"Heh heh heh, didn't see that coming, did you? I still had a trick up my sleeve. You want to kill me? You're still too green for that." The Governor let out a smug laugh. He stomped his foot hard onto Kallen's right arm, grabbed the five-fingered steel claws on her hand with both hands, forcibly tore them off and threw them on the ground, then used the laser cannon mounted on his right shoulder to fire a laser beam directly at the steel claws.

The blue-white laser, thin as a needle, struck the claws on the ground, riddling them with holes. With a loud "bang," the five-fingered steel claws exploded under the laser's assault, shattering into metal fragments.

"That way, even if she can get back up, there's nothing to fear." The Governor thought to himself. The sound of gunfire — "da da da" — came from a distance, and several bullets struck the Governor's body, producing a clanging sound. The Governor turned to look and saw an intact armored vehicle driving toward him, with a machine gunner on top firing at him.

"The Rebels have shown up? Fine. Since you're all in such a hurry to die, I'll give you a send-off." The Governor paid no attention to the armored vehicle whatsoever, tanking the machine gun fire head-on and charging straight toward it at full speed.

"That black thing is coming for us — what do we do now?!" someone on the armored vehicle shouted.

"Don't panic. Let me handle him," said Rulu. He poked his upper body out through the sunroof, raised his hand, and the ground in front of the Governor rapidly froze over. The moment the Governor stepped onto the ice, he lost his footing and toppled backward, crashing to the ground in a heavy tumble.

"Now — ram him!" Captain Guan called out. The armored vehicle slammed into the Governor with a loud bang, knocking him aside, then came to a stop beside Kallen, who lay on the ground.

"Kallen, how are you? Can you get up?!" Captain Guan jumped out of the vehicle quickly to check on her.

Kallen pressed her hand against the ground and shakily pushed herself to her feet. In a weak and exhausted voice she said, "I'm… I'm fine. I can still hold on — it's just that my weapon has been destroyed."

Captain Guan's expression darkened. "This is bad. Without your weapon, how are you supposed to fight that black armored soldier?"

Kallen let out a sigh, looking somewhat dejected. "As much as I hate to say it, our only option right now is to run."

"What did you just say?!" At that moment Rulu climbed down from the vehicle and snapped sharply at Kallen and Captain Guan. "This is the perfect chance to take out the Governor, and you want to run?!"

Kallen shot back, "I don't want to run either, but without a weapon I have no way to damage his armor. No matter how we fight, we have no chance of winning."

"You don't — but I do. Have you forgotten that I'm a Magic Ultra-capable?" Rulu said with complete confidence.

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Kallen said skeptically. "Even if you're a Level 4 Magic Ultra-capable, you can't beat that guy."

Rulu replied, "I can't do it alone — but if we all work together, there's a chance. And things have already come to this point. Do you really think you can escape?"

"Rulu is right." Captain Guan actually agreed with him. "Our escape routes have already been sealed off by the Sanctuary. Right now, other than defeating the Sanctuary's forces, we have no way out. We have no choice but to trust Rulu."

Hearing Captain Guan say that, Kallen couldn't help but relent. "Alright then, I'll trust you this once. Rulu, what's your plan?"

Rulu said, "Bring out everything we prepared earlier."

Captain Guan called into the vehicle, "Get the stuff out!"

Several people climbed out and hauled two large cylindrical oil drums from inside, prying open the lids.

Rulu raised his hand, and the gasoline inside the drums transformed into a stream of liquid that flew out on its own, hovering in midair and dispersing into something resembling a pale yellow mist.

"Our bodies as Magic Ultra-capables are far less resilient than those of Refining Body Ultra-capables," Rulu said. "While I'm casting, you must protect me at all costs."

Captain Guan nodded and directed the driver to position the armored vehicle between Rulu and the Sanctuary's forces, using the vehicle's body as cover for Rulu.

The Governor watched as the Rebels all stayed put — neither fleeing nor attacking — and felt quite puzzled. Although he was somewhat wary of the red armored soldier, he reasoned that her weapon had already been destroyed, so there was nothing to be afraid of, and he began cautiously advancing toward the Rebels.

"Coming already?" When Rulu noticed the black armored soldier drawing closer, he flicked his hand without hesitation. The mist-like gasoline floating in the air took off on its own, transforming into a pale yellow serpent that streaked toward the Governor.

With a thunderous "boom," the serpent burst into fierce flames mid-flight, becoming a massive tongue of yellow-red fire that surged straight at the Governor, coiling around his body. In an instant, the black armored soldier's entire form was consumed by the blaze.

"You're playing with fire? Did you think a trick like that would work on me?" The Governor's relaxed and unbothered voice rang out from within the inferno. The black armored soldier neither dodged nor retreated — he simply took the blazing attack head-on, pushing through the tongue of fire and continuing to advance toward the Rebels. The flames appeared to be causing him no harm whatsoever.

"Kallen, go block him," Rulu said. "Don't let him get close to me, but don't let him stray too far either. Can you do that?"

"Just keeping him tied up? That shouldn't be a problem," Kallen replied, and charged straight at the Governor.

"So you've come back? Then I'll finish you off first!" The cannon barrel on the Governor's right shoulder swung toward Kallen and unleashed a barrage of laser beams.

"My armor is already nearly wrecked — I can't afford to take those lasers directly." With that thought in mind, Kallen immediately changed direction, moving swiftly along a curved path and keeping a measured distance from the Governor so he couldn't close in on her.

Most of the lasers the Governor fired were dodged by Kallen. At long range the lasers' destructive power was fairly limited, and the small number that did hit her were largely absorbed by her armor, leaving her essentially unharmed.