Gepard clenched his right fist, gathering nearly all the Path power within his body into his arm. With an unstoppable momentum, he slammed it heavily onto the ground.
Crack crack…!
Countless ice crystals burst from the earth, climbing upward through the air with cracking sounds of freezing.
In just one or two breaths, a massive blue-white ice barrier rose into existence, standing like an unyielding giant before Gepard, Luka, and the group of Silvermane Guards soldiers.
Boom—!
The moment the barrier was formed, Sparkle's figure vanished. What followed was a earth-shaking roar.
The ice barrier collided with a destructive surge of energy and was instantly shattered into pieces by that force.
Crack crack crack…
Shards of ice poured down. Seeing this, the Silvermane Guards in the front and middle ranks quickly raised their shields to block the falling fragments.
After a moment, the guards lowered their shields. The spot where Sparkle had stood was now gone—only a deep crater remained. As for the Interastral Peace Corporation executives, they had been reduced to ashes by that energy, not even a trace left behind.
Looking at the scene before him, Gepard couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath. That had been far too close—just a little more, and his shield might not have held. In that case, their fate might not have been much better than those company people.
"Captain Gepard, these Interastral Peace Corporation people…"
One of the Silvermane Guards lieutenants stared at the scene, mouth slightly open, feeling a faint unease in his heart.
Hearing the lieutenant's words, Gepard fell somewhat silent. To be honest, just moments ago, he had only intended to temporarily detain them under the pretext of "colluding with a wanted criminal." If these Interastral Peace Corporation executives were imprisoned, then they could collect evidence against them without obstruction.
But now it was different. This group from the Interastral Peace Corporation was dead—dead beyond dead, their bones ground to dust and scattered to the wind.
Although they were suspected of colluding with a wanted criminal, it was only suspicion—there was no direct evidence. Now, with no one left to testify, the subsequent negotiations would put Belobog at a disadvantage.
"Huff—!"
Exhaling heavily, Gepard's mood was extremely grave. After a long pause, he spoke.
"You don't need to concern yourselves with this matter for now. Seal off the scene, calm the civilians. I will personally report to Lady Bronya."
"Yes!" ×N
In the time that followed, the Silvermane Guards soldiers carried out Gepard's orders: some sealed off the site to preserve evidence, while others maintained order in the surrounding area and soothed the residents' emotions.
After all, that explosive sound had shaken the heavens and echoed through the clouds—it was impossible to cover up even if they wanted to.
As for Captain Gepard himself, he found a relatively quiet corner, dialed Bronya the Political Officer's number, and reported every detail of what had just happened here.
Though it was already late at night, as Belobog's Political Officer—and with Topaz and Jade's impending arrival—Bronya's workload had skyrocketed. She had been working from morning until now, and even the political affairs were far from finished.
"I understand. I never expected the Masked Fool to return to Belobog. With this, we have one more target we need to guard against."
Bronya's expression was equally grave. She had personally experienced Sparkle's strength. On that day in the battle on the snow plains, that powerhouse from the Astral Express—the Nameless known as Yun Fan—had already been a dimensional suppression for all of Jarilo-VI.
Yet even someone as powerful as Yun Fan had ultimately been defeated by her, taken hostage, and there were even rumors that the Nameless had become Sparkle's male pet.
"Achoo—!"
Far away on the Xianzhou, Yun Fan's main body and the clone currently in Penacony both sneezed in unison.
"A-Fan, are you okay? Did you catch a cold?" March 7th looked at the boy in front of her with concern. Seeing him suddenly sneeze, she felt her little heart tighten as if something had grabbed it.
"It's nothing, nothing. Probably just someone suddenly talking about me. No big deal."
Yun Fan rubbed his nose to indicate he was fine. Though he said that aloud, secretly he mobilized the power of Causality within his body to divine who exactly had been gossiping about him behind his back just now.
Because the power of the Path of Causality was simply too heaven-defying—and given Bronya's relatively low level—the process took only one or two seconds.
In that brief moment, Yun Fan had already unraveled the entire sequence of events and even glimpsed what Sparkle had done in Belobog.
'What the hell? I've become a male pet? And Sparkle's male pet?!'
Yun Fan's face instantly darkened, and an intimidating aura involuntarily emanated from him—but only for an instant. After all, there was a beautiful girl right beside him right now; scaring her would be bad.
'Damn it, I want to see exactly who dared to slander me behind my back!'
With that thought, the power of the Path of Causality within Yun Fan surged again. Countless invisible threads extended into the river of time, ultimately connecting to a blue-purple-haired young man.
After Yun Fan and Sparkle had left, this guy had been the one spreading rumors throughout Belobog, glorifying the tale of Yun Fan "offering his body to the demon and dying heroically."
"Huff—!"
Well done, Sampo—well done, Cold Leg Uncle! To think it was you spreading this behind my back. You've got some guts, huh? Heh, looks like you need a little lesson!
...
Jarilo-VI… Belobog Central District…
"Tch, what a letdown. I never expected some big dumb oaf to jump in halfway and ruin all my fun. Boring, so boring!"
Inside a themed bar, our Miss Sparkle held a freshly mixed cocktail, her eyes filled with dissatisfaction.
"Hahaha… That Sparkle, Gepard's just like that, so…"
Hearing this, Sampo looked somewhat awkward. After all, the plan to snipe the Interastral Peace Corporation executives had been his idea. Now that it had gone wrong, he naturally felt embarrassed.
"Enough, enough—no need to explain. I originally planned to capture those company lapdogs, strip them naked, and hang them in front of the Interastral Peace Corporation embassy. Now that plan's gone down the drain too."
Sparkle sighed with some regret, downed the drink in her cup in one gulp, and casually tossed the glass back to the head bartender.
"Another one—put it on this guy's tab."