"Extreme Cold·Convergence."
A voice, chillingly clear, echoed across the battlefield. The air temperature subtly dropped, and above her, a frigid mass of ice and snow coalesced into a majestic Ice Phoenix.
"Shree!"
A sound like a phoenix's cry resounded. The Ice Phoenix in the sky flapped its wings and soared toward the mass of mutant rats. A terrifying cold swept across the space, the ground below becoming overrun with frost. With each piercing cry, countless mutant rats were frozen solid, turned into ice sculptures.
A quarter of the rat horde froze in midair, lifeless beneath the layers of ice.
Chen Bing remained silent. Once the numbers had thinned sufficiently, she dissipated the Ice Phoenix above and turned to Firewing, still saying nothing.
"Summon—Flame Demon Tiger!"
Beneath Firewing, endless spiritual energy converged. Red runes formed across the ground as a massive tiger, its body wreathed in roaring flames, slowly emerged.
"Roar!"
With a deafening roar, the remaining mutant rats instinctively recoiled. Panic and fear flickered in their eerie green eyes.
"Number Two, attack!"
Firewing patted the Flame Demon Tiger's thigh, pointing toward the advancing rat horde.
"ROAR!!!"
With a mighty roar, the Flame Demon Tiger transformed into a blazing red beam and charged directly at the mutant rats.
"Rumble—!"
Blazing fire engulfed the battlefield. The ground trembled, dust billowed, and countless mutant rats were crushed under its massive body, thrown aside, or burned to ash by the flames.
Firewing's gaze never wavered from the battlefield. Once the rat numbers had sufficiently thinned, she summoned the Flame Demon Tiger back without hesitation.
Then, she looked at Brandon White, her expression clear without words.
It wasn't just her—Chen Bing and Skyler Quinn also stared at him. They had silently acknowledged that Brandon White would claim a place in this god-making operation.
They were only artificial, manufactured "gods."
Brandon White, however, was a true divine being, a god of unmatched power, a god of nature itself!
"I understand."
Brandon White could sense their emotions. He hadn't expected such a dramatic scene, yet he admitted he felt a strange sense of satisfaction.
Nodding, he turned his gaze to the remaining mutant rats.
By now, most of them had lost the will to fight; many even attempted to flee. Were it not for the military blockade and the relentless firepower keeping them in place, they would have scattered long ago.
It was time to demonstrate a bit of proper power.
A streak of blue light flashed in Brandon White's eyes. The mutant rats, trembling as if caught in a sudden storm, halted mid-escape. Their bodies quivered in desperate struggle, yet they could not move.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
Suddenly, a mutant rat's body exploded. One after another, and soon all the mutant rats detonated, their blood spraying across the battlefield.
In the sunlight, the scene was perversely beautiful.
"What is this?"
If Skyler, Chen Bing, or Firewing had displayed such power, it would have been extreme, yes—but at least understandable. Observers could see how the mutant rats died. But Brandon White's ability? No one could comprehend it.
Why had their bodies stopped moving? Why did they struggle yet remain immobilized? Why had their bodies exploded?
"Life is so unfair. Before the revival of spiritual energy, I was just an ordinary office worker. Afterward, my awakened abilities were decent—I thought I could turn my life around. Yet here I am, still ordinary."
"So this is the gap between a genius and a regular person? Damn, I can feel it!"
"Is the country really trying to make gods? They're not just faking it for show, right?"
"We spent so much time taking down barely half of these mutant rats, and they can finish the rest with just one move each?"
"Get it straight—they intentionally limited themselves to only a quarter of their power. Any of them could have wiped out the remaining mutant rats in a single strike."
"Do they have to be this over the top?"
All the spiritual energy bureau's psychics who witnessed the four of them in action could only smile wryly. Their own talents were exceptional among ordinary people, yet clearly, fate was still unfair.
Firewing, curiosity piqued, looked at Brandon White.
"How did their bodies explode?"
"I initially planned to extract their blood and form a divine beast, like you guys do. But then I thought, why not just make it a blood rain?"
"Seems more spectacular this way."
Brandon White didn't answer further, simply watching the cascading blood ahead with a smile.
Or rather, this was the principle at work.
Because he wanted this effect, their bodies uncontrollably froze, struggled, and ultimately exploded. After all, they were part of nature.
"Damn it, I want to show off like you guys too!"
Ethan Yates watched the four with envy and admiration. Had his awakened ability been combat-oriented, he could have played just like them.
"By the way, Skyler, why did you summon a Thunder Dragon? Isn't your ability a Divine Dragon? Why not just transform into a dragon directly?"
"And Chen Bing, your power is Extreme Cold. Why summon an Ice Phoenix?"
"I understand Firewing calling a Flame Tiger, but why do you two do this?"
Ethan Yates frowned, clearly puzzled.
"After transforming into a dragon, do you remember my size?"
Skyler gave him a dumbfounded look. Though his awakened ability was Divine Dragon, capable of controlling wind and lightning, his current power was so far below mythic levels that the dragon form barely stretched over a meter—more like a weirdly shaped snake than a true dragon.
Displaying this publicly? It would have been embarrassing—a perfect recipe for mockery. Better to summon a Thunder Dragon instead, far more spectacular.
Chen Bing merely glanced at him, saying coldly:
"A simple Extreme Cold power—could an Ice Phoenix better showcase my strength?"
Ethan Yates closed his eyes. Sure enough, they all just wanted to show off.
Afterward, cleaning the battlefield didn't require the Bureau's people—there were specialists for that.
Over eight thousand mutant rats lay defeated—some charred, some frozen into sculptures, others exploded into a mess of blood and flesh. Their deaths were gruesome.
Many psychics at the scene were sprawled on the ground or leaning against walls.
During the battle, they barely noticed. Watching the spectacle, they barely noticed. Only afterward did the exhaustion hit them with full force.
(End of Chapter)