Bronya held the Guardian's token, which shimmered with a cold light, and looked at Gepard, who stood tall and unyielding like a rock beside her, her tone firm:
"Gepard, execute the order and open the gate! We must head into the depths of the Everwinter Plains and resolve the source of all this disaster once and for all!"
Gepard took the token, examined it carefully, and after confirming it was correct, nodded. His resolute gaze swept over Bronya and the group of diverse "outside reinforcements" behind her.
"I understand. The Silvermane Guards will open the way for you. It just so happens that the first batch of newly issued equipment has just arrived at the front lines."
He turned to the side to signal. Inside the gate, a team of Silvermane Guards assault troops, already prepared, stood in neat formation.
The weapons in their hands were no longer traditional single-shot muskets, but more compact and formidable "assault muskets" capable of rapid-fire, equipped with drum or belt magazines. With extra magazines hanging from their waists, their eyes were sharp and ready for action.
"Open the gate!"
At Gepard's command, heavy gears and hinges roared.
"Rumble—!"
The massive city gate slowly slid open to both sides, and the biting cold wind from outside, along with a more intense aura of chaos, instantly surged in.
Almost simultaneously, the sound of the gate opening wide and the scent of living beings, like a stone thrown into water, triggered a chain reaction!
The Abominations of the Void wandering and lurking on the distant snowfields—Ice Blades, Predators, and even some twisted Imaginary beast shadows—like sharks that had caught the scent of blood, all turned their "gazes" toward this side in unison, then let out piercing screeches and surged forward in swarms!
"Assault team, open fire! Suppress the front!"
Gepard ordered without hesitation.
"Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang—!"
A scorching barrage, like rapid-fire artillery, instantly erupted from the muskets in the assault troops' hands, forming a dense net of fire that sent the Rift creatures in the front reeling, their icy fragments scattering as they retreated in wails or simply disintegrated.
The assault troops advanced steadily, using continuous fire to tear a gap in the tide of monsters.
"Machine gun team! Set up! Suppressive fire!"
Gepard shouted again.
Behind them, several more robust Silvermane Guards quickly set up heavy multi-barreled rotary machine guns on the snow piles that had been temporarily cleared.
"Zzz—Vroom—!!!"
A more violent roar, like a metal storm, erupted! Thick ammunition belts danced frantically, and a scorching stream of metal swept into the depths of the monster swarm with overwhelming force, instantly widening and tearing open the gap the assault team had just created, clearing a relatively safe area for the charge!
"Now! Go!"
Gepard turned sideways and shouted to Bronya and the others, his voice still clear amidst the roar of gunfire.
"Let's go!"
Bronya took the lead, with Stella, Stelle, March 7th, Dan Heng, and Seele following closely behind. Everyone shot out like arrows from a bowstring, dashing through the brief passage constructed by the Silvermane Guards' firepower, their figures swallowed by the vast, snowy, and dim Everwinter Plains.
Gepard watched their figures grow smaller and smaller until they were completely swallowed by the swirling snow mist.
He took a deep breath of the freezing air and gave the order decisively: "Assault team, provide covering fire in turns! Machine gun team, guard the rear! Everyone, retreat into the city! Close the gate!"
The torrent of steel began to retreat in an orderly fashion, and the city gate let out a heavy groan once again as it slowly closed, sealing off the world inside from the outside once more.
"What comes next..."
Gepard took one last look in the direction of the Everwinter Plains and gripped the shield in his hand tightly.
"...is up to you."
——————
After successfully breaking through the encirclement and venturing deep into the heart of the Everwinter Plains for some time, only the howling wind and the crunching sound of footsteps on the snow remained around them.
As the initial tension slightly faded, a question belatedly surfaced in someone's mind.
"I just realized a very serious problem!"
Stelle stopped abruptly, speaking with a serious expression.
"What problem?"
March 7th was startled and quickly looked around, thinking there was an ambush.
Stelle turned around, looked at her companions, and said in a tone as if she had discovered a new continent: "Do we know exactly where the stellaron core is in the Everwinter Plains?"
Everyone: "..."
The air suddenly went quiet, with only the wind howling mockingly.
Dan Heng silently looked at Bronya, Bronya frowned in recollection, Seele wore an expression that asked, "Are you people from the Upper District always this sloppy?", and March 7th blinked, her mouth slowly opening wide.
That's right! They just said it was in the Everwinter Plains, but the Everwinter Plains is huge! In this frozen, complex terrain, are they supposed to search it inch by inch?
"Uh... well..."
Stella raised her hand weakly, trying to ease the awkwardness.
"Cocolia mentioned it before, saying the stellaron core is in the deepest part of the Everwinter Plains, in the core area heavily surrounded by the Rift..."
"Then where exactly is the 'deepest part' and 'core area' of the Everwinter Plains? Is there a map? Are there coordinates? Are there landmarks?"
Stelle continued her soul-searching questions, hands on her hips, with an expression that asked, "Are you people even reliable at all?"
Stella: "..."
She silently closed her mouth and shrank her neck.
The system panel only showed Cocolia's message; it didn't give a GPS location!
She subconsciously wailed in her heart: system panel, oh system panel! It's one thing to scam me on gacha pulls, but at a critical moment like this, can't you provide some navigation?! Can you enable a map function?! Please!
As if it had heard her grief-stricken inner call, the system panel, visible only to Stella, suddenly flickered and then displayed a line of clear, small text:
[Host's strong demand and relevance to the current mission detected, temporary map navigation function has been unlocked. Scanning and recording area terrain... Scan complete. Best path has been marked based on the mission target 'stellaron core' energy residue characteristics.]
Immediately after, the system panel interface changed, turning into a relatively simple but clear map, which was exactly the Everwinter Plains area where they were located.
A conspicuous golden arrow started from the blinking light spot where they were and wound its way toward a specially marked red dot deep in the map.
It even thoughtfully marked the approximate distance and potential terrain features.
Stella's eyes lit up instantly! Her back straightened up at once, the previous awkwardness vanished, replaced by a sense of smugness like, "It still takes me to handle critical moments."
She cleared her throat, held her head high and chest out, walked to the front of the team with confident strides, waved her arm, pointed in a direction filled with wind and snow, and said in a loud, clear voice:
"Follow me! I know the exact location! It's in that direction! Over that... Aow—!!!"
Before she could finish her bold words, the snow under her feet, which had seemed solid, suddenly collapsed without warning!
Stella only felt a void beneath her feet, lost her balance completely, and with a cry of surprise, flailed her arms and legs as she plunged headfirst into a bottomless pit perfectly concealed by thick snow!
"Thump!"
A heavy thud came from the bottom of the pit.
A few seconds later, Stella's exasperated, echoing roar came from the bottom of the pit: "Who?! Who has such a lack of public morality to dig a pit in the Everwinter Plains?! They didn't even clear the snow or mark it! Do they have no decency at all!!!"
At the edge of the pit, everyone fell silent, their expressions varied.
March 7th peeked into the pitch-black pit, then looked at the perfect circular hole on the ground, holding back laughter: "Uh... I guess the 'best path' includes experiencing local traps?"
Dan Heng analyzed calmly: "It might have been formed by early geological activity, or it could be an abandoned entrance to a large Rift creatures's nest. It's hard to detect after being covered by snow."
Seele crossed her arms with an expression of disdain: "The guide fell into a pit first... Are you sure it's okay to follow her?"
Bronya covered her forehead, sighed, and began looking for a sturdy rope or vine (if there was one).
Stelle squatted at the edge of the pit and shouted down: "Hey! Stella! Are you still alive? Did your 'map navigation' tell you there was a pit here?"
Stella's muffled, tearful (from anger) voice came from the bottom of the pit: "...It only marked the route, it didn't say 'there is a pit here'!!"
Everyone: "..."
It felt like this ultimate journey to crusade against the stellaron core had been heading toward some kind of "unreliable comedic adventure" from the very beginning.