The Chapter Title Matches Now, Right?

On the contrary, Umi and the others on the side... because they had witnessed Maria's impressive record, they also had a lot of confidence in her.

After a moment's hesitation, they decisively raised their heads and stood up.

Are you going now?

"..."

"Then please allow us to follow you."

Without any hesitation, Umi decisively expressed her thoughts.

The other companions around him nodded seriously.

These words made the others hesitate.

Several companions who already had a good relationship carefully walked over and grabbed the other person.

"What are you trying to do, Umi?"

"Wouldn't it be safer to wait here until FrostNova wakes up and then we can plan our actions?"

His companion spoke earnestly, his eyes revealing anxiety.

They weren't familiar with Maria, so they didn't say much about Maria decision to challenge Mephisto.

But everyone knows about Umi and the others.

You're going to fight Mephisto?

That's just suicide!

Rather than doing that, it's better to wait and see until FrostNova wakes up before deciding on our next move.

But Umi shook her head.

"Judging from the current situation, Mephisto clearly attacked us knowing we were there... Continuing to hold out will only make our situation more and more difficult. At that point, let alone breaking out of Platform 14, it will be a question whether we can even break out of this area!"

"And we have other brothers and sisters... We don't know enough about their situation yet, which is something we need to ascertain, to see how many wounded and how many combat-ready personnel they have."

"These are things that are safest if dealt with sooner rather than later."

"And... she might be stronger than you think..."

Umi spoke, he turned his head and looked at the quiet Maria beside him.

His confidence to speak up largely stemmed from the woman in front of him; as long as she was there, the current problem wasn't too serious.

But words alone are not enough. The others didn't have a deep understanding of the fact that Maria was very strong, as Umi claimed. However, they couldn't persuade Umi, who was already determined. After hesitating for a while, they all nodded, which was considered as agreeing with Umi's actions.

Soon, they handed over a simple, homemade map to Umi.

Based on this map, Umi could easily locate the other teams' positions... their distribution was precisely along the path they were taking towards the inner circle of Platform 14.

If nothing unexpected happens, Mephisto should also be in the very center of Platform 14.

After a short preparation, the group set off once again.

This happened shortly after Maria and the others left.

A sleeping Little White Rabbit was forced to awaken because of the departure of warmth.

She looked up, staring blankly at her surroundings.

"Boss? You're awake?"

Everyone was happy to see FrostNova awaken.

FrostNova, however, simply stared blankly at the person beside her.

"Flowers... grass..."

In my dream, the warm spring was gone; all that remained was the cold reality.

"Flowers and plants?"

FrostNova's words also aroused the doubts of the other members.

But the Yeti Squad hesitated for a moment, then pulled some grass from the ground that hadn't been burned yet and slowly handed it to FrostNova.

"Boss, is this what you want?"

"It's nothing, just forget what I just said."

FrostNova also came to her senses and reverted to the FrostNova that everyone else knew.

She composed herself and looked around.

"... Where is this? Where are Umi and the others?"

After a slight hesitation, everyone recounted everything that had happened to FrostNova.

Upon hearing that her team had been scattered and broken up, FrostNova frowned deeply.

Upon hearing that Maria and the others actually planned to launch a decapitation strike against Mephisto, FrostNova's expression turned icy.

"That idiot..."

She cursed under her breath.

Mephisto's physical abilities aren't particularly strong, but the problem is that Mephisto Originium Arts are arguably among the most terrifying in the Reunion Movement.

The pervasive white mist it emitted could easily infect a normal person...

For those Infected, moving around on Terra is virtually impossible.

FrostNova knew this all too well.

Not to mention that there's also a lurking Faust by Mephisto's side, that guy who shoots arrows from the shadows, he's an extremely dangerous presence!

Although she didn't have any romantic feelings for Maria, nor did she feel obligated to obey Patriot's orders and follow him, she didn't want to watch someone die in vain.

Furthermore, she couldn't simply ignore the attack on the Yeti Squad...

She needs an explanation from Mephisto!

After only a brief moment of thought, she decisively asked for a spare map.

He glanced at it a few times, then stood up.

"Let's go find them..."

"Yes!"

No one objected; upon hearing FrostNova's words, everyone began to arm themselves.

Those who can fight should pick up their weapons; those who cannot should help each other and not cause trouble for others.

At this moment, the Yeti Squad displayed a strong sense of unity!

FrostNova looked at her team, took a deep breath, and silently turned her head away.

In the distance, the Twin Moons gradually descended...

On the other side.

After leaving the camp, the group moved swiftly.

Soon, they had visited all the locations marked on the map and, after a brief check, Umi and the others confirmed how much fighting strength they still had.

Of the 500-strong squad, about 40 were wounded, and fewer than 10 were completely incapacitated, which was a very good result.

However, it is clear that defeating Exploding Herd with a skill level of 10,000 using this method will still be quite difficult.

Therefore, Maria's plan remains unchanged; only by completing the decapitation can there be any chance for things to turn around.

As the group moved forward, they noticed that the frequency of Flock appearing increased.

The roaring monsters launched repeated attacks in this direction.

Although everyone had become skilled and could aim for the legs of the Flock with each attack, such attrition was ultimately too much of a burden for them.

Gradually, some members of the team began to experience physical exhaustion.

But they persisted in following Maria step by step along the path from the outer layer to the inner layer.

After struggling to climb over a wall made of ruins, their steps were abruptly halted.

Right in front of them.

The billowing, milky-white smoke completely obscured the roads on the ground.

They were only seven or eight meters above the ground, but they couldn't see anything underground.

All they could see were glimpses of exposed reinforced concrete in the smog and the base of the towering clock tower in the distance.

Low hissing sounds occasionally drifted through the white mist, which remained unchanged despite the wind blowing through it.

This situation left everyone looking troubled.

Without a doubt, Mephisto was inside that clock tower.

But they were no longer capable of going any further.

Maria was aware of this as well.

She glanced at the members who had escorted her all the way, said nothing, and slowly walked down the ruins alone.

Umi, who was standing to the side, wanted to say something, but Maria stopped her.

"Go back and inform the others."

"Ten minutes later... leave Platform 14."

As she spoke, she gradually disappeared into the mist...

Does the chapter title match up for Chapter 169?

There was no time to explain, or even to react at all.

Faust instinctively kicked Mephisto away.

He himself, however, was struck directly by the iron rod thrown by Maria...

The powerful kinetic energy was instantly transferred to his flesh and blood body, and in just a moment, half of his body exploded like a blood-red spider web.

There were no last words... not even any proof was needed. Anyone with common sense could clearly see that Faust had absolutely no chance of surviving.

Kicked aside, Mephisto could only watch helplessly as his brother, who had protected him for who knows how long, died before his eyes, his eyes wide open, unable to utter a single word...

"..."

"Faust..."

Mephisto trembled as he watched Faust die before him, his mouth agape, murmuring something.

A smile appeared on his face once again, but it was a smile that was even uglier than crying.

Like a stray dog, he scrambled to Faust's side, trembling, and embraced Faust's body tightly with both hands, calling his name over and over again...

"Faust..."

"Faust..."

"Faust!"

His voice grew increasingly sorrowful, and the hollow, gradually stiffening corpse told him every second that his only friend had left him...

Mephisto gradually came to realize this fact, and his eyes turned bloodshot.

His raging emotions catalyzed the already dangerous Originium Arts to become agitated, and even his own body was covered in strange and distorted biochemical crystals.

He turned his head and stared at Maria with venomous eyes, as if he wanted to crush her bones!

But Maria simply looked at him indifferently.

His calm demeanor carried an air of absolute dominance.

She had never taken countless lives before she had taken the moral high ground to condemn the other party. In Maria's eyes, any attempt to justify killing was ridiculous.

He killed someone, and then bore the guilt of murder.

This is what these executioners should be doing.

Silently raising an arrow that Faust had not yet shot, Maria looked at Mephisto before her, preparing to kill him as well.