Chapter 555
Seeing that Bronya was clearly angry, Gepard spoke calmly to Bronya.
"Lady Cocolia is indeed meeting with some distinguished guests. For now, please wait outside for a moment."
"Gepard ..."
Looking at her colleague, Bronya hesitated for a moment before deciding to suppress what she wanted to say.
In Bronya's view, Cocolia's actions of sending a portion of the Silvermane Guards to the Rift during this period were far too extreme.
It's not that they don't need to suppress the rifts, but in Bronya's view, some sacrifices are entirely avoidable.
She came here today to advise her mother, who was also her superior, to stop causing unnecessary sacrifices.
But now, looking at Gepard in front of her, she felt that she absolutely could not reveal her true thoughts to this person.
Whether as a soldier or a colleague, Bronya could find no fault with Gepard Landau.
But that's precisely why she didn't want Gepard to realize something.
Even Cocolia's adopted daughter felt that some of the Supreme Guardian Cocolia Rand's actions were wrong.
The Supreme Guardian must be right. If the outside world finds out that even her adopted daughter has begun to question her, the already critical situation of Belobog will only worsen because of her foolish actions.
"... Never mind, I'll come back to see Mother in a while."
Fearing she might give herself away, Bronya didn't say much to Gepard and instead decisively chose to leave.
As for Gepard, although he somewhat sensed Bronya's hesitant expression, in the end, Gepard had no intention of asking her anything.
In Gepard's eyes, Bronya, as a candidate for the next Supreme Guardian, was already a qualified commander, although she still had some shortcomings.
Her choice to remain silent proves that she judged certain things should not be said here.
In situations like this, anyone with a modicum of emotional intelligence wouldn't choose to interrogate the other person in public.
Meanwhile, in the council chamber of Kliper Castle, Cocolia fell into deep thought after listening to everyone's explanation of the current situation of Jarilo -VI and the dangers of the star core.
She had to admit that these people were definitely well-prepared.
Moreover, the reasons these people had for assisting Belobog were quite reasonable.
If they don't help Belobog seal the star core, then what they call 'The Orbit' will not be alright, and if the Orbit is not alright, they will be trapped on this planet they call Jarilo -VI.
As a local who has lived here for decades, Cocolia knows all too well how terrible it is for ordinary people to live in this icy hell.
However, that was all the information Cocolia could gather.
She could manage to fool the other young men and the little girl, but the black-haired young man in the lead gave Cocolia a strange sense of oppression.
As Pathstrider, Cocolia could sense that although the other party was also Pathstrider, the energy emanating from them was not particularly strong.
However, even after realizing this, Cocolia still felt that she absolutely could not underestimate her opponent.
Cocolia, who had hoped to extract more information from this group, ultimately abandoned the idea during her conversation with Lin Yu.
After testing the group, Cocolia realized that they posed a significant threat.
Sealing the star core would solve the problem—this has always been the only claim made by this group.
Because of what she had seen over the years, Cocolia no longer even believed in the so-called "protection," so how could she possibly believe the other party just because of a few unfounded statements?
And now, Cocolia has thought of another possibility.
In their words, the star core is the "Cancer of All Worlds," with immeasurable negative impact on the world.
However, Cocolia, who had actually come into contact with the star core, was also well aware that the star core's energy was too strong.
For those on the Pathstrider, a "star core" containing sufficiently powerful energy can be transformed from a disaster into a treasure if used properly.
And that's why—in Cocolia's eyes, this group of people who call themselves nameless passengers on the Stellaron Hunters might not be well-meaning people who came to help Belobog, but rather robbers who would steal her last glimmer of hope.
Cocolia, increasingly convinced that something was amiss, realized she could no longer wait.
Should we have Gepard lead the team to surround them?
No, that might not be a safer approach.
... Do you expect me to take action myself?
At that moment, Cocolia heard a voice from it.
Upon hearing the words spoken by that voice, Cocolia's expression immediately darkened.
"What did you say? Those people... even that little girl, were hiding their strength?"
"These people are definitely up to no good!"
Once a stereotype is ingrained in a person's mind, it is very difficult to change that stereotype unless that person experiences a major upheaval.
Unfortunately, Cocolia, who had been driven nearly insane by the voice of the Star Core, had long forgotten how extreme she was under the influence of the Star Core.
At that moment, the extreme Cocolia Rand made a decision.
When it's late at night and everyone is quiet...
She personally led a team to raid the Grand Hotel Goethe where the group was staying and eliminated them.
Half an hour later, at the Grand Hotel Goethe
In a room at the Grand Hotel Goethe, the five members of the Stellaron Hunters decided to take some time to discuss their next steps after checking in.
"Well, actually, things are going pretty smoothly for us right now."
Seeing Dan Heng's solemn expression, March 7th said nonchalantly.
"I think that Supreme Guardian is very easy to talk to, Dan Heng, why are you looking so gloomy?"
"... Sigh, March, it seems you really didn't realize it."
Hearing what March 7th said, Dan Heng said helplessly.
"You probably didn't realize that the woman named Cocolia Rand tested us far too many times during our conversation."
"It's just that Lin Yu easily deflected this woman's probing several times during their conversation; otherwise—our secrets would have all been exposed by you."
"Huh, is that true?"
After glancing at Lin Yu in utter shock, March 7th had no idea that Lin Yu and Cocolia had already clashed in secret without her noticing.
Moreover, judging from Dan Heng's tone, Cocolia didn't seem as friendly as she had imagined.
Of course, that's not the key point. The most important thing is...
"Xiao Yi, Xing, you didn't both figure it out, did you?"
As Lin Yi and Xing nodded in unison, March 7th suddenly felt a wave of loneliness wash over her.
She must be a beautiful and intelligent girl, right?
What's going on with this atmosphere where only I feel inadequate?
.
Trailblaze Chapter 12. It's my turn to be the director!
At that moment, the beautiful girl March 7th sensed an immense crisis approaching her.
In previous pioneering expeditions, Himeko, the navigator, and Pom-Pom, the Train Conductor, rarely went out, so the only people in charge of pioneering affairs were usually Dan Heng and March 7th.
When the outing team consisted of only two people most of the time, Dan Heng would just watch March 7th's actions and shake his head helplessly.
But now, after the nameless team rapidly expanded from two to five people, March 7th sensed that things were not going well.
The other four members of the team seemed to have some kind of unspoken understanding, while she...
Okay, everyone definitely didn't mean to keep it from her.
That's why she felt even worse—no, doesn't this just make me seem even less capable?
"Um, Sister March."
Seeing the dejected look on March 7th's face, Lin Yi cautiously spoke to March 7th.
"Actually, March is fine as she is—don't you think so, Star Sister?"
"Yes, that's right."
Seeing the child in front of her blinking wildly at her, Xing tried hard to keep her lips from turning up in a smile, and said to March 7th in a serious tone.
"Don't push yourself too hard, March."
"It's not your place to tell me what to do."
Seeing that Xing, who had been a little nervous before, was now taking the initiative to comfort herself, March 7th sighed helplessly.
"Okay, okay, I know I'm not good at this."
"But according to what you're saying—is that woman really planning to do something that would be detrimental to us?"
After saying that, March 7th began looking around, trying to find something strange in the room at the Grand Hotel Goethe.
Seeing the girl's actions, Lin Yu could only say...
Even disregarding the difference in combat strength, it would be strange if he could stay tense with such a lively character in his team.
"This possibility is not nonexistent."
After stating this assessment, Dan Heng turned his gaze to Lin Yu.
"Ah, although I've mentioned it before, I think I should emphasize it again."
Looking into Dan Heng's eyes, Lin Yu addressed the crowd.
"I will suppress my power to a certain extent, so you'd better not have too high expectations of me."
Otherwise, if I were to slap Cocolia until she's turned into a dried persimmon...
It is possible to do this, but in my opinion, this solution is not the best strategy.
To be honest, after meeting his mother-in-law Cocolia, today, Lin Yu suddenly realized something.
In fact, during the period from when he almost awakened his powers in Changkong City to Cocolia's death, although he desperately wanted to crush Cocolia with his own hands, well...
During this period, he never saw Cocolia alive.
When I first met Cocolia, she had already been stabbed at least eighteen times in vital areas by Yuno and was already beyond dead.
Today, in a sense, Lin Yu can be said to have met Cocolia for the first time.
After the meeting, he realized something profound...
He really wanted to give Cocolia Rand, this pathetic and hateful person, a chance.
Unfortunately, the other party, who had already gone mad, seemed completely ungrateful.
What Dan Heng said and what others noticed was at most that Cocolia Rand was overly wary of them and trying to probe for information.
However, for Lin Yu, who had once been forced to hone his acting skills with the award-winning actor Otto, Cocolia Rand's acting skills were simply not up to par.
From some of Cocolia Rand's subtle actions and tone of voice, Lin Yu sensed a hint of killing intent.
This old hag is already planning to kill them—after confirming this, the slight reluctance in Lin Yu's heart vanished instantly.
From a third-party perspective, some people would definitely think that Lin Yu's failure to initially display his power to seal the star core was a ploy to find a reason to kill Cocolia.
The problem is—damn it, they came here to help, but after meeting Cocolia Rand, this old hag is going to do them a disservice.
It should be noted that during the conversation, Lin Yu had already mobilized a small amount of Imaginary Energy comparable to Cocolia's.
Despite being threatened, the woman still tried to cause trouble.
She's not giving us any face, so who cares anymore?
Lin Yu's good temper is reserved for friends and good people. Cocolia's experience may be tragic, but that is not enough to justify her harming others.
"Therefore, I suggest we take turns keeping watch tonight."
After speaking at length, Dan Heng, who had offered his suggestions, addressed the others.
"Furthermore, I think we should be prepared for battle—at least it's better to keep our weapons with us."
"Wow, has the situation gotten that serious?"