<h4>Chapter 200 Chapter 198-The Secret of the Town</h4>


    Upon hearing Wak''s shout, Ethan pulled back at thest moment.


    Hended back on the ground and walked over to Wak, who had now regained consciousness. "Wak, care to exin what''s going on?" he inquired directly.


    Wak nodded, not refusing. Instead of speaking right away, he stood up and addressed the serpent, "O benevolent King of Serpents, forgive their transgressions; they mean no harm."


    Ethan shrugged, a bit nonplussed. The serpent was no match for him.


    Whether the serpent understood Wak''s plea or simply feared Ethan—having keenly sensed the aura of death emanating from him—it quickly slithered toward a wall adjoining the ruins square and disappeared, its body vanishing from sight.


    Only then did Wak turn to Ethan and Sherry. "As you can see," he began, "the King of Serpents is merciful; he is not our enemy."


    "Why were you injured then?" Sherry shot back.


    Wak hesitated, stumbling over his words. "Well, that''s because...that''s because..." In the end, unable to concoct a usible excuse, he confessed, "The King of Serpents is the guardian of our town, but every year at this time, he bes unusually irritable."


    "So you were offering food to the King of Serpents?" Ethan interjected. "And given its enormous size, are you sure that amount of food would even get stuck in its teeth?"


    Wak found himself increasingly unable to answer Ethan''s barrage of questions.


    Disheartened, he sat on the ground, somewhat at a loss.


    "I''m sorry," Wak said a few minutester, regaining hisposure. He apologized to Ethan and Sherry, and then added, "After all, this involves the secret of the town."


    Secrets, by their very nature, aren''t meant to be shared withmon folk.


    Ethan and Sherry, being outsiders, were even less entitled to such revtions. Hearing Wak''s words, Ethan chose not to press the matter further.


    Though the situation was rife with enigmas, it had little bearing on him.


    He had saved Wak primarily because of the man''s earlier warmth and hospitality at the tavern.


    Subsequently, Ethan and Sherry bid Wak farewell and returned to ground level, resuming their journey toward the Snowy ins.


    "Ethan, are we just leaving like this?"


    Having walked a distance, Sherry found Ethan''s thoughts inscrutable.


    Her steps faltered before she finally spoke up.


    Ethan halted and turned to face her. "Sherry, you need to understand something. The world is full of oddities we can''t afford to chase. Wak''s reluctance to divulge anything means they already have a n in ce. Even if we offered our help, it might be seen as prying into the town''s secret."


    Sherry nodded, consenting to Ethan''s logic.


    The two continued along the path and soon vanished into the stretching expanse of the Snowy ins.


    Meanwhile, Wak also exited the cave and returned to the tavern.


    "Wak, are you alright?" A concerned voice greeted him the moment he walked in.


    Wak shook his head and sighed deeply, sharing his genuine worries. "Is this really the right course for us? That creature''s appetite is growing. In time..."


    Faces around him went pale.


    "Actually, that outsider named Ethan seemed quite capable. If he were willing to help, maybe we could rid ourselves of that monster."


    "Impossible. That creature is immortal," someone immediately retorted, their voice tinged with palpable fear.


    "It has lived for a thousand years. It can''t be killed. This is the fate of our serpent town; no one can alter it."


    The atmosphere grew thick with despair, eventually giving way to a collective, heavy sigh.


    "Sherry, are we lost?" Ethan questioned as they trudged through the Snowy ins, staring at what seemed like a familiar mountain in the distance.


    "Not at all," Sherry assured him.


    She followed his gaze to the mountain and added, "That''s just one of the many peaks here in the Snowy ins. They all look strikingly simr, it''s merely a coincidence."


    "Are you sure?" Ethan remained skeptical.


    He pointed halfway up the mountain and continued, "On a previous peak, I remember distinctly that there was a snowman. Now, on this mountain in front of us, there''s another snowman."


    "Where''s a snowman?" A subconscious jolt of surprise went through Sherry.


    She looked to where Ethan was pointing and, sure enough, spotted a snowman. Hastily constructed, its face was void of any features.


    Seeing this, Sherry grimaced, "Ethan, unfortunately, you''re right. We''re not just lost; we''ve been deliberately misled. That''s no ordinary snowman—it''s alive. It''s a unique creature to the Snowy ins, known as a yeti. But these creatures are exceedingly rare, especially this close to the edge of the ins. It''s truly bewildering."


    As she spoke, the halfway-up-the-mountain yeti stirred.


    To Ethan''s astonishment, the creature rolled down the slope.


    As it tumbled, its upper and lower halves separated into two snowballs.


    By the time it reached them, it dispersed into disjointed pieces, its lifeforce extinguished.


    "This is a yeti?" Ethan was incredulous.


    Sherry burst intoughter, visibly enlivened by their return to the Snowy ins.


    She approached the scattered upper half of the yeti and reached inside the snowball, retrieving a translucent blue crystal.


    "Yetis aren''t particrly intelligent or powerful," she exined, "so they often end up being treated more like toys than threats. But even if they''re weak, their core—known as a ''yeti crystal''—is incredibly valuable."


    "And what use is this ''yeti crystal''?"


    Ethan took the yeti crystal from Sherry''s hand, finding it cool to the touch but otherwise unremarkable.


    "The yetis owe their life to these crystals," Sherry exined. "A yeti crystal can imbue inanimate objects with a semnce of consciousness, temporarily bringing mechanical creations to life. When I left the Snowy ins, I heard that some craftsmen were exploring how to use these crystals to create mechanical monsters."


    Ethan tucked the yeti crystal away, enlightened by Sherry''s words. His gaze shifted, and he announced, "There''s another yeti over there."


    With hardly any effort, Ethan and Sherry dispatched several yetis they encountered, collecting more yeti crystals.


    Thendscape around them subtly altered as they cleared the creatures.


    "Yetis have another feature: they can camouge their surroundings," Sherry added.


    Having dealt with the yetis, Ethan and Sherry resumed their journey.


    They hadn''t traveled far when they encountered arge group of peopleing from a fork in the road, hauling a substantial amount of cargo.


    Among them were several powerful adventurers representing various professions.


    Leading the group was a middle-aged man, arge cleaver slung over his back.


    "Looks like they''re part of a merchant caravan," Sherry exined to Ethan.


    In contrast to the human-ruled kingdoms, Snowy ins had no centralized governance.


    Its harsh environment and limited essibility had stunted the growth of trade, giving rise to numerous merchant caravans and itinerant traders.


    Sharing a nce, Sherry and Ethan approached the middle-aged man brandishing therge cleaver.


    "Who are you?" Khosro eyed the approaching Sherry with suspicion, his guard raised.


    "We''re adventurers, nning to delve deep into the Snowy ins," Sherry replied, her tone rxed.


    Khosro sized up Sherry and Ethan before nodding. "I see. I''m Khosro, the leader of this caravan. We''re transporting goods to Frosty City. You''re wee to apany us if you''re heading that way."


    "Captain, we know nothing about these people. We can''t just let them join us," an objecting voice rang out from within the caravan.


    Khosro''s face clouded with irritation. "Are you saying you don''t trust my judgment as your leader?"


    After saying this, Khosro turned to Ethan and Sherry to apologize.


    The other members of the caravan, having witnessed this exchange, regarded the pair with barely concealed hostility. Ethan, however, remained unfazed.


    Yet something Khosro mentioned piqued his curiosity. "Captain Khosro, you mentioned transporting goods to Frosty City, but doesn''t that city have a teleportation portal?"