Chapter 19 Chapter 19 Kazdel
Chapter 19 Kazdel
Shhh—
"The missing Third Squad has been located, confirmed completely annihilated. The Fragment of the Evil has disappeared... Preliminary assessment indicates it was eliminated by the target. The target's direction of travel is towards the national border."
A cold and hard sensation. The Imperial Guard silently lowered his frozen hand from the ice block. He couldn't sense even a trace of life emanating from within; even the aura of the Fragment of the Evil had vanished without a trace, leaving not a single remnant.
Nearly half an hour after the Catastrophe clouds dispersed, the Imperial Guards finally found the four ice sculptures sealed within the black ice plain.
Along with them was a charred black scorch mark stretching from the ice plain to the horizon beyond sight. The residual intense heat formed opposing air currents with the icy plain, causing chaotic, unregulated turbulence that stirred the winds across this vast area.
Suddenly, the Imperial Guard seemed to notice something. Braving the significantly diminished but still present high temperature, he picked up a solidified piece of ice from its edge.
The red light in his eye sockets contracted sharply. Beneath the translucent ice layer, flames were still burning quietly. The heavenly fire did not extinguish; the blazing flames did not die out.
Frozen flames?
"Do we... still pursue?"
The Imperial Guard squad Amiya spoke.
There was only a long silence over the earpiece.
"(Breathing) Number Twenty-One, confirm again. Is what you reported... true?"
Fire burning a Catastrophe, a sword parting the clouds... Reality isn't a Yanese storybook. The situation described by Number Twenty-One was far too bizarre.
If he didn't know what kind of person Number Twenty-One was, he would have thought someone was playing a joke on him.
"The situation is true."
The Imperial Guard's voice held not a trace of fluctuation, cold and restrained.
"Then we won't pursue. Catching up would be useless anyway. Personnel will follow up to conduct cleanup and inspection of the scene. I hope you will take responsibility for your report."
"Received."
—
The vast snowy landscape gradually fell behind them, replaced by sparse vegetation and an endless expanse of wilderness.
Kevin and Pozëmka had already crossed the border. Because Ursus's territory was simply too vast, the two of them passed through very smoothly without encountering any border identity checks.
The sun hung high in the sky. All that met the eye were desolate Gobi deserts and yellow sand. Occasionally, a few ruins could be seen, heavily weathered. Clearly, no one had visited this place for a long time.
As they moved further from the north, the temperature gradually rose. Sweat appeared on Pozëmka's forehead. She had long since shed her heavy winter clothing, changing into lighter garments.
A black inner layer outlined her perfect body curves. Beneath the bright red hem and white shorts were fair, slender jade-like legs. Tempting and mysterious black ribbons cinched her calves while securing outdoor boots suitable for long journeys.
A few beads of sweat rolled down her snow-white swan neck along fine hairs. Her ample bosom rose and fell with her breathing rhythm.
"Let's find a place to rest."
Kevin's voice came, but he didn't turn around.
Pozëmka, slightly breathless from the long journey, couldn't help but pause for a moment before breaking into a smile.
"Alright. About three hundred meters southeast from here, there should be a small town. Why don't we go there to rest?"
No stubborn insistence, no polite refusals. She knew Kevin didn't like those formalities.
"Mhm, let's go."
Kevin nodded.
—
Gunn Town was one of the extremely rare settlements on this wilderness bordering Ursus.
A bustling market, noisy taverns, and some lodging houses—small as a sparrow but complete with all essential organs.
For Sarkaz mercenaries rushing about for bounties and missions, this was indeed a rare place to stop. At least under the pressure of certain individuals, Gunn Town still maintained the most basic rules and fairness.
Outside the town gates, life-and-death struggles had nothing to do with Gunn Town.
But inside the town gates, starting a fight was equivalent to poking a hornet's nest.
So it was rare to see anyone dare to cause trouble here. Occasionally, a few newcomers who didn't know better would be dealt with quickly.
Today, nearly a hundred meters outside Gunn Town's gates, two mysterious travelers arrived—a man and a woman.
"Hey! You there! Stop!"
A Sarkaz mercenary shouted roughly.
But the two showed no intention of paying him any attention. The mercenary had sharp eyes; he saw the woman carried no weapons. The man wore a trench coat, making it hard to see clearly, but he also didn't seem like someone who lived by the blade.
Neither showed any intention of acknowledging him, simply continuing forward on their own.
"Hey! Sarkaz profanity Ignoring me, huh? Looks like these two young master and miss haven't grasped the situation. Come on, let's show these two what our Kazdel's local customs are like..."
At the command of the leading mercenary captain, nearly ten-plus fierce mercenaries like tigers and wolves charged down from a small slope, holding weapons that were either worn-out or poorly maintained from disuse.
Seeing these people's movements, the two finally stopped walking.
"Hahaha! Haven't had a good haul in ages. The damn heavens are so generous today, specially sending me two tender-skinned young master and miss."
The mercenary captain's face was almost overflowing with a ferocious grin.
—
Moisture in the air solidified under low temperatures. The cold air also carried a nauseating smell of blood.
"...B-big brother! L-let's talk this out! We can talk!"
"I ask. You answer."
"Yes! Ask away! Ask away! I promise I'll answer everything!"
All four limbs were fixed by black ice crystals. With Kevin's calm voice, the sharp ice spike at the mercenary captain's neck seemed to press closer again, scaring him half out of his wits. If his lower body wasn't also frozen solid, he probably would have "released" in eight different directions by now.
With a tearful face, he hurriedly begged for mercy.
Please don't misunderstand—these casually assembled mercenaries had absolutely no sense of honor to speak of, let alone any firm fighting spirit!
Didn't you see his companions skewered like candied haws? Their blood even splattered onto his face!
For any mercenary with a normal mindset—the more accustomed they became to death, the more blood they stained their hands with—the more they cherished their own life. After all, wasn't survival their initial reason for becoming mercenaries in the first place?
As long as the green hills remain, there'll be no shortage of firewood.
This ancient Yanese saying was almost perfectly embodied in these mercenaries.
"Inside the town..."
Subsequently, Kevin asked some basic questions about Gunn Town's internal situation and power distribution.
As for more secretive matters? Different levels of information acquisition have different channels. Some more hidden things weren't something a small-time Sarkaz mercenary like him could know.
Fortunately, Kevin had no need or desire to uncover secrets either.
After finishing his questions, he left with Pozëmka.
Watching Kevin depart, the mercenary captain finally breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed his life was spared.
Ssshh!
What was that? Something cool?
The cold numbed his body's senses. He instinctively looked down. Gushing crimson flowed down like an opened sluice gate along the black ice crystals—that was his blood!
————
*[He Shall Bear]*
Effect: When this Operator is deployed for the first time, HP -50%, and in subsequent nodes, it is easier to obtain *[Salvation]* series collectibles.
Description: A peculiar object collected within the Ursus Empire Scientific Research Institute—a frozen block of unmelting ice within which an orange-red flame of unknown fuel continues to burn.
This is "a frozen flame." When this object first arrived at the institute, it caused quite a stir among scientists. However, due to its unique nature as a sample, only a handful of Doctors had the opportunity to access and study it. Regrettably, they have yet to understand its principles to this day.
lmao the fire still burning. as expected of shamash