Gun of Ashes

According to the intelligence from Watson, to evade a Silencer, one only needs a simple Holy Silver Crown. But what kind of existence requires Holy Silver Armor for defense?

Lorenzo couldn’t think of the answer and didn’t want to continue pondering. The closer he got to the World’s End, the more he realized things beyond comprehension.

Moreover, resolving the current situation was more important than these questions. Otherwise, if the Morning Glow Advance sank, Lorenzo would have to rely on rowing a longboat in the Silent Sea.

Fire blazed skyward in front of him, and most of the ships anchored on the shore were sunk in the first round of bombardment. The iron-armored ships that survived the first round sailed forward to join the battle.

Lorenzo watched the Morning Glow Advance sail away, realizing momentarily that he couldn’t catch up with that ship.

Perhaps... it wasn’t entirely impossible.

His fingers gently caressed the crown on his head—it was so cold, like a piece of ice that couldn’t melt.

Lorenzo slowly retreated, hiding himself in the shadows of a pile of wreckage. Then, dense scale armor wrapped him layer by layer; the armor was so heavy that it almost left no room for joint movement. Rather than armor, Lorenzo seemed to be enveloped by a black cocoon, and before he was completely swallowed by darkness, the silvery-white crown on his head disappeared.

The scorching sea breeze passed over the ruins, faintly carrying laughter, as if someone were mocking something.

...

”Fire the side guns!”

Accompanied by Notar’s angry roar, the fixed cannon on one side of the Morning Glow Advance fired, with the smoke trailing across the sea surface, hitting the horizon and erupting into flames.

”Retreat! Retreat! We must leave Ice Bay!” Hebdo’s voice was hoarse, the sound of cannon fire drowning out all other sounds. He could only shout with all his might, ”If we stay here, our only fate is to be sunk.”

The Plague Doctor’s fleet occupied the geographic advantage, directly blocking all ships in Ice Bay. The iron-armored ships that took action did so largely because remaining in Ice Bay only leads to death; they had to give it a try.

”I know! I know! Somebody handle those damn things on deck! They’re coming over soon!”

Notar gripped the helm tightly; the command room was in disarray, glass shattered, stained with blood, the cabin shaking violently, and a ghastly severed limb rolled past Notar’s feet.

It was a horrifying scene, but Notar had grown used to it.

On the deck, streams of fire flickered, hitting the grim shadows, with semi-molten metal condensing on their bodies, burning the flesh within as it penetrated.

Aluminothermic rifles continuously fired, suppressing the demons rushing onto the deck. They were few in number, but each demon was a failed experiment of the Plague Doctor, having undergone special surgery and was still carrying metallic weapons.

They posed a significant threat. Once they closed in, their metal claws could easily sever steel. Because of their presence, the terrace cannons were stalled for a while. Fortunately, the disadvantage didn’t last long; the soldiers were trying to reclaim the upper hand.

But the threat wasn’t only them.

The distant bombardment continued. After the armor shattered, demons crawled out from the sea, charging into the cabin through damaged side walls, unleashing bloody slaughter.

The Morning Glow Advance was now besieged, but even so, its situation was much better than the other ”allies.” The iron-armored ships leaving with it had mostly sunk in fierce battle, and some were still fighting, but with the demons’ appearance, their sinking too became inevitable.

These Vikings had no means to counter the demons; they might not even know of the demons’ existence.

”Speed up, we need to run faster!”

Selyu urged Notar, also holding an ignited aluminothermic rifle, guarding the command room. But rather than guarding, Selyu seemed more trapped here.

There was no safe place now; staying here seemed as good as any.

”I know! I know!”

Notar exclaimed desperately as he pushed the lever.

The acceleration of the Morning Glow Advance required some time; its current speed was fast enough, but not fast enough to escape the enemy’s pursuit.

In fact, the enemy had suffered significant losses too. Under Ascalon’s bombardment, at least several iron-armored ships had sunk during combat, with over half severely damaged. Generally, to preserve strength, the enemy should be preparing to retreat. They’ve won this round, continuing to clash with the Morning Glow Advance yields no benefit.

However, the opponent didn’t care about this. The soldiers carried out orders with vacant eyes, attacking fearlessly, dragging the Morning Glow Advance into dire straits.

The entire sea surface was littered with burning metal debris, and Notar took a deep breath. Though his fingers were frostbitten, he felt nothing.

He had to lead everyone and break through.

Suddenly, a sharp light appeared before him. A demon had crawled over, unnoticed until it attacked.

Damn.

Notar’s heart sank; it felt terribly bad, having been roused with high spirits only to face death the next second—no matter how he thought about it, it felt unbearably suffocating.

A loud bang erupted in the air; the demon’s claw never fell as sharp metal pierced through its waist, dragging its body and pinning it firmly to the deck.

Notar watched with lingering fear at the demon still writhing, followed by a pitch-black shadow filling his vision.

The Weapon Master stepped onto the demon’s body, pinning it down, then pulled out the blade, chopping down again to shred its head and spine.

”Keep going! Notar, I’m here.”

Bola’s voice echoed from beneath the Armor of Original Sin. The Weapon Master wasn’t agile, as cables draped over it limited its actions to the deck.

On the tumultuous sea, the Armor of Original Sin risked falling into the water, and once submerged, it had almost no self-rescue capability. If it fell, it would lose an Armor of Original Sin at best, and at worst, the pilot would sink alongside it into the deep sea.

”There are more enemies! Bola!”

Another voice sounded from afar—it was Blue Jade, piloting the Third Generation Armor, draped in heavy external armor, fighting on the deck like a fixed cannon.

Every slash and trigger pull sent thick blood mist flying, but the demons seemed endless, crawling up continuously. Many side-fixed cannons had been destroyed by them, and combined with enemy bombardment, the Morning Glow Advance’s armed strength was being continuously eroded.

Blue Jade guarded Ascalon below, protecting this heavy cannon; it mustn’t be harmed.

A thunderous blast swept past, and before any thought emerged, the Third Generation Armor shattered into countless fragments instantly, twisted external armor flying, with the core body grievously damaged, half an arm severed instantly.

Fortunately, cables secured it; after sliding a distance, the Third Generation Armor halted, with blood seeping between the metal seams.

”Blue Jade!” Bola shouted in alarm.

”I’m okay... at least I’m not dead yet.”

A weak voice echoed; Blue Jade felt the metal seemed to pierce through her body, just as she’d thought before—the Armor of Original Sin is protective as armor and fatal as a coffin.

She staggered up, most of the mechanical structure exposed; fortunately, she still had one usable arm. She pulled out an armored musket and fired.

At the end of the firelight charged the Blood Shark, close enough for the terrace cannon to accurately hit the Third Generation Armor.

In the glow, Blue Jade saw the cannon muzzle aimed at her.

Time was too short; she couldn’t dodge. This concentrated fire could tear her to pieces, but Ascalon was safe; it was shielded by sturdy bulwarks, only needing to worry about demon infiltration.

For a moment, Blue Jade’s mind went blank; when faced with imminent death, she found herself unable to think of anything.

Then, fierce flames surged on the Blood Shark, consuming the aimed cannon before it fired, with golden flames rolling over it, transforming into dazzling white at their peak.

In the radiant white firelight, the Black Angel unfurled the Iron Feather fully.