Embers of Embers

Chapter 30 Price
This is destined to be a moonless night. In the dark world, only the beam of light cast by the airship is left, like the only island in the dark ocean, isolated from the world, leaving only a fight to the death with madness.
The battle has begun, with countless gunshots mixed with rising flames in the dark night.
The arsonists started their work. Dozens of flamethrowers converged into a flaming city wall. In essence, it sprayed not only flames, but also ignited kerosene. The neat bullets passed through the flames and pierced the creatures in the darkness.
Under the thick lens, only countless shadows could be seen struggling in the sea of ​​​​fire. Their flesh and blood were burned to charcoal. They rushed out of the line of fire with bloodthirsty desire, but were immediately pierced by bullets and fell down helplessly.
The soldiers were wearing disinfectant masks, heavy breathing came from under the filter tanks of the masks, everyone instinctively avoided those dead figures, black ashes rose with the evening wind at night, and fell on the fireproof suits, leaving behind Black spots.
"Inform the scavengers that we will need a large-scale decontamination after tonight."
Looking at the slightly hot ashes in his hand, he felt a slight emotion, but it soon subsided, and Galahad waved his hand to shake it off.
"It's already in progress. Before the operation, the Mechanical Institute had poured fifty tons of neutralizing liquid into the furnace column. After a day of steam discharge, the chemicals should now be piled up in the clouds, and in a few hours there will be There was a small-scale artificial rainfall, and the rainwater was mixed with chemicals to purify and neutralize all these residues.”
Shrike said as he took a few steps back. He didn't want to be touched by this remnant.
This is the weird thing about monsters. Only things related to them, even the ashes after death, will have negative effects. Every time he performs a task related to monsters, Shrike will have nightmares for several days.
According to the index of the Geiger counter, it is only the dessert before the meal. The fiercest battle is yet to come. The shell casings are tumbling, and the smoke of ashes is everywhere.
Looking to the side, the Shrike looked at the man who arrived with great interest, as if he did not expect him to appear here.
"You're late robin."
As the iron snake stopped completely and looked at the man walking out of the thick steam, Galahad said unceremoniously.
"We haven't dealt with anomalies inside Old Dunling for a long time. In order to ensure enough firepower, it took a long time to transport that thing to the car."
The robin explained to himself, he looked like a pious believer, with an iron cross hanging on the black cloak, following his fingers, Galahad looked towards the steam-filled direction.
It was another iron snake, completely wrapped in steam, and its sharp corner was exposed as the evening breeze blew by.
"Urgent call from the arsenal. I heard it was processed by the Mechanical Institute. It should be perfect for use against inhuman creatures."
As the robin narrated, the thing was fully revealed in front of everyone. It was a smoothbore cannon with exquisite craftsmanship. The dark barrel was painted with the texture of flower branches using paint mixed with gold powder. If it weren't for the A box of artillery shells that should probably be placed in an art gallery.
People in the Mechanical Institute are always like this. They create dangerous weapons and at the same time add artistic processing to the weapons.
"A total of three landslide-type smoothbore cannons, and two carriages with a total of four tons of kerosene. Arthur wants us to completely burn this place down."
As the transporter of this cargo, even Robin himself was shocked when he learned this.
"As for safety, please rest assured. We communicated with the Mechanical Institute before departure. They adjusted the output of the furnace pillar and the power on the operating route. Now the entire streets of Old Dunling are filled with hot steam, and the visibility is no more than three meters. , nobody knows what we shipped out."
Galahad nodded, but then he spoke.
"What I'm worried about is not this problem, but the elite power. The index of the Geiger counter has not stopped after breaking through the critical value, and is still rising steadily. In other words, the changes in the underground palace are not over yet, and the demons are still changing. .”
This is undoubtedly bad news. The strength of the demon has slightly exceeded the plan's expectations.
"The Purification Agency and even the Demon Hunting Order do not choose to announce the existence of demons to the outside world. One of the reasons is their pollution. Even books recording their knowledge can make people crazy, let alone leaving one alive. The demon has entered the old Dunling."
Galahad said worriedly.
"We have been trained and specialized to barely fight against those monsters. Ordinary people have no ability to resist in front of them, and will directly fall into madness and pollution... or even become the next monster, and the old Dun Ling is the world's Hub, once this 'madness' gets out of control, it will spread throughout the world along the transportation system of the Atrium Snake. You know the danger behind this, right?"
This is the reason why such weird monsters are never known to the world. If you come into contact with them, you will only die. It is the purification agency, an organization in the dark, that firmly seals them behind the city wall and maintains the sanity of the world.
It's a pity that the battlefield here is close to the city, otherwise Galahad would not be restrained by this. Otherwise, the war airships would directly clear the ground. With the inventory of weapons during the Glorious War, they could level the entire lower city.
But now it is no longer the dark old age. At that time, people could only use silver swords and fire to fight against demons. Now humans have more efficient weapons, and the balance of dominance has long been broken.
"We have thought of this too, so the armor is waiting for you."
The implementers of this plan have already thought of everything, and even the armor has been prepared.The robin was full of confidence. It seemed to him that God was caring for the battlefield.
Following the robin's words, the last steam tram arrived slowly. The armor coating was matte black, which hardly reflected light. If it wasn't for the humming engine, no one would have noticed its arrival. Steam was released as the gate opened, and the ferocious silhouette was outlined in the gray mist.
But it seems that it is not steam. Galahad can only feel an incomprehensible coldness in the mist. It should be air conditioning. This iron snake is a mobile icehouse. As the gate is opened, the green light shines It lit up, accompanied by vague singing, and it seemed that a woman was singing in it.
The soldier looked at the dim green light, and a woman's face emerged from it. She seemed to be crying or laughing. She seemed to be talking about something and asking the soldier all kinds of questions. He felt very nostalgic, but also sad, because that Zhang Lian was his fiancée, but she died a few years ago.
His breathing was heavier than ever before, as if there was a lead weight pressing on his chest. He stretched out his hand and took heavy steps forward slightly. As long as he got closer, as long as he got closer, he could save her beloved from death. Take it back from your hands, as long as...
"drop--"
The long-ringing alarm bell interrupted the soldier's illusion, and then starting from the back of his neck, the nerve electrodes buried under the flesh and blood released a weak current across his brain. It was like waking up from a big dream, and he knelt down suddenly. , only then did he realize that he had deviated from his position, bathed in the green light, and then the silver gun body appeared in front of him.
"Soldier, you are tainted by nerves."
The shrike stood in front of the soldiers against the green light.
"Kid, you shouldn't be looking at this."
Shrike knew what was behind him, but he never looked there from the beginning. Everyone present was like this and stayed at their posts.
"me……"
The soldier wanted to say something else, but his voice turned into a whimpering roar when it reached his mouth. It seemed to be another voice, but he didn't know it. The world was distorted in his eyes, and finally turned into a piece of blood.
"You should rest."
That was the last thing he could hear. Shrike took out the syringe and stabbed him hard. As the anesthetic poured into his blood vessels, the alarm bell finally stopped, and the soldier fell heavily.
"It looks like the Neurological Rehabilitation Center is getting new customers."
Shrike muttered and looked at the gun in his hand. Because of the green light behind him, the color of his silver gun was also reflected.
"So those madmen really succeeded?" he asked the robin.
The robin also turned his back and refused to face the light. He held the iron cross tightly in his hand and said slowly.
"It was successful a few months ago. It has just been debugged. They feel that tonight's operation is very suitable to test this weapon."
"They are playing with fire."
Shrike swore angrily. He hated that weapon. To him, it was the embodiment of ominousness.
"But after fighting the demon for so long, aren't we just playing with fire and burning ourselves?"
Galahad said calmly. Among the three of them, he was the only one who looked directly at the light. He seemed not to be affected in any way, with a complex look in his eyes.
"The index is still rising. We need to kill that demon in the underground palace. Galahad, according to what they said, only knight commanders are qualified to use this weapon at present. This is the activation key."
Robin said as he handed over the iron cross in his hand. The seemingly smooth surface actually had hundreds of tiny grooves, just like the pattern of a key. It was also a key that opened an unknown box.
That's the real secret sauce tonight, and that's what Mockingbird is here for.
"Am I considered an experimental subject? It's really a luxury for a knight commander to conduct experiments on them."
Galahad paused, then laughed at himself, but still took the secret key, which felt cold as if holding ice, and strode towards the green light without any hesitation.
……
"So is this the reason why you suddenly appeared here tonight? According to the mission, you should be staying with Lancelot on the Voyage to Dawn."
Shrike could only hear the retreating footsteps of Galahad, and he felt bad, as if he were watching his friend walking into the abyss.
"Yes, this is the first batch of armors, thirteen pieces in total, which were distributed by the Navigation Dawn to the knight captains scattered in the territory of Yin Erweg while hunting down the demons. Arthur believes that this can turn the tide of the war. weapons, even the Queen gave her approval."
Robin said helplessly, but he could only do this for the sake of victory.
"I understand you, Shrike, you hate that thing, but only it can allow us to fight against demons, just like Arthur said when we first became knights.
Fighting against demons is a process of constantly paying a price. "
The eyes under the mask were a little tired. The arsonists lit up a burning sun in the dark night, illuminating his vision extremely brightly.
"Pay blood, pay pain, give everything you can until we die with nothing left."
As he spoke, the robin laughed instead. He looked at the shrike beside him and made the sign of the cross on his chest.
"I don't think I should be so miserable. After all, I believe in God and fight against demons. I think I will definitely go to heaven after I die. As for you Shrike..."
"I opened a casino, committed murder and arson, and engaged in various smuggling businesses. I broke almost all of Inverg's laws, but I know that I am a good person. It doesn't matter whether I go to heaven or not."
Shrike said directly that he didn't believe in any god. Instead of praying every day, it would be better to make a few more money to make him feel at ease.
At this moment, a hoarse low roar came from the carriage behind him, and Shrike's hands trembled slightly, but he did not turn around to help Galahad after all. A vague murmuring voice whispered in his ears, as if there was something at this moment. Something woke up, from the carriage behind.
The green light eventually extinguished, but a twisted black shadow walked out of it. His steps had the sound of steel, and hot steam surrounded his body, making it difficult for people to see his appearance clearly.
He just walked straight over, and when he passed the robin, he only heard the robin's calm voice.
"Galahad, you only have 10 minutes to act after being fully activated. Kill that damn monster and come out alive."
The body paused for a moment, and there seemed to be two eyes staring at him in the hot steam, but the feeling soon disappeared. The figure moved forward again, passing everyone, and went straight to the depths of the sea of ​​fire, and in the process No one tried to look at that abominable figure.
“May you all turn away from evil and do good, and may you dwell in peace forever, never forsaken, and protected forever.”
The robin prayed.
(End of this chapter)