Chapter 64: Clara

The single, cerulean optical sensor of the colossal, dark-bronze robot flickered several times.

It seemed the outsider standing before it was far too arrogant for its processors to handle.

The sheer audacity of her words had triggered a brief, cascading logical overload.

In the past, whenever it issued a warning, any intruder—be they creatures from the Rift or humans who had blundered into its domain—would retreat with haste.

At the very least, they would adopt a posture of tense negotiation or cautious confrontation.

But this person… this person not only refused to back down but had the gall to cross her arms, cock her head, and mock it.

“Do your parents know you’re this brave?”

To top it all off, she had even threatened to dismantle it for spare batteries.

This was, without a doubt, a first.

“Logic conflict… Re-evaluating threat level…”

Clearly, this scenario was well outside its pre-programmed parameters.

After a moment of computational lag, it defaulted to the most direct response: if verbal deterrence was ineffective, physical deterrence would have to suffice.

“Purge protocol initiated.

Unit: Combat Machinery, Model: Basic Defense, Quantity: Twelve.

Target: Suppress and disarm.”

The Automated Sentries, their chassis painted with the distinct red and green markings that gave them their common nickname, had been lined up neatly before the gate.

At the command, their optical sensors flared to life, and they moved in perfect, unnerving synchronicity, fanning out to surround Chen in a threatening semi-circle.

They didn’t look like much individually, but the sheer pressure of their numbers was enough to drive any ordinary person to despair.

“Tsk, I knew it would come to this.”

Chen’s lip curled, but there wasn’t a hint of nervousness on her face.

Instead, a playful, ‘I-told-you-so’expression danced in her eyes.

She cast a quick glance down at the Geo-Map at her feet, which remained steadfastly in its turret form, then looked at the delicate, puppet-like hands she currently possessed.’It seems I won’t get any answers by asking,’ she thought, sighing dramatically as if lamenting her opponent’s utter lack of cooperation.

“Then I’ll just have to… ask with my own hands.”

Before her voice had even faded, a thought took form in her mind.

With a shimmer of displaced air, a giant hammer, significantly taller than her current petite frame, materialized in her grasp.

Facing the first two Automated Sentries that whirred toward her, Chen didn’t even bother with a standard defensive stance.

With a flick of her wrist, she swung the colossal weapon in a casual, one-handed horizontal sweep.

Boom!

Clatter!

The air itself seemed to compress and ripple along the hammer’s trajectory.

The lead sentry, caught in the arc, was obliterated as if it had been struck head-on by a freight train at full speed.

Its energy shield might as well have been paper, and its entire body was instantly reduced to two distinct piles of silent, twisted scrap metal.

“First Break: Warm-up Swing,” Chen commented nonchalantly, her steps never faltering as she advanced on the remaining machines.

Another sentry lunged from her flank.

Without even a glance in its direction, Chen brought the hammer down in a punishing, backhanded overhead strike.

Bang!

Crash!

A precise blow landed squarely on its head.

The robot’s cranial unit, along with a significant portion of its upper torso, was smashed into a metallic pancake and embedded deep into the frozen ground.

“Double Kill: Pest Control.” She gave the hammer a little shake, flicking off non-existent debris.

Her gaze swept across the remaining Automated Sentries, which had momentarily frozen, their processors struggling to compute the instant demise of their comrades.

She couldn’t help but complain aloud.

“Is that title of ‘Aeon of Preservation’ just for show?

Oh, right, that’s just a nickname from the players… but honestly, this level of defense is just pathetic.”

Even as she grumbled, her movements never paused.

The giant hammer seemed to weigh nothing in her hands, each swing a devastating display of violent aesthetics.

Hammer shadows flew, and a rain of scrap metal and sparks filled the air.

Triple Kill: World-Shaking.

Quadra Kill: Peerless Under Heaven.

Penta Kill: Heaven and Earth Annihilation…

In just over a dozen seconds, the entire squad of Automated Sentries was transformed into a sprawling heap of sparking, metallic trash.

Not a single intact component could be found among the wreckage.

The giant dark-bronze robot seemed genuinely shocked by this terrifying efficiency of dismantlement.

“Threat Level: Extreme!

Switching to Annihilation Mode!”

A shrill alarm blared from its chassis.

The multi-barrel physical shell launcher mounted on its right arm began to glow, humming with immense power as it charged.

The muzzle lifted, locking onto Chen’s position.

“Heh, your turn?” Chen looked up at the poised cannon, a fearless grin spreading across her face.

A mischievous glint flashed in her eyes.

“It seems a normal greeting wasn’t warm enough.

In that case, allow me to give you a grand gift.”

With that, she leaped high into the air.

As she reached the apex of her jump, a massive ice crystal, over three meters in diameter, materialized from thin air just below her hammer!

“A diamond this big, just for you!”

Before her words finished echoing, she brought all her strength to bear, slamming the hammer down and sending the colossal ice diamond crashing toward the dark-bronze robot!

“Don’t complain about the cold when you catch it!”

Guided by the hammer’s arc, the ice diamond traced a dazzling, crystalline path through the air.

It struck its target with pinpoint accuracy, impacting the muzzle of the charging cannon and engulfing most of the robot’s upper body.

CRACK—BOOM!

A terrifying sound erupted—the simultaneous shriek of flash-freezing and catastrophic structural collapse.

A blindingly cold light exploded outward, swallowing the robot’s massive form whole.

Its surface armor, internal wiring, and complex moving joints… along with the edges of the gate behind it and the few robot remains scattered on the ground… were all completely encased in ice in an instant.

It was now a giant, unmoving ice sculpture, radiating a frost so cold it seemed to burn the very air.

As for the Vagrants who were lucky enough not to be caught in the blast, they had already been scared out of their wits.

The moment the Automated Sentries were insta-killed, they had scrambled away, vanishing into the scrapyard labyrinth without a trace.

In the center of the now-silent camp, only the massive ice sculpture remained, along with Chen, who landed lightly back on the ground.

“Done.” She dusted off non-existent ice chips from her hands and nodded with satisfaction at her handiwork.

Just then…

Crack… Crackle…

Fine, spiderweb-like fissures suddenly appeared on the surface of the ice sculpture, originating from the point on the chest armor where the hammer-driven diamond had made direct contact.

The cracks spread with alarming speed, soon covering the entire frozen layer.

BANG!

With a final, explosive report, the thick layer of ice shattered, disintegrating into countless tiny crystals that scattered everywhere like a shimmering rain of diamond dust.

As the icy mist cleared, the scene within was revealed.

The imposing, giant dark-bronze robot… was in ruins.

A large portion of its outer shell was shattered and lay in pieces on the ground.

But most surprisingly, as the broken armor fell away, a small figure tumbled out from a gap in the robot’s chest—what must have been the cockpit.

With a small cry, the figure stumbled a few steps before landing hard on the cold, ice-dusted ground.

It was a young boy, looking to be no more than ten years old.

He had soft, fluffy, pale-white hair, and his fair little face was flushed, still reeling from the shock.

He was bundled in a red padded coat that was clearly a size or two too large for him.

Most striking of all were his large, expressive eyes, which were wide with a mixture of shock and helplessness.

But beneath that was a raw, childlike panic.

Chen was completely stunned.

She blinked once, then twice, her mind struggling to process the sight.

She looked the little fellow who had just fallen out of the final boss mecha up and down, a deep sense of absurdity washing over her.

After a few seconds of dead silence, she finally found her voice.

A hint of suppressed laughter crept into her tone as she pointed a delicate finger at the white-haired little boy.

“Huh?!

This was a mecha all along?!” she exclaimed, then her eyes widened in dawning realization.

“Are you Clara?!”

Her brain finally caught up.

“Wait… you’re a little boy…”

She took two steps closer, bending down and leaning in toward the small face that was trying its absolute hardest to remain serious but was clearly on the verge of breaking into tears.

Her voice was now dripping with incredible, unrestrained amusement.

“So, what’s the story here?

Are you pulling off some kind of power-usurping, Svarog-cosplaying drama?”

[Elysian’s Note:

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