Hearing the exchange, Stelle crossed her arms and stepped forward.
"No more talking. We're here to challenge that final expert."
Pei Guang: "Exactly! Heh, I'll only need two characters at most to beat him!"
Stelle looked at Pei Guang: "Ah Guang, ever since the finals ended, you've been setting up flags. Are you sure nothing will go wrong?"
March 7th looked at Stelle: "Can't you be a bit more positive? Who did you learn to talk like that from?"
Stelle pointed at Pei Guang: "Ah Guang, obviously! Come on, even if you're on his side, you don't have to copy him! Every time Ah Guang says something cocky, it turns out to be true. Why don't you call him out instead?!"
March 7th: "Well! Um… cough cough cough!!"
March didn't know how to change the subject, so she forced out a few coughs. Seeing her like this, even Piggy Hero let out a few helpless grunts.
Pei Guang: "It's fine! In the face of absolute power, all flags can be broken!"
Seeing how confident Pei Guang was, Giovanni clapped his hands: "Excellent! Excellent! Such a delightful spirit! Players across the galaxy will witness your showdown through the broadcast! This isn't a privilege everyone gets."
Indeed, only the Trailblazers could have an Aetherium Wars duel on the Astral Express broadcasted to the entire universe.
Pei Guang was full of confidence: after all, in his view, none of his Aetherium Wars opponents this time, including Topaz, were even close to being a match. Except for the duel with Silver Wolf and some early casual rounds, no opponent's Aether Spirit had even finished a full turn.
His Aether Spirits' ultimates cut in, turn manipulation cut in, follow-ups cut in—no one even completed a round.
Even the last champion was like that, so Pei Guang figured this so-called mysterious expert couldn't be much different. He planned to bring out his perpetual-motion build and land a finishing blow.
But when Pei Guang flew off the planet on the company-prepared aircraft and saw the Astral Express outside, all three of them were briefly stunned.
March 7th: "Huh? I thought our train was traveling along the star rail? Why is it here?"
Pei Guang had a bad feeling, but before that feeling could fully settle, he tried to resist: "Is it possible… this isn't our train?"
March 7th: "No way! Absolutely not. Ours is the only train moving through the universe."
Stelle: "Ah Guang, I've got a bad feeling! What did you say earlier? 'Starter trio'? Don't tell me our opponents are Himeko, Dan Heng, and Uncle Yang?"
March 7th suddenly realized something too: "If we go by Ah Guang's explanation, then yeah, they really could be the starter trio… but would they really be our enemies? That can't be, right?"
Pei Guang: "It's no big deal! Since we're here, we might as well face it. No matter who ends up being our opponent, we'll make sure they can't take us lightly. Our perpetual-motion build is unbeatable!"
Although Pei Guang always said "invincible is a debuff," once a player starts feeling cocky, they can't help but throw around the word.
Besides, Aetherium Wars wasn't a life-or-death battle: it was just an event. Even if he lost, Pei Guang wouldn't care much.
Since it wouldn't risk his life, wouldn't it be a waste not to act overconfident?
Pei Guang was immediately slapped in the face by reality, though—because when he saw Pom-Pom, back turned to them, holding an Aether Coin, he wished more than anything that he had a save function so he could go back a few minutes and slap himself for setting up all those flags.
Facing Pom-Pom, Pei Guang, Stelle, and March 7th all had ellipses pop into their minds. After a long silence, Pei Guang was the first to speak: "Pom-Pom…?"
Hearing Pei Guang call out, Pom-Pom turned around, holding the Aether Coin, radiating an aura of overwhelming strength.
"Pom…"
March 7th: "Pom-Pom… don't be like this, I'm scared…"
As if responding to March 7th, Pom-Pom raised the Aether Coin. Seeing this, Stelle turned to Pei Guang: "Ah Guang! Go! Use your invincible perpetual-motion build!"
Pei Guang: "Invincible? Invincible my ass! I'm giving you a live demonstration on why you shouldn't go around calling things invincible!"
Stelle: "As expected of Ah Guang! Even that's part of the explanation! So what do we do now? Our opponent is Pom-Pom…"
March 7th also looked at the Aether Spirits available for the boss slot: "This is bad! We actually have to choose between Phantylia, Doomsday Beast, and the Mother of Deception."
The moment those words came out, Pei Guang suddenly broke into a cold sweat—but before he could even respond, Stelle, whom he'd raised into the player she was today, spoke up.
"Oh no! Pom-Pom is definitely the fifth member of the Four Heavenly Kings: he's the hardest EX boss after the event stages! Invincible Ah Guang, quick, think of something!"
Pei Guang: "Hmph! No problem. Since we can use our strongest Aether Spirits, let Pom-Pom taste our power! Just Pom? He'll be thoroughly defeated! Since this is an Aetherium Wars battle, we'll bring out our strongest Aether Spirit combo! It's decided—go, Piggy Hero!"
Responding to Pei Guang's call, Piggy Hero charged forward.
"Oink oink!!!"
Piggy Hero's snort was full of determination and energy, and the sudden appearance of the Phantylia Aether Spirit projected the terrifying pressure of a Lord Ravager.
Just its presence in Aether Spirit form made everyone feel the destructive beauty that defined Phantylia.
In addition to Piggy Hero and Phantylia, Pei Guang also summoned the Silvermane Gunner, a reliable support. For the last spot, to play it safe, Pei Guang added the Silvermane Cannoneer.
He was thankful he hadn't revealed this perpetual-motion combo during the finals stream: it had only been used to bully Fu Xuan so far.
However, just as Pei Guang finished summoning his Aether Spirits, he suddenly had a bad feeling.
And Pom-Pom was about to turn that bad feeling into reality.
"Come forth—Pom!!!"
Pom-Pom didn't say much, but the seriousness on his face, paired with that simple line, made Pei Guang feel an overwhelming pressure!
"This invincible aura—don't tell me… don't tell me!!"
When Pei Guang saw Pom-Pom's Aether Spirits, he felt his breath catch. Stelle and March 7th weren't doing much better.
They saw: Pinky Bunny, Arahato, and… a cup of coffee.
At that moment, Pei Guang was at a loss for words.
Pei Guang: "Why is coffee an Aether Spirit?!"
He had used coffee against enemies so many times before, that now seeing it become his enemy gave him an ominous chill.
Stelle: "It's okay, Ah Guang. We've developed immunity to our own coffee. I'm sure our Aether Spirits can resist its effects too!"
March 7th whispered, "Guys… is there a chance that this isn't our coffee… but Himeko's coffee?"
The moment she said that, the entire field went silent. And somewhere, watching the livestream, Himeko made a decision.
"Well, since little March can recognize my coffee so quickly, that means she must really like it. I'll be sure to treat her to some when they return~"