A tornado suddenly rose, sweeping away all the sand and dust and obscuring Feather Rabbit's vision.
Bai Yan flashed forward and attacked Jackal again.
Feather Rabbit had expected it and followed closely, steadily blocking the attack.
"Always trying to take shortcuts. Just as expected of a little girl who's all show and no substance," Jackal mocked, using Feather Rabbit and the mechs as shields.
Bai Yan was instantly enraged.
What gave you the right to mock me?
Where was my authority? I was the Herrscher of Wind—I'd blow you to pieces right now! Without Lingji Bodhisattva giving you a pearl, let's see what you could do!
A tornado abruptly surged forth, instantly smashing toward Jackal's position.
The slender tornado brushed past Feather Rabbit, then scraped across the mechs' metal armor, like a heavy punch brutally striking Jackal in the stomach.
"Pugh—"
Jackal was instantly launched high into the air, losing all balance and spinning wildly around her navel as an axis.
"Ahhh! Put me down, you bastard!"
Bai Yan said nothing. He suddenly retreated into the distance and continued strengthening the tornado.
A group of mechs had already begun preparing to catch her. Unfortunately, there was no air cushion—otherwise, it would have been a textbook example of a thrilling mechanized rescue operation.
Only Feather Rabbit remained behind to keep watch over Bai Yan.
At that moment, a Gray Serpent clone suddenly emerged from the darkness.
"Feather Rabbit, you should withdraw too."
"Mm... I don't really care, but Gray Serpent, why have you been so eager to retreat today?"
The Gray Serpent of the past was unlike Jackal. Jackal was merely arrogant, while Gray Serpent's contempt came from the depths of his bones.
He had existed through long ages and watched humanity's history unfold. Ordinary people no longer caught his eye.
But today was different. It was as if he had been wary of something all along.
Feather Rabbit looked toward the distant battle. Fu Hua and the Herrscher of the Void were nowhere to be seen.
She asked, "Did you know she had come here all along?"
Fu Hua, Hua the Flame Chaser from the Pre-Civilization Era, was from the same era as World Serpent's master, Kevin, and had once been his comrade-in-arms.
Was he wary of her?
Yet Feather Rabbit could not see what was so concerning about Fu Hua.
"Just withdraw. We'll stop here for today."
"What about the Herrscher of the Void?"
"Explain the situation. That one will understand."
"All right."
Feather Rabbit had only asked casually.
Now that the person she cared about was safe, she no longer minded.
Gray Serpent looked at Bai Yan. "World Serpent will withdraw from Singapore as of now. The two sides will cease hostilities here."
"Before that," Bai Yan said, looking at him somewhat strangely, "where is Raiden Mei? Did you do anything to her?"
"That was merely a smokescreen. And there's no need to worry about Cocolia either. She has completely run out of cards to play."
"Oh? Doesn't she still have the Herrscher of Reason's clone?"
"Ha!"
Gray Serpent said mockingly, "If she made it herself, it isn't qualified to appear here."
Bai Yan fell silent, understanding dawning on him.
So it was World Serpent's technology.
Cocolia had created Welt, but during her collaboration with World Serpent, they had used technology to strengthen Welt's power as a condition for pulling him into their camp.
By that calculation, Cocolia was not far from being abandoned by everyone.
There were still some people with limited legal capacity at the orphanage. With a little persuasion, they should be able to leave her a commander without an army.
After saying that, Gray Serpent turned and left, but Feather Rabbit remained where she was without any intention of departing.
"You're not leaving?"
"I just won't interfere. Can't I stay and watch?"
Bai Yan flicked his shortsword.
"No."
Feather Rabbit stroked her chin in thought.
Bai Yan stared at her silently.
After a moment, Feather Rabbit had a flash of inspiration.
She held out both hands. "Then just tie my hands up."
Bai Yan stared at her without moving.
He felt that restraining Feather Rabbit would require the belt Supreme Lord Lao had used to imprison the Nine-Tailed Fox.
Given Feather Rabbit's behavior, Bai Yan even suspected that Gray Serpent's retreat was fake and that he would return shortly to reap the rewards.
But on second thought, Feather Rabbit was probably concerned about Bronya. Otherwise, she would not have been frozen in place for three seconds by a single sentence from him.
Bronya was guarding the unconscious Rita. Heavy Cannon Rabbit had activated its most vicious weapons systems, ready to go all out at any moment.
"So why do you want Kiana?"
Just as Feather Rabbit was about to speak, Rita's hand twitched, and she suddenly jolted awake.
Without the slightest delay, she sprang to her feet, grabbed the giant scythe she had spotted from the corner of her eye, and rushed in front of Feather Rabbit.
Her slightly disheveled hair and the faint but unmistakable bloodshot veins in her eyes both revealed her terrible condition.
"Big Sister Rita, World Serpent has called a temporary truce."
"Hm? Why?"
"I don't know, but Gray Serpent and Jackal have already left. This person stayed behind and said she wouldn't make a move."
Rita looked at Feather Rabbit, not believing it at all.
"This is rather troublesome..."
"So I suggest you withdraw with them. One must avoid even the appearance of impropriety," Bai Yan advised.
"All right, then. See you next time."
Feather Rabbit retreated with considerable regret.
Rita let out a sigh of relief.
Bai Yan stepped forward and gathered strength.
The next moment, Rita's entire body collapsed, and Bai Yan caught her just in time.
The fragrance of her hair drifted over on the breeze. Her delicate body was weak and limp, her chest rising and falling continuously. She was in very poor condition.
"How is the situation?"
Bai Yan held her as her breathing remained unsteady, his tone equally weak.
"Kiana went berserk for some reason. Fu Hua came to support us and suppress her. Durandal is nowhere to be found—she should have been temporarily trapped by them."
"Why did World Serpent suddenly withdraw?"
"I don't know. Only Gray Serpent proposed it. Jackal and Feather Rabbit were forced to leave as well."
When Rita heard the name "Feather Rabbit," she recalled that face from earlier...
"Feather Rabbit..."
"She looks very much like Cecilia from back then. After Kiana saw that face, she... became like a different person."
In the distance, Fu Hua was still bombarding the Herrscher of the Void with heavy punches and had nearly gained the upper hand.
Everyone turned their eyes toward the battle, waiting for the outcome.
"Let's go take a look," Rita suggested.
The group then carefully approached the battlefield.
The battle in the woods continued without pause, and they could faintly hear the Herrscher of the Void's voice.
"Damn it!"
"Die!"
"You're really troublesome!"
The few of them exchanged glances, but there was little worry on their faces.
"What happened to Kiana?" Bai Yan deliberately asked.
"This..." Rita was at a loss for words.
Without orders, she could not casually reveal secrets.
Yet anyone with eyes could see that something was seriously wrong with Kiana.
Bronya silently followed behind them, listening to the commotion in the distance.
Bai Yan did not ask again.
But Rita had already understood his meaning.
Asking was Miss Bai Yan's persona; not pressing further was Bai Yan's nature as an outstanding employee.
A sense of guilt quietly descended upon Rita. She truly wanted to tell Bai Yan everything.
Unfortunately, she could not act as she wished.
"I really can't stand watching this anymore."
An unfamiliar male voice suddenly rang out. Everyone turned toward it and saw someone.
Welt Clone.
With his arms folded, he glanced at the battle in the distance and said calmly, "Gray Serpent is actually cowardly enough to retreat over a tiny accident? I truly don't understand why World Serpent lets him take charge!"
"It's you!" Rita said warily.
"You little mice of Schicksal, keep watching here."
With that, he ran toward the battlefield without looking back.
Bai Yan sensed that something was wrong.
That guy definitely wanted to stir things up!
The battlefield.
Fu Hua took a deep breath and once again assumed the opening stance of Shenzhou's ancient martial arts before the bruised and battered Herrscher of the Void.
Herrscher of the Void: "..."
She hated this so much. She had not absorbed enough Collapse Energy and was far from her full strength. She simply could not defeat the person before her!
"Trash! You're so annoying!"
Step, step, step...
"Since that's the case, why don't we join forces against her?"
Although he spoke as if making a suggestion, he had already begun forming an inferior miniature black hole in his hand.
Fu Hua was stunned, then hurriedly responded.
Before you continue