"Hey, Power Titan! You're executing that technique completely wrong!" Luo Luo called out impulsively, rushing forward with his hands waving before Ye Xiu could intervene.
"Who are you?" Power Titan's massive frame turned toward the small figure with cautious interest.
"Don't be alarmed, Power Titan," Thunder Blaze stepped forward with military formality. "I'm Thunder Blaze, general defending the Time City. This is my... associate Hot Wheels, and these are Ye Xiu and Luo Luo."
"Ah, Thunder Blaze." Recognition flickered in Power Titan's optical sensors, his defensive posture relaxing slightly.
"Your Mountain Meteor Crash stance needs correction—it should look like this!" Luo Luo continued his impromptu instruction, physically demonstrating the proper form with enthusiastic precision. His movements carried the confidence of someone who'd mastered these techniques through countless virtual repetitions.
"Luo Luo, your fighting form is absolutely hideous!" Hot Wheels interjected with characteristic venom.
"Hmph! What would you know about combat?" Luo Luo shot back, his irritation with the mechanical pessimist reaching new heights.
"How do you know my signature technique?" Power Titan asked with growing curiosity, studying Luo Luo's demonstration with professional interest. "That Mountain Meteor Crash—you understood its principles immediately."
Hot Wheels' jaw dropped at this unexpected validation of Luo Luo's "ugly" movements.
"The technique requires a 720-degree rotation during the aerial phase," Luo Luo explained with scholarly precision. "The rotational force amplifies impact velocity exponentially—basic physics combined with kinetic energy transfer."
Power Titan's optical processors flickered as he processed this analysis.
"But given your current power level, you can't execute the full technique," Luo Luo continued matter-of-factly, "unless..."
"Unless what?" Power Titan leaned forward with obvious interest.
"Unless either Luo Luo or I merge with you," Ye Xiu concluded, stepping into the conversation with practiced timing.
"Why would that make a difference?"
"Because Ye Xiu and Luo Luo are the legendary Robo-Kings of our Vehicle Tribe!" Hot Wheels declared with theatrical grandeur, finally finding an opportunity to contribute something useful to the discussion.
"Robo-Kings!" Power Titan's entire frame straightened with shock. Meeting one Robo-King would have been remarkable—encountering two simultaneously defied all probability.
"What brings you to seek me out?" Power Titan asked directly. Despite learning their prestigious identities, he showed no inclination toward automatic deference—a refreshing change from typical hierarchical responses.
"Our Time City is currently under siege by Golden Iron Beast's Black Iron Beast army," Thunder Blaze explained with military efficiency. "We're requesting your assistance in breaking the blockade."
"Power Titan, you're wasting all that power just digging holes and moving rocks," Hot Wheels added with shameless bravado. "You should be on the battlefield like me—imagine how impressive you'd look!"
"No. I won't go." Power Titan's response was immediate and final.
"Why not?" The question came from multiple voices simultaneously.
"Because I need to care for my injured brother. This area frequently sees Black Panther Beast patrols—Shockwave requires protection."
"That's easily solved!" Hot Wheels declared with his typical overconfidence. "Just bring your brother along! I'll watch over him personally—what could possibly go wrong?"
Ye Xiu finally understood the true extent of Hot Wheels' audacity. With nothing but empty bravado and a completely useless signature technique, the mechanical warrior could somehow project absolute confidence in any situation.
"No amount of persuasion will change my mind," Power Titan stated firmly, turning his back on the entire group.
"But why remain so stubborn?" Thunder Blaze pressed.
"I despise war," Power Titan replied with quiet conviction. "As long as others don't attack me, I won't attack them. I simply want to live peacefully with my brother, just like before."
In a world where strength determined survival and racial conflict defined daily existence, Power Titan's philosophy represented almost childlike naivety.
"Power Titan, I also hate war," Thunder Blaze said with patient understanding, "but if the Vehicle Tribe doesn't unite, we'll be eliminated piecemeal by the Beast Tribe. When that happens, you won't be able to remain neutral!"
"I said no, and I mean no," Power Titan repeated stubbornly. "Please leave."
High above the confrontation, Gustave observed with growing frustration at Power Titan's willful blindness to reality. The excavator warrior's isolationist dreams would crumble the moment superior force decided to crush them.
Peace requires strength to maintain it, Gustave thought grimly. Without power, expecting peace is pure delusion.
His electromagnetic senses detected movement in the ruins below—a Purple Leopard Beast accompanied by two Black Leopard Beast subordinates, all advancing stealthily toward Shockwave's hiding place.
"Time for a harsh lesson in reality," Gustave murmured, using precise electrical manipulation to destabilize loose rubble directly in the Purple Leopard Beast's path.
CRASH
"Who's there?" Shockwave emerged from concealment to investigate the noise, immediately spotting the Purple Leopard Beast crouched barely fifty meters away.
"Big brother!" Shockwave's cry for help carried desperate urgency across the temple ruins.
In his injured condition, Shockwave couldn't possibly face a Purple Leopard Beast in single combat. Without immediate assistance, the encounter would end in execution rather than battle.
Power Titan immediately transformed into excavator mode, his massive treads churning across broken terrain as he raced toward his brother's position.
"Thunder Blaze!" Ye Xiu called out.
"Understood!"
The fusion occurred instantaneously, Ye Xiu's consciousness merging with Thunder Blaze's mechanical systems as they accelerated down the mountainside at maximum velocity.
Meanwhile, the Purple Leopard Beast and his subordinates closed in on Shockwave with predatory efficiency. The injured warrior attempted resistance, only to be kicked down contemptuously by the Purple Leopard Beast's superior strength.
"Ha ha ha—still trying to fight back?" the Purple Leopard Beast sneered, raising his blade with executioner's precision. "Prepare to die!"
The sword descended toward Shockwave's exposed core systems—and met a thunderous interruption that shook the entire mountainside.
"THUNDER HALF MOON SLASH!"
Even without moonlight's amplification, Ye Xiu's enhanced control allowed Thunder Blaze to execute his signature technique with devastating precision. The crescent-shaped energy wave screamed through the air like a falling star.
The Purple Leopard Beast abandoned his execution attempt, spinning to block the incoming attack with his own blade. The collision sent him flying backward through multiple stone pillars, his armor smoking from the impact's sheer force.
Had this been nighttime with lunar enhancement, the Purple Leopard Beast would have been obliterated instantly. As it stood, he was merely crippled.
But Thunder Blaze's condition wasn't much better. Forcing a Thunder Crescent Slash without proper atmospheric conditions had drained most of his energy reserves. He could only remain standing by using his sword as a support, projecting strength he no longer possessed.
The two Black Leopard Beasts studied Thunder Blaze's stance with calculating eyes, neither daring to advance for fear of triggering another devastating technique.
"Cough, cough—what are you idiots waiting for?" the Purple Leopard Beast wheezed as he struggled upright from the rubble. "Attack him now!"
Thunder Blaze's bluff was about to be called, his depleted energy making him vulnerable to even basic assaults.
Salvation arrived in the form of Power Titan's earth-shaking charge. The massive excavator warrior struck both Black Leopard Beasts simultaneously, sending them flying in opposite directions with bone-crushing impacts.
"Little brother, are you injured?" Power Titan helped Shockwave to his feet with careful gentleness.
"Cough, cough—I'm fine, big brother," Shockwave managed weakly. "Thunder Blaze saved my life."
"Thank you, Thunder Blaze," Power Titan said with genuine gratitude.
"Your welcome, but please handle these remaining threats quickly," Thunder Blaze replied. "I don't have much energy left."
"Sure!" Power Titan's Mountain Meteor Crash sent the Purple Leopard Beast to his final destination, while two more strikes eliminated the Black Leopard Beasts. The crisis was finally resolved.
The surprise attack had shattered Power Titan's illusions of peaceful isolation completely. If the Vehicle Tribe didn't unite against their enemies, such incidents would multiply endlessly, placing Shockwave in constant mortal danger.
Moreover, Thunder Blaze and Ye Xiu had risked themselves to save Shockwave—a debt that demanded repayment.
"I've changed my mind," Power Titan announced with quiet resignation. "Shockwave and I will accompany you to the Time City."