Nero's eyes were firm as he struck down with the force of splitting a mountain.
The two Tramplerss looked at the aggressive Nero and neither dodged nor backed away. Instead, they moved in close.
They walked the path of Destruction, anti-matter energy surging within their bodies; they did not know fear, and killing intent surged violently in their chests.
One Tramplers raised its hand to draw a bow, while the other lifted its iron hooves. It was obvious they intended to fight Nero head-on.
Nero's body, compared to the two Tramplerss, looked like a tiny potted plant.
Suddenly, the ink-wash cave-heaven surged in like a tide, flooding over this space. The injured Arlan was excluded from it.
Though they hadn't worked together long, after their earlier cooperation and thanks to his experience as a Nameless, Dan Heng immediately understood Nero's intention.
Before the cave-heaven manifested, he had already checked, aside from the two Tramplerss, there were no other enemies for now.
'Finish the battle quickly.'
March 7th and Stelle reacted just as fast, their movements not much slower than Dan Heng's.
By the time the monster finished evolving, the frost arrows formed by the Six-Phased Ice had already shot out.
Midair, the frost arrows of the Six-Phased Ice exploded with a boom, becoming countless Pom Pom-shaped projectiles landing at the feet of the two Tramplerss. Ice mist spread, freezing both Tramplerss into ice sculptures.
Stelle shot out like an arrow from a bow. A huge power swelled and pulsed in her body, radiating outward and winding tightly around her bat.
At this moment Nero had already landed. The large saber he had snatched from Arlan slashed down vertically, cutting straight into the ice sculpture of the Tramplers in front of him. The blade did not lose momentum and cleaved straight to the bottom.
A complete Tramplers ice sculpture was split cleanly in half right before everyone's eyes.
Stelle raised her bat high, rushed to the other Tramplers ice sculpture, and swung with the momentum. With a loud bang!, the ice on that Tramplers shattered, and it was knocked sprawling like a toppled beast.
The cave-heaven faded away. After landing, Nero turned back and shouted, "Perfect teamwork!"
"Yay!" March 7th hopped in place. "Nero, give me a high five!"
The two little brats happily ran together and slapped hands.
This kind of cooperation clearly thrilled both of them.
A faint, nearly invisible smile tugged at Dan Heng's lips. Carrying Cloudpiercer, he walked forward, intending to join Stelle in delivering the final blow to the last Tramplers.
But the weakened Tramplers, its body drooping, suddenly stood up. Like a frenzied beast, it threw its head back and howled. Waves of force burst out one after another, blowing Dan Heng and Stelle backward.
Right after, one Altered Voidranger after another appeared behind it, forming an encirclement around the train crew.
"Huh? Can't win so you start swarming us? What, can't play fair?" March 7th raised her bow, suddenly unsure which one to aim at.
Dan Heng and Stelle quickly steadied themselves and protected the three behind them.
"No worry, I will act."
Nero's voice sounded from behind them. The blue-robed figure took a single step, crossing over ten meters in an instant.
A gale rose from nothing, whipping his clothing wildly. Nero raised his hand and grabbed, clutching the twisting storm itself as if drawing out a peerless, razor-sharp blade.
Then Nero held a sword in his left hand and a saber in his right. His figure turned into a gust of wind, and then suddenly swelled into a fierce storm, sweeping the Voidrangers and Altered enemies before him into the vortex.
At the same time, a precision mechanical creation, something like a drone or robot, spun as it flew in from afar. Flames surged across its surface, and a circular saw extended from it, dazzling cold light glinting as it spun rapidly and emitted a shrill sound.
The wild wind became sharp at that moment, like a massive meat grinder. It left countless sword marks on the Altered and Tramplers, and the fragile Altered were torn into pieces by the wind blades. Even the Tramplers was covered in wounds.
The flying mechanical creation thrust its saw forward like a deadly executioner, cutting into the Tramplers's body. Like a crazed butcher, it tore apart the flesh that refused to die, and in the end it sliced the Tramplers cleanly in half.
Finally, Nero landed lightly, the small whirlwinds at his feet dissipating. The boy's white hair swayed. He turned his head; his delicate face was as clean as ever, and his slightly oversized blue robe was neat and unruffled.
The mechanical creation stopped in front of Dan Heng and the others, no longer advancing.
"Ahahaha! It's Himeko! And Nero, I can't believe you're this strong?" March's eyes sparkled with brilliant light.
"Hehe…" Nero smiled bashfully.
Dan Heng let out a breath of relief. Beside him, Stelle swung her bat absently, muttering to herself, the words Nero just said flashing repeatedly in her mind.
'No worry, I will act… no worry, I will act… no worry, I will act… hehe… cool.'
"Stop acting! Let's hurry back to the main control cabin!"
March 7th grabbed Stelle and ran toward the elevator. "Today is another big victory for the train crew!"
The girl's cheerful voice filled everyone's ears.
Dan Heng supported Arlan, and Nero quietly followed behind the group. They entered the elevator together, preparing to head to the main control cabin.
Of course, that mechanical creation also followed them back.
Once they returned to the main control cabin, a red-haired beauty was waiting for them.
Himeko's fiery red hair flowed behind her. She wore a pure-white slit dress, with a military jacket draped over her shoulders. Rose-gold accessories complemented her style, giving off an elegant yet capable impression. Her pale golden eyes held a hint of softness.
"March, Dan Heng, thank you for your hard work."
As soon as she saw them come out of the elevator, Himeko greeted the train crew first.
The mechanical creation that had appeared midway quickly flew back to Himeko's side and transformed into a suitcase.
Seeing Himeko, March put her hands on her hips and spoke in a slightly whiny tone, "Himeko, next time come earlier! That last batch of antimatter troops was like a swarm of locusts. I use a bow, you know, so fighting them is so troublesome! Luckily Nero was there."
Himeko spread her hands. "Coming earlier wouldn't have helped. My orbital cannon can wipe out an area, sure, but if Herta came back and saw the space station like this, she'd absolutely blame us."
"Then just blame Nero for it!" March 7th grinned mischievously. "He already crashed a hole into the space station anyway."
Nero, who had been leisurely munching metaphorical popcorn and enjoying watching the Star Rail story play out up close, froze instantly. "Huh?"
'Wait…'
'How did eating popcorn end up dragging me into this?!'
Seeing Nero's dumbfounded expression, March made a goofy face.
Himeko just gave a gentle smile and turned to Arlan. "Are you alright, Arlan? Asta was really worried about you."
Arlan nodded, the honest man giving an honest reply, "I'm fine. I just need to get the wound bandaged. Thank you all. I'll go report to Miss Asta now. Goodbye."
With that, Arlan left.
Only then did Himeko turn to Nero and Stelle and greet the two of them, "Hi, nice to meet you. I'm Himeko, the navigator of the Astral Express."