Gun of Ashes

The industrial zone was littered with heaps of slag and abandoned metal structures. The battle of monsters raised the temperature to the extreme, turning the entire land into a hell of molten lava.

Initially, Merlin was troubled about how to extinguish the fire, but fortunately, the heavy rain fell, returning everything to the mist of rain.

”Is this the presence of something greater? It’s unimaginable what the old humanity might have sacrificed to imprison it.”

As Merlin spoke, he thought of the past of the old humans, and couldn’t help but sigh.

”What a splendid time humanity must have had then. I really wish I could have seen it.”

”Don’t lament. Instead, quickly come over and study what’s going on.”

Someone ahead waved towards Merlin and shouted loudly.

After Nikola shouted to Merlin, he turned around and continued forward with the others. Being close enough, these guys from the Perpetual Motion Pump emerged from the ground, eager to see what kind of foe they would be facing and to test their latest research.

His movements were somewhat clumsy, after all, Nikola was just a scholar who rarely exercised, and moving freely under such heavy protective clothing was already a tremendous effort.

This new protective suit was made from Holy Silver as Lorenzo mentioned. But in fact, it wasn’t all that new; it merely had an extra layer forged from Holy Silver. The main research focus now is on how to reduce this layer’s weight and increase flexibility without compromising its ability to resist corrosion.

Nikola felt like a clumsy penguin, fearing he might fall and roll on the ground at any moment.

”It’s undetectable now.”

Looking down at the Geiger Counter in his hand, the needle had reached its peak; the intensity here had exceeded its detection range.

Nikola put away the Geiger Counter, glanced at the silhouette in the heavy rain, and then signaled the others to stop.

”Better wait for him. The core’s erosion intensity is too high; it’s unsuitable for us to enter.”

Nikola retreated back to a safe zone, took off the eroded protective clothing, and came to Merlin’s side.

”There’s a corpse over there, completely burnt, and the erosion intensity is absurdly high. It seems to be the final resting point of this battle,” Nikola pointed distantly ahead.

The core area had been burned into a sunken circular pit with still unmelted molten iron spreading like webs from its source, one could faintly see a partially kneeling corpse that had been burnt to char, resembling a blackened, broken sculpture.

”Who do you think it is, Edlen or Roger?” Nikola inquired.

”Not sure, Lorenzo has to identify it. Only he’s suitable to delve into this polluted core.”

Merlin averted his gaze, well aware that such monsters wouldn’t perish so easily.

”What is certain is that one of them lost, but didn’t die. Perhaps what we see is just part of the entire battle.

Understand that these entities are nearing the end of Ascension, several times stronger than Lorenzo. Their consciousness can easily shuttle among people, and they can turn a mortal into a violent monster at will.”

Merlin walked along the edges, observing the surroundings. There were dents everywhere as if a storm had passed.

”My guess is, the one who died might just have been some unlucky soul.”

”Terrifying indeed, it’s hard to imagine how we are supposed to confront such monsters, let alone hunt them,” Nikola lamented upon hearing this.

Who knows when the world of the mundane collapsed, leading uncountable monsters to crawl out from shadows, emerging from forgotten stories.

Reflecting on the drastic changes in recent years and the short, recorded history of humanity, Nikola felt these monsters seemed to have agreed to revive during this period, joining this grand celebration.

”Don’t worry, this has nothing to do with you, at least not for now. Scholars should just hide away; the task of slaying enemies should be left to the Warriors.”

Merlin patted Nikola on the shoulder and then added.

”The first batch of Death Row entry lists has been drawn up, and you’re on it.”

Nikola was somewhat surprised. According to the plan, once Old Dunling becomes a battlefield, only those in the Death Row would be spared. Now, although the development of the plan hasn’t been long, nobody knows the progress of Death Row’s crafting, yet the list is almost finalized.

”This spot must be very valuable, right?”

”More than so, you couldn’t buy it even if you wanted to.”

Merlin was probably joking, but his expressionless face made it hard for his words to feel lighthearted.

”What about you?” Nikola asked, ”Since it’s about protecting the core, shouldn’t you be in it too?”

”No.”

Merlin shook his head. His hollow eyes stared into Nikola’s, as if asking why he would think so.

”I’m not on the list, nor on the following batches.”

”Why not!” he exclaimed loudly, not understanding why this would be the case.

”Don’t make a fuss, it’s not any persecution or conspiracy, I requested it myself. When war breaks out, someone needs to stay at the Perpetual Motion Pump to command the furnace,” Merlin pointed at himself, ”I’m a good choice.”

”But...”

Nikola still couldn’t quite accept it; the current situation was already so dire, and once the great war broke out, it’d only get worse. Yet Merlin was to place himself in such a vortex.

”There are no ’buts’. We have conducted a cautious selection, and the slots for the Perpetual Motion Pump are indeed limited... My head contains nothing but decayed knowledge, of no use to the new era. But you’re different, Nikola, you should illuminate everything with thunder.”

Merlin’s attitude was very firm, it seemed he had made such a decision long ago.

His face showed no emotion, and his eyes were extremely hollow, like wearing a mask of indifference, just like many others.

Nikola wanted to say something more, but as Merlin’s student, he well understood what kind of person his mentor was, and too much persuasion would seem ridiculous instead.

”Is this the impact left by their battle? It’s really intense indeed.”

A new voice joined the conversation, interrupting Nikola’s thoughts. Looking in the direction of the voice, he saw Left Garrison holding a black umbrella, followed closely by the silent Zuo Tang, and the man named Mr. Cai.

”This is just the residue. During direct confrontation, the erosion intensity would be much greater and more pervasive. At that time, can your Anti-Meme weapons suppress it?”

Merlin finally awaited Left Garrison. These Jiuxia people were very punctual, arriving just in time.

The old man smiled kindly, but eerily, he always wore such a smile, whether in a serious meeting or on a hellish battlefield.

”More or less, with Wangchuan around, even if this intensity multiplies, we can suppress it. It’s just that the number of weapons is limited, and we still don’t know the limits of those monsters. So, predictably, we have only one shot. Once the other side becomes alert, with their power, we can’t catch them at all.”

Left Garrison felt the pressure around them, answering from his experience, but there’s nothing to be glad about, as they still had more concerns.

These monsters shuttled through the human mind like gray rats hiding in shadows.

”Is this the reason Lorenzo did this? To use Old Dunling as bait and lure these two monsters to the same place, exterminating them in one go?”

Merlin muttered, what a cruel cost, and then he thought of something and asked seriously.

”Then can Wangchuan ensure it remains under control? They can invade our consciousness; perhaps these weapons will fall on our heads.”

”Rest assured on this.”

The elderly face portrayed absolute confidence, Left Garrison assured.

”All the planning began from the moment we left the Forgotten Great Wall.”