The Silvermane Guards surrounded the Rift entrance located in the Edge Passage, not daring to act rashly.
Bronya and Pela were also brought here.
Bronya frowned slightly, clenched her teeth, parted her lips, and clicked her tongue.
"They rushed in!" Pela turned to look at Bronya, waiting for the commander's next decision.
"…They actually charged into the Rift themselves. I don't know whether this is overconfidence or courting death. It seems Mother's judgment was correct…" Bronya lowered her gaze slightly and muttered to herself.
Pela asked, "Should we report them as missing or dead?"
Bronya closed her eyes and pondered for a moment, then said, "No. The Great Guardian's order was to arrest the criminals. We can't refuse pursuit just because they fled into the sealed area.
"Whether dead or alive, I must see it with my own eyes."
Pela replied, "Yes."
After another brief pause of a few seconds, Bronya turned and walked back, murmuring to herself as if to steel her resolve.
"What I can still do now… is cut down the villains who threaten Belobog."
———
Meanwhile, the Trailblaze squad that had charged into the Rift only stopped after running several blocks. Turning back to look, it seemed the Silvermane Guards were not rushing to chase after them.
At this moment, March was extremely excited over their successful escape.
"Ha! Look, they really didn't follow us in! Freedom! Serves them right! Hahaha, if they want to catch us, they're a few hundred years too early!"
Stelle silently gave a thumbs-up. "Nicely done!"
March immediately waved her hands and put on a modest expression. "Oh, come on, the credit belongs to everyone~"
When everyone was feeling high and carried away, it was up to Dan Heng to pull their mindset back on track.
He spoke in the same calm tone as always, as if he had already thought everything through.
"The Silvermane Guards were just caught off guard. It won't be long before they chase into the Rift."
"Teacher Dan Heng, then what should we do next?" Nero rode the wind over and landed beside everyone.
There was no impurity in the boy's eyes, yet he spoke with great seriousness, saying something rather frightening, "This is a Rift formed by the Edge Passage being affected. There should be plenty of elemental crystal-type creatures around."
"We've run this far, and the Guards won't rush in immediately…"
"We should have enough time to catch a few more Rift creatures and turn them into traps."
"When the Guards rush in, they'll go 'bang' and blow up."
Hearing this, March turned her head toward Nero. "N-no need for that… don't you think this is a bit too much…?"
Stelle nodded at the side. "You're being a little extreme."
Nero spread his hands, then looked at Dan Heng.
He was just offering a plan. How to proceed should still be decided by Dan Heng, the external brain.
Dan Heng thought for a moment. From his past experience, Nero's method, using existing advantages to set traps and ambush enemies, was indeed a very good choice.
But in the current situation, although Cocolia had turned hostile outright, they hadn't completely lost the possibility of negotiation, nor had they absolutely cut off all chances of future communication.
Under these circumstances, adopting Nero's approach really was a bit extreme.
Moreover, such a choice would definitely provoke other people in Belobog. At that point, they would be completely branded as criminals, no matter how much they washed themselves in the holy water, they wouldn't be able to clear their names, and it would instead be exactly what Cocolia wanted.
Thinking of this, Dan Heng raised an eyebrow slightly and looked at Nero with a somewhat puzzled gaze.
'This kid…'
'Did he really not think of this point, or did he simply not care at all and enjoy watching things blow up?'
Sighing, Dan Heng said, "Let's move along the roads. First ensure our safety, then make the next plan."
After that, under the guidance of the reliable Teacher Dan Heng, the Trailblaze squad wandered through the various branching paths of the Edge Passage.
During this time, Nero took the opportunity to send a few messages to Mr. Yang on his phone.
He first resent a photo of Cocolia.
Then he sent a text message, [Mr. Yang, Sister Himeko, this woman is not a good person!]
[She said on the first day she wanted to discuss cooperation with us, and on the second day she sent troops to arrest us!]
[We're hiding in the Rift now. It's very safe. No need to worry.]
After that, Nero very considerately added photos casually taken in the Edge Passage.
For example, a group photo of Nero with Rift creatures roaming around inside.
In the image, a Incineration Shadewalker (a kind of phantom that patrols the Rift, grotesquely mimicking the form of the Silvermane Guards, with armor just as orderly as Belobog's soldiers, but with its entire body engulfed in flames and its head replaced by faceless embers) was lying face-down on the ground in an orz pose with its butt sticking up, while Nero sat on top of the thing with a cheerful grin.
In the corner of the frame, the figures of Dan Heng and the others fighting other Rift creatures could also be seen.
The two parental figures aboard the Astral Express fell into silence as they looked at the messages Nero sent, as if thin black lines were crawling over their faces.
They even began to suspect that Nero had no idea what he was actually doing.
'Very safe, no need to worry my ass!'
———
Mr. Yang stood up and gently pushed his glasses.
He frowned, and a trace of weariness seemed to show deep in his eyes, as if saying, here we go again…
Although he knew very well that it wasn't the same person, this was still a bit too…
———
Meanwhile, inside the Rift, the Trailblaze squad's escape plan was still ongoing.
At this moment, it was another confrontation with Rift creations.
Although they had already expended some stamina, these little small fry were clearly no match for the Trailblaze squad.
However, the Silvermane Guards' speed of action was much faster than expected. Before this, the group had already run into Guards who had entered the Rift from other places, attempting to cut them off.
But since they had no intention of completely tearing relations with Belobog apart, they didn't want to engage in direct conflict with the Silvermane Guards.
Unlike back at the space station, where they would charge straight in and beat up the Antimatter Legion the moment they saw them, now whenever they spotted the Guards, they would simply choose another route.
This kind of choice easily led to getting lost, but thanks to Teacher Dan Heng's powerful memory, under his leadership the Trailblaze squad hadn't encountered a dead end even now.
In addition, where there were many Rift creatures, there were few Guards, and where there were many Guards, there were few Rift creatures.
So, while the Trailblaze squad actively avoided the Guards, the Rift creatures of the Edge Passage were the ones who really suffered…
Although the Silvermane Guards didn't receive the same treatment as the Antimatter Legion, the Rift creatures of the Edge Passage did.
Another day where only Rift creatures were injured…
Ever since Rift creatures first came into contact with Nero, it seemed they'd found it hard to live any good days, those carefree days of wandering around the Rift were over.
Perhaps before long, some urban-legend-like rumors would begin to spread among those Rift creatures that retained a certain level of intelligence.
They might pass this rumor along by word of mouth, treating it as an unchanging ancestral rule, 'Do not make contact with white-haired children, Rift creatures will become unfortunate because of it!'