Chapter 124: Dan Heng's New Skill, An Ambush on the Express
A flicker of imperceptible thought glinted in Dan Heng's deep eyes. He kept the latter half of his speculation to himself—perhaps the Six-Phase Ice itself possessed some as-yet-undisclosed, fundamental connection to the core elements of existence, such as the soul and memory.
After all, March 7th had been found sealed within that strange ice, which was how Himeko discovered her drifting through the cosmos. Could her missing memories be intrinsically linked to that frozen prison?
These thoughts swirled through his rigorous mind, but they touched upon a companion's privacy and were conjectures lacking any empirical evidence. He chose to remain silent.
Seeing that it was completely hopeless to extract any more information from March 7th—who had not only demonstrated a new power but also enthusiastically shared her experience with the tiger talisman's "safety test"—Stelle had no choice but to turn her firepower toward the newly upgraded Dan Heng.
She darted in front of him, her face adorned with a smile that was at once pure and harmless, yet intensely purposeful.
"Dan Heng! Good morning! You must have been busy last night, too, right? That dragon orb, the one clearly brimming with primordial power… did you find anything out? Did you feel the roar of a true dragon?"
Dan Heng glanced at Stelle, his calm, unruffled gaze seemingly seeing right through her.
He spoke faintly, "Don't worry, I used the cultivation room."
He paused, as if confirming a number. "My points are now only a little over five hundred."
"A little over five hundred?!" Stelle's eyes instantly widened. Then, the corners of her mouth curled upward into an uncontrollable grin, giving rise to a strange feeling of shared suffering.
She patted Dan Heng's shoulder forcefully, her tone carrying exaggerated relief. "That's great! Dan Heng! We're finally on the same starting line! Finally, I'm not the only broke one anymore!"
Stelle's face was beaming with the pure joy of being rid of the "poorest" label, as if she had unlocked a new achievement.
Dan Heng was noncommittal about her reaction, merely shaking his head slightly before bringing the topic back on track. "The trial of the dragon orb has been completed."
"Oh?" Stelle's attention was immediately captured. Even Sunday, who had been listening quietly nearby, cast an interested gaze in their direction. "Tell me, quick! What kind of trial was it? What devastating ability did you get?" Her excitement shifted in an instant.
"A triple trial," Dan Heng said concisely. "The first two were tests of will and strength, not worth mentioning. The key was the third."
He continued, "The third trial was to defeat the vengeful spirit of a red-bearded dragon, but… it was very strange."
Dan Heng's brow furrowed imperceptibly as he recalled the peculiar scene. "It possessed the power of the earth, yet it chose not to use it. Instead, three strangely structured furnaces were bound to its massive body."
"That vengeful spirit harbored a deep obsession, seemingly wanting to use the power of the furnaces to break free from the earth's shackles and return to the sky…"
"also, it seemed to have a kind of… disdain for its own inherent power."
Dan Heng's tone carried a hint of confusion, a dissonance that conflicted with his understanding that power and existence should be unified.
"A dragon that disdains the earth?" March 7th covered her mouth in surprise. "How strange! And you said it was so strong!"
Dan Heng shook his head slightly. "The reasons behind it are impossible to ascertain now. Perhaps only by collecting the other three dragon orbs and acquiring more information can this mystery be unraveled."
His gaze deepened. "What's important is that through the trial, I gained a new ability. Or rather, this dragon orb granted me another understanding and way of using the power of the earth."
He extended his right hand, palm down. A steady, deep wave of power spread out from him.
A shield, radiating a soft, earthy-yellow light, instantly enveloped him. Its surface rippled with strange, water-like patterns. Immediately after, identical shields materialized around Stelle and March 7th.
"Whoa! A shield!" March 7th curiously poked the glowing barrier around her. The touch was tough yet warm, and the aqueous patterns on its surface rippled slightly at her touch.
Dan Heng explained, "I call it the 'Jadeite Shield'."
"It is founded on the power of the earth and can effectively resist physical impacts and energy damage., when the shield breaks from excessive attacks, the shattered energy will violently burst forward in a conical area, creating a counter-blast."
"Wow! It can defend and attack! And it's a passive counterattack! Amazing, Dan Heng!" Stelle felt the sense of security from the shield around her and excitedly waved a fist. "Now the Astral Express crew's defense is even more solid! Truly worthy of being our guard!"
She then thought of something and asked, "Does this ability consume a lot of energy?"
Dan Heng replied, "On the ground, or when fighting with a planet's surface as a foundation, the consumption is extremely small, almost negligible. The power is continuous."
"However…" His tone shifted, his expression growing serious. "If used in the air, or in an environment lacking an earthen foundation, the cost to maintain the shield will drastically increase. That is its biggest limitation at present."
"Understood, understood!" Stelle nodded vigorously, her face beaming with an "we're invincible" smile.
"A god of ground warfare! Very good, very good! Now each of us has gotten a huge boost! March has a cool Zanpakuto and can split souls, Dan Heng has the dragon orb shield with counter-damage, and I…"
She paused, thinking of her mere 545 points and the stalled progress of her Fire Dance Whirlwind.
However, she still puffed out her chest with bravado. "I have the invincible Path of Preservation and rich trailblazing experience! A mere Amphoreus, isn't it ours for the taking? This trailblazing mission is in the bag!"
She stood with her hands on her hips, brimming with confidence.
Afterward, the three chatted for a few more moments with Sunday, who had been quietly observing from the side. Stelle primarily introduced the "powerful strength" of the Astral Express crew to their new passenger, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious.
Time flowed by in quiet anticipation, and the stars outside the window seemed to hold their breath.
Finally, Pom-Pom's clear, yet slightly nervous and serious voice echoed through the carriage via broadcast: "Attention all passengers! The Astral Express is about to jump! Destination: the Amphoreus star system! All passengers please sit tight and hold on, Pom-Pom! Jump initiation countdown—three, two, one!"
BZZZZ—!
The familiar sensation of violent vibration and spatial distortion instantly enveloped the entire Astral Express. Outside the window, the brilliant river of stars stretched and blurred, transforming into a shimmering tunnel of light.
After a brief period of weightlessness and sensory confusion, the vibration subsided, and the distorted view returned to normal.
However, the anticipated scene—the jump concluding and the Astral Express's defenses automatically deactivating—did not occur.
The Express remained enveloped by a soft but sturdy energy barrier, suspended quietly in a deep, unfamiliar, and gloomy star system where even the starlight seemed to be swallowed by the void.
Absolute silence pressed in from all sides, with only the low hum of the Astral Express's engine reminding them of their location.
"Hmm? Why didn't the defenses retract?" Stelle noticed the anomaly and looked around in confusion.
March 7th and Dan Heng immediately became alert, their expressions turning solemn. Sunday slightly narrowed his eyes, seemingly perceiving something amiss.
Just then, Pom-Pom's urgent, clearly uneasy voice rang out again, breaking the brief silence in the carriage.
"Attention all passengers! Pom-Pom has detected an anomaly! We seem to… seem to have encountered an intrusion from an unknown force! The Astral Express's defenses cannot be deactivated normally! Everyone… everyone prepare for battle, Pom-Pom!"
"Unknown force intrusion?" Stelle shot to her feet, the Flame Lance materializing in her hand in a flash of light.
Dan Heng's eyes sharpened. The Cloud-Piercer spear appeared out of thin air, held steadily in his hand, its tip gleaming with a frosty, greenish-blue light.
March 7th also quickly summoned Sode no Shirayuki, a chill spreading from the blade as she clutched her talismans tightly in her other hand.
The atmosphere in the carriage instantly tightened like a drawn bowstring.
Everyone held their breath, gripped their weapons, and vigilantly scanned the space around them, tinted a pale blue by the Express's protective glow, waiting for the "unknown force" to appear.
One minute… two minutes… five minutes…
Time crawled by in deathly silence and high alert. The darkness outside the window remained utterly still. There were no unusual energy fluctuations, no anticipated enemy figures.
The "intrusion" detected by Pom-Pom seemed to be nothing more than an illusion.
"Pom-Pom, was it a false alarm?" March 7th couldn't help but ask softly, her palms slightly sweating as she held Sode no Shirayuki.
Stelle also frowned. "We've waited this long, and there's not even a ghost…"
Just as everyone's taut nerves began to relax slightly from the long wait, just as they began to wonder if it was truly a system misjudgment—
BOOM!!!
An indescribable, terrifying force, like an invisible giant's hammer, suddenly and without warning tore violently through the Astral Express's defenses!
The entire train shook violently!
The energy shield, which should have been incomparably solid, was like fragile glass. It lasted only a few seconds before emitting a piercing wail, instantly cracking into a spiderweb of fissures before shattering with a deafening crash!
Shards of broken energy rained down like a torrential downpour of light.
Violent energy currents surged into the carriage like a breached dam. Piercing alarms shrieked through the cabin, and the lights, after a violent flicker, suddenly went out, plunging them into darkness.
A powerful shockwave swept through the entire carriage, sending the unprepared group flying. Bookshelves toppled, and decorations shattered and scattered across the floor. Dan Heng's newly formed Jadeite Shield shattered on impact.
Stelle only felt an irresistible, immense force strike her, sending her and her lance flying. She slammed heavily into the carriage wall, her vision exploding with golden stars.
Dan Heng, relying on his superior physical conditioning, barely managed to stay upright, but even he was shoved back several steps by the concussive blast.
The force came as quickly as it left. After forcibly breaking through the Astral Express's defenses and causing a brief moment of chaos, it vanished without a trace, as if it had never appeared.
Sizzle… sizzle…
A few seconds later, emergency lights struggled to activate, dimly illuminating the wrecked carriage.
"Cough… cough, cough…" Stelle clutched her aching chest, struggling to get up from the floor. "Is everyone okay? What the hell was that?!"
Dan Heng quickly scanned his surroundings, his gaze as sharp as an eagle's. "The Express's defenses were forcibly breached. The source of the power is unknown, and its nature is… bizarre."
His gaze swept over Stelle, who was slightly disheveled but clearly unharmed, then over the still-composed Sunday. Finally, his eyes locked sharply onto the center of the carriage floor.
"March!" Stelle followed his gaze and let out a gasp.
March 7th was lying on the ground, her eyes tightly closed and her face pale. She had already lost consciousness.
The trailblazing mission to Amphoreus, at the very moment of arrival, had begun in the most bizarre and perilous way imaginable.
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