As the explosion flames and smoke dispersed, Stelle immediately shouted.
"March, Beautiful Freezing."
"Huh? Why are you suddenly complimenting me?"
"Go big! Unleash your ult!"
"Ah? Oh…!"
March 7th reacted, drew her bow and nocked an arrow—
The arrow exploded in mid-air into a Six-Phased Ice doll, spreading a colorful scroll across the ground upon landing and freezing all the IPC employees in place.
Most people only had half their bodies or their heads exposed.
Looking at the current state of the big fat mech team leader — ouch, tsk tsk tsk…
Tragic.
The entire mech had been forcibly blasted open, with large sections missing, exposing the person operating inside.
The person was frozen inside the cockpit. He wasn't dead, but he was bleeding.
It had to be said that the IPC's uniforms and mechs still provided decent defense.
Stelle had originally thought that even if she deliberately aimed off with this shot, it would still take one person out completely.
The team leader stared at Stelle in terror, or rather at the sniper rifle in her hands.
A non-energy-based thermal weapon that could brutally shatter even a company-exclusive combat mech?
One had to know that even if a large swarm of Antimatter Legion grunts rushed forward, they wouldn't be able to do anything to a company team leader's exclusive combat mech.
Seeing all the IPC employees restricted in movement, March 7th proudly raised the corners of her mouth and gave Stelle a tacit high-five.
"Hmph, this lady's Six-Phased Ice isn't vegetarian either."
Seele wiped the sweat from her forehead and planted her scythe on the ground.
Ever since the two from the Astral Express crew came to help, she had barely done much. The problem was resolved smoothly.
The gap in combat power was quite large.
The road to reviving Belobog was still very long. In Bronya's words, it seemed… to be a heavy responsibility with a long way to go.
"You… who exactly are you people? You can even suppress the IPC's mechs…"
The team leader struggled hard but failed to break free from the Six-Phased Ice restraint.
March 7th put her hands on her hips and snorted coldly.
"Doomsday Beast, Stellaron, Phantylia — what kind of strong enemies haven't we seen? With just your little tricks, you think you can stop us?"
Stelle secretly wiped sweat beside her.
Good grief, little sister, are you listing dishes?
When facing those powerful enemies, she had clearly been a supportive mascot the whole time…
However, Stelle naturally wouldn't undermine her own sister.
"Team leader, what do we do?!"
The team leader's voice trembled. "All our equipment is destroyed… You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?"
"Team… Team leader, the Director just sent a message…"
"Uh… Director Topaz? Quickly relay it to me!"
Hearing the word "Director," the team leader instantly tossed the Astral Express girls and Seele to the back of his mind.
"During the execution of asset evaluation operations, all project teams must not affect the normal living order of local residents—"
"Project teams that seriously violate this directive will have all employees deducted 60% of their year-end bonus!"
"60%?! We're… we're done for!"
The team leader completely panicked.
"All employees, listen to my order — immediately withdraw from the Great Mining Area! Withdraw! Do not leave any traces that the project team was here!"
Before March 7th could react, she saw these people instantly break free from the Six-Phased Ice and run faster than rabbits.
She stared dumbfounded.
This… this this this…
This was too disrespectful, wasn't it?
Her Six-Phased Ice was at least… cough cough!
"Um… so this matter is considered resolved…?"
March 7th's little face flushed as she weakly tried to change the subject.
Seele spoke quickly, stopping Stelle who looked like she wanted to tease her.
"Look at how panicked they are. They probably don't have the guts to come back."
"Thanks to you two being here, this matter could be smoothly concluded."
"Just treating it as revisiting an old place. It's a small matter." Stelle casually waved her hand.
Anyway, she didn't need to use her brain — she just needed the satisfaction of fighting.
"Just who exactly is that Topaz? Not only can she tame Fragmentum creatures, she can also keep these black-clothed people obedient and compliant."
Seele asked with a grave expression.
"…That's a long story." March 7th didn't know how to begin.
"Seele, you still don't know? Belobog owes a debt." Stelle said straightforwardly.
"Hm? Debt? What do you mean?"
"This… it's better to let Bronya tell you herself?" March 7th glared at Stelle.
The latter shrugged indifferently, indicating that Seele would have to know sooner or later, so it was better to say it earlier.
Seele felt a slight headache: "With the festival approaching, how did the situation suddenly become so complicated? It really doesn't let people relax."
March 7th and Stelle's phones vibrated.
"Who is messaging us?"
"It's Bronya."
Stelle glanced at the screen.
[Bronya, Stelle, March 7th, Leon Group Chat]
[Bronya: March, Stelle, where are you? Is everything okay?]
[March 7th: We're in the Lower District. A group of IPC people occupied the Great Mining Area. We and Seele just drove them away.]
[Bronya: Are you all okay? What exactly happened?]
[Stelle: We're fine. The IPC guys might not be.]
[Stelle: Sorry, we couldn't persuade Topaz. We haven't found her either.]
[Bronya: No need to apologize, Stelle. This isn't your responsibility in the first place.]
[Bronya: There have been some changes on my side. It's hard to explain clearly in messages. Can you come back to Qlipoth Fort? I need your advice.]
[March 7th: No problem. Wait for us.]
Putting down her phone, March 7th sighed.
"I don't know why, but I can feel Bronya's anxiety between the lines… Shall we head back as soon as possible?"
"Seele, do you want to go up with us?"
"No need. You two go ahead. I still have some cleanup work to handle here. The miners who were driven out are still in the dark."
"She contacted you, which means in Bronya's view, only you two can help with this matter. I trust her judgment."
March 7th: "Seele… Okay, I understand. Let's go, Stelle."
Stelle and March parted ways with Seele after returning to Boulder Town, then headed straight for Qlipoth Fort in the Upper District.
Unexpectedly, while passing by the mechanical house, they saw Leon and Serval talking in front of the door.
They subconsciously stopped.
"Leon! Serval!"
"You're back. Looking at your expressions, it seems you have something urgent." Leon smiled at them.
March 7th scratched her head: "We don't actually have anything urgent. It's Bronya who…"
Leon's pupils shifted slightly as he roughly guessed what Bronya was anxious about.
"Leon, you weren't here during this period, so you probably don't know what major thing happened yet. Let's go to Qlipoth Fort. We'll talk on the way." March 7th said.
Leon chuckled lightly: "Jarilo-VI delayed payment for several hundred years and once owed a debt to the IPC, right?"
"Huh?! How do you know?"
"Because I'm a reliable adult."