"Of course not."
Bronya denied it without even thinking.
"The reason I arrived a step late is because I had something very important to handle on hand."
Topaz's eyes narrowed slightly, and her tone turned two degrees colder: "More important than this matter…?!"
Bronya nodded without the slightest hesitation.
"Yes. Its importance is something you can see at a glance. What I mean is, I would like to invite you to evaluate our current results."
Results?
Topaz pondered for a moment.
She didn't seem to have missed any intelligence, except for the combat strength of the Express crew.
The non-living giant dragon coiled around the entire arena — from the surface of its dragon body, she could feel a fatal-level threat.
Probably… even if she used her trump card, her chances of victory wouldn't exceed twenty percent.
No wonder when she first took on this assignment, Diamond had instructed her that if she encountered the Nameless of the Astral Express, she must remember to treat them with courtesy.
Unless absolutely necessary, she must not start a conflict.
It turned out that not only did the existence of the Trailblaze greatly benefit the company's development, but their foundation could not be underestimated either.
She finally understood why even a Preservation Emanator like Diamond did not dare to underestimate the Astral Express.
Putting away the thoughts in her heart, Topaz brought her attention back to what Bronya had just said.
"Invite me to evaluate… Interesting. I thought you had already made up your mind to obstruct my work."
Bronya's tone was sincere: "Miss Topaz, I read your letter word by word and deeply sympathize with your childhood experiences."
"It is precisely because your hometown suffered a calamity similar to Jarilo-VI's that I understand your perspective on matters and the position you chose."
"And it is also because of this empathy that I still hold onto a sliver of hope even now—"
"Even after experiencing these unpleasant events, I personally believe we can still reach a consensus… through peaceful means."
As soon as Bronya finished speaking, Topaz noticed that the giant dragon rapidly dissipated.
Leon, who had originally been leaning against the dragon horn, appeared beside Stelle at some unknown moment.
Narrowed eyes, smiling, with an expression that showed no intention of speaking.
He looked peaceful and approachable.
But Topaz knew that this person was the real ruthless one.
Usually he didn't show his hand, but when he truly became hostile toward someone, he would definitely not waste even half a sentence on them.
She put away the Cornerstone clenched in her palm. Topaz completely dropped her imposing aura and returned to her usual state of mind.
"I have to admit, Miss Bronya, the process of communicating with you is always very comfortable. My attitude just now was somewhat offensive. Please forgive me."
"Since things have already been said to this extent, then I'll go with you. But I still have to give everyone a heads-up—"
"Changing the decision from above won't be that easy."
Bronya expressed her understanding toward this.
"I understand. So I plan to take it one step at a time, starting by trying to change your thoughts and impression of Belobog and of us."
After finishing with Topaz, Bronya turned to look at Leon and the others.
"Everyone from the Express crew, please come with us as well."
…
The group passed through the dilapidated urban area and arrived in front of a mountain path that had been artificially opened.
"Keep going. The thing I want to show everyone is just ahead."
They passed through a dark mountain tunnel, then through ruins covered in ice and snow.
Several people stopped at a high point on the mountain trail and took in the distant scene completely.
The setting sun shone down, illuminating the enormous mechanical construct lying fallen within the ruins.
Beneath it, dense crowds of human figures busily moved back and forth, helping and cooperating with one another, as if carrying out maintenance work on the mechanical construct.
Upon seeing that colossal being, a look of disbelief flashed through Topaz's eyes. She felt deeply surprised.
That was definitely not a construct originating from the company.
The light of dawn was gradually coming to an end, yet she knew that the sun would rise as usual the next day.
Bringing with it… seeds that might be called hope.
"The people of Belobog have not given up yet."
Bronya turned around and stared tightly into Topaz's eyes.
"I only want to fight for one chance for them."
"..."
Topaz blinked and did not speak for the time being. She seemed to be thinking about something.
Bronya didn't mind and smiled as she looked toward the Express crew.
"Everyone, do you still have any impression of that broken-apart big fellow over there?"
Stelle's expression also carried a hint of surprise.
"It's the Creation Engine. I remember it had fallen at Everwinter Hill back then. How did it end up here?"
Bronya: "This is the back side of Everwinter Hill."
"Miss Topaz, you did a lot of research work before, but I would like to know — is there any record of the Creation Engine in your data?"
"None at all."
Topaz shook her head without concealing anything.
"That's why I find it so unbelievable… Such a massive project, yet the Strategic Investment Department's research report didn't mention it at all."
Hearing this, Leon's heart stirred.
He had already had doubts before. Clearly, all of Belobog's automatic machine soldiers used the underlying system provided by the company.
But the Creation Engine did not. The reason behind it was puzzling.
Looking back now, he realized he had overcomplicated the problem.
In a certain sense, he had made the same mistake as Topaz.
Bronya gazed into the distance at the Creation Engine, her words carrying a trace of admiration as well as a hint of pride.
"I may understand the reason. The Creation Engine was built entirely by the people of Belobog themselves, without relying on any foreign technology."
"The first Supreme Guardian, Alisa Rand, led this project. While the warriors were fighting bloody battles on the front lines, the engineers were designing and constructing day and night in the rear…"
Topaz subconsciously asked:
"In other words, the Creation Engine was a war weapon completely independently developed by the people of Belobog?"
Even though the related technology of the Creation Engine was nothing in the company's eyes.
At the very least, for a world that was backward in both civilization and technology, it was already an incredible miracle.
"Yes, but not entirely."
Following Topaz's words, Bronya recalled the recorded content.
"It cannot be denied that the Creation Engine was put into battle shortly after its completion and achieved remarkable military merits in the campaign against the Legion."
"But Alisa Rand's vision was longer than anyone else's. For a very long period of time, the codename of this machine was: Geological Reconstruction Engineering Unit."
"Its true mission was, after driving away all enemies that attempted to invade this world—"
"To help the people of Belobog rebuild their homes and return this world to its former prosperous state."
At this moment, Leon spoke up and supplemented the survey results that moved Topaz.
These were precisely the hidden dangers left behind after the Stellaron triggered the seven-hundred-year cold wave.
Upon learning this, the calm Topaz had been maintaining was completely shattered. Her expression was filled with disbelief.
Could it be that the first Supreme Guardian had already considered the future calamity from the very beginning?
And the modern Supreme Guardian, after learning of the world-ending disaster that would come in the future, still made the decision to refuse being bought out by the company and chose to save this world through their own efforts?