Gun of Ashes

”Lorenzo Holmes, I’m getting more and more confused about your thoughts. Even if you do this, what of it? You left her in the blizzard, as long as I return along the railway, she won’t escape.”

Lawrence looked at the guy slumped beside him, almost like a corpse.

”What if? Lawrence, what if I kill you right here? People always have dreams!”

Lorenzo replied, but he didn’t even have the strength to stand anymore. He didn’t care about Lawrence’s threats, feeling that since he was going to die anyway, he might as well talk some nonsense to mentally torture his opponent.

Hearing his words, Lawrence laughed instead, then picked up a Nail Sword and walked towards Lorenzo.

”Want to chat a bit more? I’m actually quite curious about why you betrayed the Order.”

Lorenzo retreated forcefully a few times, squirming on the ground like a piece of meat, but soon he was against the edge, and Lawrence had no intention of letting him go, pressing forward step by step.

”Don’t be like this, I’m a dead man anyway… Can you at least give me a chance to smoke? Just in time to chat with you about my assassination plan against you. Honestly, this plan is brilliant, I feel like I’m an undiscovered genius.”

He rambled on, not at all like a man about to die.

”Are you afraid of dying?”

Lawrence suddenly paused in his steps.

”Maybe, after all, the Dead can’t kill you.”

Lorenzo glanced sideways at Lawrence, then slowly took out a cigarette pack from his pocket. The already battered pack had cigarettes that were almost all crushed, Lorenzo dumped them on the ground, managing to pick one that could still be smoked.

”You know, Lawrence, humanity is truly great.”

With the cigarette dangling from his lips, the flame flickering in the blizzard, Lorenzo spoke while pulling out a Nail Sword stuck into the carriage. This seemed to be an oil tank, with black liquid pouring from the cracks.

”Do you know what this is?”

Lorenzo said as he touched a bit of the black liquid and held it up.

Lawrence had never seen such a material, and instinctively remained cautious.

At this moment he wasn’t sure if Lorenzo had reached his limit, after all, that eerie power in his mind hadn’t shown up yet. In their previous encounters, this cunning guy had indeed given him a lot of grief.

He kept a safe distance from Lorenzo.

”This stuff is called crude oil, extremely flammable and hard to extinguish. Merlin said this would be one of the new energies that would change the world.”

”And like this oil tank, there are many more on the train.”

Lorenzo said softly.

”Want to go down with me? Even that can’t kill me.”

Lawrence sneered.

Not knowing the power of this crude oil, but with Lawrence’s current strength, he could leave before the danger arrived. Even if he was affected, the Holy Grail would heal him.

”Is that why you let her go? Otherwise, she would’ve burned to death with you.”

Lorenzo shook his head, he didn’t know either.

”Who knows? Some things you only realize when they’re in front of you… maybe I just let her go on a whim.”

Lorenzo continued speaking.

”So, Lawrence, do you know how advanced modern technology has become?”

”For example?”

”For example, the range of artillery, the area that shells can devastate, what kind of steel torrents a mature industrial production line can produce, or say….”

Lorenzo paused his speech, slowly standing up, looking up at the night sky.

”Lawrence, it’s already a new era now, people use guns and artillery, not the ancient swords and warhorses. We are the exiled people of the old era, out of place in this world.”

”...You can’t escape, Lawrence.”

Lorenzo suddenly said, he was extremely confident.

”What you’ve been relying on, isn’t it just Shangdafeng’s foresight? Actually, this thing has many flaws, just like the ones I pointed out in the previous battles.”

Lawrence lowered his cold gaze, the unsolvable Shangdafeng full of flaws in Lorenzo’s eyes.

”Can you avoid heavy rain?”

He asked.

”Heavy rain?”

Lawrence didn’t understand, Lorenzo continued to explain to him.

”Like a heavy rain, you foresaw its coming, but can you avoid it?”

”No, you can’t.”

Before Lawrence could answer, Lorenzo said first.

”What good is foresight? You can’t leave the range of the heavy rain, can’t escape something that’s long been destined.”

Looking at the night sky fully ignited, Lorenzo finally used nonsense to delay time until now, blazing red light illuminating everything in the night. He looked at Lawrence who was gradually showing fear and gripped the Nail Sword again.

”Submit to death, Lawrence.”

...

”So… do we really have to do this? There’s nothing there, just the railway.”

The commander still found it hard to believe the order the man had just given, confirming it again.

The blizzard enveloped the area, and snow covered everything, but from those yet to be covered parts, its terrifying menace could still be glimpsed.

”Just follow the order, soldier.”

Bola stood in the wind and snow, replying.

The commander still seemed a bit hesitant, but under Bola’s cold gaze, he didn’t have the courage to continue asking. Perhaps he didn’t have the right to know these things, just like how the troops were suddenly redeployed a few days ago.

No targets, no action instructions, they still didn’t know if this was an exercise or something else.

Fully armed with weapons, countless heavy firepower moved along the railway, they were so armed they could even win a localized war, and they arrived here full of curiosity, and then halted, until the recent order was given.