Published at 23rd of December 2025 8:18 am

Chapter 1358: Misery and Madness

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

Adam’s climb had become a drawn-out trial of endurance. The first hundred meters had only taken him a few minutes to scale, but the rest... It had already been two days since then!

The cliff face was jagged and cold, offering only the smallest ledges for his fingers to grip. Each upward pull strained his arms, and several times his footing had slipped, sending his body falling downward before he caught another hold at the last possible moment.

The wind battered him constantly, threatening to peel him off the stone, and every fall scraped his skin raw. The cold only made it worse. His fingers had long since grown numb, his joints had stiffened, and each movement felt slower than the last.

Frost clung to the rock, making handholds slick, and his breath turned shallow from the thin air. At one point, his arm nearly gave out entirely, and he had to press himself flat against the surface just to steady his shaking limbs.

But he kept climbing. Inch by inch, breath by breath, fall after fall.

And finally, after two whole days, the cliff’s edge came into reach.

With one final push, Adam dragged himself over the edge, collapsing onto the cold stone, chest heaving as he drew raspy breaths, and his body trembling from sheer exhaustion.

Yet despite it all, he had made it to the top.

"Gege!" He called out. "Are you still there?"

"Gege! Gege!"

The mimic chirped animatedly. The harsh climate didn’t affect him one bit. Adam couldn’t help but be envious of its ability.

"What’s your skin made of?" He asked, his lips curling into a crazed grin. "Maybe if I eat it, I can be immune to the harsh cold?"

The mimic didn’t reply, but Adam could feel it trembling. And it sure as hell wasn’t from the cold.

Adam burst into laughter. "Just kidding."

"...Gege."

The air at the cliff’s summit was far harsher than anything he had endured along the way. The wind was a constant, punishing element that slammed into him from every direction.

Each breath burned his lungs, and the cold air was so sharp it felt as though needles were being driven into his skin. Frost formed along his sleeves within moments, and the ground beneath him was layered with ice that cracked under his breath.

Adam truly felt the wrath of mother nature on this terrain. If it weren’t for his sturdy physique, having undergone three cycles of the body enhancement system, he would have never made it to the clifftop.

But in the end, he had. He suddenly felt the urge to laugh, and so he did. He laughed and laughed and laughed.

Suddenly, he felt something... amiss. His Sphere of Resonance picked up on something—a few things—at the edge of his senses. His laughter came to an abrupt stop, and his smile vanished. But a moment later, he grinned again.

"What do we have here?" He grinned like a madman.

Through the swirling frost and drifting snow, dark shapes slowly emerged. At first, they looked like boulders standing upright, but as they drew closer, their figures became clearer.

These were towering, broad-shouldered beasts covered in thick, white fur!

Their limbs were long and powerful, ending in claws that seemed to be capable of tearing stone. Their faces were a distorted mix of ape and beast, with sunken eyes that glowed faintly blue in the cold storm. Each exhalation from them produced a cloud of steam.

Just as Adam noticed them, they, too, noticed him. Almost instantaneously!

Without hesitation, they surged forward, charging with frightening speed. This was raw territorial fury as they attacked the intruder who dared to set foot on their frozen domain.

There were dozens of them, their strengths varying between the Mana Foundation and the Mana Vortex Rank.

Adam sighed heavily as he rose to his feet. "No rest for the wicked, eh?"

The following moment, a black staff appeared in his hand as he twirled it, then rested it on his shoulder. Watching the beasts of snow coming at him, he suddenly felt a little reminiscent.

"Reminds me of the abandoned temple on the snow island in the spirit world," he murmured. "That damned forgotten God, the source of my misery and madness..."

He swung his staff in a wide, sweeping arc. Then, with a wide grin on his face, he rushed towards the towering creatures.

***

Back on the ground, day four of the battle between the Tsuitsui Clan and the Tiesha Tang had already begun with no pause, and definitely no mercy.

As the sun rose, the armies of the Tsuitsui Clan and the Tiesha Tang crashed into one another once more.

By now, the Tsuitsui forces had already lost almost half their number, more than a thousand gone in just four days. Yet the Tiesha Tang casualties were significantly more. But because they had more numbers, it looked like Goro’s army was on the losing side.

Still, they fought. Both sides pushed forward out of duty, anger, and the simple refusal to die without taking someone with them.

Then, as the sun reached its highest point in the sky, movement appeared behind the Tsuitsui army. At first, it was only distant shadows. Then, their shapes sharpened.

Rows upon rows of armored men! Another army, at least a thousand strong, emerged from behind the Tsuitsui lines, and they were closing in fast!

"So they’ve finally arrived." Goro stood at the command tent, facing eastward.

Thanks to his scouts relaying this vital information a couple of days ago, the Tsuitsui forces had enough time to prepare. That was why Goro appeared relaxed.

"Yorihiko," he called out.

"Yes, Brother." The Vice General already knew what to do.

"Take care of the battle at the front," Goro stated as he donned his armor and put on his gauntlets. "I’ll go receive our new guests."

Yorihiko didn’t waste any time on niceties. He knew that Goro was only taking a hundred men with him to fight an army of one thousand. But he also knew that that was more than enough. He knew more than anyone else about Goro’s true strength.

"Alright, boys." Goro rolled his shoulders as he led a hundred Tsuitsui men.

These were elite warriors, each one hardened by decades of exposure to the clan’s most potent poisons.

Goro’s eyes flashed with cold light, and he said:

"Let us corrode their spirit."

The Venom Dragon had finally entered the Battle of Kurogane Pass!

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