Although it took some effort, they managed to learn a bit about the current state of Jarilo-VI from Sampo.
Hundreds of years ago, the environment on this planet suddenly turned extremely harsh. Frigid blizzards swept across the globe, and with the inexplicable appearance of the Fragmentum throughout the planet, humanity's survival hung by a thread.
Fortunately, under the leadership of the Supreme Guardian, the surviving humans gathered together and built humanity's final fortress—
Belobog.
"And the Silvermane Guards are the soldiers responsible for protecting and maintaining order in this city."
Old Sanpo chuckled slyly as he sidled up to Dan Heng, trying to cozy up to him.
"Heh heh, I'm just a helpful guy. Since you all seem new here, how about I show you around? I know a secret path—absolutely safe, and you won't be spotted by the Silvermane Guards..."
Upon hearing this, Dan Heng fell into thought, considering whether this Sanpo before him could be trusted.
"Let's split up."
Felicity spoke up at that moment, proposing,
"Dan Heng, you have the coordinate data. It shouldn't take long to find Belobog. I suggest the three of you head to Belobog together. As for this guy's so-called secret path, I'll go check it out."
"...Mm, for safety's sake, that does seem like the best approach."
Dan Heng nodded, agreeing to Felicity's suggestion.
Who knew what they might encounter on the way to Belobog? It was still unclear whether the current Supreme Guardian held any goodwill toward them, these Trailblazers from beyond the galaxy.
If anything went wrong, Felicity would be their key to escaping danger.
"Eh? We're splitting up already?"
March 7th said with a hint of regret. Having witnessed Felicity's strength firsthand, she naturally wasn't worried about her.
"Don't worry, it won't take long. If everything goes smoothly, we'll meet up again soon."
"Wait... I have an objection!"
Old Sanpo butted in at that moment, raising his arm with a face full of grievance.
But his protest caused no stir, only drawing a few indifferent glances.
"...Never mind, I withdraw my objection."
Sanpo immediately deflated like a punctured balloon. He glanced at Felicity again, shrinking his neck as if resigning himself to his fate with a sigh.
"Alright, alright. If I've fallen into your hands, I, Old Sanpo, admit defeat. Let's go, I'll take you to my secret passage."
"Now that's more like it."
Felicity snapped her fingers, retracting the threatening vines around Sanpo, her tone cheerful.
"In that case, we'll take our leave first."
Dan Heng nodded toward Felicity.
After watching the three of them depart until they disappeared from view, Felicity turned her attention back to Sanpo.
Her reason for staying behind, however, wasn't as complicated as Dan Heng had imagined. She was simply curious about Sanpo's identity, because—
"You're not the least bit curious about where we came from."
Felicity remarked with keen interest.
"Huh? What do you mean, boss?"
Sanpo was momentarily taken aback. Meeting Felicity's meaningful gaze, he instantly felt a chill run down his spine.
"You cleverly treated us as 'fellow travelers,' skirting the question of our identities. You ignored our complete ignorance about Belobog, calmly told us the city's history, and even offered to guide us."
Felicity chuckled lightly, raising her finger to point into the air. The tree vines instantly brimmed with vitality, floating up on either side of her.
"Generally speaking, I don't think this is normal human behavior."
"Please, boss! I just don't want to get involved in strange incidents!"
Sampo's expression abruptly changed. He quickly retreated several steps, attempting to escape the encirclement of the vines.
But Felicity paid no heed to his excuses. Whether he was telling the truth or not, testing him would reveal the answer.
The vines shot forth like arrows from a bow, slicing through the air and arriving before Sampo in the blink of an eye.
"Hey, boss! We agreed I'd just be a guide—I never signed up to risk my life here!"
Sampo was startled, rolling with all his might to barely evade the vines' attack.
Two short scimitars appeared in his hands as if from nowhere. He raised them, slashing upward with all his strength, just striking the vine extending above him.
Yet the next moment, the snowy ground beneath his feet suddenly split open, and a vine instantly bound his legs together.
Before he could react, another vine shot straight toward his face.
—Too late.
Sampo tried to resist, but his hands couldn't keep up with the vine's speed. His scimitars had only just been raised halfway.
The vine halted at Sampo's throat.
Sampo stared wide-eyed, not daring to move a muscle.
Felicity let out a puzzled "Huh?" as she looked at Sampo with confusion, murmuring to herself in bewilderment:
"Could it be that this guy really is just an ordinary person?"
Though he had some skill, it wasn't much. At this level, even if Felicity stood still and let him attack, he wouldn't be able to break her defense.
"Boss, I really am just an ordinary person! I only ignored your identities because I was afraid of getting dragged into some weird incident!"
"..."
Felicity found Sampo's wailing headache-inducing. She waved her hand to disperse the vines, her face stern as she said,
"Fine, it seems I truly misunderstood you. Lead the way."
"Right away, right away!"
Sampo finally breathed a sigh of relief, fearfully touching his neck. He quickly scurried to Felicity's other side, putting on an ingratiating smile as he said,
"Heh heh, old Sampo may not be good at much, but I'm an expert at guiding. Just follow me, and you won't go wrong."
"...In a way, you're quite impressive."
One moment he was on the brink of death, the next he was chatting and laughing with the person who had nearly killed him. One could only say Sampo's heart was excessively large.
"When you often walk by the river, how can you avoid wetting your shoes? Heh heh, don't judge me by my appearance—I'm actually very good at reading people. I could tell at a glance that you're a kind-hearted person who definitely wouldn't kill me."
Sampo chuckled, lavishing praise on Felicity.
Felicity paid no attention to Sampo. She followed him across the snowfield, and before long, they could see the towering walls in the distance.
On this vast, snow-covered land, Belobog was humanity's last paradise.
"Boss, you need to be careful. There are quite a few Fragmentum creatures wandering near the secret passage. Attracting their attention is one thing, but making a commotion and drawing the Silvermane Guards would be even worse."
Sampo cautiously explained to Felicity before leading her to a small hole at a corner of the wall.
Keep your voice down once we're inside. I don't want to get arrested by the Silvermane Guards."
After saying this, Sampo crouched down and carefully crawled through the hole.
Felicity stared at the opening that could barely be called anything more than a dog hole, falling into deep thought.