The legend of the Crimson Demon clan started from Suqing.

Chapter 602 Rick, the man deeply loved by all the Mechs.
On this day, the clash of spears and arrows, a dazzling display of light that seemed to destroy the heavens and the earth, was reflected in everyone's eyes. It will surely be recorded and passed down from generation to generation.

Perhaps those immortal beings will proudly boast to their descendants that they experienced the most glorious moment of the great war.

An unknown powerhouse capable of contending with the God of War, Artesius, would surely be celebrated and sung throughout the world. However, at this moment, that unknown powerhouse—

Zun Zun's mood was not so good.

Because he lost.

Despite having one fairy evolving, and the fact that a fairy sorcerer's magic power is halved when one fairy is missing... these are just excuses, but the fact remains that he lost in the battle against the God of War, Altshu.

"——!?"

"Okay, okay, I'm not blaming you anymore."

Zun Zun soothed the constantly pulsating ball of light in his arms. This was a flower bud that had condensed after devouring Jibril. It only needed to wait for it to bloom to evolve into one of the four great fairy spirits.

Isn't it normal for the Four Great Immortals to have six members?
It's hard not to wonder, what if the last fairy spirit had been involved? Would things have turned out differently? Of course, it's also possible that Altshu didn't use his full strength.

But these are all things for later.

As for the impact on the battlefield, or the incalculable losses, none of that mattered to Zun Zun—once the Red Demon Clan gets carried away with their passion, they become reckless and disregard everything else.

"I just don't know if it will have any impact on the plan."

Zun Zun rubbed his head.

There shouldn't be any problem. The Forest Elves, Goblins, and Skywings are all on the battlefield now, and I even fought Altshu from a distance. The immense power of that collision should surely make the other two races cower like startled birds.

Given this, they will instinctively attack if provoked even slightly, while other races will surely cower elsewhere, trembling in fear, waiting for the final battle to end.

There are others, which should also be fine.

He convinced himself with this theory, because if he were to consider the possibility of the forest elves and the goblins joining forces, such a situation would be very disadvantageous for them, so he absolutely could not think about it.

The only hope lies in the animosity between the forest elves and goblins, preventing them from doing so. Furthermore, considering the existing conflicts and grudges within the alliance, there's no time to resolve them.

After figuring things out, Zun Zun realized he hadn't caused any trouble and finally felt relieved. Just as he was about to return to the human settlement...

"Your Excellency."

"...Shubi?"

They saw the machine-type girl emerging from the mountain. She was covered in dust and looked disheveled, her body torn and tattered. Her chest, legs, and right hand were all missing.

If she weren't a purely mechanical life form, she would have died long ago, yet she is still alive...

Zun Zun noticed her perfectly intact left hand and the particularly conspicuous silver ring on her ring finger.

"You... never mind, let's go."

Is the question to ask her if she was caught in the crossfire because she didn't have time to leave, or if she stayed to provide support? But it doesn't matter which answer is correct, at least they won, didn't they?
But the girl, who could read people's minds... no, she was a machine-type girl who already had a mind, clearly guessed what Zun Zun wanted to ask.

“Shubi didn’t leave…because there are still 4 access control points…that haven’t been settled yet…”

"Rick's orders take precedence."

Zun Zun sighed helplessly.

That's how mechanical life forms are; they can only follow pre-programmed instructions. Even if Shubi has developed a sense of awareness, she still has this kind of consciousness—even if it's disguised as paying attention to Rick's request, she is essentially still being programmed with commands.

"You need to protect your own life. It's okay to kill the other person if you encounter danger. Rick must be thinking the same thing."

"But Rick didn't say... he demanded that Rule Two be followed..."

"There are things you don't need to say aloud."

"Ok?"

Shubi looked puzzled after being interrupted, seemingly not understanding the meaning behind Zun Zun's words, but it was better to let Rick teach her this.

Return to camp.

Seeing the battered and bruised Shubi, Rick was the first to break down and cry. However, Shubi kept comforting him, saying that she hadn't broken Rule Two and that no one had died. Her words only made Rick cry even louder, like a 19-year-old child.

Kloni stared blankly at the two of them until she was taken away by Zun Zun.

"How should I put it..."

"Shubi isn't human, right? I already knew that. When I hugged Riku when he brought her back, I felt a coldness that wasn't human-like, but I never expected her to be a machine."

"Then why didn't you ask?"

"Even people from another world have appeared, but they're just machine armor types. There's no need to be surprised, is there?"

It seems I accidentally messed up her worldview.

Klonie says she'll help keep it a secret from the rest of the settlement, but in a way, they're already ghosts who no longer exist.

Rick held Huggies and cried all night.

I wonder if tears will cause Shubi to rust, a question that couldn't help but cross my mind.

the next day.

Rick recovered completely.

He was very good at controlling his emotions, but seeing his wife in such a miserable state yesterday caused them to burst forth in an instant. Then, Rick solemnly bowed to Zun Zun.

"Thank you so much for saving my wife!" "Oh."

I readily accepted your thanks.

"Alright, let's sort out the current situation."

Rick had an eager look on his face. Having regained what he had lost, or rather, having safely passed the most dangerous link, the leader of the human race, who had always lost and never won, finally tasted the sweetness of victory, which was why he was so fascinated.

Tell Rick about the whole process, and then make a plan for the next step.

First of all, the battle had no impact on the overall situation. In fact, because Zun Zun had fought against the God of War, Altshu, the unknown entity made the other two factions hesitant to act—if that's the case, then that would be great.

Because they need to continuously reduce their fighting strength, waiting for the final battle to arrive, all in order to seek self-preservation.

That's right.

From this moment on, the human race has jumped off the chessboard; they are no longer chess pieces but chess players.

Their opponent, of course, is Artesius.

Furthermore, Rick and Zun Zun tacitly avoided mentioning Jibril's current condition.

After the passage was restricted, all 32 were put down, but the price was that Shubi, who could have escaped, was almost killed by the aftermath of the battle.

"No matter what, we'll wait until the very end."

Rick clenched his fist.

He eagerly awaited that moment.

But that's probably impossible, since Shubi's calculations have errors; 32 passage controls can't possibly distort all the power. But it's alright, the rest can be made up by Venerable One.

Just as I was thinking this, an uninvited guest arrived at the human settlement.

"Rick the Will-Bearer".

A somewhat mechanical voice came from the corner of the small room. No one knew how he appeared, not even Zun Zun, who did not react at all—his body was devoid of magic, like a machine.

Wearing a black robe, her face was obscured, but from the gaps in the robe, it wasn't hard to guess her identity. It was a mechanical body, but definitely not the broken and unable-to-stand Shubi.

"……Who are you?"

Although Riku has feelings for the Machine Race and even married the Machine Race member Shubi, this does not mean that the Machine Race has feelings for humans, nor does it mean that the Machine Race has no other intentions.

"...I don't have a name, but just call me as others call me—the Fully Connected Commander (Einzshi)."

The man in the black robe lifted his cloak to reveal his appearance.

He was a handsome human male with red hair... if you ignored the mechanical terminal connected to his head.

"What is your purpose here?"

Rick shielded Hugh behind him, as if he had guessed something.

The fully connected command entity... no, Einzshi didn't do anything outrageous, nor did it attack Rick, who was human, on the spot. Instead, it spoke calmly and politely.

"According to the calendar time, at 912 days, 12 hours, 30 minutes, and 00 seconds (two and a half years), the individual code name of the machine-type individual is #￥@..."

“Shubi!...My name is Shubi...Rick...gave me that name.”

Einzshi paused slightly, looking intently at Schwi now, then at K. Finally, as if agreeing with this statement, he changed his tune again.

"The individual machine, Shubi, was exiled due to a terminal malfunction, which excluded it from connection. However, 15 hours, 22 minutes, and 31 seconds ago, Shubi repeatedly requested connection but was rejected. Subsequently, the terminal discovered that Shubi possessed a unique wavelength, which, based on speculation, should be an unknown entity called 'emotion,' therefore—"

The fully connected command system in front of him made demands on Hugh.

"The terminal requests a connection to your machine."

"I reject."

Hughie rejected it without the slightest hesitation, and her reasons were quite valid and selfish.

"These are my personal, precious feelings, and I refuse to share or upload the information."

"They actually refer to an individual as a person..."

Einzsch was even more eager about this situation and seemed very keen to get Schwi reconnected.

"Your machine has suffered severe damage and is estimated to have only 120 years left to function. The typical service life of this type of machine is over 1000 years, and your machine has 892 years left to operate, therefore it needs repair."

“I don’t want to… The lifespan limit for humans is 120 years, which is… enough for Shubi…”

It was clearly an attempt to exchange in this manner, but it was still rejected.

Einzsch was not discouraged.

"Your aircraft's presence on the battlefield and in operations suggests that it is intended to deploy access control systems, with the aim of distorting the three forces and completely penetrating the planet. However, according to calculations, at least 24 access control systems are still missing."

"...I...I refuse..."

Hugh refused again.

However, this time the refusal was quite difficult, and she seemed extremely shaken. After all, Rick's plan was more important than her own feelings, otherwise she wouldn't have suffered such a serious injury because of the travel restrictions.

Zun Zun hadn't expected that the terminal would request to reconnect to the individual—wasn't this going against the natural order?!

(End of this chapter)