Winter Lord: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 85 Frosty Mane Tundra Rabbit

The air in the northern region in early autumn was dry and cold. Low shrubs and yellowing grass swayed slightly in the wind, and several warhorses galloped past.

For monsters like the Frostmane Tundra Rabbit, which are not very aggressive but extremely fast, having too many people around can easily scare them away.

Therefore, Louis only brought seven knights with him on this hunt.

For these knights, a distance of five kilometers is just a short journey of a few minutes.

Before long, the group arrived at the location indicated by the intelligence, led by Louis.

"There are magical beasts over there!" The elite knight at the front suddenly stopped and whispered, "Grayish-brown fur, blue-gray fruit... they're Frostmane Tundra Rabbits, at least three of them!"

Upon hearing this, Louis immediately waved his hand and said, "Stop."

The group immediately reined in their horses, led them behind some bushes, tied them up, and then dismounted silently.

“Don’t make a sound,” Louis whispered. “These rabbits have extremely keen hearing.”

The seven knights moved with the steady, silent steps of cheetahs, quickly arriving behind the higher rocks.

Louis crouched down, placed his hand on a rock, and looked through the crack into the distance.

There, amidst a patch of hills where the weeds had not yet withered, three gray-brown tundra hares were cautiously foraging for food.

With their short ears erect, their hind legs lightly pushing off the ground, and their limbs covered with thick fur, they moved silently through the dry, cold, and hard mud.

What's most eye-catching are the three clusters of "ice moss fruit" hanging from their backs, emitting a faint blue-gray luster and trembling gently in the early autumn sunlight.

“Adult rabbits…with fruit.” Louis lowered his voice, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes. “Thank you for nature’s gift.”

The Ice Moss Fruit can enhance a knight's fighting spirit, which is a godsend for him as he is about to break through.

However, the Frosty-mane Tundra Rabbit is much more alert than ordinary wild animals.

They never move in a straight line; they always prefer to move slowly against the wind in order to detect danger in advance.

They always avoid areas exposed to sunlight, hiding in the sparse light of grass or behind rocks.

Even the slightest movement of a leaf can startle them, causing them to flee at top speed.

This makes this hunt a test of endurance rather than courage.

“If we approach rashly, we’ll definitely find nothing,” Louis said in a low voice. “Prepare to set up a bait line.”

"Yes!"

The knights took out the "cloud moss powder" they had prepared beforehand from their small bags.

This is a processed moss spice that is highly favored by some herbivorous magical beasts, including the Frostmane Tundra Rabbit.

Louis always brings some with him on his trips, just for moments like this.

The knights carefully laid out a winding trail of bait on the ground, following the direction the three rabbits were moving.

This feeding line eventually leads to a slightly sunken natural depression.

The dense grass there provided ample cover, making it an ideal ambush site.

"Group up and lie in wait around the depression, until they get close," Louis commanded.

All that was left was to wait, as time slowly passed until the sunlight began to slant.

As expected, the Frosty Mane Tundra Rabbit was slowly guided forward, carefully sniffing the lingering scent of moss on the ground, and occasionally poking at the bits of grass with its front paws.

“It’s finally moving. Get ready.” Louis’s eyes gleamed.

Three, two, one.

"Now!"

Hunting nets were quickly thrown out from all directions, blocking the rabbit's escape route.

Immediately afterwards, several silver needles flashed and "plop, plop" pierced into the rabbit's back.

The prey initially tried to struggle and jump, but the numbing liquid quickly took effect, causing their bodies to go limp and collapse on the spot.

"All of them!" Louis breathed a sigh of relief. Although it took a little longer, the gains were definitely worth it.

Three frost-maned tundra rabbits, nine clusters of ice moss fruit.

Louis stepped forward, his gaze falling on the blue-gray ice moss fruit on the rabbit's back.

The fruit looked like some kind of berry formed from frost, its color almost like ice crystals, with a light white frost on its surface.

However, it is actually connected to flesh and blood, and is clearly not a plant structure, but a product of special energy within the monster's body.

"It's called a fruit, but it's more like flesh and blood that have grown out of it."

He reached out and touched one of the clusters; it was cool and elastic, as if it contained some kind of pulsating, faint power.

"It really is a wondrous thing..."

The energy of this Ice Moss Fruit is extremely concentrated, which is like the fuse to ignite an explosive for a knight who has hit a bottleneck.

“Take it to the camp and have the cook make it into soup,” Louis ordered.

"Yes!" A knight immediately withdrew with the spoils of war.

Night fell quickly, and only the crackling of the campfire remained in the camp.

"Rabbit soup is served!"

Louis sat cross-legged inside the tent and accepted the steaming rabbit soup from the cook.

The soup was almost ice-blue in color, with a faint luster under the firelight, and a few strands of fine ice moss and fruit residue floated on the surface.

I lowered my head and sniffed, and it was a strange fragrance that was somewhere between frost and herbs, with a faint hint of the blood of wild animals, but it was not unpleasant.

He took a small sip; the soup melted in his mouth, carrying a subtle sweetness.

But in the next instant, the coldness turned into heat, and a surge of energy rushed from his throat into his limbs like a tidal wave!

Louis's eyes narrowed, and he quickly gulped down the entire bowl. Then he immediately sat cross-legged, placed the wooden bowl aside, closed his eyes, and began practicing "Tidal Breathing."

At this moment, the fighting spirit within his body surged like the tide, constantly expanding, churning, and pounding against the last barrier preventing him from entering the elite knight realm.

One wave, two waves, three waves...

The energy within his body intensified, his bones trembled slightly, and his muscles throbbed as if they were burning.

Suddenly, an invisible gate was violently breached!
"Boom!"

The fighting spirit within his body surged forth from his heart like a flood bursting its banks, racing through his blood vessels.

Breakthrough! Beginner Elite Knight!
Louis opened his eyes, slowly exhaled a breath of white air, and his breathing finally stabilized.

Sweat soaked through my clothes, and I felt as if I had been washed clean, completely refreshed inside and out.

The energy within the body became more solidified, and faint ripples appeared on the surface of the skin from the fighting spirit.

"Finally, I've broken through... So this is the world of elite knights."

It is a lightness that is extremely difficult to describe.

Louis seemed to have shed some heavy burden, and even his breathing became easier.

In the past, when circulating internal energy, one had to combine three steps—concentration, guidance, and exhalation—to maintain the cycle.

Now, as long as he is willing, his fighting spirit will spontaneously flow like a tide.

Even if you stand still, you can feel that power flowing quietly, nourishing your bones and flesh.

However, what surprised him the most was not the breakthrough itself.

Rather, at the moment of breakthrough, a long-dormant ability within his body was finally awakened by the torrent of battle qi.

"This is bloodline...awakened?!" Louis murmured excitedly.

(End of this chapter)