Besides, one ought to add a little ceremony to one's life.
Thinking this, the girl gently waved her palm.
There was no need to hide her power anymore, nor suppress her abilities. The thrill of unleashing her firepower without restraint was, indeed, somewhat intoxicating.
Just a little.
Then, perish.
Purple light suddenly rose in midair, and the symphony of destruction began its overture in the snowy night.
In an instant, countless Gates of Reason unfolded around her. Countless weapons appeared in midair just like that, each one blazing with dazzling radiance. Their brilliant energy fluctuations proved how precious they were, and one could even see exquisite, almost impossibly intricate patterns carved across them.
Every one of them was a treasure worthy of that title in this world. Some carried a futuristic flavor, while others exuded an ancient aura. Yet they all shared one identity.
They were their owner's disposable throwing weapons.
Among them were quite a few white, spiral-shaped spears. Those were Chlorine Sodium's true weapons—the Subspace Spears.
If Pufferfish could see Chlorine Sodium's current state, she would probably drool with envy. After all, this was the super-invincible enhanced version.
"What... is that?"
In an unknown central control room, several people in white coats stared at the transmitted footage and cried out in alarm.
What kind of power was this?!
Yet this was only the beginning.
Because in the next moment, all the weapons in midair shot toward their targets at once, like arrows loosed from bowstrings!
In an instant, the light blooming as the weapons pierced into the carriages, together with the winds that churned around them, distorted the surrounding air. Shock waves swept through everything nearby.
The heavy land crawlers were instantly twisted into heaps of smoking scrap metal, or else rolled into the valleys below.
An entire convoy was as fragile and helpless as a toy in Chlorine Sodium's hands.
As for the drivers, under the bombardment that resembled a saturation strike, most of them died from the shock waves produced by the initial explosions.
"Everything is proceeding according to plan. The prey has taken the bait. Begin the second phase of the operation."
··················
Was this the outskirts?
Looking at the snowy landscape outside the vehicle, Yelena saw the vague outline of a Mobile City-State in the distance, shrouded in the darkness of night.
Yelena was currently packed in with a group of people. They had been placed in the carriage behind a large transport land crawler, but the convoy had remained parked here without any sign of moving on.
This clearly was not some kind of mine. Besides, the people normally responsible for escorting the Infected to the mines were either the Black Bugs from the inspection squads or the Ursus military police.
But everything before her now seemed so unfamiliar. The guards stationed outside wore gray-black outfits resembling raincoats. Compared to clothing, they looked more like paper shells draped over their bodies.
They also wore special yellow markings on their arms. But Yelena could not read, so she had no way of knowing what the markings said.
Still, these people all gave off an unusual air.
An unfamiliar place, unfamiliar people, and cramped, noisy surroundings made it impossible not to feel uneasy and afraid.
Events developing beyond one's control always made people anxious. What was more, the environment here was terrible, and the fear and unease radiating from those around them spread like a virus, plunging everyone in the vehicle into collective panic.
But because of the weapons in the guards' hands, the people inside only whispered among themselves. None of them dared to escape.
Yet these guards seemed to be merely watching them and the vehicles. They showed no intention of taking them away.
What on earth was going on?
Just as little Yelena still had not figured out the situation or their exact location, someone in the vehicle suddenly let out a howl of pain!
"Ahhh! My arm! My arm!"
What had happened?
Yelena looked toward the voice. It came from a middle-aged man in the front row of the cramped cargo compartment, his clothes tattered and worn.
He looked like an Infected. He was clutching his left arm in excruciating pain, beads of sweat as large as beans dripping onto the floorboards. Originium Crystals covered his arm.
But that was not the important part. The important thing was that the Originium Crystals on his arm, originally gray-black crystalline masses, had suddenly become covered in bizarre patterns!
It was as if someone had written countless densely packed, minuscule characters across them. The markings gradually spread over the crystals, accompanied by eerie points of light!
What was this?!
"A curse... It's a curse from an Ursus Mage!"
Suddenly, someone shouted. It really did look like the manifestation of Arts. Originium Crystals could sense the use of Originium Arts and react accordingly, but nobody here had used Originium Arts.
Then who was using Originium Arts? And why was such a strange reaction appearing on his arm?!
What Yelena did not know was that the use of Originium Arts actually required an Originium Product as a medium. That was why most mages carried an Originium Staff.
But in truth, as long as it was an Originium Product, even a High-Energy Originium Bomb could serve as a medium—provided one was not afraid of it exploding.
No one had ever said that anything containing Originium could be used as a medium. Even...
The Infected themselves.
It was just that this form of Arts was too vicious and ancient. Aside from those who specifically studied it, no one still used it anymore.
Yet the Ursus Mages here seemed to have researched it.
Although their utilization was not very high and they could not reproduce that ancient, tremendously powerful spell, they had already achieved this effect.
Because not far away, the Ursus Mages in special military uniforms were already tracing mysterious symbols through the air.
Originium Arts was a highly subjective thing. A thought, an idea, an action, a chant, or even a passage of writing on paper could become the key that activated Originium Arts.
And now, the mages who had merely pried open the entrance to that ancient art were still capable of unleashing one percent of this ritual's power. Just one percent was enough to shock the world.
Everything came at a price. When human lives were used to pay that cost inefficiently, the power obtained in exchange would be considerable.
On the platform of an engineering vehicle, a ritual altar had been erected, and a massive spell had already begun to take shape.
As the commander of the force, the officer of the Magic Unit was already imagining the scene of shooting down the Snow Demon...
How exciting.
"Target: Snow Demon. Begin bombardment!"
P.S. This is the first update after the recommendation. There will be another one this afternoon. I'm wondering whether I should do a major update this week.
The Ursus.
On Terra, whenever people heard this name, the first word that came to mind was "army."
The foundation of the Ursus Empire had been laid by its leaders and the countless full-time soldiers under their command who could fight and kill.
Back when eagles still ruled the skies over this Land of Winter, the First Emperor of Ursus had led a group of mercenaries under his command in waging an epic, protracted guerrilla war across Ursus.
In the end, they fought their way from a district on the far frontier all the way to the Presidential Office in the Winter Palace.
From then on, Military Supremacy became synonymous with Ursus.
The history of Ursus was a history of expansion. Nothing grew in the frigid northern wastelands, and survival meant seizing what one needed and invading southward.
When limited resources had to support a larger population, expansion was once again the only solution. If a territory ten by ten could provide only ten percent of the resources, the best answer was to seize the neighboring territory of the same size.
If there was no quality, quantity would make up the difference.
Thus, in Ursus, the army was an all-access pass. Violence flowed through the blood of the Ursus people, and the final solution to every problem was violence.
Unlike Victoria's policy of balancing power from across the shore, and unlike the Columbia people's enthusiasm for Proxy Wars, the Ursus people always preferred to enter the fray personally.
The same arrogance, but a different way of acting.
From ancient Earls personally taking the field with sabres in hand, to modern commanders dismissing their agents as useless and coming personally when dissatisfied with their performance—
That was simply how Ursus operated. Compared to twists and turns, it preferred to be straightforward.
It had always been that way, and the same applied to this Snow Removal Operation.
The Snow Demons liked ambushing Ursus transport convoys? Then Ursus would conceal its main force around the convoy and fight a real battle with drawn weapons.
That said, whatever else Ursus might lack, it was highly efficient in action. Within a short time, it had transferred several units from the armies under its command, rapidly assembled them, disguised them, and waited for the prey to take the bait.
"Excellent. Continue fire support!"
At the Central Command, Grand Duke Ivanov Kim Yuspov sat firmly in the central seat of the General Headquarters, watching the footage transmitted from the front and the arrangements on the sand table.
The sand table was small. Compared to the various battles he had experienced in the past, it was truly tiny—merely an Ambush Battle in a small area. It was not even worthy of being called a battle, and at most could be considered an operation. Apparently, even the name of some great figure had become a censored word. In any case, I had never heard of it.
Besides, their opponent was only one person.
At least, that was how things appeared for now.
There was nothing that force could not solve. If it could not be solved, that only meant the current level of force was insufficient.
And now the Grand Duke was brimming with confidence. He was certain he could solve the Snow Demon problem in one strike.
After all, the Ursus army was immaculate. White and gray-black uniforms formed orderly lines across the ground, appearing from afar as dense and neat as ants pouring from their nest. Above the military formations, they held the Double-headed Eagle Banner of Ursus high.
They had once been able to flatten enemy formations. Now, they could flatten the conspiracy behind this one as well.
The effects of the Originium Arts, released after layer upon layer of amplification, shook heaven and earth. At the neighboring Artillery Position, shells were once again loaded into the Siege Cannon. Every shot thundered deafeningly, even loosening the snow accumulated on the ground.
Everything seemed unstoppable. The earth itself trembled.
The advantage was ours. As the commander, could Grand Duke Ivanov Kim Yuspov fail to understand such a situation?
How could they lose? Heaven, earth, and human harmony were all firmly in his grasp.
Heaven: the timing and deployment of the operation were in Ursus's hands.
Earth: this was Ursus's homeland. The winter of the Frozen Land was itself a weapon of defense. It had not only forced past invaders to taste the terror of winter; the timing and location of the battle had also been selected after repeated consideration.
Human harmony: superior numbers.
A mage was right in their face, and they were under attack while surrounded on all sides. How could they lose?
Even if they just kept attacking, they would win.
The Snow Demon in the sky was also cooperating perfectly with the commander's expectations. It began dodging the artillery fire and moving northward, toward what appeared to be the direction with the fewest troops.
Was it planning to flee?
Inside the observation device, the Internal Guard compiled all the intelligence gathered during the battle so far and transmitted the Snow Demon's new movements to the Fire Support Team on the ground.
"The forward group will advance and tighten the encirclement. The rear group will extend the fire line!"
The intelligence officer relayed the information down through layer after layer of command, until it finally reached the Fire Support Position on the front line. With a shout from the captain, the engineers in the forward group began hauling the enormous Siege Cannons onto the land crawlers, preparing to maneuver toward the designated location.
Attack, advance, and claim victory in the end. War was that simple and brutal.
When the soldiers saw the Snow Demon beginning its breakout and realized their attacks were having an effect, they were encouraged and worked even harder.
Meanwhile, in the temporary Detention Camp Management Area, Yelena stared in terror as the Infected around her collapsed one after another. Fear spread through the camp, as if some invisible demon were slaughtering people!
Everyone who fell screamed in agony. After struggling for a while, they began convulsing as they let out inhuman wails, while blood seeped from their pores. Blood spurted from their eyes, noses, and mouths.
The Originium Crystals were also spreading rapidly. Even farther away, the sounds of Originium explosions had begun to ring out, along with the screams of the people who had been struck.
Those nearby who had yet to show symptoms either stood there in a daze or tried to run out, pounding on the gates like mad and shouting for the guards outside to let them go.
The already cramped interior became extremely chaotic and noisy. The air was thick with fear, making it impossible for anyone to calm down. No matter how hard people pounded on the gates—even when those who looked well dressed insisted they were not Infected—it did no good. No one paid them any attention. Everyone seemed to have gone mad.
Only little Yelena remained in the corner, curled up while hugging her knees, witnessing this scene that resembled the apocalypse.
"Sister..."
Perhaps because of her fear, a thread of unnoticed cold appeared around Yelena and slowly revolved. It was the power she had been suppressing. For now, the girl could still control it, but as the terror in her heart grew, her control gradually weakened.
Perhaps soon, she would either be killed by these bizarre symptoms or be killed by the cold current created by the girl herself.
Yet no one present noticed the girl hiding in the corner...
P.S. Damn it, the formatting broke again. Is this a bug? Ciwai Mao, fix your potato servers. Why learn anything from Ubisoft except the sideways glance?
Speaking of which, I bought Watch Dogs 1 in the Chinese region, so why doesn't it have Chinese language support?
Before you continue