Upon spotting the trio, the Voidrangers surged forward like sharks drawn to the scent of blood, swarming in like a relentless tide.
"My bat has been thirsting for action!"
Swinging her Galaxy Bat, Stelle whipped up a fierce gust of wind.
The artifact's design was quite striking.
Its grip combined sleek black and gold tones with a futuristic aesthetic, while the barrel was etched with shimmering crystalline blue patterns that glowed with an otherworldly light.
The bat clashed violently with the Voidrangers' blades, which burned with negative particle spiritual flames, sending bright sparks flying in all directions.
"Hey, don't be so reckless!"
March 7th had initially been relieved that Stelle was skilled in combat and could lend a hand, but she hadn't expected her to be such a daredevil!
That fearless demeanor left March utterly stunned.
Snapping back to reality, she quickly raised her delicate hand and cast a blessing upon Stelle.
Guided by the Path of Trailblaze, azure Six-Phase Ice shot from her finger, shaped like a gun, and formed a swirling ice shield around Stelle, deflecting projectiles from the Annihilators.
In the game, character Paths were primarily designed for gameplay mechanics, but in reality, they were deeply aligned with the factions representing those Paths.
Members of the Astral Express, including Himeko, Welt, March 7th, and Dan Heng—the Nameless—were all followers of the Trailblaze Path.
By walking the Path, they gained power; their actions, thoughts, and beliefs resonated with it, and the deeper their alignment, the greater the strength they attained.
The very nature of the Paths meant that those on the same Path inevitably shared similar ideologies and perspectives.
And when a group of like-minded believers gathered, a "faction" naturally emerged.
Individuals could tread different Paths, becoming followers of multiple ones.
However, across the cosmos, those who walked multiple Paths were exceedingly rare.
To use an imperfect but vivid analogy: if Aeons were like beautiful maidens, walking a Path would be like dating one.
If your feelings changed, you could break up and pursue someone new.
But if you tried to juggle two relationships at once, well, that depended entirely on the girls' personalities.
If one was a steadfast pure love warrior or a possessive, twisted yandere, clearly, only one would remain—or survive—in the end.
For instance, those touched by Nihility could not tread other Paths; otherwise, the power of those Paths would be swallowed by the Void.
But if the girl was someone like Aha, who loved fun and thought polyamory was fine, the impact on a second Path would be negligible—heck, she'd probably be up for adding more to the mix.
The gentle, ever-accepting Abundance elder sister would never refuse sharing with others.
Abundance could even coexist with The Hunt, but the reverse wasn't true—Lan would never cast his gaze upon Abominations of Abundance, and if he did, it would only be to loose a Hunt's luminous arrow.
Walking multiple Paths was only possible at the follower stage; once one reached the core realm of a Path—the Emanator level—they could no longer advance in any other Path.
It was like moving past the dating phase and getting a marriage certificate.
A drastic change in personality or beliefs might trigger a "divorce," resulting in the loss of the Aeon's favor, though the likelihood of that happening was virtually zero.
The power of an Emanator could be seen as the wealthy beauty's assets—who would ever want to give that up?
"Watch this!"
With a flick of her wrist, March 7th summoned a girlish, blue-and-pink composite longbow into her hand.
Aiming at the creature composed of dark matter and strange energy—though strictly speaking, it couldn't be called a creature, but rather a type of automated weapon.
It was a small ion trap created by the Legion to prevent the annihilation caused by antiparticle leakage, known as the Baryon and Antibaryon.
On the battlefield, it could respond to the will and summons of the Voidrangers, clearing paths for them.
For now, it could be regarded as a mobile turret with autonomous tracking and intelligent judgment capabilities.
*Whoosh—!*
With a flick of the fingers that had been poised on the bowstring, the crystalline arrow was released, tearing through the air and arriving in an instant.
The moment the arrow struck the Baryon, it shattered into a flurry of icy fragments, spreading like freezing rain and coating the Baryon's surface, encasing its miniature ion engine in ice.
"Gently tapping the sleeping heart~!"
Humming a melody that had surfaced from her subconscious, Stelle seized the opportunity and struck the frozen mobile turret with her bat.
Instantly, the Baryon shattered along with the ice.
"Great control, great teamwork!"
"Hit its head!"
"Shoot its eyes!"
March, who had transformed into a cheerleader, cheered the two on from the rear, acting like a backseat commander.
Although March was the weakest among the Express Crew, dealing with these ordinary Voidrangers was a piece of cake for her.
The Stellaron, having gained sentience and taken on a humanoid form, was like a one-year-old baby wielding the Galaxy Bat with fierce momentum, taking down enemies with just a few swings.
In contrast, Caelus, as the other side of the coin, seemed somewhat outmatched.
After all, Stelle's combat prowess stemmed from the instincts honed by Kafka's training, ingrained in her subconscious and muscle memory.
While Caelus and Stelle were one and the same on a higher plane, his body was that of a complete newborn, devoid of any muscle memory.
His soul, a transmigrator from beyond the Imaginary Tree, had been a model student in his previous life and had never even been in a fight, barely possessing the strength to tie a chicken.
With all that, how could someone like him be expected to step onto the battlefield and engage in life-or-death struggles with the Antimatter Legion, whose sole purpose is destruction?
Bro, that's a guaranteed death sentence!
However, despite March 7th and Stelle's deliberate efforts to block them, one Voidranger managed to break through the obstacles, charging toward Caelus with a chilling, gleaming blade.
"Caelus, watch out!"
March's worried cry echoed as Caelus narrowed his eyes slightly.
He simply had a clear sense of self-awareness—it didn't mean he was afraid of these things.
For the vast majority of ordinary people, when faced with a snarling, charging dog, their instinct is to panic and flee, only to be caught and bitten.
This is because, psychologically, they lack the concept of fighting back against a dog. Regardless of the outcome, even the slightest injury would feel like an absolute, catastrophic loss!
But once that deeply ingrained mindset is discarded, those aggressive dogs would once again experience the terror their ancestors felt when facing the terrifying upright apes.
Using his mask's ability to control his emotions, Caelus focused his mind, calmly raised his hand, and aimed at the charging Voidranger's head.
With a forceful swing, he launched the yo-yo in his hand.
Although the passive energy overflowing from the Stellaron, transmitted through their unique connection, was less than a tenth of Stelle's, it still far exceeded that of an ordinary person.
The yo-yo cut through the air like a meteor, emitting a sharp whistling sound as it struck the Voidranger's head with a crisp impact.
"Huh? I see, let's give it a bit more power!"
The yo-yo, having halted the Voidranger's advance, rebounded. Caelus gave it a powerful flick, excitedly channeling the energy he had never felt before within him.
The yo-yo responded, its string winding around the Voidranger's body, binding it tightly.
The rope on this thing is much longer than it looks—maybe it can extend several hundred meters?
Just then, March 7th's support ice arrow arrived, slowing its struggles, and Stelle finished off this Voidranger with a swing of her bat.
"Are you alright, Caelus?" March 7th asked with concern before abruptly changing her tone, patting her chest in relief. "Luckily, it was just a few small fries. If a whole group showed up suddenly, that would really be trouble..."
Before March 7th could finish her sentence, a rapid clatter of hooves echoed, accompanied by a gust of wind that swept through the two girls' hair.
Frozen like a statue, March 7th slowly turned around, her smile stiff.
What met her eyes was a monster entirely encased in a hard keratin layer—or perhaps steel armor—resembling a centaur. Beside it followed a full squad of Annihilators and Marauders carrying cannons.
March 7th's eyes widened. "A... A Trampler!?"
"Did I just jinx it?"
Why did we have to run into such a troublesome creature?!
This is bad!
"I'll go smack it!" Stelle brandished her bat, completely unfazed and even a bit eager.
A perfect example of a newborn Stelle fearing no tiger!
"Hey, wait! That kind of monster isn't suitable for a baby's constitution!" March 7th tried to stop this reckless girl but failed, only managing to shout to Caelus, "Stay hidden and be careful!" before grabbing her bow and following.
If it were just a few Annihilators, Stelle and March 7th could handle them easily. But with a Trampler added to the mix, the situation was entirely different.
What's more, they had to divert energy to stop the Voidrangers charging toward Caelus. Stelle and March 7th could barely hold their ground.
The battle took a sharp turn for the worse.
The situation was dire.
Fully aware of his current combat capabilities and that jumping in might only make things worse, Caelus quickly retreated into the nearby cabin.
How to overcome this crisis?
"Simple—I'll just summon a Valkyrie~"
With that, Caelus grasped 1600 Crystals and instantly refined them.
"System, gacha!"