Chapter 88: Over the Mountain
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The sky had started to lighten up, just as Mike and Linda who had followed the Lieluo Army, finally arrived at the foot of the Kaki Snow Mountain.
Mike looked up at the extremely high Kaki Snow Mountain in awe.
Earlier, Mike and his men had walked across a plateau and arrived at the foot of the Kaki Snow Mountain.
Both the local temperature and the air pressure were rising rapidly.
Just as they were about to climb the mountain, Mike looked back.
He found that some of the people who were not as fit had begun to sweat, develop a fever, coughs, and other symptoms.
It looked like it would be a very difficult journey to cross the Kaki Snow Mountain on foot.
It was then that Dali also noticed the people who were less fit.
However, he did not say anything and continued to lead the group up the mountain.
Mike was strong, so he did not feel any discomfort.
If not for the speed of the group, Mike would have been much faster if he had been alone.
Looking at the winding snow mountain, Mike took a deep breath.
He was not worried about himself, but he was worried about the people behind him.
If anyone fell along the way, casualties numbering only a few people would be acceptable. However, it would be a different story if a large number of people fell.
Mike could not afford to have so many people to fall.
By now, most of the people had already made it halfway up the mountain.
The sun had in the sky had also begun to rise slowly.
The sunlight shone on the ice surface of the Kaki Snow Mountain.
The snow and ice on the surface also started to gradually melt.
“Help… Help me!”
Mike heard someone calling for help and looked behind him.
It turned out that someone had slipped and fallen down the mountain.
Mike and Linda witness this and were about to turn back to rescue the person, but Dali stopped them.
“Dali, didn’t you see? Someone just fell!” Linda shouted.
Dali silently stared at the angry Linda. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke.
“I know!”
“You know? Since you know, why didn’t you save him? Are you just going to watch him die like this?”
Linda was a little angry and her tone was a little aggressive.
Then, Dali spoke again.
“Do you think I don’t want to save him? At some point in time, a group from the Dundun tribe will be pursuing us from behind. They will definitely follow our tracks and come after us.”
“If I spend a lot of time on our escape route, this person will not be the only one who will die!”
“Now that only one person has fallen, you can still save them. But what about after that? The road ahead will only become more dangerous. What about 10 or 100 people? How are you going to save them all?” Dali questioned loudly.
“Before we set off, I already told them about the dangers of the Kaki Snow Mountain. Thus, they also have to bear the possible risks and consequences of their decisions!”
After Dali finished speaking, he immediately turned around and continued to walk up the mountain.
“Let’s go! Keep moving!”
Mike and Linda were surprised at what they had just witnessed, as well as with Dali’s words.
Even Mike felt a little incredulous. He could not believe that this was the same amiable commander of the Lieluo Army who had been dedicated to the people earlier.
Now, he came across more like a cold and heartless military man, a man who would do anything to achieve his goal.
Before Mike could think further, several other people fell down the mountain as well.
The pedestrians behind him did not pay much attention. They just put their hands together and prayed silently.
Mike did not know whether they were doing this to help the dead people, or to bless themselves.
Mike sighed helplessly and looked at Linda who was beside him.
“Let’s go!”
Linda had to obey Mike’s words. She turned her back on the people behind her and sadly continued to walk up the mountain.
After a while, the pressure on the Kaki Snow Mountain became more and more intense.
It became more and more difficult for everyone to breathe.
Among these people, there were some whose clothes were very thin.
Their limbs had gone stiff from the cold.
Their fingers and toes were turning black and they had lost the ability to speak.
The only thing they could do was to keep moving forward slowly.
Some of them fell down as they walked and did not get up again.
Mike finally understood what Dali had said.
When the journey to the south had started, there were some people who were not destined to reach the end.
Even though Mike was very sad, he could not do anything about these deaths.
Dali looked at the snow mountain in front of him, before turning around and shouting to the crowd behind him.
“Everyone, hold on a little longer. We are about to cross this Kaki Snow Mountain!”
Even so, the people behind them were completely frozen speechless.
Compared to staying at the Blessed Longevity Camp and waiting for death to come, choosing to cross the Kaki Snow Mountain at least gave them a chance of survival.
When faced with the choice of fate, no one wanted to give up any possible chance at survival, even if that chance was so slim.
Finally, Mike and Linda stood at the top of the Kaki Snow Mountain.
Looking down, a very lively city could be seen before them.
That city was the town of Doma.
However, between the town of Doma and the Kaki Snow Mountain lay a fierce long river that divided both places.
It looked like their last hurdle would be the long river at the bottom of the mountain.
The whole troop was moving at a very slow pace up the mountain, and it had already turned to dusk.
The sun was gradually setting, and the sky was gradually darkening.
It was obviously not a wise decision to choose to spend an entire night at the top of the snow mountain.
However, if they chose to go on through the night, the people would lose their way on the Kaki Snow Mountain.
If they could not see the road ahead, the number of people who would die would increase.
However, compared to just waiting for death, the people would always choose the path that had even a slim chance of survival.
Even if the risk was extremely high, they would still give it a try.
Dali was precisely such a person. He opened his mouth and spoke to the crowd.
“It’s almost night-time now. Rather than waiting for death on the peak of the Kaki Snow Mountain, we might as well attempt to go down the mountain in the dark. At least we will still have a slim chance of survival!”
The people behind him could not say a word, but it could be seen from their determined eyes that they agreed with Dali’s words.
When Mike saw this, he broke off a thick branch at the top of the tree.
He casually picked up a stone and asked the soldier beside him for a dagger.
When the blade and the stone were rubbed against each other, a large number of sparks were produced, instantly igniting the branch.