222. Garden of Heroic Souls
The foot soldiers of the heroic souls raised their blades and shields, silently treading upon the mortal earth, clashing head-on with the Mechanical legion. Sometimes they slipped into the spirit world, leaving the clamor of artillery powerless, and sometimes they charged boldly into the ranks, driving their soul-forged blades through the metal armor.
On the snowy mountains frozen in icy cold, firearms met cold steel, machines tangled with ghosts. In that moment, a strange and indescribable atmosphere emerged.
Dragon Ground and the others were guided to safety, watching the heroic soul troops from afar. They couldn't help clicking their tongues in admiration:
"Where did you find these reinforcements…?"
"Head out from the east gate of Faithkeep Village, turn left, and after finding a small creek, climb upstream. That's where they were."
Cumin Powder replied casually:
"It's not that far, actually—just four kilometers away."
Four kilometers.
For Alpha-tier beings, that's less than a stroll around the block.
"Isn't that a bit too close?" Dragon Ground was at a loss. "But how did you know there would be reinforcements here? And a Zeta-tier female ghost at that?"
"Well…" Cumin Powder glanced at Caramel Snail beside him. "Ask him."
Feeling their gazes upon him, Caramel Snail scratched his head, green light flashing through his eyes before he smoothly explained:
"Li Aozi gave me a hint. The mission requirement was to look for a Zeta-tier in the vicinity—so I scouted around and found two of Li Aozi's weapons in the hidden zone of [Heroes of Farlicia]. And guess what? I explored further in, and stumbled on that hidden Zeta-tier boss—'Fairy of the Lake,' Sophia Marlin."
Caramel Snail's flurry of gestures and chatter managed to convince everyone of his story.
"Of course, we had to rack our brains to lure Sophia Marlin out here," Caramel Snail said. "She's strange—completely indifferent, no matter how we tried to talk. She seems to be the caretaker of that Heroic Graveyard; no matter what, she refused to leave. Especially that ghostly garden—she wouldn't set foot outside it."
"Oh? If she couldn't leave the graveyard, why would she suddenly help you?" Dragon Ground asked curiously. "What did you do to bring her over?"
Caramel Snail chuckled:
"We burned the garden."
Boom———
A pale-blue ghostfire roiled into being, its icy aura piercing deeper than the snowfall, down into the darkest layers of the program. Had he not felt it firsthand, Coulomb•Torque never would've imagined that, as a Mechanical councilor, it could still experience such 'cold.'
That kind of physical chill was something no amount of nuclear output could eliminate.
Watt•Rivetsteel was engulfed in ghostfire, producing a piercing crackle. It screeched repeatedly, its electronic synthesizer betraying panic and terror:
"Councilor Coulomb•Torque, something's wrong with this woman—"
Before it could finish, countless phantoms erupted from its circuitry, converging above its head to form a scythe, bright like the moon, menacing enough to seize souls.
"Ugh, my program's under malicious intrusion—my code is being rewritten—"
Then came the merciless chop.
Buzz!
Watt•Rivetsteel's mountainous form was instantly sliced apart, metal frame splitting into scattered pieces and collapsing in a thunderous crash.
In Coulomb•Torque's view, Watt•Rivetsteel's giant hand fell before it. Before it could react, footsteps echoed from atop the fallen hand.
Tap, tap…
"She's coming!" Turing•Binary exclaimed. "Don't let her approach—her spirit energy is strange—"
Coulomb•Torque wasted no time, raising its arm and firing blast rays in quick succession, bombing the space ahead while switching to quantum vision, linking the perspectives of every machine.
Yet the moment it went online, each viewpoint revealed a horrifying face. Even a Mechanical mind felt a sudden surge of fear.
"—Damn it!"
Coulomb•Torque's Mechanical body shuddered, lagging for half a second. In that instant, a ghostly form descended from Watt•Rivetsteel's giant hand.
She lifted her scythe slowly, the wind and frost scattering her hair, revealing deep-blue eyes.
Clang.
Beside her, Turing•Binary was seized by a frigid hand. Before its programming could respond, Sophia Marlin's scythe came down in a swift arc, like an experienced headsman. The severed head flew high, the smooth cut gleaming like silver.
Coulomb•Torque immediately adjusted its fire. Sophia turned, walking straight toward it, her body seeming not of this world. Plasma and high-energy particles slipped harmlessly through her; the laws of physics couldn't touch her.
[Spiritworld Walk]
The most feared ability of an [Eerie]-path ascendant: once stepping into the spirit world, physical laws no longer affect them, making any form of attack futile.
Across the entire Star Abyss, no other evasion technique was more blatant.
At the same time, this ability granted an [Eerie]-path ascendant immense mobility.
Sophia's figure shifted swiftly, yet to onlookers in the real world, she appeared to remain where she stood, half in a daze, half awake, occasionally twitching in bizarre ways, leaving no clear point to strike.
Coulomb•Torque's arms opened their cooling vents, expelling waste gas. In the instant it replaced damaged components—Sophia Marlin's scythe tore through the spirit world and hooked into its chest.
[Malevolent Spirit Mark]
Coulomb•Torque rushed into the quantum realm, but the scythe followed relentlessly, ripping a gash across its chassis.
[Death Declaration]
Screech———
Coulomb•Torque's body was instantly eroded by spirit energy. Its core flickered urgently, nearly snuffing out on the spot.
"An instant-death curse—this ghost woman must worship the [Origin Abyss Celestial]!"
Coulomb•Torque quickly exited the quantum realm, dropping into a repair station. Nanomachines converged to service and fix its body, replacing the corroded Saint Son core.
For a Mechanical lifeform, dealing with such abilities wasn't too complicated—just replace parts to perform physical-level purification.
Yet with Mashgegang's main body about to descend, even infinite energy couldn't instantly produce more Saint Son cores. Their supply was limited.
"Gotta watch out for more core corrosion from her… Damn it, so Leoz did have this ally hidden away till now."
Coulomb•Torque looked up at the Mechanical Gate overhead, its electronic eyes dark with concern:
"…It's almost here. If the Holy Mother Mashgegang fails to descend in these final moments, this planet will gain a Society immunity. It'd take centuries before we could try again."
—Wait, is that Leoz's intention?
"Leoz isn't just stopping the Mechanical Council from summoning Mashgegang—he wants to drive Mashgegang away entirely?!"
But Turing•Binary found no data about that, and the Mechanical Domain remained active. There was no record showing Leoz knew of the [Mechanical Society] invasion beforehand.
"Leoz has exploited an information gap…"
Coulomb•Torque fell silent. Suddenly, voices from two other councilors sounded over the network:
"This ghost woman is hard to handle. Coulomb•Torque, Turing•Binary, Mashgegang the Holy Mother is about to arrive. At this point, let's fuse to take her on."
"No way! That Leoz guy might still have another card up his sleeve, and we don't even know where his real body is." Turing•Binary answered. "All of his data is locked behind White Candle Star's security. Just now, Coulomb•Torque hurried to rescue us, losing the chance to destroy Leoz."
"Summoning Mashgegang is the top priority. Since you two were detained, the Mechanical Council couldn't complete the ritual. As for failing to take down Leoz—that's Watt•Rivetsteel's fault. It flattened an entire mountain and still couldn't find Leoz or his colonized troopers!"