Gun of Ashes

The two of them were coordinating in just this way.

”Shao Liangye, don’t run too far!”

Shao Liangxi shouted at Shao Liangye, who was weaving through the battlefield.

The chaotic terrain of the Lower City District suited Shao Liangye perfectly; he darted through it with speed, delivering heavy blows to the Demons, but for Shao Liangxi this wasn’t so friendly—compared to this kind of cluttered ground, she preferred a wide, open view.

Shao Liangye ignored Shao Liangxi, charging into a building, a place outside Shao Liangxi’s support range. He yanked out his Folding Blade in a swift motion, suppressed the Anti-Meme, then stepped forward and slashed.

In the past few days he had swapped out his gear. The Perpetual Motion Pump’s research into Anti-Memes lagged behind Jiuxia, but in industrial smelting they were extremely powerful—especially after opening up the Holy Silver Mine.

The equipment used by Shao Liangye and the others was the first batch of weapons rolled out by the Perpetual Motion Pump, alloyed with Holy Silver and Pine Iron, satisfying the need to suppress Demons while also reinforcing their own hardness.

The Folding Blade was still a bit unfamiliar in the hand, but Shao Liangye liked its cold, cutting feel.

”He’s pushing way too deep!”

Red Falcon watched Shao Liangye’s back gradually disappear and shouted anxiously.

From Red Falcon’s combat experience, this kind of behavior was basically suicide. After all, not everyone was a Demon Hunter.

”It’s fine. You’ll get used to it.”

Shao Liangxi didn’t look worried. Once she lost sight of Shao Liangye, she simply swung her barrel toward another direction and began providing cover fire for the others.

She didn’t know who these heavily armed guys were, but the nearby survivors clearly regarded the casino-turned-fortress as their last hope, rushing toward it from all directions.

Blue Jade didn’t stop these people; she just partitioned the casino, had the Soldiers hold the outposts, and kept the civilians confined to the surface.

It wasn’t that Blue Jade was suddenly feeling charitable. They needed to control the scope of the disaster as much as possible. These people would be the most conspicuous bait, constantly drawing Demons in and feeding them straight into the Purification Mechanism’s meat grinder.

That said, Blue Jade and the others were also among the bait—but they weren’t afraid.

”Demon Hunters, Anonymous... I can’t think of anywhere in the Lower City District safer than this.” That was how Blue Jade explained it.

Eve stowed her Hook Lock Gun; using that piece of gear, she reached the top of the ruined castle, the highest point on the battlefield, from where she could easily see everything in the vicinity.

The Demons kept appearing without end. For the erosion, the chaotic, lawless Lower City District was the perfect breeding ground.

Eve remembered her encounter with Lorenzo back then. In the battle in the Underground Palace, if the Purification Mechanism hadn’t arrived in time, that night could very well have devolved into the same kind of madness.

As she was thinking, roaring gunfire erupted. At the end of the street a burst of fire flashed, then projectiles like long metal spears were fired, effortlessly punching through buildings and nailing the Demons to death, shattering them.

The towering silhouettes of Peacekeepers appeared on the far horizon. Those silent, solid suits of Armor formed an iron wall, closing in from all directions, sealing off the streets as they slowly advanced.

Sunlight struck their bodies, outlining savage silhouettes. The Purification Mechanism’s counterattack was even faster and more ferocious than anyone had imagined.

It was only a matter of time before the Lower City District was brought back under control, but no one knew how many Demons had fled underground—the labyrinthine darkness below was far more dangerous than the surface.

Shao Liangye moved through the wrecked cluster of buildings, hunting down Demons that had fallen back into cover. He fully demonstrated the strength of the Anonymous; under the protection of the Anti-Meme, the erosion’s impact on him was minimal, and with his Anti-Meme weapons, Demons were nothing more than even madder beasts.

In the narrow passage, Shao Liangye raised his gun and precisely shot a Demon in the head. At the same time, his Folding Blade drove forward viciously, piercing the Demon’s heart and splattering a huge spray of blood.

He paused for a moment, steadying his breath.

Shao Liangye was an extremely dedicated man. As one of the Anonymous, he remembered very little, and his so-called hobbies were pitifully few. In his mind, aside from work, it seemed nothing remained.

In that brief respite, more screams erupted. He looked up—Demons were dropping from above.

The Anonymous had the protection of the Anti-Meme, but they were still human, and they’d paid a steep price for that blessing.

No matter how battle-hardened Shao Liangye was, he also had moments of fatigue. Right now he was riddled with openings, barely able to raise his Folding Blade to try and block the sudden strike—and just then, a thunderous blast rang out right by his ear.

The wall to one side collapsed in an instant. Amid rubble and dust, a gleaming Staff Sword thrust into Shao Liangye’s field of view, impaling the falling Demon and pinning it brutally to the side.

”Watch yourself, Anonymous.”

The scorching heat had long since faded; Lorenzo now wore Iron Armor, and with his Steel Body he barreled through the buildings.

”I’m starting to envy Demon Hunters,” Shao Liangye muttered, stunned.

”Don’t. It’s not exactly a blessing.”

Lorenzo pulled out the Staff Sword. Dense Iron Armor slid over his face, hiding his features.

”You’re not going to draw him out like this.”

Lorenzo cautioned Shao Liangye; he’d seen through what Shao Liangye was trying to do.

This reckless charge was essentially exposing an opening to the enemy. Shao Liangye was waiting for the enemy to strike.

”The one coming this time should be Roger Cruz. Only he would play with people’s minds like this, drive everyone insane.” The contact time hadn’t been long, but Lorenzo believed he’d grasped the patterns of Roger and Adren, ”If it were Adren, the ones fighting us right now would be Angels.”

”Angels?” Shao Liangye was puzzled.

Lorenzo couldn’t be bothered to explain; he said, ”Watchers... you’ll see them later.”

”Besides, even if you did manage to draw Roger out, you’d have no chance to fight back. You’d be killed on the spot.”

Lorenzo understood Roger’s power all too well. As a being almost at the end of Ascension, Roger had a faint link to The Inexpressible, and that link was about to become a ’path.’

”You still don’t understand the Anonymous enough, Holmes. Don’t underestimate us so much.”

Shao Liangye showed a meaningful smile, as if he still had some trump card in hand, some way to fight even Roger.

Before Lorenzo could press him further, a chorus of artillery fire cut off their conversation.

The Peacekeepers had already closed in. The sturdy Armor of Original Sin rained fire down on the Demons. Under the Purification Mechanism’s heightened vigilance, the catastrophe of the Demons was strangled at the source before it could spread.

In the shadows, the vagrant stared at these heavy machines. In his memory, the old humanity had possessed weapons like these as well—and far more powerful than the ones now.

”How pitiful. Such splendor, reduced to such ruin. Instead of struggling, why not submit?”

Roger muttered to himself.

He didn’t know if it was Intuition or something else, but he was certain the Purification Mechanism’s strength wasn’t limited to this. There was more hidden in the dark.

But this feint seemed more than sufficient.

”Sword Holder.”

Roger’s gaze fell on Lorenzo, walking out from the ruins. Through Watson’s deliberate maneuvering, the fact that Lorenzo possessed information on the Echo of the End had been exposed.

His fingers twitched slightly. As long as Roger killed Lorenzo here and seized the Echo of the End, then the only one left who could threaten him would be Adren.

Should he make a move?

With his own power, he could crush everything here; Lorenzo would have no strength to resist. But...

But...

”Where are you, Adren Levien? Obediently standing guard outside the Well of Ascension, or... are you here as well?”

Hesitating, Roger smiled. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he was behind heavy metal, hot breath echoing inside the narrow Face Armor.

The Peacekeeper swung its barrel around, aiming at Lorenzo. The instant the trigger was pulled, terrifying erosion detonated once more.