Gun of Ashes

Ingwig Calendar Year 932.

Thunderous Cape Military Port.

”Winter is coming... another year has passed.”

Eve leaned against the window, staring at the distant, gloomy, lead-gray clouds, feeling the chill of late autumn.

She sighed at the fleeting nature of time, but regrettably, no matter how much she sighed, it wouldn’t change anything, so she turned her gaze back to the newspaper and started reading it earnestly.

About three months ago, Gaulunaro’s fleet attacked Ice Bay, although Gaulunaro denied ownership of these ships, judging from the wreckage, they were indeed Gaulunaro’s vessels.

That night’s battle was extremely complex; Gaulunaro’s fleet not only clashed with Ice Bay but seemed to be fighting another enemy, only the newspaper did not specify who the other enemy was.

These yet unknown reasons created different possibilities.

The world situation became escalated; whether it was the Viking nations or the Rhine Alliance, both sides erupted with calls for war. Subsequent conflicts occurred multiple times in the White Tide Strait, with ships from both sides sunk, but the flames of a full-scale war had yet to be ignited.

Ingwig needed time, the Rhine Alliance also needed time. According to the fishermen, the White Tide Strait was completely blockaded, filled with massive iron-clad ships almost ready to fill the strait.

And then, just as both sides could no longer restrain themselves and a full-scale war was about to erupt completely, everything stalled once again, forcing the enraged people to pause and think.

Only because...

Eve thought, looking at the headline on the newspaper’s front page, with only a few paragraphs of text and a blurry black-and-white photo.

Printed on the newspaper was a terrifying and strange humanoid machine, steam emanating from its entire body, holding a massive cannon tube, a weapon typically requiring a carriage to haul, yet easily held in its hand. Most importantly, behind it on the weapon rack were more of such weapons, and this bizarre machine was walking down the streets of Old Dunling.

Eve knew exactly what this was—a war machine from the Perpetual Motion Pump, the Third Generation Armor of Original Sin.

It reduced the proportion of demon flesh to a minimum, greatly compromising overall strength and mobility, but it was currently the only armor that could be mass-produced and wouldn’t severely corrode the wearers and those nearby.

Also due to the sudden appearance of the Third Generation Armor, the imminent outbreak of war stalled for a while; the Rhine Alliance’s fleets were poised but remained silent due to this unknown strength of the machine.

Everyone needed to rethink whether, confronted with such Ingwig, they should continue to fight.

Ingwig’s military also held a parade during this time, with the Third Generation Armor as the star attraction. These new war machine kits could carry numerous heavy weapons and had a certain degree of mobility. No one knew how fierce the killings would be on the battlefield.

The Third Generation Armors not only intimidated the enemy but also many of their own people. Most of the nobles learned for the first time that Ingwig possessed such things, and due to these factors, the Platinum Palace was much livelier than usual.

Of course, Eve knew that the Third Generation Armor wasn’t the only reason for the delay in war. It’s indeed bizarre and powerful, but there will always be fearless deer confronting the tiger.

What truly delayed the war was the Nation-Builders scattered among various countries. After Lorenzo returned from the Silent Sea, an encrypted telegram was sent to them, and after brief negotiations, this ”reboot” would be postponed, but time was running out for Lorenzo and his team.

”The reality is even worse than this. According to Lorenzo, this time all humanity might be finished.”

Arthur rubbed his eyes; in just a few months, he seemed much older.

”I thought... I shouldn’t know about this intelligence.”

Eve’s mood was as heavy as his, yet she also felt confused.

”Actually, you should know. I always wanted to keep you in a delicate birdcage, but this became increasingly ridiculous... why not set you free? Since I can’t teach you to dance, might as well teach you to wield a gun,” Arthur said.

Eve set aside the newspaper, ”You want to make me your successor?”

”That won’t work,” Arthur shook his head, ”Although you’re my daughter, to sit in my position requires a formal promotion. I’ve already decided who’ll succeed me.”

Arthur said, looking to the other side of the carriage. On this train, they weren’t the only passengers.

The carriage subtly rocked as the armed train traveled across the desolate lands, moving straight ahead.

This was a no-man’s land, hard to detect signs of human activity anywhere as the armed train forged ahead alone.

But inside the carriage, it wasn’t quite lonely. Opposite Eve sat Arthur, the old man with a grim look, occasionally raising his cup to sip coffee. Across the aisle sat Merlin and Abigail, two important researchers also on the train.

According to Purification Mechanism regulations, to avoid being decapitated, they weren’t supposed to appear together, let alone in the same vehicle, but today was an important day, requiring them to proceed together.

In other seats of the train also sat security soldiers, but they differed from usual Purification Mechanism soldiers. Each wore thick coats with bulletproof steel plates inserted underneath, holding weapons and knives, their faces concealed beneath heavy gas masks.