The biting chill of the ice-corroded Stellaron remnants in the Nordkale ice field had not yet fully subsided. Standing before the temporary command tent, Keqing brushed ice crystals from the purple tips of her hair as her gaze swept over the exhausted yet resolute task force members. The energy barrier sealing the Stellaron flickered with a steady, soft light, like the only lighthouse on the snowfield. But this brief sense of safety was instantly torn apart.
"Woe—woe—woe—!"
An alarm, shrill enough to pierce the soul, erupted without warning from the direction of the Astral Express hovering above the ice field, tearing apart the illusion of the snowy wasteland's dead silence. The sound did not come from an ordinary steam whistle, but rather resembled the death rattle of space itself being forcibly ripped apart.
Chapter 209