Gun of Ashes

Support gunfire from the dome kept pouring down, flipping one Angel after another like a heavy hammer, but this obviously didn’t help Bola much.

The dense feathers slowly wrapped him completely, and even Lorenzo didn’t quite know how to approach it. They formed a fortress of wings, but the next moment, fiery golden flames erupted through the gaps in the feathers.

In the deep darkness, searing flames rose, accompanied by thunderous explosions. The Angels were blown apart by the blast impact, with the Sword Dancer as the epicenter of the heat wave, rapidly spreading outwards.

The heatwave swept across the bottom of the workshop, and in this nearly enclosed space, everyone could feel the pressure on their breath. In the burning sea of fire, the nearly reddened Sword Dancer strode out, with bloodstains still on the two giant blades from previous slashes, but soon the blood was evaporated by the high temperature.

The air was filled with the smell of blood and fear.

Bola gasped for air. At the last moment, he ignited the Sword Dancer’s fuel tank. Originally designed to compensate for mobility, Bola detonated it, fully burning the lacquered antimony inside, successfully saving him from the predicament, but the heat also inflicted great damage to the Sword Dancer.

The battered external armor gradually fell off, and the Sword Dancer staggered like a wounded swordsman.

”Get out of the way! Bola!”

The voice from the dome echoed, and Percival switched weapons to something bizarre, resembling a large harpoon.

Hearing the voice, Bola retreated without hesitation, and the Sword Dancer rushed towards the edge of the workshop. During the Angels’ assault, Bola successfully bought time for Merlin’s shelter.

The platform carrying Merlin and medical staff slowly ascended, and soldiers occupied other rising platforms, establishing one firepoint after another. Now, the workshop’s bottom could be freely covered with firepower.

The Sword Dancer leaped up, hacking into the breach on the well wall, which was the gap caused by the Thunder Group during the Angels’ descent. It seemed imbued with divine power; the metal edges were perfectly smooth, as was the interior metal structure. The Thunder Group obliterated everything it touched.

”Watch out!”

Percival’s warning rang out, accompanied by a rain of fire descending from the sky.

The Lancer Cavalry pulled the trigger, and what shot out from the harpoon was an exquisite Iron Spear. As it flew, it began to disintegrate, with golden light bursting from the metal seams and then scattering into burning steel.

It was no ordinary harpoon; it was the Spear of Melting.

Significant weapon experiments like using the Spear of Melting as large ammunition were theoretically tested, allowing repeated fast firing through a launcher. It was more accurate than the Armor Fire Gun, and its damage and range were stronger, with the only downside being less portability.

Half-melted steel shards fell like a rain of arrows, with metallic clatters penetrating the ground, piercing, and burning through the Angels’ shells.

In no time, the workshop’s bottom turned into a sea of fire. The ferocious blaze was blocked by the gate, sealing everything inside the workshop.

This was a successful fire suppression. Under continuous shooting from the Lancer Cavalry, even powerful Angels had to temporarily capitulate in the fire sea, yet this didn’t mean an advantage was gained. Rolling within the flames were monstrous creatures, but their most fearsome weapon was not their fangs or claws.

Fear, instilling fear was their strongest weapon, and erosion still loomed within the workshop, everyone was under a chronic death.

”Pour the neutralizing liquid!”

A new order was given, and the rain from the dome above came pouring down.

Lorenzo held onto the Nail Sword on the well wall. Watching the rain and the slowly extinguishing fire sea, he wasn’t sure how effective the neutralizing liquid would be, but any slowdown in erosion, even by a second, was an advantage for the human side.

Above the dome, separated by thick explosion-proof glass, Arthur looked gravely at the chaotic workshop.

After the Angels’ descent, due to the erosion’s power, all communications ceased, leaving Arthur cut off from the workshop. He could only watch as an observer.

Still, it’s not like he could do nothing.

”The Cleaner Squad is ready. If they can hold, we’ll clean up the battlefield. If they fail, then we go in,”

Galahad said beside him, sharing the same grave expression with a hint of fear.

Outside the workshop’s steel gate, the silent Cleaners were ready, standing with their weapons as the second line of defense.

Everyone remained silent, the atmosphere oppressive and chilling.

Inside the workshop was another scene. As the neutralizing liquid poured, dense mist surged from the slowly extinguishing fire sea, almost covering the entire workshop’s bottom. It was then the Sword Dancer fell off the well wall, landing back down.

Lorenzo advanced alongside it, feeling his capabilities were not much inferior to the Sword Dancer’s, except lacking its massive blades.

The dense fog tore apart as Angels rushed forward again. Most of them were covered in wounds, some missing parts of their bodies, and some struggling to maintain form. Yet they persistently attacked, executing commands with mechanical loyalty.

Figures interweaving, dancing in the mist, and blood spilling everywhere.

Gunfire from the soldiers crisscrossed the dense fog, and burning aluminothermic bombs streaked crimson trails across the Angels.

On the platform above, Merlin glanced downward. Although Angels were currently suppressed, he knew this advantage wouldn’t last long. Everyone present, except Lorenzo, with the passage of time, in this high-intensity erosion environment, was sliding into the dark abyss.

The main issue was a war of attrition. Angels lost only their shells, but soldiers, when killed, were truly dead. Even the Armor of Original Sin couldn’t last long under this battle intensity. After all, what was being used now was the Third Generation Armor, having lost Demon flesh as its core, thus losing its ”self-healing” capability.

”So, you still have to die, William.”

Merlin said somewhat disappointingly, this as some Angels bypassed Bola and Lorenzo’s hunts, dodging the continuous gunfire, climbing the well wall, their broken wings flapping feebly until another shot from above smashed them to bits, sending them plummeting into the mist and remaining flames.

Turning around, William stood somewhat dazedly, watching everything before him. Massive Mechanical Knights battled against Angels, weapons fired far beyond his imagination. Once, he gave up everything under the Angel’s wings without a fight. Yet many years later, the fire of industry could briefly suppress this so-called mystique.

This was a complex emotion, having his time stolen too much, and William’s life nearing its end. But oddly enough, this time fear no longer gripped him.

”The starry sky...” he said.

”What?” Merlin hurried over, determined to remember William’s every word. ”What starry sky?”

”I’m not sure if it counts as intelligence, but during my time of madness, trapped in the so-called [Gap]... I sometimes saw a starry sky. A kind of intuition maybe, it feels like something important.”

William said slowly.

”A magnificent starry sky, countless stars, with colorful hues like a masterful painting.”