Chapter 61

For a moment, Cocolia's ice spear in her hand danced like the wind, like a sudden gust and rain, drawing deadly arcs in the air. Wherever the ice spear went, there was only bone‑chilling cold.

Star still remembered what she looked like when they first met in Kreppor, but now her elegant demeanor had completely vanished; the cold seemed to turn her killing intent into tangible freezing air, enveloping the few people around.

"Strong……" Beneath the covering of his long hair, Jian Ze widened his eyes.

Turns out this blonde lady is incredibly strong.

Not only does she possess exaggerated close‑combat strength rare among warriors, but she can also unleash ice‑freeze‑like magic anytime, anywhere…

Her spear technique is superb, though slightly inferior to Dan Heng's. But in the frigid environment of Belobog, this is no big problem; the ice‑freeze magic she casts gives her a good boost.

"Jian Ze, can you still say 'I can kill her' now?" Sailyai sat on the throne exclusive to the great mage, resting her chin with a faint smile. But seeing Jian Ze's thoughtful expression, her smile quickly faded—she switched to a more serious look.

"You were just thinking about how to kill her, right?" Sailyai asked curiously, "I want to hear your answer."

"Including me…… then gathering three or more first‑tier mages, I think we could still kill her." Jian Ze spoke expressionlessly.

"Hmm, a reasonable answer." Sailyai said expressionlessly. Her words didn't surprise her much, but they weren't unexpected either.

Jian Ze is a rare mage with strong melee ability; using that to counter Cocolia's close‑quarters spear technique might work—paired with two other first‑tier mages to target and restrain her ice‑attribute magic, it's a sound approach.

"So, do you think Frieren can defeat Cocolia?" Sailyai asked again.

"……" Jian Ze lowered his gaze to the pond not far away in the garden, estimated the distance, and said: "If they're only about three meters apart, Lady Frieren probably wouldn't have time to cast her magic before Cocolia subdues her. But if they can keep a safety distance of over ten meters…… I think Lady Frieren would have the upper hand."

"Oh right, Lady Sailyai, Sheryl and the others have already settled the match with Cocolia." Jian Ze reminded.

In the light curtain, the few of them working together, Cocolia was ultimately no match; she was cut in two by Sheryl's blade and quickly turned into a dark mass.

"…… 'It's dissipated.'" March 7th lifted her head, gazing up at the final staircase leading to the northern snowfield before her.

No matter where the staircase leads, this is the end of this journey.

Now, the fates of the Upper District, Lower District, and Bronya are in their four hands; Sheryl had thought she'd be afraid or nervous, but she isn't… now she only feels surreal.

Perhaps it's thanks to Star and the others, but Sheryl feels any obstacle before her is no problem.

Everyone walked up the final staircase, pushed open the gate, and there lay the northern snowfield of Belobog—Eternal Winter Ridge.

The deeper they went, the more March 7th shivered from the cold: '…It's, it's freezing! With just a little pioneering power, I can no longer resist the low temperature…'

Dan Heng, as always, remained calm: 'This shows we're getting close to the Stellaron, to the heart of the cold wave.'

Along the way, frozen antimatter legions could be seen everywhere, like insects trapped in amber. The antimatter legion perhaps never imagined they'd one day be swallowed by the cold wave.

"'But are the guys inside these ice blocks still alive?' March 7th leaned in to examine a piece of ice closely."

Suddenly Star approached from behind her, using the snow above to write three characters in a crooked way, chuckling scornfully: 'Let's just call this guy July 3.'

March 7th immediately wiped away the characters on the snow, gave Star a speechless stare: 'Unbelievable, you still have the mood to joke at a time like this…'

"'Hey, you guys, look… is that a relic left by the Architects?'"

Sheryl's voice timely interrupted their banter; following the direction of her finger, they saw not far off a staggeringly huge mechanical hand silently sprawled across the ridge of Eternal Winter, the machine so conspicuous it seemed to have sprouted abruptly from the endless ice and snow like a colossal beast.

This machine…

It reminds me of the colossal relic guardian beside Mount Ruins of Heavenly Mandate. Tinnari exclaimed, "What an astonishing power."

That relic guardian has been studied by many scholars of the Academia over the past centuries. Alhaitham shook her head, "But we must admit that, to this day, many of its structures still cannot be fully grasped or replicated."

However, there is one way we are similar to the people of Belobog: we both have some degree of cultural discontinuity.

Just as we cannot now replicate Khaenri'ah's mechanical achievements, the people of Belobog cannot recreate the mechanical guardians they left seven hundred years ago—take, for example, the machine called Svara; it's truly regrettable.

As a scholar it's indeed regrettable, but as an ordinary Sumeru person, I don't think it's a big deal. Tinnari laughed and gave a hearty chuckle.

The change of Khaenri'ah five hundred years ago is recorded by various nations; today the impression left by that fallen ancient nation on people is like the towering relic guardian on Mount Ruins of Heavenly Mandate, evoking both envy and longing.

Why the Seven Archons went to Khaenri'ah—this topic remains a mystery nowadays, but Tinnari always feels it's probably linked to Khaenri'ah's unfathomable technology.

Even if we were to recreate Khaenri'ah's technology, what if it somehow summoned…

He took a deep breath, and Tinnari suddenly felt a hint of relief; fortunately, the Academia's research into Khaenri'ah's technology is only at this superficial level.

As they passed through a narrow mountain path, March 7th seemed to sense something and suddenly said: 'If Cocolia uses Bronya as leverage against us…'

"'We must rescue her! The Lower District… no, this world rests on her.' Sheryl said without hesitation, decisively."

Feeling Sheryl's resolve, the three also steeled themselves; ahead lay the final platform, also the final destination.

Looking into the distance, Sheryl could already see Bronya and Cocolia; not far away they had placed a huge mechanical device, atop which was a diamond‑shaped limiter, as if something inside was emitting a yellow glow.

Bronya, her face pained, clutched her head as if constantly resisting something: '…No, don't…'

Cocolia's icy voice rang in her ears, soothing yet tempting: 'Do not resist… Bronya—accept the shared will!'