The Silvermane Guards Questioned Everything-This Little Girl Was Trouble!
The fine steel spear shafts bent at grotesque angles in midair.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
More than a dozen broken fine steel spearheads flew off.
They spun into the nearby snowbanks without so much as a clink, their sounds swallowed by the snow.
The charge had carried too much momentum.
With nothing left to brace against, the dozen or so Silvermane Guards in the front rank completely lost their balance.
Like bowling balls hurled down a lane, they hurtled headfirst into the knee-deep snow.
Their heavy silver armor slammed together.
A series of muffled clangs rang out.
Helmets struck their comrades' breastplates, and armored boots kicked their fellow soldiers in the back.
More than a dozen men tumbled into a heap of metal in the snow, arms and legs hopelessly tangled.
The impact sent white powder flying more than two meters high.
March 7th held up her Six-Phased Ice Bow.
The bowstring was still pulled taut against her fingers, cutting deep red grooves into their pads.
Her mouth hung open, and she forgot to lower her bow.
The counterattack she had just prepared froze midway.
Cold wind rushed into her mouth, choking two violent coughs out of her and nearly bringing tears to her eyes.
Gepard stood at the rear of the formation.
His composure shattered in an instant, the muscles on either side of his jaw pulling tight.
His teeth ground audibly.
"A High-Frequency Stealth Shield Generator?"
He lowered his voice, staring fixedly at the little white-haired girl.
As far as anyone in Belobog knew, only advanced defensive technology left behind by the company could snap more than a dozen fine steel spears in an instant.
But every shield had a limit to how much damage it could take.
With enough force, it could be smashed apart.
Gepard did not hesitate.
He shoved aside the two Iron Guards in front of him.
His heavy armored boots stepped through the craters his comrades had made as he strode out of the formation.
With one hand, he hoisted the heavy shield that resembled an enormous instrument case.
An eerie blue glow suddenly lit up its thick metal surface.
It was the power of the Path of Preservation.
Even the howling wind and snow around him seemed forcibly drawn toward the shield.
Frost spread rapidly along its edges, condensing into a thick layer of sharp ice.
"Get back!"
Gepard roared, his voice drowning out the storm.
His powerful arm swung the heavy shield up.
He twisted hard at the waist, driving his entire upper body through a half turn in the snow.
With a howl that tore through the gale, the enormous shield came crashing down like an iceberg.
It hurtled straight toward Su Chen's face.
The blow carried such crushing force that it compressed the air into a thunderous boom.
Gepard intended to smash that invisible shield generator outright.
Su Chen did not even raise his eyelids.
His two small, fair hands remained tucked into the pockets of his black uniform.
A strawberry lollipop sat in his mouth, puffing out his cheek as he slowly savored its sweetness.
The heavy shield came down.
The ice imbued with Preservation's power stopped just half an inch from the little girl's nose.
Then it came to an abrupt, absolute halt.
There was no earth-shattering explosion.
Only a dull impact that made everyone's eardrums ache.
It was like throwing a punch with all your strength into a thick block of solid lead.
The force was swallowed completely, with nowhere to escape.
Gepard's expression changed utterly.
He felt as though he had struck not an energy shield.
But an endlessly extending Wall of Sighs.
The power of Preservation clinging to his shield vanished without a trace, unable to stir even the slightest ripple.
Then came the recoil.
An incomprehensibly violent force surged back through the shield.
Crack!
Cracks instantly webbed across the ice coating its surface.
It burst into a cloud of white ice powder, spraying Gepard full in the face.
A violent shudder ran through his entire body.
With a wet pop, the webbing between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand split open around the shield's handle.
Flesh peeled back, and warm blood spurted out.
Agonizing pain shot along his nerves straight into his skull.
His right arm went numb in an instant, losing all sensation.
His heavy metal bracer creaked under the unbearable strain.
Gepard could no longer hold on to the shield's handle.
The terrifying recoil sent him staggering backward.
His armored boots plowed two deep furrows through the hard, frozen ground.
He stumbled back a full five steps.
His back slammed into an Iron Guard behind him who had yet to get up.
Both men fell into the snow, throwing up a great cloud of white powder.
The blizzard continued to rage across the frozen plains.
Gepard knelt on one knee.
He gasped for breath, his lungs feeling as though they had been stuffed with broken glass, every breath carrying the thick taste of blood.
His chest heaved, and the joints of his armor clinked softly.
He lowered his head and looked at his right hand.
The fine steel gauntlet had been warped by the impact.
The tear between his thumb and forefinger was deep, its edges curling outward.
Warm blood welled through the gaps in his gauntlet, dripping steadily.
Crimson drops landed on the pristine white snow.
They instantly melted a series of glaring little red pits.
The contrast between red and white was horrifying against the gray, frozen plains.
Gepard's entire right arm was spasming.
His muscles twitched uncontrollably, making his deformed gauntlet rattle faintly.
He tried to make a fist.
But his fingers were too stiff to bend at all.
That hand would be useless for a while.
All the Silvermane Guards around him stopped moving.
The soldiers farther back, who had not yet had time to charge, gripped their spears tightly in both hands.
Their spearheads wavered in the wind.
Through their visors, they stared at the bloodied Defender kneeling on one knee.
Then they turned to look at the little white-haired girl still standing where she had been, without even a crease in her clothes.
Fear was like a drop of ink on rice paper.
It spread rapidly through the Iron Guards' formation.
This was Commander Gepard.
Belobog's sturdiest shield, the very embodiment of Preservation's will.
He had not touched so much as a hair on his opponent's head, yet the recoil had torn his hand open and left him kneeling in the snow?
The Iron Guards' defenses collapsed.
Not their physical defenses, but their mental ones, shattered to pieces.
Several soldiers in the front rank swallowed and instinctively edged half a step back.
Their boots made timid rustling sounds against the snow.
The once rock-solid battle formation grew loose and disordered.
This was no human.
This was a monster wearing a girl's skin.
Su Chen sighed.
He pulled his small hands out of his uniform pockets.
Looking bored, he ruffled his windblown white hair.
"Are you done yet?"
He spoke in a thoroughly bored, childlike voice.
It was not loud, but it carried far through the blizzard, reaching every Iron Guard's ears with perfect clarity.
"This young lady hasn't even tried yet, and you're all already on the ground."
Bracing his uninjured left hand against his knee, Gepard slowly stood.
He swayed, then planted his boots firmly in the snow and barely steadied himself.
Blood still dripped from his right hand, staining a small patch of snow red.
He stared fixedly at Su Chen.
The Defender's mind raced.
I can't win.
There's absolutely no way.
This gap is beyond anything numbers or tactics can bridge.
If I order another attack, all these dozens of Iron Guards will die here today and become corpses on the snowfields.
As a soldier, he did not fear death.
But he could not let his men throw their lives away.
Gepard clenched his teeth.
His throat bobbed as he swallowed a mouthful of bloody saliva.
He waved his left hand.
He signaled for all the Iron Guards to lower their spears and stand down.
Visibly relieved, the soldiers took one large step back in unison.
He slung the heavy instrument-case shield onto his back.
The movement tugged at his injured right arm, drawing a muffled grunt from him.
A sheen of cold sweat broke out across his forehead and quickly chilled in the wind.
He straightened.
He looked toward the Astral Express Crew.
"Who exactly are you?"
Gepard's voice was a little hoarse, its earlier harshness replaced by weary concession.
"If you've come to negotiate..."
He paused, his gaze passing over the little white-haired girl as his tone softened.
"I'll take you to see the Supreme Guardian."
At those words, Su Chen's cheeks abruptly tightened.
Crunch.
He bit straight through the strawberry lollipop in his mouth.
The pieces crunched between his teeth.
He raised a small, fair hand and pushed up the sunglasses that had slipped down his nose.
His azure eyes shone with arrogance.
"Wouldn't it have been easier to say that from the start?"
Little Satoru Gojo spat the plastic lollipop stick out of her mouth.
"Lead the way. This young lady was just about to pay your boss a visit."