"Umbrella," Long Time No See, Grace

"Bang!" "Bang!"

With each step the giant magic box with Golden Legs took, the ground trembled violently, and the vast metal plaza collapsed even more rapidly.

It was as if the entire Mechanical Heart was vibrating and shaking.

Ronan snapped out of his brief shock, hastily picked up the two collapsed Stele Tower, and retreated rapidly.

As he retreated, he witnessed countless jagged cracks appear on the surface of the giant, legged magic box, followed by a series of "crackling sounds."

With a sickening metallic tearing sound, a huge mouth suddenly appeared in the middle of the magic box. The mouth was shaped like a shark's tooth, terrifying and eerie. Inside, it was as deep as a black hole, and rows of fine, sharp teeth could be vaguely seen.

Ronan felt a chill run down his spine, especially since the terrifying giant magic box seemed poised to charge straight at him.

Without giving up any further thoughts, Ronan grabbed Dodol III by the neck, his body now covered in Living Steel. With the help of the [[Space Silvering]] effect, he rapidly flashed away from the giant magic box.

It was during his escape that he discovered, perhaps because the giant magic box inside the golden dwarf statue had awakened, that it seemed to have triggered some mysterious mechanism.

At this moment, the vast city-state where the Mechanical Heart Lost City-State was no longer at peace.

Everywhere there were collapsed buildings, and ancient Metal Puppet that were still functioning emerged from them, their remaining runes glowing red, giving off a sense of danger from afar.

The wandering metallic Elemental Lifeform also seemed to have collectively fallen into a frenzy, attacking indiscriminately in all directions, and some even charged towards Ronan's direction, as if preparing to cooperate with the giant magic box to intercept them.

"Buzz—Buzz—"

Swarms of bees and flocks of birds appeared out of nowhere, like thick, black metallic clouds, radiating unsettling energy fluctuations, and flying around the sky at incredible speeds.

It's like a drop of water falling into a boiling oil pan.

The entire Mechanical Heart completely "exploded".

Ronan swiftly moved through the turbulent metal frenzy, swinging his arms to conjure up hiltless daggers resembling shattered mirrors and fine ice crystals that shot out in all directions, exploding and creating violent magical fluctuations.

The metal summons summoned by the [Mirror Soul] spell also actively faced the metal Elemental Lifeform and berserk puppets that were blocking or trying to block the way, but they were almost overwhelmed by the raging tide in just one encounter.

The giant magic box with legs was still chasing after them, its heavy footsteps echoing one after another.

Although it never launched any effective attacks on Ronan, the sheer size of the creature alone created a natural sense of oppression that made Ronan feel as if he were being chased by a terrifying steel tsunami.

"His strength is definitely above level three."

Ronan's eyes flashed quickly as he made a judgment.

Whether he reached the Level Four Dawn is unknown, as Ronan has never experienced the pressure of Dawn- level being up close.

Dodol III's four little lamb legs clung tightly to Ronan's thighs, still looking innocent and bewildered. He was probably still wondering why, despite finding the "very big" box as Ronan had asked, he hadn't received any reward or praise from Ronan.

Ronan looked at the chaotic scene around him and felt a headache coming on.

He seemed to have just told himself that the Mechanical Heart Ruins weren't particularly dangerous, but reality slapped him hard in the face.

But Ronan did not blame Dodol III; instead, a strange sense of anticipation arose in his heart.

Could the Thunder and Flame Hammer, which was engraved on the square Stele Tower and was so treasured by the Dwarf King of the Mechanical Heart that he even sought help from the legendary wizard Schubert to properly preserve it, be hidden inside this giant Pandora's Box monster behind him?

This possibility is quite high.

However, this Giant Magic Box Monster incredibly powerful, and figuring out how to open it is a major problem.

"Bang!"

A burst of magical flame, resembling the explosion of a [[High-Energy Crucible]], erupted not far away. Broken metal fragments clattered to the ground, signaling the destruction of Ronan's last [Mirror Soul] summon.

Ronan didn't know how far he had run, but he had left the Giant Magic Box Monster far behind.

But the crisis was not completely over; hordes of Metal Puppet and metal Elemental Lifeform were converging on him.

Ronan raised his body to avoid the attacks of some of the Metal Puppet that couldn't take off, while turning back to look at the location of the Giant Magic Box Monster.

The creature was still grinning with its gaping maw, huffing and puffing as it chased after Ronan on its two thick, short, golden legs. Clearly, Ronan was still within its "range of hatred."

Ronan had designs on this guy and didn't want to give up so easily.

He stood there, pondering his next move.

But just then... "Boom!"

"Boom boom boom!"

A series of booming sounds came from a distant direction.

Ronan looked up sharply, his perception far sharper than that of an ordinary wizard, and he caught a few unusual energy fluctuations that accompanied the roaring sound.

"Fluctuations in non-metallic elemental magic"

"And there's more than one."

Ronan narrowed his eyes, his gaze gleaming beneath the silver mask.

"It seems there are other wizards fighting."

Are there other wizards within the ruins of the Mechanical Heart?!

That's not surprising.

After all, since the Mechanical Heart is an ancient secret realm that was discovered long ago, if he could find the entrance, others could too.

On his orders, Dodol III lured out the Giant Magic Box Monster from the central square of the Mechanical Heart, plunging the entire realm into turmoil and chaos.

It's possible that the wizards currently engaged in battle were implicated by him and suffered this undeserved calamity.

"Boom boom boom—"

The Giant Magic Box Monster's footsteps drew closer, and a terrifying pressure swept over from afar. The metallic Elemental Lifeform and Metal Puppet that he had briefly forced away gradually formed an encirclement around him.

Without much hesitation, Ronan moved swiftly and flew directly towards the direction from which the magical fluctuations were coming from.

It wasn't that they had any intention of shifting the blame; it's a biological instinct to band together and resist danger.

In the current situation, it would be much better to find someone to join forces with than to fight alone.

Of course, Ronan didn't necessarily want to find someone to help him; he wanted to go over and check the situation first before making a decision.

With the Flying Ring, full physical strength, and the short-range teleportation effect of the Living Steel [[Space Silvering]], Ronan's speed was extremely fast.

He almost transformed into a blurry streak of silver lightning, flashing and leaping between abandoned buildings, easily breaking through layers of obstacles, and quickly arriving at the battlefield from which the magical fluctuations were emanating.

"Whoosh—"

Ronan stopped a kilometer away from where the battle had broken out, standing atop a tall, brass-roofed building and gazing at the fighting.

That area seemed to be completely shrouded in golden clouds.

Countless metallic Elemental Lifeform and Metal Puppet surrounded the figures, launching wave after wave of attacks against them.

Through the dense horde of rampaging Metal Monster, Ronan saw four figures struggling to hold on.

Two men and two women, all dressed in rather rare moon-white magic robes, which were quite magnificent in style and all had the same badge on their chests.

It was a pattern Ronan had never seen before—a white ring with a crown woven from green leaves at its center.

It looked like the symbol of Plant-Type Wizard force, but the spells cast by the wizards in the battle were not plant-based spells. Instead, they were clusters of pure white light, with traces of energy similar to the Vitality Orb within Ronan's body, but much thinner.

Three of the four wizards are Third Level Wizard, and the rest are level two wizards.

However, the only level two wizard was firmly protected in the middle by the other three level Third Level Wizard, indicating that he was of extraordinary status.

Ronan's gaze swept over the four people, finally settling on the second-level wizard who was being protected.

She was a girl, who looked to be only sixteen or seventeen years old.

With her delicate features and pure temperament, she had short hair that barely covered her cheeks and wore a pair of exquisite Crystal Glasses on her nose, giving her a strong scholarly air. At first glance, Ronan felt that this girl was familiar to him in both appearance and temperament.

Memories stirred in my mind, and soon, a name emerged from the depths of my heart.

"It turns out."

Ronan gazed at the beautiful young woman in the center of the battle, her expression slightly tense. His eyes widened, and he murmured, "It's her."

"Boom!"

As a massive, pure white ball of light, resembling a heart, exploded, terrifying energy shockwaves swept in all directions, momentarily halting the relentless attacks of the surrounding metallic Elemental Lifeform and Metal Puppet.

"Hanna!"

The handsome young man, dressed in a moon-white robe and holding a long, pure white staff, gave a low shout. Then, he flipped his hand, revealing a small, exquisite white scroll about the length of a palm between his fingers.

"I'll hold this position for now."

The handsome young man turned to his two companions and said calmly, "You and Beck take the Princess and go first. I'll come back to meet you later."

"Donny, are you sure you can manage on your own?"

The witch with long silver hair and dark skin asked.

The handsome young man gave a light snort and said indifferently, "What do you think?"

The witch frowned slightly but said nothing. She exchanged a brief glance with another level-three male wizard before respectfully addressing the girl who was being protected by the three. "Princess, we will take you away."

Where to?

The girl asked a question with a somewhat bewildered expression.

The Silver-Haired Witch glanced around and said, "We don't know what's happening inside the Mechanical Heart. All the wandering Elemental Lifeform and puppets are attacking any outsiders like crazy. Under these circumstances, continuing to explore further might threaten your safety. I'm afraid we have no choice but to withdraw for now."

Upon hearing this, the girl's face immediately showed disappointment, but after looking around, she quickly nodded in agreement, though she looked with a slightly worried eye at the young wizard who had volunteered to stay behind to cover the rear.

He hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

As if sensing her gaze, the latter turned around, a gentle and submissive expression appearing on his handsome face.

"Princess, you need not worry about me. I can handle everything."

The young wizard, known as Donny, bowed slightly, giving a simple and elegant greeting, and said, "Besides, what does it matter if one sacrifices their life for the Princess?"

"Donny."

The girl didn't seem too impressed with the young wizard's overly exaggerated words and actions, and her expression was slightly embarrassed and unnatural, but she still solemnly instructed him, "Then be careful."

After the four-person group made their decision, the Silver-Haired Witch and another level-three male witch immediately protected the girl and retreated.

The young wizard Donny turned around calmly, gently tore open the scroll in his hand, and instantly a dazzling white light burst forth from the scroll, transforming into pure white flames in the void, forming a huge white flame ring that rapidly spread outwards.

Any metal element swept by the flame ring instantly melted and disappeared without a sound, clearing out the previously crowded battleground.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the three Silver-Haired Witch broke through the weakest point in the encirclement.

Just when they were about to completely break free from the battle, a large black cloud suddenly shot out from a collapsed metal ruin below.

It was a large group of strange puppets that looked like both wasps and crows, about half the size of a human, with black metallic luster flowing over them and silvery-white rune paths.

Each one emitted a powerful energy fluctuation comparable to that of Third Level Magic Beast.

When they gathered together, the power they released became even more terrifying, like a hurricane filled with the aura of death and destruction, rushing towards the three of them at an incredibly fast speed.

The Silver-Haired Witch, sensing the impending crisis, immediately changed her expression. Without uttering a word, she and another male witch rushed forward to confront them.

Both of them emitted intense white light, forming a huge white light wall in the void. The light wall moved forward, attempting to block the rapidly approaching swarm of strange puppet bees.

Protected by the two behind her, the young witch retreated cautiously like a timid rabbit, then spotted a relatively safe direction and dashed out quickly.

She knew very well what the people around her were fighting for.

Once she is safe, the few people responsible for protecting her will naturally be able to make a safe and secure retreat.

"Call--"

After rushing a considerable distance away from the battle, the young witch stopped, patted her chest, and let out a long sigh of relief.

She escaped unharmed; no rampaging monster targeted her.

A hint of excitement flickered across her beautiful brows, and then she raised her hand to signal her companions to retreat.

However, at that moment, a sharp, cold shout rang in his ears.

"Your Princess, be careful!"

The young witch's hand, which was about to wave, froze in mid-air. She saw the Silver-Haired Witch in the distance, who was fighting and retreating while desperately resisting the swarm of puppet bees, shouting at her anxiously. She then abandoned her other companion and rushed towards her without regard for her own safety.

The young witch's heart trembled for no reason. She quietly turned around and saw seven or eight strange metal blades with wings that were spinning at high speed like gears flying towards her.

The metal blade sliced through the air, emitting an incredibly sharp whistling sound. Its terrifying Keen Edge distorted the void, and the resulting gale caused the young witch's hair to dance wildly on her forehead, and her eyes to involuntarily narrow slightly.

Even a skilled level Third Level Wizard would likely be thrown into disarray in this situation, let alone a reclusive female wizard who is only interested in academic research and knowledge acquisition and has pitifully lacking in combat ability and experience.

As the terrifying metal bladed disc whistled and approached, the young witch's mind went completely blank.

She didn't know what to do.

She felt as if a thick, icy chill was rapidly sweeping over her entire body, and all sounds around her quickly faded away.

She was like a drowning person who had fallen into an icy lake, only able to watch helplessly as she was swallowed up little by little by something. And then...

A silvery-white light flashed rapidly before my eyes.

Then it seemed as if a pair of long, strong arms suddenly grabbed her tightly.

One turn.

The silvery-white light spread out, condensing into an umbrella-like shape, firmly protecting her in front of her.

"Buzz buzz buzz—clink clink clink—"

The young witch heard the sound of a rapidly spinning blade cutting through metal, and the crisp sound of metal colliding with metal and being bounced away. All the crises, like a storm, were kept outside the "umbrella".

At this moment, an unprecedented sense of trembling and fear belatedly swept over the girl's entire body.

"Bang! Bang!"

The girl, her face pale, pressed her hand to her chest, listening to her incredibly rapid heartbeat.

But she couldn't help but quickly look up, wanting to see who was the person who had pulled her out of the icy, suffocating lake.

In those beautiful, crystal-clear eyes, a scene she would never forget was quickly reflected—

At the center of the "umbrella," a deep, silvery-white metal spreads outwards like mercury.

A handsome and dashing young man with chestnut hair and blue eyes quietly stepped out.

He stood in front of the girl, less than a meter away from her.

The young man reached out and gently straightened the Crystal Glasses that had slipped off the girl's nose, then smiled at her and said, "Long time no see, Grace."