Gun of Ashes

The storm swept up the icy seawater, flinging it high into the heavens, then crashing down with a splash, beating upon the fire that refused to be extinguished.

The Iron Armor ship began its descent, as the rolling waves incessantly harassed it. Yet, even so, its sinking was incredibly slow... But it was indeed sinking, the seawater inundated the ship’s hold, rushing through the corridors, like an elderly man succumbing to a slow death. The Iron Armor ship was stepping towards its demise, powerless to stop it.

The sea roared, pirates who fell into the water wailed, but after another surge, they vanished, while some struggled in the boiling sea of flames, their voices gradually fading.

Such brutal scenes continued to unfold, but there was no time to lament, the naval battle raged on.

The Black Angel, propelled by burning Lacquered Antimony, leaped into the sky. The dreadful weather aided its lingering in the air as its wings unfurled, circling the battlefield like a vulture.

In the successive battles, counting this slowly sinking Iron Armor ship beneath him, Lorenzo’s side had already sunk four Iron Armor ships. The enemy still had two Iron Armor ships with combat capability, while the third was the Black Teeth, tearing through the rainstorm. It had been hit by a shot from Ascalon, with most of the structures on its deck destroyed, leading Lorenzo to believe that the Black Teeth had little fighting strength left.

In reality, the Black Teeth was in a much worse state than Lorenzo anticipated. Ascalon had directly destroyed the command room, the fire ignited the interior living quarters, triggering a secondary explosion of the ammunition in the warehouse.

It could be said that after such devastation, there were hardly any survivors on the Black Teeth. It wasn’t moving here under Zeus’s control, but rather the waves pushed it along.

Zeus sat on the damp deck, leaning against the protruding wreckage, with his only moveable hand gripping the groove tightly, keeping himself from being tossed into the sea.

”Is this Your will, Odin?”

Zeus raised his head, gazing at the Reaper hovering overhead.

It seemed as if invisible hands were manipulating everything, causing the Morning Glow Advance and the Black Tooth Pirates to meet here. Even abandoning or escaping wasn’t an option, the storm had completely enveloped the area, reversing the flow of water, forcing all ships towards the vortex’s center.

The threads of fate were picked up by the goddess, woven together, and then cut.

Zeus was not afraid; on the contrary, he was quite delighted.

”Even if we cannot seize that Iron Armor ship, even if we cannot plunder a nation with it... at least we can die with honor. Not every Viking can die at the hands of such a monster.”

Zeus laughed heartily, but his laughter was monotonous, no one responded to him.

Looking to the side, he saw a corpse lying not far away, its cause of death a puncture wound, probably lost balance due to the violent shaking of the ship. The body was impaled on the broken railing, with arms and legs bent grotesquely.

”This won’t do, dying such a ridiculous death can’t lead one to the Heroic Spirit Hall...”

Zeus murmured as he looked at the sailor’s corpse.

The sailor finally realized that Zeus’s words were nonsense, he didn’t want to die, he tried to escape, but in this roaring sea, there was nowhere to run.

The Morning Glow Advance fired once more, the Iron Armor ship adjusted its position in the surging waves, kicking up splashes of white foam, turning its side towards the pirates, and soon after, fired the fixed cannons.

A dense barrage pierced the sea’s surface, hammering heavily against the Iron Armor ship, penetrating the armor, hitting the cabins, fragments scattering, cutting everything in their path.

After the Black Angel ambushed and took out half the Iron Armor ships, the pirates’ firepower could no longer suppress the Morning Glow Advance. Additionally, the distance between the two continued to close, the Morning Glow Advance firing on all cylinders, as the Spear of Melting ascended and fiery rain descended.

The pirates tore down doors, using them as shields to block the fiery downpour, covering the firing of the terrace cannons. However, a sudden shadow swept overhead, drawing their attention.

They looked up, seeing the gliding Black Angel, and in an instant, fear captured their hearts. They knew the terror of this monster, if it landed on this Iron Armor ship, none could fend off its slaughter.

While pondering this, the Black Angel flew over the Iron Armor ship without stopping, which made the pirates feel somewhat miraculous, followed by relief for sparing their lives. But they failed to notice what the Black Angel left behind in its fleeting pass.

To repeatedly ascend, the Black Angel was equipped with four fuel tanks for propulsion. In previous battles, one fuel tank was already depleted, and just now, to avoid the rain of bullets, Lorenzo completely burnt the second fuel tank, letting the furious Lacquered Antimony propel the Black Angel away in an instant.

Now, Lorenzo jettisoned the third fuel tank, which still held about half of the Lacquered Antimony, enough to support the Black Angel’s ascent once more. Yet he discarded it casually, the black canister falling towards the Iron Armor ship below. Just as it was about to crash onto the Iron Armor ship, the Black Angel suddenly turned, flinging several Iron Feathers.

Accompanied by a piercing whistle, meter-long Iron Feathers fell like a rain of arrows, piercing the fuel tank, embedding it into the ship’s cabin.

Black, viscous liquid seeped from the ruptured seams, and moments later, the Spear of Melting exploded in the sky, flames raining down.