Chapter 18: Chapter 18: Sophia's Shock—His Talent Might Surpass Mine
After defeating the last white-robed man, the entire area was devoid of any sign of life, enveloped in an icy silence that seemed to freeze everything in its path. Liam, dragging his aching body, shook his right arm to relieve some of the pain and then approached the already frozen "divine embryo."
"This thing... is it an egg? If it's called a 'divine embryo,' does that mean it can hatch into a god?" Liam muttered to himself as he examined the now lifeless, specimen-like object.
Based on the information the white-robed man had provided earlier, Liam could roughly deduce that the superhuman authorities were likely hiding something from the public. It also seemed that only by formally joining certain organizations would one become privy to such knowledge—perhaps during official enrollment? It appeared that his decision to come out tonight had given him a head start in learning many of these secrets.
No longer concerned with the "divine embryo," Liam picked up the two children from the ground and began walking towards the nearest police station. But after taking just a couple of steps, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. Turning around, he looked at the twelve lifelike ice sculptures, hesitated for a moment, and then a cold gleam flashed in his eyes.
...
Under the cover of night, Sophia and her team were spread out across Black Horse Stadium, each superhuman responsible for their own small area. As more time passed, some of the team had already begun inspecting the underground passages, preparing to evacuate the personnel quickly in case something went wrong.
The longer it took, the heavier the burden on Sophia's mind became. But just as she began to consider the worst possible scenarios, she suddenly lifted her head sharply, looking in the direction of the eastern plaza. A powerful energy surge had erupted there!
Something must have happened.
She quickly pressed her earpiece and urgently asked all team members involved in the operation, "Who's at the eastern plaza? What's going on there?"
"No one is there."
"I'm on the north side."
"I'm inside the stadium."
...
Everyone responded promptly. They, too, had sensed the energy surge, but after exchanging information, the group came to a terrifying realization—no one was stationed in that direction.
"Damn it!"
"Stay where you are! Return to the stadium immediately and be prepared to evacuate everyone!" Sophia cursed, abandoning her usual calm demeanor, and then bolted towards the source of the energy surge, moving as swiftly as a leopard.
She remembered that the eastern plaza was a small fitness area, very open and with no obstructions—it should have already been checked. No one was supposed to be there, but a sudden energy surge in that area...
Could it be that the "god descent" ritual had succeeded?
At this critical moment, this was potentially the worst news possible. Sophia mentally prepared herself—if the ritual had indeed succeeded, she would have to hold off the opponent temporarily, buying as much time as possible for an evacuation.
She had never fought a deity before; she wasn't sure if she could handle it...
But when she arrived at the scene, her determined stride suddenly faltered.
She halted in her tracks, her red lips parting slightly, and her delicate fingers instinctively covered her mouth as she stared in disbelief at the scene before her.
The square before her seemed like a different world!
The ground was covered in white frost, and the cold, piercing ice enveloped everything within her field of vision. The flowers, trees, and fitness equipment were all frozen as if they had entered an Ice Age, with icicles hanging everywhere.
This... looks just like something I would do!
However, she knew for certain that she hadn't done this. So, who could have...?
Wait, this ability...
"Liam?!"
Sophia blurted out in disbelief. She pulled out her phone and saw the last two messages from Liam. Did he, upon learning of the situation, take action on his own to save those two children?
Raising her head again, her gaze was drawn to the most eye-catching sight in the center of the plaza: a giant egg, encased in ice!
That's... the divine embryo?!
Seeing this, Sophia's expression tightened, and she quickly walked forward. But just as she took a step, her foot caught on something.
What?
An ice block?
After casually kicking it, Sophia realized with a start that it was a hand—a hand encased in ice!
Startled, she looked around and discovered scattered ice fragments, each containing a severed limb!
It was clear that these people had been frozen into ice sculptures and then shattered into pieces.
Judging by the clothing on these "fragments," it was obvious they were a group of acolytes, including a white-robed priest. Coupled with the presence of the divine embryo, it was evident this was the site of a god-descent ritual.
These fanatical, savage acolytes had been reduced to nothing more than a pile of icy debris.
"Wow, ruthless..." Sophia muttered to herself as she surveyed the scene, though she couldn't help but feel a twinge of admiration. "But well done!"
As the image of Liam's usual lazy, indifferent demeanor flashed in her mind, Sophia found herself smiling.
"I didn't expect you to have such a righteous and fierce side. It seems you're not just what you appear to be on the surface."
"And... impressive! To think you already have this level of power?"
If this was indeed Liam's doing, she realized she would need to reassess his talent and strength. She had started a few years before him, but if he had received top-tier training like she had at the age of fourteen, many of her records as the youngest achiever might end up being broken by him.
His talent might be greater than her own!
But oddly, despite having this thought, Sophia felt no jealousy. Instead, she was filled with an inexplicable sense of pride and joy, and she found herself unable to suppress a smile.
As she stood there, lost in excitement, the sound of several people landing behind her snapped her back to reality.
Her wide smile quickly vanished, replaced by her usual cold expression.
Turning around, she saw several superhumans with equally stunned looks on their faces.
Seeing the shock on their faces, Sophia felt an inexplicable sense of pride and said, "Didn't I tell you not to come? Why didn't you follow orders?"
A masked female superhuman glanced around, noticing that the danger seemed to have passed. She breathed a sigh of relief and said, "How could we let you face the danger alone?"
A large, dark-skinned man laughed heartily and added, "Yeah, you're the strongest, but you're also the youngest among us. Your life is more important—whatever happens, we should be the ones to fall before you."
Sophia's expression remained unchanged, but she felt a warmth in her heart. She shook her head slightly and said, "Everyone's life is important."
The large man kicked a frozen head on the ground and said harshly, "These traitorous scum deserved to die like this! You truly are the Ice War Goddess—taking them all down so quickly."
His words made it clear that he harbored deep hatred for these acolytes. After all, if they had succeeded in their god-descent ritual today, who knows how many lives would have been lost.
They were, after all, terrorists in the truest sense.
In response, Sophia shook her head and turned to walk towards the frozen divine embryo.
"It wasn't me. When I got here, it was already like this."
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