Darkness enveloped Valerius's eyes. He couldn't see where his feet were going. The smell around him changed; from the sharp scent of rusty metal to the smell of hot steam and sulfur. “Slow down! You’re dragging a prince, not a sack of potatoes!” Cogs shouted. His voice sounded a bit distant, most likely being locked in a small cage or being held by force by one of the looters.Last Updated : 2026-02-12

Valerius was stunned. "You... you know my mother?" "More than just acquaintance," Edna replied. He turned to face Bastian and the still confused crowd of guards. "Lower your weapons. This child is no ordinary intruder. He is the key that might be able to open the gates of the Black Piston from the inside." "Edna, you can't be serious!" Bastian exclaimed. "He's just a kid! And that robot is just a pile of junk waiting to explode!" "He's the last Alaric, Bastian," Edna said firmly. "And if he made it all the way here with Sentinel as badly damaged as this, it means fate still has a good sense of humor for us all." Edna looked back at Valerius, her gaze now filled with a mixture of hope and warning. "Welcome to the Rust Pits, Prince Valerius. I am Edna, Queen of the Rust Pipes. And I think we have a lot to discuss before Bastian decides to m

"Alright," Valerius sighed. He turned to face Silas, Pip, and Bartholomew. "We don't have time for further introductions. Silas, Pip, come with me to the map. We need to devise something that doesn't involve direct armed contact." "What's the plan, kid?" Silas asked, approaching the flickering holographic map table."The convoy will pass through Skull Passage, a narrow canyon with fragile cliff walls," Valerius began, his finger pointing to a red-marked coordinate. 

"Two minutes?" Valerius broke into a cold sweat. "Edna said this was just a Class-2 security protocol! That's a Class-4 monster!" "Maybe Edna wanted to see if you could tame a monster, Young Master!" Pip shouted from behind a protective rock. "Are we still going ahead? The light is starting to flash yellow!" "We have no other choice!" Valerius exclaimed. "If we run now, that tank will shoot us in the back before we reach the base. Silas! Now! Open the valve all the way!" "Ready, Young Master! I hope this pipe doesn't blow my heart out!" Silas shouted from below.

Last Updated : 2026-04-27

"Go ahead, shoot," Valerius challenged, even though his heart was pounding so hard he felt it might burst. "Shoot this truck. Twenty thousand liters of steam fuel will explode and we'll all be ash in a second. Did Vexxos train you to be a useless martyr?"The commander fell silent. He looked at the tanker truck beneath Valerius, then at his Praetorians, who were still struggling to see through the iron dust.The tension in the canyon was so thick that the sound of water dripping from a leaking pipe sounded like an explosion."Valerius, thermal readings on the Iron-Clad tank indicate power charging in the cannon's heating system," Grimbolt reported urgently. "He is preparing to attack.""Don't move, Commander!" Valerius shouted again. "Think about your men! They have families in Sector Alpha! Do you want them to die just to defend a few barrels of fuel?""Vexxos does not know the word surrender," the Commander said coldly. "We know orders. And my order is to secure this cargo by any me