The auxiliary cannon of the Star Destroyer delivered an ultra-long-range strike, a beam descending from the sky and directly targeting the center of the Fragmentum creatures. But the beam didn't explode; instead, it maintained a continuous high-intensity energy.
Under March 7th's control, the beam moved slowly, and any Fragmentum creatures it touched were obliterated by the intense energy. The land left in its wake was nothing but scorched earth.
March 7th: "Pei Guang, your battleship tech is incredible. You can literally hit wherever you want, and the intensity can be adjusted within its attack range…"
Pei Guang: "Of course! Otherwise, why call it the Star Destroyer? Anyway, the fight's moving forward. Cocolia's transformation should be complete soon. Everyone, prepare for battle and watch out for her attacks."
Although the continuous strike had a limit, March 7th realized that as long as it wasn't reached, the attack could be tailored to achieve almost any desired effect. And yes, the Star Destroyer battleship's strikes came with special effects!
After being hit by the beam, the dead Fragmentum creatures triggered magical effects. Their bodies turned a bright golden yellow before exploding into various forms of yellow bean-shaped characters.
When they burst apart, golden light shot up into the sky. And then? Well, that was it. It was just a visual effect—what more did you expect? Oh, by the way, this effect was visible to the whole universe.
Yes, not just people in this world or on the Astral Express, but beings across countless worlds in the galaxy could see this light.
Today was a peculiar day for the universe's inhabitants. Beams of light crisscrossed the galaxy, and upon investigation, the sounds of "Ahahahah~ Ahahahah" accompanied the beams. The laughter was oddly similar to that of a certain space entity, Teemo. Nobody knew if some Aeon had gone a bit loopy. After all, even the Aeon of Nihility appeared unreliable in appearance, so strange happenings in the galaxy weren't that unusual.
But most believed these beams had a deeper meaning. Perhaps they were a signal from a harbinger of things to come: countless scholars studied the beams traversing the galaxy, trying to discern their origin and meaning.
While observing the lights, some saw goofy faces, some saw tearful bean characters, and others saw spitting emoji. Even the Genius Society couldn't help but become curious about what these beams truly represented.
Back on the battlefield, Stelle couldn't resist charging towards the golden light. She was excited by its appearance but furious that the spectacle didn't yield any rewards.
Stelle, upset and in anguish, glared at Pei Guang: "Your Star Destroyer Battleship… is broken!"
Pei Guang: "I had no idea it had such trolly special effects. This is just messing with people's heads."
Stelle: "Exactly, but we could use it later to mess with others' heads."
Pei Guang: "No wonder you're you; you've already grasped the essence of it. But it's no big deal. The boss is transforming, so even if there were any drops, we could leave them on the ground. Focus on the fight now."
Stelle: "Understood~"
March 7th: "I've been ready for this!"
But the most bewildered at this moment weren't Belobog's residents or the galaxy's scholars—it was Welt. From his observations, the Star Destroyer Battleship had consumed vast amounts of energy, delivering a strike with ridiculously low power. Yet, it was overloaded with a plethora of useless special effects. How had this pointless display drained several energy cores at the Emanator level?
Welt: "That was… an elegant attack…"
Himeko: "It was quite the display…"
Whether it was March 7th's silly, low-budget cosplay or the grand attack from the sky, other than messing with people's heads and wiping out a wave of Fragmentum creatures, it didn't seem to serve any practical purpose. Well… to the untrained eye, that is.
March 7th, on the other hand, was utterly pleased with the show. She pulled out her camera and took several snapshots. For a long time, she'd wanted to feel like Himeko, a mature big sister figure. And after this experience, she realized it was actually quite fun.
While they were having fun disrespecting the Stellaron and Cocolia, on the other side, Bronya and Seele were locked in an intense battle. Sparks were flying everywhere, especially since Seele had equipped attack effects, which meant that Cocolia mostly saw blue butterflies everywhere, obscuring her vision and causing a constant ringing in her head.
"Damn it! The Stellaron will rewrite everything!!!"
At that moment, Cocolia completed her transformation. Her body seemed to merge with the universe, with her limbs covered in ice, and icy spears floating around her.
Fully transformed, Cocolia could now fully wield the Stellaron's power. She was ready to rewrite the world.
She ascended into the sky. Seeing her rise, Seele panicked: "What do we do? We can't reach her!"
Bronya looked at the floating Cocolia and already had a plan: "Help me, Pei Guang!!!"
Meanwhile, in the sky, Cocolia prepared to unleash an unstoppable attack: "Are you relying on that outsider? In that case, DIE!"
Cocolia's full-power attack targeted Pei Guang. Everyone on the ground braced for the impact, especially Pei Guang, who had been keeping an eye on Cocolia since March 7th's bombardment.
This time, Cocolia launched a powerful physical attack. But despite the Stellaron's influence, it was still just a physical attack. For anyone other than Pei Guang, it would be impossible to withstand such a strike powered by the Stellaron. However, Pei Guang could block it, because it was, after all, a physical attack.
In the final moment before the attack struck, Pei Guang deflected Cocolia's weapon. Quick as a flash, Stelle seized the weapon and excitedly shouted: "Pei Guang! The boss gave us loot! Wait, where's Pei Guang?"
But as Stelle grabbed the weapon, she noticed Pei Guang had disappeared. She found herself standing in what appeared to be space.
"Hey? Where's our Pei Guang?"
Stelle looked around and noticed a beam of light: hopping towards it with excitement, she saw a few illusions along the way.
However, she wasn't the least bit interested in these illusions and continued straight ahead. After an unknown amount of time running, she came across a young girl.
This young girl represented the Supreme Guardian's will, a will that had been passed down for 700 years: she had many things to say to Stelle, but Stelle didn't pay her any mind, running past her because she saw an orange light!!!
Stelle remembered what Pei Guang had once told her: according to him, golden light, orange light and rainbow light signify something incredibly rare. Under the orange glow, a spear was lodged in the ground, and she naturally had to pull it out and take it with her.
"You don't want to know the truth?"
A hollow yet emotional voice made Stelle instinctively pause. She turned to look at the little girl. "The truth? The truth doesn't matter. I'm a Trailblazer. A key member of the Trailblazer squad. All I need to know is that I'm doing what I believe is right and achieving the outcome I want. As for the rest... I just need to know when to go on a killing spree."
The Guardian's will: "…"
Seeing the little girl left speechless, Stelle happily skipped toward the glowing orange spear. As she reached it, she didn't hesitate, grabbing it immediately.
But as soon as she touched it, she felt an intense heat, as if her soul was being scorched. However, she didn't care—Stelle only wanted to pull out this weapon.
Because… it's orange!!!
Stelle could feel the spear loosening as she pulled it upward: that was enough for her.
"Yeah! Orange light… it's mine!!!"
The War-Flaming Lance emerged.
In the moment the War-Flaming Lance was drawn, Stelle faintly heard the sound of hammering. Hammering? Fire? Stelle didn't care about any of that—her real focus was the spear in her hands.
"This is it! An orange-tier weapon!!!!"
Stelle excitedly gripped her new weapon. Then, she noticed a stone golem holding a hammer, staring right at her.
"What are you looking at? I'm not giving it to you. Wait… are you an Aeon?" Stelle noticed the figure of Qlipoth, and happily called out, "Come over here! Come closer, so I can stab…"
Before she could finish her sentence, someone wearing a ridiculous mask suddenly appeared beside Stelle, teleporting her right under Qlipoth. However, Stelle didn't notice the masked figure.
Qlipoth continued to watch Stelle as she completed one of Pei Guang's objectives. She stood underneath the Aeon and raised her spear: "Don't move! I just need to poke you, just once!!!"
Stelle lifted the War-Flaming Lance high—just a bit more, she was so close!
Qlipoth didn't hesitate and swung his hammer. But as for who he was actually targeting? That remained unknown.
At this moment, Stelle's 'dream' ended. She woke up, holding the War-Flaming Lance aloft, excitedly shouting: "Pei Guang! Look, I got loot!"
For Stelle, it felt like a long time had passed, but to the others present, it had only been an instant.
Pei Guang looked at Stelle and shouted: "You menace! What did you loot this time?"
Stelle smugly held up the War-Flaming Lance: "An orange-tier weapon! I almost stabbed the Aeon's butt with it!"
As Stelle raised the lance, amber light shot up into the sky. In that instant, even the core members of the Interastral Peace Corporation could feel the pure, overwhelming power emanating from this place.
However, this power was quite unique—it wasn't spread across the entire weapon but concentrated solely at the spear's tip. As Stelle swung the weapon, that tiny glimmer of amber light caught everyone's attention.
Pei Guang, studying the weapon in Stelle's hand, commented: "Oh my goodness, my system can't even identify this. Did the boss just casually throw a divine weapon? Why doesn't it throw a few more?"
Pei Guang admitted to himself that he was jealous: Stelle had gotten a new weapon, while he was still stuck with his village-grade sword! Sure, it was strong and had room to grow, but this orange-tier spear… now that was impressive.
Stelle stabbed the spear into the ground, hands on her hips, chest out: "I got loot again!"
Pei Guang: "Yes, yes! Fine, fine. Want me to slap that firework effect on your new weapon?"
Stelle: "Of course!!!"
Stelle pulled out her bat. Now that she had a better weapon, naturally, she had to transfer her effects to it. After removing the effect, she attached it to her new spear. She was ecstatic holding her War-Flaming Lance.
"Pei Guang! Today, let me lead the charge!"
Seeing Stelle so excited, Pei Guang felt both envious and a bit annoyed, but…
"I'll leave it to you, then."
Gepard and Silvermane Guards: "Don't forget us. We'll fight alongside you against the enemy."
In the sky, Cocolia noticed the War-Flaming Lance in Stelle's hand, disbelief in her voice: "Impossible! The Supreme Guardian's will, how could it…"
Bronya and Seele retreated to Pei Guang's side. Bronya shouted at Cocolia: "Cocolia! The Supreme Guardian's will has always existed. You were the one who abandoned it. This world may be full of despair; it may even be dark. But if you feel that despair, then go find a quiet, deserted place to die. I will never allow you to insult the will of those who came before, nor to destroy the will of those still trying to survive. No one has the right to dictate the will of others."
At that moment, Bronya seemed to have an epiphany. She raised her bayonet towards the sky and declared: "Engine of Creation, heed my command!"
Cocolia: "What? Impossible! How could it be? Why do you…"
Stelle: "Well said! The tip of the spear is already ignited!"
However, just as she was about to act, Pei Guang quickly held her back: "Wait a bit before igniting it. She's flying in the air: you won't reach her."
Stelle realized he was right: "Oh, mighty Pei Guang! Hurry and think of something!!!"