collecting the encampment’s spoils, Jie Ming stepped outside, gazing at the swirling blizzard, feeling a touch of uncertainty.

Standing in the cleared icy valley, the vast expanse of snow and glaciers stretched endlessly, seeming ever more unfathomable.

His intelligence was severely limited, making it impossible to gauge the Frostshadow Realm’s current situation.

Venturing deeper recklessly could lead him straight into the snow monsters’ core defenses—or even a grand conspiracy!

Most critically, the Second-Tier snow monster, having just advanced, knew nothing of other encampments or the detailed deployments deeper in the realm.

“I can’t go further.” Jie Ming made a swift judgment.

With insufficient intelligence, pressing forward would only court danger.

Without hesitation, he suppressed all his aura and energy fluctuations, turning to retreat from the cleared snow monster encampment.

He meticulously organized his findings, speculations, and the limited intelligence from the Second-Tier snow monster’s soul.

Preparing to return to the outpost at top speed, he intended to report this intelligence.

…

The cold metal walls of the outpost blocked the howling blizzard outside, creating a warm, spring-like interior.

Jie Ming stood before the communication terminal, compiling all his discoveries from the snow monster encampment—including the mysterious disappearance of high-tier snow monsters and the vague “summons” in the Second-Tier monster’s mind—into a detailed report, submitted through encrypted channels.

The one receiving and discussing the report with him was the same pale-faced Second-Tier wizard draped in heavy robes, named Edgar, who seemed bored from long isolation in the outpost.

For Jie Ming, a “visitor” bringing frontline intelligence, Edgar was particularly eager to engage.

“Oh? You noticed it too?” Edgar glanced at Jie Ming’s report on the light screen, his pale face showing a knowing expression.

Pointing to the description of the “high-tier snow monsters being summoned,” he said, “Similar reports started trickling in a few days ago. At first, we thought it was just routine troop movements.”

“But over the last two days, these reports have surged. Almost every wizard team on missions has reported similar findings.”

He swiped the light screen, pulling up several processed intelligence summaries to show Jie Ming.

The contents were similar: high-tier forces were inexplicably absent from snow monster encampments across various regions.

“So, two days ago, headquarters issued targeted exploration missions,” Edgar explained, “directing all wizards in this region to focus on investigating this matter. Your report adds strong evidence to the task.”

Sipping a steaming drink, Edgar seemed in high spirits. “I was just chatting with colleagues at other outposts.”

“From their feedback, this phenomenon spans a vast area, covering nearly all explored border regions of the Frostshadow Realm. We’re privately speculating it’s happening across the entire realm.”

“The entire Frostshadow Realm…” Jie Ming repeated thoughtfully.

If true, the implications were profound.

This wasn’t a mere military maneuver but a colossal event affecting the entire snow monster civilization.

“Exactly,” Edgar shrugged. “In a couple of days, once elite teams return with more concrete intelligence, the camp will likely issue a formal army-wide notice or a major strategic mission. Then, we stationed personnel will probably get busy too.”

Listening to Edgar’s analysis, Jie Ming’s mind turned to another matter.

With such bizarre changes in the Frostshadow Realm, could something similar be happening in the symbiotic Blazingfire Realm?

A bold hypothesis formed in his mind.

After a moment’s thought, Jie Ming approached the terminal again, requesting permission from Edgar: “Sir Edgar, may I use the equipment to send a short message to a wizard at the main camp? I need to confirm something.”

“Of course, go ahead,” Edgar agreed readily. “This is meant for field wizards like you.”

Jie Ming deftly operated the terminal, using the outpost’s powerful long-range communication system to send an encrypted message to Viola at the main camp.

The message was concise: he described the mass disappearance of high-tier snow monsters in the Frostshadow Realm and asked her to check if similar events were occurring with the lava giants’ encampments in the Blazingfire Realm.

After sending it, Jie Ming didn’t idle.

He engaged Edgar in a discussion about a shared interest: the biological study of snow monsters.

Sharing his lab findings on dissections and energy structures with Edgar’s frontline experience, they talked animatedly, time slipping by unnoticed.

As they discussed the energy conversion efficiency of snow monster crystal cores, the terminal pinged softly.

Viola had replied!

Jie Ming’s heart stirred, and he checked the message.

A single line of text confirmed his bold hypothesis.

“Confirmed via mission center. High-tier lava giants have also vanished en masse, mirroring the snow monster encampments! Only low-tier lava giants remain active in the Blazingfire Realm!”

“As expected…” he murmured.

It wasn’t a unilateral anomaly but a synchronized event across both realms!

The lava giants of the Blazingfire Realm and the snow monsters of the Frostshadow Realm—mortal enemies—had simultaneously executed nearly identical strategic withdrawals!

All high-tier forces had been pulled from their vast borderlines, converging toward the deepest parts of their respective planes!

This was no coincidence!

“Something earth-shaking is happening in the Frostflame Plane…” Jie Ming was now certain.

But he still didn’t know what it was.

A final battle with the wizards to decide the planes’ fate?

A joint response to a deeper threat?

Or a cyclical ritual tied to the planes themselves?

Countless possibilities flashed through his mind, but with his current clearance and intelligence, he couldn’t deduce the truth.

For Jie Ming personally, this was a golden opportunity.

Before the storm fully erupted and the wizard legions reacted, the border regions would experience an unprecedented “power vacuum.”

Many snow monster encampments were now leaderless, their defenses at an all-time low.