Gun of Ashes

The wooden handle of Winchester began to burn, and the remaining ammunition carried also set off a sympathetic explosion, but compared to what Lorenzo triggered, these were rather inconspicuous.

A glaring white brilliance flashed by, and in an instant, the ruins were evaporated into a charred cavity, with ferocious flesh growing stubbornly at the center.

”You are indeed strong, but how many more times can you use such a move, Mr. Holmes?”

The voice was hoarse. The Plague Doctor had turned into a mass of steaming grotesque flesh, with bones proliferating then breaking, entwining with muscle fibers, only to be completely consumed by scorching fire.

This was real pain, but the Plague Doctor seemed unable to feel it. He was killed, then revived immediately. Sharp claws scraped away the charred flesh, raising a mist of blood.

The Plague Doctor was in terrible shape, yet he wouldn’t die. The Authority of Yanar was fully activated, his flesh proliferating madly, the body deforming, losing all semblance of a human, bones restructuring, and a slender tail swinging forcefully, transforming him into a beastly demon.

Lorenzo said nothing, but the scales falling off him indicated his current state. The armor could indeed protect him effectively in the fiery explosion, but it couldn’t completely resist all the damage.

Blazing white vapor rose from Lorenzo’s body. In this war of attrition, Lorenzo wasn’t sure if he could exhaust the Plague Doctor.

”I have no need to kill you, Plague Doctor,” Lorenzo suddenly said.

”What, seeking peace? That’s not possible; the truth belongs to me alone.”

The Plague Doctor was startled but outright refused. Judging by this, Lorenzo wasn’t overwhelmingly strong, and the Plague Doctor still had the strength to fight back, but immediately after, he regretted such naive thoughts.

In the battle, Lorenzo had never revealed his true power.

”I have no need to kill you; I just need to invade you.”

This was Lorenzo’s goal. Just like Lawrence had once taught him, never let others guess your intention.

Lorenzo went to such lengths to continuously injure the Plague Doctor to deplete his strength, forcing him to mobilize power so that it interfered with him. When the Plague Doctor’s will began to waver, it would be Lorenzo’s moment to invade his [gap].

Surpass the protection of the physical shell and kill the Plague Doctor completely from the mental level.

Lorenzo raised his hand, trying to remove the Holy Silver Crown from his head. It was well protected; even consecutive high temperatures hadn’t breached it.

He still remembered Watson’s warnings, but after learning about Froki’s connection with the Silencers, Lorenzo no longer saw a need to adhere to it. From the existing information, he could vaguely deduce that this journey to the Silent Sea was destined to involve the Silencers, so he might as well face them proactively.

As for what would happen?

Besides death, Lorenzo couldn’t think of anything worse, and he didn’t fear death.

The crown slightly left his head, like lifting an ancient seal. A wave-like invasion spread from Lorenzo as the origin point, intangible and formless, yet the Plague Doctor could distinctly feel their presence, the hideous and sinister power hammering at his mind, making him tense up.

”You’ve won, Mr. Holmes.”

The Plague Doctor began to retreat. At the same time, the panting of beasts arose all around.

”But fortunately, I wasn’t foolish enough to come directly just to die.”

As soon as the words fell, the Plague Doctor sprang up from where he stood. In beast form, he was on all fours, moving swiftly, escaping right in front of Lorenzo, widening the distance in just a few breaths.

But it was useless. The Plague Doctor could not escape the range of Lorenzo’s invasion in a short time, hence the panting around him became clearer.

One demon after another walked out of the darkness. Their postures were similar to the Plague Doctor, but the difference was, Lorenzo could distinctly sense that they were merely beasts, without a trace of will.

On their hideous bodies were affixed steel nails and metal frameworks. In the boring time on the ocean, the Plague Doctor dressed these failed experimental subjects in armor and armed them with weapons.

If Lorenzo invaded the Plague Doctor’s [gap], he would inevitably be attacked by these demons. But if he killed these demons, Lorenzo was unsure if he would still be able to locate the Plague Doctor.

He didn’t hesitate. Dense layers of armor covered Lorenzo, encasing him into a black iron knight.

Lorenzo had to destroy the Plague Doctor in the [gap] before being killed by the demons. Scorching white flames surged in his eyes, just as he was about to unleash a complete fury, the booming explosion on the docks of Ice Bay interrupted Lorenzo’s thoughts.

Another Spear of Melting ascended into the night sky, exploding with a roar. It not only lit up the ravaged Ice Bay but also illuminated the ironclad ships coming from the edge of the sea.

The warning sirens sounded, announcing their arrival toward Ice Bay.

...

On the sea outside Ice Bay, the Plague Doctor’s fleet appeared in everyone’s view.

The Blood Shark first broke through the cover of shadows, the hull tilting slightly. A few hours ago, when the Plague Doctor landed, it was already prepared for battle. In the next second, cannon fire roared, joined by several ironclad ships from behind.

The ironclad ships didn’t care about hit rates but suppressed the dock with concentrated fire.

Countless projectiles hit down fiercely, easily destroying wooden structures, the frozen ground dented, lingering with the pungent smell of gunpowder, dragging everyone into the bloody battlefield.

In an instant, the docks of Ice Bay were blasted into ruins, most docked ships directly smashed into two, sinking into the sea. But despite such fierce offensives, the Morning Glow Advance docked among them did not fall; its resilient armor could endure more attacks.

The projectiles landing on the deck did not cause much damage, but the upheaval turned Notar upside down. When he got back up, his coat had disappeared. Now, he was only in his underwear, roaring in the command room.

”Counterattack! Counterattack!”

Everyone sprang into action. The Plague Doctor’s fleet had executed a surprise attack, trapping the Morning Glow Advance in Ice Bay. Hebdo struggled to get up, shards of explosions cutting into his body. Luckily, he rescued in time, leaving Selyu and Blue Jade relatively unscathed, though they bumped their heads, turning black and blue.

...

”The defense within the Viking Kingdoms is managed independently by each lord, but due to differing rules between territories, there are many loopholes. Without an order from the King, they can’t unify their commands, and the archipelago is vast, I happen to be familiar with a few secret waterways to advance through which we can bypass maritime vigilance.

You ask how I know these things, because I am a pirate. Without these secret waterways, I would have been sent to the execution platform already.”

While escaping, the words of Zeus from before echoed in the Plague Doctor’s mind.

”We can pilot for you, we advance under the cover of night, with technological levels in the Viking Kingdoms, no one can detect our arrival.”

Relying on Zeus’ navigation, the Plague Doctor silently reached Ice Bay. Originally, his plan was quite similar to Lorenzo’s: sneak in, then capture Froki. But no matter what, he hadn’t expected to run into Lorenzo here and have his initiative preempted by him.

Luckily, he finally dragged it out to this point. When the Plague Doctor hadn’t returned for a long time, the fleet would emerge from the darkness to attack Ice Bay. The Plague Doctor never thought about tactical stuff, after all, he was just a scholar and doctor; such things eluded his understanding. The Plague Doctor simply thought if there was chaos, he might find a chance for survival amid danger.

Like now.

As for what would happen after attacking Ice Bay, the Plague Doctor hadn’t thought those through. From the start, he hadn’t held much hope for his own survival, even though his body was nearly immortal.

Thinking this way, suddenly the Plague Doctor saw nothing, his vision enveloped by extreme darkness until a Nail Sword cleaved through the darkness, severing the eyes peeking into it.