Gun of Ashes

Massive dark clouds coiled over Old Dunling, as if the entire sky had turned into an inverted funnel, pulling all the rain and clouds into the vortex, with occasional lightning flashing through, seemingly like a blazing white sun rising above the clouds.

The Reichenbach was like a solitary whale, helplessly navigating through the roaring sea of clouds. After a series of Lorenzo’s designs and several explosions, this civilian airship was already having issues; its structure was slightly tilted. Fortunately, the massive balloon wasn’t damaged yet, allowing it to rise like a leaf in the wind.

Inside the burning ballroom, the endless fire continued. The searing flames kept climbing, fueled by the falling oil, igniting the concealed ceiling pipelines. The wooden structures carbonized and fell away, revealing the red-hot skeleton beneath. The fire kept raging with no end in sight.

The demon hunters wailed; the blazing fire couldn’t kill them, awakened by their Secret Blood, yet the gut-wrenching pain was unbearable.

Their skin shriveled, cracked, and burned off entirely, but new skin quickly covered their bloodied flesh under the powerful vitality of Secret Blood, repeating endlessly.

In this inferno, Lorenzo moved forward like an Evil Ghost. Amidst the distraction of the fire and agony, the demon hunters couldn’t stop him at first, allowing his rampage to continue unchecked.

The Nail Sword fell and rose again, one figure after another plunging into the sea of flames, silenced forever.

This place was a slaughterhouse targeted at the New Order. As a demon hunter of the Old Order, Lorenzo was far crazier than they had imagined.

Yet such dominance didn’t last long; the Forbidden Power of Secret Blood wasn’t something the fire could easily burn away. The dense iron armor shattered through the flames as the Medanzo demon hunter raised the Nail Sword, striking at Lorenzo’s skull.

Lorenzo wasn’t surprised by this sudden attack; in fact, he never thought his few tricks could kill all the demon hunters. But he knew well that he had to act swiftly, without getting entangled with these demon hunters. If delayed, the advantage of his initial ”ambush” would be leveled out.

Taking a deep breath, Lorenzo inhaled the scorching air, causing sharp pain. He then sidestepped, avoiding the blow.

After missing the strike, the Medanzo demon hunter didn’t continue pursuing. During their brief encounter, he clearly realized the gap between himself and Lorenzo. He couldn’t attack recklessly; rather than finding a way to kill Lorenzo, he needed to stall Lorenzo.

Boiling flames arose between them, a fierce wind from somewhere sprinkled countless sparks like scattered stars in the sky.

In an instant, it seemed as if they were truly in Hell, fighting against the returning dead. Under the fire’s glow, both Medanzo demon hunter and Lorenzo were equally fierce, neither having any retreat.

The Nail Sword drooped slightly. It was a familiar sword stance; both made the same move, and then the dragging sword blade stirred up flames.

This was a battlefield that mortals couldn’t tread, where sword flashes rapidly turned into distorted white light. Sparks were engulfed by the stirring airflow, only seen as the entire air twisted by high temperatures and slashes, countless sword hums and starlight burst forth seemingly from nowhere.

At the last contact of swords, both Lorenzo and the Medanzo demon hunter retracted their blades, stepping back. But this wasn’t retreat; it was preparation for a more fierce attack next.

Raising the chipped Nail Sword without hesitation, thrusting at the enemy before them.

Both sharp Nail Swords struck their combatants, yet they were also hampered by the dense iron armor.

A swarm of serpents entangled Lorenzo’s body, closing their crimson eyes, hardening into iron to protect him. The same happened to the Medanzo demon hunter.

It seemed that they would remain deadlocked, but suddenly a change occurred. Lorenzo didn’t amass strength for another strike but stepped forward directly, shortening the distance between him and the Medanzo demon hunter. The Nail Sword slashed again, and after it proved ineffective, he grabbed it with his reverse hand, pounding the sword hilt forcefully against the solid face armor.

”Cunning and treacherous!”

Lorenzo was exhilarated; this strike couldn’t harm the Medanzo demon hunter, but the solid armor couldn’t withstand the impact.

In the era before firearms appeared, the battlefield was ruled by iron armor and warhorses. In front of such heavy armor, even sharp swords struggled to break those defenses. Therefore, combating these iron-walled defenses best required blunt weapons.

With Lorenzo’s brute strength, a dent was forcefully hammered into the face armor, with countless cracks spreading from the hollow, pure white flames rising from the gaps.

The rumbling echoes reverberated in the Medanzo demon hunter’s ears, their vision shaking with the impact.

Lorenzo regained the advantage, flames and the smell of blood stimulating his nerves, his grin turning increasingly menacing.

Deformed and twisted, in the Medanzo demon hunter’s eyes turned into a demonic visage of hatred.

Clutching the sword hilt tightly, raising the Nail Sword again, bringing it down with an avalanche-like force.

Amongst the metallic wails, the Nail Sword shattered into countless fragments. Despite the Medanzo demon hunter attempting to block with the Sword Guard, in front of an enraged Lorenzo, such defense was futile, easily cleaved apart.