Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 44 Was he arrested right after committing the crime?

Let’s go back 15 minutes ago, when the negotiations had just begun.

Linville's underground space is quite vast, not inferior to the area that the city subway runs through. In the Middle Ages, the ruins of the barracks, walls and towers built by Marshal Napoleon here gave it a mysterious and ancient meaning. Even today, you can still find traces of swords and knives on the mottled and falling bricks.

But today, uninvited guests have disturbed the peace that has long been buried in the dust of time.

Thump, thump!
It was the sound of a heartbeat, coming from the altar built of bones, fiercely hitting the edge of the underworld, making a hollow echo.

A huge blood-red heart sank in the silent darkness, with hideous veins like blood vessels spreading on its surface. Its powerful pumping sound, like the heavy breathing of a living giant beast, blew up a black storm.

At the side of the altar, a tall figure in a black robe kept a certain distance from the heart. His deeply sunken eye sockets were like an abyss, quietly watching two pale human figures in red robes with fangs and claws, who were carrying a ragged homeless man, walk to the front of the altar.

The tramp was still conscious. He kept struggling with a terrified expression and shouting in panic, but no sound came out. It was as if the darkness around him swallowed his words, making him look as if he was performing a pantomime, which was ridiculous.

When they were within three meters of the altar, the two red-robed men quickly let go of their hands and retreated. The homeless man, realizing that he had regained his freedom, also wanted to escape, but it was too late. In just a breath of time, his body had completely melted, first the skin, then the fat, then the muscles and blood... Finally, even the bones made a hissing sound and turned into dirty blood, which was absorbed by the heart on the altar.

"Next." The man in black robe said indifferently.

Then, another poor fellow was pushed to the side of the altar. After seeing the fate of the fellow before, he struggled even harder, but it was useless. The two red-robed men holding him were no longer normal humans. They were so strong that they could even stop an angry horse, not to mention these poor people who were malnourished due to long-term wandering.

"Great Lord of Heaven."

The black-robed man silently watched the heart turn into blood mist, as if he had seen the life struggling in the filthy sea of ​​blood. The corners of his lips slowly curled upwards, and he whispered to himself, "The feast has begun."

They were not as fresh as the previous sacrifices, but their resentment was even stronger. Moreover, above the heads of these undead was the Maintis Building where Queen Victoria I had awarded the medal to Marshal Napoleon. Feeling the familiar and hateful breath, the resentment of the undead was so strong that it could almost condense into substance.

If you don't leave now, the night watchman will come to your door.

When the prepared offerings were absorbed by the blood-red heart, its aura was so strong that it made one's heart palpitate. Standing in front of it, one could feel the blood in one's body stirring, wanting to leave the blood vessels and merge into a chaotic ocean. Even one's breath was stained with a foul, sticky, and hot smell.

After that, he turned around and ordered his subordinates around him in a cold tone: "The sacrifice is completed, retreat now."

If this heart is the heart of a beast, then that beast should be the master of blood, the terrifying demon that stirs up a tide of filth.

"I hope you can enjoy the fragrance of the feast."

The blood-red heart suddenly began to melt, and the enchanting blood mist evaporated, but it did not spread outward. Instead, it rose upward, as if it was about to pass through the barriers of the earth and rocks and merge into the more distant, icy haze.

Today, He will come here.

Their efficiency has always been disappointing - and that's from the enemy's perspective.

In this way, one sacrifice after another was pushed to the altar, absorbed by the blood-red heart, and strengthened the evil power it nurtured under its blood vessels. When all the fresh flesh and blood were sacrificed, they were replaced by gray-white skeletons, which were the remains of the undead that Fialli dug out from under the floating ruins.

Under Virol's orders, these believers of the Blood Red Banquet were about to return along the original route, but before they could leave the underground ruins, they were forced to stop because the road ahead was blocked and they could not pass.

Mr. Lestrade, the chief of the night watch in Linville City and director of Axiom Two, was wearing a black windbreaker as usual and looking at the cultists in front of him with dead eyes.

Behind Lestrade were teams of silent "knights". They seemed to be still living in the Middle Ages, arming themselves with holy silver armor. However, the material of the armor was very special. It was not gold, silver, steel or iron, but some more special metal. Even in this deep underground where the sun never shines, it still shone with a cool luster, as if it could emit brilliance on its own. The shape of the armor was also quite special. It was discontinuous, disconnected at the joints, and replaced by some special mechanical device, which was suspected to be steam-driven because the exposed gears and metal bearings inside could be seen. The dark blue lines were like mysterious and profound magic runes, connecting the armor with these mechanical devices, forming a closed loop, flashing at a specific frequency, sometimes bright and sometimes dark, as if exchanging some unknown message.

Behind these "knights" is a suspended device that looks like metal wings, on which hang holy silver gun blades, rifles, shields, and broadswords. The surface is also covered with dark blue patterns. The combination of cold weapons and hot weapons looks quite strange.

Around their waists, they were equipped with a silver-white box similar to a power furnace, with patterns more complex than those on the armor and weapons. The exhaust port at the rear continuously spewed out steam, gradually raising the temperature around them. On the left side of the power furnace were slots of varying sizes, which seemed to be able to connect some special-purpose equipment.

He didn't wear a helmet, but dark red goggles instead, which almost completely covered the upper half of his face, leaving only his nose and mouth exposed. The combination of modern and classical styles revealed a wonderful sense of harmony.

The moment he saw these "knights", Virol's expression became particularly ugly.

He squeezed out four words from between his teeth with difficulty:

"Magic Knight!"

There are very few magicians within the Night Watch - or the Order. They value the magic system they created more and believe it has the power to dominate the era.

The combat power of the magic knights themselves was not that outstanding, and they could even be considered to be just elite soldiers who had mastered magic. However, once they were equipped with a sufficient number of magic devices and formed a sufficiently strict formation, they would become terrifying war weapons and destroy everything that stood in their way.

That's right, a magician's battle is just a battle, but a magic knight's battle is a war.

Without giving Virol time to think of a countermeasure, Lestrade calmly issued an order: "First team, front line, magic shield cover, magic furnace power 30% activation."

The front team of magic knights took a step forward in unison, making a rumbling sound like thunder. They took down their shields from the hanging device behind them and activated the magic furnaces on their waists at 30% power. With a slight humming sound, the magic power inside the core metal was input into the shields in their hands along the conduction circuit, lighting up the dark blue lines on them.

The shield was erected and inserted into the ground, like raising an insurmountable wall. The translucent dark blue shield completely covered the passage, protecting the companions behind.

"Second squad and third squad, middle column, take turns firing your magic guns, activate the magic furnace at 70% power."

A similar order was given, and a dark muzzle of a gun poked out from the gap in the shield. Without hesitation, the trigger was pulled. With a loud "bang", pure magic power condensed into bullets and shot out, passing through the shield without any hindrance and hitting the cultists who had not yet reacted. Immediately, there were wailings and roars.

The second squad, which had already fired, began to wait for the barrel to cool down briefly, while the third squad followed up and fired the second round of volleys. As a result, the sound of gunfire could not be quelled until the magic power in the magic furnace was exhausted.

"Team 50, auxiliary queue, "Blockade Plug-in" activated, magic furnace power activated at %."

The magic knights of the fourth squad quickly took out a long silver-white mechanical body from the belt around their waists and inserted it into the slot of the magic furnace. At the same time, the gears of the mechanical device at the elbow joint of their left hand turned with a click, and with the help of magic power, they automatically transformed and soon formed a device similar to a grappling hook launcher.

They raised their hands and pressed the launch buttons in all directions. Blue magic ropes suddenly shot out and pierced into the rock wall with great force. They crisscrossed each other and formed an impenetrable network, completely blocking the enemy in this narrow area, making it impossible to escape.

The description in words is naturally very long, but these magic knights from the Night's Watch cooperated well, from covering to attacking to blocking, the whole process was carried out almost simultaneously, and before Virol could react, they completed a fierce offensive.

Looking at Virol and other cultists who were struggling in the cage under the hail of bullets, Lestrade just glanced at them and quickly raised his head. His eyes were deep, as if he could see through the rock wall and see the street above.

The small fish and shrimp here are not worth mentioning. The guys who really need attention have not appeared yet.

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)