At Sylvia's command, crimson arrows erupted like shooting stars, forcing the Voidrangers to scatter. But just as the arrows were about to strike empty air, they abruptly detonated!
Boom—!
Fierce flames and a rolling shockwave instantly engulfed nearly ten nearby Voidrangers.
Yet this volley only covered the forward area. Voidrangers from both flanks seized the opening to launch their assault.
Cannon fire and sharp blades lunged toward the group, exploiting the gap in their defenses.
Just as March 7th and the others were about to intervene, Mount No. 1 seemed to feel its dignity had been challenged.
"Roar!!"
With a furious bellow, its front hooves stamped hard against the ground!
Thud—Thud—!
Terrifying flames burst from its body, transforming into two waves of fire that surged toward the attacks from both sides.
The indiscriminate waves of heat brushed past the companions like a gentle breeze, yet upon striking the enemies, they morphed into deadly, hellish infernos.
Every offensive was completely blocked.
The weakened firewaves, riding their remaining momentum, violently expanded outward, forcing back all nearby Voidrangers.
Then, swiftly drawing its bow and brandishing its blade—
With no Trampler of equivalent level on the field, this enhanced and fire-manipulating variant, modified by Sylvia, was practically crushing the ordinary Voidrangers.
Its agile flames even shattered the stereotype of high attack but low defense.
The burning waves formed a thick, shield-like barrier that stubbornly repelled every assault.
This solid defense left not just March 7th, but Dan Heng and Arlan too, utterly stunned.
Within a few rounds, the mysterious Voidrangers were all reduced to ashes, slain by Mount No. 1.
After dealing with the enemies, the fierce flames quickly receded, returning to a harmless temperature as it proudly trotted back before Sylvia.
Sylvia looked at it, raised her hand to pat its belly, and praised it with a smile.
Truth be told, it was already running on empty by this point. Unlike Sylvia, it didn't have a limitless supply of energy. Those large-scale arrow volleys and firewalls were massively draining techniques. Using them back-to-back was more than it could handle.
But Sylvia didn't expose it. 'Fine, let it keep its pride,' she thought. 'It's not a big deal.'
Meanwhile, March 7th, unaware of the truth, couldn't help but let her eyes sparkle:
"Is this big guy really that powerful? It took out so many Voidrangers all by itself—"
"Truly impressive."
Dan Heng's gaze had grown much more serious. He'd been observing closely, perhaps preparing to update the Express's database with a new monster entry.
"Alright, alright, let's focus on the task at hand."
Sylvia waved her hand, cutting short their admiration.
"Let's first test if my pass can unlock the elevator directly. Asta said it should work."
Then, right before March 7th's widening eyes, Sylvia stepped forward with a smile, took out her phone, and swiped it against the control panel.
Beep—
The panel lit up with a green light, and the previously locked elevator began to rise slowly from the lower level.
"Huh?"
March 7th blinked her eyes.
'Wait, if you could just swipe it open, then what was the point of me putting in all that effort to find the secret key earlier...?'
'And I even got silently roasted by Dan Heng and Stelle because of it!'
'Bad woman!'
March 7th silently tagged Sylvia as a 'mischievous bad woman' in her heart.
Too bad this woman was powerful and had a formidable pet by her side. She wasn't someone to mess with.
So, looking at Sylvia's back, March 7th stuck out her tongue at her.
Stelle, standing nearby, thought for a moment but didn't expose March 7th's little prank.
As for Dan Heng, silence was his only response.
--+--
Arlan wasn't paying attention to March 7th because he was equally surprised seeing Sylvia unlock the secured elevator with a swipe.
'Did Station Manager Asta temporarily grant Sylvia her access permissions?'
"Ms. Sylvia... did you just unlock all the elevator restrictions?"
Arlan felt compelled to ask, as he had to consider the security of the Master Control Zone.
"No problem. Asta said this unlock is only valid for one trip. It'll automatically re-lock afterwards."
Sylvia waved her phone and stepped into the elevator first.
The others filed in after her.
But when it was Mount No. 1's turn, a problem arose.
The elevator wasn't small; it could easily fit over a dozen people at once.
But its original form was an Antimatter Legion's Trampler. Its height alone was estimated at three, maybe even four meters. Combined with its centaur-like build, its body length was around two meters.
Trying to enter this elevator meant for humans was... a bit of a squeeze.
It hesitantly lowered its head, sizing up the much narrower elevator door.
"Roar..."
It let out a pitiful whimper toward Sylvia.
"Oh no, why does its crying sound so genuinely pathetic..."
March 7th facepalmed, feeling she must be too tired and hearing things. Could such a ferocious monster really make such a 'soft' sound?
Sylvia was also at a loss for words.
Because of the peculiar connection she shared with Mount No. 1, Sylvia could genuinely sense its emotional fluctuations.
And there had been that earlier desire for praise too.
'It really is strange,' she mused. 'Do these Antimatter Legion creations really have such active emotions? Weren't they forged as weapons born for war... Or is the Heliobus's influence at play?'
"Stop whining. Hurry up and crouch down inside. It'll only be for a moment."
Though her mind was racing with thoughts, outwardly Sylvia was already urging Mount No. 1 to hurry in and squat down.
Thus, the massive, powerful beast obediently—and somewhat miserably—bent over and crouched, squeezing itself into the elevator.
Its huge body squatted down right there. Its back alone was nearly half a person's height, not to mention its powerfully built human-like torso.
Its flaming rear end almost completely blocked the elevator door.
The once-spacious elevator suddenly became incredibly cramped.
Sylvia, March 7th, and Stelle were squeezed to one side, while Dan Heng had wisely slipped to the other.
Arlan, who had been riding on its back, climbed down with Dan Heng's help.
Ding-dong—
The elevator began its slow descent.
Meanwhile, March 7th, curious, bent down and secretly reached out to touch the flames that weren't scalding hot.
A piece of multicolored ice gradually crystallized on her fingertip, which she then placed on the mount's back.
The poor Mount No. 1 strained to turn its head and glare at March 7th, but with no room to move and avoid her, it could only watch helplessly as she kept stacking Six-Phase Ice higher and higher on its back.
"Hehe— Don't you think this big guy might be my distant cousin? Look, it's fire that isn't hot and my ice that isn't cold... aren't they kinda similar?"
"..."
March 7th's statement was so utterly astonishing that everyone present was struck speechless.
What kind of mental gymnastics led her to point at a four-hoofed, two-handed, flaming centaur and declare it her distant relative?
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.