Upper Yard, Ordeal of String area.
Towering ancient trees crisscrossed overhead. Sunlight barely pierced the canopy, casting dappled shadows across the ground, which was covered in strange clouds.
"You want me to hand over my weapons and Dials?"
High in the air, Priest Shura, riding on the back of a Three-Zhang Bird, seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. He looked down at the silver-haired man carrying a gigantic iron hammer, his eyes full of lofty disdain.
"Some insignificant Blue Sea ant, ignorant of even the rules of God's Kingdom, dares to spout such nonsense here."
Shura raised the long spear in his hand, its tip wreathed in flames, and pointed it at Jeno's brow. "Before Mantra, I can see every thought and every move you make. Now, face Divine Punishment!"
The moment the words left his mouth, the Three-Zhang Bird beneath Shura let out a strange cry and spat a blazing fireball from its beak. Along with Shura's spear, it plunged toward Jeno like a shooting star!
"Enough talk."
Jeno spat out the screw he'd been holding in his mouth. The air valve on the Mechanical Exoskeleton around his right arm let out a deafening roar. He didn't dodge. With one hand, he swung the Hydraulic Power Hammer—modified from a warship's main cannon—straight at the incoming fireball and spear.
But just as Jeno planted his feet and prepared to charge forward—
"Snap!"
Several completely transparent threads, tougher than steel, suddenly pulled taut in midair, wrapping tightly around Jeno's ankles and mechanical right arm!
Jeno's charge came to an abrupt halt. His massive body lost its balance under the force of its own momentum and crashed down on one knee.
"Hm? What's this?"
Jeno strained against them, only to find that the transparent threads wrapped around his