Gun of Ashes

Bola and Blue Jade both agreed to Lorenzo’s command. Lorenzo was right; the previous leisure was just the calm before the storm. They needed battle to heat their blood.

”At least show me what this Morning Glow Advance can achieve.”

Lorenzo excitedly looked at the other side of the waves. His words were shattered by the roar of cannon fire.

Ascalon fired.

A formless impact arrived along with the thunderous sound. The raindrops paused for a second at this moment. The drips on the porthole changed their trajectory, and the crystal-clear drops reflected the golden light. As the brilliant light appeared, the Morning Glow Advance became heavier, pressing down the splashing waves.

Everyone saw it.

It was a spear—a burning, dazzling spear. It was so fast, a flash of thin, radiant line, piercing through the obstructive storm and waves with extreme heat, illuminating everything in its path.

This was Ascalon. Lorenzo, having personally experienced the cannon fire, was very aware of this cannon’s power. Given its range, when the enemy ship appeared in Lorenzo’s sight, it was already within Ascalon’s strike range, and the cannon’s rate of fire was exceedingly rapid, with hardly any decay over short distances.

Just as Lorenzo thought, at this distance, Ascalon’s attack was hardly a cannon shot anymore. The burning, flying Bullet Head was like a spear, piercing through the Black Teeth’s hull upon contact, melting all the steel in its path. Flesh had no time to react, turning into ashes instantaneously.

The expected explosion did not occur. The Bullet Head was too fast and too hot, directly piercing through the hull and into the sea, creating a fierce steam cloud and sinking to the seabed with residual light.

As for the Black Teeth, this strike plowed through its deck. Masts and chimneys collapsed and broke apart. Lorenzo guessed this strike might have pierced through their command room as well.

”Truly... the power of God...”

Notar marveled at the sight, having never seen such a spectacle, hardly imagining such a powerful weapon was aboard his ship.

”Don’t act so naïve. We have plenty of God’s power on this ship,” Lorenzo laughed.

”Is it over?”

Bola looked at the Black Teeth. After Ascalon hit it, the Black Teeth fell silent. A raging fire burned on its ship, followed by continuous explosions inside, probably from the fire reaching the ammunition, causing a catastrophic explosion.

”It should be over. We just need to wait for the storm to stop, then go collect the spoils and prisoners.”

Lorenzo watched the rising flames on the sea. The initial battle was a success, but he felt it wasn’t thrilling enough.

”Wait... there’s a light shining.”

Blue Jade keenly noticed something. She signaled the others to look at the Black Teeth, where a discordant light appeared amidst the raging fire, flashing rhythmically like signaling something.

”What’s going on? Notar,” Lorenzo immediately asked the experienced Notar.

”This... is communication. Ships at sea lack effective ways to communicate. During the day, we use flag signals, and at night, we flash lights as signals,” Notar answered.

To prevent potential technological disasters, the Nation-Builders secretly restricted global technological progress, specifically communication technology. Technologies like communication devices had already been realized in the Perpetual Motion Pump and used in the Purification Mechanism. However, due to this harsh reality, such technologies couldn’t be leaked outside, leaving everyone using ironclad ships but still relying on such primitive communication methods.

Lorenzo began to feel the world’s disconnect, which would continue to intensify in the coming times.

Humans were like beasts trapped in a cage, growing larger until filling the cage, leaving two options: break out or suffocate inside.

The Nation-Builders made their choice, unable to break the cage, continually weakening the beasts.

”How awful...”

Lorenzo couldn’t help but sigh. This melancholy didn’t last long; he asked Notar again.

”Do you know what this means? A distress signal?”

”I think...” Notar raised his binoculars. The fire on the Black Teeth interfered with his judgment. He hesitated for a moment and expressed his thoughts, ”I’m not sure. It’s unlike anything I’m familiar with, probably their own set of communication language.”

”You mean... them?” Lorenzo said.

”Yes, the signal isn’t meant for us...”

As he spoke, Notar’s voice slowed down, staring directly at Lorenzo, both showing the same answer in their eyes.

”Prepare for battle! There is more than one enemy ship!”

Lorenzo shouted loudly, and at this moment, innumerable lights burst across the sea. Not just one ship approached the Morning Glow Advance under the storm’s cover, but six.

They had been lurking around from the start. Ascalon’s attack not only failed to drive the pirates away, but also stirred their greed.

Dozens of Bullet Heads hit the Morning Glow Advance, and even with advanced armor, it couldn’t withstand such continuous attacks. Damage began appearing on the hull surface, and some Bullet Heads directly hit a turret, engulfing it in flames.

In a typical naval battle, hitting a turret directly is extremely difficult, but with the tumultuous sea lifting and crashing every ship, trajectories became unpredictable.

Small vibrations sounded from all around the ship, much lighter than cannon hits, but it caught Lorenzo’s attention.

”What’s going on?” he asked.

”It’s the pirates; they’ve boarded the ship!”

The soldiers shouted amidst the storm, as several grappling hooks landed on the rails, and fearless pirates approached, despite the risk of perishing in the sea.

Not... not just them. Six ambushing ironclad ships rode the waves, cease firing, and accelerated towards the Morning Glow Advance, with the cold rams cutting through the storm at the front.

It seemed they intended to ram and sink the Morning Glow Advance. Comparing their tonnage, clearly, they couldn’t shake the Morning Glow Advance, but against so many attacking ships, it was different.

Lightning flashed, the black flag danced wildly in the wind, with a sharp, pale tooth faintly seen engraved on it.

Witnessing this, Notar seemed to recall something and uneasily spoke.

”I think I know who they are—the Black Tooth Pirates, one of the largest Viking pirate groups after the civil war in the Viking states. They do not obey the King of the Ice Sea, constantly moving across the edges of the Viking countries’ waters.”

”Forget who they are! All fixed cannons fire!”

Lorenzo didn’t care about this. He shouted loudly.

The Morning Glow Advance’s side armor lowered, cannons extended along tracks, and a few seconds later, the first round of salvo commenced.

Cannon fire continued but didn’t stop the pirates’ advance. The sound of combat arose on the deck, yet Lorenzo seemed unfazed, his gaze fixed on the sea’s ships.

”Their target has changed,” Lorenzo realized, ”Earlier, these pirates might have been after the cargo ship, but I think now they’re after the Morning Glow Advance.”

”Us?” Bola was a bit confused.

”Not us, the ironclad ship beneath us.”

In Lorenzo’s understanding, initially, the pirates were out for some plunder, but once they experienced Ascalon’s might, they changed their plans, aiming to capture the Morning Glow Advance.

”Madness.”