Gun of Ashes

The gloomy cold rain fell incessantly, shrouding the cold city in a dense fog. Pedestrians looked up towards the direction of Dunling Tower, spotting several Iron Whales hovering slowly, with a red glow diffused by the fog, unclear about what was happening there.

In fact, the pedestrians were not too concerned about it; without deliberate reminders, few would realize that hidden within this city was such a forgotten tower. If they continued to dwell on it, they’d be amazed to find that this tower seemed to have always been hidden in the fog, never truly seen before.

The world beneath the shadows overlaps with the world of ordinary people in this city. Perhaps, at some unfortunate moment, you might step into a dark alleyway only to witness a corner of another world, experiencing the menace and evil within.

They repel each other yet also overlap.

Buscalo held his umbrella, glancing upward like the other pedestrians before looking away.

This anomaly did not affect anyone, having no interference with the world of ordinary people, although to be exact, there were still some effects.

”Damn crows!”

Something dark landed on the umbrella, prompting Buscalo to curse.

A flock of crows had fled from Dunling Tower, wandering through the city like harbingers of doom, producing piercing sounds to announce to more people. Regrettably, humans couldn’t understand their cries, only finding them annoying.

Buscalo quickened his pace, blending into the crowd on the street, becoming just another indistinct figure among them.

...

The elevator ascended slowly amidst the burning ruins, established as an emergency passage in the corner of the Broken Dome. Being sufficiently protected, it survived the fierce battle, becoming a path for those who followed.

”It’s really awful, I never thought this would be the first place to fall.”

The gate opened, and Red Falcon emerged holding his weapon, followed by Eve and the others.

Lorenzo’s actions indeed took everyone by surprise; no one expected this guy to reach the battlefield in such an astonishing manner. It was indeed swift, but this made Red Falcon and his group’s actions seem exceptionally slow by comparison.

Red Falcon was already doing his best to reach the battlefield. Upon seeing Lorenzo ascend into the sky, he had commandeered a carriage, kicked off the unfortunate guy on it, and rushed all the way here with a few others. What Red Falcon didn’t know was that as they cautiously advanced, the battle had ended already.

”Heavy casualties.”

Eve looked grim, her breathing subdued. Behind her, the two Anonymous entered their state; Shao Liangxi lifted her firearm, while Shao Liangye drew out a Folding Blade, leaving Rod looking perplexed, protected in their midst.

Rod felt awkward. He truly didn’t know why he was here.

The first encounter with Roger was a sudden incident, leaving him no room to escape, and on this occasion, Rod was supposed to stay in the office, watching as the others departed. Yet, enigmatically, he found himself drawn onto the cart.

Of course, Rod tried to jump off mid-way, but Shao Liangxi held him firmly in place, saying something about, ”In Jiuxia, we call this sharing blessings and sharing woes together!”

It was hard for him to grasp the mindset of this foreigner, perhaps differing due to cultural civilization... or perhaps simply her personality.

Trembling, he picked up the pistol, swallowing hard.

The Upper-Rank Knight of the Purification Mechanism, mysterious Anonymous from Jiuxia, it seemed only he was a mere mortal here, witnessing the remnants.

”Looks like Lorenzo and Roger had quite the fight.”

Red Falcon had only taken a few steps before making this observation, finding no corpses, only a thick layer of burnt ashes, like an ancient house covered in dust.

”Are there any survivors?” Eve inquired.

”Those who failed to evacuate mostly didn’t make it out alive,” Red Falcon muttered.

Suddenly, he paused, looking back at the others, speaking up.

”Did you feel it?”

”Mm, the intensity of erosion is increasing,” Shao Liangye nodded, retrieving the Holy Silver crown from his backpack and wearing it on his head.

The others also followed suit, the first batch of Holy Silver equipment having long been produced under the urgent manufacturing of the Mechanical Institute, distributed and ready for Holy Silver defense, followed by the injection of the Flodren Potion.

While Rod hesitated, Shao Liangxi gave him a shot. Initially thinking this girl was messing with him again, but she appeared dead serious; evidently, she could distinguish appropriate occasions.

”Someone activated the emergency gate. This was initially prepared to isolate the Demons, but it proved utterly ineffective.”

Red Falcon advanced onward, the path supposed to be isolated by a heavy gate, but now with a massive hole in it, the edges of the metal still not cooled. The protection against Demons had been easily pierced, and looking through the hole, the scene beyond was even more horrific.

”They’ve torn down the Broken Dome.”

Eve whispered, suddenly hearing the commotion from above.

”What’s happening? Is anyone still alive?” Eve looked at Red Falcon, who uncertainly shook his head, prying open the rubble to find a barely upwards passage.

”Go.”

Red Falcon commanded, climbing along the fractured and collapsed stone mound. The crevice was narrow, born from the aftershocks of the battle, causing the surrounding area to slightly shake during the climb.