Chapter 70 -70-The Mysterious Glassy Shard!

Caelan calmly sheathed his sword, his gaze sweeping over where Ruben stood.

But the next second, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.

He’s still alive...?

"You’re the first awakener to survive my skill."

Ruben coughed hard—then spat out a mouthful of blood with a wet wah.

All the fur on his body had been burned away by [Infinite Lightblade]. His armor was nothing but a charred, blackened shell clinging to him.

In his current state, Ruben no longer looked like a terrifying powerhouse—he looked more like a beggar.

"Cough... cough! As expected of the Chosen One. With this level of strength, only a nine-star awakener would have a sure chance of killing you."

"I really didn’t expect it... to fall in a place like this."

"Young man—can you agree to one condition for me?"

Caelan’s brows drew together slightly as he replied, "Go on."

...

At the same time, along the outer perimeter of the secret lake—

Talia, accompanied by several elite members of the Ironclad Legion, was hiding at the edge, quietly observing the battlefield.

"Boss, do we move in now?"

"That’s an eight-star awakener from the titan race. He might still have strength left!"

Talia fell silent for a moment, then gently shook her head.

"Wait a little longer. I still want to see whether my brat of a little brother has really gone all out."

"Don’t worry. If things go south, I’ll step in myself."

To Talia, even though a few titan-race small fries were still lurking nearby, they were irrelevant.

The only thing worth paying attention to was Ruben, now reduced to a "wanderer."

But after what she’d just witnessed, Talia was brimming with confidence in Caelan.

Her eyes swept lazily across Caelan’s abs, and she nodded in satisfaction.

"All these years weren’t for nothing. I finally raised a proper little wolf pup."

"Mmm... nice sword too. The brat even learned how to pose. Just wonder which girl is going to get the bargain deal..."

...

In the center of the battlefield—

Ruben withdrew his greataxe. At the same time, a thin object appeared in his hand—something like a glassy shard.

But etched across the surface of this shard were densely packed, intricate patterns. Each line was so fine that it wasn’t even one-tenth the width of a human hair!

"Take it."

Ruben tossed it casually. The glassy shard traced a perfect arc through the air.

Caelan raised a hand, caught it, then examined it closely in his palm.

Very quickly, a solemn expression formed in his eyes.

Because on the shard... he could see something that resembled circuitry?

No—not quite circuitry. It looked more like a magic array!

But no magic array was designed with patterns this impossibly dense...

For a moment, Caelan was completely baffled. And then his [Eye of Insight] returned a readout:

[Mysterious Glassy Shard]

[Level: Unknown]

[Effect: Unknown]

[Description: An item from the ancient era. It is said to contain many secrets that cannot be unraveled. According to current research, only fragmentary images can be extracted from it.]

Caelan frowned. He hadn’t expected that at a moment like this, Ruben would actually hand him something like the [glassy shard].

Just from the description alone, the value of this item probably exceeded anything he could imagine.

Since Ruben was still alive, Caelan didn’t immediately check the shard’s "images." Instead, he asked:

"This should be pretty precious. Why give it to me?"

Ruben smiled faintly.

Though he was gravely injured, though he looked utterly miserable—

The instant he straightened his back, everyone else present—aside from Caelan—seemed to lose their color.

Perhaps this was what you called the aura of a top-tier expert: even wounded to the brink, he still carried the pride of the strong.

"Kid. I’m trading this for a promise."

"If, at some point in the future, the great calamity truly descends... I want you to show the titan race mercy."

"You don’t have to save them all. Just leave behind a seed of hope."

Caelan considered for a moment, then nodded firmly.

"Fine. I’ll agree. But if they show hostility toward me, I won’t save them."

Ruben nodded.

As a once-celebrated genius of the titan race, he had done countless things for his people.

Now, it was time to rest.

He stopped forcing himself to stand. With a dull thud, Ruben collapsed onto the ground.

Staring up at the sky, memories of the most important moments of his life floated through his mind.

"Yeah... it really was when I was young that I was happiest."

"The more you gain... the more you lose, huh?"

"Kid... are you ready to lose something?"

Hearing that, Caelan’s nerves snapped to full alert.

But the expected last strike—Ruben’s dying counterattack—never came.

Instead, his final HP dropped cleanly to zero.

This old bastard... was he trying to curse me on purpose?

Caelan shook his head, unconcerned by Ruben’s final nonsense.

Lose or gain—who cared?

As long as your fist was big enough, what couldn’t you obtain?

Still... Caelan couldn’t deny he felt a trace of respect for Ruben.

Someone who gave everything for his people—titan race or not—deserved respect, even as an enemy.

Unlike certain scum who betrayed their own from the inside—wearing human skin but doing nothing human at all.

I’ll find a chance later and look at what’s inside the [glassy shard].

As Caelan was thinking that, he suddenly saw figures flicker into view in the distance.

One of them moved so fast that even Caelan couldn’t clearly see them for a moment!

In the blink of an eye, a familiar figure wearing the battle robe of the Ironclad Legion appeared right in front of him.

Cousin...?!

"All members, hear my order—seal off the scene and wipe all traces left behind by the titan race!"

Before Caelan could even react, the others responded in unison:

"Yes, Boss!"

Wait—why is my cousin so fast? And why did she bring so many people from the Ironclad Legion?

And they’re calling her Boss?!

"Talia, didn’t you go find a job? What is this supposed to be—?!"

Before Caelan could finish, Talia darted forward and clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Shut up. We’ll talk when we get home."

Then she dragged Caelan away, turning into a blur.

...

After they got home—

The moment Caelan pushed open the door, Talia made a beeline for the couch.

Then she melted into it like a puddle, utterly boneless, and with practiced ease reached behind her back to undo her bra.

"Phew... that was strangling me to death!"

"Off you go!"

A pink camisole top was flung straight onto the floor.

Caelan sighed, shook his head, and—out of sheer habit—picked it up and tossed it into the laundry basket.

"Talia, you should mind your image. How are you ever going to get married like this?"

Talia rolled her eyes in utter disdain.

"Who said I’m getting married? My goal is to find ten thousand boyfriends—then turn every last one of them into an ex!"

"Brat, get me a bag of chips. And an ice-cold cola!"

"You have no idea—today practically worked your big sister to death!"

Looking helpless, Caelan handed her the snacks, then asked:

"Talia... what exactly is going on here?"