Gun of Ashes

Erin shrugged.

”Do whatever you want, my life is in your hands now, it’s all up to you.”

Both of them left the decision to Lorenzo, who squinted as if contemplating something.

At this moment, the melody gradually rose, and on the stage, Renette conducted the orchestra, the exhilarating melody gracefully swirling.

Lorenzo reached out his hand and took out the flyer he had grabbed earlier from his pocket. It had been crumpled into a ball and was slowly being smoothed out.

It was a flyer from the Orthodoxy, and not only did it contain the time and place of gatherings, but the last line was also boldly marked with a major event.

The Pope’s enthronement.

But there were no specific times or places mentioned, so Lorenzo handed the flyer to Hebdo beside him and then asked.

”Do you know when the Pope will be enthroned?”

”Not sure, but definitely soon.” Hebdo replied.

”That’s really quite tricky then.”

Lorenzo murmured to himself.

This operation needs to be divided into two steps: one is to rescue Ivar, and the other is to assassinate the Pope. These two steps must be completed simultaneously. If either one alerts the enemy first, the other is bound to fail.

”Hebdo, just like you said before.”

”A feigned negotiation?” Hebdo said.

”Exactly, whenever they enthrone their Pope, that’s when we’ll negotiate.” Lorenzo said.

Fortunately, this problem wasn’t hard to solve, and this time the initiative was in Lorenzo’s hands.

”Then how are you going to do it?” Erin asked.

”That’s something you don’t need to worry about, just follow my command at the time. But...”

Lorenzo said as he looked at Erin, seemingly contemplating where Erin should play a role.

He suddenly thought of something.

”Erin, you should be quite good at acting, right? It’s just like deception, making the enemy believe you.”

”What do you plan to do?” Erin, listening to Lorenzo, felt a bit uneasy for a moment.

Lorenzo didn’t say anything, just smiled.

”You’ll know when the time comes.”

It was a plan known only to himself, and no one could guess it before its actual execution.

Lorenzo wasn’t afraid of the little schemes of Erin and Hebdo; after all, their thoughts couldn’t possibly affect reality, because Lorenzo was here, and he was his own greatest backing.

In the face of absolute force, all conspiracy appears so vulnerable and fragile.

”I feel like I’m a terrorist.”

Lorenzo softly said.

”You all are my accomplices.”

He relaxed and listened carefully to Renette’s performance. In the not-too-distant future, a brutal bloodshed would occur here, and Lorenzo was unsure if it would affect the world’s course. In any case, he was thrilled.

The music ended.

Renette turned around and bowed to the darkened audience.

”Alright, let’s go, we need to set up the stage first.”

Lorenzo stood up from his seat.

”How do we set it up? We don’t even know where he will be enthroned.” Hebdo asked.

”Such a thing is easy to guess, Hebdo.”

Lorenzo said, looking at the stage.

”There isn’t a large cathedral in Maruri Port; the only one was expanded into the current theater, and the few that are related are also controlled by the Evangelical Church. The Orthodoxy, seeking to expand its influence, would certainly find a place large enough to accommodate many people to witness it all.

What do you think of the square outside the Yega Grand Theater?”

Lorenzo recalled everything he saw on the way here. Maruri is a harbor city with its center mainly towards the port. Part of the reason for the Orthodox Pope’s enthronement here is to expand influence through the passing ships.

If Lorenzo were the Orthodox Pope, the theater square would be his only choice, where his speech wouldn’t be hindered by a dome, and if loud enough, even disinterested passersby would hear him.

”Of course, it doesn’t matter if we guess wrong, I still have to scout how to retreat, right.”

Lorenzo continued.

”You saw those warships docked at the port. Although they say all weapons are dismantled and their technology is outdated, are their words really trustworthy? Just like Old Dunling’s damned Furnace Pillar, claiming it’s for energy supply, but just as those lunatics adjust a few parameters, they could sink Old Dunling into several meters of thick fog.”

Obviously, Lorenzo had suffered a loss here. He once naively thought Old Dunling’s advanced designs were for the citizens’ convenience, but in reality, they were military facilities, turning the city into a steel fortress.

Whether it’s the Furnace Pillar or the Midcourt Serpent, these things were born initially for war.

”There are also issues with Gaulunaro itself.”

Lorenzo frowned.

In Old Dunling, tracks were everywhere. Whenever you needed, you could use the Iron Serpent to easily reach any place in Old Dunling, but here in Gaulunaro, their steam technology wasn’t that advanced. Even if they barely caught up with Ingwig, their infrastructure wasn’t spread out. In Maruri Port’s operation, it’s mostly reliant on carriages.

This was different from the working environment Lorenzo was familiar with. Usually, after assassinating someone, he could escape by getting on the Iron Serpent. But this time, he might have to ride fast on horseback.

No, it should be the whole group of them riding fast on horseback.

”A disguised fishing boat will arrive at the port tomorrow, having followed behind the White Tide. They are responsible for our retreat, and I’ve heard they’ve installed the new power system of the Perpetual Motion Pump on that ship, making it reliable in terms of speed.” Hebdo said.

”That’s even more unreliable!”

Lorenzo’s expression twisted upon hearing this.

”Why?”

Hebdo didn’t understand. From what he knew, the Perpetual Motion Pump represented the pinnacle of current Western technology; every step forward was progress for humanity. In Hebdo’s view, such a great institution should be legendary.

”Look, clearly you don’t know those guys well.”

Lorenzo looked at Red Falcon beside Hebdo and said.

”Translate for him, Red Falcon.”

Red Falcon had a similar grim expression. He gulped and said.

”The new creation by the Perpetual Motion Pump can basically be understood as experimental, and don’t you think this escape is perfect for testing it?”

”In the face of survival instinct, Lorenzo and the rest would surely effectively utilize its features.”

Lorenzo mimicked Merlin’s tone.

They fell into silence.

”It shouldn’t be like this, the operation is so crucial, how can they act this way?” Hebdo clearly didn’t understand the twisted minds of this group.

”Precisely because it’s important, they brought this out, just like the Armor of Original Sin,” Red Falcon said. ”Extraordinary tasks require extraordinary equipment. In a way, this indeed is the best the Perpetual Motion Pump can offer, though it’s not reliable.”

”Even with a fast ship to pick us up, there’s a distance from the theater square to the port, and by then it will surely alert the enemy. We need to escape quickly, without a moment’s pause, any wrong turn could result in interception.”

Lorenzo said with concern.

”I’m not worried about being intercepted, as long as I’m alive, I don’t think anything can stop us, but the problem is this isn’t Ingwig, there’s no Purification Mechanism to clean up.

We’ve come to prevent potential war, but carelessly, we might become the spark of war.”

Lorenzo left the audience area, signaling everyone.

”Let’s go, think of it as a tour. Don’t you want to admire the scenery of Maruri?”

Silence.

”Alright, honestly, I don’t either, I hate this damned place.”

Lorenzo cursed as he left.