Phrolova joins the battle!

The crimson flames on the card flickered ceaselessly, and the outline of the blade grew clearer in their light.

Rover reached out and touched the face of the card with his fingertips.

With a boom, the flames burst forth, but they did not burn him. Instead, they wound obediently around his arm, slid down his wrist into his palm, and formed a long, entirely crimson blade.

The blade was slender, its curve strong and sharp. A dark golden light gleamed along its edge, while ancient patterns wound around the hilt like cracks worn by the passage of time, each concealing a story of scorching heat.

The system notification sounded at just the right moment. "Zanpakuto, Ryūjin Jakka, with Shikai 'Reduce all creation to ash' and Bankai 'Zanka no Tachi,' unlocked."

Rover gripped the sword and channeled frequency into it. The blade hummed, crimson flames rose from its edge, and waves of heat distorted the surrounding air. The gravel beneath his feet crackled and began to melt.

"So hot!"

Cartethyia took two steps back and raised a hand in front of her face. "Righteous one, isn't that sword of yours a bit much?!"

Jinhsi did not retreat, but she narrowed her eyes. A faint glimmer of temporal power gathered at her fingertips without her realizing it. She had seen many weapons, but the aura of the sword before her surpassed almost every blade she had ever seen!

"Back!!"

Rover suppressed his excitement. With his current Captain-Commander-level Reiatsu, he was just able to wield this sword!

He tightened his grip on Ryūjin Jakka. The crimson flames on the blade slowly died out, and he returned it to its sheath.

"Next, it's time to consider resurrecting Imperator."

He opened his palm, and Imperator's soul blueprint appeared in it. Just as he was about to try reforging it, Jinhsi suddenly trembled, and her expression abruptly changed.

"Wait."

She held out her palm. Several dragon scales were emerging from beneath her skin, glowing pale gold and growing slightly warm. A rapid fluctuation of frequency came from them.

"This is bad. The Sentinel Jué has sent word. The war Threnodian, the Faceless Inferno Lord, is showing signs of revival."

Her voice was level, yet it made it hard to breathe.

"At present, the Faceless Inferno Lord appears to be moving toward Jinzhou City."

All three of them grew alert at once, their expressions grave.

Rover put away Imperator's soul blueprint. His plans to resurrect Imperator would have to wait; the immediate priority was to return to Jinzhou at once.

The Tacet Mark on his wrist suddenly flashed. In a burst of light, Abu sprang out from the back of his hand, his tiny body hovering in midair, stretched rigid.

"I'll help!"

Abu wasted no words. He brought his two little hands together and activated Fullbring.

Two enormous cannons materialized behind him, their dark muzzles gleaming with cold metallic light. The two cannons stacked together and locked into place with two clacks, becoming a single heavy cannon. It settled firmly on the ground, its muzzle aimed straight toward Jinzhou.

"Get on!"

Rover understood immediately. He aimed at a nearby stone pillar, and with a flash of cold light, sliced it clean through and shoved it into the barrel.

"Fire!"

Abu slapped the cannon, and it erupted with a thunderous boom. The recoil sent the surrounding gravel flying as the stone pillar shot out of the barrel, trailing a long plume of flame toward Jinzhou.

All three leaped up at once, landing on the stone pillar and speeding away on its tremendous thrust.

Faster! We have to make it in time!

The three of them cried out inwardly at the same time.

Jinzhou, the prison.

Phrolova sat at a sewing machine, working the pedal with her foot and turning the wheel by hand. Her movements were unbelievably practiced.

Her stitches were fine and close, the fabric smooth. Little outfits took shape one after another in her hands, and she put them on the cloth dolls beside her. One, two, three... A long row of them already lined a corner of the cell.

They were all dolls of Rover.

Some wore masks, some had golden eyes, some carried swords, some were small and dainty, and others were imposing. One version even wore an apron and held a spatula, the spitting image of a househusband.

Each one had been sewn with the utmost care, lifelike and vivid. Even the way their hair fell matched her memory.

Besides cooking, she had developed another hobby. As expected of a musician, she had some artistic talent in her, displaying extraordinary skill at sewing as soon as she tried her hand at it.

Sanhua stood outside the cell door, clutching the Magistrate's formal attire, which she had originally come to inspect. Her face went from white to red, then from red to green, finally settling into an ashen look of fury.

"I told you to sew the Magistrate's formal attire. Look at what you've made!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, she froze.

After looking over the row of dolls, Sanhua could not bring herself to leave.

She wanted them too, but she had to remain reserved.

"Confiscated! Every last one of them must be confiscated!"

Keeping a stern face, she pointed at them and counted. One, two, three... There were a good twenty or thirty of them. In an instant, he had worked out how to divide the spoils... no, how to dispose of them.

Splitting them fifty-fifty with the Magistrate shouldn't cause any problems, should it?

"You just want them for yourself!"

Phrolova shot her a sidelong glance and wrapped her arms tightly around a pile of dolls, shielding them with her whole body like someone guarding their food. Her green eyes were full of vigilance.

"Hey, you haven't grasped your position." Sanhua frowned and was about to say more when all of Jinzhou suddenly shuddered.

The ground shook, dust sifted down from the walls, and even the needle on the sewing machine jumped.

"What happened?"

Phrolova sprang to her feet. She was extremely sensitive to frequency, and now the color drained from her face.

"The war Threnodian has revived in the Norfall Barrens. It's heading toward Jinzhou City."

"How is that possible?!"

Sanhua's face turned pale, and her hands and feet felt icy. "You're lying. That thing was only just defeated! Even if it revived, it would take a long time. How could it be this fast?!"

"I'm not lying. And I'm certain that thing is even stronger than last time!"

Phrolova stared at her and spoke word by word. "Your Magistrate is absent at this critical moment. Trying to stop it with only an injured Sentinel and ordinary troops will inevitably come at a terrible cost."

Sanhua clenched her teeth. She knew Phrolova was telling the truth. The tremors beneath her feet were growing more pronounced, and that heavy, scorching frequency, laden with the aura of destruction, was bearing down on them from the Norfall Barrens.

"Let me out!"

Phrolova barely hesitated.

"What are you going to do?!" Sanhua jerked her head up.

"I'll go hold off the Faceless Inferno Lord and buy you some time."

Sanhua's face was full of suspicion. "You're with the Fractsidus. Do you think I'll believe your nonsense?"

"Then make your choice now."

Phrolova took a deep breath, tightening her arms around the dolls. "Do you keep me locked up here and let your Jinzhou garrison die in droves, or do you take a gamble and see whether I can help hold it off for a while?"

She paused, staring straight at Sanhua with her green eyes.

"You don't have to trust me, but don't you even trust Rover?!"

Sweat beaded on Sanhua's forehead.

She knew very well that every second of delay would make the battle more complicated and more dire. The Norfall Barrens garrison had fought for years and was highly capable, but against a war Threnodian, they could not hold out for long.

If the Faceless Inferno Lord crossed the defensive line and charged into the residential district, the casualties would be unimaginable.

She could not afford to wait.

Sanhua took a deep breath and raised a hand to unlock the cell door.

"I'll let you out. I'll take responsibility for all the consequences!"

Phrolova rushed out of the cell with the dolls in her arms. After a couple of steps, she turned back and shoved the whole pile into Sanhua's arms.

"Keep them safe for me. If even one is missing, I'll never let you hear the end of it!"

With that, she turned and left, her red clothes billowing and her green hair streaming in a line behind her in the wind!

On this journey, she would press forward without hesitation!