Upon spotting the trio, the Voidrangers surged forward like sharks that had caught the scent of blood.
"My bat is raring to go!"
Stelle swung the Galaxy Baseball Bat in her hands, kicking up a fierce gust.
The Astral Express weapon was quite stylish, actually.
Its handle was a blend of black and gold, exuding a futuristic, high-tech feel, while the barrel itself was etched with shimmering, crystalline blue patterns.
The bat clashed violently against the Voidrangers' blades, which burned with the ethereal fire of negative particles, sending bright sparks flying.
"Hey, don't be so reckless!"
March 7th had initially been relieved that Stelle's combat prowess would be helpful, but she hadn't expected her to be such a berserker!
Her utter fearlessness left March momentarily stunned.
Snapping back to reality, she quickly raised her hand, casting a blessing on Stelle.
Guided by the power of the Trailblaze, blue Six-Phase Ice shot from her slender fingers, formed into the shape of a gun. An ice shield materialized around Stelle, deflecting the incoming cannon fire from the Reavers.
In the game, character Paths are often designed primarily for gameplay mechanics. In reality, however, they are deeply intertwined with the factions and ideologies represented by each Path.
The members of the Astral Express crew—the Nameless, including Himeko, Welt, March 7th, and Dan Heng—are all Pathstriders of The Trailblaze.
They walk their Path to gain power, and everything they do, think, and feel aligns with that Path. The deeper their connection, the stronger they become.
The very nature of Paths means that individuals following the same one inevitably share similar philosophies and beliefs.
And when a group of people with a common conviction gathers, a 'faction' naturally forms.
A person can walk different Paths, becoming a follower of multiple Aeons.
However, across the vast cosmos, Pathstriders embracing multiple Paths are exceedingly rare.
To use a vivid, if perhaps unsuitable, analogy: think of an Aeon as a beautiful girl. Embarking on a Path is like starting a relationship with her.
If you fall for someone else, you can break up first before pursuing the new interest.
But if you try to date two at once, it really depends on the girls' personalities.
If one is an unwavering believer in pure, exclusive love, or perhaps a possessive and unstable yandere, it's obvious only one relationship (or maybe only one person) will survive in the end.
Take The Nihility, for example. Those touched by Nihility cannot walk other Paths; the power of any other Path would simply be consumed by the void.
However, if the 'girl' is someone like The Elation, who loves amusement and isn't strictly opposed to non-monogamy, the impact on pursuing a second Path would be almost negligible. She might even welcome a few more partners to liven things up.
The gentle Abundance, who never refuses anyone, wouldn't mind sharing either.
Abundance can even be compatible with The Hunt, though the reverse isn't true. Lan would never cast his gaze upon the 'abominations' of Abundance—unless it was to cast a Star-Shattering Arrow their way.
Walking multiple Paths is generally limited to the Pathstrider stage. Once one enters the core domain of a Path—reaching the level of an Emanator—they can no longer progress further on any other Path.
It's like moving past the dating phase and getting a marriage certificate.
While a drastic change in personality and beliefs might trigger a 'divorce', causing one to lose the Aeon's favor, the chances of this happening are virtually zero.
The power of an Emanator can be seen as the family fortune of your beautiful, wealthy partner. Who would be willing to give that up?
"Watch this!"
With a flick of her wrist, a distinctlygirly, blue-and-pink compound bow appeared in March 7th's hands.
She took aim at the monsters composed of dark matter and strange energy. Strictly speaking, these weren't monsters but a type of automated weapon.
They were small ion traps called Baryons and Antibaryons, created by the Legion to transport antiparticles and prevent annihilation through accidental dissipation.
On the battlefield, they respond to the will and summons of the Voidrangers, clearing paths for them.
You could think of them as mobile turrets with auto-follow and basic targeting capabilities.
Swish—!
Her fingers released the phantom bowstring. A crystalline arrow shot forth, tearing through the air and reaching its target in an instant.
The arrow shattered upon impact with the Baryon, exploding into a cloud of ice shards. Like freezing rain, it coated the Baryon's surface, freezing the miniature ion engine within.
"Gently tapping on a sleeping heart~!"
Humming a tune that surfaced from her 'subconscious', Stelle seized the opportunity, smashing her bat down on the frozen mobile turret.
Instantly, the Baryon cracked apart along with the ice.
"Nice control! Good teamwork!"
"Hit its head!"
"Shoot its eye!"
Caelus, having turned into a one-man cheer squad, rooted for them from the back like a true armchair general.
Although March was often considered the weakest link in the Express crew, handling these ordinary Voidrangers was still a piece of cake for her.
Stelle, a newly-formed Stellaron incarnate, barely a year old in this body, wielded the Galaxy Baseball Bat with surprising ferocity, felling a Voidranger with just a few swings.
In contrast, Caelus, her other half, seemed rather inadequate.
After all, Stelle's fighting talent stemmed from combat instincts trained into her by Kafka, etched into her subconscious and muscle memory.
While Caelus might be the same person as Stelle on a higher dimensional level, his current body was completely new, possessing no such muscle memory.
His soul, that of a transmigrator from beyond the Tree of Existence, belonged to someone who was a model student in his past life and had never even been in a fight. He barely had the strength to truss a chicken.
And you expected someone like that to step onto a battlefield for a life-or-death struggle against the Antimatter Legion, beings who knew only destruction?
Bro, that's a death sentence!
However, despite March and Stelle's deliberate efforts to intercept them, one Voidranger managed to break through their defenses, rushing towards Caelus with a gleaming blade raised high.
"Caelus, look out!"
March's worried cry echoed. Caelus's eyes narrowed slightly.
He was merely keenly aware of his own limitations; it didn't mean he was afraid of these things.
Most ordinary people, when chased by a viciously barking dog, would instinctively panic and flee, only to be caught and bitten.
This is because the concept of fighting back against the dog doesn't even enter their minds. Winning or losing doesn't matter; receiving even the slightest injury is perceived as an unacceptable loss.
But once that ingrained mindset is discarded, those same dogs might re-experience the primal fear their ancestors felt when facing the terrifying upright apes.
Using his mask's ability to control his emotions, Caelus focused his gaze and calmly raised his hand.
Aiming at the head of the charging Voidranger, he forcefully threw the yo-yo he held.
Although the passive energy leaking from the Stellaron within him, transmitted through their unique connection, was less than a tenth of Stelle's, it was still far beyond that of an ordinary person.
The yo-yo shot through the air like a meteor, whistling as it struck the Voidranger squarely on the head with a crisp crack.
"That's a good melon!"
The yo-yo bounced back after halting the Voidranger's advance. Caelus gave it another flick, excitedly channeling the unfamiliar energy within him.
The yo-yo responded, its string whipping around the Voidranger's body, binding it tightly.
The string on this thing was much longer than it looked; perhaps it could extend several hundred meters?
Just then, March's supporting ice arrow arrived, slowing the creature's struggles. Stelle finished it off with a decisive swing of her bat.
"Caelus, are you okay?" March asked with concern, before her tone shifted as she patted her chest in relief. "Thankfully, it was just a few grunts. It would be real trouble if a whole group showed up suddenly..."
March hadn't even finished her sentence when the rapid sound of hooves echoed, accompanied by a gust of wind strong enough to whip through the girls' hair.
Frozen like a statue, March maintained a stiff smile as she slowly turned around.
Filling her vision was a monster encased entirely in a hard carapace, or perhaps steel armor, resembling a centaur.
Beside it stood a whole squad of Reavers and Marauders carrying large cannons.
March's eyes widened. "A Tr-Trampler!?"
"Did I... Did I just jinx us?"
Why did they have to run into something this nasty!
This was bad!
"I'll go smash it!"
Stelle brandished her bat, showing no fear, even looking eager for the fight.
A perfect demonstration of 'a newborn Star-calf fears no tiger'!
"Hey, wait! This kind of monster isn't suited for your 'baby constitution'!"
March tried to stop the headstrong girl but failed. She could only shout a quick "Be careful and hide well!" at Caelus before grabbing her bow and rushing after Stelle.
If it were just a few Reavers, Stelle and March could handle them easily. But adding a Trampler completely changed the situation.
Moreover, they now had to split their attention to stop Voidrangers charging at Caelus. Stelle and March could barely hold their ground.
The battle quickly turned against them.
The situation was dire.
Acutely aware of his own current combat capabilities – knowing he'd likely just get in the way – Caelus quickly retreated into the cabin they had just left.
How could they overcome this crisis?
"Simple," Caelus muttered with a smirk. "I just need to summon a Valkyrie~"
With that, he grasped the 1600 Stellar Jades, instantly converting them.
"System, pull!"
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I have a little challenge for you! For every 100 POWER STONES, I'll release ONE EXTRA CHAPTER!