Chapter 667: Senior

Some of the more experienced cultivators immediately came to a conclusion.

"An expert!"

"He must be a high-level expert!"

"He was the one who killed the beasts!"

"He saved all of us!"

A man immediately ran toward Kyrian.

"Senior!" He stopped a few meters in front of him and bowed deeply.

"Thank you!"

Others noticed. They also began approaching.

"Thank you, Senior!"

"Thank you for saving our lives!"

"If it weren’t for you..."

"We would be dead!"

"Senior, what realm are you in?"

Kyrian remained calm.

He looked at the crowd. Most of them seemed completely terrified. Not exactly of him. But of the power they had just witnessed.

They had probably never seen anything similar. An older man looked at the frozen forest.

"I’ve never seen power like this..."

Another replied.

"Neither have I."

"Was it a technique?"

"I don’t know."

"Could it be some kind of secret art?"

"No." A middle-aged cultivator shook his head.

"I’ve seen ice techniques before. This is different."

He looked at Kyrian.

"This..." His voice lowered.

"This seemed more like an intent."

Kyrian raised an eyebrow slightly. The man did not know exactly what he was talking about. But he had come close. To tell the truth, Aura was the evolution of Intent.

Another cultivator immediately responded.

"Intent?"

"Are you saying this is the power of Ice Intent? It doesn’t seem right."

"Would that be possible?"

The first man fell silent. Then he shook his head.

"I don’t know."

Only those in extremely high realms could comprehend something as profound as Aura. And for most of that crowd... The concept of Aura was practically unknown.

Even the few who had already heard of it could not imagine someone using it in such a manner in front of them.

A man looked at Kyrian with reverence.

"Senior must be a cultivator of the Spiritual Fusion Realm."

"Definitely."

"Only an expert at that level could do something like this."

"Perhaps he is even more powerful."

The speculation began.

Kyrian heard some of them. But he did not correct anyone. There was no need. He simply looked at the forest. Thousands of beasts were frozen.

Kyrian’s expression remained calm. Using Aura really consumed an astronomical amount of Qi, in addition to placing a great demand on his body.

But Kyrian was fine.

’Now I need to find out where they came from.’

He had decided to help those people for one reason. The beast tide. And, most importantly... The possibility that a black mass of hostility existed nearby.

Kyrian looked at the group.

"Where did you come from?"

The question was simple. But the effect was immediate. Everyone fell silent. An older man approached.

"Senior..." He hesitated.

"We came from a city called Red Swallow City."

Kyrian frowned.

"Red Swallow?"

"Yes." The man nodded.

"It’s approximately two days’ journey from here to the west."

Kyrian thought. Two days. It wasn’t much. With Arcon, it would be even easier to reach.

"Tell me what happened." Kyrian said, his voice calm but with a tone that allowed no refusal.

The older man swallowed hard and began to speak.

"It was... it was sudden, Senior. The city has always been peaceful. We’ve never had problems with beasts. But three days ago, they simply... appeared. They came from the forest, thousands of them. No one knows where they came from. No one knows why."

Another woman approached, her eyes red from crying.

"My home... my family... many couldn’t escape. We ran, but they kept coming. It didn’t matter how many we killed, more kept appearing. It was a nightmare."

Kyrian listened in silence. His blue eyes glowed faintly as he processed the information. A beast tide without any apparent reason. A peaceful city was attacked out of nowhere. This could only mean one thing. At least, he hoped that was the case.

He looked west, in the direction of Red Swallow City.

’A black mass of hostility.’

The possibility made his heart race. If it were true... He could advance much more quickly.

Kyrian looked at the people around him. They stared at him with a mixture of gratitude, fear, and hope.

Hope that he could help them. That he could save them. Kyrian remained silent for a moment. Then he spoke.

"I’ll investigate. Return to the city in one day." The words were simple, but the effect was immediate. The people began murmuring, some with tears in their eyes.

"Thank you, Senior!"

"May the heavens bless you!"

"Please, be careful!"

Kyrian did not respond. He simply turned toward Arcon and mounted him. The winged horse flapped its wings, eager to depart. Kyrian looked at the crowd one last time.

Kyrian did not wait any longer.

"Let’s go, Arcon." The horse beat its wings forcefully, and the two shot into the sky. The frozen forest was left behind, thousands of ice statues shining beneath the sun.

Kyrian flew west, his blue eyes still glowing.

’Red Swallow City.’ He smiled faintly.

’Let’s see what awaits us there.’

The wind howled in his ears as Arcon picked up speed. The landscape below passed by quickly, forests, rivers, and hills.

But Kyrian paid no attention. His mind was focused on what was to come. A black mass of hostility. A city in danger. And, possibly, an opportunity for growth.

For several hours, Kyrian flew over the forest mounted on Arcon.

The cold wind passed across his face as the enormous winged horse advanced through the sky at high speed, its wings beating at a steady and powerful rhythm.

Below them, the forest seemed endless, ancient trees forming an enormous green sea that stretched all the way to the horizon, occasionally interrupted by winding rivers, towering mountains, and large clearings where sunlight touched the ground directly.

Kyrian remained seated atop Arcon, his eyes observing the landscape with calm attention. He was not in a hurry.

At least, not yet. Red Swallow City should be in that direction. If the information he had received was correct, the city was approximately two days’ journey from the region where he had encountered the refugees. With Arcon’s speed, however, Kyrian could arrive much sooner.