Gun of Ashes

In the long watch, they all lost themselves, willing to become immortal monsters to guard the fence line.

They are like prison guards, and the prison is the mysterious Well of Ascension.

Although it is not the real Static Holy Temple, just an illusion preserved in memory, Lorenzo still felt the evil anomaly in the darkness under the well, a feeling stored in the Watchers’ memories, and they loathed it so.

”Enemy.”

Lorenzo whispered.

At the time, Adren Levien referred to the thing beneath the well this way.

This is not his enemy.

This is God’s enemy.

”Then what happened?”

Selyu, who had let down her guard, asked, aware of the cruelty of these things and aware of their remoteness to her, she straightforwardly listened as if it were a horror story.

”Then Adren’s attack followed, and before I could reach the bottom of the well, I was attacked. I fled in panic, and upon returning to Ingwig, found Lorenzo missing, so I searched all the way here.” Watson said.

Lorenzo sensed something amiss, Watson was lying.

It seemed that Watson hadn’t gained much useful information from the Static Holy Temple, but in the letter she sent to Lorenzo, Lorenzo could read the underlying crisis and secrets, Watson repeatedly emphasized the Well of Ascension and brought the Holy Silver Crown, she must know something.

Lorenzo looked at Watson on the other side, noticing Lorenzo’s gaze, Watson looked calmly at Lorenzo.

[You’re lying.]

[Right.]

[Why?]

[The brutal reality can stir a fighter’s fury, but when crushed by excessive despair, he becomes immobile.]

The two used the [Gap] to communicate, a barely noticeable spark rising in their eyes, Watson smiled at the others, her voice sounded in Lorenzo’s mind.

[Lorenzo, our voyage is not yet over. Before we return to Ingwig, these people need a glimmer of hope to give them strength.]

Watson replied.

She still remembers the new Pope who fought against erosion for many years, wearing a thorn crown, who never slept through countless days and nights.

He was so resolute and strong, but upon realizing a corner of the truth...

A nearly curled-up figure flashed before her eyes, he hung his head low, sitting at the edge of the Well of Ascension, his eyes void of all light.

Such a determined person would lose his fighting spirit, Watson dared not speak lightly, she wanted to preserve this fragile dream, to allow these unfortunate people to go a little further.

Watson gazed at Lorenzo, and Lorenzo met her gaze, after a brief eye contact, Lorenzo gave up on pressing further, he would know the entire story, but not yet.

The others weren’t aware of the conversation existing only within the [Gap], they merely felt the surroundings grow slightly cold, as Watson finished, the atmosphere grew silent and still.

Selyu took a deep breath, her exhaustion from the naval battle only left her with scattered minor injuries, she even took off her coat for a while to make herself quicker.

At the time, her mind was fully concentrated, her heart pounding fiercely, sending scorching blood throughout her body, allowing her to momentarily forget the cold.

But after the battle, all sorts of aftermath appeared.

”Ah...choo!”

Selyu sneezed, her small face reddened, but under the reflection of the firelight, it was no different from usual, she only felt her body grow hot and sensed the surroundings were cold, she wrapped her coat tighter, but it didn’t improve much.

In the silent night, there was no wind sound, besides the turbulence of the Morning Glow Advance, there were the sounds of glaciers cracking and the sound of the ram slowly crushing through hard ice.

The Morning Glow Advance had already sailed onto the ice, the prepared ram like a sharp blade cleaved open the path ahead, leaving behind a trail of broken ice.

Thanks to the new engine of the Perpetual Motion Pump, and advanced structural technology, a large amount of Pine Iron was used in the entire Morning Glow Advance, allowing it to survive consecutive high-intensity battles, unlike ordinary ironclad ships which would sink and disassemble.

Tons of Lacquered Antimony were poured into the combustion chamber to provide propulsion for the ship. Meanwhile, this new energy also became the defense line against extreme cold for everyone. The stove in front of Selyu burned liquid Lacquered Antimony.

This was a resource second only to Florun Potion, Florun Potion ensured clear-headed advance, while Lacquered Antimony ensured the operation of the ship and prevented them from freezing to death.

When the battle was fiercest, the soldiers nearly poured Lacquered Antimony into the sea to burn the attacking Demons and obstructing Sea Serpents, but Lorenzo stopped them. Once these are lost, even if they won the battle, they would struggle to keep advancing.

Selyu looked at the distant gray-black shadows, under the starlight, everything was clear; snow dust reflected back light, barely illuminating those towering glaciers.

The muffled sound of glaciers gradually collapsing could be heard, churning up rolling snow dust... This place seemed devoid of new things for a long time, with the arrival of the Morning Glow Advance, it finally welcomed guests.

In Selyu’s distracted moment, several more conversations took place, and finally, Lorenzo looked forward.

”This is probably all I know for now.

Currently, something is happening that we don’t know, something that will trigger a new cycle, and the Watchers have all come out during this period.

This gives us a bit of breathing space, the Watchers can’t concern themselves with us, so we can reach deeper taboo, we need to find the deliberately hidden history at the world’s end, even find a way to break the cycle.”

Listening to Lorenzo’s words, a hoarse voice sounded from the front.

”So, the possible disaster in the future has happened before. The Demon Hunting Order likely reacted just like us now, resulting in those Watcher guys.”

Bola sat in a wheelchair, his body wrapped in bandages, steel nails pinned to his arms for fixation, the stand covered with infusion tubes, he also saw the urine bag hanging in the corner.

After repeatedly struggling with life and death, Bola should be honestly staying in a hospital room receiving treatment, yet he stubbornly came here, wanting to witness till the end.

”Lorenzo, you’ve said before, history cycles and breaks off, avoiding the end of mankind, we keep mutilating ourselves, past glories forgotten, leaving only ignorance and letting life slip away.”

Bola only felt a tearing pain in his head, affected by erosion, he couldn’t sleep, forced to endure clear-headed suffering.

Never thought this operation would become so complicated and deep, Bola was a bit blurred.

”Then, with us once being so strong and losing, do you think we have a chance of winning now?”

Facing Bola’s question, Lorenzo was silent.

Since the naval battle, Lorenzo recalled his past experiences, inside the tomb of the Platinum Palace, he saw those terrifying machines, each capable of altering the course of world warfare, and these were merely the most ordinary weapons of time, not to mention his feelings when realizing the Watchers were all Demon Hunters.

With such powerful times defeated, what ability to resist do they, the ones left behind, have?

”They are them, and we are us, having reached here, one always needs to try, right?”

Lorenzo replied, speaking those words made him feel much lighter, even bringing a hint of a smile.

”Those present have crossed the fence, whether surviving in the cycle, you’d face reckoning from the Watchers... anyways it’d be dying on the streets, rather than dying at the hands of those monsters, better to embrace a greater death.”

Bola was silent, his face was covered in bandages, according to the ship doctor, his body suffered extensive burns, his face included. Lorenzo couldn’t see his expression or feel his emotions, only heard the sound of calm breathing.

”Then that’s enough, I have no issues anymore.”