The crown atop the mountain

Bai Mo's gaze swept over them, and instantly these people, like those who had just fled, were plunged into a heart-wrenching agony. He ignored the group of thugs and turned to Koyanskaya, saying:

"Are you also going to Russia? I'm new here. Are you still doing your intelligence business?"

"Of course, I will share all the information and details you have provided in return for your generous assistance. However, let's make some coffee on the way and chat slowly."

The people here seem to be of no use, but I happen to know how this machine for opening up the Storm Wall works. Please wait a moment.

Bai Mo shook his head and said, "There's no need for that."

Then, he raised his hand and swept it Splitting the Sky, tearing a hole in the Storm barrier to reveal the scenery on the other side.

Seeing this, Koyanskaya could barely contain her smile. She then clapped her hands excitedly and exclaimed:

"As expected, investing in you back then was the right decision. Let's head out now. Rin, go make two cups of coffee in the back."

As the vehicle passed through the Storm's gap, the soldiers finally breathed a sigh of relief, freed from their pain. But the next moment, the soldier walked up to the soldier from Dream Creator had been extracted, took a knife, and chopped off his head.

"Damn it, you almost killed me, you bastard."

The other soldiers collapsed to the ground, powerless. The sergeant gritted his teeth and stood up. Looking at the fallen men, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes. Then, he slashed at the man closest to him, cleaving him in two.

"Boss, what are you doing?"

"What are you doing... You don't think we're just going to let this go like this, do you? If that person were a powerful figure from an enemy country, and he just ran away right in front of us, do you think we could bear the consequences if we were questioned about it?"

If he's a powerful figure in Xianyang, well, we're doomed. That vixen is most likely his pet; he's only not killing us to avoid getting his hands dirty!

The sergeant glared menacingly at the men, gripping his blood-stained blade tightly.

"At this point, the only way to survive is to flee into the mountains and live under an assumed name. And only the dead can keep this kind of thing a secret. Don't blame me for being ruthless! Blame your bad luck!"

After an unknown amount of time, a recorder finally arrived. Seeing the bloody scene, he calmly wrote on a piece of paper:

A fierce battle erupted here. For some unknown reason, the soldiers fought each other at the pass, and in the end, the exhausted captain and the last man perished together... There was no record of the Storm Wall exploration equipment being activated.

He glanced at the soldier's corpse implanted with the Dream Creator, then summarized the farce as chaos caused by the Dream Creator going out of control.

The wheels rolled over the frozen soil of a foreign land, leaving behind the screams and bloodshed at the pass. Under the Magnetic Field Power, even the strong cannot escape the invisible pressure of the even stronger.

Bai Mo was not surprised by this choice, and he had no sympathy for these soldiers who were utterly uncivilized and even worse than bandits.

Bai Mo and Koyanskaya had arrived in the Russia Lostbelt. As their vehicle passed through the Storm Barrier, the scenery on the other side was quite different from the peaceful Qin. The sky was covered with dark clouds, and not a single ray of light could penetrate.

But the place was brightly lit, with raging lightning everywhere in the sky, like threads hanging from the heavens, terrifying as if divine punishment.

"Sigh, Qin wasn't this chaotic before. Ever since the Qin Shi Huang announced his death, some people who pretended to be loyal have shown their true colors. These people are taking advantage of the chaos in Xianyang to try and make some money."

"This time, I really owe you a debt of gratitude, Mr. Bai Mo. Without your help, I don't know how much I would have lost."

Beside her, Koyanskaya was smiling and exchanging information with Bai Mo. She was a very intelligent woman and had consciously refrained from mentioning Bai Mo's name.

If even such a shrewd woman could encounter such a difficult situation, one can only imagine how chaotic things must be inside the Great Qin.

The Magnetic Field Power and the intervention of those powerful individuals have completely distorted the already warped Lostbelt to deviate from its normal trajectory.

"We'll talk about the situation in Qin later. I'll only be traveling with you for a short while to tell you about the situation in Russia."

Bai Mo's senses are constantly expanding, while Da Vinci is also searching for Chaldea's location within the space. Once confirmed, Bai Mo will leave immediately.

Upon hearing Bai Mo's words, Koyanskaya said with some concern:

"Mr. Bai Mo, although you are powerful now, it would be better if this Thundercloud Mountain Range stayed with us. The Qin developed the technology to open up the Storm Wall decades ago, and at the same time invaded Russia."

But the reason they've now chosen to back down is largely because of this mountain range.

Thunder rumbled incessantly across the mountains, which had become a barren wasteland, covered only with dark, charred rocks, constantly struck by lightning. Koyanskaya, however, chose a deep canyon, seemingly due to the unique terrain, where lightning was relatively scarce.

"These lightning bolts are indeed quite special; they possess the power of 700,000 horsepower, covering such a vast area, and they seem to have existed for a very long time."

Bai Mo could naturally sense the immense power of these lightning bolts, and it was precisely these lightning bolts that interfered with Bai Mo's perception, preventing his senses from spreading rapidly.

This road was only barely wide enough for Koyanskaya's convoy to pass. As they rounded a bend, Koyanskaya looked out the window and explained to Bai Mo:

"I'm sure you're curious why the Qin abandoned its offensive. One reason is that Tsarist Russia's resources were no longer worthwhile."

"Now?"

"That's right, now. This used to be a forest."

At the bend in the canyon, a gap appeared at the edge, through which a towering mountain peak could be seen, and on that peak, a colossal beast resembling a fortress was bathed in lightning.

On top of that colossal beast, Bai Mo saw a monster—wearing a crown, holding a scepter, and radiating surging lightning.

"Nine hundred and thirty thousand horsepower, but that flow rate is terrifying, so this monster is..."

"Ivan the Terrible, the Tsar of Russia."

Rin whispered from behind, looking at the figure in the lightning, which was as powerful as a god, and lowered her voice.

"Huh? This thing is Ivan IV?"

Looking at that creature that had nothing to do with humans, Bai Mo couldn't help but twitch his lips. Although Ivan IV in history was known as Ivan the Terrible and the Ivan the Terrible because of his brutal iron-fisted methods and somewhat neurotic emotions.

But isn't it a bit much to just turn into a monster like that...?

"But isn't he the Tsar? Why is he just showing up at the front lines like that? Who's controlling the Russia palace then? Besides, if we rely solely on him to hold the border and maintain this level of output, won't he just die one day when things get too tough?"

Looking at that enormous body, Bai Mo couldn't help but twitch his lips. Although the history of Tsarist Russia was rather abstract, it was still a bit outrageous that the Tsar would live directly on the front lines for several years.

Don't you want the throne anymore?

Moreover, even with this output for decades, 930,000 horsepower wouldn't be enough; it would eventually die.

"Russia is indeed currently a monarchy without Lord, and its internal situation is in complete chaos. But if it doesn't do this, Russia simply cannot resist the Great Qin, which surpasses it in both tactics and high-end combat capabilities."

It was precisely Ivan the Terrible's choice that made the Great Qin unwilling to pay too high a price, after all, the resources here were very limited, and this tough nut to crack was not easy to crack.

The original plan was to wait for Ivan the Terrible to exhaust his strength and die, but unexpectedly, the Qin Shi Huang died first.

Listening to Koyanskaya's explanation, Bai Mo was also somewhat moved. He could only rely on his own king to stand alone on the frontier, and judging from his appearance, he seemed to be mentally unstable. Otherwise, a being with 930,000 horses would not have failed to discover Koyanskaya and her group.

He seemed to be asleep.

As Bai Mo listened to Koyanskaya's introduction, he slowly expanded his senses. When they had traveled halfway, Bai Mo frowned and his gaze instantly turned to the distance.

There, a metallic armored vehicle was driving through the snow, its armor riddled with holes. Behind it, several masked figures in black were relentlessly attacking the vehicle.

"The outer shell is 85% damaged, and the fuel can last for another two minutes. We've entered the Thundercloud Mountain Range region, but the pursuers behind us show no sign of stopping!"

Inside the control room, alarms blared, and the middle-aged, overweight man at the head of the group frantically yanked at his hair, letting out desperate howls.

"Good things never come in pairs, and bad things always seem to pile up! What's wrong with these guys? How dare they rush in like this? What grudge do they hold against us that they're so desperate to kill us?!"

On the other side of the mountain, Bai Mo unbuckled his seatbelt and said to Koyanskaya and Rin:

"Let's stop here for now. We'll talk again later. I've found the person I'm looking for."