The alien arm, upon seeing the old man, began to slowly retreat.
He walked past Man En, his empty sleeve swaying slowly.
In an instant, a creepy feeling filled Man En’s entire body.
“Who is he? Someone from the Heretic God Sect?”
“Then why show up at this time? And deliberately save me?”
Sophien, who was nearby, also saw the old man. She wanted to rush over to help but was stopped by Man En.
“This person… too unfathomable…”
“Even more frightening than that arm monster.”
Man En could sense nothing from him—neither emotions, nor fluctuations in mana, nor even any presence. The only thing he could confirm was that the old man held no hostility toward him.
So given the current situation, the best choice was to wait and see; he absolutely could not rashly make an enemy of him.
“And this person…”
“Is he really still alive?”
Man En stared at his every move, his eyes full of vigilance.
The old man simply walked slowly toward the bizarre arm, paying no attention to Man En and Sophien. As he got closer, the arm gradually shrank until it became the size of a normal arm. Then, under his guidance, it slowly flew to his severed arm stump and reattached.
“Holy Son…”
“I look forward to our next meeting…”
He turned his head to look at Man En and bowed respectfully. But his gaze was incredibly sharp.
By the time Man En came to his senses, he had already vanished from the spot, with no trace of his presence.
“Uh…”
It was at this moment that Kris, who was in front of Man En, let out a pained groan. The armor on his body kept changing shape, and from time to time there was the dull sound of bones breaking. The Armor of Time was beginning to backlash?
“Sophien! Hurry and remove his armor!”
Realizing something was wrong, Man En shouted loudly, wanting Sophien to come help. Given the current situation, he couldn’t let Kris die, at least not in his own territory. He didn’t even need to think about it—the Matthews Family was at the height of their power. If the King investigated later, enemy forces would definitely use this to make trouble and kick them while they were down.
Man En looked at Kris, who was writhing in pain, his eyes cold. He clenched his teeth, looking extremely reluctant.
“Thank the identity you hate so much—it’s what saved your life…”
Sophien rushed over instantly. She grabbed the Armor of Time with both hands, trying to remove it, but no matter how much force she applied, she couldn’t affect the armor’s transformation.
“Damn it… What’s going on with this thing? I can’t control it at all!”
Seeing this, Man En was shocked. Even Sophien at her current strength couldn’t stop it?
“Damn it…”
He crawled over with difficulty to help Sophien try to peel off the armor. But even so, it was futile.
‘If only I could use Regression right now…’
“Your Excellency Man En!”
From behind, Yi Laisi’s voice came.
“Use this!”
As she spoke, a black-gold short sword was thrown over. Man En caught the short sword but didn’t feel anything special about it. Aside from its resemblance to the Holy Spear transformed from the Armor of Time, it seemed like just an ordinary short sword.
“Stab this into the core of the Armor of Time! As a Time God’s Envoy, you should be able to do it!”
Despite his doubts, there was no more time to waste. At this point, he could only take a gamble—treat a dead horse as if it were alive.
Through his perception, he locked onto the chest area where the Armor of Time’s fluctuations were strongest, then gripped the sword with both hands and stabbed down decisively. It stabbed in without any resistance.
Then, with Sophien’s help, Man En managed to twist the short sword. Afterward, the armor emitted a violent flash of light, and Kris was thrown out directly, landing on the ground with a dull thud.
“Little brother!”
Sophien immediately rushed over to check on Kris’s condition. But Man En remained kneeling in place, staring at the shattered Armor of Time in his hands, silent for a long time.
Helgort’s earlier instructions echoed in his mind.
‘So this is the future you saw…’
‘But I won’t give up.’
His gaze became firm again, and he gathered up the shattered pieces of the Armor of Time. In any case, once things in the territory stabilized, he would go check on the Elf Race. After all, the Elf Race had connections with Helgort in the past, and the Armor of Time was their holy relic.
‘There will always be a way.’
At this moment, Mei, Yi Laisi, and Ge Rui En walked toward Man En.
“Young Master Man En!”
Mei couldn’t hold back any longer and rushed over, her eyes filled with tears as she tightly hugged Man En.
“It’s so good that you’re safe…”
Man En was at a loss because he had no memory of this girl who had suddenly hugged him. He wanted to push her away, but his body resisted his brain’s command.
Suddenly, a teardrop fell.
‘What’s wrong with me?’
‘Why do I feel so sad?’
The words “Who are you?” ultimately never left Man En’s lips. His hand trembled, hesitating. He didn’t know what expression or gesture to use in response to the girl before him. He knew that he must know her.
‘But why don’t I have any memory of her?’
“Young Master Man En?”
Mei let go of Man En and looked into his confused eyes. Her expression, which had been crying tears of joy, instantly turned incredulous, then despair. Tears streamed from the corners of her eyes. She shook her head, as if desperately trying to deny what she was seeing. She had never felt the person before her be so unfamiliar.
“You’re not the young master… Who are you really?”
“…”
Man En didn’t speak. He didn’t know how to answer. Seeing the girl cry, his heart ached as if cut by a knife.
“I…”
At that moment, Ge Rui En walked over and struck Mei on the back of the neck, knocking her unconscious. Man En instinctively caught the unconscious Mei, looking at Ge Rui En with some anger.
“Ge Rui En? What are you doing?”
“I apologize, Young Master Man En.”
She bowed.
“Given the current situation, it’s better for Miss Mei to get some rest.”
“…So her name is Mei.”
“Have you lost your memory of her?”
“…”
After dealing with Kris, Sophien also walked toward Man En.
“Sorry, am I interrupting?”
Ge Rui En took the unconscious Mei from Man En’s arms, bowed to the two of them, and left.
“I was supposed to stay and help for a while, but unfortunately…”
The moment she opened her mouth, Man En guessed her intention.
“The King is urging you to return quickly, right? But you didn’t have to tell me specifically. Your Highness the Imperial Princess can leave whenever she wishes.”
“Actually…”
Sophien lowered her head, looking a bit shy.
“I wanted to say thank you, and…”
She reached out her hand to Man En, wanting to pull him up. She wanted to pour out the words in her heart to him, to let him know her feelings… After fighting side by side many times, entrusting each other with life and death, as long as he was there, she felt at ease. She didn’t know when it started, but his actions always affected her emotions. And only now did she confirm that she indeed harbored love for the young man before her.
But the latter did not reciprocate.
Several soldiers from Matthews Territory came over and helped Man En into a carriage.
“Sorry, I don’t want to talk right now.”
He looked at Sophien, his face extremely haggard.
“Farewell…”