Chapter 79: The Decisive Battle

Everwinter Hill.

When Bronya and his companions finally reached the eternally frozen ridge, the silent, desolate landscape they had anticipated was nowhere to be found. Instead, their senses were assaulted by a deafening roar, the blinding glare of constant energy bursts, and the piercing screech of metal being torn asunder.

“What is… that?!” March 7th gasped, his hand flying to cover his mouth as he pointed toward the swirling blizzard on the ice field ahead.

The sight that greeted them rendered everyone speechless.

An unimaginably fierce battle was raging across the valley below. On one side, an army of robots surged forward like a metallic tide, their optical sensors glowing with a sinister, dark red light. Their numbers were staggering, a swarm of steel ants pouring toward the valley’s center from every direction. Beams of energy fire wove into a deadly net, physical barrages rained down from above, and whirring blades carved lethal arcs through the snow.

And on the other side… was a massive existence that defied all description.

It floated in the air at the epicenter of the conflict, its upper body faintly resembling the silhouette of an impossibly tall man. But its armor seemed to be forged from pure ice and shadow. The most unnerving feature was its head; there was no discernible face, only a constantly shifting mass of dark, chaotic energy.

Its arms were spread wide. One hand gripped a colossal spear seemingly carved from pure ice energy, while the other continuously unleashed deadly, swirling storms. With every attack, swathes of the charging robots were frozen solid and shattered into a million pieces.

“Fa…ther…?” Bronya’s lips trembled, the two syllables escaping as a broken whisper. His eyes were locked on the floating monstrosity, desperately searching for some trace of familiarity within the blurred armor and chaotic energy signature. But its inhuman posture and terrifying power made it impossible for him to connect this being to the father he remembered—a man who, though majestic, had always possessed a core of human warmth.

Dan Heng’s gaze was sharp, his voice low and steady as he rapidly analyzed the situation. “High-concentration Rift energy reaction… highly synchronized with Stellaron fluctuations… and… some kind of forcibly elevated Path Resonance…”

Serval, who had just scrambled up the ridge behind them, nearly dropped the portable detection device in her hand. She stared at the scene, aghast. “Cocolia… has he really gone this far?!”

As for Chen… the moment she laid eyes on that monster, she recognized it instantly.

‘Holy crap!’she screamed internally.’It’s the Mother of Deceit! Oh, wait, it should be the Father of Deceit now!’It was the final boss form Cocolia assumed after being completely enthralled by the Stellaron.’Why is this happening so early?’she despaired.’And… isn’t the art style a bit more intense this time around? That ice spear, the sheer range of his area-of-effect attacks… is it because the Stellaron’s energy is stronger? Or is it because this robot army is pushing him this hard?’She glanced from the Father of Deceit, who was single-handedly holding off the torrent of steel, to the robots charging forward with a complete disregard for their own destruction. Her mind was a mess.’Are these metal lumps… really after the Stellaron? Or are they after Cocolia, who’s basically become a walking Stellaron infestation? Are they hostile to the Stellaron, then?’

“Father… why have you become like this…?” Bronya’s voice was a cocktail of pain and disbelief.

“The answer likely lies within that Stellaron,” Dan Heng pointed out calmly. “He has clearly merged with it, gaining immense power in the process. But the price… you can see it for yourself.”

Bronya clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white. His father’s distorted, inhuman form and the brutal battle raging below assaulted his very perception of reality. Reason and emotion warred violently within him. His proud father, the Supreme Guardian of Belobog—how could he choose to merge with such a dangerous, all-consuming entity? Was it for power? For some twisted interpretation of Preservation? Or… had he been deceived and bewitched by something else entirely?

A wave of dizziness washed over him, and he swayed on his feet.

While Bronya was lost in a storm of internal conflict and agonizing pain, Chen’s heart was in a similar state of turmoil.

‘The plot is completely derailed, hey!’she lamented.’Cocolia’s already transformed, and he’s having a passionate brawl with a bunch of robots that came out of nowhere on Everwinter Hill! So what about my dear Qiong?! What about her big Path awakening moment?! She can’t just sit on the sidelines munching on melon seeds, wait for them to finish, and then stroll up and say, ‘Alright, my turn to perform,’ can she?!’A massive headache began to throb at her temples. She had gone to such great lengths to guide Qiong, hoping she would follow the original script, step onto the Path of Preservation at the critical moment, and gain the power to protect herself—or even turn the tide of battle. But this… in this scene, Qiong was like a random bystander who had accidentally wandered onto a movie set where gods were fighting. She was just standing there, holding a baseball bat with a dazed look on her face. How was she supposed to awaken like this?!’No, I have to think of something… I need to create some pressure, some kind of stimulus for my precious Qiong… but this is way too much pressure! Between those two powerhouses down there, which one could the current Qiong even touch? Going up there would be suicide!’

Just as Chen was desperately trying to figure out how to bend the crooked plot back into shape, the battle below suddenly escalated.

Perhaps he was frustrated by his inability to secure a quick victory, or perhaps he was simply enraged by the endless, attritional tactics of the robot army. The Father of Deceit let out a silent, furious roar toward the heavens and threw his arms upward.

With him as the epicenter, the very cold of Everwinter Hill seemed to be instantly drained and condensed. The wind and snow in the sky swirled backward, coalescing into a massive, terrifying tornado of ice and snow.

It was an indiscriminate ultimate skill, designed to blanket the entire valley with destructive force. Clearly, he intended to clear the field in one fell swoop, wiping out the annoying metal lumps and any other potential threats that might be hiding in the wings.

The vast majority of the ice tornado surged like a tsunami toward the robot army advancing from all directions. Everywhere it passed, the robots’ charging formations were instantly shredded, frozen, eroded, and annihilated. Under the dual assault of extreme cold and void energy, their steel wreckage shattered like fragile glass.

However, amidst this torrent of destruction, a small, precise sliver of power was separated from the main storm.

The gaze of the Father of Deceit pierced through the raging energy and the sky full of ice crystals.

He locked onto someone on the ridge.

That seemingly harmless girl holding a metal bat. Qiong.

He saw it. He saw the quiet, dormant Stellaron nestled within her body.

Another Stellaron! Right there! An unguarded, seemingly ignorant vessel.

Without the slightest hesitation, even as his destructive ultimate skill swept across the battlefield, his arm holding the giant ice spear gave a light, almost casual thrust toward the ridge.

A concentrated beam of lethal power.

An ice spear, moving so fast it transcended vision, silently detached from the main torrent of the attack and shot straight toward Qiong’s heart.

On the ridge, everyone’s attention was captivated by the devastating ultimate skill unfolding below. Dan Heng was rapidly assessing the range of the energy impact, while Bronya and Serval were simply stunned by the sheer destructive power on display. March 7th was so scared he had his eyes covered. And Qiong was still standing there, clutching her bat, seemingly lost in a daze.

No one saw the separated, lethal shard of blue light.

Not even Qiong herself, the intended target, was aware of the doom hurtling toward her.

Thud!

A sudden force shoved Qiong from behind. She stumbled forward, falling onto the icy rocks and dropping her metal bat with a clatter.

In that same instant, the ice spear pierced clean through Chen, who had instinctively thrown herself forward to push Qiong out of the way.

Chen hadn’t even seen it clearly; her body had simply reacted, shoving the girl in front of her.

Puchi!

Chen lowered her head, looking down at her own chest in a daze. A spear tip, forged from pure blue ice, was protruding from her body just above her left lung. Crystalline ice rapidly spread from the wound, freezing her dress and the skin beneath it.

“Cough…”

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but only managed to cough up a spray of blood foam mixed with tiny ice shards.

‘Crap… I let my guard down… didn’t dodge…’ Her vision began to sway and blur.

She saw Qiong, who had fallen to the ground, suddenly look up. Those wide, innocent eyes were now fixed on her, filled with disbelief.

She saw March 7th rushing toward her, his face a mask of terror.

She saw Dan Heng’s expression change drastically as he began to summon his power, preparing to block any follow-up attacks.

She saw the look of utter despair on Bronya’s face.

She even thought she saw the Father of Deceit, high above, pause for a fraction of a second, surprised by the unexpected outcome of his strike.

The icy sensation spread rapidly from her chest to her entire body, her consciousness being swallowed by an encroaching darkness. In the final moment before she blacked out completely, the last thought that flashed through Chen’s mind was:

‘This time… I really messed up… Precious Qiong… your awakening… looks like we’ll need a different script…’

[Elysian’s Note:

Having a good time with the story?

Every single bit helps immensely:

Thanks a ton for making this journey possible!]