At this moment, Cocolia was so enraged that her teeth were chattering. Pei Guang had accurately guessed all her thoughts without a single mistake, not even a minor one!
And Pei Guang? He wore an excited smile and pointed his sword at Cocolia. "Do you have anything else to say?"
Seeing this, Dan Heng sighed helplessly. However he didn't intervene because this was a deliberate trial for Pei Guang and Stelle. As long as their actions didn't violate fundamental principles, he wouldn't step in. Yet, he couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the situation…
Pei Guang took two steps forward with his wooden sword, pointing it at Cocolia. "Come on! Let me guess. Your first move was to doubt our intentions. Your skepticism seemed logical but was full of holes. You'll say, 'If there really is a Stellaron causing these disasters, I don't see how it's related to us, and I can't believe you'd go to such lengths to help a world that has nothing to do with you and expect nothing in return,' right?"
Cocolia didn't respond, but her face, now as red as a liver, confirmed Pei Guang's guess.
Pei Guang let out a sneer. "The real game is better because the reactions are so genuine. I've fought nearly a thousand bosses like you. Pretending to know nothing, even scoffing at the goodwill of outsiders. Do you know your biggest mistake? As a leader, especially in a post-apocalyptic world, the priority is survival. Survival is the first need of civilization: when faced with us, who can solve the survival crisis, your first thought wasn't to verify the truth of our words but to drive us away, to drive away the chance of survival. What are your true intentions, Cocolia?"
Cocolia tried to speak, but before she could get a word out, Pei Guang interrupted her again.
"You want to ask what we know? Sorry, but I know everything. I've survived in minus 150-degree weather with nothing but a heater, fending off people looking for trouble. And yet, your plan is to frame us, to capture and even kill us after we leave."
"Everything you've done has only accelerated this world's destruction, speeding up the demise of civilization!"
"But to become the Supreme Guardian, you can't be that foolish. Let me guess, did someone important to you die? And then the Stellaron promised to revive them, and it—"
Before Pei Guang could finish, the temperature in the room dropped rapidly.
Dan Heng was ready to intervene. Based on Pei Guang's description and the opponent's change, he was sure that Cocolia had been corrupted by the Stellaron. Many worlds had faced such a situation—corruption and temptation by a Stellaron.
But just at that moment, Cocolia smiled brightly, and the room's temperature returned to normal.
As the Supreme Guardian, Cocolia may have gone mad, but she hadn't lost her ability to read people. She smiled brightly and spoke, "Silvermane Guards! There's an assassin."
Outside the Qlipoth Fort, Gepard had already summoned Bronya to the entrance, waiting for orders. But upon hearing the word "assassin," he rushed inside immediately. In addition, the Silvermane Guards, whom Cocolia had positioned around under various pretexts, also stormed in upon hearing the call.
"?"
Pei Guang nearly had a question mark pop up over his head. Why was this boss doing the exact opposite of what he expected? Fortunately, he had a habit of preparing multiple escape plans before facing a boss, and he had already planned an exit strategy.
In fact, he had misjudged one thing: Cocolia didn't plan to kill him once he knew the truth. She had already decided to kill Pei Guang's group the moment she heard from Gepard that someone could buff the Silvermane Guards! She wanted the world to be reborn through the Fragmentum, not to reignite the Silvermane Guards' fighting spirit. She wanted to silence the songs and kill the singers.
She had gone to great lengths to weaken the Silvermane Guards' morale and combat strength, only for a song to reignite their fighting spirit? That wouldn't do! So from the start, she had planned to ruin Pei Guang's group's reputation, ensuring all their efforts were in vain, while she accelerated her plans.
And what could more thoroughly ruin their reputation than labeling them as assassins?
Pei Guang discovered the truth? He's an outsider? So what?! She could simply order all the Silvermane Guards to kill him, no matter the cost. If he killed a few more Silvermane Guards, that would be even better, as it would speed up her plan.
What if the truth got out? Cocolia was the Supreme Guardian, and Pei Guang's group were merely outsiders.
The Silvermane Guards acted swiftly. Just as Pei Guang's group was about to prepare for battle, they burst through the door.
Gepard immediately cleared a path. "Protect Lady Cocolia!"
He feared that if he blocked the way, Pei Guang's group would fight desperately and harm Cocolia. Only by giving them a way out could Cocolia be safe.
At that moment, Cocolia smiled. "What can you do to me? When it comes to wits, my schemes far surpass yours!"
"…"
Pei Guang fell silent, while Stelle turned to him and asked, "How about we run?"
Dan Heng calmly reminded, "It seems she planned to keep us from leaving all along. You've done very well."
He noticed Cocolia's expression and the speed of the guards around them. If they had been a few minutes slower or had fewer numbers, he believed Pei Guang could have taken care of Cocolia. But now, seeing Pei Guang's furrowed brow, he knew that he was also out of options.
But should Pei Guang be blamed? No, he didn't think he did anything wrong: in fact, he felt that he had prepared exceptionally well.
Before arriving, Pei Guang had everyone improve their overall strength. He didn't rush into action but instead worked on weakening the opponent's resolve, waiting for them to make the first move or expose themselves before attacking.
As for getting captured? Whether it's today or tomorrow doesn't make much difference. Judging by the situation, Pei Guang's analysis was spot on. Even if they left today, they would still get captured later or tomorrow, and they'd still have to run.
On the contrary, facing their opponents head-on had helped them identify a clear direction, making their next moves easier.
"Are we about to be captured?" Stelle asked.
"Don't be silly! It's a plot trap. We're definitely running. You don't just kill all the NPCs when doing quests in a game, or you'll lose the chance for those golden side quests later!"
The thought of future rewards made Stelle more certain about running away.
Suddenly, March 7th, who was behind Pei Guang, remembered something and smiled excitedly. "Hey, did I win the bet? Did I really win?"
March 7th never expected that she would win the bet she had made with Pei Guang on the train. Everything had been going so smoothly up until now. Considering Pei Guang's performance, as long as he successfully provoked the enemy into attacking, they would have won easily.
The materials Pei Guang gave her had deepened her understanding of the path of protection and support, allowing her to create shields that could withstand more attacks. And with a four-on-one fight, how could they lose?
But who could have guessed that the enemy had premeditated everything, even planning to delay them with soldiers? Sure, they could take down everyone, but their mission was to seal the Stellaron, not to engage in endless battles.
March 7th then excitedly asked, "So, are we running now? But, Ah Guang, you lost! We got misunderstood and are about to be captured. Hehe, you lost!"
Pei Guang sighed, "Yeah, I lost~"
Pei Guang continued, "It's a shame. Our main mission is to find the Stellaron, seal it, and resolve the crisis it caused. Sure, brute force could get us to the Stellaron, but killing unrelated people would lower our mission rating."
Dan Heng added, "Given the situation, running away seems to be the best option. But you have a plan for that too, right?"
"Of course! I've already prepared for the possibility of failing the first challenge due to plot constraints, but we need to break out of here first."
Stelle recalled what Pei Guang had been working on the night before. "Is it that thing?"
"Exactly! That's the one!" Pei Guang confirmed.
At that moment, Dan Heng's assessment of Pei Guang rose even higher. As a Trailblazer, adaptability is key: one must know when to advance and when to retreat.
No! In fact, Dan Heng had been impressed with Pei Guang since they first met.
Though he might seem a bit erratic, Pei Guang always made careful preparations in advance. However, once Dan Heng see what Pei Guang had prepared, his assessment might take a sharp dive.