But who could have known.
The ice giant paid no attention whatsoever to the strange feathers, simply grinning ferociously as he declared:
"As expected of the Stellaron's power—I feel like my life has already reached its peak…!"
Cocolia watched this scene in horror and shouted: "Quickly break free from the Stellaron's control—you'll gradually lose yourself!"
"Get lost!" A massive block of solid ice crashed down violently toward Cocolia.
In the critical moment, Svarog immediately unleashed countless cannon shells in unison, shattering the house-sized chunk of ice.
Fragments of ice scattered everywhere, and everyone's expressions grew even graver.
"Cocolia? Heh heh… What are you yelling about? I really don't know if you're just stubborn or if there's something wrong with your head! This Stellaron has been fixated on you from the very beginning, hasn't it? To ignore such immense power—you're simply stupid!" The ice giant looked down arrogantly, full of disdain.
Cocolia fell silent.
This vagrant was just an ordinary person—how could he possibly resist the voice of the Stellaron?
Once the Stellaron had a vessel, everything changed.
But that wasn't the most important thing.
What shocked Cocolia the most was that whispers had begun to spread among the crowd.
…
"Sigh, what a pity. If only the Stellaron had chosen me."
"I should've cracked open a bottle of wine too, heh! Who could've guessed it would pick him!"
Cocolia suddenly turned toward the source of the voices, finding it hard to believe:
"What are you saying? The power of the Stellaron will destroy the planet! Haven't you noticed that the entire Boulder Town is gradually being frozen solid?!"
Even at a time like this.
Those vagrants actually stepped forward defiantly for once, openly talking back to Cocolia in front of everyone.
"Heh, so what? The moment the Stellaron descended on our planet, didn't that already mean everything was over?"
"Hmph! Generation after generation of Supreme Guardians failed to solve this problem. The suffering just keeps getting passed down, tormenting more and more people!"
"Being chosen by the Stellaron feels so damn good—go out with a bang before you die! Oh wait, we don't even know if the chosen one will actually die! Maybe they won't!"
More and more outrageous statements rang out, causing every Silvermane Guard to clench their fists. Their gazes toward these vagrants began to carry killing intent!
"Shut up! Every generation of Belobog has been fighting desperately to preserve our existence! The arrival of the Astral Express this time is the perfect chance to save Belobog! What right do you have to deny all of this?" one Silvermane Guard couldn't help cursing.
The cold wind sliced through like knives.
Howling fiercely.
The ice giant in the sky grinned widely and laughed:
"Hahahaha… I think what they're saying makes perfect sense? No matter how hard you struggle, you're ultimately doomed to destruction!"
"Come—let me grant you all rebirth!"
He flicked his fingers.
Several balls of eerie energy shot into the bodies of those vagrants.
"Ah…!!" "Urgh!!" "What is this!!"
Their bodies twisted and deformed continuously, terrifying the others into hastily backing away.
Once the area was cleared, only a few monsters formed entirely of ice crystals remained, looking around at their own bodies in astonishment.
"Hahahaha…!! So this is what it feels like to become a monster? Amazing!"
"Die die die! All of you, die!!"
Seeing those transformed monsters charge toward the crowd, the ice giant in the sky burst into wild laughter.
"Yes, that's right! Just like that! I knew someone would understand me! What's wrong with this? We're born with the right to unleash our desires!"
Those few ice-crystal monsters, together with other Fragmentum creatures, forced the combatants to retreat step by step.
At the same time.
A woman in plain white robes stood on the eaves, wielding a dark-golden longsword, her long hair fluttering. She silently observed.
"It seems the identity of the enemy is already quite clear."
Her cold eyes fixed on the main ice-crystal creatures below.
One of them was grinning ferociously as it pinned Serval beneath its body, forcefully pressing her fair hands above her head:
"Hahahaha… Run! Go on, run! The more you struggle, the happier I get!"
Its deep, booming voice was chaotic and terrifying.
Cocolia watched with eyes nearly splitting in fury. She grabbed her lance and charged toward the ice-crystal monster: "Let her go! Scum like you who abandon all bottom lines have no right to remain in Belobog!"
Serval, even while being pinned down tightly by the monster, heard Cocolia's voice and gritted her teeth to shout:
"Cocolia, don't come over! This thing is different from ordinary Fragmentum creatures! You can't beat it!"
"So what? Even if I die here today, it'll be a worthy death!"
Suddenly.
A powerful sword qi swept past.
In that instant, the ice-crystal monster's head was severed clean off!
Blood-like ice shards sprayed from its neck, scattering across the ground.
The monster struggled a few times before losing all vitality, collapsing limply to the ground in silence.
Serval stared blankly at the scene. Once she came back to her senses, she hurriedly crawled out from under the monster.
She patted her clothes, still shaken, and looked at the corpse on the ground: "What just happened? How did it die?"
"Don't look—let's go, quick!"
Cocolia grabbed Serval's wrist and immediately ran toward a safer spot.
The entire Boulder Town had descended into utter chaos.
While everyone fought desperately for their lives, several more invisible sword qi streaks flashed past.
The heads of several ice-crystal monsters were sliced off like tofu, rolling to the ground with crisp clattering sounds.
The battlefield fell momentarily silent.
More and more red-and-white feathers drifted through Boulder Town.
Several more invisible sword qi streaks flew out, consecutively slaying a large swath of Fragmentum creatures.
"Who?! Who is it!!"
The ice giant in the sky noticed this sudden development and frantically looked around.
The Stellaron had informed him that another Stellaron existed—and its user was extremely underhanded!
"Could it be—that guy has returned?!" The ice giant exclaimed in shock.
According to the intelligence provided by the Stellaron, if they encountered Zeig, the first thing to do was flee.
Now that they had fully fused, their power had surged dramatically!
As long as they hid in the shadows and continuously used ice storms to freeze the planet, even that guy would be helpless.
After scanning in all directions, he only spotted a slender figure standing on the eaves below, her robes fluttering in the wind.
Her attire was so out of place compared to everyone else, and the woman's gaze was coldly fixed on him!
The ice giant couldn't help shuddering. He immediately roared: "Who are you?!"
The answer came in the form of an even broader sword qi.
"Pfft—!!"
In the ice giant's stunned eyes, a massive gash was inexplicably torn across his chest!
Droplets flowed out like blood.
He flew into a rage and cursed furiously:
"Damn it! Attacking without a word—you have no manners at all?!"
"There is no need for words with one who is about to die."
Fu Hua held the Xuanyuan Sword and leaped into the air!
Bursting with overwhelming momentum, she charged straight toward the ice giant in the sky!
"Bastard, you asked for this!"
The ice giant wiped his hand across his chest, and the gash immediately restored itself.
This sight made Fu Hua frown, but her speed did not slow in the slightest.
Soon, she arrived right in front of the ice giant and thrust her sword fiercely!
"How could I let you succeed again?!"
The ice giant hurriedly summoned a massive ice-crystal shield and placed it in front of his chest.
To the ice giant's surprise, Fu Hua suddenly spun around and withdrew her sword?!
Then, her other hand gathered surging true qi and slammed a palm straight into the ice-crystal shield!
"BOOM—!!"
With a deafening crash, the ice crystal shattered!
Countless ice fragments exploded outward like celestial maidens scattering flowers, plummeting to the ground.
In that instant.
The ice giant only saw a sharp sword plunging straight toward his eyeball!
"Rest in peace." The sword-wielder intoned softly.
…