"Be careful!"
A Ruins Guard dropped down from midair. Its diamond-like glass body reflected the deep, dim light inside the ruins. Spreading its dark blue wings, it launched a fierce attack toward the three of them.
Rover's eyes turned cold. Anyone who could hurt someone she cared about in front of her hadn't even been born yet.
The swift blade in her hand reflected the faint glow from the guard as she slashed hard toward its wings…
"Wait."
Zane's voice suddenly rang out. Rover froze for a moment. Though she didn't understand, out of trust in him, she still stopped her blade before it struck the Ruins Guard.
Seeing Rover withdraw her blade, Zane finally let out a long breath. Then, under the puzzled gazes of the two girls, he stepped forward toward the Ruins Guard.
In the empty ruins, Zane's footsteps echoed, one after another, like hammers striking their hearts.
"What is he doing?"
The little girl asked, confused, turning to look at Rover. But when she did, she realized Rover also had a hint of confusion on her face.
"Zane must have his own… illness... uh, I mean, his own reasoning."
Rover crossed her arms and nodded with certainty, not caring that she had accidentally spoken her true thoughts.
The little girl silently shook her head. Though she was still confused, deep down she felt no worry about Zane's safety.
Sensing that quiet trust within herself, the little girl raised her head and looked at him.
Unaware of what the two girls were thinking, Zane had already walked up to the Ruins Guard. And the guard, strangely enough, showed no sign of attacking. It simply hovered quietly near the ground.
As if waiting for something.
Looking at the beautiful yet powerful Remnant before him, Zane slowly raised his right hand and placed it in front of the guard.
The next second, a brilliant green light burst from the Ruins Guard, lighting up the entire ruin in an instant.
Rover narrowed her eyes. Even though the light stung, she didn't want to look away.
In Jinzhou's archives, this Ruins Guard had its own name... Wandering Scale Mechanism.
The Wandering Scale Mechanism was formed from the defensive modules distributed across Jue's body, what people usually called "dragon scales."
They were scattered throughout the various Jiting ruins on Mt. Firmament, tasked with eliminating all intruders who trespassed into restricted zones and might threaten Jue.
Of course, all of this information came from the power in Zane's right hand, power that came from little Jue.
In other words...
"From now on, the Wandering Scale Mechanism is our free fighter!"
Zane patted the now-quiet mechanism beside him, then turned around and gave the two girls a bright smile.
He now carried Jue's power. In theory, that made him about one-third of a master of these mechanisms.
And since little Jue no longer lived on Mt. Firmament, these mechanisms didn't need to stay there guarding the Lord of Time anymore…
In other words, as long as he took little Jue away, these mechanisms would have to follow along.
With that, beating up Rinacita and kicking aside the Seven Hills didn't seem so difficult anymore. A unified era where carts shared tracks and scripts were standardized was just around the corner…
Thud!
A crisp sound rang out on Zane's head. Sounds nice? If it sounds nice, it's a good head.
Zane clutched his head, teary-eyed, and looked at Rover in disbelief.
"Sis, I didn't even do anything yet. Why did you already hit me?"
"Hmph~" Rover clapped her hands and lifted her chin with a smug smile.
"Don't think I don't know what you're planning. I'm telling you, don't mess around. And little Jue won't help you mess around either."
When Rover said it, the words carried real weight.
"How do you know?"
Rover just chuckled softly and pointed at her fair cheek.
The meaning was obvious.
Zane froze, then instinctively glanced at the little girl standing nearby, still looking confused.
'Is this really appropriate in front of a child?'
Even though the little girl didn't have those memories, perhaps influenced by the flow of time, she was undoubtedly Changli herself.
Seeing Zane stunned, Rover smiled proudly, though a faint trace of disappointment flickered in her heart.
After all, this was a bit…
Just as that trace of disappointment surfaced, Zane suddenly lowered his head and kissed Rover lightly on the lips, then pulled back.
'So nice.'
Rover stared blankly at him, touching her cheek, then her lips.
'What did Zane just do to me?'
She smacked her lips twice, as if recalling it, then realized something was off.
'Did he just kiss my lips?'
'Oh… so Zane just kissed my lips…'
"Huh?"
"Hahaha…"
Seeing Rover, high attack but low defense, completely overloaded, Zane pressed his lips together and laughed softly. She had started the attack, yet she was the first to collapse completely.
Rover's defense was the strongest defense in the world... the Maginot Line.
'My girl is really cute.'
Rover's face turned red. Under Zane's gaze, she became flustered, her shy eyes darting around, not even noticing that the surroundings had quietly changed.
"Y-you…"
Zane didn't expect such a big reaction from her. Seeing this side of her, so different from her usual strong and composed self, he suddenly felt the urge to bully her a bit more.
"Me? What about me?"
A mischievous smile appeared on his face. Then, under Rover's surprised gaze, he stepped forward and pecked her lips again.
A moment later, their lips parted.
After that, Rover's face turned even redder, soft and delicate as if it could drip water.
Seeing her like this, Zane let out a strange laugh and teased, "Hehe, how does it feel?"
Just then, a warm hand landed on Zane's shoulder.
Zane didn't pay any attention and said without turning his head, "Rover, don't think I don't know you're trying to distract me like this so you can sneak away…"
Seeing Rover's open hands, Zane's words stopped abruptly.
If it wasn't Rover, then it had to be...
"Hey, Shorty… no, wait, this isn't something a little girl like you should be watching. Go find somewhere to avoid this."
But the hand didn't move away. Instead, his shoulder began to feel a faint pain.
At this moment, Zane didn't realize that, given the little girl's height, she shouldn't even be able to reach his shoulder.
Under that slender hand, he could faintly hear his shoulder bones letting out a creaking cry.
"Uh… Short... no, Miss Changli?"
Zane hoped he was just scaring himself. But when he looked down and saw the little devil-like smile on Rover's face, it didn't seem that way.
At the same time, the pain in his shoulder grew sharper.
All men must die. Some deaths are lighter than a feather, some heavier than a mountain.
And some… are nothing but crushed bones.
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