Chapter 57: Ice Out of Space

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Originally, they should have been progressing through the snowfield outside the city.

However, upon entering the rift,

they instantly found themselves within the urban area.

The architecture here mirrored Belobog's style perfectly, with towering buildings and solid stone walls all around.

Since the rift had consumed part of Belobog, these structures emerged... one could call it a projection or perhaps an inner world.

Notably, compared to the actual Belobog district, the buildings here were even more robust and harder to damage.

After Bochang ceased his initial onslaught,

the task of clearing monsters was handed over to Stelle, March 7th, and Dan Heng.

As they dispatched enemies, the team continued advancing northward.

With a momentary lull, Bochang held the Vow Spear, scanning their surroundings.

Outside the city differed from inside; the temperature was significantly colder.

However, for Bochang, whose physique far exceeded that of ordinary individuals and possessed the magic power of both Dragon and Sheep Talismans, this cold posed no real challenge. Similarly, Stelle, Dan Heng, and March 7th were unaffected as well.

Snowflakes drifted relentlessly.

After an indeterminate amount of time, the Trailblazer squad encountered a slightly more formidable monster.

Composed entirely of dark ice crystals, its name was—Ice Out of Space.

This peculiar life form had grown within the rift, parasitically feeding off the foundational structures of the world's energy. Previously, at the Herta space station, a relative of this creature—the Blaze Out of Space—had appeared.

At that time, it was Himeko and others who undertook its defeat, with no involvement from Bochang or Stelle.

Ice Out of Space is an Elite Enemy, notoriously challenging to deal with. Additionally, it was accompanied by over a dozen frost crystal constructs orbiting around like satellites, clearly indicating they were not to be trifled with.

However, to continue their journey, the team had to eliminate these enemies before them.

March 7th drew her blue longbow and said, "Let's end this swiftly, Bochang. Now you can join the fray."

Facing a stronger adversary, she generously released Bochang's attack lock.

Generously, the pink-haired girl released her attack lock on the black-haired youth.

"Well, I appreciate that," Bochang rolled his eyes before raising his hand and shouting, "Take this blast!"

The power of the Dragon Talisman gathered in his palm and swiftly shot out...

A pillar of red flames emitted an alarming wave of heat.

Immediately sensing the peculiar incoming assault through the air, Ice Out of Space reacted without hesitation, quickly darting aside to evade.

Capitalizing on the element of surprise, Bochang's Dragon Blast struck Ice Out of Space squarely on its right shoulder, causing a massive explosion.

Shards of ice flew everywhere, disorienting the surrounding frost crystal constructs as they hastily scattered.

With just one encounter, Bochang had effectively disabled one of its arms.

"Tsk... Thought I could take it down instantly, but didn't expect it to dodge." Bochang muttered under his breath. His initial aim was for the chest; if he had hit, even if not a direct kill, it would have severely impaired its mobility.

Despite launching a sneak attack, Ice Out of Space managed to evade, resulting in only an arm injury.

Considering the distance between Bochang and their enemy, along with the fact that Ice Out of Space was not one of the ordinary minions, it made sense for his attack to be evaded.

The black-haired youth's strike was merely the opening salvo. Following suit, March 7th drew her bow and fired arrows aimed at the surrounding enemies - the frost crystal constructs.

These creatures were crystalline entities wandering within the rift, possessing only rudimentary intelligence. Their entire bodies consisted of blue crystals, resembling bird-like forms to some extent.

With several well-placed shots, March 7th mercilessly pierced through three frost crystal constructs, bringing them down instantly. It was challenging for such basic foes to evade her attacks.

"Triple kill, nice!" The pink-haired girl grinned, continuing to draw her bow and target other frost crystal constructs.

As close combat specialists, Dan Heng and Stelle naturally charged forward with their weapons drawn.

Their primary objective was Ice Out of Space itself.

Before leaving, Dan Heng had instructed them, "Leave the minor enemies to you."

Everyone was still flesh and blood.

Even if these minor foes' attacks connected with Dan Heng's group, they would sustain injuries. Therefore, it was impossible to simply ignore the lesser threats.

Bochang and March 7th focused on clearing the frost crystal constructs, ensuring they wouldn't interfere with Dan Heng and Stelle's battle against Ice Out of Space.

The gray-haired girl declared, "Rules are meant to be broken."

In that instant, the tip of her black metallic baseball bat lit up, enveloped by a surge of electric sparks.

But that wasn't all.

Before striking, Stelle twirled the bat gracefully, embodying coolness to its fullest extent.

With a swift swing, the bat connected with Ice Out of Space, causing it to stumble backward and shattering its outer shell.

Dan Heng coordinated his attack with Stelle's.

He unleashed a relentless barrage of shots at Ice Out of Space.

Each shot punctured another hole in its structure.

However...

Ice Out of Space displayed remarkable resilience. Despite sustaining such intense attacks, it did not easily succumb and continued to fight on.

March 7th's arrows and Bochang's Dragon Blasts wreaked havoc in the air.

Any frost crystal construct daring to approach Dan Heng or Stelle was swiftly eliminated.

Just as Stelle finished her attack,

a frost crystal creature attempted a sneak assault, but before reaching halfway, it fell victim to Bochang's precisely guided Dragon Blast.

In this relentless onslaught,

the dozen remaining frost crystal constructs were quickly annihilated without causing any significant challenge.

All that remained was Ice Out of Space.

Despite being a powerful elite monster, even for them, it wasn't overwhelmingly formidable.

After just a few rounds against Dan Heng and his team, it had sustained considerable damage.

Continuing at this rate, death would be an inevitable outcome for the creature.

Meanwhile...

The Great Guardian of Belobog, Cocolia, led Bronya past the front lines straight towards Stellaron.

Serval was taken aback upon witnessing this scene.

Initially, they had planned to join the Silvermane Guards in searching for Stellaron. However, Cocolia had no intention of bringing anyone else along.

Pela, Dunn, and Gepard remained stationed at the front lines, commanding the Silvermane Guards to fend off rift creatures. Once Serval arrived with Pela, it became impossible to advance further.

Firstly...

Gepard outright prohibited Serval from proceeding any deeper.

The rift ahead posed immense danger, teeming with countless monsters. At regular intervals, these creatures launched assaults, leaving no respite for the Silvermane Guards.

Fortunately, when Cocolia dispatched the Silvermane Guards to search for Bochang and others in Belobog's snowfields, they inadvertently drew some rift creatures away.

As a result...

The pressure on the front lines was slightly less intense than usual.

This outcome could also be attributed to the efforts of Bochang, Cocolia, and their team as they traversed through the rift, diverting attention from many rift creatures.

"What should I do...? There's no way I can cross the rift alone; I wouldn't even make it past the gate guarded by Gepard."

Alone, Serval clenched her fists tightly. She had a clear understanding of her younger brother's strength—she used to hold her own against him during childhood spars. But now...

Serval knew she definitely couldn't match up to Gepard. As she pondered what to do, a male voice suddenly echoed nearby:

"Serval, it seems you're troubled..."

Upon recognizing the newcomer, Serval expressed her surprise, "You... This is a restricted zone for the Silvermane Guards! Aren't you afraid of getting caught?"