"You were efficient, but they almost got high blood pressure from the shock."
As soon as the words left his mouth, a rhythmic clanking of metal accompanied by the heavy thud of boots on snow echoed from the end of the corridor.
The newcomer wore heavy silver-white armor, with particularly thick plating on the chest and shoulders. The fact that he could move freely in such heavy gear could only be attributed to... immense physical strength.
In the name of Preservation!
Heck yeah!
Anyone who had experienced Gepard's high-jump slam in the Simulated Universe knew how terrifying it was.
"I am Gepard Landau, Captain of the Silvermane Guards. Her Excellency the Supreme Guardian has ordered me to escort you to the edge of the Rift for observation. Please cooperate with my work."
"Alright, no problem."
"Let's go, let's go."
Gepard watched as the group acted as naturally as tourists, feeling a bit helpless in his heart.
They passed through the central plaza of the Administrative District. Pedestrians stopped to watch, eyeing the group following the Silvermane Guard Captain with curiosity. After passing through a heavy metal isolation gate, the surrounding walls became covered in frost, and many Silvermane Guards were seen patrolling.
"Sir, the spread of the Rift has intensified."
A Silvermane soldier reported to Gepard.
"Be specific. What's the expansion rate? What's the range? How many Rift monsters are there?" Aidan asked casually.
The soldier was a bit dazed by the barrage of questions and instinctively looked at Gepard.
"We'll discuss those questions later." Gepard stepped in front of Aidan. "The edge of the Rift is not a safe zone. Please do not act on your own."
"Understood, understood." Aidan took a step back.
Sigh, it's going to be hard to pull off any little tricks.
"The observation tower ahead is currently the closest outpost to the Rift." Gepard stopped and glanced sideways at the people beside Aidan. "The erosion level there is very high. If you feel any difficulty breathing or dizziness, you must evacuate immediately."
"We have protective equipment."
Gepard turned back and continued leading the way, his heavy combat boots crunching on the hard ice. "Many arrogant scholars said the same thing, but they all met with misfortune in the end."
A towering metal spire stood on the edge of a windswept cliff. Thick icicles hung from the exterior walls, and some torn sections of the structure exposed broken rebar within. The team climbed the rusted spiral staircase to the observation platform at the top.
"Hmm, the Stellaron is about ten kilometers away from us. The deepest part of the Rift is where the Stellaron is located."
Gepard wanted to ask what a Stellaron was, but he suppressed the thought.
Doubt breeds arrogance; doubt breeds evil thoughts. As a model citizen of Belobog, one should not have superfluous thoughts, only follow orders.
"Speaking of which... whose creation is a dangerous thing like the Stellaron anyway?"
Stelle elbowed Dan Heng.
"Destruction sows the Stellarons. The mainstream view is... that Stellarons are created by Destruction."
"The Stellaron is not a creation of Destruction." Aidan finished calibrating the radar and put it away. "It doesn't fit the characteristics of a Destruction creation."
March 7th raised an eyebrow and leaned in.
"Then what do you say it is?"
"It's the Harmony."
Hearing this, March 7th looked a bit dazed, then frowned.
"It's a good thing you didn't say that outside. The Harmony is clearly on the side of the good guys."
"Calling the Stellaron the 'Cancer of All Worlds' isn't actually accurate. To be precise, the Stellaron is the 'Cancer of Harmony'."
"Moreover, the Harmony is one of the Four Ends."
"Is there a basis for this inference?"
Dan Heng didn't doubt him; he just wanted to know the reasoning.
Aidan had basically become everyone's external brain now.
"The only Lord Ravager who sows Stellarons is Celenova. Celenova was personally elevated by Nanook from the embers of the Infinite Centurion. But it's clearly irrational for only Celenova to sow Stellarons. Therefore, I believe the source of the Stellarons isn't Destruction, but Harmony."
"But Xipe should be on the side of kindness..."
"I didn't say Xipe is evil." Aidan put away the radar and shoved his hands back into his pockets. "Aeons have no good or evil, only Paths. What is the Path of Harmony?"
"Uh..." March 7th scratched her head. "To make all things coexist in Harmony?"
"To be precise, it's 'to let different things come together harmoniously'." Aidan corrected. "The strong and weak helping each other, life assisting life, eventually forming a unified symphony—that is the core of Harmony. Taken to an extreme, it's forcing everyone's thoughts into one. Furthermore, if the Stellaron were something personally created by Destruction, how could only one Lord Ravager be using it? Isn't the Antimatter Legion a universal compatibility card?"
March 7th's brain was starting to fail to keep up.
"But, the Family..."
"The Family naturally knows about the Stellarons, and... I have a suspicion, but it's currently just a hypothesis, so there's no need to mention it for now."
Dan Heng silently noted it down. "No need to mention it for now" meant the hypothesis was either incomplete or involved information that wasn't convenient to reveal yet.
Sam looked at Aidan, his thoughts unknown.
Suddenly, the observation tower shook violently, and the icicles on the walls fell like rain. The needle on the radar in Aidan's hand spun wildly, emitting a piercing alarm.
"Rift creatures are rioting! Assemble!"
Gepard reacted the fastest, leaping down from the observation tower.
"All units on alert! I will hold back the monsters!"
A dark mass of Rift creatures surged forward like a tide. Their twisted forms flickered in the snowstorm, emitting ear-piercing screeches.
"There's quite a lot of them. Sam, can you help?"
"..."
"Stelle, you ask Sam. Sam only listens to you."
"We're not going in...?"
"Sam is the most efficient. Our efficiency might not be as high as Sam's."
Stelle blinked, then turned to look at the silent silver armor.
"Sam, can you help?"
"Your request?"
"Yes, my request." Stelle nodded, her golden eyes showing a rare seriousness. "Help them."
BOOM—!
Sam leaped, descending from the sky like a ball of scorching fire.
The ground beneath the silver mecha shattered instantly, the massive recoil sending the surrounding snow flying in a ring. Sam was like a fired cannonball, crashing straight into the center of the Rift creature swarm.
Raging flames burned across the land.
"I will..."
The mecha reached out, grasping the flames in its hand.
"—Set the seas ablaze!"
Aidan casually recorded a video.
Heh, set the seas ablaze.
"Stelle, show this to Sam every day from now on."