As the flames blazed.
In an instant.
The permafrost in the extremely cold border region of Ursus began to melt rapidly, revealing the withered ground beneath that had not been exposed for a long time.
The ground cracked inch by inch, and lava rolled beneath the fissures.
The body temperature of the red-haired Sarkaz girl continued to rise. Even the air she exhaled was like scorching steam.
The commotion not far away caused the two fighting groups to halt.
Under the stunned gazes of the Ursus soldiers.
The temperature of the red-haired girl's body soared to its peak, and the edges of her long black dress began to show faint signs of burning.
Her red hair flew like dancing flames.
Her pink, crystal-like eyes shone brilliantly against the snow, as if a god of fire had descended.
Behind the red-haired girl, the cracked ground finally gave way, crumbling with a loud roar. Scalding lava bubbled up from the shattered earth.
And then...
A massive, pitch-black demon hand, as hard as rock and half the size of the red-haired girl herself, reached out from the lava. The magma, capable of melting anything, splashed onto the girl's body, yet it was like water, sliding off her naturally without causing any harm.
"!!!!"
These Ursus soldiers' eyes widened. It wasn't just the Ursus soldiers; even the Sarkaz mercenaries couldn't help but stare, wide-eyed. The scene before them was simply too shocking. They had never seen such an absurd Originium Arts.
"Mon... Monster!!!"
The Ursus soldiers were scared out of their wits.
They had received news from the Infected Pickets that a small squad of Infected had been found on the eastern snow plains.
Infected squad. The first thing these soldiers thought of was the Reunion Movement.
After all.
For the past few months, those damn Infected from the Reunion Movement had been running rampant in many cities in the east. Even the major bank robbery in the nearest mobile city a week ago was the work of the Reunion Movement, who stole many gold bars deposited by entrepreneurs in the bank.
That's what the higher-ups said.
As grunts, the soldiers naturally believed it without a doubt.
They didn't expect these Reunion Movement members to have even colluded with the Sarkaz demons.
However.
The strength of these 'Reunion Movement' members was indeed formidable. They had managed to hold out for so long against fully armed ordinary soldiers and military police. And that fully armed, 'fat' leader wrapped in huge clothes was even more ferocious. The wind from their hammer howled, and every swing was accompanied by a soldier's head exploding.
However, as the number of Ursus soldiers grew, although there were no deaths on the 'Reunion Movement' side, there were serious injuries.
Yet.
Just when many Ursus soldiers thought they could claim this 'merit'.
The appearance of the red-haired girl left the Ursus soldiers dumbfounded.
"*Ursus Profanity*, what kind of monster is that!!!"
"Fire! Fire!!!"
Some soldiers aimed their military-issue crossbows at the red-haired girl and pulled the triggers repeatedly. The crossbow bolts, with a power not inferior to a small pistol within a hundred-meter range, whistled out like rain, trying to turn the girl into a sieve.
However.
The moment these bolts reached the girl, they melted into molten iron under the scorching heat. Such an outrageous scene left everyone present speechless.
The pitch-black hand that emerged from the lava grabbed the greatsword in the girl's hand. Then, more of its body parts emerged from the lava until half of its body was visible.
This was a headless flame giant. Its body seemed to have ravines of fire, with lava faintly flowing within. It crouched behind the girl, headless, with only something resembling a collar floating in the air where its head should be. At this moment, all the Ursus soldiers were stunned. The scene before them was somewhat breathtaking.
The girl's gaze was icy cold.
She stretched out her hand towards the Ursus soldiers in front of her.
Then.
The flame giant swung the greatsword in its hand and stabbed it into the ground. In an instant, the earth shattered, and flames erupted from beneath the feet of these Ursus soldiers. In almost a flash, these soldiers couldn't withstand the scorching flames for even a second before turning into ashes, not even a speck left behind.
Just as the girl was about to continue controlling the flame giant to swing its greatsword.
Suddenly!
The high-raised greatsword froze. The remaining Ursus soldiers, who had been sitting there waiting for death, were also a little confused. However, seeing that their superior had died in the fiery explosion just now, they didn't think twice and fled.
The girl wanted to pursue them. She controlled the flame giant to swing the greatsword in its hand, but the flame giant no longer obeyed her.
"?"
The girl was a little confused.
Her eyebrows furrowed, and a look of doubt appeared on her delicate and beautiful face. Seeing that the enemy had already fled, the girl wanted to retract Laevatain. After all, this special state consumed a lot of her own energy and couldn't be maintained for long.
However....
She couldn't even retract it now. The flame giant behind her remained in its previous pose, holding the greatsword high in the air without moving. Only the girl could clearly feel the power within her body draining away at an extremely fast rate.
"...."
"Laevatain?"
"Laevatain!"
"Lae....va...."
This was the first time the girl had encountered such a situation.
She couldn't remember her origins. From the moment she became conscious, this greatsword had been by her side constantly. Although she didn't know its origin or why, the name Laevatain had always been in the back of her mind, as if telling her that this sword belonged to her.
And that flame giant was more like a concretization of a special power, like the girl's own arm, which she could control freely.
But...
She had just lost control of the flame giant, and the power in her body was also draining. If her power was completely depleted before she could deactivate it, the next thing to be drained would be her life force.
Laevatain is out of control, what should I do... waiting online, it's urgent.
As the red-haired girl was lost in thought, the nearby Sarkaz mercenary squad watched from a distance, not daring to approach. The girl's attack methods just now were too shocking. The Ursus soldiers they had no way of dealing with were easily devoured by the flames created when the flame giant behind the girl just poked the ground with its sword tip.
Even.
These Sarkaz mercenaries, who were generally stronger than ordinary Terrans, couldn't help but feel a chill. If the girl's target had been them just now, their performance would likely not have been much better than these Ursus soldiers. The Ursus soldiers lasted for half a breath; he would at most last for one.
Terrifying... terrifying...
However, looking at the red-haired girl's appearance, she seemed to be Sarkaz as well.
A fellow clansman?
But how could he not tell which clan of Sarkaz she belonged to?
"Captain, what should we do?"
A Sarkaz mercenary asked the 'fat giant' beside him, who was even taller than him.
Since problems arose within Kazdel, many Sarkaz had fled in small groups. They were one of them. Following their incredibly strong 'Mudrock' captain, they had never seen their captain's face. They only knew that the captain was very, very strong. After all, to be able to make such large and thick armor bulge, one's body must be very burly. And the captain's strength was immense. The iron hammer in her hand was only of normal size.
But even a strong Sarkaz mercenary would find it very difficult to lift, let alone use in combat.
And, under the deep voice, they could barely make out that Captain Mudrock was probably female.
A tall, burly, and strong... female...
These subordinates had fantasized about their captain's appearance more than once. However, they had never seen it. The captain even wore this armor when she slept. But in the hearts of the Sarkaz mercenaries, they imagined their captain's appearance would also be a bit 'burly'. After all, with her figure, it was hard for them to imagine a combination of an incredibly burly figure with a cute and petite face.
Their squad had a lot of people when they first left Kazdel, a full three hundred or so.
However, after trekking through the wilderness, dealing with Catastrophes and hordes of Originium monsters, and visiting many places, it had been several years, and only about a hundred people remained. These were the true elites. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to hold off so many Ursus soldiers for so long.
Mudrock fell into thought.
After a moment, she slowly said, "Let's wait a bit. She did save us, after all. Leaving like this would seem a bit impolite. Besides... who can guarantee that the monster's sword won't just stab into the ground as we're leaving? I can withstand that flame just now, but can you?"
These Sarkaz mercenaries quickly shook their heads, their heads shaking like rattle drums.
They chose to stay put and observe from a distance.
And the red-haired girl's situation was a tad awkward at the moment.
Just then.
The previously motionless flame giant suddenly moved. The high-raised greatsword stabbed into the ground. This posture and action were exactly the same as when dealing with the Ursus soldiers just now, but the Ursus soldiers had long since fled. Could the target be!!!
The eyes of all the Sarkaz mercenaries in Mudrock's squad widened.
Is this a super-delayed attack?
You just had to raise it so high for so long and then suddenly stab down like a cunning bastard.
However.
The expected flames did not appear. It was as if the flame giant had simply inserted the sword into the ground. Mudrock's squad continued to watch from the sidelines.
However.
The red-haired girl was also very surprised at this moment.
Because...
She hadn't controlled the flame giant just now, but the flame giant had moved on its own. It was like an ordinary person's arm moving on its own without them exerting any force. Absurd!!
Then.
Under the red-haired girl's gaze.
The flame giant's left hand, which was originally on the ground, slowly lifted. It raised a finger and scratched its non-existent head in a human-like manner.
"Huh? What's going on?"
In the next second.
The flame giant spoke human words, and the red-haired girl stumbled back a few steps. Her expression remained calm, but her heart was already filled with surprise.
It was as if her own right hand had suddenly started moving and talking on its own.
"???"
"Where is this?"
The flame giant looked around. A voice that was completely mismatched with this body came from its non-existent head. Then, the suspended neck ring turned left and right, as if surveying the surroundings.
"Snow? So much snow? Is this Ursus?"
The red-haired girl was at a loss for what to do. She had never encountered such a situation herself. Her own organ not only had its own consciousness but also disobeyed her control, and most importantly, it was continuously draining her power... What to do, waiting online, it's quite urgent.
Then.
The flame giant lowered its non-existent head and looked at the red-haired girl in front of it with confusion.
"Excuse me... who are you?"
"Surtr."
The red-haired girl said calmly.
"Um... could you please go back into the sword first? My body is about to give out..."
Her tone was calm, her face expressionless, another three-no girl, but her tone revealed a hint of weakness.
Putting up a brave front...
"Go back into the sword?"
The flame giant didn't understand Surtr's meaning and was a bit clueless. Then, it slightly lowered its non-existent head, looked at its current body, and in the next second.
"Hiss?! Whose body is this?! So big and black?!"
Surtr: "???"
Her Laevatain didn't seem to be very smart.
As for Mudrock's squad, who were watching from a distance, they were also speechless.
This flame giant...
Why does it feel a bit surreal?
Although they had the opportunity to leave, Mudrock's squad ultimately chose not to, and instead continued to stay and watch.
Just then, with a rumbling on the ground.
Mudrock's squad turned their heads and were instantly horrified.
Because they saw a torrent of steel charging towards them from the edge of the snowfield in the distance.
"*Sarkaz Profanity*, what the hell is that!! That's!! An Ursus Army Group!!"
As expected.
The repelled Ursus soldiers were not going to give up. They had directly brought in at least a battalion of fully armed regular troops. Their squad only had a hundred or so people, and their equipment was simple. Some didn't even have combat uniforms and were bare-chested.
Under such circumstances, they were no match for the Ursus regular army. They probably wouldn't last long under a barrage of artillery before being washed away into nothingness.
As for the other side.
Surtr and her Laevatain didn't seem to have the mind to pay attention to the Army Group in the distance.
Instead, they were arguing with each other.
"Get in the sword, Laevatain."
"How do I get in?!! And... my name isn't Laevatain, it's Lucas Reeve."