Condes Mountains

At noon, the sun was high overhead, and the strongest sunlight easily penetrated the thin clouds in the sky and poured down.

With such a clear sky, it should have been good weather, but it was snowing heavily, a rare occurrence, and the whole world was covered in silver.

When the sunlight falls on the ground, it uses the white background to coat its surface with a layer of light golden light.

It's so beautiful that it seems to be out of this world.

The wind was howling and surging, and wherever it passed, it rolled up large flakes of snow, which flew up into the air and then fell down in large flakes.

The cold snowflakes are crystal clear, emitting tiny specks of light through the light. If you look closely, you can see that they are somewhat like the ripples on the water, as if a miniature mermaid is swimming in it.

The whole world was quieter than usual. Under the cold and solemn sky tens of thousands of meters high, there were endless mountains. The mountains were completely covered with snow, which broke up the protruding rock cliffs into soft shapes, forming almost perfect undulations and curves.

The furthest point within sight almost meets the sky due to the thick snow, as if there is no end.

Beyond the mountain is the sky.

Closer still, the dead leaves on the trees by the roadside had all fallen, leaving only bare dark trunks. The rough bark was dotted with a lot of snow particles, and the surface texture looked a bit like a salt-baked chicken just taken out of the oven, still covered with dirt and coarse salt.

"Come and try some freshly grilled red willow lamb skewers."

"I picked these wild mushrooms this morning, they're still frozen, and they're the most nutritious to make into soup."

"Freshly cooked venison patties!"...

In addition to the beautiful and magnificent natural scenery, there are also many traces of human life at the foot of the snow-capped mountains.

The sounds of hawking were heard constantly on both sides of the street. It was almost lunchtime and the hot steam from the snack vendors' pots rose like white mist, higher than a person, and then gradually dissipated.

The outdoor temperature of more than 20 degrees below zero may sound a bit daunting, but it has little effect on the indigenous residents here. They have become accustomed to it and still work a whole day as usual.

Backed by the high altitude mountains, the warm wind blowing from the ocean thousands of miles away gradually loses temperature during the long journey and becomes freezing cold when it reaches here. Various geographical factors are intertwined to create the special climate here.

Snow falls all year round, and even now on the road where cars, horses, and pedestrians often walk, the snow is just compacted a little, and there is no sign of melting due to the friction of footsteps and the temperature from human bodies.

People on the street are hurrying, wrapping themselves tightly to protect themselves from the cold wind. Except for the vendors who need to make a living in the same place, basically no one will deliberately stay.

Even without opening his mouth, white steam would whizz out of his nostrils into the distance, almost freezing into ice particles in mid-air, and then disappearing in the wind.

"Hey, people in front, please move aside~" On the small road, a horse-drawn carriage carrying goods appeared behind.

On the slippery road, even horses that walk frequently find it difficult to slow down directly when encountering a critical situation. There is a risk of slipping, so pedestrians on the street try to avoid them.

The carriage was pulled by two strong horses. Like humans, the horses were wrapped in a special coat from their necks to their bellies to protect the most important heart meridians.

Its fur looks shiny and slippery, so it must have good food on a daily basis, otherwise it would be willing to help its owner carry the load in such cold weather.

The goods were shipped in a full truck from outside the town, and only slowed down after arriving at the market.

The owner of the car probably has cooperation with street vendors. When he arrives in front of certain stalls, he will drop a package of goods from the car.

After chatting about family matters for a while, they continued to the next house.

When we reached the central square of the town, there was a circular open space with a very large ice sculpture placed in the middle.

No other elements were added, it was carved entirely from ice, and it was about ten meters high. I don't know where such a large piece of ice was successfully transported from.

Just as the carriage was about to leave the central square, two young figures jumped out from the back carriage.

After they had regained their footing on the slippery ground, they thanked the driver gratefully.

The driver didn't look back, but just raised the whip in his hand to signal.

"Who is this statue?"

The first thing Ding Can did after getting off the car was to look around.

The weather was cold, so she wore several layers of clothes and a thick beige robe on the outermost layer. It could keep her warm and protect her from the strong wind, but it was a bit heavy, making her look bloated and round.

Her long hair did not hang down directly, but was braided into more than a dozen small braids. The knots at the bottom were decorated with simple silver ornaments, evenly placed on both sides of her shoulders. When she walked, you could hear the crisp sound of the silver colliding.

She was wearing a thick hat that was completely covered with rabbit fur. Although it was a little stuffy, no cold air could penetrate it and it pressed down to her eyebrows.

Around her neck was a woolen scarf more than one meter long, wrapped several times from the back of her head, piled up enough to cover her nose.

He wore snow boots and even his hands were not spared, wearing a pair of knitted woolen gloves. The cuffs of the gloves were too long and covered by the outer robe, making them completely windproof.

This way, the only skin exposed on the body is the area around the eyes.

But even though she was fully armed, she still felt a little cold. Just now, she was lucky enough to have a piece of blanket from the car owner covering her thighs, but now she could still feel the cold wind blowing through her thick clothes and into the deepest part of her bones.

Even her eye sockets were a little moist because of the pressing cold. When her vision became a little blurry, she blinked faster, and she was sure that there must be ice on her eyelashes.

This copy is a solo training. She came here alone and didn't know where the other three people went or whether they were safe.

Apart from the rather harsh climate, the situation here seems to be pretty good at the moment.

She looked at the ice sculpture again. Although the raw materials used were all transparent ice, the craftsman's ingenious carving and the combination of light and shadow created a very lifelike scene.

It was a man wearing a cloak, moving forward against the wind and snow, his left hand clenched into a fist in front of his chest, and his right hand at his waist, as if holding a weapon tied to his waist.

One leg is preparing to move forward.

Although it is a static picture, one can seem to feel the man's majestic aura and posture.

The hood of the cloak completely covered his face, making it impossible to see what he looked like.

"He is the mountain god here, protecting all living things on the mountain."

The speaker was named Dasong, and he came with her.

Dasong continued, "I've been to the snowy mountains before, but it's never as cold as this place. Luckily, my mother bought me some new winter clothes, otherwise it would have been really hard to endure."

He has curly brown hair, tanned skin, and freckles on his cheekbones caused by sunburn. He looks very healthy.

The most distinctive feature is the pair of red eyes that shine like gemstones.

The two met at a train station more than 30 miles away, and then agreed to arrive here. They originally planned to rent an off-road vehicle, but because the journey was long and the price given by the driver was too expensive, they gave up.

Fortunately, they were lucky enough to find a cargo truck going the same way. The owner didn't even ask for any reward and just let them take a ride to the town of Condas, which is where they are now.

The town is so named because it is located at the foot of the Condes Mountains.

The Condes Mountains are composed of long stretches of snow-capped mountains, covered in white all day long. Even in midsummer, when the temperature can rise above zero degrees, the ice and snow accumulated over the years will never melt, so this place is also called Snow Town.

The unique climate and geographical environment have given birth to all things in the area, and the residents at the foot of the mountain can make a living from it.

The reason why the two of them traveled together was to recruit a new batch of Kandas forest rangers.

The current forest ranger has been working here for fifty years and has almost dedicated his entire life to protecting the mountains and forests.

Now that he is old, he is unable to do most of the work except basic patrols, and we have to find new young people to take over his job.

The government posted selection notices in various places and conducted very strict competitions and tests on those who applied to screen successors.

Ding Can and Dasong are candidates who have emerged from layers of selection in their respective cities.

They were notified to arrive today, and they each left their hometown with train tickets and arrived at the train station in the small town.

As the only two people who are capable of doing the job, whoever can win the favor of the old forest ranger during the training will be able to successfully succeed as the next forest ranger.

The aroma of cooked food reached his nose through the thick scarf. Suddenly, he felt a little greedy. Ding Can took out a colorful banknote from his pocket, bought two roasted chicken legs, and then handed one of them to Dasong.

"Thank you!" Dasong immediately started to eat with relish.

The chicken legs have crispy skin and are roasted until they are charred on the outside and tender on the inside. They are salty, fragrant and juicy when you take a bite. The rich meaty aroma lingers in your mouth after chewing. It is simply a delicacy.

It can not only replenish energy but also satisfy your appetite.

Ding Can also took a small bite. "It seems that the residents here are very pious to gods and ghosts. They actually imagined such a concrete god."

It’s just that the image of the god can be imagined, but the face in everyone’s mind cannot be unified, so the face is not portrayed.

"It's not a fantasy," Dasong retorted. "This mountain god is said to have been seen by some people. He really did appear and save people."

"Is that so?" Ding Can couldn't help but look at the statue again. He felt that it was somewhat familiar. It looked like the knight he had seen in books before, as if they were carved from the same mold.

She took the opportunity to ask, "Do you know much about this mountain range? Has anything strange happened recently?"

"Ah," Dasong said, unaware of the shiny grease stain on the corner of his mouth, still immersed in the delicious taste of the turkey leg, "Didn't you sign up to be a forest ranger? Don't you know this place well?"

Of course, she didn't know much. She even found out about the forest ranger trial from the person who sent her there at the train station.

Ding Can's expression remained unchanged. "I really don't know much about it. My hometown is so far away from here, and I've only heard a few bits of information from others. Let's exchange ideas so we can better adapt to life in the mountains."

The forest rangers usually live and reside halfway up the mountain. Since they are going to learn from the Tiger Forest Park, it is impossible for them to run up and down the mountain. They must live with others.

Based on this speculation, the center of the dungeon trial must also be on the mountain.

Now is the time to find an opportunity to get more information so that we won’t be too isolated and helpless in the mountains.

As for exchanging information, if Dasong asked, he could just make up a few words about what he knew about the climate conditions on the snow-capped mountains, and it wouldn't be wrong.

Dasong had no doubt about her words and said honestly, "That makes sense. Actually, I heard the teacher from the training department tell me that this place is actually quite dangerous."

"Is the terrain on the mountain more dangerous?"

Dasong shook his head: "No, it's because of the poachers."