Gun of Ashes

Chapter 40: Chapter 29 The Cost

This was destined to be a moonless night, with the pitch-black world remaining only the beam from the airship, like the lone island in a sea of darkness, isolated, with only the battle against madness.

The battle had already begun, countless gunshots mixed with the rising flames in the night.

The arsonists began their work, dozens of flamethrowers gathered into a wall of fire. Essentially, they were spraying not only flames but also ignited fire oil, and the orderly bullets pierced through the fire to penetrate the creatures in the darkness.

Through the thick lenses, only countless shadows struggling in the sea of fire could be seen, flesh burned to charcoal, rushing past the fire line with a bloodthirsty desire, only to fall helpless as they were pierced by bullets.

The soldiers wore disinfectant masks, with heavy breathing coming from under the filter cans on their masks. Instinctively, they avoided the fallen figures, as the black ash rose with the night wind and fell on their fireproof suits, leaving black spots.

”Notify the Cleaners, after tonight we will need a large-scale purification.”

Looking at the slightly warm ash in his hand, a slight ripple of emotion arose within Galahad, but it quickly subsided. He waved his hand and shook it off.

”It’s already in progress. Before the action, the Mechanical Institute had poured fifty tons of Neutralizing Liquid into the Furnace Pillar. After a day of steam emission, those chemicals should be accumulating in the clouds, and in a few hours, there will be a localized artificial rain here. The rain mixed with the chemicals will completely purify and neutralize these residues.”

Bola took a few steps backward as he spoke. He didn’t want to come into contact with the residue.

Such is the bizarre nature of the Demons; anything related to them, even ash after death, brings negative effects. Every time after completing a task related to Demons, Bola would be plagued by nightmares for several days.

According to the Geiger Counter readings, it was merely the appetizer before dinner; the fiercest battle was still ahead. Shells rolled with a clatter, and gray smoke dust was everywhere.

With his gaze cast to one side, Bola looked with interest at the arriving man, seemingly not expecting him to show up here.

”You’re late, Bluebird.”

As the Iron Serpent came to a complete stop, Galahad said unceremoniously to the man emerging from the thick steam.

”We haven’t handled aberrations inside Old Dunling for a long time. To ensure sufficient firepower, it took quite a while to transport that thing onto the vehicle.”

Bluebird explained for himself. He looked like a devout follower, with a black cloak adorned with an iron cross. Following the direction of his finger, Galahad’s gaze moved toward the steam-covered direction.

It was another Iron Serpent, completely enveloped in steam, a sharp corner revealed with the evening breeze.

”Emergency call from the armory. I heard it was processed by the Mechanical Institute, and should be quite suitable against those non-human creatures.”

As Bluebird spoke, the object was fully revealed to everyone. It was an intricately crafted large bore cannon, its black barrel coated with floral patterns in gold paint mixed with oil. If it weren’t for the box of shells beside it, it might seem more fitting in an art gallery.

The people from the Mechanical Institute were always like this, crafting dangerous weapons while adding artistic touches to them.

”A total of three landslide-type large bore cannons, four tons of fire oil in two carriages. Arthur’s intention is clear: we are to burn this place to ashes.”

As the transporter of this batch, even Bluebird was shocked upon knowing it.

”As for safety, rest assured. Before we set out, we communicated with the Mechanical Institute. They adjusted the output of the Furnace Pillar and the power on the operational route. Now, the entire streets of Old Dunling are filled with scorching steam, with visibility not exceeding three meters. No one knows what we transported out.”

Galahad nodded, but immediately added.

”What I’m concerned about is not this issue, but the elite forces. The Geiger Counter index hasn’t stopped after breaking the critical value and is still steadily rising, which means the mutation in the Underground Palace hasn’t ended, those Demons are still changing.”

This is undoubtedly bad news, as the intensity of the Demons subtly surpassed the planned estimation.

”Neither the Purification Mechanism nor the Demon Hunting Order chooses to reveal the existence of Demons to the outside world, one of the major reasons being their polluting nature. Even the books documenting their knowledge can drive people mad, let alone releasing a live Demon into Old Dunling.”

Galahad spoke with concern.

”We have undergone training and specialization to barely confront such monsters; ordinary people have no capability to resist them, becoming instantly engulfed in madness and pollution...even becoming the next Demon, and Old Dunling being the hub of the world, once this ’madness’ spirals out of control, it will spread throughout the world via the Midcourt Serpent’s traffic system. You understand the danger behind this, right.”

This is the reason such bizarre monsters are never known to the world. Reckless contact with them only leads to death, with organizations like the Purification Mechanism keeping them firmly locked behind walls, maintaining the world’s sanity.

Unfortunately, this battlefield was near the city district; otherwise, Galahad would not have been so constrained, and a War Airship sweep would have sufficed. With the stockpile of weapons from the Radiant War, they could have devastated the entire Lower City District.

But now it was no longer that dark old era when people could only use silver swords and fire to fight against Demons. Now humanity has more efficient weapons, and the balance of advantage has long been broken.