Chapter 41 - 39 - Sampo: I Shall Attack in Natasha Form!

On Jarilo-VI. The fierce battle against Svarog continued. As the master of all machinery in the Underworld, Svarog's personal capabilities were immense. On a planet where technology had regressed by seven hundred years, he alone possessed the power of a one-man army. It was no wonder Wildfire had been utterly helpless against him. In fact, Wildfire should consider themselves lucky that Svarog had no interest in them. However, the arrival of the Trailblazer's team shattered Svarog's overwhelming dominance. Though Svarog's power was formidable, he was beginning to show signs of faltering under the coordinated assault of the Express crew. "BOOM!!!" Svarog's missiles swept across the battlefield once more. The fighters immediately switched from offense to defense, dodging the relentless bombardment. "Dammit... How is this hunk of metal so tough!" Seele dodged a missile and stared at the few shallow white marks on Svarog's chassis in disbelief. "Indeed..." Bronya dodged and joined Seele's side. Her bullets were completely useless against Svarog... Svarog, on the other hand, was holding his own against the Trailblazer's team with his iron fists and long-range attacks. Dan Heng and Stelle were the main attackers, with March 7th providing them with protection while harassing Svarog. As for Wende, he was positioned slightly ahead of March. His lightning attacks seemed to inflict greater damage on Svarog, and both Dan Heng and Stelle needed his healing. This latest round of bombardment threw Stelle off balance. Seeing an opening, Svarog's iron fists shot toward her face. "Watch out!" Dan Heng wanted to move forward to intercept, but he was held back for a split second by a mechanical hand summoned by Svarog. "Break!" With a swift counter-thrust, Dan Heng pierced the mechanical hand behind him. His eyes widened—he was too late! "Careful!" Seeing the danger, Wende instantly threw several lightning needles at Svarog's joints before dashing toward Stelle. "CRACK!!" Svarog's iron fist struck Stelle. The sound of cracking ice emanated from her body, and with a puff of white mist, her figure was sent flying backward. Wende immediately pulled Stelle back. Seeing the terrified look on her face as he held her, Wende let out a sigh of relief and gave March 7th, who was behind them, a thumbs-up. Thank goodness for March's Six-Phased Ice shield. Otherwise, the kid would have been beaten stupid by Svarog! Seeing that Stelle had been caught, Dan Heng also breathed a sigh of relief. He pulled his spear from the mechanical hand's body and once again aimed its tip at Svarog. "Futile resistance!" Svarog's red light flashed as his towering figure prepared to attack again. Suddenly, as if sensing something, Svarog immediately dodged to the side. "BOOM!!!" A grenade grazed past Svarog and landed behind him. The violent explosion kicked up a huge cloud of snow, leaving a black crater on the battlefield. "Is that... Nata?" Seele looked in surprise toward the direction the grenade had come from. In all of Wildfire, only Natasha possessed a small grenade launcher! Seele turned her head excitedly, only to stare in astonishment at Sampo, who was grinning and waving at her. In his hands was a grenade launcher. It was Natasha's weapon! "Sampo? You... where's Nata?" Seele stared at Sampo holding Natasha's weapon, her brain momentarily unable to process the scene. "Aiya, when words fail, it's best not to waste any more breath! Your old pal Sampo foresaw this situation and made sure to borrow Leader Natasha's weapon!" Sampo declared, patting the grenade launcher in his hands. "Our leader is swamped with work right now. She wanted to come personally, but she just couldn't get away." With that, old Sampo suavely ran a hand through his hair, then shouldered the grenade launcher and strode onto the battlefield. "Err......" Wende glanced at the "class-changed" Sampo and suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to roast him. Has this troll finally seen the light? You've fully committed to the path of a comedian, never to return! But... who exactly turned Sampo into a comedian? Hmm... hard to say. With the addition of heavy firepower, Svarog began to lose his footing. Not only did he have to dodge the attacks from Dan Heng and Stelle, but he also had to guard against Sampo's bombardments. While the others' attacks were more of a nuisance, they effectively restricted his movements. Finally, Svarog revealed an opening. Dan Heng's spear instantly thrust diagonally toward his leg armor. "CLANG!" The protective armor on Svarog's right knee joint was shattered. March 7th's arrow followed close behind, freezing the joint solid. "BOOM!!" With his right leg frozen, Svarog was unable to dodge and could only take Sampo's grenade head-on. The blast was powerful enough to crash Svarog's system, and his heavy body dropped to one knee on the spot. "Mr. Svarog!" Clara, who had been hiding in a safe place, ran to Svarog's side, shielding him from the group with her small body. "Mr. Svarog can't fight anymore... Please, don't hurt him!" Clara's eyes were filled with tears, but her gaze was resolute. "Cla... ra..." Svarog stated rigidly as his system began to reboot. Under everyone's watch, Clara opened her heart to Svarog, pouring out all her thoughts and feelings. In the end, persuaded by Clara, Svarog altered his own programming and agreed to share information about the Stellaron with the group. "...Is it over just like that? We... Wildfire, and the Underworld... did we win?" Seele muttered to herself in a daze, looking at Svarog, who was now self-repairing and updating. "..." Seemingly sensing Seele's unease, Bronya silently took her hand. "No... The battle for Belobog... has only just begun..." "Huuu..." Seele took a deep breath, her eyes regaining their firmness. "Let's go. Let's see what that big block of metal has to say." "..." "Ah... sorry." Looking at the hand she had squeezed bright red, Seele rubbed the back of her head, embarrassed. "It's fine. Let's go over," Bronya said, shaking her head as if it were nothing, though she subconsciously pulled her hand back. "Tch... Next time, I'll just let you squeeze mine back, then..." Half an hour later, Svarog, having finished his system update and repaired his chassis, had organized all the images and data related to the Stellaron, ready for playback. An unknown, secret history, hidden for hundreds of years, was finally about to lift its mysterious veil before them... A "truth" from the "world" itself.