In the battle for Antarctica, Azure held no trump cards in hand. Chen Buer and Bochen, their two strongest combatants, were both absent due to their physical condition.
By all reason, they should have waited under such circumstances, but Azure could not afford to wait for them—because the traction field at Antarctica's pole would not wait forever.
What on earth were the Great Spikes preparing to bring through that colossal super traction field?
No one knew, nor did anyone care to know for now. The moment it was successfully activated, whatever came through would inevitably be an endless catastrophe surpassing humanity's current limits.
To that end, Azure had mobilized nearly eighty percent of its super combatants and nearly an equal proportion of its top-tier combatants to join this expedition.
Among them, the seven standing here right now could probably all rank within the top fifteen of the Antarctic combat power rankings at the very least. They had originally been scattered across the battlefield—some blazing trails ahead, some guarding the flanks and rear, others rushing around on rescue missions—and only now were they standing together for the very first time.
"Still hasn't moved," Anton said, gesturing toward the high glacial peak with a glance.
"Then let's kill a few of its reds first," Hua Bixuan said, stepping forward into the front-left position of their makeshift formation. If Daie came down, this spot was almost certain to take the brunt of the first attack.
*Whoosh! Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!*
The majestic roar of top super combatants erupting with source energy rose one after another, completely unconcerned about being detected or noticed by Daie.
Surging source energy fields echoed among the continuous glacial peaks.
The veterans naturally knew what that was and who they were. They also knew what kind of battle these pillar-level masters from the various coalition fronts were about to step into together.
They could not kill Daie. Fighting could only buy time, and after that, at least several among them would never march forward with this army again.
"Kill!" Looking back for only a fleeting instant, the army's fearless, death-defying charge pressed recklessly forward, even with Daie standing right above them.
"Kill!" The battle array formed by the seven top super combatants charged into the fray along the main army's left flank, shielding the troops' advance.
Decades of massive growth in human combat power meant that one or two isolated Red Shoulders could not hold out for long against a team like this.
As long as Daie didn't descend, they wouldn't take the initiative to attack it either, alternating and regulating their source energy surges within the formation as they waited in tight readiness.
It was definitely coming.
Because the vanguard of the army was already nearly at its feet.
...
"What the fuck are you doing?!"
"Don't you have any shame?!"
"Let go, or I'll shatter your fucking arms, you believe me?!"
Pegmont had already fallen back to the middle-rear of the marching column. With a blade gripped in one hand, he threw his head back like a trapped beast, glaring up at Daie atop the glacial peak as he struggled and bellowed.
And Makarov stood behind him, arms wrapped around his waist, holding him in a death grip.
If not for the fact that the soldiers had zero attention to spare for the two of them, the scene would have looked thoroughly awkward.
Given the gap in strength between them, Pegmont could have easily pried his hands apart. But Makarov had clearly come prepared: his right hand gripped his left wrist, and linking his two wrists was a pair of dead iron handcuffs.
The handcuffs were thick and bound extremely tight. From Pegmont's thrashing, Makarov's hands were already dripping with blood; the dead iron had torn through his skin and was grinding against exposed bone.
"Ugh, what the hell are you doing? This is disgusting!" Pegmont didn't dare struggle any further, sighing in utter exasperation. "FUCK YOU! When did you even prepare these?!"
"I've always had them prepared." Speaking for the first time, Makarov said in a calm, resolute voice, "Don't go, Peg... You will die."
Pegmont had been the world's number one grandmaster of courting death for many years, yet Makarov had never stopped him from doing so before. This was the first time.
It was also the first time he had ever earnestly spoken those three words to Pegmont: *You will die.*
Because this time, if Pegmont went, he truly would die—in fact, he would almost certainly die.
"Cut the bullshit! I know I can't beat it! But so what if I die? Even if I die, I'm still gonna slash it twice!"
At this moment, even when Pegmont considered his defeat and death certain, Daie's fate was destined to suffer two slashes.
"No, you can't die..." At a loss, Makarov's voice choked up involuntarily.
"You're not about to tell me you love me, are you? My God, did He give you a pussy?!" Pegmont's mouth spewed filth.
"...Because you are humanity's hope. Don't go. Run. Live, Peg."
Even though he also found this posture repulsive, and desperately wanted to charge and face death alongside the soldiers, Makarov still refused to let go. Because this was his true mission in life.
Most of the time, Makarov was always egging Pegmont on to court death, hypnotizing him and inflating his ego relentlessly.
Yet in a truly hopeless situation, he would do everything in his power, even at the cost of his life, to stop him from being reckless.
"Run? In a situation like this, you're telling me to run?! When have I ever run away?! Except that time in Oceania to snatch the gun... Don't forget, I'm Pegmont! Even if I die after landing just one blow, I'm still going to fucking land that slash!"
Pegmont still considered his defeat and death certain, but Daie's fate had already gone from taking two slashes down to one.
Pegmont usually preferred saying he would "slash that fucker a hundred times." Mentioning only two slashes and then one now showed just how vast the gap in his inner perception really was.
Seeing the tip of the vanguard on the verge of reaching Daie's position, Pegmont stopped bellowing and turned to pleading: "Let me go, Mark. Please. Otherwise I'll spend the rest of my life living in the shadows."
His tone had turned serious.
*I know,* Makarov thought helplessly. *But why can't you believe—firmly believe—that you won't die, that you can cut Daie down and win?*
Unfortunately, this was a mental hurdle that even Makarov could not sway. No matter what rhetorical tricks he used, there was no changing it.
Because being unable to beat Daie was simply too reasonable. It was Pegmont's taken-for-granted self-awareness, an unshakable conclusion built on solid, seamless logic.
Just then—*Beep, beep-beep!*
At Pegmont's left collarbone, the red light on his dead-iron-cased communicator suddenly lit up, signaling an incoming call of the highest priority.
"Answer it! Quick, answer it!" Thinking it might be a transmission coming in from those senior figures, Makarov yelled frantically.
"Answer my ass! No one's talking me out of this today! Let go of me!"
Seeing that the vanguard had already reached Daie's feet, Pegmont ignored the call and continued to roar—when suddenly, his hips tightened.
Makarov had leaped up behind him.
Clamping both legs around Pegmont's waist and pulling against him with his locked arms, Makarov hoisted himself up and forward. Stretching his neck, he poked his head over Pegmont's shoulder and used his chin to tap the answer button.
"Hello," Makarov grimaced in pain, speaking the first word on Pegmont's behalf.
"This is Han Qingyu," the voice on the other end said.
It was him, without a doubt. That cold, numb, conceited, pretentious tone and cadence was something no one could imitate. The channel display also showed it was him. Makarov was momentarily confused, yet filled with hope. As for Pegmont, he was annoyed to no end.
"What do you want? You useless piece of trash, haven't you run away yet?"
"I didn't want to contact you either, you braindead piece of trash." Still in that same unbothered tone, sounding completely unruffled, the voice fired back, then added, "Though, I hear Daie is over by you?"
"Yeah, so what?"
"Go hold it off for a while," Han Qingyu said casually over the communicator. "I'm a bit far. Hold out for a bit, and I'll find a way to get over there and slash it to pieces."
"Oh—huh? But aren't you..."
"I recovered long ago, and I'm stronger than before. Otherwise, did you really think your strike was that easy to catch? Who knew that even Xu'er couldn't stop you." Han Qingyu sounded utterly reluctant, admitting it only because he had a favor to ask and had no other choice.
"FUCK!" Pegmont cursed, but the corners of his mouth curled into a grin, his eyes rapidly blazing with manic excitement and fervor. "Then that day, you were pretending you hadn't recovered..."
"I just couldn't be bothered with you. Go on, hold it off for me for a bit. Don't be scared—I know what level Daie is..." Han Qingyu finished impassively and clicked off the call. Then he turned nervously toward Wen Jifei. "Will that work?"
Wen Jifei nodded, a gleam reappearing in his bloodshot eyes.
Wen Jifei had adapted that exchange from the Chief of Staff's telegram. Changing it from a statement into a dialogue kept the meaning intact while making it far more effective.
"Scared? Me, scared?!"
"And 'hold it off for you'? Piss off, I'm going in for myself!"
*Just as I thought! I really have gotten stronger, and I'm on my way to taking back my crown! Haha!* At this point, Pegmont felt that he could actually give it a shot.
Because Han Qingyu had hacked a Daie to death.
*Click!* The sudden sound of handcuffs unlocking rang out.
Makarov dropped to his feet and quickly took two steps back.
"Know your place now, huh? See how strong I am now?!" Pegmont turned around with an inflated, smug expression and demanded loudly.
That expression was all too familiar. Makarov nodded meekly, just like he always did.
"Die? Even if I can't hack it to death, I'll at least give it a run for its money!" Pegmont shifted his gaze forward, jerking his shoulders back as if talking to himself.
"..." *Why the fuck didn't you just believe you could actually kill it? That might have really worked...* Makarov felt a wave of exasperated dismay.
Even though he had just discovered that he had fought the recovered—and even stronger—Major Qing to a draw, the deep-rooted mental demon in Pegmont's heart still prevented him from placing himself on the same pedestal of power as Han Qingyu.
...
"Here it comes!" On the flank of the charging formation, Anton yelled tensely.
Atop the glacial peak, Daie finally moved. Slowly drawing the hideous, gigantic column sword from its back, the two rows of blazing blue light behind its waist began to churn continuously.
It was about to strike.
It was Daie. No one here could withstand it.
"Quick! Finish off that Red Shoulder first!" God Lü shouted, surging forward with explosive power toward a Red Shoulder not far ahead that they had been preparing to engage.
They needed to clear out a battlefield to stall Daie.
In an instant, two stood on guard while five erupted in power, five blades slashing toward the Red Shoulder.
At the exact same moment—*Boom!*
A mighty explosion thundered from the heights. The next instant, the glacial peak collapsed, and Daie's massive silhouette plunged diagonally downward, fast as lightning, already slashing down with its column sword.
While all eyes were fixed on Daie's strike—
*Swish!*
A silhouette shot diagonally upward, sweeping over the heads of the Azure super combatants as he unleashed a strike.
A tuft of pink hair fluttered in the wind and snow.
That Red Shoulder was dead.
Virtually unscathed beforehand, it had been cut down in a single blow by Pegmont.
"He's... this strong?!" Below, all seven froze for a moment.
Pegmont was strong—in fact, he was one of the few who could solo-kill a Red Shoulder. No one present doubted that.
But with just a single strike? Instantly killing a Red Shoulder in one blow?
"Beyond-the-Sky?!"
"Has he at least stepped one foot into Beyond-the-Sky?"
"Or was it just a fluke?"
"It had to be a fluke."
Before they could think further—*Boom!* A thunderous clash rang out in midair, swallowing the sound of dead iron colliding. With an energy shockwave humming outward, the mountainside cracked open.
The immense commotion made all the charging soldiers—front and rear alike—look up or turn their heads to glance at the sky.
"Pegmont took Daie head-on?!"
"Pegmont took Daie head-on!"
One strike had been met.
In midair, Daie's body was knocked back several meters after the clash.
As for Pegmont, he was sent flying.
He had the disadvantage, and the situation still didn't look promising... No, actually, the situation was already promising—far more promising than before!
"Pinky is insane!"
"Is he really that strong?!"
In truth, at this moment, not just the humans, but Daie itself was also somewhat bewildered. Because this human who had suddenly appeared and possessed the strength to contend with it... *If I remember correctly, shouldn't this pink-haired human be excluded from that tier?*
*I clearly remember him; I observed him.*
*Hahahahaha, I really am strong after all!* Pegmont laughed wildly inside. He'd been sent flying by that blow, but the feeling in his body, the state of his spirit, and the relentless surging of source energy all told him with absolute certainty: he could take it!
*Whoosh!* Right then, another explosion of force abruptly erupted. Carried by immense bafflement and confusion, Daie stepped on empty air and raised its blade once more, slashing toward Pegmont.
Its massive silhouette traced a straight streak through the air... its steadfast dead iron armor groaning under the pressure.
This strike was even fiercer than the last.
"Help him!" Hua Bixuan roared in concern from below.
Because they truly could not comprehend what was happening, nor could they know Pegmont's exact physical state, they didn't dare place too much trust in it just yet.
On the spot, all seven top super combatants erupted with full power, launching from the ground to intercept Daie's pursuit for Pegmont.
*Whoosh!*
"Get out of the waaaay..." A drawn-out shout, carrying a slight touch of concern for his comrades and an ego overflowing to the brim, rang out from Azure's former number one genius, the pink-haired Pegmont.
Stepping on empty air, he arrested his backward momentum, then erupted in midair a second time. Raising his blade with both hands, he charged forward to clash head-on with Daie.
"I'm taking this bastard one-on-one!"
Chapter 794