Amid the icy, desolate snowfields.
A certain someone named Zeig was wielding the Judgment of Shamash greatsword, blasting forward like a cannonball and instantly obliterating a large swath of Fragmentum creatures in an explosion.
Dan Heng, March 7th, Seele, Bronya, and Gepard, along with a small number of Silvermane Guards, quickly followed behind at a brisk pace, cleaning up the leftover monsters.
"Kill—!!"
"Follow the Executor! This is our first time taking the initiative to strike! We have to make these monsters taste our might properly!"
"Lord Executor fights so fiercely! Completely unrestrained! The moment he charges in, just the massive flames swirling around him alone can blow away huge groups of monsters!"
"Miss Seele is just as fierce—flashing here and there! One slash, one kill! Clearly a master!"
"Captain Bronya is amazing too! Her shooting technique is simply divine! She's been covering us the whole time!"
"Mr. Dan Heng is like a dragon with his spear—one man holding off so many monsters, yet still handling it with ease!"
"Miss March 7th is really easy on the eyes!"
March 7th: "…"
"Captain Gepard is strong too! Look, he even has the energy to write a will on the battlefield!"
"?" "?" "?" "?"
"?????"
The Silvermane Guards, while wiping out the monsters along the way, all turned to look to the right.
After killing an incoming Fragmentum creature, Gepard didn't waste a single second—he immediately pulled out paper and pen from his bosom and started writing!
Scribble scribble scribble—
Snowflakes drifted down, landing on his shoulders.
He paid them no mind, completely ignoring them.
"What's wrong with the Captain? Why is he writing a will?"
"Ridiculous! How could it be a will? I glanced over when I passed by earlier—that's a family letter!"
"I saw it too. The Captain is writing to the Landau family!"
"I just don't know what the content is, but I saw Miss Serval's name!"
The Silvermane Guard officers, along with a small number of elite Guards, were all chattering away.
Some guessed it was a will.
Some guessed it was about family decline.
Some guessed it was asking for relationship advice.
Others guessed he was tattling.
All sorts of speculations.
"…"
Gepard ignored them all, fully focused on what he was doing.
With the Astral Express crew and Seele's addition, before they reached the glacier, the battle situation didn't require him to worry too much.
"Sis, I'll carry on living well… with your share too…"
As he wrote, Gepard shed sad tears.
…
Underworld.
Goethe Grand Hotel.
All the tables here had been piled up to form one long, extended table.
Cocolia and Serval sat at the head, with the rest filled by Underworld residents.
"Supreme Guardian, this old one toasts you a cup!"
"Me me me, I'll join too!"
"And me—I don't drink much, so I'm using Shuangwaiwai instead. I hope you don't mind."
Cocolia smiled and returned the toasts one by one.
Afterward, she pursed her lips, glanced at the Shuangwaiwai in her own hand, then looked at Serval beside her who was eating ice cream.
She said speechlessly:
"Hey, have you licked enough yet? Where's the Executor? When are we going back?"
On this long table, the most common drinks turned out to be the Shuangwaiwai and Wahaha that Serval and Zeig had smuggled down by abusing their privileges.
Of course, given their usual antics, there were naturally expensive wines too.
But the Underworld people had only opened a few bottles—even when Cocolia generously told them to open more, they were afraid of waste.
They sipped in tiny, careful mouthfuls.
Most of the women and children, just like Cocolia, were drinking Shuangwaiwai or Wahaha.
Or, like Serval, eating ice cream.
Cocolia didn't want to drink alcohol because there would still be a lot of work waiting for her when she got back, so she only drank some ordinary beverages.
She propped her chin on her hand, looked around, and complained:
"My heavens, why is ice cream so popular?"
She clearly remembered that among the supplies she had approved for the Underworld, there were originally sausages and other foods. Yet on the table, the sausages hadn't been touched much, while the ice cream had been eaten quite a lot.
Were they in Belobog just eating ice cream?
"Aiya, don't make such a fuss," Serval said nonchalantly.
"There are a lot of kids here—it's perfectly normal for them to like sweets, right? The rest are mostly elders. The young people are all outside fighting monsters!"
Because of the return of the vagrants and Wildfire, all three areas of the Underworld now needed people.
Boulder Town, the Great Mining Area, and the Mechanical Settlement—all three sides required guarding.
Under the increasingly fierce assaults from Fragmentum creatures, they had become even busier.
Cocolia, sitting at the head, suddenly nodded in agreement.
Thanks to the Silvermane Guards' efforts, the Overworld had been completely cleared. It was about time to send Guards to station in the Underworld long-term.
But…
"…"
Cocolia crossed her arms and looked at the crowd here—most were indeed elders and children.
The elders had lived long lives; before the lockdown order was issued, they had basically all been to the Overworld and had seen Cocolia.
The children were easy to talk to—seeing the elders being so polite, they treated Cocolia as a good person too.
But those young people…
Each had their own thoughts.
Although when they encountered Cocolia, they would still greet her or salute.
In their hearts, there was still some dissatisfaction.
Just like earlier, when the vagrants and Wildfire members had gone up to the Overworld to provide support.
At that time, Cocolia clearly remembered how a group led by the vagrants, upon seeing her, had immediately unleashed a torrent of curses without hesitation.
As ugly as it could get.
If she hadn't stopped the Guards, those vagrants would have been thrown in prison according to the law.
The remaining Wildfire members hadn't cursed outright, but they also hadn't stepped forward to mediate—they stayed neutral.
Cocolia knew that deep down, they harbored some resentment too.
"If we really let the Silvermane Guards station long-term, won't it cause conflicts…?"
That really was a problem.
The Executor's suggestion was to have Bronya and Oleg lead the way. In the early stages, the Silvermane Guards would only handle combat duties and not participate in any management.
Maintaining public order would still be left to Wildfire.
"Hey, what are you spacing out for? There's a kid over there toasting you—hurry up and clink!" Serval nudged Cocolia's elbow.
"Huh? Huh? Oh!"
Cocolia smiled, raised the Shuangwaiwai in her hand, clinked it against the child's, and took a sip.
After the child walked away, Cocolia said wistfully:
"It's really surreal. Just before, Belobog was on the verge of death, and now I'm actually sitting here in the Underworld attending a banquet."
Serval poked at the Shuangwaiwai in Cocolia's hand and corrected her:
"It's a milk banquet. That wine is too expensive—the elders can't bear to drink much."
"Heh, yeah! You dared to bring down such expensive wine—I really want to strangle you!" Cocolia's mouth twitched wildly.
"Sigh, I was too hasty. If I'd known, I would've gotten some cheaper wine. Now they don't even dare to drink—it's completely counterproductive."
Serval continued to egg her on:
"Hurry up and approve some cheap wine then—what are you spacing out for? Look at those old grandpas cautiously sipping at the rim of their cups—doesn't it break your heart?!"
"Heh, I want to too! Call the Executor back here—I'll head straight to Qlipoth Fort right now and sign the slips for you!"
"Walking up through the core furnace will kill you? Have you gotten too precious as Supreme Guardian—do your feet have gold inlays or something?!"
"Walk through the core furnace? That would take forever—by the time I get up there, the banquet would be over!"
"What about the cable cars? You were the one yelling about lifting the lockdown—where are the cable cars?"
"They were originally going to be opened soon after the monster cleanup was mostly done! Now you've dragged me down here without explanation—and it's suddenly my fault?"
"Tch~ Supreme Guardian, you wouldn't want anything to happen to your daughter, right?"
"Get lost, get lost."
…