NOVPUBChapter 185: Chapter 184: Victory Through Firepower
Chapter 185 -184: Victory Through Firepower
The enemy also reacted immediately.
They moved four or five strips of cloth to the front, flicking away the grenades at a speed invisible to the naked eye. However, this time they were not facing one or two grenades but a barrage of them swarming in! Even though they managed to block seven or eight, many more warheads had already landed beside them.
Then came the continuous explosions—short and bright flashes of light flickering nonstop, with splattering molten metal shrapnel blossoming into dozens of fiery flowers on the ground!
This is the difference between vehicle-mounted weapons and individual soldier weapons.
The bigger the bore of the barrel, the stronger the force of the ammunition carried!
Zhang Zhiyuan kept his finger tightly on the trigger, allowing the scorching smell of gunsmoke to seep into his lungs. He poured all the pent-up fury in his belly onto these two monsters.
The shrapnel from the high-explosive grenades was not merely about making small holes in the body; they could penetrate wooden boards and brick walls, and cut through muscle and bone.
The monsters were completely suppressed.
Their tentacles wavered in the explosion’s light, their lower bodies blasted apart. Perhaps they sensed Zhang Zhiyuan’s overwhelming enmity, but they were no longer able to leap dozens of meters to the front of the vehicle like they did when they killed Qianyuan Meiko.
This fierce firepower also shocked the refugees.
They unconsciously stopped in their tracks, turning back to see the nightmarish creatures being pummeled without any means of retaliation, and a portion of the fear in their hearts suddenly dissipated.
If pitchforks couldn’t pierce, machetes couldn’t wound, and muskets were nearly ineffective, what else could they do besides run for their lives if all means of self-defense were null?
But now they saw a weapon that could destroy the enemy, a war machine that could save them.
—When they realized the enemy was not invincible, that innate fear in their hearts would naturally be suppressed by reason. The verge-of-collapse crowd gradually stabilized, and some even raised their hands, cheering for the war machine!
After a box of grenades had been used up, Zhang Zhiyuan finally released the trigger, “Zhou Zhi, help me reload!”
In front of the street, only wreckage remained, with several bodies ignited by the grenades, giving off the burnt odor of charred flesh. As for the potted heretical creatures, only the pots remained, their lower bodies having been blasted to smithereens.
“Wow! They can kill the monsters, yeah!”
“Well done!”
“That’s awesome, can I join you guys?”
More and more people joined the cheering, turning the battlefield into a scene of celebration!
“This area is not safe, head to Fafu Street to take shelter first. Don’t stop, and don’t follow us!” Zhang Zhiyuan shouted to the civilians around him.
“Brother Zhang, stand this up, will you?” After bringing over a new box of ammunition, Zhou Zhi handed him a flagpole.
The latter unfolded the flag to reveal a black door-shaped pattern on a white fabric—the trademark of Gate of Destiny Pharmaceuticals.
“Where did you get this?”
“I drew it with ink myself, there are a few more in the base,” Zhou Zhi replied. “I originally wanted to plant it on the Goddess of Joy, but the situation turned out a little different than I expected.”
Zhang Zhiyuan looked at him with amusement—he hadn’t expected him to fiddle with such things while preparing logistics. But a flag was indeed useful at times; it had become a symbol of unity over thousands of years of continuity. Zhang Zhiyuan tied the flagpole to the machine gun mount on the roof, and as the Gate of Destiny’s black-and-white flag unfurled in the night breeze, it became a beacon of hope in the eyes of many refugees.
…
Ailuodi drove northward and arrived at the lord’s castle in less than ten minutes.
It resembled a city within a city, surrounded by interconnecting walls two meters high. Beyond the entrance was a spacious front courtyard, and getting an audience with the lord often required passing through several checkpoints. But now, the iron gate of the front yard was wide open, and one could spot discarded weapons everywhere.
“Stop, who goes there!?” Suddenly, several soldiers clad in full armor burst out from the shadows on both sides, blocking the vehicle’s path. Their trained hands pointed steam guns at the driver’s position.
Chaoyang recognized immediately that these armors were meticulously customized, not only adorned with gear patterns on the chest but also decorated with a row of screw-like embellishments on the shoulders.
They were believers of the Mechanical Sect.
“I’m looking for Ge Wei, she knows me.”
“Ah… You must be Mr. Zhao who sent the message.” The believer recognized him as well and quickly had his companions lower their weapons, “My apologies. Lady Ge Wei is inside the castle, but she ordered us to protect the scene out front. This large contraption… may not be suitable to go in.”
Chaoyang didn’t insist, alighted from the vehicle with Ailuodi and Leisk, and headed straight toward the inner courtyard.
They hadn’t walked far when a strong stench of blood assailed their nostrils.
In the flower beds lay mutilated corpses everywhere, with congealed blood staining the roadside pebbles black. Judging from the attire of the deceased, not all were castle guards; some were attendants and scholars. It seemed they had attempted to flee the castle but ultimately met with a gruesome fate, bodies severed and scattered.
“These heretics actually dared to assassinate the lord…” Leisk muttered, “Could they be planning to turn Magnificent Castle into the next City of Defense? What benefit does that hold for them?”
“Even heretics can’t survive in the foggy region?” Ailuodi asked.
“Unless they live like savages, eating wild fruits, drinking dew, and even then, they would still face various beasts and venomous insects accustomed to the foggy environment. Heretics also need to eat, drink, and tend to their needs. Without the support of civilization, they won’t last.”
The trio entered the castle and, guided by Mechanical Sect followers, ascended the bloodied staircase to the second floor, then passed through the corridor to reach the lord’s study.
Only one person stood inside.
It was Ge Wei.
Her cross was already unleashed and merged with her arm, but there were no enemies facing her, just a dismembered corpse. In another corner of the room lay a heap of black ribbons.
Hearing the footsteps, she looked up.
“It’s you.”
A bad premonition surged in Chaoyang’s heart—the once handsomely decorated study was now in shambles. Fragments of tables and chairs were scattered everywhere, the chandelier had fallen from the ceiling, smashing a large hole in the wooden floor, and deep gashes marked the walls and ground. Without a doubt, a fierce battle had raged here.
He nodded and approached the corpse, recognizing the identity with just a glance. Although he had never had close contact with the person, posters all over the city and headshots in newspaper articles had made this man’s visage widely known.
He was the lord of Magnificent Castle, Earl Li Qiang Ola.
“The ones who turned into abominations were his butler and a bed-warming maid,” Ge Wei said, removing her cross and slinging it on her back again, speaking in a calm tone. “When I arrived, the carnage had just spread to the courtyard. If not for your notification, the nearby Mechanical Sect might well have been attacked.”
She had injuries on her face, and her arm was still bleeding—the battle was clearly not as calm as she described.
“Does Shandela know about this?” he asked.
The other party shook her head, “I haven’t sent anyone to notify her yet. Because I don’t know how to break it to her.”
Chaoyang fell silent too. The city guards were loyal to the lord, and regardless of how loyal Shandela was to the Earl, the lord’s death and the survival of the defense officer would put her at the center of a media storm if word got out. Not only would her reputation be tarnished, but her military career would likely be over as well.
