"Sampo" looked at the unconscious Sampo with a mocking gaze.
"He" muttered to himself in the same voice, perhaps with a touch more flirtatiousness.
"A Fool who has lost his mask is so vulnerable~"
"Sampo, I'm waiting for the day you beg me to return your mask."
"But not today."
"Jana (See ya)"
In front of the unnamed inn in Belobog, Gepard warned in a low voice.
"Bronya, you have one last chance to abandon the darkness and embrace the light."
Hearing this, Bronya gave a mocking laugh. It was unclear if she was laughing at herself, at the Silvermane Guards and Gepard before her, or...
Who is the darkness, and who is the light?
Bronya couldn't tell, she really couldn't! But at least she had a chance not to regret her decision. And that was to fight alongside Zao Wu and the others.
A gentle breeze began to blow, fluttering Bronya's hair and skirt. The power of Preservation surged within her heart.
"Ting!"
With a crisp sound, Bronya summoned a phantom banner from somewhere and planted it firmly beside her, on the ground! A strange and complex ice crystal magic circle instantly formed at everyone's feet, then vanished in a flash.
Among those behind her, Stelle was the first to react.
"Ohhhh! I feel so full of power!"
Zao Wu realized things were not simple. Dan Heng also noticed. Even March 7th discovered it.
Gepard's pupils constricted slightly, remembering a long time ago, in a tragic battle against Fragmentum monsters, the moment he awakened the "Wall of Eternal Frost."
Bronya, is this your power of Preservation, your heart of Preservation?
Like a banner, leading the lost with a leader's demeanor, inspiring their spirits.
For a moment, even Gepard felt a hint of confusion. But this confusion was quickly dispelled by his clenched iron fist.
"If this is your answer."
"Then... I understand."
"All units, form a battle line."
"Fight!"
A meaningful close-up fell on the shimmering silver spears of the Silvermane Guards.
"Fight!" Stelle roared back, not to be outdone.
A less meaningful close-up fell on her big baseball bat.
Dan Heng sighed lightly, but in the next instant, his spear shot out like a dragon, aiming straight for Gepard's head! To capture the enemy, first capture their king!
From a rational point of view, and according to the Express crew's usual way of handling things, they should prioritize preserving their strength and avoiding conflict with the natives. But from an emotional standpoint, Cocolia, the Supreme Guardian, had attempted to harm their most beloved little brother, Zao Wu, and then turned around to frame them as rebels to be imprisoned?
It seemed she had never heard the old Xianzhou saying:
—"A dragon has reversed scales; touch them and face its wrath!"
His spear pierced through clouds, broke the wind, and tore through armor!
Gepard reacted extremely quickly, blocking Dan Heng's swift attack with the shield in his hand, named "Rampart." It seemed like an evenly matched scene, but only Gepard knew the astonishment in his heart. His shield had trembled for the first time!
And the other party... was still holding back!?
The man before him seemed to have a true dragon hidden in his eyes!
What's more terrifying than waking a true dragon?
Releasing it!
However, for now, it seemed Gepard did not have the strength or qualification to release the true dragon in Dan Heng's soul. He gritted his teeth, and a golden light of unyielding determination burst forth from his eyes. Gepard pushed Dan Heng away with all his might, then held his shield in one hand and swung his iron fist with the other, engaging in close combat.
It was an armguard forged from geomarrow—light, flexible, and strong, while also emitting an aurora-like glow, capable of parrying Dan Heng's long spear.
No one could interfere in the battle between these two.
And the other members of the Express crew were also shining on this battlefield in their own ways. Stelle remembered March 7th's instructions: as members of the Express crew, they were not here to kill everyone! So, just beat the enemies until they were half-dead!
Every swing of the girl's baseball bat practically cracked the armor of a Silvermane Guard, knocking them to the ground, unable to get up. March 7th provided support from a distance with her bow, delivering appropriate finishing blows, or throwing many Pom-Pom ice sculptures to knock out opponents.
Pom-Pom: Are you polite, Pom!
Many Silvermane Guards who tried to use their rifles found their barrels frozen by some kind of ice, rendering them useless, also the work of March 7th.
Bronya, on the other hand, protected Zao Wu tightly, facing her former comrades-in-arms with her weapon.
"Don't be afraid, Zao Wu... Sister will definitely protect you."
As soon as her voice fell, she felt a powerful aura emanating from behind her. Bronya turned around in shock. She thought it was some secret police from within Belobog, unknown even to her, coming to take Zao Wu back to her mother to be...
The result was the girl coming face to face with Zao Wu, who had summoned the God-Slaying Sword - Surtr.
"..."
Looking at Zao Wu easily wielding the fiery red greatsword that was taller than him, Bronya fell silent for a moment.
So, she was the one being sentimental?
Zao Wu at this moment didn't look like he needed anyone's protection at all! In fact, he looked more like he was about to protect others. Because for some reason, Bronya did not feel a murderous aura of destruction from the fiery red greatsword. Instead, it was full of a firm and warm intention of protection. As if... the previous owner of this greatsword had used it to save someone.
Who could it be?
How strange, Bronya actually felt a resonance as if from another world.
It's so, so strange...
But Bronya was Bronya. After a brief daze, she regained the composure and calmness of the Captain of the Silvermane Guards.
"Let's fight our way out together, Zao Wu."
Zao Wu nodded lightly.
"Okay, Sister... Bronya."
With this address, he soothed Bronya's heart. Before this, Bronya had been worried that Zao Wu would hate her because of what her mother had done.
It was only natural for the Silvermane Guards to hesitate when facing their former captain. But when some hothead recklessly fired the first shot, the bullet was blocked by an ice shield timely released by March 7th! The battle instantly erupted!
Bronya was worthy of being the heir to the Supreme Guardian. Her military academy training and fighting skills were far beyond that of an ordinary Silvermane Guard. It would be a huge mistake to treat her as a pampered noble. The girl aimed her ice gun and fired! When a Silvermane Guard got close, she switched to melee mode. Getting hit by the butt of her gun was also very painful! One after another, the Silvermane Guards fell before her.
However, the situation Zao Wu faced was extremely grim. Grim in that... at what level should he control his power so as not to kill the guards in front of him in one hit?
Although Zao Wu didn't understand where the combat experience imprinted on his body and subconscious came from, the only thing he was clear about was that the Silvermane Guards in front of him, compared to the battles he had experienced before... seemed a bit too weak. Not to mention that Zao Wu also had the "exclusive weapon" given to him by Himeko, which provided a terrifying boost. He had to be extremely careful, consider the safety of the Silvermane Guards, find a suitable power range for himself, and only dared to use the flat of the God-Slaying Sword to hit people. Otherwise, if the blade was unsheathed, it would be the sunset of the gods!
In the distance, the one who was originally looking forward to playing the role of "hero saving the beauty," H... Sampo, couldn't help but twitch his lips when he saw this scene.
"Is it because of Zao Wu... or that girl named Stelle?"
"Why does the current Express crew feel different from what I've heard before?"
"Shouldn't they be in a bad situation, with their tails between their legs?"
"Why have they all turned into battle maniacs instead!"
"It feels like if this goes on, there won't be many opportunities left for me to make an appearance~"
Because there will come a time when all the Silvermane Guards are defeated by the Express crew, leading to a "Game Over" CG. smirk.jpg
"Sampo" decided not to stand by any longer! However, unlike old Sampo's intention to rescue Zao Wu and the others, "he" wanted to rescue the Silvermane Guards! But what was very interesting, and very joyous, was that although their goals were completely opposite, the methods they used—were exactly the same!
"Bouncing Bomb!"
A cute female voice came from somewhere unknown. And the bombs she threw landed indiscriminately in front of the Silvermane Guards and the Express crew.
"Everyone, be careful!" Bronya exclaimed. She was closest to Zao Wu, so she tackled the boy to the ground, using her body as his last line of defense.
However, the bombs had already exploded.
"BOOM!"
"BOOM! BOOM!"
Bronya, though scared herself, closed her eyes tightly. She knew what a bloody and tragic end it would be to be bombed at such close range, yet she did not regret her choice to save Zao Wu instead of escaping alone.
Zao Wu's body was surrounded by warmth. The boy's expression was moved, his gaze fixed deeply on the girl on top of him, Bronya.
Even though he was being pressed down, Zao Wu resisted Cocolia but wanted to be close to Bronya. The former made him feel uneasy, while the latter was a source of his peace of mind.
Bronya... was the daughter of the Supreme Guardian Cocolia, yet she was completely different from her mother.
The bombs exploded, but to everyone's surprise, what was released from them was a thick smoke. The smoke quickly enveloped the surroundings, blocking everyone's vision and turning the scene into chaos.
Zao Wu, however, was pleasantly surprised. Because he vaguely remembered a short girl who looked a lot like Sister Bronya telling him:
—"This is called 'no smoke without injury'!"
But just as Zao Wu was about to speak up and remind Bronya, he coughed after inhaling the smoke. Then the boy felt dizzy, on the verge of fainting.
Before Zao Wu's consciousness and vision disappeared, he saw a tall, vaguely familiar man walking out of the smoke. "He" was laughing wildly, laughing without restraint.
"How does that saying go again~"
"Oh right! Old Sampo will never let a friend who helped him suffer~"
"See—I keep my word."
The window of the world seemed to close before Zao Wu's eyes. His world fell into a void of darkness.
When the smoke cleared, only Gepard and a group of Silvermane Guards, as well as the Express trio of Dan Heng, March 7th, and Stelle, remained.
Bronya and Zao Wu had vanished into thin air.
Even though they were in a district with geomarrow heating, March 7th, Dan Heng, and Stelle all felt as if their bodies had been plunged into an ice cellar.
At this moment, all fighting lost its meaning.
March 7th lost her strength and collapsed to her knees.
"Zao Wu..." she muttered.
Stelle silently helped her up, her expression dark.
And Dan Heng's face was terrifyingly cold, his aura seeming to freeze everything around him!
Then, the three of them left right in front of the Silvermane Guards. However, at this moment, Gepard couldn't even muster enough courage to stop them. Because he knew that would only be sending his comrades to their deaths.
The original goal of the Express trio should have been to find and contain the Stellaron that brought disaster to this planet. But now, it had, without exception, changed to:
—Find Zao Wu! And find the bastard behind the scenes who took him!
As for this city, this planet?
Tired of it, let it be destroyed.
What's it like to have two Destruction main DPS on one team... If they couldn't find Zao Wu soon, it was likely that even March 7th would be assimilated by these two.
"Not just Zao Wu, but Bronya too. They took both of them. What is their purpose..." March 7th, who had just recovered from the brink of collapse, raised her confusion.
Dan Heng couldn't answer, but he voiced his suspicion.
"Did you guys see a familiar figure in the smoke?"
"He was a man, tall, with a pauldron on his right shoulder."
"He looked just like that swind... we met when we first arrived on this planet."
Before Dan Heng could finish, Stelle interrupted him.
"You mean, him?"
Hearing this, Dan Heng and March 7th both turned their heads. They saw Stelle dragging an unconscious blue-haired man by the collar out of a large trash can.
Dan Heng: "..."
March 7th: "..."
Although they didn't understand why Stelle's angle for searching for Zao Wu was always so peculiar, this time, it was a great help.
At this moment, Sampo was still unconscious, but he felt something strangling him, about to suffocate him.
Help... someone save old Sampo!
His subconscious was crying for help, but unfortunately, no one heard. Until Stelle suddenly realized something was wrong.
"Dan Heng, why is he foaming at the mouth?"
What responded to her was March 7th's panicked voice.
"Stelle! Let go!"
...
In Fort Qlipoth, Belobog, Gepard took off the medal that symbolized his status as Garrison Commander and placed it in front of the Supreme Guardian Cocolia.
"I apologize, Lady Cocolia. Not only did I fail to capture the rebels,"
"But Lady Bronya was also abducted and went missing right in front of me."
"What did you say!?"
When Cocolia heard the first sentence, she could still maintain her composure, as it was within her expectations. But as Gepard's second sentence fell, this mature and elegant woman, for a rare moment, lost her usual grace and composure. She questioned Gepard in the sternest tone possible, yet her voice trembled, because even she herself was afraid of the answer.
Even in the extremely socially awkward situation last night, Cocolia had not lost her composure to this extent. But as soon as she heard that her daughter was missing, the woman's emotions instantly teetered on the edge of collapse and madness, like a lioness who had lost her cub.
It turned out she loved Bronya, loved her daughter, more than she had imagined.
"I can understand your feelings, Lady Cocolia."
"But I'm sorry, Lady Bronya is indeed missing."
"The Silvermane Guards' initial assessment is that the incident may be related to the underground rebel organization—'Wildfire'."
Gepard couldn't change the facts and could only repeat them with a stiff upper lip.
"Wildfire...?"
Hearing this name, Cocolia's figure swayed. If she hadn't managed to support herself with her hands on the desk in front of her, she might have actually collapsed on the spot.
The woman, with her last ounce of strength, waved Gepard away.
Once again, she was alone in the grand hall of Fort Qlipoth. Only then did Cocolia have room to break down, collapsing onto the Supreme Guardian's desk, sobbing into her hands.
She knew about the organization "Wildfire." She knew even better that "Wildfire" had been born because of her! It was she who announced the withdrawal of the guards from the Underworld, leading to the erosion of the Underworld by the Fragmentum. It was she who banned the flow between the upper and lower districts, causing countless families to be torn apart. It was she who chose to sacrifice the Underworld to ensure the safety of the Overworld!
It was she... who personally nurtured the monster "Wildfire"!
"Wildfire" knew that Bronya was her daughter.
How would they treat her?
Cocolia didn't even dare to imagine, her heart feeling as if it were being cut by a thousand knives!
Ultimately, she was the one who had killed her daughter! It was all her fault!
Endless pain washed over her like a tide. Just as Cocolia was about to collapse, the seductive voice of the Stellaron echoed in her mind again.
[Don't worry, Cocolia.]
[You haven't lost her. She is waiting for you on the other side.]
[So, for Bronya's sake...]
[Go and create the new world—]
In the Underworld of Belobog, in a world shrouded in darkness, a single goldfish lantern suddenly lit up. It guided Zao Wu's hazy consciousness back from the dream to the real world.
"You're... awake?"
A timid girl's voice entered the boy's mind.
Zao Wu struggled to open his eyes and met a pair of eyes that seemed to ripple with pink petals.
-------
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